Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Lab Report

The lab handout provided by the instructor was used as a guideline to conduct this experiment. The only difference was the organism used and data collection period. For this experiment, pill bugs and crickets were utilized. Also, data was collected for a period of 12 minutes.

If all five conditions mentioned within the Hardy-Weinberg Principle are met (random mating, large populations, no mutations, no migration, no natural selection), will the population remain in genetic equilibrium?

Aim: The aim of the lab “Chemical Equilibrium” is to observe the effects of changes in concentrations of products and reactants on the position of the equilibrium of given chemical reactions.

With the presence of natural selection (fly paper hanging from top of cage) posing a larger threat to the wild flies b/c they can fly better, this will allow vestigial flies to prosper better.

For the first procedure the student put 5ml of distilled water in to a test tube then picked up one filter paper and placed it in a dish. The 5ml of distilled water was then dropped on to the filter paper. The student then grabbed alcohol for its habitat solution, and placed 5 ml of alcohol in to another test tube, and placed a new filter paper in to another clean dish. The 5ml of alcohol was then dropped on to the filter paper. Once both filter papers were submersed in the proper liquid then they were taken out of the dish and out in to individual chambers that had a connection. On the left hand side was the water filter paper and on the right hand side the alcohol filter paper. The second procedure was to grab ten pill bugs and gently place them in to the alcohol and water chamber.

This will help improve the understanding of pillbugs’ behavior as well as provide the students performing the experiment with more experience with lab work, and a better understanding of the scientific method.

The CO2 is believed to reduce the PH level of the flies, which causes them to fall into an induced sleep. Regulating the control of CO2 flow was adjusted through a CO2 valve on the lab bench and FlowBuddy device. The anesthetic was manually set at 5L/min and delivered to the flies though a small devise resembling a hot glue gun, and a surface pad which diffused CO2 though small pores. While properly holding the vial at an angle of 70-80 degrees, the acetate plug was rotated and loosened. This allowed room for the tip of the gun to enter into the vial and release CO2. The flow of the anesthetic into the vile was administered for 5-15 seconds while gently pressing the gun trigger. Flies immediately fell to the top of the vile, the plug was removed, flies were placed on the surface pad for observation, the plug was immediately placed back on the vial, and the vial was placed on its side incase flies were still asleep in the

Moss might be used were it not that it directly breeds a swarm of flies.” Superior conditions, indeed.

We started off with twenty pill bugs, however two never moved so we did not include those in the data set. Also, many of the pill bugs were more interested in climbing out of the container they were in, and we had to intervene often in order to keep the pill bugs in the container. Many of them climbed the walls and stood on top of each other, preventing other pill bugs from moving around the container. While in the midst of climbing out of the container, several pill bugs ended up flipped on their backs, which wasted time and ruined the pill bug’s chances of moving around. Microscope slides were also used to block off certain areas of the container that were not needed, however these slides fell over often, either preventing a pill bug from moving or allowing the pill bugs to enter another part of the container, which affected the overall results. These problems were expected, since the pill bugs were exploring the entire container, nonetheless, these problems may have been preventable. Using a larger container with more sustainable blockades could have prevented some problems. By adding natural factors into the container like temperature, darkness, and dirt, the pill bugs may have felt more comfortable because they would have felt like they were in their natural habitat. This could have prevented them from trying to escape, allowing them to focus more on the food that was placed in the area. If this experiment was run again, using a more natural based habitat for the pill bugs to explore and allowing more time could possibly overall improve the outcome of the

The black solider fly is indigenous to the southern United States and is now distributed to warm temperate regions (Diener et al., 2009). Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have been used in backyard and farm composting systems for decades, mainly to treat animal manures (Tomberlin, 2001; Oliver, 2008). However, due to several unique characteristics, BSFL have been investigated in a variety of beneficial applications. The life cycle of the BSFL is divided into four phases with an average lifespan of 36 days depending on the environmental conditions (i.e. temperature, moisture, and air supply) (Fig.1). (Tomberlin et al., 2002).

We put equal amounts of sand or dirt in each chamber, as well as 6 mL of water mixed in on either side. Afterwards, we placed 12 pill bugs in the bridge between the dishes. This allows the pill bugs a clear choice between the two materials. We recorded the number of pill bugs on the dirt dish, sand dish, and bridge each minute for seven minutes in a chart. We did this to indicate any movement the pill bugs might have performed during the experiment.

The first hypothesis for this lab is that, if red flour beetles are placed in the center of a dish with wheat flour on one side and white flour on the other, then more beetles will go to their preferred substrate. Our prediction is that the white flour side will occupy more red flour beetles than the oat flour side of the dish because that is the preferred substrate. The null hypothesis is that there will be no preference between the two substrates.

METHODS: In this experiment, the instructor provided us with 30 ebony individuals and 20 wild type individuals. In order to get an exact amount of each type, we anesthetized the flies and counted them off by gently using a fine point paint brush. Then all 50 Drosophila were put into a population cage which had a lid that had six holes for the centrifuge tubes. Two food tubes and four clean, empty tubes were added on the first day. Each food tube consisted of half a cup full of food mixed with 6-7 milliliters of water. This was the fly medium. The food should turn blue once the water is added. Each tube was labeled with a number and with the date. Every two to three days we added one more food tube until all 6 tubes contained the fly medium. After all 6 tubes were filled, the following days after we exchanged the first food tube with a new food tube. At the end of the experiment, we fed the flies with a total of 8 food tubes. Then the flies were anesthetized, again. At the end of this four week lab, the number of living ebony and wild

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution centres on the idea that species compete to survive, and favorable characteristics are passed on from one generation to the next. Darwin said that evolution took place by a process of natural selection or survival of the fittest. This meant that the animals and plants best suited to their surroundings survived and were able to pass on their genes to their offspring. The ones that weren't best suited died off and didn't get the chance to reproduce.

Chemical equilibrium is the study of change within a chemical reaction and how far it will go to reach a dynamic equilibrium (Burdge). Dynamic equilibrium is defined as the constant movement of species in a chemical reaction, gone to incompletion while the rates of production and consumption are equal (Kf = Kr ) (Burdge). It differs from static equilibrium in that species are constantly being consumed and produced, it is dynamic movement (Fox). The concentration of such species do not change, it remains constant (Fox). The rate at which species are being consumed and produced is known as the equilibrium constant (K) (Burdge). Due to the fact that the concentration