Strawberry DNA lab report

Below is a PowerPoint with the requirements for your lab report which is due on Wednesday April 13th. In class. You must provide a printed copy. The data has been emailed to you.

Strawberry DNA lab report

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Strawberry DNA Extraction

Today we extracted DNA from strawberries. We had a very successful experiment. You can see our data below.











For homework: list every thing (variable) that was controlled in this experiment.

Making Wet Mount Slides

On Friday, students made wet mount slides using yeast cultures. Below is what yeast cells look like on medium power (100x) on our microscopes.


At the end of the mini lab, we review why yeast is a living thing. Yeast is alive because:
1. it is made up of cells
2. it grows and divides
3. it responds to its environment
4. it uses energy
5. it reproduces (asexually, by budding)
and lastly
6. it evolves.

In our experiment, we were able to see #1-5 on the list, but watching evolution is more challenging. As Jose correctly said in class, evolution takes a long time!

Our next unit, starting on Monday, will be on DNA, the code of life. It is changes to DNA that are the basis for all evolution!

Since you had a lab report due on Friday, you do not have homework due Monday. Have a great weekend!

Working on the yeast lab report

Today students worked on their lab reports. The lab report is due in class on Friday. It must be a printed copy. Late work will NOT be accepted.

Tomorrow in class we'll have a REAL, LIVE SCIENTIST, come to class! Please arrive on time :)

It's alive lab report

Today students worked on their lab reports for the "It's Alive!? Investigation." For homework you will need to make graph in excel.

Click through the powerpoint below to see what you need to do.

Making an xy scatter plot

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It's Alive Investigation Day 2

Yesterday we reviewed controls and variables and then collected data on how long it took the balloons to inflate at various temperatures. Below is the data we collected.



For Friday, you need to write out the procedure you will use to redo this experiment. You will all be working with 65 deg C water. Be detailed! You will use 2.5g of yeast, 1.5g sugar, 25mL of water.

Is it alive Investigation (Day 1)

Today students looked at two unknown samples (Y and Z) using a dissecting microscope. Next they did an experiment with sample Y to see if adding water and sugar would create any reaction. The results were mixed and students came up with some of the own hypotheses for how to change the results.

For homework:

With your partner (or individually and you can decided when you get to class which experimental set up to use) answer the following questions:

How many grams of sample Y will you use? (0.1g to 3g)
How many grams of food X will you use? (0.1g to 3g)
How many mL of water will you use (10mL-30mL)
What temperature will the water be? (10 degrees C to 100 degrees C).

Tomorrow you will do a second balloon test using these parameters. We will also do the balloon test on sample Z as a class.

Stomach Dissection

Today we dissected pig's stomachs outside on the DeNobili terrace....during lunch! Pictures will be posted later tonight.

On Friday you will be looking at some of the tissues samples you selected under dissecting microscopes. You will also be using a new type of microscope, called a compound light microscope.

Watch the video below on how to use a compound light microscope. You will have a short prelab quiz on how to use a microscope.

Builing a Model Lung

Today students worked in groups to build a model of a lung. Below are some of the key points we learned during this activity:

When the diaphragm contracts (flattens/pulls down), air is pulled into the lungs. When it relaxes, air is expelled from the lungs.

There are thousands of bronchioles in the lungs, at the end of these are small air sacks called aveoli. Gas exchange happens at these aveoli.

Homework: Make an observations/patterns/explanations table for the respiratory system. This should be a new page in your notebook and go directly behind the orange 'o/p/e' table in your notebook.

We will be using this table for an experiment tomorrow.

Take a deep breath!

We are starting a two week unit on the respiratory system. Today we brainstormed what we know, think we know and want to know about the respiratory system. We also compared the lung capacity of two students and started our first engineering challenge of the year.

Tomorrow you will build a model of a lung. You can certainly do research before coming to class to learn more about how the lungs work.You will have rubber bands, tape, plastic bottles, straws, balloons, plastic bags, modeling clay and paper to make your model. You can not breathe into the model to inflate the lungs.

