The Odyssey

Biogeochemical can be broken up into three parts. First, there is the prefix bio- which means life. Second, there is geo which means earth. Finally, chemical which covers matter like atoms and molecules. The cycle we refer to in this section is the continuous, working path of all three of those things. In the odyssey they start with an X element that I believe to be Sulfur, Phosphorous, Copper, or Iron . "X was pulled up into the world of living things. He helped build a flower, which became an acorn, which fattened a deer, which fed an Indian, all in a single year." This shows how a single element or molecule can effect all species and all aspects of life. It also shows how things are passed through and can be recycled with different uses. Y on the other hand could be a new specie of plant that attracted a new animal. "When Y was thus released from the parent ledge, a new animal had arrived and began redding up the Prairie to fit his own notions of law and order." It makes me think about what we touch, eat, drink, etc. I have always heard about the path of money and thinking this $1 could have been through millions of banks, pockets, dirty bags and greasy fingers. The water we drink has probably passed through many rivers, lakes, and people by the time we get it. It kind of grosses me out in a way and then makes me think how limited resources are.

Thinking Like A Mountain

My favorite season may be summer, but a couple of days ago I found myself enjoying the rain. For about three days we experienced rain and thunder storms. I was in my home listening to the rain pounding on the roof and lightning was shining through our windows as if cars were going by The thunder was shaking the ground it was so loud. Don't get me wrong I am an active person, I love the outdoors and going hiking and such. However, that day looking out and seeing everything blurred together through the rain I figured out my new celebration. The sun and heat is what I prefer, but sometimes you just need some storms, a cup of hot tea and a good movie!

Chernoff Faces

Chernoff Faces was an exercise we did that would help us further understand classification. We started with pairing face shapes with where we all were from. The options were the UP, lower Michigan, or other. I chose the lower Michigan face shape which was a "Stewie" or "Hey Arnold" shaped head. Next, the shape of the eyes were determined by our major and minors. All of the students in our MSED 251 are education majors and I am an elementary education mathematics major. My eyes were oblong shaped along with my pupils which were based off of the kind of sports we enjoyed. Noses were determined by which kind of pet we would prefer, rodent/rabbit, bird, or reptile. I chose a rodent/rabbit which gave me an oblong shaped nose. Finally, the mouth of the first face was chosen by which food the student enjoyed. I chose Italian because I can never get enough pasta! After we all put together our faces we were separated into groups by the shape of the heads. Our groups were divided again, this time by a different attribute of the faces. When all is done we know that many species have similar qualities but are still totally different.





We made a new face by changing around the attributed and face shapes. Turns out the groups that were made the first time stayed that same only changing by one or two students. There were many with exact face matches. This is an example of classification, just less scientific.