Virtual Microscopy - Lab Report Example

Unit Virtual Lab Report Form Directions Type your answers, observations, and results in bold. (Your labs will automatically be uploaded to Turnitin.com when they are submitted, original work is a must!) Laboratory Reports Your each lab report MUST include the following components to receive full credit and be organized in the following way. 1. Purpose (2 pts): one to two sentences briefly stating the learning objective for the assigned lab. 2. Lab Observations (3 pts): Explain what was observed during the lab activity. This section should be approximately one paragraph in length. 3. Lab Answers (7 pts): Answers to the lab report questions that reflect and demonstrate your understanding on the concepts. (Should be written in complete sentences for Labs 2-6) 4. Conclusion (8 pts): 1-2 paragraph learning reflection that summarize the lab and specifically addresses the learning objectives relating them back to the data or observations collected in the lab. Weak conclusions containing little in the way of quality content or revealing a lack of effort towards reflecting on the purpose of the lab activity will receive ZERO credit! Lab Rubric Unacceptable Poor Effort Good; Needs Improvement Meets all Requirements Purpose No purpose provided (0 points) Purpose does not state the learning objective and is unclear(0.5 points Purpose states learning objective but is not well-thought through or written in a complete sentence(1 point) Purpose states the learning objective and is written in a complete, well-thought out sentence(2 points) Lab Observations Missing (0 points) Observations are incomplete (1 point) Observations lack complete thoughts and are not thorough (2 points) Observations explain what occurred throughout the entirety of the lab and are 1 paragraph in length (3 points) Lab Answers No answers provided (0 points) Lab answers lack detail, understanding, and/or bold print. Not all answers are provided (1-3 points) Lab answers are provided and reveal the student had a strong understanding of the lab objectives. Not all questions are answered in detail or in bold. (4-6 points) All lab answers are provided and reveal the student had a strong understanding of the lab objectives. Each question is answered in detail and in complete sentences. Also, the answers are in bold (7 points) Conclusion No conclusion (0 points) The conclusion does not meet length requirements and provides a weak summary of the lab activity and data.(1-5 points) The conclusion is on the shorter side of the length requirements and does not contain a thorough summary of the lab objectives and/or findings (6-7 points). The conclusion is 1 -2 paragraphs long and contains references to the data found in the lab. The conclusion summarizes findings and reiterates the learning outcomes. (8 points) Virtual Lab 1: Virtual Microscopy Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to see organisms and cells at the cellular level and distinguish between different kinds of cells based on size and other characteristics. Lab Observations: Observations were made which gave me the knowledge about the size estimation of different cells. I also leant to differentiate between Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells based on structure and presence of certain features. Plant and animals cells could also be distinguished based on the different cells organelles athat are seen. Lab Answers: A. Estimate the size of: 1. An E. Coli cell - 3×0.6  µm 2 A mitochondrion. - 4×0.8 µm 3. A Red Blood cell- 8 µm 4. A hepatitus virus- 45 nm 5. A water molecule- 275 pm B. Observe the various Cell types and learn to distinguish between Bacterial cells, Plant cells (1, 2), and Animal cells (1, 2, 3) •  1. Observe and describe three differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Three differences between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells are: PROKARYOTIC EUKARYOTIC Nucleus is absent Nucleus is present Endoplasmic reticulum is absent. Endoplasmic reticulum is present. Mostly unicellular Multicellular •  2. Observe and describe three differences and three similarities between plant and animal cells. DIFFERENCES PLANT CELL ANIMAL CELL Cell wall present Cell wall absent Fixed shape Irregular shape Chloroplasts present Chloroplasts absent SIMILARITIES PLANT CELL ANIMAL CELL Ribosomes present Ribosome present Nucleus present Nucleus present Endoplasmic reticulum and Ribosomes present Endoplasmic reticulum and Ribosomes preesnet C. Form a hypothesis 1. Hypothesize about how you might be able to sort a mixed population of cells into prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Try to be practical, build on your understanding of the differences between the two cell classes. From a mix population I will be able to say multicellular ones are eukaryotic while unicellular ones are prokaryotic. More precisely if I can observe them under microscope I can distinguish them on basis of presence or absence of nucleus. 2. Hypothesize about a means to separate out plant cells from a mixed population of eukaryotic cells. To separate our just plant cells from Eukaryotic cells I will look for cells that have a cell wall and therefore hold their shape. Conclusions: This lab successfully taught me the size variation between cells based on microscopic measurements. The sized of different cells were estimated .Therefore I could understand how life thrives even in the smallest of cells. Moreover, based on study of the different types of cells I can now classify cells according to Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic origin. I also gained an understanding of the difference between plant and animal cells on basis of their structural features at the microscopic level. Virtual Lab 2: Cellular Processes Purpose: The main objective of the lab was to understand the mechanism of cellular processes like photosynthesis and respiration and cellular division and understand their role. Lab Observations: The lab helped to see the growth bacteria on nutrient medium by the binary fission process and understand the rapid increase in bacterial population. Besides this, processes like mitosis and meiosis were also thoroughly understood based on the stages where mitosis helped in production of autosomes while meiosis produced gametes. The mechanisms of each were also understood. Other cellular processes like respiration and photosynthesis were studied in details and their role in the ecosystem was understood. Lab Answers: A. Bacterial Growth. 