CELL BIOLOGY 210, SUMMER 2012 HOW YOUR LAB GRADE IS CALCULATED 45%: LAB REPORTS There will be a total of 2 lab reports submitted based on the lab exercises marked with an asterisk on page 2 of the Lab Manual. Lab reports are DUE at the start of your scheduled lab section; the first is due Wednesday June 13th and the second is due Thursday July 5th. Lab reports handed in late will receive a zero. You will need to turn in a hard copy and an electronic copy of your lab report. The two copies must match or you will receive a zero for your lab report, so be careful when turning in your lab report and uploading your file. If you do not turn in both a hard copy and an electronic copy, you will receive a zero for that lab report as well. Both the hard copy and the electronic copy of the lab report are due the week after you do the labs. The hard copy of the lab report is due at the START of your scheduled lab section. Lab reports handed in between the end of the quiz and the end of the lab will receive 10 points less. Lab Reports handed in after your scheduled lab section ends will receive a zero. Use the format specified in the Cell Biology Lab Report Guidelines found in the Appendix of your Lab Manual on pages 107 and 108. Take a look at a sample report which follows on pages 109-118 also in the Appendix of the Lab Manual. You will also upload an electronic copy of your lab report (which MUST match the hard copy that you turn in) to the course web site; this must be uploaded before the start of your scheduled lab section. In the event of a rare technical glitch you will get a chance to submit your electronic copy together with your TA by the end of your scheduled lab section. These uploaded reports will be submitted to SafeAssign, a plagiarism prevention and detection system. You must write the reports by yourself. DO NOT copy from each other or from an old lab report. DO NOT copy from the internet or textbook. DO NOT purchase a report or hire somebody else to write your lab report. Academic dishonesty is NOT tolerated and will be dealt with seriously. 10%: LAB NOTEBOOK No loose pages. It should be a bound notebook. Prior to the lab meeting you should write in your notebook the following (1 page): 1) Title and date of the experiment; 2) Introduction: a summary of the theoretical background, why you are conducting this experiment, and what the purpose is (in your own words); 3) Outline of the procedures (major steps in the experiment). During the lab meeting you should write in you lab notebook the following: 1) Any changes that we make to the methods; 2) Data from the experiment - put into tables if necessary; 3) Any drawings or observations made during the lab. After the experiment you should write in your lab notebook the following: 1) Make graphs in Excel and paste into your notebook; 2) Conclusions about the experiment. Each lab your TA will check the notebook and give you 1.5 points if you have thoroughly completed the above work. Late work will not be accepted.
15%: QUIZZES Each lab, before the experiment, your TA will give a quiz with questions about that lab. Read the lab to be conducted before coming to the lab, and be prepared for the lab and the quiz. 10%: PARTICIPATION, ATTENDANCE, LABORATORY CONDUCT If you fail to attend one lab, you will lose 10% of your lab grade. If two labs are missed, you lose 30% of your lab grade . If you miss three labs, you will lose 60% of your lab grade. If you miss four labs, you will fail the course regardless of your performance on the exams. You must settle all attendance issues with both your TA and the course professor. Labs can only rarely be made up and only for legitimate reasons; make ups require permission from the Professor before missing the lab. Please plan on attending all labs at your scheduled time. Cleanup of your laboratory bench area is an integral part of your lab activities. Rule of thumb is to leave your lab space and equipment the way you found it. You will get 1 point each lab if you are on time, participate and clean up after your group in the lab. If you are absent or late, you will get no points. 20%: LAB PRACTICAL At the end of the semester, you will take a comprehensive lab knowledge test (Practical). Questions on the Practical will probe your knowledge of the techniques you learned in the lab (e.g. measure the size of an object with a stage micrometer; identify parts of the microscope, etc.), as well as of the theoretical background for the labs presented in the Manual. The Lab Practical is a closed-book, timed exercise with approximately 20 questions covering all of the lab material. Be sure to review the manual, your notebook, lab reports and check out the Equipment picture glossary at the end of the Manual. Please make use of the full three hours to master the techniques covered in each lab. Most of these labs can be completed in less than three hours therefore we suggest you use the extra time each lab to practice what you are learning. There will be no review session for the practical, and no labs arranged beyond the regular scheduled labs.
