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Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture PDF

377 Pages·2012·15.52 MB·English
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DIY Science Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments All Lab, No Lecture First Edition Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson BEIJING • CAMBRIDGE • FARNHAM • KÖLN • SEBASTOPOL • TOKYO Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments All Lab, No Lecture by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson Copyright © 2012 Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Published by Make:Books, an imprint of Maker Media, a division of O’Reilly Media, Inc. 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O’Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: 800-998-9938 or [email protected]. Print History Publisher: Dale Dougherty April 2012 Associate Publisher: Dan Woods First Edition Executive Editor: Laurie Petrycki Editor: Brian Jepson Cover Designer: Mark Paglietti Interior Designer: Alison Kendall and Ron Bilodeau Production Editor: Melanie Yarbrough Proofreader: Linley Dolby Indexer: Bob Pfahler Cover Photograph: Robert Bruce Thompson The O’Reilly logo is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The DIY Science series designa- tions, Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture, and related trade dress are trademarks of O’Reilly Media, Inc. The trademarks of third parties used in this work are the property of their respective owners. Important Message to Our Readers: Your safety is your own responsibility, including proper use of equipment and safety gear, and determining whether you have adequate skill and experience. Chemicals, electricity, and other resources used for these projects are dangerous unless used properly and with adequate precautions, including safety gear. Some illustrative photos do not depict safety precautions or equipment, in order to show the project steps more clearly. These projects are not intended for use by children. Use of the instructions and suggestions in Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture is at your own risk. O’Reilly Media, Inc. and the authors disclaim all responsibility for any resulting damage, injury, or expense. It is your responsibility to make sure that your activities comply with applicable laws, including copyright. This book uses RepKover™, a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. ISBN: 978-1-449-39659-6 To Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882), the towering genius whose theory of evolution is the foundation of modern biology. Contents Preface .............................................................................................................................................xi 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 Using this Book with Your Curriculum .................................................................................2 Planning and Scheduling ......................................................................................................3 Work Areas.............................................................................................................................3 Maintaining a Laboratory Notebook ...................................................................................4 2 Equipping a Home Biology Laboratory ......................................................................9 Microscopes and Accessories ............................................................................................10 Microscope Accessories .....................................................................................................24 Culturing Equipment and Supplies ....................................................................................33 Histology Equipment and Supplies ...................................................................................37 General Laboratory Equipment ........................................................................................40 Major Equipment .................................................................................................................42 Prepared Slides ...................................................................................................................45 Specimens ...........................................................................................................................46 3 Laboratory Safety ......................................................................................................49 Lab I-1 Using a Microscope ....................................................................................................53 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................53 Background .........................................................................................................................53 Procedure I-1-1: A Microscope Tour ....................................................................................55 Build a Darkfield Apparatus from Pocket Change ............................................................59 Review Questions ................................................................................................................61 Lab I-2 Mounting Specimens .................................................................................................63 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................63 Background .........................................................................................................................64 Procedure I-2-1: Making Wet Mounts ................................................................................64 Procedure I-2-2: Making Smear Mounts ...........................................................................66 Procedure I-2-3: Making Hanging Drop Mounts ...............................................................67 Procedure I-2-4: Making Sectional Mounts ......................................................................68 Review Questions ................................................................................................................69 Lab I-3 Staining ........................................................................................................................71 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................71 Background .........................................................................................................................72 Procedure I-3-1: Simple Staining .......................................................................................72 Procedure I-3-2: Gram Staining .........................................................................................74 Review Questions ................................................................................................................76 Lab II-1 Building and Observing Microcosms ........................................................................79 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................79 Background ........................................................................................................................80 Procedure II-1-1: Gathering Materials ................................................................................82 Procedure II-1-2: Building Aquarium Microcosms ............................................................83 Procedure II-1-3: Building Winogradsky Column Microcosms ........................................83 Procedure II-1-4: Observing Winogradsky Column Microcosms .....................................84 Review Questions ................................................................................................................85 Lab II-2 Observing Succession in Aquarium Microcosms ....................................................87 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................87 Background .........................................................................................................................88 Procedure II-2-1: Observe Succession in Microcosms .....................................................88 Review Questions ...............................................................................................................90 Lab II-3 Observing the Effects of Pollution in Microcosms ................................................93 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................93 Background .........................................................................................................................94 Procedure II-3-1: Build Polluted Microcosms ....................................................................94 Procedure II-3-2: Observe Succession in Polluted Microcosms .....................................95 Review Questions ................................................................................................................96 Lab III-1 Acids, Bases, and Buffers ..........................................................................................99 Equipment and Materials ...................................................................................................99 Background .......................................................................................................................100 Procedure III-1-1: Percentage and Molar Concentrations ..............................................100 Procedure III-1-2: Effect of Concentration on pH ...........................................................103 Procedure III-1-3: pH of Household Materials .................................................................105 Procedure III-1-4: Buffers ..................................................................................................105 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................107 Lab III-2 Carbohydrates and Lipids .......................................................................................109 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................109 Background .......................................................................................................................110 Procedure III-2-1: Investigating Sugars ............................................................................112 Procedure III-2-2: Investigating Starches ........................................................................114 Procedure III-2-3: Investigating Lipids..............................................................................115 Review Questions ...............................................................................................................116 Lab III-3 Proteins, Enzymes, and Vitamins ............................................................................119 Equipment and Materials ..................................................................................................119 Background .......................................................................................................................120 Procedure III-3-1: Investigating Proteins .........................................................................122 Procedure III-3-2: Investigating Enzyme Catalysis .........................................................124 Procedure III-3-3: Assaying Vitamin C Concentration in Urine .....................................126 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................128 Lab III-4 Coacervates ...............................................................................................................131 Equipment and Materials ..................................................................................................131 Background .......................................................................................................................132 Procedure III-4-1: Prepare and Observe a Coacervate ...................................................132 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................134 Lab III-5 Extracting, Isolating, and Visualizing DNA .............................................................137 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................137 Background .......................................................................................................................138 Procedure III-5-1: Extracting and Visualizing DNA..........................................................138 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................140 Lab III-6 Build a Gel Electrophoresis Apparatus ...................................................................143 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................143 Background .......................................................................................................................143 Procedure III-6-1: Making the Gel Casting Container and Comb ..................................145 Procedure III-6-2: Assemble the Apparatus ...................................................................147 Lab III-7 Simulated DNA Separation by Gel Electrophoresis ..............................................149 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................149 Background .......................................................................................................................150 Procedure III-7-1: Prepare Running Buffer ........................................................................151 Procedure III-7-2: Prepare and Cast the Gel ...................................................................152 Procedure III-7-3: Load and Run the Dye Specimens .....................................................153 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................154 Lab IV-1 Chlorophyll and Photosynthesis .............................................................................157 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................157 Background .......................................................................................................................158 Procedure IV-1-1: Observing Carbon Dioxide Uptake .....................................................158 Procedure IV-1-2: Determining the Effect of Light Intensity on Photosynthesis .........159 Procedure IV-1-3: Chromatography of Plant Pigments and Locating Cellular Energy Reserves ................................................................................................................160 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................163 Lab IV-2 Investigating Osmosis ..............................................................................................167 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................167 Background .......................................................................................................................167 Procedure IV-2-1: Observing Osmosis in Chicken Eggs .................................................168 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................170 Lab IV-3 Investigating Cell Division ........................................................................................173 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................173 Background .......................................................................................................................173 Procedure IV-3-1: Observing Mitosis ...............................................................................179 Review Questions ...............................................................................................................181 Lab V-1 Sampling Plant Populations in a Community ........................................................185 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................185 Background .......................................................................................................................185 Procedure V-1-1: Choosing and Preparing the Survey Area ...........................................186 Procedure V-1-2: Surveying the Plant Community .........................................................187 Procedure V-1-3: Performing a Population Count ...........................................................189 Review Questions ...............................................................................................................191 Lab V-2 Observing the Effect of Rhizobia on Plant Growth ...............................................193 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................193 Background .......................................................................................................................194 Procedure V-2-1: Grow Lima Beans With and Without Rhizobia ...................................195 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................197 Lab V-3 Air Pollution Testing ..................................................................................................199 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................199 Background ......................................................................................................................200 Procedure V-3-1: Building Particle Traps .........................................................................201 Procedure V-3-2: Positioning and Exposing the Particle Traps .....................................201 Procedure V-3-3: Counting and Identifying Particles ....................................................202 Review Questions .............................................................................................................203 Lab V-4 Soil and Water Pollution Testing ............................................................................205 Equipment and Materials ................................................................................................205 Background ......................................................................................................................206 Procedure V-4-1: Obtaining Soil and Water Specimens .................................................207 Procedure V-4-2: Testing the Reagents ...........................................................................207 Procedure V-4-3: Making Boron Concentration Comparison Standards ....................208 Procedure V-4-4: Testing Specimens for Boron ............................................................209 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................210 Lab VI-1 Exploring Mendelian Genetics .................................................................................213 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................213 Background .......................................................................................................................213 Procedure VI-1-1: Testing Subjects for the Ability to Taste PTC .....................................215 Procedure VI-1-2: Charting Inheritance of PTC-Tasting Ability ......................................215 Review Questions ..............................................................................................................215 Lab VII-1 Observing Specialized Eukaryotic Cells .................................................................217 Equipment and Materials .................................................................................................217 Background .......................................................................................................................217 Procedure VII-1-1: Observing Onion Epidermal and Elodea Leaf Cells ..........................218 Procedure VII-1-2: Comparing and Contrasting Eukaryotic Cells ................................220 Review Questions .............................................................................................................220 Lab VII-2 Preparing Culturing Media ......................................................................................223 Equipment and Materials ................................................................................................223 Background ......................................................................................................................224 Procedure VII-2-1: Preparing Normal Saline and Nutrient Media .................................227 Review Questions .............................................................................................................229 Lab VII-3 Culturing Bacteria ....................................................................................................233 Equipment and Materials ................................................................................................233 Background ......................................................................................................................234 Procedure VII-3-1: Staining and Observing the Original Culture ..................................235 Procedure VII-3-2: Inoculating Plates and Tubes ...........................................................237 Procedure VII-3-3: Producing Pure Cultures .................................................................238 Review Questions .............................................................................................................239

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Experience the magic of biology in your own home lab. This hands-on introduction includes more than 30 educational (and fun) experiments that help you explore this fascinating field on your own. Perfect for middle- and high-school students and DIY enthusiasts, this full-color guide teaches you the b
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