AP-Bio - First Semester Reflection

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Change is Good

Topic: E.K.2C.2 - Organisms respond to different changes in their

environment

“Change, change is good.” - Someone… I forgot who

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Basic Idea

Basically, this idea is exactly what it says: Organisms respond to changes in their
environment in some way. This change can typically be anything, from temperature, to
light, to weather. The responses an organism shows can be split into two parts: Physical
response and Behavioral response. These responses may also be directional (A direct
movement to or away from a stimuli.) or non-directional (Responds to a stimuli, but
doesn’t move towards/away from it.)

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Physical​ vs ​Behavioral Response

An organism's response to stimuli can be split into two different parts: Physical
responses and Behavioral responses.

Physical Response

A physical response is a response an organism has that results in the organism

changing physically in some way. This could be by growing, or perhaps by changing
color, etc… An example of a Physical response could be phototropism. Despite being a
hefty 5-syllable word, phototropism simply describes the act of plants growing towards
light. This ties into the original idea because the plant is responding to the change in
light in it’s environment.

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The plant is growing towards the light source. This causes it to grow diagonally

Behavioral Response

A behavioral response is a response an organism has that results in the organism

exhibiting some sort of change in their behavior. The simplest example of a behavioral
response is hibernation, but other things such as migration and kinesis are also
examples. For the easiest understanding, hibernation will be used as the example.
Hibernation is the act of animals, usually mammals, going into a deep sleep as a
response to the cold weather. Once again, this ties into the main idea because the
organism is responding it’s environment and behaving accordingly.

The bear is hibernating in it’s cave as a response to the cold weather.

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Directional vs. Non-Directional

What I Found Difficult

When initially learning this, I mostly got confused because I focused too much on the
difficult examples of responses, such as taxis and kinesis. From there I simply failed to
make the connection between the examples and the main idea. Initially, I also had
difficulty learning what directional and nondirectional responses were. This presentation
helped me learn about the subject better because I did further research and was able to
make the connection between the examples and the main idea.

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Works Cited

Plants For Kids." ​Phototropism Lesson​. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

7.13A - Phototropism - Pasadena Independent School District." ​7.13A - Phototropism - Pasadena

Independent School District​. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016

United States. National Park Service. "Bear Hibernation." ​National Parks Service​. U.S.
Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.