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The Lab
Bank Experiments
Submit
an Experiment Experiment
List
| Ant Preference |
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| Optimal foraging theory states that under normal
conditions, animals should select food sources that maximize their
rate of calorie acquisition. The assumption is that "the behavioral
mechanisms underlying diet selection are the evolutionary product
of natural selection, and that individuals that maximize caloric
intake would have more energy for the production of offspring
and other fitness-promoting activities" (Alcock, 93). Your class
will work together to see if ants will show a preference for a
high calorie food source over a reduced calorie food source. |
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| It's In The Bag! |
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| This experiment seeks to evaluate several communities'
species diversity using the Simpson delta index ~ To compare the
similarity of species for several communities using percentage
of Jaccard coefficient of community (%CCJ). |
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| Yeast and the Processing of Sugar - Biobread |
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| The level of yeast activity in bread dough is essential
to the texture and quality of bread. The main food for yeast in
this process is sugar which is used to make the bread This class
has been hired as a research team to investigate and test the
viability of using powdered skim milk as an ingredient to making
good-tasting, fortified bread. This is a series of labs designed
to take a look at activity levels in yeast by evaluating CO2 production.
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| Polluting Ingredient in Detergent |
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| Scientists have been cautioning consumers that the
use of detergents and their disposal in our rivers, lakes and
oceans are creating a problem for these delicate ecosystems. With
the rapid increase of human populations, it is becoming an urgent
problem. The source of much of the pollution is said to be detergents.
This experiment is designed to identify the responsible ingredient(s)
in the detergents. |
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| The Mouthwash Challenge |
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| A problem assignment to design a new mouthwash that
will combat the growth of bacteria that is frequently blamed for
gum disease. |
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| Plants for Profit |
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| This is a role playing exercise that establishes
groups as research companies competing for a contract to landscape
a difficult stretch of state highway. The research companies will
be assigned a plant. They must determine the strengths and weaknesses
of that plant, and then correct one weakness through "genetic
engineering." |
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| Determining Species Richness of Anurans in Local
Ponds |
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This experiment is designed to compare the number of species
of frogs and toads in different sized ponds to see if the size
of the pond affects the number of species.
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| Do Birds Really Prefer Red Cars? |
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Birds have excellent color vision. They can see ultraviolet
(UV) light and have at least four kinds of cones in the retinas
of their eyes. Cones are photoreceptors that aid in color vision.
In contrast, humans canÍt see UV light and only have 3 types
of cones in their retinas.
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| Relationship Between Water Temperature and Respiration
Rate in Marine Fishes |
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An experiment to determine what effect a change in water temperature
has on the rate of respiration in fish.
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| Introduction to Calculating Population Size Through
"Mark and Recapture" |
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An important part of environmental biology is determining the
size of populations. However, animal populations are often too
large and/or scattered to count directly. Therefore, scientists
try to capture some of the animals, let them go, then recapture
animals of the same species after the marked ones have mixed
in with the general population. Obviously, when scientists try
to catch animals the second time, they may get many which were
NOT marked the first time. This is important because it allows
them to make a good guess at how many animals in that species
are really out there. Knowledge of a species' population size,
then, is important for conservation scientists to make necessary
decisions. Ê To comment on an experiment, please email the director
pmazzocc@deans.umd.edu.
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To comment on an experiment,
please email the director pmazzocc@deans.umd.edu.
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