Biol. 142: Physiology Laboratory: Fall 2010
Instructor
John Waters, Ph.D.
Office Phone
814-863-1154
Office Address 413 Mueller Laboratory
E-mail
johnwaters@psu.edu
Required Text
Physiology Laboratory Manual (2nd edition)
by John R. Waters
2003 McGraw-Hill
Suggested Text
A good physiology text book. Any book suggested for Biol. 141 will be excellent.
Tentative Schedule
As you can see on the schedule below, we will perform a variety of experiments where we will demonstrate and investigate the
physiological principles for some of the body systems. Before you come to the lab, be sure that you review the web page for that
laboratory. These web pages (bolded below in the syllabus) will give you the necessary background to understand the
laboratory exercise. You may have already studied the web page topics during lectures, but we encourage you to still take time
to review the material. When you have a lab quiz, there will be some pre-lab questions that will cover the web page assigned for
that day (plus questions covering the lab and web page from the previous week).
Week:
Lab Exercise:
Aug. 23-27
Introduction to the course.
Aug.30-Sept. 3 Muscle Lab
If you are in sections 001-022, then you will perform
the electromyography lab in rm. 113 this week, and
need to study the muscle tutorial (see "Lessons"
tab). You will take a quiz this week (see details to
the right). The exercise for this lab is not in your lab
book. You will receive a copy in the lab, but please
read over the electromyography exercise handout
(see "Lessons" tab) before coming to the lab.
Quizzes and Assignments:
Quiz 1
will cover the syllabus (6 pts), and ask you to
define four terms (4 pts) from the tutorial
assigned to you for THIS week (see details to the
left).
Osmosis in vitro and in vivo
If you are in sections 023-037, then before class
study the Diffusion / Osmosis tutorial (see
"Lessons" tab) and come to rm. 112 for class.
Your first lab report (intro/method) will be on the lab you
do this week (due in two weeks). Please read the writing
guidelines #1 and the sample lab report (see "Lessons"
tab for both).
Sept. 6-10
All labs canceled due to Labor Day holiday
Remember that your first lab report
(intro/method) from whichever lab you did last
week, is due the week of Sept. 13th.
Sept. 13-17
If you are in sections 001-022, you will do the osmosis in
vitro and in vivo lab in rm. 112 this week. Please see the
description above for what you need to study.
Lab intro/method due (5 pts) - be sure to read the
writing guidelines #1 and a sample lab report
(see "Lessons" tab for both).
If you are in sections 023-037, you will do the muscle lab in Quiz 2
rm. 113 this week. Please see the description above for
will ask you to define four terms (4 pts) from the
tutorial assigned to you for THIS week (see details
what you need to study.
to the left). You will also be asked more detailed
questions about the lab and tutorials you
completed LAST week (6 pts), so read over those
tutorials again plus the discussion questions from
the lab book.
Sept. 20-24
Nerve-muscle preparation (frog nerve and muscle)
IIf you are in sections 001-022, then you will
perform the frog nerve and muscle lab in rm. 113
this week, and need to study the
Quiz 3
will ask you to define three terms (3 pts) from the
tutorial and any other material assigned to you for
THIS week (see details to the left). You will also
membrane potentials tutorial first,
the neuron tutorial second,
and the neuromuscular junction tutorial
third (see "Lessons" tab for all three).
Be sure to read page 17 to the top of page 20
in your lab manual too!
be asked more detailed questions about the lab
and tutorials you completed LAST week (7 pts), so
read over those tutorials again plus the discussion
questions from the lab book.
Blood Lab
If you are in sections 023-037, then you will perform
the blood lab in rm. 112; study the blood lab
tutorial (see "Lessons" tab) for this week.
Sept. 27-Oct. 1 If you are in sections 001-022, you will do the blood lab in
rm. 112 this week. Please see the description above for
what you need to study.
If you are in sections 023-037, you will do the frog nerve
and muscle lab in rm. 113 this week. Please see the
description above for what you need to study.
