Over the course of our inquiry you will be expected to complete two formal lab reports. Here are some very important things to make sure you include in each formal submission.
For the Onion Cell Experiment we will be using a basic compound microscope. Watch this brief video to familiarize yourself with some of the microscopes features and how the different mechanisms can be used to either focus or skew the cells under observation.
The microscope that we will be using has two very important features: A fine focusing mechanism and a course focusing mechanism. When conducting your investigation BE SURE to try looking at the slide using both of these mechanism to create a clear and crisp image of your onion cell.
This week we will be examining an onion cell under a microscope and writing a formal lab report.
You will be asked to think about the PURPOSE of the study (Why are we doing this? What are we hoping to find? How will this help develop my understanding of plant cells?). You will also be asked to come up with a hypothesis.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an IF and THEN statement. It is a formal, third person, description of what YOU think will happen in the experiment. When developing your hypothesis think about:
What you might see in the onion cell under different magnifications?
What you might see in the onion cell when using the blue stain?
What organelles (cell wall? nucleus? etc) do you think will be visible?
This is an important piece of your lab report! Please use the following link to access a digital copy of the Week Two - Pure Science Hand Out.
