Bio Lab Midterm

Writing Lab Report

  • What are the sections of a lab report

    • Title: should include dependent, independent variable, and organism 

    • Introduction: must include adequate background about the research, 3 journal citations, and a clearly stated hypothesis 

    • Methods: describes the materials that were needed for the experiment and describes the methods of setting up; must include paragraphs, first person past tense, and detailed 

    • Results: must include a graph and a written explanation 

    • Discussion: interpretation of results 

    • References: must be scholarly journal articles or books 

  • When presenting data graphically, on which axis is independent and dependent variables presented

    • Independent → X

    • Dependent → Y 

Introduction to Microscope

  • Identify the parts of a microscope

    • Base, illuminator, fine adjustment, coarse adjustment, diaphragm, stage, slide, objectives, nosepiece, arm, ocular 

Applying Scientific Method

  • Do you know the steps of the scientific method?

  1. Ask a question / observe

  2. Hypothesis 

  3. Design an experiment

  4. Analyse findings 

  5. Share knowledge 

  • Can you apply your understanding of the scientific method to design a simple scientific investigation?

  • Provided with an experiment, can you identify the independent, dependent, and controlled variables, as well as the controlled group in the experiment?

    • Independent: the manipulated variable 

    • Dependent: the measured response 

    • Controlled Variables: the factors which the investigator attempts to keep the same for all groups 

    • Control group: group that doesn’t receive testing, used as a base line 

  • Can you answer all the post lab questions and do know all the terminology in bold?

The Plankton Community and Pond Ecology

  • Are you able to compare phytoplankton and zooplankton? Can you give examples of each?

    • Phytoplankton 

      • Photosynthetic 

      • Produces oxygen 

      • Consumer CO2

      • ex) Cyanobacteria & algae

    • Zooplankton

      • Non-photosynthetic 

      • Produce CO2

      • Consume oxygen

      • ex) protozoa 

  • Provided with a diagram can you label parts of Paramecium and Spirogyra?

    • Paramecium + Spirogyra


  • What is species diversity, richness, and evenness? Why is it important to understand these concepts?

    • Species Diversity: number and abundance of species in a community 

    • Species Richness: number of species in a community 

    • Species Evenness: relative abundance with which each species is represented in a community 

    • It is important to understand these because they are indicators of environmental quality. 

Water Quality Assessment 

  • How do you analyze the coliform present in the drinking water? Why is it important?

    • You perform a coliform bacteria analysis by using a R-card to test the water. Place a drop of water on the R-card and incubate for a few weeks to see findings. Pink and blue colonies will show up if there are coliforms. 

    • It is important to test because coliform bacteria, especially E Coli can be deadly. 

  • How do you determine dissolved oxygen and pH of water?

    • You use a test ampoule to test the water. You put water in a cup and snap off the tip of the ampoule in the water and let the water fill it. Then remove and invert to see the color. Compare the chart to find the contents. 

    • You use a test strip that changes colors based on the pH. 

  • You should be able to understand the effects of wastewater pollution on the distribution of macroinvertebrates community 

    • Macroinvertebrates are sensitive to changes in the ecosystem, so if there is wastewater in their ecosystem they will show it.