PortlandCommunity College—Cascade CampusBiology 234 Lab, Summer2015 (CRN# 30779)

P.O. Box 19000 Tu/Th 7-8:50, JH 216

Portland, OR 97280-0990
Office Hours (in my office also check JH216):

Instructor: John Volpe, Ph.D.Tu/Th 2:30-3:15 & 9 PM

Office: JH 208 (knock or check 210).or by appointment

Phone/Voice Mail: 971-722-3057(or 971-722-6111 Ext3057)

Email: (preferred contact, put Bi234 in subject line)

Web site: (password is:___)

Course Description, Goals, and ADA Statement:

Same as for the lecture, please refer to the lecture syllabus.

Texts:

  1. Jesse, T. Biology 234: Microbiology Laboratory Manual for PCC Cascade, Hayden McNeil, Plymouth, Mi 48170, 2014. (This manual is required, however, you may use a previous student’s manual.)
  2. Leboffe, Michael J. and Burton E. Pierce. A Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Laboratory,4th ed., Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc. Menlo Park, CA 2005. The 3rd ed. is also ok, page numbers are provided. (Optional but one of these is required, purchase the Atlas, use online pictures, or use a copy on reserve.)

Grading in Bi234 lab:

The laboratory is an integral part of BI 234 and 30% of your grade will be earned in it. Lab grades are awarded on points earned. An A is 90% or more of all points, a B is 80% or more, C 70%, D 60%. You must pass the lab to pass this course; a grade of a D in the lab will earn no better than a D in the course.

Final Unknown Lab Report (150 pts., 15% of overall grade, 50% of lab)

Presentation (40 pts., 4% of overall grade, 13% of lab)

2 Lab Practicums (35 pts. ea.,together are 7% of overall grade, 23% of lab)

Weekly quizzes, assignments, and participation (40 pts., 4% of overall grade, 13% of lab)

Please stay on top of the material as we will be moving at a rapid pace. My quizzes should assist you in your weekly progress. Quizzes will be at the start of lab and will be over the previous two day's assignments (or 1 week). Quizzes will be over material after you have completed the experiment except forduring the first week and before a practicum.

Expectations and Attendance:

I expect that you are familiar with the background material for this course, have had introductory biology, and are prepared to take this course. I also expect you to make every effort to attend all labs. Lab makeup’s will not be possible. Absence from lab affects your LAB grade as follows: Four or moreabsences (3 in the summer)will cause you to Fail the lab (and hence the class).

Late Work: Late work is docked 50%and will not be accepted after I post answers and during the last week. Missed quizzes cannot be made up w/o ext. circumstances.

Grade options:This class may be audited by selecting this online by the 1st Friday of class; it may be taken Pass/No pass by selecting this online. Students are responsible for withdrawing themselves from class; withdrawing can be done up till the 8th week of a 10+ week class (6th week in summer). See add/drop/withdraw deadlines:

Equipment: In addition to textbooks, paper and pen, you will need:

Two scantrons, and a 3-ring plastic notebook for a laboratory records or something similar.

Wear old clothes, as we will be handling stains in the lab.

Colored pencils are optional but handy to draw your results (they are also available in the lab).

Keeping Records:Although the lab manual should be used and checked, you will also need to keep good records. You will find that keeping a lab notebook is critical to preparing the lab report on your unknown.

  • For each exercise module your records should include:
  • The objectives of the exercise
  • A brief description of procedures (you may cite the book/manual/web)
  • Your results (meaning your observations, including sketches)
  • Your conclusions (interpretations, what your observations mean)
  • See the main lab website for a link to a notebook recording sheet (Notebook Record Keeping). Keeping your lab notebook up-to-date is critical for your unknown report. Your lab notebook will not be turned in.
  • Use or make a worksheet with sections for each of the aboveand fill in the pages as you go! Check the main lab website for a link to the Unknown Summary Template Sheet that will be turned in.

Unknown Lab Report: During the course of the term, you will perform several assays that will be used to identify the unknown organism assigned to you. You are expected to identify at least the family of your organism, using the provided chart and results of your assays. It is most important that your conclusion is consistent with the observations and conclusions of your tests. What you will turn in:

Unknown ID 1 - This will be turned in after you have completed the basic microscopy portion of the Unknown Identification. You will formulate a hypothesis as to the identity of your organism’s family from these initial observations.

Unknown ID 2 - This will be turned in after you have completed the Selective and Differential Assays lab. You will reformulate your hypothesis as to the identity of your organism’s family based on your observations made up to this point.
Unknown ID 3 - This will be turned in after you have completed the Differential Media 1 lab. You will reformulate your hypothesis as to the possible identity of your organism, (Genus and species) based on your observations up to this point.

