Scroll below for In-person Labs
In Summer 2023 – Unit 1 Labs 1, 2 & 3 will be combined within the first 2 lab meetings.
Read along in your lab handout/manual with the information on this webpage. Fill in and answer questions accordingly in your lab manual. Your Lab Unit handouts/lab manual will be collected and graded later.
Student will turn in all Assignments via Moodle. All assignments are due at the start of lab unless indicated otherwise.
Lab Unit handouts can be found at the top of each lab unit web page. They will be posted week by week.
Scientific Investigation and Intro to Bean Beetles
Unit 1: Lab 1 May 18, 2023 – nothing is due before coming to lab this week – except to read through the Lab 1 Handout, Lab Policies and Safety Guidelines.
Lab Policies (Lab attendance, assignments, behavior)
Activity 1: Experimental Design (p. 1)
A good design is key to a successful research project. Be sure your experiments contain:
Test and Control Group(s)
Independent, Dependent and Control/Constant Variables
Replicates
Work through Activity 1 and fill in answers as indicated.
Intro to Bean Beetles (p. 2-3)
What are Bean Beetles? (This is the link mentioned in the lab manual on Page 2)
Activity 2: Natal Bean Discrimination by Bean Beetles (p. 2-5) – see provided data
In Lab each pair of students will perform the Natal Bean Beetle Experiment following directions in your lab manual. Each pair of students should then work on graphing their own data combined with the data from the other pair of students. Graphing is a very important skill in science and one you will use in most of the labs in this course. (You can find updated directions for using Excel/Appendix D on Macs on the Resources page and in Understanding and Representing Data at the back of your Bean Beetle manual and on the recourses page). Your TA will also discuss key aspects of graphing.
If you do not have Excel, NCSU Student can download Microsoft Office 365 from NC State’s OIT software site) for free. We will use Excel or Google Sheets for graphing. If you use other graphing programs, all key aspects of graphing need to be included in any graph that you turn in for credit.
Graphing your Bean Beetle Natal Preference Data
Each pair of students should graph your whole table data using Microsoft Excel. Appendix D found in the Resources section on this website provides graphing instructions you may find helpful. Also provide a rationale as to why this is the most appropriate type of graph for this data. This assignment is due in Moodle by each student May 18 by the end of the lab meeting.
Each students will submit the graph made in pairs of the whole Table data on Moodle AND explain your rationale in your own words for choosing this type of graph to represent your data (for a possible 5 pts).
- Be sure your graph contains the 5 key elements for graphing (also found in the end of the Excel Appendix and key for ALL BIO 181/183 graphs).
- What type of graph did you choose to make? Why is this the most appropriate type of graph for this data? If you were to repeat this experiment, what changes would yu make to the experimental design?
- Answer all the questions relating to the Natal Bean Beetle data and other places within the lab unit.
Take Home Assignment: Experimental Design
This assignment is worth 10 points. You can type your answers in a document separate from the many pages of the assignment. Be sure to clearly number each answer. It is due at the start of your lab next week (May 23). Click this box to view and download the assignment.
PDF Version of the Experimental Design Homework in case you cannot see the graphs.
Activity 3: Introduce semester long Review Paper and Presentation Project
Groups create Google folder and start to brainstorm ideas for the group projects. See details for Project Description in the orange assignment box below in the Unit 1 Week 3 information. Groups will work on this further and get TA approval next week in lab.
Unit 1: Lab 2 May 18 and 23, 2023
Activity 1: Critiques of Experimental Design
Now that you are familiar with the basics of designing a sound experiment, we want you to critique an experiment that has been loosely designed. Review the Hypothesis and Design on page 1 and answer the questions in your lab handout/manual this week.
Activity 2: Evaluate Primary Literature
Scientific Literature – How can you tell if an article will be useful for your research project, lab assignments or lab reports?
In-Class Primary Literature Assignment – How to Choose Relevant Primary Literature:
Students will need to be able to find and use applicable Primary Literature throughout the BIO 183 labs (and your other Science courses !). This activity will help you learn how best to evaluate Abstracts and determine the best articles for many of our class assignments.