Oct. 4-8
Heart sounds and blood pressure
If you are in sections 001-022, then you will perform
the heart sounds and blood pressure lab in rm. 113
this week, and need to study the heart sounds and
blood pressure tutorial (see "Lessons" tab) for this
week.
ECG rate determinations and interpretation
If you are in sections 023-037, then you will perform
the ECG lab in rm. 112; study the ECG tutorial (see
"Lessons" tab) for this week.
Quiz 4
will ask you to define three terms (3 pts) from the
tutorial and any other material assigned to you for
THIS week (see details to the left). You will also
be asked more detailed questions about the lab
and tutorials you completed LAST week (7 pts), so
read over those tutorials again plus the discussion
questions from the lab book.
Quiz 5
will ask you to define three terms (3 pts) from the
tutorial assigned to you for THIS week (see details
to the left). You will also be asked more detailed
questions about the lab and tutorials you
completed LAST week (7 pts), so read over those
tutorials again plus the discussion questions from
the lab book.
Quiz 6
will ask you to define three terms (3 pts) from the
tutorial assigned to you for THIS week (see details
to the left). You will also be asked more detailed
If you are in sections 023-037, you will do the heart sounds questions about the lab and tutorials you
and blood pressure lab in rm. 113 this week. Please see the completed LAST week (7 pts), so read over those
tutorials again plus the discussion questions from
description above for what you need to study.
the lab book.
Oct. 11-15
If you are in sections 001-022, you will do the ECG lab in
rm. 112 this week. Please see the description above for
what you need to study.
Oct. 18-22
Quiz 7
will ask you to define three terms (3 pts) from the
tutorial assigned to you for THIS week (see details
to the left). You will also be asked more detailed
questions about the lab and tutorials you
completed LAST week (7 pts), so read over those
tutorials again plus the discussion questions from
Respiratory volume, movement, and pH regulation
If you are in sections 023-037, then you will perform the lab book.
the respiration lab in rm. 112; study the respiration
tutorial (see "Lessons" tab) for this week.
Factors influencing cardiac activity
If you are in sections 001-022, then you will perform
the frog heart lab in rm. 113 this week, and need to
study the cardiac activity tutorial (see "Lessons"
tab) for this week.
Your second lab report (results/discussion) will be on the
lab you do this week (due in two weeks). Please read the
writing guidelines #2 and the sample lab report (see
"Lessons" tab for both).
Oct. 25-29
If you are in sections 001-022, you will do the respiration
lab in rm. 112 this week. Please see the description above
for what you need to study.
Remember that your second lab report
(results/discussion) from whichever lab you did
last week, is due the week of Nov. 1st.
If you are in sections 023-037, you will do the frog heart
lab in rm. 113 this week. Please see the description above
for what you need to study.
Quiz 8
will ask you to define three terms (3 pts) from the
tutorial assigned to you for THIS week (see details
to the left). You will also be asked more detailed
questions about the lab and tutorials you
completed LAST week (7 pts), so read over those
tutorials again plus the discussion questions from
the lab book.
Nov. 1-5
Second lab report (results/discussion) due (5 pts)
Exercise Physiology
If you are in sections 001-022, then you will perform - be sure to read the writing guidelines #2 and
a sample lab report (see "Lessons" tab for both).
the exercise physiology lab this week. There is no
tutorial for you to study this week, and you do not
have a quiz this week either. However, you MUST
read over all of the jobs BEFORE coming to the
lab. The TAs will count how prepared you are for
class heavily when they calculate your participation
points.
