Lab Reporting Worksheet – The Scientific Method Lab

Lab Reporting Worksheet – The Scientific Method Lab

In science, reporting what has been done in a laboratory setting is incredibly important for communicating, replicating, and validating findings. However, writing scientific reports can be a little overwhelming. There is a set of agreed-upon components that the scientific community requires when reporting scientific experimentation. Answer the following questions to describe what occurred during the lab you conducted in Labster. Be sure to use complete sentences and descriptions that fully represent what you experienced. Writing a lab report is less about being correct or incorrect, than it is accurately reporting what happened and why. So, do not worry about reporting data that might seem counterintuitive or unexpected. Focus on clearly communicating what you did and what you observed.

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TITLE:

What was the title of the lab you completed?

The Scientific Method Lab

PROBLEM:

What was the problem you were trying to resolve in the Lab?

Determining whether a recent drug, Ex-P, is the cause of the increased rates of kidney injuries.

HYPOTHESIS:

What information from the textbook and classroom is relevant for the problem you were trying to resolve in the lab? Identify the concepts and explain how they are related to the lab problem.

The textbook and classroom were valuable as they provided background information about human anatomy and physiology. The textbook describes anatomy as the study of body structures, which is divided into gross anatomy (studying larger body structures without the need for magnification) and microscopic anatomy (studying structures that can only be observed with a microscope or another magnification device) (Betts et al., 2013). On the other hand, physiology is the study of the physics and chemistry of body structures and how they function together (Betts et al., 2013). This background information was relevant in observing the kidneys and appreciating their function in the human body.

Similarly, the classroom was important to this problem as we learned about the kidney and its structure.

During the lab, what information from the THEORY section provided additional background information about the problem? (To review the theory section, launch the lab and click the “Theory” tab at the top of the data pad). Identify the concepts and explain how they are related to the lab problem.

The Theory Section of Labster also provided helpful information that helped resolve the lab problem. Firstly, the Theory provides background information about the scientific method and explains the steps in this scientific experiment design. This information was relevant in determining what variables to consider during experimentation. In addition, the Theory Section explains experimental variables and experimental controls. The section explains that variables are the conditions, traits, or factors that change in an experiment and are grouped into dependent, independent, and control variables. An experimental control is a comparison, a variable put through the same experimental procedure but without changing the independent variable to compare its results to the other experiment results (Www.django-Wiki.org, 2017b). Accordingly, this information was relevant in identifying and studying the variables of the lab problem in question. Next, the Theory Section also delves into the concepts of fluorescent cell death assay and fluorescent microscopy lab techniques. Fluorescent cell death assay is a lab technique that utilizes fluorescent dyes to identify dead cells from living cells, while fluorescent microscopy produces high-contrast images and allows the visualization of microscopic processes that cannot be viewed with other microscopic techniques. Information on these concepts provided prior knowledge regarding how the lab experiment would be conducted and what I would be observing. Finally, the Theory Section also provides information on kidney injuries. Particularly, the section focuses on analgesic nephropathy, a kidney injury that results from exposure to analgesic drugs like paracetamol, aspirin, and phenacetin (Www.django-Wiki.org, 2017a). This information was helpful in formulating a hypothesis regarding the lab problem.

Most scientific experimentation involves examining variables and their relationships. A variable is a construct that can be changed and studied. Examples of variables are a condition or measurable quantity. What are the variables you examined in the lab? Which one were you controlling and changing? Which one were you observing was impacted by your change?

The objective of this lab was to determine whether an analgesic drug (Ex-P) damaged the kidneys by causing cell death. Therefore, the variables of the experiment were the concentration of compounds of the Ex-P drug and the number of dead cells.

Developing a hypothesis requires understanding relevant background knowledge. Now that you have described relevant background information, it is time to develop a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a simple statement (not a question), grounded in previous research, that predicts the relationship between the variables being studied. Please make a statement that predicts the relationship between the variables being studied.

Exposure of kidney epithelial cells to the Ex-P drug will cause significant cell death and result in kidney injury.