Read the short passage on Page 2 in your lab handout/lab manual – Exposure to Enriched Environments Increases Stem Cell Proliferation in the Brain. After referring to the 4 ABSTRACTS in the articles below (or the paper copies on your lab table), answer the questions 1 & 2 pertaining to these Stem Cell papers. Abstracts are wonderful resources to help you determine the relevance of a research paper.
Full Journal Articles:
How to Find Primary (and Secondary) Literature for your Project – Resources
Library Information – Review the Library Tutorial from BIO 181 if you need a refresher. These will be very important skills in BIO 183 and in your future BIO courses.
- Background for Primary and Secondary Literature
- Search Strategies
- Search Tools
- Citations
- D. H. Hill Library (main campus Brickyard) and Hunt Library (Centennial Campus)
Activity 3: Group Research Project Discussion
This semester students will work on and write a Group Review Paper (“library” research project) exploring a topic approved by your TA instead of working with Bean Beetles. Each group will need to set up a group Google Drive folder and share this with your TA. All group members should use the shared google drive folder to work on and record ALL information about your project throughout the semester.
During lab this week, each group should brainstorm ideas for the Group Review Paper and record all ideas on a Google doc before leaving lab. Each person in the group should write their own name and ideas indicating their participation in this group discussion. Your TA will meet with each group at least once helping you develop ideas before leaving lab.
Overview and Description of the Group Review Paper Semester Project
Project description and 5 Important Due dates for group work: see details in attached document and what is due next week below.
Before Leaving lab this week – modified Unit 1: Lab 3 May, 2023 and you will work through the Unit 2 Microscopes and Cells Lab.
Once your TA has approved your group project idea, each group will need to present their approved idea to the whole class. Each presentation should include:
- The name of your Pathogen – common and scientific
- Provide a brief explanation of what it is and what it infects.
- Why this pathogen was chosen to study.
Assignment Details: Group Review Paper Proposal and References due May 25.
The final version of your Group Proposal is due in your Google Folder AND Submitted in Moodle by the end of your regular lab period May 25. Groups should incorporate appropriate group feedback and/or ideas from listening to other group project ideas or your TA.
The Review Paper Structure/Format and Rubric below may be useful to review.
Helpful Resources – also refer to links on the Resources main page
*Tips for Writing a Review Paper* – scroll down to see Choosing a Topic, What to Consider, and Structure of Your Review Paper. Website not currently accessible. See Rubric below.
Review Paper Structure/Format and Rubric for your group paper. This is to help you get started with your proposal with an eye to the Final Paper.
BIO 183 Lab Website Resources to help you with Search for Primary Literature
Library Tutorial (from BIO 181 Labs) Explains different types of Literature and how to Search for Primary and Secondary Literature and links to NCSU Library search tools.
See the Resources page for help with using and writing CBE/CSE in-text citations and writing References.
- Note the different between (in-text) Citations and References.
- CBE/CSE Handout – an updated handout 8th Edition seen below.
- 8th Edition CSE Scientific Style and Format Citation Quick Guide –new link!
- Scroll down to see different types of reference materials: Journals, Books, Websites and Other Online Materials,
Links for graphing help: (also on the Resources page)
- Lab Manual Appendix D – Using Excel (the same as in the back of your Bean Beetle lab manual)
- Lab Manual Appendix E – Understanding and Representing Data
Presenting Initial Review Paper Proposals with 1 Reference each. (This more full presentation will not done in Summer 2023)
- We will spend a little time in lab sharing our ideas, and providing feedback to one another Sept 12-16.
- Each group will present their project topic with the group and explain why they chose this pathogen.
- In addition, each student should briefly present the primary journal article they found, title, author(s), how it relates to the pathogen and discuss how they may use it in the project.
- Then each group will need to finalize this Initial Proposal for your Review Paper Project to turn by the end of the lab period _______ – see the yellow callout box below).
- The group should turn in 1 copy in Moodle including the names of all group members who contributed. Only 1 assignment per group can be turned in.
Each student should plan on working on the project a few times a week throughout the semester in the shared google drive folder. As you work on the project, you may find that you need to amend your Project Outline/Goals. This is fine. Be sure to record all changes and additions in the Google folder. This will document your participation and contributions to this project.