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Relay Race Trivia:
Biology & Lab Basics
ETEAMS 2014
By: Kelly Correia & Kaitlyn Schroeder-Spain
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Introduction
 Discuss topics and information relevant to ecotoxicology project
and basic/general biology
 Expect this material to show-up in the trivia section of the relay
race!!
 Topics include:
Common glassware & use
Laboratory equipment & use
Anatomy: Male vs. Female Blue
Crabs
Basic Biology Review
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Volumetric Flask
Aka a measuring flask
Usually pear shaped
Used to obtain a precise & accurate
volume of a solution
Mixing: insert cap, secure with parafilm, and invert
Range of sizes, commonly 25 mL – 2 L
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Petri Dish
Also called a cell culture dish. Consists of a plate + lid
Commonly used in microbiology laboratories and
courses
Microbiological cultures can be grown in petri dishes of
differing sizes
Often have a thin layer of growth medium, ex: agar
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Beakers
Commonly used in laboratories for stirring, mixing and
heating liquids
Not used to measure precise volumes
Large range of sizes: milliliters to liters
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Graduated Cylinder
 20 mL
 Used to measure solution volume
 More accurate and precise method
of measurement than beakers
 Less accurate and precise than
volumetric glassware or volumetric
pipettes
 Meniscus: the curved upper
surface of a liquid in a tube.
Bottom of Meniscus is used for
measurements; should sit directly
on the mark
Pipettes
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Several types, but all used to measure relatively small amounts of
solutions and samples. Some are disposable, others only partly.
Disposable pipettes
-similar to “droppers”
-Plastic
- Often used only once
- For small samples &
crude measurements
Pasteur Pipette
-Blubs may be reused, or not
-Glass is disposable
-Crude, small measurements
Volumetric Pipette (+ bulb)
-Blubs reusable
-Glass disposable
-marked like graduate cylinder
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Micropipettes
 Non-disposable; provide the highest
degree of precision and accuracy
 Can be single-channel or multi-channel
 Pipette tips:
Are disposable
Can be sterile (usually boxed) or nonsterile (usually in a bag)
Come in a variety of sizes, depending on
pipette & volume of sample
Multichannel pipette
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Micropipette Use: Basics
Each brand is slightly different, but also similar
• Sample Volume: will determine the pipette and tip size used (Table 1)
• Change volume: turn plunger OR a separate knob; often you’ll hear a
clicking sound
• Eject tips: push eject button
• Pipetting session will provide actual training
Table 1. Example Pipette &Tip Sizes, Volumes
Pipette type
Volumes (μL)
Tip color
P10
0.5 – 10
white
P20
2 – 20
yellow
P200
20 – 200
yellow
P1000
200 – 1000
blue
How
To
Read
a
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Micropipette
1. Confirm range: labeled on plunger & often one side
• Range will determine decimal places, do not rely
on colors for determination
• Note: knobs turn beyond their range, and can
break
P1000
Panel P1000
View Values
1
1000’s
0
0
100’s
10’s
= 1000 µL
(1 mL)
P200
Panel
View
2
0
0
P200
Values
100’s
P20
Panel
View
2
P20
Values
10’s
10’s
1’s
0
0
1’s
decimal
= 200 µL
(0.2 mL)
= 20 µL
(0.020 mL)
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How To Read a Micropipette, Example # 2
P1000
Panel P1000
View Values
0
1000’s
5
0
100’s
10’s
= ____ µL
(0.5 mL)
P200
Panel
View
1
8
5
P200
Values
100’s
P20
Panel
View
1
P20
Values
10’s
10’s
1’s
5
2
1’s
decimal
= ____ µL
(0.185 mL)
= ____ µL
(0.0152 mL)
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Conversions (self study/Reference)
• Expect to convert between different volumes of solutions
• Practice and review will be covered during pipetting and graduated
cylinder sessions
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Stir Bar & Stir Plates
• Both are used to mix a solution
thoroughly
• Help avoid and/or assist manual stirring
• Stir bars are magnetic, plastic and
reusable; come in a variety of sizes and
shapes
• Stir plate is also magnetic, to move stir
bar
• Stir bar is gently dropped into a solution
and placed on stir plate; plates have
several speeds
• Use a Stir Bar Stick or Retriever to
remove stir bar from solution (also
magnetic)
Stir bars (above)
Stir Bar Stick/Retriever
(right)
Stir plates
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Hot Plate & Stirrer/Hot Plate Combo
Hot Plate (alone)
• Used to heat a solution, often to assist
with mixing (increase solubility)
• Turn dial to change heat level
Stirrer/Hot Plate (combo)
• Used to mix AND heat a solutions,
• Turn separate dials to change heat level
and stirring speed
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Centrifuges
• Used to separate samples by weight, size
• Can be “micro” (table top) or very large
• As rotor spins heavier particles separate
on bottom of centrifuge tube
• Produces a supernatant & a pellet, which
can be separated, re-suspended (pellet),
and spun at higher speeds if necessary
• Centrifuge speed varies with size of
centrifuge rotor and can vary with overall size
• Desired molecules, enzymes, etc. will
determine speed necessary for separation
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Seawater & Salinity
 Salinity “units”
 Oceanic World avg. 35.5 PSU
 PSU = practical salinity scale
 Estimate of ionic content
 1 PSU = 1 g/kg
 Old method: expressed as %, or ppt (parts
per trillion). Known as Knudsen salinities.