METHOD:

Describing what you did during a lab helps other scientists to replicate your work. It is through this consistent replication that scientists are able to see repeating patterns and develop ideas that help move science forward. When you discuss your data, in a later section, you will have to describe what choices you made, why you made them, and any concerns about things that occurred that were unexpected. In order to have enough information to do this, you need to keep very detailed notes. What doesn’t seem important at the moment may end up being something that explains your findings later. A benefit of conducting virtual labs when learning science is that many potential errors are controlled for you. The virtual lab environment often will alert you if something is not going the way it should. This does not occur in non-virtual settings. For this reason, the virtual lab setting can be very helpful to learners. However, we still have to practice documenting so that those skills can be practiced for lab experiences when technology is not there as a coach.

You have already, identify the variables that you studied in the lab in the previous section. Now, take some time to fully define and describe what each variable is and how it was changed throughout the lab.

The experiment aimed to determine whether the Ex-P drug causes cell death and, hence, kidney injury. The Ex-P has three compounds: A, B, and C. As such, the variables are the compound concentration and the number of dead cells, where the compound concentration is the independent variable, and the number of dead cells is the dependent variable. Throughout the lab, the kidney epithelial cells were exposed to different concentrations of the drug’s compounds while observing if cells were dying and the number of dead cells in relation to the compound concentration.

In 3-5 sentences summarize what you did during the lab not including your process of logging into the system. This section would be much more robust for a non-virtual lab. For this virtual lab, a short, high-level summary will suffice.

The first step was observing healthy kidney cells, followed by a slide of a kidney biopsy from a patient who had taken the Ex-P drug. After observation, the next step was to ask a scientific question regarding the problem, develop a hypothesis, determine the experiment’s variables, and determine the best experimental model to answer the scientific question. After picking the best experimental model, the next step was to conduct the experiment, following each step of the scientific method framework while taking note of the observations and results. Lastly, after reproducing the results with replicates, data was analyzed to draw conclusions.

Describe some of the observations you made. What numbers did you write down or keep track of? What did each of your senses observe during the lab process? What did you see (ex: changes in colors, movement, shapes, sizes, patterns)? What did you hear (ex: sounds from reactions, collisions, error messages)? What did you lab character touch? Did you notice anything that seemed unexpected? Did you notice anything that you did not expect to observe?

I made several observations during the lab. For instance, I observed glomeruli, larger structures in a kidney’s tissues, and the tubules of a kidney. Also, an important observation and one that I expected to see is the large number of dead kidney cells from the slide of kidney biopsy from a patient who had taken the Ex-P drug. In addition, I noticed various sounds in the lab simulation. For example, I could hear the sound of the incubator doors opening when I clicked on it, the slide when I placed it on the microscope stage, and the doors opening when I clicked to go to a different room in the lab. I also noted that my lab character could only touch and interact with objects the simulation allowed by showing arrows around the object or indicating “Click here…” One thing I did not expect to observe is teleporting; my lab character could teleport from the lab to a different area, like when meeting with Professor Miller, and then back to the lab to continue experimenting.

Which parts of the lab required you to think more than others and required more time? Which parts were simple and completed easily?

Most parts of the lab were easy and completed easily. The easiest parts were observing the kidney cells, asking a scientific question, determining the experiment’s variables, developing a hypothesis, and analyzing data and drawing conclusions. In this regard, determining the best experimental model was the most challenging part. This part required critical thinking and more time; choosing the wrong model wasted time significantly.

DATA & RESULTS:

Many lessons learned as a result of scientific experiments come from the reporting and analysis of data. This part of scientific reporting requires detailed descriptions of technical information and quantities as well as high-level synthesis of information. High-level synthesis requires a mastery of foundational content in the related scientific field and a complimentary mastery in some fields of quantitative and/or qualitative analysis. For this report, let’s focus on big-picture patterns.

What relationships did you notice between the variables you examined? When you changed the variable(s), how did the other(s) change?

I noticed that exposure of the Ex-P drug to the kidney epithelial cells resulted in many dead cells.

Did you notice any patterns in your data? Any patterns between the variables?

