Ryerson University

Department of Chemistry and Biology

BLG 144

Biology II
Laboratory Manual
de Jong

Puddephatt L. Victorio-Walz A. E. Laursen L. H. McCarthy S. Sobek-Swant

Koprivnikar

2015 Instructors:

Arts, J. Koprivnikar, S.J. Melles* *Course and lab coordinator

January, 2015

BLG 144 Biology II Laboratory

Lab Instructor:

Dr. Stephanie Melles

Email: Stephanie.melles@ryerson.ca

Teaching Assistants Name:

__________________________________________

TAs Email: ____________________________@ryerson.ca

Please note: inquiries about BLG144 lab should be directed to your TA. Any problem or
inquires other than those regarding the lab experiments or activities (for example
Mastering Biology, missed labs, late reports, etc.) should be directed to the general
course email: blg144@ryerson.ca.

Laboratories are mandatory. It is important that you read over what will be done in each
lab before coming to the lab. Quizzes will be based on this material and they will be written
at the start of the laboratory session, so be sure you are on time. There will be no makeup laboratory quizzes or makeup labs (see Course Policies, Section J of this
document if your absence is due to medical reasons or bereavement). Laboratory
Report Sheets are the responsibility of the student to complete. This information will be
needed for quizzes and for the lab exam. As indicated in each lab, some questions on
the report sheets are to be answered prior to coming to lab. This is to ensure that you
have the background knowledge to complete the lab successfully.

Allergens: Please inform the TA and the course instructor as soon as possible if you
have known allergens and take note in particular of the protocol for laboratory 3, which
involves various plants, seeds, cheese, fruits, fungi, and molds.

Safety and Orientation in the Biology Laboratory

Safety in any laboratory is of paramount importance in order to prevent infection and

contamination, and to ensure safety while handling chemicals which may be hazardous.
Although few of the procedures used in these labs are very dangerous, organisms

should be treated as potential pathogens and all chemicals should be treated as

potential toxic agents. Ensure that you arrive on time to each lab session, in order to
hear the pre-lab talk discuss procedures and potential dangers of that particular
session. The following rules must be observed to avoid careless accidents:

A. Aseptic Technique

Wash your hands with soap each time you enter and leave the lab. There are
designated wash stations set up in each lab.
Wash bench space with disinfectant before and after working there.

Always wear a lab coat and button it up.

Cover any open wound/cut with a bandage or inform the TA, who will give you
appropriate covering for it.

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B. Safe Laboratory Practice

Lab coats and safety glasses must be worn in the lab at all times.
Do not eat, smoke, drink or chew gum in the lab.

Never place anything in your mouth while in the lab (e.g. pens, pencils, fingers).

Never pipette by mouth - always use the pump/pipette aid.

Do not bring extra outdoor street clothes into the laboratory.

Keep bench space clear of unnecessary materials - clothes, books, etc. belong in your
locker!

Tie back long hair. It can catch on fire in seconds or become contaminated with
chemicals, bacterial cultures, etc.

Always wear closed-toed shoes (No high heels).

Make sure gas jet is turned off before you leave the lab.
Replace all equipment where it was obtained.

If you are not sure about something, ASK the TA.

C. Proper Disposal

Place used disposable slides and pipettes in the biohazard containers located on the
bench. DO NOT DISCARD PREPARED SLIDES OR DEPRESSION SLIDES!

Biohazard containers are to be emptied at the end of each lab session into the larger
biohazards stations at the front.

Place contaminated tubes and Petri plates for discard in marked biohazard bags at the
front of the room.
Do not throw garbage in the sinks.

Paper towels, etc. are to be placed in garbage bins - not on the floor.
Place broken glassware in broken glass container.

Any contaminated garbage (paper towels, broken glassware etc.) must be discarded in
biohazard bags.
Report any chemical or biological spills to your TA immediately.

D. Orientation

Know where the following stations or equipment are found:

Safety

Supplies
Hand-washing Stations

Incubator
Eye-wash Stations

Microscope supplies
Fire extinguisher

Vacuum tubing
Shower

Refrigerator
Main gas switch

Lab coat storage

Gas taps (blue)

Test tube rack

Vacuum tabs (yellow)

Staining Stations
Bench top Biohazard

Vacuum Tubing
Biohazard waste

Bunsen burners and flints

Broken glass waste container

Garbage waste container

Nearest phone

Nearest exit

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E. Lab Monitors

Each week, a pair of students will be scheduled to be lab monitors. The lab monitors will
be responsible for checking each work station to make sure all used lab supplies are
replaced and making sure the lab is tidy before leaving. Untidy work stations will be
reported to the TA and students responsible will be penalized.

F. Demonstrations

Demonstrations are important parts of some laboratory experiments. The use of

equipment and new experimental procedures will be demonstrated by TAs and/or
technical staff. There are many laboratory skills to be acquired, and it is important that it
is taught and learned correctly. The student is responsible not only for the material
covered in the experiment but also for the material covered in the demonstrations and
therefore they should be examined carefully.

