Labs 9 and 10: Vertebrate Skeletal Muscle

The physiology of in situ vertebrate muscle

Author

Affiliation

Marguerite Butler

School of Life Sciences, University of Hawaii

Before Lab

The first week will be a group lab on toad muscle. You should develop a hypothesis that you will test the following week for your independent lab.

Prepare for lab by:

• Read the lab manual for this weekʻs experiment [Lab 9/10]
  
• Outline the [Prelab] in your lab notebook. Summarize the important points for this experiment.
• Draft hypotheses for each experiment
• Time permitting, outline (write a topic setence and bullet point any supporting points that come to mind):
  • Umbrella idea
  • Mechanism 1
  • Mechanism 2
  • …
  • end with a paragraph of your hypotheses
• For the methods, outline:
  • subjects
  • equiptment
  • experimental treatments (be sure to note what variables are changing) and controls or comparisons
  • analysis
• Do Quiz on Laulima (open 24 hrs before lab) for lab 9. No quiz for lab 10.
• Please bring a laptop with you to lab, if possible, to analyze your experimental results.
• Draft hypotheses for your independent lab (next week Lab 10). Get approval from your TA during lab 9.
• For lab 10, you will help your group members collect their data, but you will design, execute, and write up your own independent lab report.
  

In Lab:

• Lab 9 manual [pdf] . Record data in your lab notebook.
• You should have plenty of time to complete the data collection and your figures during lab.
  
• This will be a Group Lab. Begin planning with your partners as you work.
• Start an outline with your lab partners and start outlining your discussion points, and the rest of the report. Use your time wisely to brainstorm as you work.

After Lab:

• Group lab report due next week. See the guidance at the end of the manual [pdf]
  
• Always follow the content guidelines: [grading guidelines] [old style]
• It is a good idea to divide up the work of writing the lab by experiment. That way, each person writes a portion of the intro, methods, results, and discussion for their hypothesis.
• Work out your timeline with your lab partners during lab (and plan a face-to-face meet up so that everyone has a chance to comment and edit before the lab is submitted.