Lab Report

M2A2
In this exercise, you examine changes in lizards in the Caribbean. Changes in the organism and changes in environmental factors both have effects on survival of different groups. No organism is completely insulated from its environment and here you explain how the two variables are connected.
Open HHMI interactive, the Lizard Evolution Lab at www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/lizard-evolution-virtual-lab  and enter the virtual lab. You find additional information on the lizards on the HHMI interactive web site.

In your lab notebook, write down the biological and environmental parameters you select and record the answers to the questions. As you proceed through the assignment, write down your observations. For example, what happened to lizards as they were isolated on different islands? Proceed through lab activities and then save your lab notes/progress as PDF file.
Once you have completed the experiments and answered the questions on the Student hand-out, organize the material and upload it to the assignment dropbox. The answers to the questions should be proceeded by the question that you are answering. Support your responses with lab data.
Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”

Homework assignments are worth 10% of your overall course grade and are evaluated using the SLA Writing Rubric. Please review the rubric carefully so you are familiar with the expectations of the activity.

M2A2
You have seen how natural selection is the result of the interactions between genetic variations in a population and the environment. However, the environment may determine which variations are more favorable. More favorable traits are thereby passed on to the population through successive generations. After finishing the assigned reading in your textbook, you have an understanding of the role biological and environmental factors play in determining which variations of traits are more favorable and which could lead to extinction. You also saw how in smaller populations genetic drift could determine which traits persisted in the population.  You will now continue to prepare a laboratory report based on your observations in the Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab.
As we progress, you will see that it is important to understand what information goes into each section of the report. As you perform more experiments, you should become better at presenting the material in an organized and understandable fashion. This module you will compose the Title page, Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and References of a lab report.
Introduction
An introduction needs to describe both the question and the significance of the question being addressed by the experiments. This section should contain background material needed by an unfamiliar reader to understand the rationale for the question and the experiments needed to answer the question. You can use your textbook as a source, but you will need outside sources as well. The introduction should culminate in a clear statement of your hypothesis. A key point to remember when writing your introduction is to grab the reader’s attention and build their interest in your work. The mark of a good introduction is one which engages the reader and helps them become invested in your results. The length of this section should be between 350-1000 words.
Additional details are available in the Biology lab report guide. This assignment is due by the end of Module 2.

Compose your work using a word processor (or other software as appropriate) and save it frequently to your computer. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you upload it. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Browse My Computer” and find your file. Once you have located your file, click “Open” and, if successful, the file name will appear under the Attached files heading. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”

Lab Reports and lab notebooks represent 50% of your overall course grade and are evaluated with the Biology lab report rubric. Please review the rubric carefully so you are familiar with the expectations of the activity.