Using References in your Lab Writeup Make sure you both c.docx

Using References in your Lab Writeup
Make sure you both cite the reference that you use in the body
of your text, AND
provide a reference list at the end of your writeup.
For example, to cite references within the body of your lab
writeup:
In this lab we examined how different fish like to eat different
kinds of algae. The red
algae are the largest group of algae (Abbott, 1999). Therefore,
we focused on red algae
in this lab. Many red algae are quite edible and some of the best
known red algae
include those that are eaten in sushi (sushiworld.com). Algae
are also quite nutritious
(Markeley, 2010). Our fish came from tidepools, which are
located in the area between
high and low tide (Mahon and Mahon, 1994). According to our
lab manual (WOU
Biology, 2011), our fish were collected during low tide.
Reference List:
Book Abbott, I.A. 1999. Marine Red Algae of the Hawaiian
Islands. Bishop Museum Press,
Honolulu.
Journal
Article

Mahon, R. & S.D. Mahon. 1994. Structure and resilience of a
tidepool fish assemblage
at Barbados. Environmental Biology of Fishes 41: 171-190.
News
Article
Markeley, G.R. (2010). The Nutritional Benefits of Seaweeds.
Amity News, February 25,
2010.
Website "Popular seaweeds in Japanese Cuisine". Accessed
online March 15, 2012.
http://sushiworld.com/seaweeds.html.
Lab
Manual
WOU Biology Department (2011). Lab #2: Fish and Algae.
Biology 101 Lab Manual.
Note that these show examples of the different types of
references you might use.
You should not break your reference list down into these
categories, but simply list all
references alphabetically.

WOU Biology 100 Series Graphs Overview
Making a graph is one of the easiest ways to get an idea of the
patterns in your data.
Graphing is a fairly straightforward process, but there are a few
things to keep in mind.
1. Type of graph. You should think carefully about the kind of
data you have before you
decide what type of graph to produce. See Figure 1.
a. Line graphs are useful to show how a factor changes over
time or in some other
gradual continuous increment (like temperature or ambient
light).
b. Bar graphs are useful to show a total change or overall
difference between
different discrete variables (like types of organisms or specific
experimental
treatments).
Figure 1. Types of Graphs. The graph on the left is a line graph.
The graph on the right is a bar graph.
2. Variables
a. The independent variable is the variable that you change or
manipulate in the
experiment. This variable is usually placed along the x
(horizontal) axis. In the

case of an experiment where you are observing something that
changes over
time, time serves as an independent variable and is always listed
on the x-axis. If,
in addition to time, there is a second independent variable (e.g.
observing what
happens to two different treatments over time) this variable is
usually graphed by
drawing multiple lines on the graph. See Figure 2.
b. The dependent variable is the response or what happens in
response to the
independent variable. Typically, this variable is what you
counted or measured
during the experiment. This variable is placed along the y
(vertical) axis.
3. Titles and Labeling.
a. Every graph needs a concise and descriptive title that
explains what phenomenon
the graph is attempting to visualize. If you averaged data from
several different lab
groups before graphing, you should note in the title that your
graph depicts
averaged data (like in the bar graph in Figure 1).
b. Each axis should be labeled, and the label should include the
units in which the
data was recorded. Without units, your graph is meaningless.

Table 1, below, shows an example of data collected during an
experiment. The same data is
presented in Figure 2. Note how much easier it is to quickly
examine the patterns of data
collected in the visual graph compared to the data table, as long
as the graph is titled
properly, the axes are labeled (with units) and there is a key.
Table 1: Data table showing gas generation (viewed as
movement of liquid up a tube) by Elodea
plants under different conditions. Note use of units in the table
headings.
Movement of liquid in tube (in centimeters)
Time (minutes) Clear test tube Foil covered test tube
5 0.7 0
10 1.1 0.2
15 1.4 0.3
20 1.7 0.4
25 2.1 0.4
30 2.8 0.4
35 3.6 0.4
40 4.5 0.4
45 5.8 0.4
50 6.7 0.4
55 7.6 0.4
60 8.8 0.4
Figure 2: A line graph with title, labels (including units), and a
key. This data is the same as the data
provided in Table 1.