G. Course Evaluation

Both lecture and lab sections must be passed to receive a passing grade in BLG144.
Failure to pass either section will result in failure for the entire course. The laboratory
component of the course will comprise 30% of the final grade for BLG144. You MUST
pass the laboratory component in order to pass the course. A breakdown of the
laboratory marks are as follows:

Laboratory Quizzes (4 10) =

40
Laboratory Data Collection
5
Formal Lab Report
20
Laboratory Exam

25
Good Lab Practice
10

100

Laboratory quizzes: Lab quizzes will be held in labs at the beginning of all labs. Each
quiz will be worth 10 of your lab marks out of 100. If you are late for laboratory, you
will not be permitted to write the lab quiz. There will be no make-up laboratory
quizzes permitted on the basis of lateness. Please refer to section J (Course
Policies) for information on missed laboratory quizzes for medical reasons.
Students with a valid medical certificate may be permitted to write a missed quiz
by attending a later lab section if space and scheduling so allows.

Report sheets: As mentioned above, each of the laboratory descriptions in the manual
includes report sheets at the end. These Laboratory Report Sheets are the
responsibility of the student to complete. Some of the questions on report sheets
need to be answered prior to coming to lab, while other questions and answers
require results from the lab. Therefore coming prepared to the lab will ease the work
load during the lab. You lab exam will be based on being able to successfully address
lab report sheet questions, so it is important that you complete them correctly.

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Formal Lab Report: A formal lab report will be written based on an experiment we
perform with the class (details to be provided in lecture and on Blackboard). The writeth

up for our experiment is due on February 13 . A hard copy is required to be handed in

to your TA for marking at the beginning of the following lab. Additionally, a copy must be
submitted through Turnitin (see Submitting Assignments under Section J) for the
evaluation of plagiarism.

Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)

No student is allowed to leave the laboratory session before the end of the period.
Questions regarding each lab will be discussed prior to the completion of that
experiment. A portion of GLP will be based on completion of ALL lab activities. Each
student will start with zero GLP marks and will - based on their activities during the lab earn 2.5 marks for each of the four weeks. These marks will be for: 1) coming prepared
with your lab manual, lab coat, safety glasses, pens/pencils; as well as being organized;
2) arriving on time and being ready to go when the TA starts the class at 10 past the
hour; 3) working diligently during the lab and participating in lab activities/experiments;
4) cleaning up after the experiment is over, leaving your station and the lab tidy and
ready for the next section of students.

H. Required for the First Lab:

Printed lab manual

Lab notebook for recording results and observations

Lab coat - available from the book store

Safety glasses (or goggles) - from the bookstore

Sharpie felt marker

Stapler

The laboratory manual is available on the Blackboard website for

BLG144 Laboratory. You MUST bring a complete copy of the
laboratory manual to all labs. Please print the whole manual and put it
into a laboratory binder.

I. Blackboard

Blackboard is used for posting lab materials, marks and communications. The
blackboard site can be accessed at https://my.ryerson.ca. Each student must obtain an
account from CCS to access Blackboard. It is the responsibility of the student to check
Blackboard regularly for announcements regarding the laboratory.

J. Course Policies:

Missed Laboratory Periods: Students are required to attend all laboratory periods as
scheduled. If a student misses a laboratory period for any reason they are to notify the
TA ASAP. If your absence is for medical reasons, the student must submit a Ryerson
medical certificate ( http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/forms/medical.pdf), completed and

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signed by the attending physician, to the First Year and Common Science Office (7 Floor
Victoria Building) within three (3) days of the missed laboratory period. A copy of the
medical certificate should also be given to the TA. There will be no opportunities to make up
missed laboratories in later weeks and students cannot make up a laboratory exercise by
attending another lab section without the consent of both the TA involved and the
course coordinator (Dr. Melles). Students missing more than 20% of the lab sessions will
not pass the laboratory section of the course (see departmental policy,
http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/cab/News/TimeSensitiveAdvertisements/Student_ H
andbook_2014.pdf, Laboratory/Tutorial Attendance section).

Missed Final Lab Examination: Students are responsible for writing exams on the day
specified. Students who miss the final examination due to medical reasons or
bereavement must notify the TA ASAP and submit the pertinent documentation
(Ryerson medical certificate/note from funeral director) to the First Year and Common
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Science Office (7 Floor Victoria Building) within three (3) days of the missed
examination (see above). If the documentation is acceptable and you are granted a
make-up, there will be one (and only one) make-up opportunity. A supplementary
examination will be scheduled by the Department. Details of the University examination
policy can be found at http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol135.pd f.

