The Purpose Of The Experiment Was To Uncover Whether A

In the dishes, I dropped the appropriate treatment into the center, where the marks were made. Next, I closed the petri dishes, taped them up, and let them sit at room temperature for a week. Then I opened them up to take two measurements. The first measurement was the number of seeds germinated. The second measurement was to measure the seedling lengths.

The leaves of a plant are the main photosynthetic organs and are involved in gas exchange and water transportation throughout a plant (Evans et al, 17). A leaf typically consists of an upper and lower epidermis, the mesophyll cells, veins, guard cells and stomata. The mesophyll cells contains spongey cells which have large gaps between each cell to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide circulation. The mesophyll cells contain palisade cells, which are located beneath the upper epidermis. The palisade cells contain many chloroplasts, which are green organelles. Located in the internal layers of chloroplasts is the pigment chlorophyll which is involved in trapping the light energy in photosynthesis (Evans et al, 17).

Next, take cuttings using pruners from each assigned plant and insert them in their designated area. For the Ficus, Japanese boxwood, Swedish Ivy, and Autumn Sage take one tip and one stem cutting. Each of these cuttings should be long enough to where there are four nodes present, two above the soil and two below. For the Mouse Ear Jew and the Wandering Traveler make two tip and two stem cuttings. To test the significance of polarity, take four tip cuttings from the Snake Plant, first cut one large cutting then make four V shaped cuts into it, two with tips up and two with tips down. Also to test polarity, take two cuttings from the Umbrella Palm, take two cuttings that both still have the tips on them. Take the leaves off the top and place in soil upside down for reverse polarity and one right side up for positive polarity. For the Peperomia, simply take one leave cutting and put the petiole below the soil. Next, the Mother of Thousands calls for one plantlet and one leaf cutting. Take these and place in the soil. For the Jade plant take one leaf and one stem cutting. The stem needs to have four nodes available, two above and two below. For the leaf cutting make sure it is planted about halfway into the soil. After these cuttings have been planted, put in a stake with a name on it to separate each individual’s plants.

Plants that are adapted to drier climates are called xerophytes (an example if these types of plants are cactus). Some of these plants have adapted small, thick leaves with a reduced surface area. They may also have a thickened cuticle to protect themselves from the environment. The stomata may be sunken into pits. Some xerophytes shed their leaves during the driest seasons and others can store water such as cacti. CAM plants uptake CO2 at night and change it into crassulacean acid that can be broken down during the day for sugars. These plants can close their stomata during the day.

Add three seeds to the potting mix and cover seeds with little remaining potting mix. After the addition of the potting mix, use a dropper filled with water and water each cell until water drips from the wick. Then place the quads on a watering tray under the fluorescent light bank. Each cell should have an equal distance from the light bank. Quads should be three inches below the fluorescent light; the light should also be left on all day. Make sure all wicks are in contact with the mat that sits on the watering tray. Also watch out for the watering system regularly throughout the experiment. After four to five days record plants in the quads, giving their phenotypes in a table for each cell removed all but the strongest plant.

• The “Help Page” link on the left side of the online LeafLab at http://www.biologylabsonline.com/axia/LeafLab/. The Help Page’s address is: http://www.biologylabsonline.com/axia/LeafLab/help.php

Please record the address of the property where the samples were collected, or—even better—provide GPS coordinates). You will bring these leaves to the college and will identify the trees they came from using accepted scientific methodology. I will give you guidance in how to identify the tree species. (Note that this may involve meeting outside of class time). You will then write a paper, using the same format as your regular lab report, on the identity of the trees, whether they are native to our area or not, and discuss why they might be growing where you found them. Your paper will be reviewed and you will have the option to either accept the grade given, or correcting any problems found. If problems are corrected, your grade will be raised to the maximum and your paper submitted for possible publication online at www.saturnjournal.org. This will be worth 10 bonus points. 3. Extra exam credit. There will be four bonus points available on each of the two lab practicals, and five bonus points on the final lecture exam, for a total of thirteen bonus points. Total bonus points available = 30. When added to your lowest qualifying exam grade, this equates to a maximum of six (6) points added to your final course average. EXAM POLICY: A. Repeating exams. Please note that each exam may be taken once only. Exams may not be repeated because you are not happy

3. Switch to high power and center your slide in the apical meristem region, so that you have a field of view in which there is a wide selection of cells in various stages of mitosis (including interphase). Be sure to adjust your light for optimum viewing. Refer to Figure 3A, 3B, 3C: Stages of mitosis in onion root tip cells for guidance.

To observe mitosis in onion root tip cells and record the different phases of mitosis.

The third step that was taken was germinating the seeds. Two sets of paper towels were used to germinate the

Making the onion tip root cell slide was successful. Our results supported the hypothesis because we saw cells in the onion root tip in prophase, metaphase, and anaphase. As we went up in power objectives, each phase of the cell became more definitive. The cell root was a great indicator of the structures of the different cycles of the cell. This is important because we will be prepared for future labs working with the microscopes and can now adjust it for the best view of the slide. We practiced working with the compound light microscopes and different phases of the cell cycle. Onion root tips are useful to observe mitosis because the cells are frequently diving as the root grows. So when we stained the cell, we caught many cells in different phases. The significance of this lab was to better understand the process and stages of mitosis and meiosis and compare and contrast the mitotic process in plants and animals. We grasped the concepts of what the chromosomes look like, and what they look like in each step of the processes. Having read much about mitosis and meiosis, seeing these cells was the real application of describing and understanding the stages.

First we obtained a leaf from our instructor. Then we sketched the leaf and labeled the blade and petiole.

The surface of the leaf is uniformly coated with a water-resistant waxy cuticle that protects the leaf from excessive absorption of light and evaporation of water. The transparent, colourless epidermis layer allows light to pass through to the mesophyll cells where most of the photosynthesis takes place.

In most of the plants, this process of abscission may occur in a rather specific part of the abscising organ called the abscission zone. The abscission zone may apparent throughout the whole life of the plant or it may become obvious as the time of abscission approaches, usually as a lighter coloured, slightly swollen or shrinking area.

Leaves of different species were weighed in mg and recorded, then placed into a mesh bag in three separate areas of bag, separated by plastic string weaved through mesh. Rock was placed into middle segment to weigh bag down over the three areas.