Lab Success Strategies

Study Notes

Reading assigned laboratory exercises before class is crucial, especially during the first five weeks when pre-designed exercises are conducted.
Quizzes on the laboratory material will be given at the start of each of the first five labs.
Hands-on participation in laboratory exercises enhances learning and understanding of scientific concepts.
Participation in lab exercises contributes to laboratory grades.
Collaboration within lab groups is essential; students will work together on experiments and share ideas.
Each student will have specific assigned roles to ensure equal contribution within the team.
While teamwork is important, individual understanding and ownership of the lab notebook entries and written assignments are required.
The lab experience is designed to simulate authentic research in biology, encouraging students to discover new information.

The introductory biology lab includes traditional "cookbook" exercises followed by limited experimental design.
This approach reviews lecture topics and teaches basic experimental design techniques, though it may lack the creation of new scientific knowledge.
The BIOL 112 lab is structured to provide both traditional benefits and a realistic scientific experience.
Labs will last three hours and will begin with a quiz, requiring pre-lab reading.
Focus will be on techniques such as microscopy and spectrophotometry, using the marine planktonic copepod Tigriopus californicus as a model organism.
Students will draft sections of a scientific paper for experiments conducted later in the semester.
Groups will select research areas, formulate testable hypotheses, and design experiments to test these hypotheses.
After five weeks, students will conduct individual experiments with T. californicus and present progress and findings to the class.
Instructors will provide guidance as research mentors and will check lab notebooks weekly for grading.