BIO270 Lab 1 Assignment

Design and perform an experiment to test the effect of bioactive

compounds on Daphnia magna heart rate

Learning Objectives:

After completing this assignment, students should be able to:

• Design an experiment including relevant controls and treatments

• Design a testable hypothesis
• Compile and present the appropriate information of a Materials and Methods
section of a scientific manuscript

Guidelines:

Be sure to follow the standards outlined in the required readings from Appendix 1 at the
end of this file, the list of experimental specific considerations in the Lab 1 manual (pp.
3-4) and “A short guide to writing about biology” (Pechenik). Submit your assignment
electronically following the instructions posted on Blackboard by the submission
deadline. (28 points: mark recorded out of 7).

Note: Although the lab will be performed in pairs, you must write your own individual
assignment to be handed in.

Assignment:

The assignment consists of three parts:

1. A written Materials and Methods section. This is where you should revise your
Materials and Methods using the feedback from your TA, any findings/changes
made during your experimental study, and any further research or reflection.
• For this assignment, your Materials and Methods section does not require
any references. Assume that you were the ones who carried out the pilot
studies found on pp. 16-18 of the Pre-lab 1 manual.

The primary categories in the marking rubric for the Materials and Methods
portion of this assignment are the following:

a) Reasonable Level of Detail 2 marks

b) Format and Style 4 marks
c) Address experimental considerations and Materials and

1 BIO270 Lab 1 Assignment Summer 2014

 Methods content (refer to pre-lab 1 manual, Appendix 1 of 14 marks
the pre-lab 1 assignment and Pechenik)
d) Data analysis 2 marks

2. Answer a question related to your experimental design (Question 2 below).

3. Compose a figure to illustrate your results (Question 3 below).

Submit this assignment online following the instructions posted on Blackboard. Refer to
the assignment submission deadlines for the specific due date for your assignment. The
written Materials and Methods section should be a maximum of 1.5 pages, 12pt font,
double spaced, standard margins. Assignments over the page limit will be subject to a
10% penalty.

Submit your assignment using this format for your submission title:

1) Your Last name, 2) Assignment (e.g. Lab 1 assignment), 3) Student ID

e.g. Jones-Lab 1 assignment-888888888

• Failure to do so, will result in a mark deduction

Please use the format below as your template for writing your Materials and Methods
section and answering the questions.

2 BIO270 Lab 1 Assignment Summer 2014

Name: _____________________ Student ID: _____________________
Lab Section: ______________________ Assignment: Lab 1 Assignment
Name of Lab Partner(s):__________________________________________________

1. Materials and Methods (write your revised Materials and Methods section in the
space below) [22 marks]:

2. Experimental Design. If you were going to repeat this experiment in your next lab,
list one feature that you would like to change (i.e. control for or modify) and briefly
explain why [2 marks]:

3. Insert an accurately labelled figure and complete figure caption illustrating the results
of your designed experiment [4 marks]:

3 BIO270 Lab 1 Assignment Summer 2014

 Appendix 1:

Materials and Methods Section of a Scientific report

‘How did you do it?’

Note: You may also find this section called ‘Methods’ and ‘Methods and Materials’.

The Materials and Methods section is a concise chronological description of the

laboratory procedure you used in the lab. This section may be the most important
aspect of a research paper because it provides the information by which the validity of
a study is ultimately judged. It must be written with enough detail so that the
experiment could be repeated by others to evaluate and verify the findings. The
complexity of scientific inquiry necessitates that the writing of the methods be clear and
orderly to avoid confusion and ambiguity.

It is usually helpful to structure the Materials and Methods section in the following
manner:

1. Explain how the materials were prepared.

e.g. Source of your organism? How did you set up your experiment? Did you allow any acclimatization
of your subjects? How did you move the subjects to the experimental chamber? etc.

2. Describe the research protocol.

e.g. What did you do? What variables, treatments and experimental groups did you use? How many
samples were collected and how much replication? What did you control for? This section necessarily
includes any concentrations, volumes, times etc.

3. Explain how measurements were made and any calculations that were performed.

e.g. How did you perform your experiment? Did you count for 20 seconds and then multiply by 3 to
get beats per minute? Did you look at percent change from control (control heart rate – experimental
heart rate/control heart rate) X 100.

4. State which statistical tests were performed on the data.

e.g. Describe how your data will be presented (e.g. mean, SD, SEM)? If you subjected your data to a
statistical analysis you would list the statistical test used with reference to the variables examined and
the p-value used to indicate statistical significance?

Style Tips:

• Provide rationale for why particular steps were taken whenever it might not be
obvious. (e.g. Why did you use the Daphnia cooling chamber? Why did you pre-

4 BIO270 Lab 1 Assignment Summer 2014

 incubate Daphnia? Why was it important to use a wide-mouthed pipette to
transfer Daphnia?)
• Writing must be in sentences, no point form or lists.
• Writing should be direct and precise.
• Write in the passive voice (e.g. use “The gel was loaded” rather than “I loaded
the gel.”).
• Avoid telling the reader what to do, rather tell them what you did (e.g. use ‘the
tubes were mixed’ rather than ‘mix the tubes’.
• Writing should be in the past tense (this may seem strange for the prelab
assignment as you will not have carried out your study yet!).
• Avoid descriptions of ‘unimportant’ details (e.g. ‘the microscope was adjusted for
parfocal viewing’ or pipetting procedure or ‘data were recorded’, the colour of
the eppendorf tubes). When standard laboratory procedures are used they are
generally not included. You can assume that other scientists will be familiar with
these procedures.
• Descriptions of preparations, measurements, and protocol should be organized
chronologically.
• Do not list all of the materials needed for the experiment at the beginning. The
materials and equipment utilized during the experiment should be mentioned
throughout the procedure as they are used.
• For clarity, when a large amount of detail must be presented, information should
be presented in subsections (e.g. Sample Preparation, Data Analysis) according
to topic. Within each section and subsection, material should always be
organized by topic from most to least important.
• Do not include any results (since you have not carried out your experiment yet,
this will not be a problem for the pre-lab assignment!).
• It is not a step by step description of everything you did, nor is it a set of
instructions. In particular, it is not supposed to tell a story.
• Be succinct.

Note: In this laboratory it will not be necessary to list equipment by vendor name
and/or catalog number. However, you should recognize that this is often a requirement
for a Materials and Methods section in a peer-reviewed journal.

For further details, please refer to:

Pechenik, JA. 2012. A short guide to writing about biology. 8th Edition. Toronto:
Pearson. Chapter 9, Writing laboratory and other research reports; p. 157 – 195.
Garside, CS. 2013. Laboratory calculations review. Toronto. p. 1-11.

5 BIO270 Lab 1 Assignment Summer 2014