Your third lab report (due the week of Nov. 30th) will
Only the students in sections 023-034 will take
be on the exercise physiology lab. Please read the
writing guidelines #3 and the sample lab report Quiz 9 this week. The quiz will cover the frog
heart lab from last week (there will be questions
from last time (see "Lessons" tab for both).
based on the data you collected in the lab and
from the respiration tutorial, so read over the
Sensory Physiology
tutorial again and the discussion questions from
the lab book). You will also be asked to define
If you are in sections 023-037, then you will perform three of the bolded terms from sensory physiology
the sensory physiology lab this week in rm 112, and exercise in the lab manual.
need to study the lab manual (there is no
computer tutorial). You will take a quiz this week
(see details to the right).
Nov. 8-12
Exercise Physiology
If you are in sections 023-037, then you will perform
the exercise physiology lab this week. There is no
tutorial for you to study this week, and you do not
have a quiz this week either. However, you MUST
read over all of the jobs BEFORE coming to the
lab. The TAs will count how prepared you are for
class heavily when they calculate your participation
points.
Only the students in sections 001-022 will take
Quiz 9 this week. The quiz will cover the
respiration lab from two weeks ago (there will be
questions based on the data you collected in the
lab and from the respiration tutorial, so read over
the tutorial again and the discussion questions
from the lab book). You will also be asked to
define three of the bolded terms from sensory
physiology exercise in the lab manual.
Your third lab report (due the week of Nov. 3th) will
be on the exercise physiology lab. Please read the
writing guidelines #3 and the sample lab report
from last time (see "Lessons" tab for both).
Sensory Physiology
If you are in sections 001-022, then you will perform
the sensory physiology lab this week in rm 112, and
need to study the lab manual (there is no
computer tutorial). You will take a quiz this week
(see details to the right).
Nov. 15-19
Gastrointestinal Physiology Demonstration
Study the Digestive System Tutorial (see
"Lessons" tab) for this week.
Remember your formal lab report on the exercise
physiology lab is due next week.
Quiz 10
This quiz will cover aspects of both the sensory
and exercise physiology labs from the last two
weeks, in addition to definitions from the
digestive system tutorial (see details below)
* 2 points will be definitions from bolded terms
discussed in the digestive system tutorial for this
week's lab.
* 3 points will be about the equipment used
during the exercise physiology lab
* 2 points will be about calculating either carbon
dioxide clearance or oxygen consumption.
You will not be given the equations during
the quiz, so be sure you know how to
calculate those numbers. The equations are
discussed, and appear in bold face type on
pages 71 and 72 of your lab manual.
* 3 points will be from the sensory physiology lab
(be sure to review the discussion questions in the
lab manual).
Nov. 22-26
THANKSGIVING (no labs this week)
Nov. 29-Dec. 3 You will take the quiz, hand in your lab report, and fill out
course evaluations this week.
Dec. 6-10
Quiz 11 and formal lab write-up due (20 pts)
All ten of the quiz points will be from the
gastrointestinal physiology lab you performed last
week (there will be questions based on the data
you collected in the lab and from the digestive
system tutorial, so read over the tutorial again
and the discussion questions from the lab book).
Optional final cumulative quiz (will replace the two lowest
If you plan to take the final cumulative quiz, the
of the 8 quiz scores - this quiz is optional and can only work best way to study would be to look over the
in your favor)
discussion questions in the lab manual, the
questions in the tutorials, and your old quizzes.
Grading Policy
Your grade will be based on the assignments and participation points listed in the table below. Please read the description of
each assignment carefully. There is no extra credit of any kind.
ASSIGNMENT
Points Each Points Total
Best 9 out of 11 quizzes
(an optional cumulative quiz can also replace 2 more of the quiz scores)
10
90
2 small writing assignments
5
10
1 formal laboratory write-up
20
20
laboratory participation points
15
TOTAL COURSE POINTS
15
135
If the average course grade is 75% or greater, final grades follow a standard curve where: A =92%; A- =90%; B+ =88%; B
=82%; B- =80%; C=70%; D=60%; and F= anything less than 60%. There is no "rounding up" so if you earn 89.6% of the
course points for instance, then your final course grade will be a B+ since you would still be below the 90% cut-off for the A-. If
the average course grade is below 75%, slightly lower cut-offs may be calculated based upon the average course grade and
standard deviation.
