Abstract:
Write the abstract last, after you have finished the experiment. It should be a summary of everything that happened. Write 1-2 sentences that summarize each section of the finished lab report. This section should be 75-200 words long.
Introduction:
The threespine stickleback fish is a model organism for studying evolution. In the Virtual Stickleback Evolution Lab by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), researchers performed multiple experiments to compare live and fossil fish from several locations. We will focus just on the first experiment, analyzing fish from lakes. You will write a lab report as if you were one of the researchers performing the Stickleback Fish Experiment 1.
Your Introduction should discuss related topics here, like: stickleback fish, pelvic morphology, difference in the lakes, natural selection, predation, etc. This section should be a page or two long. Be sure to cite at least 3 sources in the text, and then include them on a References page at the end.
Hypothesis:
If the pelvic spines were compared between fish of two different lakes, then it was hypothesized that the fish in ________________ Lake would have the greatest number of __(complete or incomplete)___ pelvic spines.
(Use this hypothesis but fill in the blanks with your own choice of each option. It doesn’t have to be right – you will discuss if the hypothesis was accepted/rejected in the Discussion at the end.)
Materials:
• Your Materials selection should “pretend” that you did this simulation in real life. For example, you should list the jars of fish, microscope, stain, water, etc. You will need to make reasonable attempts at describing each item, based on what you see in the simulation.
• This should be a bulleted list, with as much description as possible.
Method:
Your actual process (don’t write about this):
- Go to https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/stickleback-evolution-virtual-lab (or search online for “HHMI Stickleback Evolution lab”).
- Complete Experiment 1.
Your Lab Report Method (what you actually write):
- Again, pretend that you actually did this experiment. Create a numbered list of steps.
The Materials and Method are given as you work through the Experiment 1 virtual lab. When you write your lab report, you should make them as detailed as possible. You should write about the exact procedure used, but you can “make up” quantities and times that are reasonable. Be specific and write in past tense, like if you actually performed this experiment yourself.
- When you use a liquid, you could estimate the size container and the liquid amount. For example, you could estimate that the size of the flasks and jars are 500mL. When you write down quantities of liquids, you might say that you used 400mL (most of flask) or 500mL (all of flask), etc., based on what you see in the virtual lab process.
- When there is a timer with a range of times you can pick a reasonable time frame. For example, you might say you waited 4 hours if the time frame was 3-6 hours.
- Be sure to describe all steps of the experiment – from collecting the fish, to staining, to scoring under the microscope. However, write these in your own words – do not just copy everything exactly.
Results:
The virtual lab will create the data score table and bar graph for you. You should screenshot them both (in either one image together or two separate ones) and include them in your report for your Results section. You can find the table and graph under “Progress” à “Data.” You do NOT have to include or discuss the Chi-square analysis.
Your screenshots must include the computer date and time stamp to be graded. Your lab report will not be graded without the inclusion of the screenshots as proof of your Experiment 1 virtual lab completion.
Results Summary:
Include a few sentences to summarize the data. Don’t list it, and don’t try to tell “why” anything happened. Just summarize the overall results – which lake had the fish with the most complete pelvic spines, etc.
Discussion:
Begin with a discussion of your hypothesis – was it accepted or rejected? Then, explain “why” you think these results occurred. Give the science behind the results. This should be several paragraphs long.
Improvements – Write a paragraph on what might be improved in this particular experimental design. How could you have gotten more detailed results – larger sample sizes? Different areas/depths of lake? More researchers evaluating fish to agree on results? Put any possible ways to improve this actual experiment.
Future Experiments – Write a paragraph about what you could study next, that is related but changes the parameters. For example, you could test different lakes with similar predation, or different species of fish that also have pelvic spine changes. Explain what you might change, what you might learn from that, and briefly how you would run that experiment.
References:
Include the APA citations to match the in-text citations that you included in your Introductory section. You should have at least 3. The cited sources should be about biological information – not citations related to writing lab reports or such.
You may use your textbook as one of your cited sources. You may also use the HHMI Virtual Stickleback Evolution Lab as a source – there is a lot of good information provided through the lab. Use other academic sources – not “Yahoo Answers” or “Google”, but actual respectable websites. For the website links in your citations, be sure to include the full website link. I should be able to click the link and go directly to the information or photo from your presentation.
Example website links:
https://a-z-animals.com/ is not acceptable.
https://a-z-animals.com/animals/lion/ is acceptable.
Example APA citation:
A-Z Animals. Lion. (2022, July 15). Retrieved July 19, 2022, from https://a-z-animals.com/animals/lion/
Example in-text citation:
Lions are mammals in the order Carnivora and family Felidae (A-Z Animals, 2022).
Assignment File Type:
Your lab report must be uploaded as either a docx or pdf in order to be graded.
Do Your Own Work, Do Your Best Work:
Plagiarism is “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own” (Dictionary.com, 2022). Plagiarism includes any copying/pasting of information without citing the source. There should be no “quotes” from a website or textbook in this assignment, so all information should be reworded in your own way. Plagiarism also includes working with other students, either current or former, and turning in work that is substantially similar (for example, same parameters, same data, etc.). Remember that both students would incur consequences – so do your own work and protect your work. Per your syllabus, plagiarism earns a 0 on the assignment, and a subsequent infraction may fail you for the entire course.
Assignments with major errors in following directions or reaching college-level expectations of quality will not be graded and will earn a zero.
- Examples of this include, but are not limited to: Completing an experiment that does not follow the majority of instructions provided; Written or photographic evidence showing disregard for basic laboratory safety; Missing screenshots of the virtual lab data; Simply copying the instructions above and not writing your own experiment; Missing multiple sections of the lab report; Turning in less than half of the work completed; Turning in documents that do not open; Using artificial intelligence technology (ie ChatGPT), etc.
- Put your time and effort into this lab report to showcase your experiment and results. Make a lab report that you will be proud of.