THE MICROSCOPE and HOW TO PREPARE SLIDES

This is the link for the You-Tube Video below if you wish to view it in full screen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD2u74VOK3A

How to prepare a microscope slide

One of the most basic parts of working with a microscope is preparing a slide. The microscope slide holds the specimen you will be examining through the microscope. In order to see your specimen clearly and observe it for any appreciable length of time, you must know how to prepare a microscope slide properly

Preparing a Flat Slide 

• Make sure your slide, cover slip and medicine dropper are all clean, dry and dust-free.
• Place your flat slide on a clean, dry surface.
• Use your medicine dropper to suck up a few drops of your liquid sample.
• Squeeze one drop of your liquid sample out onto the direct center of the flat slide.
• Gently lower your cover slip onto the flat slide. Put one edge of the cover slip down first, before lowering the rest of it. Do not press down on the cover slip once it is in place.
• Pick up the slide and cover slip combination and gently place it in the viewing tray of your microscope.

Preparing Wet and Dry mount with stain

Preparing and staining microscope slides for frequent and repeated use saves the specimen on the slide and protects the slide itself from being scratched or broken.

How to prepare and Stain a Dry mount

• Lay the slide on a flat, clean surface to prepare it. Avoid placing the slide on small objects that can scratch or contaminate the surface.
• Place your sample specimen on the slide. Make sure the specimen is as flat as possible.
• Put the slip cover over the slide. Put the slide cover on slowly so that it does not bump or destroy your specimen.

How to prepare and Stain a Wet mount

• Lay the slide on a flat, clean surface to prepare it. Avoid placing the slide on small objects that can scratch or contaminate the surface.
• Mix a small amount of dye with water until it has reached the color you want for your specimen. Do not get the dye on your skin, as it will stain.
• Put a small amount of your colored water on the surface of the slide.
• Place your specimen into the water on your slide.
• Place the cover slip onto the slide. Hold the slide cover at an angle and lower it onto the slide so that it spreads the water evenly out on the slide without catching any air bubbles or damaging the specimen.

Handling of Microscopes

1. Microscopes must be carried upright, with one hand supporting the arm of the microscope and the other hand supporting the base. Nothing else should be carried at the same time.
2. Microscope must be positioned safely on the table, NOT near the edge.
3. After plugging the microscope into the electrical outlet, the cord should be draped carefully up onto the table and never allowed to dangle dangerously to the floor.
4. The coarse adjustment must NEVER be used to focus a specimen when the 40x or oil immersion lens is in place.
5. When finished with the microscope, the cord should be carefully wrapped around the microscope before returning it to the cabinet.
6. The microscope must be placed upright and in the appropriate numbered slot in the cabinet.
7. All prepared microscope glass slides are to be returned to their appropriate slide trays; wet mount preparations are to be disposed of properly.
8. Malfunctioning microscopes should be reported to the instructor.

Modern Biology Chapter 1 word search game » word search puzzle

THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE

1. Divine or Special Creation Theory - Life originated from a supernatural power whom we call God
2. Abiogenesis or Spontaneous Generation - life originated spontaneously from non-living things
3. Cosmozoic or Interplanetary Theory - Life originated from outer planets in the form of a resistant spore propelled by radiation pressure, reached earth and started the first form of life
4. Philosophical Theory of Eternity - Life has no beginning and no end. It states that whatever forms of life we have now have actually been here right from the beginning of time
5. Marine Theory - Life originated from the sea
6. Naturalistic or Evolutionary or Physico-Chemical Theory - This is the most scientific and the most accepted theory. Life came about as a result of a chain of chemical reactions that gave rise to a mass of living protoplasm, which then gradually modified, giving rise to the present forms of life. This chemical evolution has never been duplicated.
7. Biogenesis - Life comes from other living things.

SCIENTIST Proving and Disproving some of these theories:

1. Francesco Redi’s Experiments (late 1600s)

Redi was and Italian physician and one of the first to formally challenge the doctrine of spontaneous generation. Redi's question was simple, “Where do maggots come from?”

