How to write a lab report on identification of unknown bacteria
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Transcript How to write a lab report on identification of unknown bacteria
Biology 225
Sections of the report
Title
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
References
Title
Purpose: To accurately describe the scope of your
project
Be descriptive
Include your tube #
Example: The identification of two unknown species of
bacteria in tube #99
Introduction
Purpose: To introduce your project to the reader and tell
how this work would be accomplished and its
importance
Includes the question that began this whole process
Includes HOW you were going to answer the question
Possible species
Possible tests, stains, etc.
Possible techniques that could have been used
Includes the reasons that this type of experiment is
important
Materials and Methods
Purpose: To tell the reader what you did and how
Describe what you did
Do not include dates
Reference your lab manual – this is how you knew what to
do
Do not forget time and temperature of incubation of
biochemical tests
Do not repeat yourself
Do not list the materials
Results
Purpose: To represent your data/results in the best possible
way
Represent your data in tables and figures
Tables and figures are “pictures” of your data that are easily read
and understood
Do not write out all of your results in paragraph form
Captions are crucial!
Caption = descriptive title that allows that table or figure to be
understood by anyone, even outside of the original paper
Figures are drawings, pictures, graphs – anything except tables
Example of Table
Stains, tests,
characteristics
observed
Gram + species
Gram - species
Cell shape
Coccus
Bacillus
Cell arrangement
Tetrads
Single
Incubation temperature
25 C
37 C
Colony morphology
Yellow, shiny, round
Beige, shiny, oblong
Etc………
Example of caption for table
Table 1 – Cell and colony characteristics, staining
characteristics, and biochemical test results from the
identification of Gram + and Gram – bacteria in tube
#99.
Discussion
Purpose: To describe to the reader what your logic was
behind the choice of the two species that you identified
Explain your elimination process – how did you
eliminate 8 of 10 possible species of bacteria
Discuss one of your species at a time
Show how the characteristics of your species are
related to the results of tests that you had
Discuss any problems that occurred and give possible
causes for those problems
Conclusion:
Purpose: To state the identity of your unknowns
A one or two sentence statement telling what the
identity of your two unknown species of bacteria were.
References:
Lab manual
Personal communications
Bergey’s Manual…
Your textbook
Websites – use complete URL
Other sources
References should be listed in numerical order that they
were used in the report.
Superscript numbers are used at the end of sentences were
you used references.
General tips….
Write in the past tense – this is what you did
Do not use personal pronouns….I, you, etc.
This is a scientific paper. Be concise and to-the-point.
Cover all information adequately.
More general tips….
Use white paper and black ink
Use reasonable margins and font
Put your name somewhere on the report
NO cover or coversheet
Length – long enough to get the job done
How to get started
Writing is hard!
Start with what you know best – your Materials and
Methods section
Then continue on with your Results section
Write your Discussion section next
Then finish with the rest of the sections
Grading
Gradesheet in D2L
10 points for correctly identifying your two species
Results = 20 points
Discussion = 25 points (THE most important section)
Minimum score of 70% to finish the course
Late point deduction = -10 points per day late
The End