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

• 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

Biology 411 Laboratory Schedule, Spring 2013Unit Lab

Module #Week of… Activity Notes

First Week of Classes   21-Jan   No labs in sessionMolec. Found. of

Biology1 28-Jan Designing scientific

experiments 

4-Feb  11-Feb  

Cellular Biology 2 18-Feb Cell Structure and Function  25-Feb  4-Mar  

Spring Break   11-Mar   No labs in sessionCell physiol. & communication

3 18-Mar Energetics and Photosynthesis

 25-Mar  1-Apr  

Genetics and Molec. Biol.

4 8-Apr DNA isolation and analysis  15-Apr  22-Apr  29-Apr  

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.