According to abiogenesis, one would conclude that maggots came from rotting food. Redi hypothesized that maggots came from flies and designed an experiment, elegant in its simplicity, to challenge spontaneous generation.

Redi put meat into three separate jars:

•Jar #1 he left open. He observed flies laying eggs on the meat and the eventual development of maggots.
•Jar #2 he covered with netting. Flies laid their eggs on the netting and maggots soon appeared.
•Jar #3 he sealed. Flies were not attracted to this jar and no maggots developed on the meat.
This seems to be a clear demonstration of life giving rise to life. Yet it took another two hundred years for people to accept abiogenesis as a fallacy.

2. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek’s “Animalcules” (1600-1700s)

Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch cloth merchant, and due to his trade, frequently used lenses to examine cloth. Rather than employing lenses made by others, he ground his own, and the expertise that he gained through lens crafting combined with a curious mind eventually led to an interest in microscopy.

During his life, Leeuwenhoek assembled more than 250 microscopes, some of which magnified objects 270 times. Through magnification, he discovered presence of “micro” organisms--organisms so tiny that they were invisible to the naked eye.

He called these tiny living things “animalcules,” and was the first to describe many microbes and microscopic structures, including bacteria, protozoans and human cells.

3. John Needham & Lazzaro Spallanzani (1700s)

The debate over spontaneous generation was reignited with Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of animalcules and the observation that these tiny organisms would appear in collected rainwater within a matter of days. John Needham and Lazzaro Spallazani both set out to examine this apparent microscopic abiogenesis.

Needham’s Experiment

John Needham was a proponent of spontaneous generation, and his beliefs were confirmed when, after boiling beef broth to kill all microbes, within the span of a few days, cloudiness of the broth indicated the respawning of microscopic life.

Spallazani’s Experiment

Lazzaro Spallazani noted a flaw in Needham’s experiment. The containers holding Needham’s beef broths had not been sealed upon boiling. So Spallazani modified Needham’s experiment, boiling infusions, but immediately upon boiling he melted the necks of his glass containers so that they were not open to the atmosphere. The microbes were killed and did not reappear unless he broke the seal and again exposed the infusion to air.

4. Louis Pasteur Settles It (1800s)

Pasteur, a French scientist who made great contributions to our understanding of microbiology and for whom the process of “pasteurization” is named, repeated experiments similar to those of Spallazani’s and brought to light strong evidence that microbes arise from other microbes, not spontaneously.

Pasteur’s Swan-Necked Flasks

Pasteur created unique glass flasks with unusual long, thin necks that pointed downward. These “swan-necked” flasks allowed air into the container but did not allow particles from the air to drift down into the body of the flask.

The End of Abiogenesis

After boiling his nutrient broths, Pasteur found that these swan-necked containers would remain free of microbes until he either broke the necks of the flasks, allowing particles from the air to drift in, or until he tilted the flask so that the liquid came in contact with dust that had accumulated at the opening of the flask. It was these carefully controlled experiments of Pasteur that finally put to rest the debate over spontaneous generation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS

There are 9 characteristics:

9 characteristics of life

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~having respiration(exchange of gasses)

~metabolism (The breaking down of substance and convert to energy
Has two kinds: anabolism(to construct components of a cell) & catabolism(breaks down organic matter)

~Reaction(to counter an/a event/phenomena)

~has homeostasis(maintain a system stable)

~high degree of organization (this causes their outward appearance, different than the previous characteristic, i assure you)  giving each organism a different Identity

~grow and develop at some point in their lives

~create/reproduce organisms similar to themselves

Also has two kinds: Asexual & Sexual Reproduction

~communicate with organisms similar to themselves

~move under their own power ( mobility )

With these things in mind, it brings about the Basic principles of Biology:
( http://biology.about.com/od/apforstudents/a/aa082105a.htm )
The foundation of biology as it exists today is based on five basic principles. They are the cell theory, gene theory, evolution, homeostasis, and laws of thermodynamics.

