Lab Report
The report must be based on Exercise 2 of the Photosynthesis and Photosynthetic
Pigments lab. The report must address the effect of copper treatment on photosynthetic
pigment concentration in the aquatic plant Vallisneria americana
1. ABSTRACT – The abstract must not exceed 5 lines (not sentences); anything beyond this limit will be regarded as not satisfying (meeting) the requirements for this section of the report. The abstract must be written in past tense. The abstract should provide the reader a summary of the experiment (what you did, why you did it, what you found, and what the findings mean). It should include the purpose of the study and name of the organism used; a brief description of the methods and materials used; the key results; and the key conclusions drawn from the results. Do not present the materials used as a list; mention the materials as you describe what you did. Use cumulative data only for the results. Note that scientific names of organisms must be italicized and spelled out in full the first time that the names are used in the abstract and in the introduction; thereafter, abbreviations should be used. For example, the name Ips grandicollis is spelled out in full the first time that it is used in the abstract and the first time that it is used in the introduction; thereafter the name should be abbreviated as I. grandicollis.
2. INTRODUCTION – The introduction must not exceed the line limits (not sentences) that are specified below. Anything beyond these limits will be regarded as not satisfying (meeting) the requirements for this section of the report. Provide background information that is relevant to the specific goals of the study (14 lines) [i.e., briefly, and concisely review previous literature that addresses the same goals as your study]. The background information should come from journal articles only (no articles prior to 1995). The background information must discuss the effect of copper treatment on photosynthetic pigment concentration in the aquatic plant Vallisneria americana and/or in plants in general. At least five sources for the background information must be cited; examples of the citation style format that should be used are given below. The purpose of the study (2 lines or 30 words) and the hypothesis tested (2 lines or 30 words) must be included. The introduction should follow the following general structure: broad overview of topic—narrow overview of topic—purpose of the study—hypothesis tested.
3. METHODS AND MATERIALS – The methods and materials must not exceed 5 lines (not sentences); anything beyond this limit will be regarded as not satisfying (meeting) the requirements for this section of the report. Present the methods and materials in paragraph form and in past tense. Describe what you did in the experiment and include the materials (reagents, instruments) used. Do not list or itemize the materials used, instead mention the materials as you describe what you did. Do not copy the steps that are in the lab manual or simply present them in paragraph form; doing so constitutes plagiarism. Instead, summarize the key methods that were used. Lastly, include the following information, which addresses how the data were analyzed statistically as the last part of the methods: The statistical significance of the differences between means was evaluated using a t- test. Differences were considered significant at P < 0.05.
4. RESULTS- The results must not exceed 4 lines (not sentences); anything beyond this limit will be regarded as not satisfying (meeting) the requirements for this section of the report. Present the results of the study in paragraph form and in past tense. Briefly summarize the findings and include average values for treatments. Indicate whether there are statistically significant differences between treatments and provide the P-value. Use cumulative data only; your instructor will provide the data. Do not include methods or an interpretation of the results in this section. The results for this lab report are: Control Averages: Ca=40.1 ug/mLx g, Cb=25.2 ug/mLxg, Cx+c=19.1 ug/mLxg. Treated Averages: Ca=34.3 ug/mLx g, Cb=22.5 ug/mLx g, Cx+c=22.4 ug/mLxg. P-values: Ca=0.65, Cb=0.67, Cx+с=0.49
5. DISCUSSION- The discussion must not exceed the line limits (not sentences) that are specified below. Anything beyond these limits will be regarded as not satisfying (meeting) the requirements for this section of the report. Provide a summary of the findings (2 lines or 30 words). Relate findings from this study to supporting and contradictory findings from at least five other related studies (6 lines). Cite the related studies; cite journal articles only (no articles prior to 1995). Citations must follow CSE style format. Suggest at least three limitations of this study (4 lines) and at least three directions for future studies (4 lines) based on what was learned from the current study. Provide final conclusions based on results from this study and other related studies (4 lines).
6. LITERATURE CITED - Sources that are cited in any part of the report should be listed in this section; sources should be listed in alphabetical order, according to the last name of the first author. Use CSE style format only (see examples below). Journal articles only should be listed. No outdated sources (prior to 1995). At least five sources must be listed. For journal articles, use the following format: Sowokinos JR. 2000. Biochemical and molecular control of cold-induced sweetening in potatoes. American Journal of Potato Research 78:221–236. Clinton BD, Vose JM. 2006. Variation in stream water quality in an urban headwater stream in the southern Appalachians. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 169:331–353. Timperio AM, Egidi MG, Zolla L. 2008. Proteomics applied on plant abiotic stresses: role of heat shock proteins (HSP). Journal of Proteomics 71:391–411.