1. Estimate how long it takes for this population of bacteria to double. Hint- this population doubles multiple times during the duration of this recording. 30minutes B. Cellular reproduction 1. Estimate the percentage of time that a constantly developing cell spends in interphase. A cell spends most of its time in Interphase. From the visual it seems it spends 90% of its time. 2. In a random selection of 100 such cells, estimate the number that would be undergoing mitosis At any time, all of the cells would be undergoing mitosis. 3. In a couple of paragraphs describe the basic differences between mitosis, meiosis, and binary fission. The basic difference between mitosis , meiosis and binary fission is that Mitosis consists of 4 stages (prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase) while Meiosis consists of Mitosis and 4 more stages ; however binary fission does not consist of any such stage, Mitosis and Meiosis occur in Eukaryotic cells while Binary fission occurs in Eukaryotic cells. It is to be noted that Meiosis occurs in reproductive cells. C. Cellular metabolism  1. In a paragraph or two compare and contrast  photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are remarkably different. The reactant or raw materials of respiration are glucose and oxygen while that of photosynthesis is carbon dioxide, water and energy. Photosynthesis can take place only in the presence of sunlight hence only during day however, respiration can occur all throughout the day. The sites of these processes also differ. The site of photosynthesis is in the chloroplasts while that of respiration is mitochondria. 2. Describe the ecological relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration. There is an ecological relation between cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Both help to balance the ecology of life on Earth. Cellular respiration releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However this carbon dioxide serves as the raw material for photosynthesis hence there is no net increase in carbon dioxide or accumulation of the gas in the atmosphere at all. 3. Hypothesize about what might happen if a large number of producers were suddenly removed from the biosphere. Where might carbon accumulate if the ratio of number of producers to consumers was markedly reduced? If suddenly a large number of producers were to be removed there would be imbalance in the Carbon Cycle. Since carbon will then not be utilized by plants it would increase the content of carbon in the atmosphere leading to global warming. Carbon would then accumulate in the atmosphere causing problems. Conclusions: A knowledge of the different cell processes helps one understand the working of a cell at the better level. The process of binary fission was understood based on which population growth of bacterium was studied and doubling time was calculated. The difference between mitosis, meiosis and binary fission was understood as well. The main difference between photosynthesis and cellular respiration was seen and their roles were studied individually. Thus, the assignment gave a thorough insight into the working of different kinds of cells. Virtual Lab 3: Genetics Purpose: The aim of the work is to understand the basics of genetics and understand Mendel’s laws of inheritance. Lab Observations: The virtual lab of drosophila established the laws of genetics where flies were selected according to their phenotypic characters and mated to obtain F1 and F2 generations. The Punnett square helped to understand the percentage of offsprings that could have a particular wing trait. Each result of the experiment complied with the ratios established by Mendel. In the first generation we obtained all Wild types thereby understanding that the wildl type gene was dominant over the recessive vestigial wing. In the F2 generation we get a mix of wild-type and vestigial wing indicating that the F1 generation must have been heterozygous in character. Lab Answers: A Phenotype and Genotype of Dragons. You do not have to be able to access the Dragon website to answer these questions. 1. Define genotype and phenotype. Genotype- The genotype refers to the genetic makeup of an individual. Phenotype- Phenotype of an individual refers to the phenotypic or the physical characteristics of any organism which sir determined by its genotype. 2. What is an allele? Each cell has two copies of every gene and these two copies are known as the alleles for the same gene. B. Drosophila Lab. Enter as a guest. Buy and then breed a mutant black bodied female with a wild type (i.e. standard) male. 1. Describe and explain the characteristic of the first generation (F1) of flies. Is the vestigial wing characteristic dominant or recessive? When the Wildtype male and Vestigial wing female are mated, Fi generation is obtained. We obtained 597 females and 582 males and all had Wild type of wing showing vestigial wing trait is recessive. 2. What percentage of the F1 generation would show the recessive characteristic phenotypically according to your table?  