• Cell Theory: all living organisms are composed of cells. The cell is the basic unit of life.
  
  
• Gene Theory: traits are inherited through gene transmission. Genes are located on chromosomes and consist of DNA.
  
  
• Evolution: any genetic change in a population that is inherited over several generations. These changes may be small or large, noticeable or not so noticeable.
  
  
• Homeostasis: ability to maintain a constant internal environment in response to environmental changes.
  
  
• Thermodynamics: energy is constant and energy transformation is not completely efficient.

Grouping Strategy A: STOP and SHOP

Reminder: Follow the rules during my class time.
Groupings:
Station 1: Ways of Learning About Nature  p.1-3
Station 2: Scientific Method p. 4-6
Station 3: Scientific Measurement and Notation p. 6-8
Station 4: Graphing Data p.8-10
Divide the class in 4 groups. You may count off to determine the members for each station. Choose 2 reporters per station. The reporters must prepare 10 items identification and 1 essay question worth 5 points. The questions must be encoded and printed for each member of the group. The test will be written and should be answered in the quiz notebook.You must be able to finish four stations per day that includes discussion, quiz and grading each other. four station = one day.  TY in advance.
There must be a little teacher in each group who will assign the tasks of being reporters or members.
Obey all my little teachers. Obeying them means you obey ME.
The following are the criteria:
For Reporters:
1. ability to explain the topics correctly.
2. ability to ask questions during the review.
3. ability to answer questions from the members of the group
4. well-modulated voice.
5. preparedness of test questionnaire for each member.
For Members:
1. ability to listen attentively.
2. ability to ask questions related to the topic.
3. ability to answer questions of the reporters.
4. ability to share ideas about the topic.
5. show cooperation and honesty during the activity.
The scale for grading:
3 – very good, 2 – fair, 1 – poor, 0 – no response to stimulus. Total Items: 15 pts.
For Visual Aids:
1. completeness and correct spelling of content
2. clarity of words
3. creativity
4. condition of visual aid
Scale: 5- E, 4- VG, 3- G, 2- f, 1- poor, 0- no visual aid. Total Items: 20 pts.

GRAPHING DATA

GRAPHING

·        Graphs are a useful tool in science.

·        The visual characteristics of a graph make trends in data easy to see.

·        One of the most valuable uses for graphs is to "predict" data that is not measured on the graph

Graphing steps:

—  Identify the Variables

—  Determine the range

—  Determine the scale

—  Number and label each axis

—  Plot the points

—  Draw the graph

—  Give your graph a title

IDENTIFY THE VARIABLES:

—  Independent Variable -
(the thing you changed)

·        Goes on the X axis (horizontal)

·        Should be on the left side of a data table.

—  Dependent Variable -
(changes with the independent variable)

·        Goes on the Y axis (vertical)

·        Should be on the right side of a data table.

RANGE

—  Subtract the lowest data value from the highest data value.

—  Do each variable separately.

SCALE

—  Determine a scale,
(the numerical value for each square),
that best fits the range of each variable.

—  Spread the graph to use MOST of the available space.

LABEL THE AXIS’s

—  You need to tell everyone reading your graph what the graph means.

—  Be sure to include units.

PLOTTING

—  Plot each data value on the graph with a dot. You can put the data number by the dot, if it does not clutter your graph.

DRAWING

—  Draw a curve or a line that best fits the data points.

—  Most graphs of experimental data are not drawn as "connect-the-dots".

THE TITLE

—  Your title should clearly tell what the graph is about.

—   If your graph has more than one set of data, provide a "key" to identify the different lines

—  While your high school teachers might not like it, I do like putting your name in the title of the graph.

—  Joy’s Age and Weight …hehehe

INTERPOLATION

—  Interpolate: predicting data between two measured points on the graph.

EXTRAPOLATION

Extrapolate: extending the graph, along the same slope, above or below measured data

—  A very clear and very precise explanation of the items being measured.