4. Keys. If your graph includes multiple variables (see Figure
2), it is necessary to include
a key. While you may find it useful to color-code your graph,
remember that not all
printers or copiers produce color. Thus, the use of symbols (like
the diamonds and
squares at each data point in Figure 2) and gray-scale in keys is
most appropriate to
ensure that someone trying to interpret your graph can do, even
in black and white.
5. Scale. It is important to choose the appropriate scale for each
axis. Figure 2 shows the
appropriate scale for oxygen generation by Elodea in light. See
Figure 3 for
inappropriate scales. To determine the appropriate scale, it is
usually best to examine
the maximum and minimum data points, and then choose a scale
that will allow you to
show those points at either end of the axis.
a. A scale that is too large will compress your data points, and
will not allow you to
see the relevant patterns in the data.
b. A scale that is too small will limit the amount of data you are
able to present and
will also appear too busy and be hard-to-read.
c. Remember also that your scale should be consistent- The y-
axis in Figure 2 does

not suddenly change from increments of 5 cm to increments of
20 cm, for example.
Figure 3A. This graph has a vertical scale that is too large.
Figure 3 B. This graph has a vertical scale that is too small.
BI 103 Lab 1 Writing Assignment
How the hormone gibberellin affect plant growth?
This assignment requires you to evaluate a hypothesis and
communicate the results of your study
on how different levels of gibberellin influences growth of
different plants. The questions below are
meant to guide you to reporting the key findings of your
experiment and help you think through
how to explain the findings and draw conclusions from them in
a scientific manner.
ASSIGNMENT: Please respond to the following questions to
complete your laboratory write up. For this
assignment you will only focus the stomatal counts. Make sure
that your write up is accurate, and clearly
written so that it is easily readable.
A grading rubric is provided on the second page of this
assignment. To earn full points on your write up,
you must provide answers that align to the “meets” column of

your grading rubric as well as meeting all
“Quality of Writing and Mechanics” elements described in the
rubric. There are also some tips on pages 3-4
of this assignment to help you succeed.
FORMAT:
• Type your responses, using 1.5 or double spacing.
• Include the section headings (Hypothesis, Results, Analysis)
and question number (example: 1, 2, 3,
etc) in your answers but do not rewrite the question.
• Graphs may be made with a computer program (example:
Microsoft excel, Mac numbers, etc) or may
be neatly produced with a ruler on graphing paper.
• Print out the cover sheet on page 2 of this assignment, read
and sign the academic honesty statement,
and submit it with your write up. Your instructor WILL NOT
accept a write up without the signed cover
sheet.
DUE DATE: Your write up is due at the beginning of class next
week. Late assignments will have 1 point
deducted per day up to 5 days, at which point the assignment
will be assigned 0 points.
Hypothesis and Prediction – Part 1 of Rubric
1. What did you think was going to happen in this experiment
and why? You may find it helpful to state
your answers to these questions as an “if-then” hypothesis-
prediction. Be sure you have included a
biological rationale that explains WHY you made this
hypothesis/prediction. Think about how

gibberellin influences plant growth and how different types of
plants grow.
Results – Part 2 of Rubric
2. How did the amount of gibberellin and the type of plant
influence the overall average height of the
plants? Answer this question by creating a bar graph that shows
the results of your experiment. If
you need assistance building a graph, there is a Guide to
Graphing resource available on your
Moodle lab course site.
Analysis- Part 3 of Rubric
3. Explain why you think that the results shown in your graph
support or refute your hypothesis
(remember we never “prove” anything in science). Consider all
your data and the overall data pattern
as you answer this question. Don’t ignore unusual data that
may not seem to fit into specific patterns
(“outliers”). Explain what you think might be behind these
unusual data points.
4. What is the biological significance of your results? What
biological concepts explain completely why
these events happened in the experiment? How do these results
help you understand how hormones
affect plant growth? Think about giving a specific example.
References- Mechanics Checklist
5. Provide at least one full citation (make sure you include an
in-text citation that pinpoints where you
used this resource) for a resource you made use of in

performing the experiment, understanding the
concepts and writing this assignment. (Perhaps your lab
manual? Your textbook? A website?) If you
used more than one resource, you need to cite each one! If you
need help with citations, a Guide to
Citing References is available on your Moodle lab course site.
Please
print
out
and
submit
this
cover
sheet
with
your
lab
writeup!
Lab
Writeup
Assignment
(1)
Assessment
Rubric-‐
10
points
total

Name:
________________________________________
Element Misses (1 point) Approaches (2 points) Meets (3
points)
Hypothesis
Clarity/Specificity
Testability
Rationale
___Hypothesis is unclear and hard-
to-understand
___Hypothesis is not testable
___No biological rationale for
hypothesis or rationale is fully
inaccurate
___Hypothesis included is clearly
stated, but not specific or lacks
specific details

__Hypothesis is testable, but not in a
feasible way in this lab
___Some foundation for hypothesis,
but based in part on biological
inaccuracy
___Hypothesis included is clearly
stated and very specific
___Hypothesis is testable and could
be tested within lab parameters
___Rationale for hypothesis is
grounded in accurate biological
information
Graph
Title
Axes
Variables
Key
Graph clarity
Data accuracy

