• Lab Information

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    Welcome to BI 115 Organismal Biology Lab! 

    All handouts and assignments associated with the lab portion of BI 115 will be available on this Moodle page (we will not have a separate lab manual). See links to the left for materials for each week of lab.

    Each week, the material is organized into the following (possible) sections:
    Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)
    Practicum (complete DURING lab)

    Be sure to scroll through each section to preview content before your lab and prepare for the week's activities.

    Lab Instructor:
    Dr. Jason L. Heaton
    Email: jheaton@bsc.edu
    Phone: 205-226-7816
    Office: SSC 244

    Lab Teaching Assistant:
    Lily Williamson (ltwilli1@bsc.edu) 

    Required Textbooks: 

    A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology, 6th edition by Karin Knisely


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      Lab Schedule

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      Our schedule of activities, assignments, and due dates for lab is available here. (The enclosed is a draft and subject to change. Check Moodle for the most updated information.)

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      Announcements

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      Biology 115 Lab Practical and Final Exam Review Guide

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  • Week 1

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    You are responsible for coming prepared for lab. Complete the readings and pre-lab lectures BEFORE your lab begins.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      At a glance:

      1) Read in Writing in Biology (by Knisely) The Scientific Method pp. 1-8.
      2) Review the lab policies and sign electronic form.
      3) Read the (brief) synopsis about Duckweed. 

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      BI 115 Lab Policies

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      We must work together to maintain a safe laboratory environment. Please review the enclosed policies to learn about our safety guidelines and our grading policies for lab.

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      BI 115 Lab Policies Agreement

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      Please follow this link to the form you can "sign" agreeing to follow lab policies.

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      Introduction to Model Organism: Duckweed

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      We will use the common duckweed, Lemna minor, as our model organism for this course. 
      The enclosed article supplements our lecture discussion.

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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      At a glance:
      1) Welcome to Lab!
      2) Discussion of the Scientific Method and how to use tools for observation.
      3) Introduction to Pondwater Ecosystems and Duckweed
      4) Setup first experiment with duckweed
      5) Using microscopes (time permitting)

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      Introduction to the Scientific Method

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      Read Chapter 1 - The Scientific Method from Knisely (pp 1-8). Additionally, review the enclosed file for a summary of the key steps in the scientific method. 

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      Pondwater and Duckweed Lab Lecture

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  • Week 2

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete first)

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      Scientific Literature: Searching

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      Review the enclosed file in preparation for your search for scientific articles. Record responses to the questions in your lab notebook and bring them to lab.

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      Practicum

      We will provide images/data of your duckweed growth trial. Please record the data in your lab notebook. Below are resources for how to search the scientific literature and a method for completing an annotated bibliography.

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      Annotated Bibliography Template for Research Articles

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      The enclosed file provides a template of the key information you should record from the papers that you read. Be sure to use your own words to rephrase the information. Do not copy and paste content from the paper.

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      Bouchard and Bjorndal 2006 Duckweed as diet for turtles

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      Homework (complete AFTER lab)

      Find a scientific paper about duckweed, complete an annotated bibliography of the article, and remember to count your duckweed thalli.

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      HW Lab 2 - Find and Annotate a Paper

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      Use your database search skills to find a peer-reviewed, primary article relevant to our model organism. Download the full text article from your search, and upload a pdf of the article as part of your homework. Name the file with the first author's last name and year of publication.

      Complete the Annotated Bibliography Template for the article. Remember to use your own words and DO NOT copy phrases from the paper. Use the Name-Year System to provide the full citation of the article at the end of your annotation (see Table 4.2 on p. 64 in Knisely for formatting instructions).

      Upload the completed Word file (Lastname_Firstname_HWLab2) with the copy of the paper you read before your lab next week.

      Be prepared to provide a brief summary of your paper for the lab next week.

  • Week 3

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    Now that you have collected some data, let's organize it in Excel and start to look for trends. We will consider hypotheses to explore and design your experiments.
    You are responsible for coming prepared for lab. Complete the readings and pre-lab lectures BEFORE your lab begins. Instructions for the Practicum and Homework submission links are also listed below.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      Please read in Writing in Biology by Knisely about descriptive statistics (pp. 117-121) and making a line graph (pp. 268-280) and view the video(s) below for step-by-step instructions.

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      Descriptive Statistics Explained

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      Hypotheses and Predictions

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      Review the enclosed file before lab and be prepared to discuss with a partner your responses to the assignment enclosed.

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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      We will collect the Day 14 data from your duckweed growth trial and will begin entering data in Excel. Please bring your lab notebook for recording your data in the lab. 

      Bring your laptop to lab this week. We will discuss any questions about using Excel to enter data and make figures.

      Additionally, we will discuss the paper you found. Be prepared to share the problem studied, the key experimental methods, and the findings from the work. We will discuss hypothesis development and plan your experiments.

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      Plant Nutrient Solution

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      Please review the material on the nutrient composition of the growth medium for our duckweed. You may wish to consider how to modify the medium to maximize growth.

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      Duckweed Experiment Design and Data Sheet

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      Homework (complete AFTER lab)

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      HW Lab 3 Hypothesis and Experiment Design

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      Please complete the Duckweed Experiment Design and Data form enclosed or located above in Practicum. Please include a list of materials needed for the experiment (i.e., number of cups, treatment types, solutions, equipment, etc.) and upload your completed Word file using the following naming convention: Lastname_Firstname_HWLab3. 

      To ensure we have the materials you need, please submit your design form by Thursday at 11:59 pm. 