—   A method to ensure that anyone making the measurement will get the same answer.

—  Basically you are deciding how each variable is being measured.

—   

—  In other words it will depend on what you are trying to measure and you have to ask or use your common sense on how to do  it.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD, MEASUREMENTS AND NOTATIONS

• THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• The scientific method is a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments.
• The steps of the scientific method are to:
  • Ask a Question
  • Do Background Research
  • Construct a Hypothesis
  • Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
  • Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
  • Communicate Your Results
• It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. A "fair test" occurs when you change only one factor (variable) and keep all other conditions the same.

Scientific-Method-Song-WITH-LYRICS

1. State the problem.
The scientific method begins when a question is asked using the words why or when or how or where or which or who or what regarding something that has been observed. The answer to the question must be something that can be measured and preferably a number.What do you want to learn? An example would be, "What doorknob in school has the most germs ?" or "Do girls have faster reflexes than boys?" or "Does the color of a light bulbaffect the growth of grass seeds?"

2. Gather Information.

It is not a good idea to begin from a scratch to answer the question.Find out as much as you can. Look for information in books, on the internet, and by talking with teachers to get the most information you can before you start experimenting.And confirm that the past errors would not get repeated.
3.Form a hypothesis.
After doing your research, try to predict the answer to the problem. A hypothesis means an educated surmise of how processes occur. Two things must be kept in mind while stating a hypothesis.

1. it must be possible to measure the terms in the hypothesis
2. the hypothesis must answer the original question

The hypothesis must be worded as follows: "If __ this is done __ , then __ this __ will take place".
 An example would be, "If I grow grass seeds under green light bulbs, then they will grow faster than plants growing under red light bulbs."
4. Test the hypothesis.
Do this by conducting the experiment.The experiment that is performed proves the authenticity of the hypothesis. Care must be taken that the experiment is a fair test. As stated earlier, one factor is altered during the experiment and all other factors are kept same. The experiment must be repeated for the same and different set of values to ensure that the initial results were not a fluke.
In our example, you would set up grass seeds under a green light bulb and a grass seeds under a red light and observe each for a couple of weeks. You would also set up a grass seeds under regular white light so that you can compare it with the others. If you are doing this for a science fair, you will probably have to write down exactly what you did for your experiment step by step.

•  Experimental Group  part of the experiment that includes the Independent and Dependent variable
• Independent Variable
  This is the part of your experiment that you will test (vary) to answer your hypothesis. In the example above, the independent variable would be the different colors of the light bulbs.
• Dependent Variable
  This is what occurs in response to the changing independent variable. In our example the Dependent Variable is how much the grass seeds grow.
• Control Group
  The control should be the part of the experiment where you do not include the Independent Variable. In our example, grass seed that is growing under the white (uncolored) bulb would be your control. The control lets you compare your results in the experiment. 

4. Record and Analyze Data.
After the experiment is complete, all the measured values are collected together. An analysis is done to check whether the hypothesis is proved true. Using a graph to plot out your data would assist to give a meaningful output.
5. State the Conclusion.
Write what you have found out.The answer to your question is your conclusion.It frequently happens that the hypothesis turns out to be false. Then, the alternative is to formulate a new hypothesis and begin the steps of the scientific method all over again. It means that you have to review the data and check to see if your hypothesis was correct. If the grass under the green light bulb grew faster, then you proved your hypothesis, if not, your hypothesis was wrong. It is not "bad" if your hypothesis was wrong, because you still discovered something!
6. Repeat the Work.
If the hypothesis turns out to be true, then it becomes necessary to check it again by using a new approach.
OR Report the Work.
The results of the experiment and the hypothesis must be conveyed to others through a display board/Poster or by publishing a final report. When others perform the same experiment and get same results, the hypothesis becomes a Scientific Theory.

How to prepare a winning presentation.

