Bio 102 lab

BIOL102: Introductory Biology Guidelines for Lab Report Preparation

Spring 2023

• On the first day of lab, groups of 4 (maximum) will be self-assembled and fixed for the semester.

• Lab reports must be submitted by the group (one report per group). o Every person in the group gets the same grade. o DO NOT include the names of individuals who did not attend the lab or help

write the report.  If you include the name of an absent individual, everyone will receive a

zero. • Make sure to spell check and to use appropriate language and terminology.

o Handwritten reports are not acceptable, unless otherwise stated. • Lab reports must be submitted using Blackboard in the corresponding folder (found in

the Laboratory materials folder in the Course material section). • The report is via Blackboard a week after the experiments were completed.

o Late reports will not be accepted. • There are a total of nine lab reports; the lowest non-zero grade will be dropped.

The lab report must follow the following format:

• Cover page: (Failure to include a cover page will result in a point deduction). o Title o Date o Name of each active, present participant and the name of their professor next to

it • Introduction (20 points)

o What is the topic of the lab? What is the theoretical background for the topic addressed in this lab? What are the lab goals?  You may use the information from the introduction. If you do, then

paraphrase the information. DO NOT simply copy and paste from the lab sheet. Cite in the references.

• Materials and Methods (20 points) o What are the materials/reagents/instruments used in this lab? o What is the procedure followed?

 Explain the methods that you used to complete the lab which may vary from what is written. DO NOT simply copy and paste the information from the lab sheet.

• Results (25 points) o What observations did you make? Describe in words what you saw.

 Be precise, draw a diagram or insert a picture if it helps illustrate the point.

• If you include either, then provide a figure legend or label it appropriately.

o What measurements did you take (if applicable)? You can display these in a table.  A picture of a datasheet is NOT acceptable if it is handwritten.  Be sure to include ALL data and answers to all questions.

• Conclusions (25 points) o What did the results show? Explain what happened and why. o If the experiment did not work, explain what you think would have worked.

• Literature cited (10 points) o Provide the reference of any source that you used in the preparation of this

report (for instance the Introduction). You can cite the pre-lab reading. o Wikipedia.org is unacceptable.

General recommendations

• Font and Organization o 12 pt. Times New Roman Font o Double-spaced o Headings in bold font

• Spelling and Grammar o Perform a spelling and grammar check because points will be deducted for

excessive mistakes.