Blog Assignment #2 Entering the Lair of the Beast by Brian Tran

• What did you choose to observe? Why did you choose to observe this.

For this blog post, the specimen that I observed was my sister, Brianna Tran. I chose to observe this organism because her room is next to mine and I wanted to leave her in suspense until the end to see how she would react.

• How long did you choose to observe your organism.

I observed her for about 20 minutes. I went over 15 minutes because she got up and started walking around near the end so I followed the organism on the move.

• Describe your observation and note at least 3 specific things that you observed.

Well the first observation was the most obvious. She had a face mask on. After examining the waste receptacle, I determined that it was of the Argan oil variety. She doesn’t have these things on every day, so to catch her doing an activity out of her normal routine was very lucky. This organism was also watching Breaking Bad on her laptop. Now that activity is more commonly seen on a day to day basis. I also observed that she was prepped for bed pretty early. Usually she doesn’t enter her sleeping ritual until a few hours after this. An exciting day in her life, I’m sure. Near the end, she got up from and left her habitat; a move that was almost undocumented had I left a few minutes earlier. To my surprise, she had left her comfy terrain to skin and devour a tangerine.

• Are there any abiotic factors that influenced your observation? If so, what are they.

Yes, the blanket she was wrapped up in was restraining her from fully hiding her face. I used this to my advantage. Her room was pretty warm because she had the heater running and it was on a rotation at my observation point so I got a little too toasty and it was pretty uncomfortable.

• Would you change anything about your mode of observation the next time you do it?

I might turn off the heater. I didn’t this time because I was afraid that I would anger the beast. In hindsight, I realize that I can run faster than it can and escaping would be an easy feat.

• Write at least 3 scientific questions based on your observation.

1. Does the mood of this specimen effect what television shows it watches before bed?
2. What factors play a role in this organism’s sleep prep time? It was pretty early this time, but is it possible to artificially postpone this process?
3. Why did this organism decide to put on a face mask today?

• Write 1 hypothesis based on the questions above.

This organism decides to enjoy the relaxation of a face mask whenever it has had a stressful day and tries to sleep early when it has to wake up early the next day.