• Prepare a POSTER to give your audience a quick overview of the question you asked, the method you used, the result you got and the conclusion you came to.
• Draw charts, diagrams or illustrations to explain your question, methods and results. A neat and organized poster will obviously communicate your work better than a sloppy, disorganized one.
• Standardized cardboard display boards can be purchased, or you can make your own. Your entire display should not exceed three feet in width.
• Parents, resist the temptation to do this for your kids or improve on their abilities. The judges know what a high school student handwriting- and reasoning- looks like. They are interested in what the student discovered, and whether the student did their best.
• Your NOTEBOOK is an important part of your presentation- it will fill in the nitty- gritty details which would be too much for your audience to take in on the poster. Make sure it is complete and the information in it is clear. Display it with your poster for those who want to know more about your project than the bare bones.
• DEMONSTRATION MATERIALS which illustrate a scientific principle, equipment or materials used, or enable others to retrace your steps "hands-on" will make an exhibit more interesting and help others understand your discovery. Such materials should be placed in front of your backdrop display.If your experiment involves animals, dangerous chemicals or valuable equipment, take photographs to illustrate your work instead. Exhibits will be left in the hall overnight and examined by many other students and their families.
• You will not want to risk damage or loss to yourself or others. Exhibit items should present no hazards to observers who may view the display.

The Advantages of Scientific Method:

organizes our thoughts clarifies our thoughts ends aimless wandering helps ideas gather shape routes to new knowledge increases self-confidence encourages conceptual thinking

aids specific transfer of learning doesn’t have to be reinvented avoids relying only on intuition doesn’t have to be learned by osmosis gives direction on future problems trains for change and innovation keeps us pointed in the right direction

The Opposite of  Not using Scientific Method Is Chance where there are:

·  Haphazard guesses ·  Wrong analysis ·  Wasted time ·  No solutions ·  Confusion

·  Wasted energy ·  Quick fixes ·  Wandering aimlessly ·  Misdirection ·  Mistakes and errors

MEASUREMENTS AND SCIENTIFIC NOTATIONS

Qualitative
- No measurements performed.
Ex. ¯ It is hot today.
The powder was red.
He was heavy.
Quantitative
- Requires measurements.
Ex. ¯ It is 43F today.
The powder absorbed 475 nm light.
He weighed 276 pounds.
3 Systems of Measurement
Which is better:
English or metric system?
Neither.
Both are systems based on arbitrary standards.
4 Units of Convenients
Units of measurement are chosen primarily for convenience of user.
For example:
• How tall are you in miles?
• How much do you weigh in tons?
• How far from the earth to the moon in inches?
5 A New Arbitrary Measure
Let’s use the width of the room as our base unit for measuring length. We will refer to this unit as one “room”.
6 Acceptance
The ‘room’ unit that we have derived is inherently no better or worse than inches, meters, cubits, …
The primary disadvantage of this unit is that that is not a standard, well-accepted, reproducible definition of a ‘room’.
We could define room in terms of feet, inches, meters, …, but this makes room a secondary standard based on the primary standard of feet, inches, meters, …
7 Metric System
Advantages
• Well accepted around world.
• Easy to convert within system.
• Convenient for almost any size scale (with prefixes).
Almost all scientific work is reported in metric units because these are so well accepted worldwide. This makes experiments much easier.
8 Metric Problems
Disadvantages
• NOT well accepted in U.S.A. but very applicable in the Philippines
• Conversion between any two different systems difficult.
(The problem of converting between two different sets of units is not limited to the metric system.)
9 Metric Prefixes

10 Orders of Magnitude
Metric system based on powers of 10.
(Classroom display of orders of magnitude).
Conversion between units simply means moving decimal point.
Ex.
1,560,000 m = 156 cm = 1.56 m = 0.00156 km
Note: It takes fewer big units than small units.
11 Metric Conversions
To convert between metric units:
1. Find order-of-magnitude difference between prefixes.
2. This difference indicates how much to shift decimal point.
3. When going from smaller to larger units, make number smaller.
4. When going from larger to smaller units, make number larger.
12 Scientific Notation
Convenient for very large or very small numbers.
Ex. 1 gram of water contains
33,400,000,000,000,000,000,000 molecules
or
3.34 x 10^22 molecules
Sci. Notation Explained
In scientific notation,
number x 10exponent
number
- must be \geqslant 1 and < 10 exponent – indicates position of decimal point Positive (+) exponents indicate large numbers (>1)
Negative (-) exponents indicate small numbers