Quizzes
Quizzes will usually be given at the beginning of the lab period. Quiz questions will cover the results and interpretation of the
previous week's lab and the background and methods for the lab being done that day (so read the labs before class). Quiz
questions will be multiple choice and short answer. There are no make-up quizzes for the weekly quiz, but your two lowest
scores (0s if you missed a quiz) will be dropped. In addition, you can choose to replace the next two lowest quiz scores with the
grade you earn on the optional cumulative quiz. Please understand that if you are late to class or absent for any reason, then
you will receive a 0 for that quiz.
How the dropped quiz scores and optional cumulative quiz work:
You will take eleven quizzes during the semester. If you are happy with nine of those scores, then we will use
those nine scores to calculate your grade (along with the writing assignments and participation points), and you
are done for the semester. However, if you would like to take the optional cumulative quiz, then you can replace
the next two lowest of those nine scores with whatever grade you earn on the optional cumulative quiz. If you do
not earn a higher score on the optional cumulative quiz than your lowest remaining quiz scores, then the final will
not be factored into your grade (i.e., taking the optional cumulative quiz cannot hurt your grade).
Writing Assignments
There will be three writing assignments during the semester. You are encouraged to discuss the laboratories with your lab
partners, but remember that the actual writing part must be done individually. Any papers that are obviously group efforts, or
that are not COMPLETELY ORIGINAL will be treated as plagiarism. They start off as small five point assignments, and build to a
twenty point formal scientific paper.
Individual Assignments
These two assignments (1 intro/method, 1 results/discussion) give you the opportunity to develop your scientific
writing skills and demonstrate what you have learned.
Formal Laboratory Write-up
This assignment brings together everything that you have learned in the previous writing assignments and is
worth the greatest number of points.
You can have any writing assignment reviewed by a TA before you hand it in for a grade. There is no reason not to get an A on
any writing assignment. Please keep the following points in mind while planning your assignments.
TAs will only review assignments during office hours. It would be best then to start the assignment as soon as possible so
that the material is fresh in your mind and you will have time to show it to your TA and make revisions. Do not wait until
the last minute. Remember that your TA has other classes and responsibilities, and is not at your disposal 24 hours per
day.
The TAs do NOT have time to review a first draft of your report. As college students, we expect your reports to be free of
grammar, style, and spelling errors before you bring them in for review. Your TA should be reading a third or fourth draft,
NOT a first draft. Consider the time your TA spends on your report as a chance to get feedback on how you have
addressed the physiologic concepts.
If you need help with grammar, style, or spelling, take your report to one of PennState's Undergraduate Writing Centers
BEFORE showing it to your TA (http://www.psu.edu/dept/cew/writingcenter/UWC/students2.htm). If you bring a report
to your TA with significant grammar, style, or spelling errors, your TA may reject your report, and not provide any
feedback until you have addressed the other errors.
You are welcome to talk with Biol. 142 TAs from other sections instead of your own TA, but remember that they will not be
grading your assignments, and your TA is not bound by anything another TA or anyone at the writing center tells you. However,
all TAs are happy to try to help you as much as possible. If you are having any problems that cannot be solved by a TA, please
feel free to see the laboratory coordinator. All writing assignments (including drafts given to your TA for review) must be
typewritten and double spaced with a one inch margin all around. Do not use any font smaller than 11 pt. If the assignment is
longer than a single page, the pages must be stapled in the upper left corner. All assignments must include the name of the
author. Any assignment that does not meet these criteria may be returned ungraded and you will receive a zero for that
assignment.
Re-Grades
Your TA will grade all of your tests and assignments. If you feel that you have been graded unfairly, discuss the matter with your
TA first. If the two of you cannot come to an agreement, you may submit the assignment to the laboratory coordinator to be
re-graded. Please note the following conditions for all assignments submitted for regrading.
