Lab Report
Not what you're looking for?
A. Background Information
The background information of this laboratory report would include information about the slug and the substances that were used in the experiment.
1. You should included the following information on the slug.
a. Classification of the organism, including kingdom, phylum, class, order, family and
scientific name, if possible.
b. General characteristics of that phylum
c. Related organisms.
d. Characteristics specific to the slug, habitats, adaptations, foods it eats, survival
mechanisms.
e. Drawings of the slug with labels. Description of labels, with an emphasis on structures that
assist in detecting and obtaining food in the environment (nervous, digestion, movement).
2. You should include the following information on the substances used in the experiment, if possible. You would have to decide what ingredients you wanted to use in the experiment. The laboratory has some substances, but you may want to use other foods or other substances that you may have in your home.
a. Common ingredients in the substance.
b. Common uses of the substances
c. Chemical characteristics of the substances, is the substance acidic, basic, harmful, food
is it a food source?
B. Purpose
This part of the experiment simply states what you are trying to prove in the experiment. It is usually only one statement.
C. Hypothesis
These are statements that tell what you think will happen in the experiment. Remember
that the hypothesis has inductive reasoning from the initial information you gathered in the
background information, and then predict what would happen with the knowledge. For
example, since vinegar is acidic and acids are usually harmful to organisms (inductive), I
predict that the slug would not want to be in its presence and would be repelled by it. (prediction-deductive reasoning).
You have a ten-part hypothesis to this experiment, since you are testing ten substances with the snail. Your laboratory exercise also has a chart that requires you to make separate hypotheses for each substance that you are using. Make sure all are included in some way in this section.
Purchase this Solution
Solution Summary
The solution consists of the first part of a lab report on a study that aims to determine which substances will attract or repel a slug. The background information on the animal and on the substances, as well as the ten hypotheses to be tested, are included. The results of the study are not included (see posting 118387).
Solution Preview
LAB REPORT
A. Background Information
1. The organism used in this experiment is the terrestrial slug (as opposed to the sea slug). Specifically, the garden slug Arion hortensis will be used.
a. Classification of the organism: The slug is in the kingdom Animalia, the phylum Mollusca, the class Gastropoda, the order Pulmonata, the suborder Stylommatophora, and the family Arionidae. The scientific name is Arion hortensis.
b. General characteristics of the phylum Mollusca: Mollusks are invertebrates. They have a head (with eyes and tentacles); a muscular foot, used for motion; a mantle, an outer fold of skin which can produce the calcium carbonate that makes up the shell (in those species with a shell); and a complete digestive tract.
c. Related organisms: There are 112,000 species of mollusks. Other mollusks are snails, clams, oysters, mussels, squid, and octopi. There are 40-150,000 species of gastropods (the family that includes snails and slugs, but not bivalves like clams and oysters or cephalopods like squids and octopi).
d. Characteristics specific to the slug: The slug is native to Europe and North America. Its habitat is moist terrestrial places such as gardens and parks. It is nocturnal, and spends more time underground than ...
Purchase this Solution
Free BrainMass Quizzes
Feeding Babies
Do you know the science behind feeding babies? Test your knowledge with this quiz.
Cellular Respiration
This quiz is a review for cellular respiration.
Identifying Variables in Science Experiments, Part 2
Using sample experiments, test yourself to see if you can identify independent, dependent, and controlled variables. Identifying variables is key in understanding and developing experiments. The questions are biology related, but this can be applied to any area of science.
Infant Development: Sleep
How much do you know about infant sleep? Test your knowledge with this quiz.
BIOLOGY
Basics in biology