AP BIOLOGY LABORATORY WRITE-UP PROCEDURE

I. LAB OR EXPERIMENT NAME- BE CREATIVE; BUT LOGICAL. SOMETIMES I REWARD REALLY GOOD TITLES WITH AN EXTRA POINT OR TWO.

II. INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP MEMBERS NAMES- IF IT IS GROUP MEMBERS, THEY MUST BE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. THERE MUST ALSO BE AN ASTERIC NEXT TO THE PERSON’S NAME WHO ACTUALLY WROTE THE LAB WRITE-UP FOR THE GROUP.

III. DATE OF EXPERIMENT- PUT THE DATE AS THE DAY YOU ACTUALLY PERFORMED THE EXPERIMENT; NOT THE DATE YOU TURN IN THE WRITE-UP.

IV. TEACHER’S NAME AND CLASS PERIOD(S)- SELF-EXPLANITORY

V. LIST OF MATERIALS AND QUANTITIES USED- YOU MUST LIST EVERYTHING YOU USED IN THE PERFORMING OF THE EXPERIMENT. INCLUDING APPARATUS. IF YOU USED A LIQUID, POWDER, OR OTHER MATERIAL YOU MUST GIVE THE TOTAL VOLUME, MASS, OR OTHER SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENT CONSUMED FOR THE ENTIRE EXPERIMENT. (115 ML 1M NaOH)

VI. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE- YOU MUST RE-WRITE THE EXPERIMENT IN YOUR OWN WORDS. YOU MUST BE DETAILED ENOUGH IN YOUR WORDING SO THAT SOMEONE CAN PERFORM THE EXPERIMENT EXACTLY LIKE YOU PERFORMED IT. IT MUST BE IN LIST FORMAT FOR EACH STEP.

VII. PURPOSE- YOU MUST GIVE A BRIEF STATEMENT, ONE OR TWO SENTENCES, ABOUT WHAT THE PURPOSE OF THE WHOLE LABORATORY IS TRYING TO CONVEY TO YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF A TOPIC. THERE IS ONE UNIFYING THEME FOR EACH LAB.

VIII. HYPOTHESIS STATEMENT- YOU MUST WRITE ONE SENTENCE, IN IF…THEN… FORM, THAT GIVES YOUR EDUCATED GUESS FOR THE OUTCOME OF THE WHOLE EXPERIMENT. i.e. IF ENZYMES ACT AS BIOLOGICAL CATALYSTS DURING A CHEMICAL REACTION; THEN AN INCREASE IN THE RATE OF THE REACTION SHOULD BE OBSERVED. THE IF PART IS YOUR QUESTION YOU HOPE TO ANSWER. THE THEN PART IS YOUR EDUCATED GUESS ABOUT WHAT THE OUTCOME OF THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE.

IX. EXPERIMENTAL DATA AND NOTES- THIS IS ANY OBSERVATION YOU WITNESSED WHILE ACTUALLY PERFORMING THE EXPERIMENT. THIS ALSO INCLUDES DATA TABLES OR PICTURES.

X. GRAPHS OR CALCULATIONS- THESE ARE ITEMS THAT ARE DONE AFTER THE EXPERIMENT WHEN YOU HAVE ALL YOUR DATA AND OBSERVATIONS.MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A PROPER TITLE, LABELING, UNITS, AND SPACING WHEN CONSTRUCTING A GRAPH OR CHART!

XI.CONCLUSION (HAS 5 PARTS)- PART 1: VALIDITY STATEMENT ABOUT THE HYPOTHESIS. PART 2: DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE RESULTS FROM THE EXPERIMENT FROM EACH PART AND OVERALL. PART 3: AN EXPLANATION FOR ANY POSSIBLE SOURCES OF ERROR. PART 4: IDEAS FOR WAYS TO CORRECT YOUR ERRORRS PART 5: IDEAS FOR EXPANDING OR FURTHERING THIS EXPERIMENT IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE GAINED.