SI logo

BIOLOGY at the SUMMER INSTITUTE

At the Summer Institute, participants took many classes including Biology, Language Arts, Geometry, Physics, and Computer. However, Biology, the study of life, soon grew to be a favorite class among the students. We engaged in many labs and note taking during our course. The labs were educational, yet fun at the same time. Before we conducted a lab we had to review cell structure, characteristics, and other biology terms. Some of the labs that we conducted are listed below along with notes to help you understand the fundamentals of the experiments a little bit further.

CELL NOTES
  1. Prokaryotes are small and 1/1000 mm. They have no nucleus and an example of a prokaryote is bacteria and blue green algae.
  2. Eukaryotes have a nucleus.
  3. Plant Cells are multicellular.
  4. Animal cells are unicellular.
  5. The first life form are believed to be bacteria.
  6. Cells are difficult to see by the human eye and must be seen under a microscope.
  7. Cells need to respire, sometimes they respire oxygen.
  8. They eat glucose, which is sugar.
  9. Cells must expel toxic wastes, replicate and repair.
  10. Cells go through diffusion and osmosis.

DEFINITIONS
  1. Diffusion - the process by which substances in high concentrations move to areas where they are in low concentration. An example of diffusion is perfume spreading around a room or a gas leak.
  2. Osmosis -the diffusion of water
  3. Respire -to breath
LABS
  1. How clean are you? (Bacteria Lab) --> You may be surprised by the number of different bacteria living on you this very moment. In this investigation , you will explore the abundance of microorganisms in the environment by growing colonies of them on a nutrient agar plate (petri dish).

      -Materials: 1 small nutrient agar plate, 1 large nutrient agar plate, 2 sterile swab applicators, permanent marking pen, tape, alcohol, 2 small beakers, and distilled water.

      - Safety: Do not open the petri dishes after they have been taped shut!!!

      -Procedure :

      1. Do not open the nutrient agar plates while labeling.
      2. Label the bottom of each plate (off to the side) with your initials and the date; number the small plates 1 and 2, the large plate 3.
      3. Think of a bacteria-infested area around your house or the place that you are at this moment. Take plate #1 to that location, uncover it and allow it to be exposed to the air in the area for fifteen to twenty minutes. After time has passed return to the site, cover the plate, and return the plate to the lab. Tape the plate shut around the edge and note the location of collection on the bottom of the dish. Invert the plate and leave it in the hood.
      4. Using plate #3, divide it into five pie-wedge shaped sections by drawing lines across the bottom of the plate. Mark the sections as follows: T, F1, F2, F3, and P.
      5. Quickly open the plate. Gently press your thumb on the agar section marked "T". BE CAREFUL NOT TO SCAR THE AGAR IN ANYWAY! Then close the plate.
      6. Rinse your index finger under running water, dry it and gently press it onto the agar section marked "F1." Next close the plate.
      7. The middle finger should get a small drop of soap followed by a water rinse (no scrubbing!!). Dry the finger then press it onto the section marked "F3." Close the plate.
      8. The ring finger should get a small drop of soap, be scrubbed under running water and dried, then gently pressed onto the section marked "F3." Close the plate.
      9. Finally, dip your finger in alcohol, dry it, and make a print in the agar section marked "P." Tape the plate edges closed, invert the plate and set it in the hood with your other plate.
      - Clean Up : Use Lysol spray and a moist paper towel to clean up the lab area.

      - Results : Most sections in plate #2 were lawn, which means that there was so much bacteria that it would take forever to count it all, F2 was the only section that was not lawn and it was almost free from bacteria except for a few little clumps of bacteria.

      - Conclusion : There is bacteria all over you and if you think about it people aren't very clean to these standards. The best way to kill bacteria is by soap and water. Make sure that you wash for hands for at least fifteen seconds.

  2. Antibiotic Control of Bacteria --> The purpose of this experiment is to enhance our knowledge of bacteria and how to control it.

      - Procedure :

      1. Spread plate with Ecoli, add antibiotic, and then wash your hands thoroughly for protection.
      2. There should be four quadrants. The first is blank, the second is penicillin, the third is ampicillian, and the fourth is chlorotetracycline. - Analysis

        You were trying to find out which antibiotics could kill the Ecoli bacteria. Then you can use this data to find out what to do if someone ever got Ecoli.

        1. What do the clear areas indicate? The areas indicate no bacteria therefore the antibiotic worked.
        2. What evidence do you have that the inhibition of microorganisms is due to the chemicals of the disk and not the disks themselves?
        We used a control which was a sterile disk or the blank disk.

Thank you for visiting our biology page. If you are interested in biology then the Summer Institute holds many opportunities for you. At the Summer Institute teenagers enjoy working in a fun environment, and who knows: maybe you would love to join them!

This page was made by Beth Wilson, Andrea Locke, and Yolinda Vereen!!!!!!!!!
Back
Made: July 1999