This laboratorywill allow students be scientists, and learn techniquesand tools that scientists use every day. Scientificwriting is very different from the creative writing courses studentsare used to from high school. This lab will prepare the studentsfor succeeding courses in Biology where the expectation is thatstudents are able to write a satisfactory scientific paper. Another primary tool that scientists use is the scientificmethod. This is a way of looking at the world around us, askingquestions about the things we observe, developing hypotheses aboutour observations, developing ways to attempt to answer these questions,carrying out these experiments, and analyzing the results to determinewhether our hypotheses are supported or falsified.
Students willlearn to apply the scientific method through a series of lab exercises.
They then will develop their own research questions and conductan independent research project, including presenting their findingsto the class. Students are expected to have read the assignments for the upcominglab. In some instances there will be Prelab Worksheets that mustbe completed or the student will not be permitted to completethe lab at that time. Participation by all students isexpected. Some laboratories will take place in the field.