___Graph lacks a title
___Axes are not labeled
___Variables not addressed in graph
___No key or way to tell data points
apart
___Graph is hard to read and
comparisons cannot be made:
Inappropriate graph type or use of
scale
___Data graphed is inaccurate or
does not relate to experiment
___Graph has a title that is not very
descriptive
___Axes are either unlabeled, or
units are unclear or wrong
___Variables addressed in graph, but
not on correct axes
___Key included, but is hard to
understand
___Graph is somewhat readable,
comparisons can be made with

difficulty: Appropriate graph type, but
not scaled well
___Data graphed is partially
accurate; some data is missing
___Graph has a concise, descriptive
title
___Axes are labeled, including
clarification of units used
___Variables on correct axes
___A clear, easy-to-use key to data
points is included
___Graph is clearly readable and
comparisons between treatments are
easy to make: Graph type and scale
are appropriate to data
___Data graphed is accurate and
includes all relevant data, including
controls (if needed)
Analysis
Hypothesis
Scientific language
Data addressed

Explanation
___Hypothesis is not addressed
___Hypothesis is described using
language like proven, true, or right
___No explanations for data patterns
observed in graph or data does not
support conclusions.
___No biological explanation for data
trends or explanations are completely
inaccurate
___Hypothesis is mentioned, but not
linked well to data
___Hypothesis is not consistently
described as supported or refuted
___Some data considered in
conclusions but other data is ignored.
Any unusual “outliers” are ignored
___Explanations include minimal or
some inaccurate biological concepts
___Hypothesis is evaluated based
upon data

___Hypothesis is consistently
described as supported or refuted
___All data collected is considered
and addressed by conclusions,
including presence of outliers,
___Explanations include relevant and
accurate biological concepts
Quality of Writing and Mechanics: Worth 1 point. Writeup
should meet all of the following criteria!
Yes No
☐ ☐
Write up includes your name, the date, and your lab section
☐ ☐ Write up is free from spelling and grammatical errors
(make sure you proofread!!)
☐ ☐ Write up is clear and easy-to-understand
☐ ☐ Write up includes full citation for at least one reference
with corresponding in-text citation
☐ ☐ All portions of write up are clearly labeled, and question
numbers are included
Plagiarism refers to the use of original work, ideas, or text that
are not your own. This includes cut-and-paste from websites,
copying directly from texts, and copying the work of others,
including fellow students. Telling someone your answers to the
questions (including telling someone how to make their graph,
question #2), or asking for the answers to any question, is
cheating.
(Asking someone how to make the graph for this assignment is
NOT the same as asking for help learning excel or some other
software). All forms of cheating, including plagiarism and
copying of work will result in an immediate zero for the exam,

quiz, or
assignment. In the case of copying, all parties involved in the
unethical behavior will earn zeros. Cheating students will be
referred to the Student Conduct Committee for further action.
You also have the right to appeal to the Student Conduct
Committee.
I have read and understand the plagiarism statement.
____________________________________________________
Signature
Guidelines for Good Quality Scientific Reports
Hypothesis and Prediction: The hypothesis is a tentative
explanation for the phenomenon. Remember
that:
• A good hypothesis and prediction is testable (and should be
testable under the conditions of our lab
environment; For example, if your hypothesis requires shooting
a rocket into space, then its not
really testable under our laboratory conditions).
• Your explanation can be ruled out through testing, or falsified.
• A good hypothesis and prediction is detailed and specific in
what it is testing.
• A good hypothesis provides a rationale or explanation for why
you think your prediction is
reasonable and this rationale is based on what we know about
biology.
• A good prediction is specific and can be tested with a specific
experiment.

Examples*:
I think that diet soda will float and regular soda will sink.
{This hypothesis misses the goal. It is not specific as we don’t
know where the sodas are floating and
sinking, and it does not provide any explanation to explain why
the hypothesis makes sense}
Because diet soda does not contain sugar and regular soda does,
the diet soda will float in a bucket of
water, while regular soda will sink.
{This hypothesis approaches the goal. It is more specific about
the conditions, and it provides a partial
explanation about why the hypothesis makes sense, but the
connection between sugar and sinking is
unclear}
If diet soda does not contain sugar, then its density
(mass/volume) is lower than that of regular soda
which does contain sugar, and so diet soda will float in a bucket
of water while regular soda sinks.
{This hypothesis meets the goal. It is specific and the rationale-
sugar affects density and density is what
determines floating or sinking in water- is clearly articulated}
*Note that these examples are for different experiments and
investigations and NOT about your
transpiration lab. They are provided only to help you think
about what you need to include in your write up.
Graph: The graph is a visual representation of the data you
gathered while testing your hypothesis.

