Some fantastic jelly-fish answers

Do you think that the polyp form or the medusa form was the common stage in the cnidarian ancestor? Explain your answer.

-Ancestors must have come up with a plan where conditions were tough to avoid extinction- produce medusa
-Polyps come up with a very clever plan
-Scientifically it is more ethical to say the polyp stage is common to the ancestor cnidaria.

Compare and contrast the feeding behaviour of Hydra and Planaria.

-Hydra-hostile, Planaria-gracile
-Planaria are autotrophic
-Planaria embark on a journey for food.
-Planaria have a blood circulatory system.
-They have a blood transport system so that you can live on land.
-In conclusion the feeding behaviour has been compared and contrasted and a summary (in table form) has been made for convenience.
-The planarians outer layer is very choosy in allowing diffusion of gases.

Instead of having pluripotent cells, would it have been better for these phyla to have specialised cells or a blood transport system? Justify your answer (5 marks)

-Pluripotent cells might forget about producing sex cells
-The cells will able to focus in their function if they are for protection and wont have to sense as pluripotent cells would to know what’s wrong they just perform the function immediately after realising the problem,.

Perhaps worms are multidimensional beings...?

IT's the only explanation I can think of to account for worms occupying the eggs they hold inside them...!

Why are female round worms larger than males?


-I think it’s because the females contain A’s, so they can be able to produce a lot (female gametes have XX)
-Females need capacity to occupy the eggs they produce.
-Female roundworms carry the babies.

Beware, the SWAP!

Q: How are orchids pollinated?

A: Orchids are pollinated by beas and swaps.

Quote of the day

Priceless insight from Hobbes, my favourite stuff tiger.

"Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous."

Felt like this was appropriate for this collection of priceless ignorance.

Another late night marking gem

Question: How would you recognize a Trumpeter Hornbill?


Student answer: 'It is easy to recognize it because of its thick, black and horny bill'

The difference between male and female students

Today I noticed that all the female students in my class described the colour of an African Hoopoe as 'Cinnamon', all the male students on the other hand, simply called it 'Brown'.



I've always perceived cinnamon as more of a flavour and smell. I'm not quite sure its use as a colour will grow on me.

Photo credits:
Cinnamon - mydreamwedding.ca
Hoopoe - www.warwicktarboton.co.za

When tests go wrong

20% of my students misinterpreted the essay question on "Taxonomy as destiny" and wrote pages of crap about "Taxonomy as DENSITY".


*Slaps forehead in dispair*


There is only so much you can help them (the essay counted 60% of the test mark allocation too...)