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Our AP Biology lab activities are designed to provide a wide variety of experiences. They will
fall into two general categories: "observational" or "skill" labs, and experimental labs.´
y All experimental labs should follow this format: "The Effect of ______ on
 
" will mainly involve watching or observing natural phenomena occur or
_________.
performing some scientific technique, while  
" will involve science process
skills, such as hypothesis formation, manipulation of variables, gathering, tabulating and y Be concise. (Instead of, ³environmental stimuli such as light and moisture´ write,
graphically displaying data, etc. In college, lab report requirements vary greatly. Some are ³light and moisture´).
quite rigorous and require that a review of the pertinent scientific literature be included in the y Always list the specific variables you tested.
introduction. Since we are greatly limited by time in this course, our write-ups will be brief y Include the scientific name of organisms involved.
and less rigorous than ones that you may do in college.
å !: This is the possible explanation to the problem you are trying to answer.

 

y üse an If «. Then statement for your hypothesis.
It is essential that you prepare for labs before coming to class. You will be required to keep a
lab notebook in which you will write prelabs, record data, and note any conclusions or   What procedures were followed and what materials and equipment were used?
thoughts that you have as you perform each lab. At the beginning of class on lab days, prelabs For experimental labs and AP Labs, be sure to identify the independent and dependent
will be checked. The following components should be completed: variables, the constants, and the control group. For observational labs explain what you did.
1. Title and date of the lab Never use personal pronouns. Do not create a list of materials; just include them within the
2. Purpose - 1-2 sentences describing the major goal of the experiment context of your procedure.
3. Procedure - an easy to follow numbered list of steps that will be performed in the lab,
written in your own words. For labs with several parts, divide your procedure 
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accordingly. You may wish to sketch diagrams to help you visualize the steps of the
lab. Once you are done, you should be able to do your lab report without consulting
with the lab book. y At the beginning of your procedure, explain the µbig picture¶ of the lab. Explain
4. Data - As you write your prelab, create all the data tables you will need. Read the what biological processes we are trying to learn more about. If the lab has several
procedure carefully to determine all the information you will be recording, and organize sections, revisit this in each section. Include relevant vocabulary terms in a way that
it neatly. Remember to include units at the top of each column. demonstrates your knowledge.
y Write in the past tense. Your purpose is to communicate what you¶ve done, not give

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someone directions.
y üse the impersonal tense. (Instead of, ³We made choice chambers. . . ³write,
1. Fill in your data tables. ³Choice chambers were made. . ³).
2. Note any changes that you make to the procedure. y Explain how data were gathered.
3. Conclusions - Leave a space where you can jot down notes and other thoughts during the
y Include your hypothesis, and briefly explain your reasoning.
lab. This will help you to write your lab report later.
y When writing your hypothesis, be as specific as possible about what you are
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measuring.

Lab reports are due "
 after the completion of the lab in class. This gives you enough y Ex: If pill bugs are given a choice, they will prefer a moist environment to
time to ask any questions about the lab or get help with concepts you don¶t understand. Lab a dry one.
reports must be typed, handwritten work will not be accepted (exception: data tables and y Better: If pill bugs are placed in a choice chamber, more will be found on
graphs may be done by neatly hand). 1/2 credit will be given to lab reports that are late, up to the moist side than on the dry side at any given interval.
24 hours. Remember that if you are tardy to class the day any assignment is due, your
assignment will be counted late. After 24 hours, reports will not be accepted. Keep all
returned lab reports. Labs constitute a significant portion of the AP exams. y If you performed any statistical analysis, including calculating an average, this
should be in your procedure.


This should indicate what the lab is all about. Be brief, but indicate the nature of the y Include the scientific name of the organism you are testing, and how you obtained
investigation. What was the specific question being investigated? Specifically, what was being your specimens.
observed ?

