Formal Lab Report: Thermoregulation Accelerated Biology Formal Lab Report: Thermoregulation

Title (5) and Introduction (10): Pair up with someone NOT in your lab group. Switch draft introductions. Read for content: Do they give background on homeostasis & thermoregulation? Do they specifically talk about part of the feedback loop that applies to their lab? Do they link between sections and link to the purpose of the lab? What question did they answer? Put what question you think they answered down. When you get your lab back: Does the question give the specific purpose of the lab? Can you write a question that appropriately titles your lab?

Hypothesis (5) Look at your partner’s lab notebook: If…(independent variable) Then…(dependent variable) Because…valid reasoning If these are correct; leave it alone. If they are unclear circle them!

Methods (10) Take your own lab notebook back! Note in your lab notebook: What was done, past tense, passive voice (write your first step in past tense passive voice) Ex. The beaker was filled with water. Not: Fill the beaker with water. We filled the beaker with water. Did you identify your variables (what you changed, what you measured) and your controls (what you kept the same) Share an example Make sure you explain what type of data you collected and how you analyzed it (not what numbers, but what you collected)

Data and Analysis (30 points) Table (10): Hand your lab notebook to your partner. They will give you feedback on your table: Is the table organized into columns and rows? Do headings give labels for the type of data? Is the information all collected in one table? Make comments on missing labels or if you do not understand the data that is presented.

Data and Analysis (30 points) Graph (take your own lab notebook back!) Types of graphs from middle school line, bar, pie When might you use each type of graph? What graph best represents the data together? Should we graph all the data? Must be computerized! (Google: create a graph or use google docs!)

Data and Analysis (10) Trend (10 points) Main point of what the data shows…as if the reader can’t understand your graph. Never explain WHY…that is your conclusion! Should include at least one key value. What ways could we highlight what changed? Mentions if there are any outliers. Numbers that don’t fit the trend.

Conclusion (30 points) “Paragraph” 1: Must restate hypothesis Must give key values that helped you to support or reject your hypothesis (yes, it will seem like you are reiterating your trend!) Must explain what significance the results have and WHY you saw the results (should draw from your introduction…so yet again, may seem repetitive but is linked to your data!)

Conclusion (30 points) Paragraph 2 (10 points) Discussion of error: What variables didn’t you control and how could that have impacted your data? What was your sample size? How might this be a source of error? If you could repeat the experiment, what would you modify to mitigate sources of error?

Conclusion (30 points) Paragraph 3 (10 points) What theme relates to this lab? Explain why you came to this conclusion. How does what you learned through this lab tie to the living world? Could you talk about animal adaptations to deal with heat/cold? Could you discuss what happens when human’s can’t thermoregulate? Important to LINK this section to what your specific lab taught you!

Final Steps (10 points) Check your writing style (past tense, passive voice); spelling; and general grammar. (4 points) Complete a bibliography with two sources that helped you write and verify information in your introduction and conclusion! Before the lab is due: Print your lab…if you typically have printer problems complete it early and come to the library or 219 before the school day to print. Make sure your graph is in the data section; not attached to the back. (use electronic cut and paste, screen shot, etc) Staple your lab in the proper order and have your rubric on top, rubric side up! FOR EXTRA CREDIT FOR THE FIRST 2 LABS: Double sided and save paper!!! (you must figure out how to do this on your own with your printer) Note: extra credit will be added to a separate column in powerschool and your actual grade will be recorded separately so that you can assess whether or not you’ve improved on labs!