Natural Selection Lab

4th Quarter Lab Report
Introduction
This will be a one paragraph example of HOW one distinctive characteristic on a real animal might have
changed over time to become the way it is today BUT IT CANNOT BE ONE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT IN
CLASS or something similar (so nothing to do with an animal adapting to the snow for example). Do not freak
out, just think a (one) characteristic on a real animal and what might have “forced” it to change over several
generations to make it look the way it does (the reason must be realistic but do not worry if it is accurate or
not). Be very specific in HOW a characteristic changed over time including the concepts of ‘variation’ and
‘advantage’.
Hypothesis
Predict what you think will be the results of this lab for each color [i.e. how many of each color will there be at
the end of the 3rd generation?].
THIS MUST BE A ONE-SENTENCE “IF-THEN” STATEMENT!!! Remember that in a hypothesis it says “if this
fact is true, then I predict this will happen [think about what assumption you have to make about how the
seagull will choose its food]
Materials
List all the materials used in this lab - BE VERY SPECIFIC AND DESCRIPTIVE – paint a picture with your
words and do not forget about the different colors. [Only 2 bullet points]
Method
List the VERY detailed steps in how you conducted the lab and you CANNOT use personal pronouns. This
needs to be written with enough detail that anybody outside of class could reproduce the lab. You will literally
be writing “Step 1”, “Step 2”, etc and each step is basically only 1 sentence in length (only one complete
instruction per step).
Results
You must include the following 2 things in your result section IN THIS ORDER and it must appear right here in
the report after the “Method” section and before “Discussion Questions”:
1. A digital (computer made) data table identical to the one you were to create in your journals with all the
information centered left-right in each cell. Only list the data for the complete generation and NOT the
numbers that added up to “20”.
2. A digital double-bar graph (vertical bars, not horizontal) showing ONLY the original population and
the 3rd generation population amounts for each color. Do not forget all the parts that must be included
in the graph including a very descriptive title. If you do not have a color printer, change the bar colors to
textures or very distinct colors so it is easy to tell the data apart but you cannot change the bars by
drawing/writing on it – it must all by typed.
Before the data table and graph, include a simple introduction sentence.
Discussion Questions
Answers MUST be in complete sentences (do not write the question), number each one! You will be graded
on the thoroughness of your answer.
1. In general terms (you will NOT use numbers) describe the difference between the original population
and the 3rd generation (what did it look like before and then after?). Based on this change, how would
you infer the seagull chose which mussel to eat? [2 parts to this answer!!]
2. Why did you have to use the same person as the “seagull” for every generation?
3. Mussels reproduce sexually. Based on what you know about genetics, what part of this lab was not
accurate in terms of the outcome of the reproduction? Explain your answer.
Conclusion
The mussels in this lab had to adapt to a changed environment. Explain how the environment changed and
then in detail explain HOW through natural selection the mussel population adapted. You will use the results of
this lab as if they were real data collected in nature (do not refer to the “dots”, material, partners, etc – talk as if
you are studying real mussels). Your explanation must re-teach the concept of natural selection detailing in
what way the environment change for the mussels causing them to have to adapt. Discuss the conditions at
the beginning, what changed, and then how the mussels changed to end up with the population in the third
generation. Again you are going over HOW the mussels changed, not just why. This will be another “miniessay”. Do not tell a story, just state it as if you were giving an example.
Lab Partners
Write the first and last names of the people in your group and what their job was in the lab in bullet point
format.
Grading
1. EVERYTHING on your lab report must be typed (including name, data table and graph) using
only: black ink, 12-point Ariel font, 1” margins left and right and .5” margins top and bottom,
double line spacing (including your name, date, & period in the upper right-hand corner), on one
side of white, unlined 8 ½ x 11” paper. Do not use the header or footer.
2. Neatness is VERY important as well as spelling, grammar & proper capitalization (think “6 Traits”
writing including indenting the first line of a paragraph). Must use formal voice (do not “talk to the reader”,
no contractions, text message spelling, abbreviations, etc). Be very careful of sentence fluency – no
choppy sentences. Do not exaggerate or use emotion.
3. You MUST label each section of the lab report (i.e. “Introduction”, “Purpose” , “Method”, etc). Your paper
will be formatted just like this lab report sheet with the same labels that are “bolded” and “underlined”
along the left hand side of the paper in the same order. An appropriate, formal title (not simply “Lab
Report”) is centered after the heading.
4. Do not leave just a section heading at the bottom of a page and then everything else starts on the next
page – just move it all over to the next page. But also make sure you do not leave big UNNECESSARY
gaps between sections or at the bottom of the page (any space bigger than 5cm will be considered
unnecessary). You cannot split the graph between pages but you can split the data table if needed.
5. If you copy EVEN ONE SENTENCE from the internet, a friend, a parent, or anywhere, you
will get a “0” on your lab report – do your own work!!!
6. PLEASE, once you have your final copy done, pull out all of these instructions and match them up to make
sure you did not miss anything. Also have somebody read your Introduction and Conclusion section out
loud back to you to check for sentence fluency.
7. Mr. Strauss will not be reviewing the lab reports ahead of time but he will answer questions until the end of
school on Monday, May 11th.
8. Computer problems, printer problems and email problems are not Mr. Strauss’ problem. Do not put this off
to the last minute because you will not have access to ANY school computers or printers the day it is due.
You need to work as if the report is due on Monday the 11th!!!!!!
Lab Report Due Date: Tuesday, May 12th!