This part of the report will display, in table form and with a proper title, the data that
you collected. It should also include any graphs labeled properly and in proper graph form. It
should be neatly and clearly presented. If the lab is "observational" in nature, you should
include diagrams and/or descriptions of structures (labeled as instructed), chemical reactions,
behaviors, etc. DO NOT FüDGE YOüR DATA!! Put only the data that you, or your lab
group, or the class collected, not what you think that you should have seen. üse graph paper to
 for our purposes in this class,
graphically display your data wherever appropriate.
discuss YOüR results. If you come up with results that do not make sense, examine your
methods and materials for sources of experimental error and describe them here. For purely
observational exercises, your discussion should include reactions to what you have just done
and learned. Additionally, error should be thoroughly discussed. This is, perhaps, the most
important part of the lab discussion. Your discussion of error will help the reader decide
whether or not your experiment is valid or invalid. #
measurement errors are not acceptable because this could be used as an excuse on every lab,
and does not that you are thinking on how the design or execution of this experiment could be

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 improved. It is assumed that measurements were taken accurately. Finally at the end of your
conclusion, you will evaluate the value of the lab.
y 1 experiment = 1 table. Don¶t do a separate table for each trial.

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y Keep an entire table on 1 page (don¶t split it over 2 pages).
y Always include a column for averages. ünits for an average are the same as for the
trials. y Refer to your tables and figures and explain important findings. üse your data to
support your statements.
y üse a consistent number of digits. (Don¶t put ³5´ in some places and ³5.75´ in
others. üse ³5.00´). Pay attention to significant figures! y Only use the word ³significant´ if you¶ve done a statistical analysis. (Significant
means something different to scientists than it does in a nonscientific sense).
y Organize your data. If you have to write the same thing several times, you need to
restructure. y Your hypotheses can be ³supported´ or ³not supported´ by the data, they cannot be
³proved´ or ³disproved.´
y Give tables a number and a title (be consistent throughout the report) so you can
refer to them in your discussion. y üse the impersonal tense. (Rather than ³We believe . . . ,´ write, ³It was found. . .
.´).
y Always be as specific as you possibly can be. (Instead of ³Most of the time . . . ,´
a Ex: Table 1: Number of pill bugs in the wet choice chamber
write ³For 7 of the 10 time intervals examined. . . .´).
y Don¶t describe your data as ³vague´ or ³inconclusive.´ If a trend that you thought
Table 2: Number of pill bugs in the acidic choice chamber would exist, doesn¶t, that doesn¶t mean the data are vague. The absence of evidence
is not evidence of absence.
y Give figures a number and a title, too. Figures are any kind of drawing or picture, y When describing sources of error, don¶t include irregularities in the environment
and graphs. that you controlled. (Ex: The florescent lights in our room affect your control
a Ex: Figure 1: Pill bug (top view) group the same as your experimental group, because they are on the whole time.
Therefore, they¶re not a source of error. This is why we do a control in the first
Figure 2: Pill bug (side view) place!)
Figure 3: Average number of pill bugs present in wet choice chamber y Always be exact in your terminology. (Ex: ³dry choice chamber´ is better than
(In the above example, the first 2 figures are drawings, the third is a graph.) ³dry environment´).
y Be sure you have a complete understanding of terms before you use them. (Ex:
Concluding that pill bug behavior is a taxis because it was a µresponse to a stimulus¶
y When graphing your data, only graph the average values of your trials, not the data is incorrect. Kinesis is also a response to a stimulus, its a random response rather
from every trial. (Often, the reason why several trials are done is so we can average than a directed one).
them and reduce error).
y Be grammatically correct with your use of the word ³data.´ ³Data´ is the plural of
y Be sure to label your axes and include relevant units. If necessary, include a key. ³datum.´ (If your not sure, substitute the word ³numbers´ instead of data. Instead
of, ³This data shows. ³ write, ³These data show . . ³).
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In this section, put the answers to ALL questions asked within the lab, y Whenever trying to explain a behavior or an adaptation, it may help to look at it
and at the end of the lab. Answers should be given in complete sentences. The main body of from a natural selection perspective. (Think: How is it an advantage to the pill
the questions should be in your answer. Remember, the write-up is due 5 days after the labs bugs survival and/or reproduction to find a moist environment?)
are completed in class.
Be aware of what you are measuring. (A pill bug¶s µpreferences,¶ µdesires,¶ or µneeds,¶ are not
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 Here you present a summary of the data generated by the lab. Put into your own
measurable. Its movement, or its presence in a certain choice chamber, is measurable).
words what the numbers or observations tell you. How do you interpret the data or
observations in light of your hypothesis or your own expectations? Do not make the mistake
of looking for the "right answer" and please do not ask, "what was supposed to happen?"
Nature does not lie, but is often frustratingly difficult to figure out. In this section you must