Observations, Patterns, Explanations

Today we recapped what we have learned so far on the circulatory system in an "Observations, Patterns, Explanations" table. This is a new feature of your notebooks and will be something that we continue to build on over the course of the year.

Homework: You will need to rewrite your lab report. This is due on Monday. In the introduction you also need to take 1-2 sentences to compare the number of chambers in a heart for mammals, amphibians and fish.

Cow Heart Dissection Prelab

Today in class we took a few more notes on the heart and compared fish circulatory systems to human circulatory systems.

Tomorrow we will be doing a how heart dissection. Watch the video below to have an idea of what you are in for.

Notes on the heart & your lab write up

Today in class students took some notes on heart beats, the importance of valves in the circulatory systems and causes of heart attacks.

To listen to a regular heart beat, click here.
To listen to an irregular heart beat, click here.

Homework:
On Monday you have a lab report due. Instead of having all of the sections, you only need to include the following information.

Click through the slide show below to see what is required for this lab report.

Heart rate lab report

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The data you need is below, it has also been emailed to you in an Excel file. Click on the picture below to make it larger. Your data table should include the average resting heart rate and average jumping heart rate for each person.

Heart Rate Lab Intro

Today we started the heart rate lab. Students learned some basic information on the flow of blood through the heart and practiced taking their pulse.

Homework:
Finish writing the procedure for the experiment. In class we wrote the procedure for the dancing test (see it below). You need to write the procedures for tests 2 and three (running and jumping).

NOTE: change the activity and recovery times to one minute, instead of two minutes.

Test 1: Dancing procedure
Students sat quietly for 2 minutes before taking their resting pulse. The pulse was taken for 30 seconds, multiplied by 2 and entered into the data table. Students danced for one minute. At the end of one minute, their pulse was taken for 30 seconds, multiplied by two and entered into the data table. The procedure was repeated two more times, for a total of three trials.

Writing a Lab Report - Using Excel

Today students worked independently on their lab reports. We also learned how to use excel to make a graph for our data.

Click through the PowerPoint below to see how to use excel to make a graph.

One last reminder: you have a test on Friday and your lab report is due on Monday.

How to graph in excel

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Writing a Lab Report

Today you learned how to write a lab report. Below are the guidelines that we talked about in class.

Homework: Start a rough draft of your lab report. Due tomorrow are the Title, Introduction and Methods & Materials sections.

A few things to remember:
Please do not use "I" or the word "prove" in your lab report.
Yes, spelling counts for this assignment.
Write in the past tense (was, were, --ed)

Writing a Lab Report

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Candle Lab

Today each student observed a candle (don't worry, we were outside). We were able to see physical and chemical changes and practice making observations.

Homework: if you didn't finish the analysis questions in class, please finish these for homework. On Friday we will be wrapping up our water unit and reviewing for the test on Monday.

Boiling Point Web Lab

We started off today by comparing chemical and physical changes, the we did the web lab below.

Click the picture below to go to the activity.

Originally your homework was going to be to find information on the boiling point of an element, but after searching for almost two hours, I haven't been able to find anything interesting and grade-level appropriate other than websites that would have you copy down just a number for a boiling and melting point.

So, we have a change of plans.

Tomorrow we will do the candle lab and organize your notebook for your notebook check on Monday.

Homework: make sure you bring your notebook to class and if your notebook is a mess, dig through your room and find all of your science papers; BRING THESE TO CLASS!.

Finding Mass Using a Triple Beam Balance

Today we did an activity called Mix and Match Mass to learn how to use a triple beam balance. After making predictions about the mass of the items they have been working with over the past week, students found the actual mass of the items.
Homework: First, use the handout below from the Day 1 of Volume by Displacement. Use the volume you found for four of your objects and use the mass you found from today's activity, to find the density of each object.

For Example: If you found the volume of Rock #22 to be 30mL and the mass of Rock #22 to be 10g, the density would be 0.33g/mL.

Volume by Water Displacement

Today we did a lab to see how the volume of an irregular object can be found using the water displacement method. After attempting to find the volume of various irregularly shaped objects using a ruler, students found the volume by water displacement.
Tomorrow we will evaluate our results and see if our data is accurate. There is no homework tonight.