As part of this lab module, you will be required to create a formal report discussing the experiment in which you grew a sunflower and measured its height and weight. This report should focus on the purpose and methods of your experiment, a discussion of energy conversion between trophic levels, and a discussion of the impacts of food production and agriculture on a person’s ecological footprint. In your report, present all pertinent results and conclude with an assessment of your findings. Your lab manual will help in providing some general information and context, but your formal report will rely largely on your synthesis and interpretation of information you have learned in the lab and lecture classes.
A formal lab report is a record of your scientific activities and should include the following:
I. Abstract: This is a summary of your entire paper. A good rule of thumb is to write the abstract last and limit it to 1-2 sentences for each section of your report.
II. Introduction: This section provides a context for your reader. In the introduction, you should discuss an overview of toxicology: what are toxins, how are they encountered, why are we interested in studying them? Include in your introduction a discussion of toxin examples, at what dosage they may become toxic, and how we might encounter them. Also include a thorough introduction to what a dose response curve, and why it is important in helping us study medicines. Finally, this section should be organized to clearly describe the context and purpose of your flour beetle experiment.
III. Methods: This section describes the materials and procedures you used to conduct your experiment. Your goal here is to be as thorough in your explanation as possible, leaving no room for interpretation on the part of the reader. As you explain your procedure, you should also include a justification for the methods you chose. Provide background information on the ecology of a blackworm. Why are blackworms good candidates for this experiment and not other organisms? What scientific assumptions did you have to make when setting up the experiment? (NOTE: This is not an all-inclusive list. Do NOT simply answer these questions with a simple confirmation. You should expect to think critically about other aspects of the methods that you need to include.
IV. Data and Analysis: In this section, you present all relevant data and any analyses of these raw data that you performed. YOUR DATA SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AND EASY TO READ. BE THOROUGH. You will be expected to make connections and show critical thought in what data you convey. You will be expected to include FIGURES. The style graph or chart, and what data you should represent is up to you. Every table and graph you show must be discussed in the text. (NOTE: Do not make interpretations here! This is not where you tell the reader what the data means, just what it is and point out connections between various variables.)
