Biology alternative to practical:

Ethical implications: Economic implications:

General: -more expensive
-animal cannot give consent/may feel pain -large numbers/long time/animal
testing/legal
-simple nervous system, reduced pain awareness costs/equipment qualified
-won't affect food chain not !eystone species"
-if clones, won't reduce genetic variation
#aphnia, specifically:
-bred as fish food so will die anyway
-transparent, no need for dissection
Environmental implications:
-loss of global biodiversity$
-loss of habitat
-loss of genetic variation
%onservation breeding implications:
&thical: ethics of !eeping animals in 'oos, ethics of hunting animals for ornaments, trophies", cage
environment
(ocial: education on topic, spread awareness
&nvironmental: habitat is the only place organisms can properly exist
&conomical: use of money in conservation
Checking validity:
-chec! credentials of contributor
-evidence of peer reviewing
-cross-chec! with other sources
-chec! for bias of sponsor
Improving a study:
-larger sample si'e
-conduct study over longer period of time
-more ob)ective method of measurement
-use of matched populations for each variable division
-use of control placebo, or best available treatment"
-double-blind study

Reduction in incidence of disease:
-pre-implantation screening
-fetal screening, followed by abortions
-adult screening, followed by voluntary/statutory ban on marriage/reproduction between carriers
Ethical implications of helping with genetic disorders:
-embryo has potential to life, afforded rights of fully grown adult
-can't give consent
-high cost
-who should have access
-eugenics/designer babies/discrimination
-invasive procedure
-disposal/storage/elimination of unused embryos
* +alse positives:
-distress , abortion not )ustified
-distress , worry about having children when not a problem
-distress , about unneeded abortion
* +alse negatives:
-shoc! of diseased baby born
-false confidence
Where to look for answers:
-internet search engine
-scientific )ournals
-maga'ines
-specialist library
-relevant experts
Unreliable sources of information:
-website without references
-government website promoting certain hypothesis
-drug company websites
-sites related to scientists their own"
-easuring si'e of clear 'one on bacterial agar plate:
graph paper tracing/mean diameter , count squares/calculate area , subtract area of well/paper
.eliability:
-wide range/variability of data
-reference to outliers/anomalies
-good reliability if standard deviations are low, and no overlap of standard deviations of different
values
/ow to find dry mass:
remove water by placing in oven for 01 hours at 2334%/evaporation of water until constant mass
reached
5hy conclusions drawn from mathematical model should be viewed with caution:
-limited data on which it is based
-limited !nowledge
-trend might change due to other variables not enough factors ta!en into account"
-trend might have been different in the past due to other variables
.eferences must include:
-dates/times websites accessed
-specific website details url/author"
-addition of suitable non-web resource
-year of article
-name of website
-publisher name, location
-pages
-name of peer reviewed scientific )ournal
6utoclaves use pressuri'ed steam to destroy microorganisms, used for the decontamination of
laboratory waste and the sterili'ation of laboratory glassware, media, and reagents
+laming the nec! of bottles and test tubes in aseptic technique":
7his ensures that no microorganisms enter the mouth of the vessel to contaminate the culture or
the medium$ 8assing the mouth of the bottle through a flame produces a convection current away
from the opening, and helps to prevent contamination$
%ondensation on agar plates will cause the spreading of the colonies that are growing on the agar
surface if the condensed water falls on them$
7he 934% temperature reduces condensation of water vapor on agar plates because it's a 'cooler
temperature'
&xperiments:
2" 7he effect of caffeine on heart rate
2$ 8lace a few strands of cotton wool on a cavity slide to restrict the movement of the water flea$
:sing a pipette, transfer one large water flea to a cavity slide$ .emove the water from around the
water flea using filter paper, then add one or two drops of distilled water or pond water$ :se as
much water as you can and do not use a cover slip$ 7hese precautions will help maintain sufficient
oxygen supply to the water flea$ 8lace a cavity slide filled with iced water under the slide to act as
a heat sin!$ ;iew the water flea under low power$ +ocus on its heart which can be seen through its
translucent body$ 0$ :se a stop-
cloc! to record the number of heartbeats in a minute$ 5or! in a pair, with one person counting
beats while the other person tells them the time period$ .ecord the heart rate at intervals of 0
minutes over a 23 minute period$ #o a blind study so that the person counting the heartbeats
