Rana's Surviving Winter in the Dust Bowl Argument

Rana Srouji

Mr. Hammer

AP Biology

4 May 2015

Dust Bowl Argumentation

Over the past years, Oklahoma has been in a devastating state for farming.  We received less than ten inches of rain and the crops did not grow well at all.  Out of what my family has planted we were only able to conserve five hundred bushels of wheat for the winter and five hundred gallons of potable water.  The next time that we will be able to harvest is in June.  Thus, in order to survive this eight month winter in the dust bowl, my family and I must eat our bull, keep the cow alive, feed it, drink the milk, and then eat the rest of the wheat.  The bull would be the first to be eaten for obvious reasons.  According to Table 1, it would consume 46,000 calories a day, and take about 45 gallons of water per day.  Keeping the bull alive would only reduce the chances of survival for my family and I because the bull would consume all of the food and water that we have within a short period of time.  Also, eating the bull would provide us with plenty of protein and fat to keep us healthy and would allow us to reserve the limited amount of wheat that we have for when we run out of meat.  However, the bull meat does not provide any carbohydrates, but since we are keeping the cow alive, we would milk the cow and use the milk to receive the carbs necessary to live.  This will be fine considering the cow produces about 6 gallons of milk per day which is more than necessary for the daily serving size.  However, since only 41% of the bull’s total weight is actually consumable, this means that of the 1200 pounds that it may weigh, we could only eat about 708 pounds and each pound is considered a serving size.  Also, considering that we have about 240 days in this winter, this is not sufficient enough to provide the correct dietary needs to each family member daily.  Thus, once we run out of bull, we could resort to consuming the wheat.  The five hundred bushels of wheat is meant to last eight months to feed the family and the cow, which means it must be conserved and neither the cow nor the family will be able to get their usual servings from it.  This also goes for the water intake, there is only five hundred gallons of water for both the cow and the family to drink from, thus the cow would have to get less than its usual servings from the water as well but the family would get their usual servings of water because humans cannot survive more than three to five days without the potable water.  The cow consumes about fifty gallons of water a day, but it would only get a portion of that amount because if it received fifty gallons, then the cow alone would receive water for only ten days and there would be no water for the family.  Overall, my family would only be able to survive this eight month winter by eating the bull, keeping the cow alive, feeding the cow, drinking the milk, and eating the wheat, until June for the next harvest.  

Surviving Winter in the Dust Bowl Argument

Joshua Everett
Mr. Hammer
AP Biology
May, 4 2015

Surviving Winter in the Dust Bowl 

In the 1930’s, there were many states that suffered through the era of the “Dust Bowl”. Many often suffered from the inevitable droughts, high temperatures, and high winds. In October of 1934, I was forced to survive the winter with the limited resources the Dust Bowl put on my farm. In order to survive the time period from October until June, when the next harvesting season is, I have decided to eat my bull and keep the female cow alive only to starve it out later. I would drink the cow’s milk but once milk production ceases I would proceed to eat the wheat from the previous harvest.

I would kill the bull in order to conserve on the resources that I have. The bull consumes the most amount of calories a day when compared to myself and the female cow. The bull would need to consume 45 gallons of water a day in order to be healthy which is not ideal when I need to drink water in order to survive as well. If the bull was to consume 45 gallons of water a day, my 500 hundred gallons of water that I have in total, would be gone in approximately 11 days. That would mean during those 11 days I would not be able to have any water which means I would die within the first 3-5 days. The bull would be most useful as food since it weighs the most and would have the most consumable meat. Only 41% of the cow’s weight is consumable and since the bull weighs 1,200 pounds, there would be approximately 1,260 grams of meat to eat a day. This still does not reach the amount of calories a male human should consume a day. The bull meat is a great source in protein and fat but lacks carbohydrates.

Good sources of carbohydrates include wheat and milk. The purpose of keeping the cow alive would be to continue the process of milk production. A lactating cow produces 6 gallons of milk a day which is equivalent to 21,965 grams a day. By continuing milk production, I would expect to obtain the minimal amount of milk needed to replenish the nutrients I am not receiving from the bull meat. In order to keep this female cow alive, I would have to feed it water and food. The recommended amount of water intake for a lactating female cow is 50 gallons a day. Again, this is too much water for the cow and I to survive. If I wanted to keep the cow and I alive I would have to cut the cows amount of water significantly and cause the cow to be unhealthy and unable to produce the milk needed in order for me to survive until June. I would instead collect as much milk as I can from the cow before it dies, and ration the milk over the rest of the time until June. It makes more sense to kill the cow because it would provide additional cow meat that could be consumed as well.

