Name ____________________________
Date ______________ Period _____ Lab 3-3
Biology
Lab Activity 3-3
Wherever you find water, you will probably find one-celled organisms called
Protists. Although Protists are unicellular, they each perform the same life functions as
multicellular plants and animals. Protists eat food to obtain energy, exchange gases, get
rid of wastes, respond to their environment, and reproduce. Very few of the earth’s
Protists are human pathogens; however, any knowledge obtained about an organism
assists us to better understand the workings of the entire living world. In this
investigation, you will compare the structure, behavior, and methods of movement of
representatives of different Protist phyla.
Research Question
How are Protists classified?
Protocol
Read through this protocol and make a flowchart of the lab. Have your flowchart checked
before doing any portion of the lab.
A
ctivity 1 Drawings and Prepared Slides of Protists
Part 1 ) In this part you will familiarize yourself with the structure of several
Protists.
1) Locate drawings of paramecium, euglena, amoeba, and didinium in a textbook or
on the internet. Be sure to label each of your drawings with the source (complete
citation) of the drawing and the scale.
2) Label 5 structures on each drawing.
Answer Stop question #1 before continuing
Part 2) In this part you will be looking at prepared slides of Protists.
3) Prepared slides of Paramecium, Amoeba, and Euglena are at the front of the room
4) Using the low-power objective of your microscope, locate individuals of each
species. Move the slide so one of the organisms is in the center of the field.
Switch to the medium-power objective. Then switch to high power.
5) Draw each of the Protists under the magnification that shows an entire Protist. Be
sure to label with name of Protist and magnification.
Answer Stop question #2 before continuing
Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010
Greg Ballog
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Name ____________________________
A
Date ______________ Period _____ Lab 3-3
ctivity 2 Living Protists
Part 3) In this part you will be looking at natural communities of protists,
multicellular animals, and aquatic plants.
6) Obtain a sample of pond water to observe. The water around plant stems and from
the bottom is the most active.
7) Place one drop of the sample on a slide and cover it with a coverslip.
8) Observe the slide under the microscope using both low- and medium-power
objectives. Identify protists by type of locomotion. NOTE: Protists will not be the
only organisms you will see. You will also find bacteria, algae, larval stages of
insects, and invertebrates. Strands of cotton may be used to act as fences if some
of the organisms present are moving too rapidly for observation.
9) Make three drawings of different organisms you find in the pond water. Label
with type of locomotion and magnification (X40, X100, or X400). If it is
multicellular you will have to ask your instructor for help to identify the phylum
10) Clean up
Answer Stop questions #3-4 before continuing
Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010
Greg Ballog
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Name ____________________________
Date ______________ Period _____ Lab 3-3
Flow Chart
Lab 3-3 Protists
Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010
Greg Ballog
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Name ____________________________
Date ______________ Period _____ Lab 3-3
Data
Drawings of Protists –Part 1
Paramecium – Scale ______
Citation
_______________________
Didinium – Scale ______
Citation
_______________________
Euglena – Scale ______
Citation
_______________________
Amoeba – Scale ______
Citation
_______________________
Prepared Slides of Protists –Part 2
Paramecium – Magnification ______
Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010
Amoeba – Magnification ______
Euglena – Magnification ______
Greg Ballog
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Name ____________________________
Date ______________ Period _____ Lab 3-3
Pond Water –Part 3
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Pond Water –Part 3
_________________ – Mag. ______
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_________________ – Mag. ______
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Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010
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Name ____________________________
Date ______________ Period _____ Lab 3-3
Stop Questions
1) How do Protists differ from bacteria? _____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
2) Why are the Protists on the prepared slides different colors?
______________________________________________________________________
3) Now that you have looked at some living Protists how do you think most Protist
diseases are transmitted? ________________________________________
4) Could any of the organisms in the pond culture be pathogens? If so, how could you
prevent yourself from being infected? ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Analysis Question
1) Complete the following table.
Protist
Protist Analysis Table 3-3.1
Autotroph/
Method of Method of
Heterotroph
Movement Getting Food
Euglena
Amoeba
Paramecium
Conclusion
Protist and bacteria diseases are most often spread through water. Clean water is a luxury in
many parts of the world. Here we take it for granted.
Research the difference between Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary sewage treatments at;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment#Pre-treatment
to answer the following questions
Answer all questions with either Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary.
1) Which level of treatment works most directly on the bacteria and protists that might cause
disease? __________________________
2) Which level of treatment produces the highest quality of effluent (outflow)?
__________________________
3) Most of us on Whidbey Island utilize septic tanks for sewage treatment. Which is the
highest level of treatment achieved by septic systems? ___________________
4) Which level of treatment removes most of the solids from the sewage being treated?
________________________
5) Which level of treatment would remove chemical toxins? ___________________
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