Lab and Science Practices

Lab Name - Preference of Mealworms for Light or Darkness

Purpose - The purpose of this lab was to see if mealworms exhibited a preference between two
variables (light and dark) and to see if taxis or kinesis occurs
Experiment - The experiment measured whether the dependent variable, or the choice of
mealworms for light or darkness, which they were allowed to choose by navigating the choice
chamber and going from one side to another. Our dependent variable was the mealworms'
choice of light or darkness, and our constants were using the same species of mealworms in
each trial, the same mealworms, and the same same choice chamber. Through direct
observation, we were able to determine how many mealworms were on each side by
subtracting the number of mealworms on the light side from the total number of mealworms
(10). The time interval we chose to use was every 30 seconds for ten minutes, thus allowing the
mealworms to exhibit a clear preference of light or darkness. In trial two, however the
mealworms we used were a bit lethargic, so we increased the total time of the experiment to 15
minutes.
Results - The results that we hypothesized were a clear preference for darkness as opposed to
light, because the darkness is their natural habitat. Mealworms spend most of their time
underground, under rocks, or in dense underbrush, so a logical conclusion would be that they
would seek out that darkness. The group hypothesized that the mealworms would show a
preference as strong as 3 light/7 dark or even 2 light/8 dark. The results that we observed were
far from this, however, for in trial one and trial two, the experiment ended with 4 mealworms on
the side with light, with 6 on the side in darkness. This was surprising, but was a perceived
outcome due to the slow nature of mealworms.
Lab Name - Dissolved Oxygen Lab
Purpose - The purpose of this lab is to determine how dissolved oxygen levels are impacted
when certain variables change, and how the present organisms in the water respond to these
changes.
Experiment - for this experiment, 6 bottles of water were filled with water from a nearby pond
and covered with screens that blocked a certain amount of light, starting at 100% and
decreasing the amount of light to 0%. The amount of light was decreased by wrapping an
increasing amount of screens around the bottles, and securing these screens with rubber
bands. These bottles were left for 24 hours in the back of the biology lab, with the initial and final
Dissolved oxygen levels being taken. With this information, our group calculated the Gross
Primary Productivity and Net Primary Productivity.
Results - the results of the lab confirmed our hypothesis, in that as light exposure decreases,
which in this case can be likened to depth increasing, the level of dissolved oxygen in the
bottles also decreased as the organisms in the water used more energy than they created. The
decrease in dissolved oxygen levels caused both the Gross Primary Productivity and the Net
Primary Productivity to decrease, because the energy supplied by the sun was outpaced by the
organisms dwelling in the pond water.
Lab Name - Hardy-Weinberg Lab
Purpose - the purpose of this lab is to show students how different evolutionary pressures and
advantages can shape a population that fulfills all five of the conditions for Hardy-Weinberg
equilibrium

Experiment - for this experiment, students were given a sheet with three cases on it, with five
generations for cases one and two and ten for case three. The students then roamed around
and "mated" with one another when time was called to simulate random mating. Later,
evolutionary pressures were added in, as in if a student received a homozygous recessive
genotype, the pay succumbed to malaria, killing them and making them receive another
genotype. The constants for each case was that we all started out as heterozygous, random
mating, no migration, and no mutations. The control was that there was no selection. The
independent variable was selection and the dependent variable was change in allele
frequencies in the population.
Results - The results were much more dramatic than we predicted, as we found that the
population was influenced to an extreme degree by diseases and heterozygous advantage. This
lab showed the class just how sever a role natural selection plays in the evolution of species.
Lab Name - Osmosis Lab
Purpose - The purpose of the lab was to find the glucose molarities of six unknown substances
by measuring the change in mass after osmosis and diffusion had occurred.
Experiment - for this experiment, six dialysis bags filled with solutions containing differing
amounts of glucose were placed in cups of water, left overnight, and then measured to witness
the change in mass from water migration. The same thing was done with potato cores, except
the potatoes were placed in the solutions themselves instead of in water.
Results - the results were easily anticipated, as the bags with the molarity closest to the control
had the least amount of change, while the bags furthest from the control were the bags with the
largest disparity in molarity.