Lab Notebook: Sex and the Scientific Method
(6 pts)
Late Lab Notebooks will receive a 0
In-Lab Activities Applying the Scientific Method
Name: Muhannad Al Manji
Introduction
Welcome! Today you will have a chance to meet your lab instructor and lab team, and
review lab policies and procedures. Then you will design and execute an experiment.
Record data from that experiment and report the results to your classmates and
instructor. Finally, you will be assigned a reflection about this process. As a note: If you
have a latex allergy, please let your TA know. We will be working with condoms today,
most of which are made of latex.
Lab Instructor Information
Lab Instructor Name: Meredith Mill
Lab Instructor’s x500: mered085
Individual Information
Welcome to BIOL1003! Please answer a few questions about yourself so your TA can
get to know you a bit better!
1.
★
2.
★
3.
★
4.
What is your preferred name and preferred pronouns?
Mo. He/him/his
What year of college are you in?
Senior/4th year
Have you decided your major(s)/minor(s) yet? If so, what are they?
Economics major & management minor
How much experience do you have in a lab environment or a biology class? What
was the last biology class you took, if any, and when did you take it?
★ I last took a biology class in sophomore year of highschool
5. Post a photo of yourself to help me learn your name! If you’d rather not post your
own photo, it’s okay to paste a photo of something else you’d like me to associate
with you- your dog, your skateboard, your favorite type of pizza...
★
Academic Integrity Case Studies
We want you to understand what is and is not allowed in lab. For each case, is this
behavior acceptable? If it is not, what alternatives do you have to understand material
without cheating?
1. You talk to your lab partner about the prelab reading to make sure you
understand all of the concepts. acceptable
2. You are struggling to answer one of the questions on your reflection assignment.
You get the answer to the question from your friend who took the class last year,
and you reword it and post it to Canvas. Unacceptable. Go to OH for clarification
3. You use a dictionary or translator to look up the definitions of some words in your
assignment. acceptable.
4. You and your lab partner write your reflection together and you turn in the same
reflection. Unacceptable. Discuss the lab but we each write our own reflections
5. You and your friends take the Pre Lab Quiz together. Unacceptable. Do it
separately
6. You are confused about a question on the lab manual so you attend zoom tutor
hours to talk to a 1003 lab TA. acceptable
7. Your lab partner sends you her reflection and you re-write it in your own words.
Unacceptable.
8. You and your lab partner discuss ideas about what your experimental results
might mean. acceptable
9. You copy your friend’s pre-lab quiz answers. unacceptable
10. You find an answer to a reflection question in the lab manual or on an external
website. You copy this answer into your reflection. unacceptable
If you engage in academic dishonesty you will be reported to the office of community
standards. This office keeps records of students and if a pattern of academic
dishonesty is established, special disciplinary action will be taken. In addition to this,
academic dishonesty may result in the following, depending on the severity of the
incident:
● meeting with instructors to discuss the incident (always)
● receiving a zero on the assignment (always)
● receiving a grade reduction in the course (sometimes)
● receiving a failing grade in the course (sometimes)
Note that students failing a course because of academic dishonesty will not be allowed
to withdraw from the course in order to avoid receiving the F grade.
After you have had a chance to discuss these scenarios with your group and your lab
instructor, and when you are certain you understand what academic dishonesty is and is
not, type your full name and date below. This will serve as a proxy for your signature
that you understand these policies. If you have any doubts about what constitutes
academic dishonesty in this course, get clarification from your lab instructor before
signing.
Name: Muhannad Al Manji Date: 9/6/23
Condom Claims
Anybody shopping for condoms is inundated with various claims touting the supposed
benefits of different condom types — heightened sensitivity, reliable protection against
STIs, increased pleasure, pregnancy prevention, better fit, etc. Look at various condom
packages. What do the manufacturers say about their product? These claims are your
initial observations. You can derive questions and hypotheses from these observations.
Today in the lab, you’ll work with 3 of your lab-mates to design an experiment to test a
hypothesis about a condom claim. This experiment should be designed with the items
from your lab kit and items you will have available where you are. There may be some
interesting problems that you will have to think through. (This happens to scientists
too.)