 Laguna Madre = unique! Hypersaline
Lagoon
 Blue crab tanks are kept at 18-20 PSU
 Measure salinity using the refractometer
 What salinity is the image showing on the
left?
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Crab Sex Identification
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•
•
Abdominal apron, or flap, is shaped differently for ♀ & ♂
• ♀: upside down “U” = mature; upside down “v” immature
• ♂: pillar shape, & slender entire life cycle
Claws different colors
• Immature ♀,♂: claws appear greenish/white, with hot pink dots
• Mature ♀: claws are bright orange / red
• Immature ♂: claws are blue, sometimes greenish-blue
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Female Blue Crabs (FYI)
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Abdominal apron, or flap, is used to carry eggs
Plant VS Animal Cell (Major Differences)
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 Animal cells: no cell wall; can have flagella, cilia & lysosomes
 Plants: cell wall, chloroplasts
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DNA Structure
• Genetic information for all
living things
• Humans have 46
chromosomes, or 23
pairs
• 1 pair sex
chromosomes
• 22 pairs = autosomes
• Meiosis
• 24,000 genes ( = 2%
of entire DNA)
• 95 % identical to
chimpanzee
• ~ 50 % identical to
bananas
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RNA Structure
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5 Kingdoms of all living things
Monera (includes Eubacteria and Archeobacteria)
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
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Stages of Mitosis (IPMAT)
*Be able to put images of Mitosis in order for relay race
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Structure of a water molecule
• Be able to draw or create a water molecule, including charges and bonds
• Water = 2 Hydrogen atoms covalently bonded with Oxygen
• Water is bipolar because:
• electronegativity of Oxygen + electropositivity of 2 Hydrogen atoms
• Bonds between water molecules = hydrogen bonds
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1. Carl Linnaeus
2. Charles Darwin
3. Louis Pasteur
4. Gregor Mendel
5. Watson and Crick (+Franklin)
6. Rachel Carson
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Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778)
 “father of biological systematics and
nomenclature”
 He invented the modern classification
system of living organisms
 Binomial nomenclature
 e.g., blue crabs = Callinectes sapidus
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Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)
Naturalist and Geologist
Voyage of the Beagle (1831 – 1836)
Origin of Species (1859)
Theory of Evolution
all species of life have descended over time from
common ancestors
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Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
 Chemists and microbiologist
 Created first vaccinations for rabies and anthrax
 Primary founder of microbiology (along with Cohn & Koch)
 Proved that most infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms
 Known as the germ theory of disease
 Developed pasteurization process
Prevent milk and wine from becoming contaminated with
bacteria
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Gregor Mendel (1822 – 1884)
Most known for his famous hereditary
experiments with pea plants (1856-1853)
Mendelian Laws of Inheritance, work with
peas and flowers; studied phenotypes of
several generations
Discovered the basics of Genetics by
crossing/mating peas with different physical
traits
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James Watson (1928 - ) and Francis Crick
(1916-2004) + Rosalind Franklin (1920 -1958)
 Watson (left) & Crick (Right) worked at
Cambridge University
Discovered & published DNA structure (1953)
Attended Franklin’s lecture
 Rosalind, with others (Wilkins), worked at
King’s College
She studied x-ray diffraction of DNA, helped
ID phosphate “bone” and helix structure
1962: Watson, Crick, and Wilkins won the
Nobel Prize for physiology/medicine
Franklin died in 1958; no posthumous prizes
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Rachel Carson (1907-1964)
 Author, Silent Spring (1963) and
several other books
 Focused on effects of DDT and other
pesticides
 One of the most influential people of
the 20th century
 Famous for advancing the global
environmental movement