With the cow meat and the milk, I would have good sources of proteins and fat but limited sources of carbohydrates. In order to make sure I receive the correct amount of carbohydrates, I would eat the wheat. Wheat is the only resource that contains the most carbs. I have 500 bushels of wheat from the previous harvest which is equivalent to 53,364 grams of wheat a day. This huge number is more than enough to survive the Dust Bowl and to replenish the missing carbohydrates.

Without the cows having to worry about giving them water, I would be able to drink 2 gallons of water a day. The minimum humans need to drink is 0.4 gallons of water. I would only drink this amount because I would want to conserve as much water as I can because even though the harvest of food will be coming in June, I do not know when the next rainfall would come. I want to be prepared as possible just in case rainfall does not come until a later date. With the extra wheat and meat, I would also save those just in case the harvest is not as productive. I would always want to be prepared for the worst so I have better survival chances in the future. If I were to follow this plan of action, I should be able to survive the winter with little to no problems at all.

Sara's Survival Tactic in the Dust Bowl

Sara Bearden

May 3, 2015

Surviving The Winter in the Dust Bowl Argumentation

The time period in which I have to survive off limited resources is from October to June which, is 8 months and about 240 days. In order to survive the winter during the Dust Bowl I would eat my bull, but keep my cow alive in order to drink it’s milk and eat the wheat.  This will help me keep my resources around long enough until the rain comes again so the crops I planted grow.  By killing the bull helps me save my resources in food and water because according to table one the bull consumes the most calories per day.  They require the most amount of water and food so by killing it I am able to save more of my resources to survive.  Also the bull is good for getting protein and fat into my diet during the winter so I am able to stay fairly healthy during this time because I will be getting some of the required nutrients.  According to table one a lactating cow produces about 6 gallons of milk per day. That means that I would get 96 cups of milk to drink, which could last me 32 days if I drank cups of milk a day.  The milk my cow produces in one day will be able to last me a month so within two weeks I will be able to have enough milk that will last me until June. This means that I will have something to drink that will also give me my fat intake, carbohydrates intake, and protein intake for my dietary needs.  Also it allows me to give more water to the cow so it is able to survive for a longer period of time.  Though the cow requires 50 gallons of water a day I would have to give it less because if I gave it the recommended amount the water would only last me 10 days which is not good.  I figured out that I have 8 months until June to keep these resources around and if one is gone by day 10 then the others won’t last much longer and I won’t survive through the winter.  I calculated that I have 3,764.88 grams of wheat to live off of for about 240 days and that means I am able to eat about 15 grams of wheat a day and survive.  Now I would have to cut that by two-thirds because most of the wheat would have to go to the cow in order for it to survive so, I would be able to get 5 grams of wheat a day and still survive and the cow would be able to get 10 grams of wheat.  However, I would not eat wheat everyday because my cow does require more in order to be able to produce milk for me to drink.  The days I do not eat the wheat I would eat the meat of the bull that I killed and that has to be proportioned for each day since only 41% of its total weight is consumable, according to table 2. By doing all of this I will be able to survive the Dust Bowl with little trouble.

Excretion by Nida and Jube

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rv2rIZQ1xDg6127ZbOPTAHkGJY8PGKJzjgNMiwDzlkY/pub

Digestive System by Josh, Chigozie, and Jazmean

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11nvvL5YuyyZ7B93ic5G4SIQDxy7jL1TPDcZ9oQGkvSY/pub

Gas Exchange by Rana and Rameia

Circulatory System by Sara and Daphne

Circulatory System

General:

• Circulation is the process of materials moving around the body internally.  Materials like glucose or oxygen must be absorbed and expelled in order to be moved from one location in the organism to another.
• Circulation depends on other life processes in order to function.  For instance, it depends on gas exchange in order for hemoglobin to transport oxygen to the cell and for carbon dioxide to be transport to the lungs to be exhaled out. Circulation depends on the absorption of nutrients because once they enter the cell circulation takes over and transports the nutrients like glucose to the cells that need it.  Circulation doesn’t just get molecules to the cells; it can also take them away.  It relates to excretion because circulation transports the molecules to the kidneys in order to be expelled from the body. Without circulation there would be no way for the waste to exit the organism.
• In unicellular organisms, circulation acts as a method of nutrient reception.  Unicellular organisms do not require a circulatory system, per se, because their body layouts are so simple.
• Cnidarians (sea anemone) utilize circulation in order to diffuse nutrients and wastes in and out of the system. This can be done by exchanging material across the body surface. Nutrient and waste exchange happens in the central cavity of the sea anemone, where digestion occurs.
• In plants, phloem accomplishes the same objective as the circulatory system in animals. In a leaf cell, for example, sucrose and water enter into the phloem and pressure flow causes the nutrients to move around the cells of the leaf. Pressure flow occurs when phloem sap moves up the structure of the leaf exerting pressure and pushing other nutrients along with it.

Adaptations:

• Circulatory systems are necessarily required for all organisms because their body plans are simple enough or have enough surface area where molecules can be transported quickly.
• There are open systems where the circulatory fluid surrounds the tissue directly for exchange.  There is less energy used for exchanges of materials with this type of system and it also helps with serving other functions.  For example, spiders use the hydrostatic pressure that’s generated to extend their legs.
• There are closed systems where the circulatory fluid never leaves the vessels and exchange is done with small vessels that allow for diffusion of materials.  There’s higher blood pressure with this system which enables the transportation of oxygen and other nutrients in larger more active organisms. It also helps regulate the amount of blood in different parts of the organism’s body. For example, fish have a closed system to and pump blood to the gills to get it reoxygenated.  

Mammals:

• Blood:
• liquid tissue
• It has a plasma that is made up of water, ions, proteins, nutrients, and waste
• The ions and proteins dissolved in the plasma and the blood cells together function in osmotic regulation, transport, and defense.
• The dissolved salts in the plasma help maintain the osmotic balance and ions buffer the blood
• 3 cell types
• Erythrocytes (red blood cells)- carry oxygen
• Leukocytes (white blood cells)- defense against infection
• Platelets- involved with blood clotting
• Lungs
• There are branching ducts that bring the oxygen to the lungs.
• Body Tissue
• Oxygen and nutrients can diffuse in and out of the capillaries to exchange those materials with interstitial fluid. Fluid is pulled out of capillaries by blood pressure and blood proteins pulls the fluid back in.
• Relation to Other Body System
• Respiratory System - supply the body with oxygen. In mammals, this oxygen must be transported through the body, which is the job of the circulatory system. A lack of oxygen received by the respiratory system causes blood to be improperly flowing in the blood, causing the body to weaken.
• Digestive System - converts sugars from food for transport through the circulatory system. If the digestive system were malfunctioning, the sugars could not power blood cells for transport.
• Feedback Mechanism - homeostasis. The circulatory system allows for body temperatures to remain constant. When body temperature becomes too high, blood vessels dilate and temperature decreases. When body temperatures are too low, blood vessels in skin construct, reducing heat loss. Both of these are examples of negative feedback.
• Circulatory “Diseases”
• Atherosclerosis
• The cause of this is from a buildup of a plaque of cells and cholesterol in the blood vessels, this could lead to a heart attack.
• There are no symptoms until a more serious complications, but they can be visualized by X-rays.
• Treatment is medication, diet modification, and lifestyle modification.
• Angina pectoris
• Chest pain which is often accompanied by shortness of breath, fatigue and nausea.
• Typically caused by a lack of blood to the heart muscle, and the heart pains are associated with a greater demand for it.
• Nitroglycerin tablets are often taken to relieve the pain by increasing blood flow to the heart muscle.
• Heart Murmurs
• This isn't a disease but can indicate a heart problem and murmurs can be present at birth or later in life.
• An abnormal one won’t show symptoms. However shortness of breath, enlarged liver, chronic cough, and fainting could indicate a heart problem.
• Innocent heart murmurs occur when blood flows through the heart more rapid than normal and abnormal heart murmurs are often due to acquired heart valve problems and occur more in people with structural heart issues.
• Medication will depend on your heart problem and this includes medicine to prevent blood clots or beta blockers, but innocent murmurs don’t have treatments but the doctor may monitor it.