Fall Line Cities (Lab 5)

The city of Macon is located along the geographical feature known as the fall line, the upper region of the Piedmont meets the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Rivers that cross this line are especially prominent since they usually have rapids and waterfalls. Because of this, sites along the rivers on these fall lines have long been sought after by civilizations because these features can mark the head of navigation and a good source of water power. Macon is one such city that has been colonized throughout the years by the Native Americans, and early settlers and colonists searching for a place to set down roots. The earliest settlers valued this area for its location on the river which supplied water and the fish and game that was readily available around it. Later, the area was sought after by settlers for the easy access to trade and travel that the river supplied.

The Twelve Soil Orders (Lab 4)

These are the 12 soil orders of the world. Follow the hyperlinks to learn about each one. Or this link to the whole website http://soils.cals.uidaho.edu/soilorders/orders.htm.
 
Gelisols
Histosols
Spodosols
Andisols
Oxisols
Vertisols
Aridisols
Ultisols
Mollisols
Alfisols
Inceptisols
Entisols

Blood Glucose Graph (Lab 3)

Dr. Rood's blood sugar reaction to the consumption of a candy bar

The biological device that allows us to regulate or blood glucose (even after sending it through the roof by eating a candy bar) is the body's homeostatic mechanism. This mechanism keeps blood glucose levels within a narrow range and is composed of several interacting systems, of which hormone regulation is the most important. There are two types of metabolic hormones that affect blood glucose levels: catabolic (which increase blood glucose) and anabolic (which decrease blood glucose levels).

Negative Feedback Loop
A negative feedback loop occurs when the output of a system acts to oppose changes to the input of the system, with the result that the changes are attenuated. When the overall feedback of the system is negative then the system will tend to be stable. Here is a graph describing what happens when the body regulates its blood glucose and how that mechanism is a negative feedback loop.