The assignment must be handed into the laboratory coordinator’s mailbox in 208 Mueller Laboratory within one week of
the day it was handed back to the class.
A type written sheet explaining what item(s) is/are to be re-graded and why you think that you should receive the points
must be stapled to the original assignment. Do not write your explanation in the margins of the original assignment.
Any re-grade that does not meet the above conditions will be returned to you unread with no opportunity to be
resubmitted.
The laboratory coordinator reserves the right to re-grade the entire assignment. If your TA was generous while grading
other sections of the assignment, it is possible for your grade to go down. The re-grade on any assignment will be the
final grade on that assignment.
Given the number of students and TAs involved in this course, assignments submitted for re-grading will not be returned
until the end of finals week.
Late Assignments
One point or 10 percent (whichever is greater) will be deducted for each day that an assignment is late. Crashing hard drives,
damaged disks, and malfunctioning printers have become as common as homework eating dogs when assignments are due.
None are acceptable excuses for turning in work late. Make back-ups of all of your work. Notify your TA immediately (before the
due date) if you are having any problems.
Attendance Policy
This physiology laboratory is designed as a "hands-on" course, and all students receiving a grade for the course are expected to
participate fully in all laboratory exercises. The participation points will be awarded for active participation. At the end of the
semester, your TA will look at his or her records to determine your overall participation. Excellent participation will be awarded
15 points, good participation will be awarded 13-14 points, mediocre participation will be awarded 11-12 points, etc. If you miss
more than one or two laboratory periods, you can expect to receive 10 or fewer participation points. Your TA has the discretion to
deduct additional points for coming to class late or leaving early, failing to follow directions (especially when we are using
animals or their tissues), coming to class poorly prepared, academic integrity, or other issues approved by the laboratory
coordinator. If you must arrive to a laboratory late or leave early, notify your TA ahead of time. If you do not notify your TA, or if
arriving late/leaving early becomes excessive, one point may be taken off of your assignment grade or participation points the
first time, two points the second time, and so forth. Students with medical/physical disabilities, which prohibit their participation
in physical education classes, may be exempted from participating in certain labs due to their active nature. Please talk with
your TA or the laboratory coordinator if you have any concerns about participating in a laboratory. With advance warning, we can
often make some sort of accommodation.
Attending the laboratories is mandatory. If you must miss a laboratory, contact your TA before your lab meets. TA email
addresses and phone numbers are listed under the Lessons tab in Angel. If you must miss a lab, you can work with your TA to
schedule a different laboratory section that week. You MUST have your TA's permission to attend another lab period. Walk-ins
not approved by your TA, are NOT allowed. If it is not possible to contact your TA before your absence, then contact your TA
before the next regularly scheduled lab period.
Please Note: As adults, it is your responsibility to provide reasonable verification of an absence; each situation is unique, and we
are flexible. Remember that University Health Services will not provide you with a note for minor illnesses. Documentation of
illness, car trouble, etc. may be requested for absences that were not pre-approved. Absences for interviews, appointments, etc.
are permitted but must be approved ahead of time.
In the case of EXCUSED absences where you were not present for a quiz, you must schedule a make-up quiz with your TA
BEFORE the end of that week (the Friday immediately following your absence). If you do not make up a quiz before the
end of the week, then the missed quiz will be one of your dropped quiz grades.
In the case of EXCUSED absences where you miss a lab, and then have to turn in a report on that lab, your TA will deduct
two letter grades (20%) from that lab report.
If your absence is UNEXCUSED, your TA may not accept any report or work assigned that day and/or any assignment due
that day. You would therefore receive a zero for those quizzes and assignments.
Exam Policy
Please see "Quizzes" above.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty is not limited to simply cheating on an exam or assignment. The following is quoted directly from the "PSU
Faculty Senate Policies for Students" regarding academic integrity and academic dishonesty:
"Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this
institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations,
facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another
person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students."