Are your experimental breeding results consistent with what you expect from this assumption and the logic of the Punnet square? No flies in the F1 generation can have recessive character. If female vestigial is vv and male wild is VV then gametes obtained are v and V. Yes my breeding results are consistent with the punett square. v v V Vv Vv V Vv Vv 2. Breed two of these F1 flies. To do this select a male and a female from the results of your first cross and put them in the breeding jar. Describe and explain the characteristics of the second generation (F2) flies. When two of the F1 offsprings are mated we obtain both vestigial ing and Wild type offsprings.This is because, in F1 we obtain heterozygous wildtype i.e. Vv. The gametes obtained are V and V which are then mated to produce VV,Vv and vv. This means wildtype to vestigial is in the ratio 3:1 phenotypically while genotypically it is 1:2:2 (VV:Vv:vv). V v V VV vV v Vv vv C. Genetic Disorders Library. Describe the three main classes of genetic disorders and give an example of each. The three main clsses of genetic disorder are: 1. Single gene disorder- these disorders involves mutations in the DNA sequence of a single gene. E.g. Huntington’s disease. 2. Chromosomal abnormalities- In these disorders the entire length or large fragments of chromosome are altered duplicated or are deleted. E.g. Down syndrome. 3. Multifactorial diseases- These disorders involves alterations in more than one gene and interactions of the altered genes with the environment. E.g. Breast cancer. Conclusion: This genetics lab was an excellent way to understand the basics of genetics and that of genetic disorders. The experiment using model organism like drosophila gave an hands-on result which could be compared to the Laws of In heritance proposed by Mendel. The F1 and F2 generation showed traits which could be predicted by drawing punett squares. It was visible that that the results of the Punett squares were in accordance with the experimental results as well. Virtual Lab 4: Electrophoresis Purpose: The purpose of the Virtual lab 4 was to understand separation of DNA or proteins using gel electrophoresis and also observe fragments under UV. Blood lab helped to understand blood typing and compatibility of different blood of the ABO system in case of blood transfusions. Lab Observations: In lab A. electrophoresis was seen in which DNA was separated according to length hence I obtained 3 different bands of varying lengths. The bands were separated according to their lengths The entire procedure starting from gel making to observation was done step by step which help me visualize the steps in real life and understand how gel electrophoresis worked. In lab B. electrophoresis was done and restriction enzymes were used to cut the plasmid at different sites. Running the gel virtually, gave me an insight into how fragments maybe obtained and how they look under UV transilluminator. The different enzymes cut the plasmid at different sites creating fragments of varying lengths. In lab C I was required to play a game and perform blood typing. Different patients ith different blood types were types and experiments were performed to see their blood group. Later on, transfusions were also done after typing to understanding the compatibility of the recipients with the donor’s blood group. Lab Answers: A. 1. On what basis is electrophoresis able to separate molecules? Electrophoresis separates molecules on basis of their lengths. 2. What are the lengths of the three DNA bands that you produce in this lab? In the lab,I produced 3 DNA bands of 6000bp, 3500bp and 1500 bp. B.  Electrophoresis. Select the pBR322 plasmid (a circular piece of DNA used as a cloning vector) to analyze (menu in upper left hand corner of the simulator). You will then see a diagram of the circular plasmid DNA along with the points along the length of the plasmid where the various restriction enzymes (EcoR I, Ple I, Hinc II, and Bgl I) will cut the DNA. For instance notice that the enzyme EcoR 1 only cuts the plasmid at one location at the top of the diagram, whereas the other enzymes cut the plasmid at other places. To analyzes the DNA we cut it up with different enzymes and slowly piece together an understanding of the entire sequence. •    Load each lane as follows: lane 1 with Bgl 1; lane 2 with EcoR 1; lane 3 with Hinc II; lane 4 with Ple I; lane 5 with predetermined molecular weight markers. •    Run the gel and describe and explain the number of bands in lanes 2 and 4. Answer: In the virtual lab I set up the electrophoresis experiment and after loading the gel with the different restriction enzymes I analyzed lanes 2 and 4. In lane 2 I found only 1 band. This shows that the restriction enzyme cut it at only 1 place teherby giving us a very large fragment of almost 4000bp. In lane 4 , four bands were founds. 1st two bands were found to be very near to each other and the enxt two were also found to be in close proximity indicating that the enzyme in this lane cut it at 4 different sites and four different fragments were obtained which were separated based on fragment length. 2 smaller fragments and 2 larger fragments were observed. C. Human Blood Types and Immune System Complete the following Table Blood Type Genotype Antibodies present Can receive blood from type(s) O + OO++ or OO+- Anti A and Anti B O+ O - OO-- Anti A and Anti B O- A + AA++, AA+-.AO++,AO+- Anti B A+, A-,O+,O- A - AA--,AO-- Anti B A- B + BB++, BB+-,BO++,BO+- Anti A B+,B-,O+,O- B - BB--, BO-- Anti A B-, O- AB + AB++,AB+- No antibodies AB+,A+,B+,O+,O-,A-,B-,AB- AB - AB-- No antibodies AB-.O-,A-,B- Conclusions: Electrophoresis the process by which separation of DNA nad proteins is done based on length of obtained fragments is a useful molecular technique. In electrophoresis different lengths of DNA were obtained on the gel and could be visualized by staining with EtBr. In the next part, electrophoresis of fragments was again seen. These fragments were generated by cutting the plasmid at different sites with different restriction enzymes. Cutting the plasmid with enzymes gave us fragments of different lengths and these fragments were separated according to their lengths. The virtual lab on blood was an insight into the ABO system of blood grouping and helped to understand the characteristic of each blood group along with knowledge of Rhesus factor. Compatibility of the blood groups with each other could also be understood from blood typing followed by transfusion of the patients. Read More