Submission of Assignments: Assignments must be submitted by the deadline and in the

manner specified by the TA. Unless you are specifically instructed otherwise,
submission of assignments by e-mail is unacceptable. The TA is not responsible for
printing student material. In addition to a hard copy, your formal report must be
submitted through turnitin. To do this, follow these guidelines:

Submission of Formal Reports to Turnitin.com (via Blackboard)

Students agree that by taking this course all required lab reports may be subject to
submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All
submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference
database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of
Turnitin.com service is subject to the terms of the use agreement posted on the
Turnitin.com site.

An electronic copy of your report, containing only the text, must be submitted to
Blackboard (Turnitin.com) prior to handing it in to class. Both versions of the text
MUST BE EXACTLY THE SAME.

When submitting to turnitin.com, please do the following to ensure that all is

well.

In Blackboard, under Course Tools, select the option Turnitin Assignments.

Submit the file.

After submitting the file:

you should get an on-screen confirmation that the assignment is complete.

you should get an email confirming submission.

Sometimes submission goes awry. It is your responsibility to make sure the file went
through. To do this:

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log off after submitting.

login right after and go to the page where it should state that the file was submitted. IF
NOT, do it again: do not ignore it.

Penalty for Late Assignments: All assignments are due at the beginning of the lab. Any
assignment that is submitted after the deadline indicated will be subject to the following
penalties: Late submissions will be penalised at 10% within 24 hours late, 25% after

24 hours late and after 48 hours you will receive a zero grade. This includes
weekends.

Religious Observance Policy: If you require religious accommodation, you must

complete and submit the request form to your Lecture Instructor within the first week of
the semester. The form is available at:
http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/forms/relobservforminstr.pd f.

For additional clarification of the Religious Observance Policy, see:

http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/senate/pol150.pd f.

Access Centre: Students who will be using Access Centre accommodations as well as
informing their professor, must also inform their TA during their first lab period. The lab
and lecture are considered individual components and the professors, instructors and
your TA need to be made aware of your situation. Information about Access Centre
services can be found at:
http://www.ryerson.ca/content/ryerson/studentlearningsupport/academic accommodation-support/index.html.

Academic Integrity: Plagiarism and/or cheating are unacceptable. Details of the Student
Code of Academic Conduct are provided at http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol60F2014.pdf. If you are unsure of what is acceptable, you should consult with your TA.

Lab Exemptions: Students may apply for and be granted a lab exemption if on their
previous attempt at the course, they received a passing grade in the lab portion.
Students who are granted a lab exemption will have their BLG144 grade calculated

based on the work completed in the present session of the course only. Lab exemption
request forms are available in the First-Year and Common Science Office and must be
completed and submitted to the instructor within the first two weeks of the course. Also
kindly provide a copy to your TA so they are not expecting you in the lab and can make
arrangements (such as partners and seating) with this information in mind.

Classroom Civility

Any successful learning experience requires mutual respect on the part of the student
and the TA. Neither TA nor student should be subject to others behavior that is rude,
disruptive, intimidating, or demeaning. The TA has primary responsibility for and control
over classroom behavior and maintenance of academic integrity. Student conduct which
disrupts the learning process shall not be tolerated and may lead to disciplinary action
and/or removal from class.

TA responsibilities: Start and end class on time; Treat all students with courtesy and

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respect; be open to constructive input from students in the course; ensure that
opportunities to participate are enjoyed equally by all students in the course.

Student responsibilities: Come to class on time, refrain from packing up belongings

before class ends; turn off all electronic devices that might create a disruption in class
before laboratories begin; be quiet and give full respectful attention while either the TA
or another student is speaking; when speaking, use courteous, respectful language and
keep comments and questions relevant to the topic at hand.

Email communication: All electronic communication must be through your Ryerson

email account or the BlackBoard course system. All communications must contain an
appropriate subject line (e.g., BLG144 Lab Question). The body of the email must
contain your name, student number and course number. The email must have text with
complete sentences, correct spelling, and proper grammar. Overall, it should have a
professional tone. Failure to have any of the aforementioned criteria may result in the
TA not responding to the message. The TA will attempt to respond to emails within 24
hours, not including weekends.

Course Management Policy:

Refer to http://www.ryerson.ca/senate/policies/pol145.pdf for complete details.

Failure to comply with these procedures will result in a grade of zero.

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BLG144 Biology Laboratory General Schedule

WINTER 2015

Lab
Week of:
Experiment

1
January 21,
Laboratory #1:

January 28
Inheritance Patterns and Evolution:

Hardy-Weinberg Principle, Mating, and

Genetic Drift

2
February 4
Laboratory #2:

February 11
Phylogenetic Relationships: Constructing

a Phylogenetic Tree based on

Observations of Invertebrates

3
February 25,
Laboratory #3:

March 4
Fungi and Plants

4
March 11
Laboratory #4:Predator-Prey Simulation

March 18
(bean experiment)

5
March 25
Laboratory Exam

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