does not !now if the #aphnia is in water or water with added caffeine$ 7his helps avoid bias in
results$ <$ .epeat the procedure using other water
fleas from the culture solution and fresh, clean, slides$ .eplace the water with caffeine solution$
.epeat the procedure using several different concentrations of caffeine$
0" 7he ;itamin % content of fruit )uice
2$ 8ipette 2 cm< of 2= #%8>8 solution into a test tube$
0$ :sing a pipette or burette, add 2= vitamin % solution drop by drop into the #%8>8 solution$ 6fter
adding each drop sha!e the tube gently$ &xcessive sha!ing may cause oxygen from the air to
partially restore the #%8>8 color$" continue to add drops of the vitamin % solution until the blue
color of the #%8>8 has disappeared$ .ecord the exact amount of the vitamin % solution that was
added to decolori'e the #%8>8 solution$ .epeat the procedure and average the result$
<$ .epeat this procedure with the fruit )uices provided$ >f only one or two drops of the fruit )uice
decolori'es the #%8>8, dilute the )uice and repeat the test$
<" 7he effect of temperature on membranes
2$ %ut sections from a single beetroot using a si'e four cor! borer$ %ut eight 2 cm length slices
from these sections$
0$ 8lace the sections in a bea!er of distilled water$ ?eave overnight to wash away excess dye$
<$ @ext day, place eight labelled boiling tubes each containing 9cm< distilled water into water
baths at 3, 23, 03, <3, 13, 93, A3, and B34%$ ?eave for 9 minutes until the water reaches the
required temperature$ 8lace one of the beetroot sections into each of the boiling tubes$ ?eave for
<3 minutes in the water baths$
1$ .emove the beetroot sections and sha!e the tubes to disperse the dye in the water/solution$
9$ (witch on the colorimeter and set it to read = absorbance$
A$ (et the filter dial to the blue/green filter$
B$ :sing a pipette, accurately measure 0 cm< distilled water into a cuvette$
C$ 6d)ust the colorimeter to read 'ero absorbance for clear water$
D$ 8lace 0 cm< of the dye solution into a colorimeter cuvette and ta!e a reading for absorbency$
.epeat the readings for all the temperatures$
1" Ebserving mitosis
-ethod 6: :sing toluidine blue stain
2$ %ut off 2-0 cm from several root tips of some growing garlic roots$ %hoose tips which are white
and have a firm rounded endF brown tips will give poor results$
0$ 8ut the root tips in a hollow glass bloc! or small sample tube containing 0 cm< 2 - hydrochloric
acid for exactly 9 minutes$
<$ 7ransfer the root tips to a watch glass containing approximately 9 cm< cold water$ ?eave them
for 1-9 minutes, and then dry them on filter paper$ /andle the root tips gently as they will be very
fragile$
1$ 7ransfer one of the root tips to a clean microscopic slide$ %ut about 1-9 mm from the growing
tip$ Geep the rounded tip and discard the rest$ 7he meristem tip is usually a denser white and more
rounded than the cut end$ >f you ta!e the wrong end, the presence of xylem will ma!e maceration
more difficult$
9$ Gently brea! up the root tip with a mounted nedle this is called maceration"$ 6dd one small
drop of toluidine blue and leave to stain for 0 minutes$
A$ %over with a coverslip, and blot firmly with several layers of tissue or filter paper$ 8ress gently to
spread the root tip, or tap gently on the coverslip with the end of a pencil$
B$ ;iew under the microscope x133 magnification"
-ethod B: :sing orcein ethanoic stain
2$ 8ut a test tube containing 0 cm< 2 - hydrochloric acid into a water bath at A34%$
0$ %ut off 2-0 cm from several root tips of some growing garlic roots$ %hoose root tips which are
white and have a firm rounded endF tips that are turning brown will give poor results$
<$ 8ut the root tips in a watch glass containing approximately 0 cm< acetic alcohol for a minimum
of 20 hours$
1$ .emove the root tips and place them in a second watch glass with approximately 9 cm< ice cold
water$ ?eave for 1-9 minutes, then dry the root tips on filter paper$ >t is important to blot the tips
well to remove the water at this stafe or a precipitate may form while staining$
9$ 8ut the root tips into the pre-heated hydrochloric acid for exactly 9 minutes$
A$ .epeat step <$ handle the root tips gently as they will be very fragile$
B$ 7ransfer one of the root tips to a clean microscopic slide$ %ut about 1-9 mm from the growing
tip$ Geep the rounded tip and discard the rest$ 7he meristem tip is usually a denser white and more
rounded than the cut end$ >f you ta!e the wrong end, the presence of xylem will ma!e maceration
more difficult$
C$ Gently brea! up the root tip with a mounted nedle this is called maceration"$ 6dd one small
drop of orcein ethanoic stain and leave to stain for 0 minutes$
D$ %over with a coverslip, and blot firmly with several layers of tissue or filter paper$ 8ress gently to
spread the root tip, or tap gently on the coverslip with the end of a pencil$
23$ ;iew under the microscope x133 magnification"