Because we are testing condoms, your group will need access to condoms. There are
a supply of condoms along the back counter. There are also various tools and items that
you may use.
Be creative! Test something that interests you.
Answer the following questions and have your TA check your experimental design prior
to starting your experiment. Fill out your lab notebook as you work on creating and
running the experiment. The lab notebook will be due by the end of your lab day. Filling
out the Lab Notebook will help you finish your online reflection, which will be due next
week before the lab starts. For your online reflection, you’ll be asked about:
1. your question
2. your hypothesis
3. the procedure you expect to use
4. what data you predicted you would collect
5. the actual procedure used
6. the actual data you collected
7. an interpretation of your results
8. any obstacles you encountered and sources of potential error
Experimental Design
1. What question are you investigating?
Does the color of the condom have different stretch levels?
2. What is your hypothesis?
the different colors probably wouldn’t affect the length of a said condom.
Hence, they will have the same length
3. What is a data-specific prediction associated with your hypothesis? In other
words, what would data, in support of your hypothesis, look like?
The data will illustrate the stretch length of the condoms.
4. What is the independent variable?
The different color of condoms (red, blue and yellow)
5. What is the dependent variable?
The stretch length per 1 weight
6. Does your design include a control group? If so, what is it?
Yes, Trusted is the brand, and they are lubricated latex condoms. The
same weight type for each as well.
7. How many replications will you complete?
3 of each color
8. Is this an experiment or an observation?
experiment
9. What data will you collect?
The stretch length.
10. How will you know if you can support or reject your hypothesis?
Variation between the stretch length after few replications. If it’s the
same,then we can support it. If not, then we reject it
11. Give a brief description of the method you plan to use.
Adding a weight to the different colors of condoms and measure the
length. We repeat the method for consistency
Before you begin the experiment, have your TA sign off on your
experiment.
Carry out the Experiment and Share the results
Gather up your supplies and carry out your experiment. Then you will share what you
did and what you learned with your lab section!
1. What problems, if any, happened during your experiment?
Incorrect rolling of the condom in the first attempt of blue and yellow
2. Did you need to change your original experimental design? If so, how did it
change and why?
No.
Results
3. Your TA will guide you on how to share your results in graph form.
Conclusions
4. What do your results mean?
The results indicate that Red is the most consistent and by far the
strongest. The blue shape in the graph indicates the first attempt, and red
show the second attempt.
5. What possible sources of error could have affected your results?
Incorrect technique of condom rolling and insertion
6. Why are your results important to understand in the context of the real world?
Give an example.
This indicates that colors do indeed play a minor difference in the quality
of the condom, but doesn’t necessarily play a huge difference in selection.
Before you leave
❖ Clean up your space and return items used in the experiment.
❖ Be sure all your group has access to the results (the results are needed to do the
Lab Reflection) and that you know the names of your group members.
❖ Turn in your Lab Notebook online. Please try to do this during class so if there
are any problems or concerns your TA can help you out with this! Plus late Lab
Notebooks are 0 out of 6 points, so turning in the Lab Notebook before you leave
the lab helps keep you on track for earning lab points!
Reminders:
During and Post Lab Assignments (due either before leaving lab or before the
next lab)
❖ Lab Notebook (6 points) is due on Canvas today! Late Notebooks are 0 of 6
points so turn it in TODAY!
❖ Lab Reflection (10 points): Due time is set for this Sunday, but is due before your
next lab. Late Reflections are 1 point off per day.
Looking Ahead to Lab 2 Evolution and Natural Selection:
❖ Pre Lab Reading (Will help answer the Pre Lab Quiz questions.)
❖ Pre Lab Quiz (4 points): Due time is set for this Sunday, but is due before your
next lab.
❖ Lab Jigsaw (7 points): Due time is set for this Sunday, but is due before your next
lab. Your TA will assign you an article to read and you will have questions to
answer about the reading prior to the next lab.
Advice from a previous student:
“Start the semester out strong and get those points!”