Remember that:
• A graph needs a concise title that clearly describes the data
that it is showing.
• Data must be put on the correct axes of the graph. In general,
the data you collected (representing
what you are trying to find out about) goes on the vertical (Y)
axis. The supporting data that that
describes how, when or under what conditions you collected
your data goes on the horizontal (X)
axis. (For this reason time nearly always goes on the X-axis).
• Axes must be labeled, including the units in which data were
recorded
• Data points should be clearly marked and identified; a key is
helpful if more than one group of data
is included in the graph.
• The scale of a graph is important. It should be consistent
(there should be no change in the units or
increments on a single axis) and appropriate to the data you
collected
Examples:
{This graph misses the goal. There is no title, nor is there a key
to help distinguish what the data points mean. The
scale is too large- from 0 to 100 with an increment of 50, when
the maximum number in the graph is 23- and makes it
hard to interpret this graph. The x-axis is labeled, but without
units (the months) and the y-axis has units, but the label
is incomplete- number of what?}

{This graph meets the goal. There is a descriptive title, and all
of the axes are clearly labeled with units. There is a key
so that we can distinguish what each set of data points
represent. The dependent variable (number of individuals) is
correctly placed on the y-axis with the independent variable of
time placed on the x-axis. The scale of 0-30 is
appropriate to the data, with each line on the x-axis representing
an increment of 5.}
0
50
100
N
um
be
r
Stream
location
Arthropod
Abundance
in
Oregon

Streams
0
5
10
15
20
25
Little
Luckiamute
Nestucca
Neskowin
Rickreall
T
ot
al
n
um

be
r
of
s
pe
ci
es
Stream
location
Arthropod
Abundance
in
Oregon
Streams
Insects
Crustaceans
Other
Arthropods
Analysis: You need to evaluate your hypothesis based on the

data patterns shown by your graph.
Remember that:
• You use data to determine support or refute your hypothesis. It
is only possible to support a
hypothesis, not to “prove” one (that would require testing every
possible permutation and
combination of factors). Your evaluation of your hypothesis
should not be contradicted by the
pattern shown by your data.
• Refer back to the prediction you made as part of your
hypothesis and use your data to justify your
decision to support or refute your hypothesis.
• In the “if” part of your hypothesis you should have provided a
rationale, or explanation for the
prediction you made in your hypothesis (“then” part of
hypothesis”). Use this to help you explain
why you think you observed the specific pattern of data
revealed in your graph.
• You should consider all of the data you collected in examining
the support (or lack of support for
your hypothesis). If there are unusual data points or “outliers”
that don’t seem to fit the general
pattern in your graph, explain what you think those mean.
Examples:
I was right. Diet Pepsi floated and so did Apricot Nectar.
Regular Pepsi sank. Obviously the regular
Pepsi was heavier. This helps us understand the concept of
density, which is a really important one.
{This analysis misses the goal. The hypothesis isn’t actually

mentioned and the data is only briefly described. There is
no explanation of the importance of the Apricot Nectar results.
Finally, there is no connection to how these results
help understand density or why it is biologically important}
I hypothesized that diet soda would float, and all three cans of
diet Pepsi did float while the regular
Pepsi sank. This supports my hypothesis. Both types of Pepsi
were 8.5 fluid ounces in volume, but the
regular Pepsi also contained 16 grams of sugar. This means that
the regular Pepsi had 16 more grams
of mass provided by the sugar in the same amount of volume.
This would lead to an increase in
density, which explains why the regular soda cans sank. When
we put in a can of Apricot Nectar,
which had 19 grams of sugar, it floated. This was unexpected,
but I think it is explained by the fact
that an Apricot Nectar can had a volume of 7 fluid ounces, but
the dimensions of the can are the
same as that of a Pepsi can. A same-sized can with less liquid
probably has an air space that helped it
float. The results of this experiment help us understand how the
air bladder of a fish, which creates
an air space inside the fish, helps it float in the water and also
how seaweeds and other living things
with air spaces or other factors that decrease their density keep
from sinking to the bottom of the
water.
{This analysis meets the goal. It clearly ties the hypothesis to
the results and outlines what they mean. It describes
how the results support the hypothesis, but also explains a
possible reason behind the unusual results of the Apricot
Nectar. Finally, there is a link to how this experiment helps us
understand biology}

Using References in your Lab Writeup Make sure you both c.docx

Using References in your Lab Writeup Make sure you both c.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Using References in your Lab Writeup Make sure you both c.docx

Similar to Using References in your Lab Writeup Make sure you both c.docx (19)

More from dickonsondorris

More from dickonsondorris (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Using References in your Lab Writeup Make sure you both c.docx