Project Ideas: These are simply ideas and information compiled to help you generate ideas for your own topic.
AP Biology
I would strongly recommend that you take one of the AP Labs and alter the procedure to test a different variable.
Many of these labs are done using probes & Labquests. You could easily set up the project after school.
1. Diffusion Lab:
 Test the water potential of some other plant matter other than the carrot tested in class.
 Test the effects of temperature on the rate of diffusion.
2. Respiration Lab:
 Measure the rate of respiration in some other living organism. (seeds, other than peas; small plants; small
invertebrates such as Daphnia, insects, worms; protists.
 Test the effect of pH; temperature; darkness, etc. on the rate of respiration.
 Compare respiration rates of two species of similar plants or animals.
 Compare the respiration rate among seeds that have germinated for different time periods.
 Compare the respiration rate of seeds of different ages.
3. Enzyme Lab:
 Measure the effect of temperature, pH, or concentration on some other enzyme other than catalase.
 This lab technique with peroxide & catalase/peroxidase could be used to determine relative amounts of enzyme in
various living material such as yeast, liver, potatoes, other plant matter.
 Temperature at which catalase denatures could be determined.
4. Plant Pigment & Photosynthesis Lab
 Use chromatography to test pigments in other plants and measure the absorbance spectra of the pigments.
 Use colored filters such as colored Saran wrap around the cuvettes to test the effect of red, blue, green light on the
photosynthetic activity of chloroplasts.
 Vary the distance of the floodlight source to determine the effect of light intensity on photosynthesis.
 Compare the photosynthetic activity of spinach with that of chloroplasts from other plants.
 Investigate the effect of temperature on the photosynthetic activity of spinach.
 Investigate the effect of pH on the photosynthetic activity of spinach.
5. Hardy-Weinberg & Population Genetics Lab
You want to avoid using human subjects.
 You could use population data that you find online to analyze p & q values to see how quickly a population is
evolving.
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Transpiration Lab
Compare that rate of transpiration for different plant species.
Compare the rate of transpiration in C3 or C4 plants.
Compare the rate of transpiration in plants with large leaves v. small leaves.
Compare the rate of transpiration in plants with thick cuticle v. thin cuticle.
Compare the rate of transpiration in plants with hairy leaf surfaces v. smooth leaf surfaces.
Compare the rate of transpiration in plants with thick, fleshy leaves v. thin leaves.
Heart Rate of Daphnia
Investigate the effect of pH on the heart rate of Daphnia.
Investigate the effect of salinity on the heart rate of Daphnia.
Investigate the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia.
8. Animal Behavior Lab
 Investigate the effect of some environmental variable on pillbugs, mealworms, crickets, etc.
9. Dissolved Oxygen Lab
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Measure the dissolved oxygen of a pond at different times of day. (Temperature would be monitored also.)
Measure the dissolved oxygen of a pond or lake at different depths.
No vertebrate animal work is permitted. Invertebrate research is fine!
For work involving administration of vitamins, suppliments, medications, or chemicals, you MUST determine
the correct or proportionate ‘dose’ for the specimen’s mass. For instance, for teens and adults, 500mg of Tylenol is
an appropriate dose. A child or infant would receive a much smaller dose based on their mass. Therefore, if you are
working with small vertebrates or invertebrates, you must consider and calculate appropriate doseages!