Blog 011 | Cooking Precautions

What are some precautions to take to prevent food borne diseases?

• Always make sure that the food you purchase, raw or cooked, is from a safe source.
• Check all food and drinks for expiration dates if they have one.
• Use a thermometer make sure food is cooked. Do not rely on the meat's color to indicate if the hamburger is completely cooked.
• Do not use your bare hands to touch food while it is being cooked, be sure to use the proper cooking/kitchen utensils.
  
• Protect any exposed body parts by wearing gloves or an apron when cooking.
• Wash your hands (fingers, palm and nails) with soap and rinse thoroughly under warm running water; especially after handling any type of raw meat.
• Clean any food preparation surface (plates, cutting boards, counter tops, etc.) or cooking utensils after every different food use.
• Make sure all meats are cooked adequately, well-done, or at least medium; especially when eating out.

Blog 010 | Lower Biotic Potential

Describe 3 factors that lower biotic potential.


1. Supply of various resources (i.e. food, shelter, water)
2. Predators and parasites
3. Diseases
4. Pollution
5. Habitat loss
6. Natural phenomena (i.e. hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, droughts)
7. Birth Rates:
- Number of offspring produced each time.
- Period of time between birth events.
- Age at which reproduction begins.
- Ratio of females to males in the population.

Blog 009 | Human Impact

Blog 9 In your opinion based upon Earth after people what is the biggest impact humans have had on the planet?

In my opinion, the biggest impact people have had on the planet were human creations such as cities and urban areas. Cities and urban areas include: buildings, railroads, subways, shops, roads, bus stops, etc. Basically, everything that you can find in the city is man-made. Before the planet was taken over by the human species, wild plants and animals used to thrive throughout the entire land, but because of the human species, our environment was organized and innovated into a modern world.
Another big impact that humans had on earth was hunting. We hunted for animals that overpopulated such as deer, buffalo, wolves and fish to prevent the extinction of other animals. Which is why all these types of animals still exists in our world today.

Blog 008 | Characteristics > Population Size

Give three examples of how individual characteristics influence population sizes.



01. Overproduction - If each breeding pair of elephants produces 6 offspring during a 90-year life span, in 750 years a single pair of elephants will have given rise to a population of 19 million.

02. Variation - Each individual has a unique combination of traits, such as, size, color and ability to tolerate harsh environments. Some traits improve the chances of an individual's survival and reproductive success whereas others do not.

03. Differential Reproductive Success - Those individuals that possess the most favorable combination of characteristics are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass their traits to the next generation.

Blog 007 | 4 Types of Competition

Describe the four types of competition and give an example of each.


Interspecies - A lion and a tiger hunting for deer.
Intraspecies - A group of pigeons pecking for bread on the ground.
Contest - Two fighting for the same worm.
Scramble - Ducks looking for fish in a pond.

Blog 006 | Food Chain Levels

Discuss the importance of eating lower on the food chain.



It is important to eat the lower levels of food on the food chain like the producers; such as fruits and vegetables because they are necessary to our health. Thus, it is not only good for our health, but it is also good for our environment because most producers are healthy to eat.