A Survey of Protists

A Survey of Protists

Name ______Date ______Period ______

A Survey of Protists

Purpose:

  • To examine organisms which belong to the protist kingdom, observing and recording some of their major traits.
  • To compare traits of protists to those of bacteria.

Background:

A wide variety of organisms belong to Kingdom Protista. These organisms share several common characteristics. Protists all have nuclei within their cells making them eukaryotic organism. Protists are usually unicellular, however organisms such as algae are multicellular. We will place these organisms on microscope slide and observe at the highest power possible. If you don’t see a specimen or you feel your microscope is out of focus, please turn the objective to low power and begin focusing again.

****These are living specimens and they get hot under the “lights.” Please turn off your microscope when you are done so the specimens aren’t boiled!!****

Part C Stentor

  1. Observe Stentor under the microscope. Watch the way it moves across the slide. Do you notice any cilia or flagella (look closely)? ______

Try to find the nucleus.

  1. Sketch a Stentor in the space provided.
  2. Which phylum does the Stentor belong to?

______

4. What magnification did you sketch the Stentor at?

______

Part B Paramecium

  1. Observe Paramecium under the microscope. Attempt to observe the many tiny hairlike parts called cilia which stick out from the cell membrane. Cilia beat the water, and move the Paramecia from place to place. Observe the movement of the Paramecium. Try to see a contractile vacuole.
  2. On the figure below, label the following structures: vacuole, micronucleus, macronucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, cilia, oral groove.
  1. Describe the movement of Paramecium. ______

Create a sketch for the following organisms using your textbook and answer the characteristic questions.

Amoeba (p.498)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

Volvox (p.512)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

Euglena (p.506)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

A Survey of Protists

Purpose:

  • To examine organisms which belong to the protist kingdom, observing and recording some of their major traits.
  • To compare traits of protists to those of bacteria.

Background:

A wide variety of organisms belong to Kingdom Protista. These organisms share several common characteristics. Protists all have nuclei within their cells making them eukaryotic organism. Protists are usually unicellular, however organisms such as algae are multicellular. We will place these organisms on microscope slide and observe at the highest power possible. If you don’t see a specimen or you feel your microscope is out of focus, please turn the objective to low power and begin focusing again.

****These are living specimens and they get hot under the “lights.” Please turn off your microscope when you are done so the specimens aren’t boiled!!****

Part E Euglena

  1. Observe the Euglena under the microscope. Attempt to locate a single tail-like structure called a flagellum. The flagellum moves the euglena through the water.
  2. Label the following structures: flagellum, nucleus, vacuole, cell membrane, cytoplasm, chloroplasts

3. Does Euglena contain chlorophyll? How do you know?

______

4. Is it motile (can it move)? ______

5. Describe why Euglena is a “unique” organism. (How is it like both a plant AND an animal?)______

Part F Blepharisma

1. Observe the Blepharisma under the microscope.

2. This protist belongs to the phylum Ciliophora.

Based on the phylum name what do they use for

Locomotion? ______

  1. Sketch what you see under the microscope in the

space provided.

4. What magnification did you sketch the Stentor at?

______

Create a sketch for the following organisms using your textbook and answer the characteristic questions.

Amoeba (p.498)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

Volvox (p.512)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

Paramecium (p.499)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

A Survey of Protists

Purpose:

  • To examine organisms which belong to the protist kingdom, observing and recording some of their major traits.
  • To compare traits of protists to those of bacteria.

Background:

A wide variety of organisms belong to Kingdom Protista. These organisms share several common characteristics. Protists all have nuclei within their cells making them eukaryotic organism. Protists are usually unicellular, however organisms such as algae are multicellular. We will place these organisms on microscope slide and observe at the highest power possible. If you don’t see a specimen or you feel your microscope is out of focus, please turn the objective to low power and begin focusing again.

****These are living specimens and they get hot under the “lights.” Please turn off your microscope when you are done so the specimens aren’t boiled!!****

Procedure:

Part A Amoeba

  1. Look at the sketch of an Amoeba below. Amoebae move by extending parts of their cytoplasm. These extensions are called pseudopods (means “false foot”).
  2. Examine a slide of Amoeba under the microscope. Note the cytoplasmic streaming. Find the nucleus. Notice the pseudopods. Try to find a vacuole.
  3. Labelthe cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, vacuoles, and a pseudopod on the sketch below.
  1. By what process does Amoeba obtain food? ______

Part D Volvox

  1. Observe Volvox under the microscope. Watch for movement. Try to pick out the individual cells. The smaller spheres inside the larger spheres represent daughter colonies. What color is the Volvox? ______
  2. What component of the Volvox makes it that color? ______
  3. Is this organism an autotroph or a heterotroph? ______
  4. Sketch a Volvox in the circle provided
  5. What magnification did you sketch the Volvox at?

______

Create a sketch for the following organisms using your textbook and answer the characteristic questions.

Paramecium (p.499)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

Euglena (p.506)

Mode of nutrition –

Method of movement –

Where are they found? -

Free Living or Parasitic? -

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