BIOL 411 Lab
About the course
• BIOL 411 newly redesigned as an Inquiry course
– Meets new Discovery Program requirements
• Attributes of Inquiry course
– Compose open-ended questions that lead to further
investigation into increasingly focused problems and issues
– Develop understanding and perspective taking.
– Clarify standards of thinking through identifying,
comparing, and evaluating different interpretations
(hypotheses, explanations) of a given phenomenon.
– Create effective communicators: present in clearly
organized written and oral form the results of the
investigation into questions or problems they have posed.
Lab grade is 25% of entire BIOL 411
grade
• 40% for four lab reports
• 20% for weekly participation in small group
activities and for attendance
• 10% for one oral presentation given during lab
sessions
• 15% for quizzes administered in lab session.
• 15% for “My Proposed Experiment” forms
• No make-ups for missed labs
Schedule for the semester
Unit
First Week of Classes
Molec. Found. of
Biology
Cellular Biology
Spring Break
Cell physiol. &
communication
Genetics and Molec.
Biol.
•
Biology 411 Laboratory Schedule, Spring 2013
Lab
Week of…
Activity
Module #
21-Jan
1
28-Jan
Designing scientific
experiments
4-Feb
11-Feb
2
18-Feb
Cell Structure and Function
25-Feb
4-Mar
11-Mar
3
18-Mar
Energetics and
Photosynthesis
25-Mar
1-Apr
4
8-Apr
DNA isolation and analysis
15-Apr
22-Apr
29-Apr
Notes
No labs in session
No labs in session
Four learning modules/units
– Week 1: explore topic, develop lab skills, formulate experiment
– Week 2: conduct experiment, record data, preliminary analysis
– Week 3: discuss results, develop conclusions, oral & written communication of work
***Module 4 will have four weeks to complete, discuss, and present
Unit 1: Designing Experiments
• Textbooks and scientific papers do not reflect
the actual practice of science
• Scientific knowledge is constantly being
refined, re-considered, and sometimes
accepted “truths” are overturned
The scientific method is cyclical
•
•
•
•
•
Observe
Create hypothesis
Design experiment
Analyze results
If hypothesis
supported…
• If hypothesis
rejected…
Observations
• Looking for systematic patterns in a biological
phenomenon
• How to make observations (i.e., collect data is
crucial (more later…)
Testable hypothesis
• Hypothesis is a potential explanation for a
phenomenon
• Testable hypothesis makes predictions that
can be tested
• Testable hypotheses result in one of two
outcomes:
– Disproven
– Supported (but never proven!)
Components of experimental design
• Proper design of experiments is critical
• Control group:
– Positive control
– Negative control
• Experimental group
– Set up to test your hypothesis
• Two types of variable in an experiment
– Independent variable (what is being manipulated)
– Dependent variable (what is being measured)
Collecting data
• Summarizing raw data
– Table records the initial observations
– Visual presentation helps to identify trends
• Random versus reproducible
– Replication of experimental and control conditions
is essential
Goals for today
• Studying movement of termites to determine
whether they follow trails and under what
conditions
• Exercise 1: becoming familiar with the behavior
of termites through observation and some initial
tests
• Exercise 2: Generate testable hypotheses based
on initial observations.
• Before leaving today: fill out “My Proposed
Experiment” and turn in to instructors
• Next Week: perform your experiment, collect
data and analyze results
Assignment for next lab session
• Meet as a group (electronically or in person)
to define the testable hypothesis and the
experimental design for your experiment. This
hypothesis and plan should be a consensus of
all group members. You may write collectively
a single statement that defines the hypothesis
and the experimental plan which each of you
can submit.