2.1 Evaluate, interpret, and apply experimental design and draw valid conclusions from experiments.
In many of my biology and chemistry classes at Longwood, we have had labs to go along with them. These are crucial to give students hands on experience to apply what we learn in lecture into a laboratory setting. In these labs, we follow procedures, collect data, interoperate and analyze it, and then share this with each other. There are several instances where we have practiced this, but three stand out to me that I found to be particularly signicficant.
Microbial Effect of Carbon Chain Length on Brominated Esters of Parabens
In Organic Chemistry Lab II, we created a paraben with a modified structure. We studied the ability it had to decrease estrogenic activity, but also remain a good antimicrobial agent. This was attempted in this research through five reactions, including aromatic synthesis, benzylic bromination and substitution, Jones oxidation, and esterification. The product was purified and tested for effectiveness on S. salivarius. We followed protocol each week, but each group had a slightly different paraben. We had to use our own knowledge and precious literature to draw conclusions on this data.
In Microbiology, I worked on a project with a partner where we were given two tubes of broth with an unknown microorganism growing inside. We used a series of methods to determine what microbe we each had, using special plates that only grow certain types of bacteria. We had to come up with our own plan to discover the type of bacteria, and used some trial and error. Eventually we discovered that we had E. coli and E. faecium. This was a unique and fun lab that let us have a lot of control over our methods.
Human Demography of the Westview Cemetery in Farmville, VA
In Introduction to Ecology and Evolution, we got to do another very interesting lab. We studied demography of the lifespan of citizens of Farmville, VA. We split up the class and went out to the Westview Cemetery and recorded information straight from the gravestones. After the data was collected, we did statistical analysis on to create survivorship curves. We then shared this information in the form of a lab report.