BIOLOGY AND ITS BRANCHES

Biology (from Greek βιολογος – βίος, bios, “life”; -λογος, -logos, study of) is the science that studies living organisms.
The following are the various branches of biology:

Botany is the study of plants.

Zoology is the study of animals.

Anatomy is the study of internal structures of living things.

Biochemistry is the use of chemistry in the study of living things.

Biological Earth Science is the use of earth sciences, such as geography in the study of living things.

Biological Psychology is the use of biology in psychological studies.

Biomathematics is the use of mathematics in the study of living things.

Biophysics is the use of physics in the study of living things.

Ecology is the study of the relationships of living things to each other and to their environment.

Pathology is the study if diseases, generally in animals. Phytopathology is the study of diseases in plants.

Physiology is the study of normal functions of living things.

Taxonomy is the classification and naming of living things.

Genetics is the science of heredity and the lifelong development of living things

Embryology is the study of the formation and development of living things from fertilization to birth as independent organisms.

Pharmacology is the study of the actions of chemicals on and in living things.

Endocrinology is the study of hormones and their actions.

Cytology is the study of cells.

Histology is the study of tissues.

Protozoology is the study of one celled organisms.

Bacteriology is the study of bacteria.

Virology is the study of viruses.

Mammalogy is the study of mammals.

Ornithology is the study of birds.

Herpetology is the study of reptiles and amphibians,

Ichthyology is the study of fishes.

Entomology is the study of insects.

Helminthology is the study of worms.

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms.

Mycology is the study of fungi.

Phycology is the study of algae.

Liehenology is the study of lichens.

Paleontology is the study of fossils.

Biogeography is the study of geographical distribution of living things.

Phytogeography is the study of the land and its plants.

Zoogeography is the study of the land and its animals.

Science II. Biology Course Outline SY 2011-2012

Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology
Fort Pilar, Z.C.
www.zscmst.edu.ph

1st QUARTER: Science of Living Things

Topic A. Introduction to Life Science
1. Branches of Biology
2. Methods of Science:
3.Characteristics of Living Things
4. Theories about the Origins of Life
Topic B. Studying Living Things
1. The Microscope
2. The world of Microorganisms
3. Cells and Cell Theory
Topic C. The Life of the Cell
1. Life Substances
2. Cell Functions
3. Cell Division
Topic D. Biotechnology

2nd QUARTER: Diversity of Living Things
Topic A. Classifying Living Things
1. A Classification System for Organisms
2. Monerans and Viruses
3. Protists
4. Fungi
Topic B. Plants
1. Simple Plants
2. Complex Plants
3. Growth of Flowering Plants
4. Reproduction in Flowering Plants
Topic C. Animals
1. Invertebrates
2. Cold-blooded Vertebrates
3. Warm-blooded Vertebrates
4. Animal Behavior
3rd QUARTER: Human Life
Topic A. The Human Body
1. Support, Movement and Control
2. Supply and Transport
3. Internal Checks and Balances
4. Reproduction and Life Stages
Topic B. Maintaining a Healthy Body
1. Nutrients and your Health
2. Defending the Healthy Body
3. Maintaining the Balance
Topic C. Your Body’s Performance
1. Exercise
2. Making Choices about Drugs
3. Hazards in our Surroundings
4th QUARTER: Heredity and Changes
Topic A. Heredity
1. The Basis of Heredity
2. The Inheritance of Traits
Topic B. Organisms in the Past and Present
1. Inferring from Fossils
2. Time and Change
3. Variation and Change