The data revealed a noticeable pattern; higher concentrations of the drug compounds led to an increased number of dead kidney epithelial cells. This shows a direct relationship between the two variables; when the compound concentration (independent variable) increases, the number of dead kidney epithelial cells (dependent variable) also increases.

DISCUSSION:

The discussion section is used to explain why things might have happened the way that they did in your experiment. Here, scientists describe any potential anomalies or mistakes and why they think they may have occurred.

During your lab, what happened that might have impacted the accuracy of your data? Did the simulation alert you that an error was occurring? If so, how did you resolve it?

Contamination during the lab procedure could have affected the accuracy of the lab results. To avoid this, lab safety protocols were followed, for instance, by putting on a lab coat and wearing gloves. Further, factors like the physical movement of the cell culture plates and the lab lighting could affect the culture cells and, in turn, affect data accuracy. However, these potential anomalies were avoided since this was a virtual lab. Besides, the lab simulation did not warn me about an error, so I conducted the experiment smoothly.

CONCLUSION:

The conclusion section of a lab report describes how the learnings from the lab experimentation fit in to prior scientific knowledge. This is done by comparing new information to previously known information that was identified in the section of your report that discusses background information.

Review the hypothesis section of your report from above and describe how the results of your lab compare to the background information that you discussed before.

My hypothesis states, “Exposure of kidney epithelial cells to the Ex-P drug will cause significant cell death and result in kidney injury.” Also, the background information from the Theory Section states that analgesic medications cause a particular type of kidney injury called analgesic nephropathy (Www.django-Wiki.org, 2017a). Similarly, the findings from the lab experiment showed that many kidney epithelial cells died off due to exposure to the Ex-P. As such, the lab results align with background information, confirming my hypothesis that exposing kidney epithelial cells to the Ex-P drug will cause significant cell death and result in kidney injury.

Once scientists have identified how the new knowledge fits into the old knowledge, they discuss the implications of the new information for moving forward. In this class, the purpose of the study is to learn some foundational science ideas represented by the course student learning outcomes. Review the course student learning outcome aligned with this lab in the assignment directions on Blackboard. How is the information from this lab related to the course student learning outcome? What knowledge has the lab supported you with learning that is related to this course’s student learning outcome?

This lab was essential in understanding the steps of the scientific method and how to employ this scientific framework when conducting an experiment to validate a hypothesis. Completing this lab was essential in achieving the student learning outcome of understanding how to organize and conduct scientific experiments. Essentially, this lab has equipped me with the knowledge of describing the scientific method, knowing the factors to consider when choosing an experimental model, developing a hypothesis, designing an experiment, and selecting the correct experiment variables. This knowledge relates to the course student learning outcome and will be fundamental in planning and conducting future lab experiments.

Following scientific experimentation, scientists usually come up with new questions that result from what they learned. These new questions often end up leading to new experiments in the future. What additional scientific things do you wonder about after completing and writing about your lab experience?

The lab was completed successfully, revealing that the Ex-P drug was the cause of the increased rates of kidney injuries. Subsequently, this leads to the question, “What are the exact compound concentrations that result in kidney injury?” This would be a research question I would want to pursue to determine the concentration at which the Ex-P drug compounds become harmful to the kidney epithelial cells.

References

Betts, J. G., Young, K. A., Wise, J. A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D. H., Korol, O., Johnson, J. E., Womble, M., & DeSaix, P. (2013). Anatomy and Physiology. OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology/pages/1-introduction

Www.django-Wiki.org. (2017a, March). Analgesic nephropathy. Labster Theory. https://theory.labster.com/kidney_injuries/

Www.django-Wiki.org. (2017b, March). Experimental controls. Labster Theory. https://theory.labster.com/experimental-controls/

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The scientific method is applied by research scientists, product designers, to forensic science investigators, and more. It is used not only to organize investigations but to also demonstrate validity and reliability when ethical questions are posed about a process or product.

The final step for this assessment is to complete the lab report. To make the experience more interesting, complete the Hypothesis section prior to diving into the lab.
When you are satisfied with your work in the lab, please complete and submit your lab report.