All University and Eberly College of Science policies regarding academic integrity/academic dishonesty apply to this course and
the students enrolled in this course. Refer to the following URL for further details on the academic integrity policies of the Eberly
College of Science: http://www.science.psu.edu/academic/Integrity/index.html. Each student in this course is expected to work
entirely on her/his own while taking any exam, to complete assignments on her/his own effort without the assistance of others
unless directed otherwise by the instructor, and to abide by University and Eberly College of Science policies about academic
integrity and academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty can result in assignment of "F" by the course instructors or "XF" by
Judicial Affairs as the final grade for the student.
Academic dishonesty (in any form), will not be tolerated in this course.
Sanctions may include all or just part of the following:
1. an F on a particular paper or exam,
2. letters describing the infraction being placed in a file kept by the Academic Integrity Committee in the Eberly College of
Science (Note: all colleges at Penn State have an Academic Integrity Committee, and files are routinely requested from
other colleges during an investigation),
3. referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs,
4. an F or XF (disciplinary F grade) for the course.
When you are completing writing assignments for this course, it is important to remember that your instructors expect you to do
your own work. Lab partners may not turn in the same assignment. You are expected to work on your assignments individually.
Each person's assignment should be an original work (this includes graphs and figures). Be careful not to turn in assignments
that appear to be your own work, but actually paraphrase another student's work, the lab book, or a text book (this includes
using other people's work as "templates" to get you started). Please speak with your TA or the laboratory coordinator if you have
any questions.
Disciplinary Issues
All of the students and the instructors in this course are expected to work together to maintain a safe learning environment.
Anyone caught entering a laboratory or office without authorization, stealing anything from the laboratories, damaging
laboratory equipment/supplies/furnishings, or treating any member of the laboratory with disrespect or in a harassing or hostile
manner can expect to be removed from the course, assigned an F for the course, and have the matter referred as appropriate to
the Office of Judicial Affairs and/or Police Services.
Animal Use
In this laboratory, you will use both frogs and rats during the semester. The purpose of using animals in laboratory experiments
is to provide you with the opportunity to handle living animals and observe directly the response of specific body systems to
various environmental stimuli and experimental procedures. This type of learning experience cannot be provided by film/video,
computer simulations, or preserved animal material.
All experiments using animals in this course have been approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
at Penn State University, which is reviewed annually by the United State’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) to confirm that the
terms set by the Animal Welfare Act are followed. All of the TAs in this course have received training in animal handling,
anesthesia, surgery, post-operative care, and euthanasia.
In the event that you have any questions or concerns regarding animal use in the physiology laboratories that cannot be
answered by your TA, please feel free to speak with John Waters (413 Mueller Laboratory, 863-1154). If there is a situation
where you feel that speaking with John Waters is not enough, you should contact the Office for Regulatory Compliance
(ORProtections@psu.edu, 865-1775). You can get more information about registering animal use concerns from the Office for
Regulatory Compliance web site ( http://www.research.psu.edu/orp/areas/animals/concerns.asp ). Anyone that needlessly
causes an animal stress/pain, or fails to treat a living or euthanized animal with respect, will be removed from the
laboratory and may receive an F for that laboratory.
Miscellaneous
Cell Phones and Electronic Messaging
It is not appropriate to receive or transmit phone calls or instant messages while you are in the laboratory. Turn off the sound on
your cell phones before you come to class. If there is an urgent reason for you to receive a message, discuss the matter with the
laboratory coordinator or your TA before class. Students that disrupt the class with cell phones or any other means of electronic
communication will have participation points deducted from their final grade.
Questions and Concerns
If possible, see your TA first with questions concerning the information covered in laboratory or the daily operation of your
laboratory section. If your question is not resolved, or if you have other concerns, please feel free to contact:
Dr. John Waters: Anatomy & Physiology Lecturer and Laboratory Coordinator
413 Mueller Laboratory, 863-1154, johnwaters@psu.edu
If you have any questions, please contact Angel Support