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      Duckweed Data for Tuesday 8 am Lab (Spring 2022)

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  • Week 4

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    Now that you have a testable hypothesis and experiment design, let's set up the experiment! We will also discuss keys to communicating your science and constructing a Materials and Methods section. 

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      This week in lab, we will be discussing how to write the Materials and Methods section of science papers/posters.

      Before lab, read pages 85-88 and 213-215 in your Knisley (Writing in Biology) text.

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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      You will set up your experiment, collect data for Day 0, and we will discuss your first draft of the lab report: the Materials and Methods section. We will be busy!

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      Lab 4 Poster Workshop I Materials and Methods

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    • Assignment

      Draft of Materials and Methods

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      Complete a formal draft of your materials and methods section following the guidelines discussed in class and the Knisely resource (pp. 85-88).  Your draft is due before lab next week. Please save your file as a Word document with the following file name convention: Lastname_Firstname_MMDraft

  • Week 5

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    Please review the files below prior to lab. Don't forget your Materials and Methods Draft is due this week.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      Please review the handout on Introduction to the Microscope, complete the Microscope Tutorial with a virtual microscope, and review the lecture (about 13 min) on Plant Tissues (Plant Histology). Don't forget to take a look at the handouts listed under the Practicum.

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      Microscope Tutorial

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      Complete the Microscope Tutorial at the Virtual Urchin Website. Be sure to identify all the structures listed on your Intro the Microscopes Handout while in the tutorial (see Pre-Lab materials).

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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      We will continue collecting data from our duckweed experiments. We will also study plant tissues and plant diversity.

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      Exploring Plant Diversity

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      Please view the live specimens in lab and determine to which phylum these specimens belong for your first HW this week.

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      Seed Plant Structure and Function

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      Review the enclosed information that parallels content from lecture. Put your knowledge of Plant Structure and Function to work in this lab.

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      Plant Histology Study Template

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      The enclosed template provides some organization to help you as you sketch the slides. Be sure to fill in the relevant content for each slide to help you study.

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      Plant Histology - Slides

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      If you were not able to complete your examination of slides in lab, please use these images to complete your sketches.

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    Please review the files below prior to lab and complete the poster workshop activity. We will collect the last of the data and clean up the experiment. We will also discuss analyzing your data and statistics. We will discuss how to construct your second report draft that will include the Results.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      Review your textbook for how to write the Results section (Knisely pp. 889-107 & 214-215).
      Be sure to review the materials under Practicum prior to lab.

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      Analyzing Data and Statistics

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      How do we know if our experiment conditions affected the measured outcome? What if it just happened randomly? This handout will discuss some principles of statistics. Review the handout before viewing the video.
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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      You will collect data for Day 14, clean up your experiment, and begin drafting your Results section. We will also discuss hypothesis testing for your statistical analyses.

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      Draft of Results

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      Complete a formal draft of your results section following the guidelines we discussed in lab and Knisely pp. 89-107.  Submit your draft by midnight on the Tuesday after spring break.  

  • Week 8

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    We will complete an Animal Diversity activity this week. Be prepared to discuss the features of an Introduction section and a Conclusions section for your draft.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      In addition to exploring animal diversity, we will discuss writing the Introduction draft section. Please bring your laptop or other writing resources to lab this week.

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      Lab 8 - Dichotomous Key to Plant and Animal Diversity

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      This file will provide some tips for discerning the phylogenetic grouping of plant and animal specimens we see in lab.

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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      We will discuss writing your Introduction, Conclusions, and Future Directions for your poster and how to begin constructing the poster draft. We will also explore animal diversity.

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      Poster Template

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      Use the enclosed template as a guide and the information from Knisely pp. 207-216 to begin your poster drafts. We will examine them in lab next week (see submission link on Week 9 lab).

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      Exploring Animal Diversity

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      Please review the background information before lab. We will complete the activity during the practicum.

  • Week 9

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    Submit a draft of your Poster at least 2 hrs prior to your lab start for Peer Review in lab. (See the link under Pre-Lab Material.)
    We will also investigate animal tissues this week. Be sure to review the recorded lecture(s) before lab.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      We will use peer review to evaluate the state of our posters, and we will discuss what should be included in an abstract. We will also review animal tissues. You can prepare by viewing the recorded lectures on histology basics and examples of tissues we will see in lab.

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      Poster Peer Review Guidelines

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      Take a look at the guidelines for completing a poster peer review. Keep these in mind as you construct your drafts.

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      Lab 9 - Mammalian Tissues

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      The enclose PPT file accompanies the lecture recording on Mammalian Tissue Basics.

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      Lab 9 - Poster Draft for Peer Review

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      Please upload your Poster Drafts at least 2 hrs prior to your lab start (so we can print them and bring them to lab) and upload your completed PPT file (or pdf) using the following naming convention: Lastname_Firstname_Lab9.


  • Week 10

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    During Week 10 and 11, we will dissect different organisms to compare organ systems. You will work with a partner to dissect the four animals and identify the main organ systems. Review the videos BEFORE lab. Be prepared for a quiz concerning the basic functions of the main organ systems.

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      Pre-Lab Material (complete BEFORE lab)

      Please review the dissection videos below to familiarize yourself with the animals and the procedures. Don't forget to complete the Quiz.

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      Practicum (complete DURING lab)

      We will examine the organ systems of a grasshopper and frog.

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      Lab 10 - Comparative Dissection - Structures

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      Lab 10 - Comparative Dissection Guide

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  • Week 12

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    Please submit your final poster version at the link below by the stated deadline.

    • Assignment

      Final Poster

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      Please submit your final, revised poster, here. Be sure to incorporate all the feedback from the instructor and consider the comments of your peer review.


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