Final Unknown Lab Report (Unknown ID 4) - This is due on the final due date. For this portion of the assignment, you are asked to identify your organism (at least to Genus level) based on your accumulated data from all your tests. More will be said as the time draws near or may be found on my web site.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: If academic dishonesty occurs, I will act in accordance with guidelines contained in the Students Rights and Responsibilities Handbook at PCC. If you are caught cheating or help someone else cheat (including allowing another to copy answers), you will receive 0 points for that assignment. If it occurs a subsequent time, you will receive an F in the course and will be referred to the Dean for further disciplinary action, such as expulsion from PCC.

PLAGIARISM IS academic dishonesty! If two people work together on a paper outside of class or a homework assignment, they must each turn in an independent product. I encourage you to work together, but you must write your own answers in your own words.

General Rules

  1. Be courteous to your lab mates, class mates, and instructor. Help each other; you’ll be your best resources.
  2. You are expected to have read lab materials before coming to class, lecture materials sometime before an exam.
  3. No talking, phone or computer use during exams. In lecture and exams, turn cell phones off or to vibrate.
  4. If you have a problem, please speak to or notify your instructor.
  5. When performing or repeating an experimentnot with the rest of the class, you are responsible for incubating it properly and observing it at the correct time.

Lab Rules and Procedures

  1. Report spills and accidents to your instructor.
  2. Wash your workbench before and after and your hands after each lab. This is good lab procedure and BSL 1 rules.
  3. Clean, carry, check, and maintain your assigned microscope in the proper fashionwhich will be reviewed. Whenever the class uses microscopes, you are responsible for checking your microscope, makingsure that it has been put away properly even if you do not use it. Report findings of oil to your instructor.
  4. Your gear, coats, backpacks, etc should be in the back of the lab and not at your workbench. Books, notebooks, pencils, may be at your bench.
  5. Properly label all tubes and plates w/ your name, the date, and the nature of the culture (or the experiment).
  6. Please read the Safety Guidelines and sign the sheet saying that you will abide by them.
  7. No food or drink in the lab. Any food or drink must be in a closed container in your backpack at all times. No smoking, chewing gum, or chew is allowed. You must wear closed toed shoes in lab. In warm weather, many may not be wearing these, but you must switch your shoes before the lab.
  8. Assume every organism is hazardous. Do not put fingers, pens, or other objects in your mouth while in the lab.
  9. You are responsible for disposing of all your materials properly. All cultures, glass items, or disposable items that have touched a culture are assumed to be hazardous and must be disposed of properly in a hazardous waste area. If unsure, ask your instructor.
  10. All contaminated disposable supplies such as paper, Petri dishes, cotton swabs, and plastic pipets should be placed in an autoclave bag in the back fume hood. All glass tubes should be placed in a rack in the hood, and all slides should be placed in the used slide beaker containing bleach near the back sink. Glass coverslips should be bleached and placed in the broken glass container. Noncontaminated disposable supplies should be thrown in the trash, unless they are glass, then they should be placed in the broken glass container. If unsure, ask your instructor.
  11. Turn off your loop heaters (incinerators) when you are done using them. Turn incinerators on at the start of class.
  12. No cultures can leave the lab for any reason.
  13. Handle all tubes and plates by gripping the tube or plate, not the cap or lid! You will need to wash some glassware.
  14. No electronic devices including computers, ipads, and phones may be used at your workbenches because if anything is spilled on them they will need to be autoclaved which will destroy them.
  15. Do not deviate from a taught technique w/o permission from the instructor. You will be taught techniques to minimize contamination of yourself and the surrounding environment as well as sterile techniques. A few students have chosen to ignore the no food/drink rule and have held tubes by their caps instead of the tube creating safety issues, spills, and broken glass. Any safety violation will result in a 10 point penalty.

Tentative Schedule (it may change if circumstances dictate):

Week / Date / Assignment/Activity
1 - T / June 23 / Safety/Intro/Ubiquity
1 - R / June 25 / Microscopy Review/Parasites, Basics and Plating
2 - T / June 30 / Microscopy Review/Parasites, Smears and Simple Staining
2 - R / July 2 / Gram Stain
3 - T / July 7 / Endospore Stain
3 - R / July 9 / Differential and Selective Media, Differential Media 1
4 - T / July 14 / Results from Media 1 and Media 1
4 - R / July 16 / Lab Practical 1
5 - T / July 21 / Differential and Selective Media 3, Differential and Selective Media 2
5 - R / July 23 / Results from Media 3 and 2
6 - T / July 28 / Serial Dilution and Enumeration
6 - R / July 30 / Serial Dilution and Enumeration Results
7 - T / Aug 4 / Microbial Control,
7 - R / Aug 6 / Microbial Control Results
8 -T / Aug 11 / Posters and Presentations
8 - R / Aug 13 / Lab Practical 2, Final Unknown Lab Report Due
9-T / Aug 18 / No Lab