Botany
410 - PLANT ANATOMY LAB Botany
410 - PLANT ANATOMY LAB
Feel Good Attitude!!!!
You want to feel good about yourself! The best way to do this is to end the week with a BANG! Having a 3 hr lab on Friday will make you feel OK about goofing off a bit on the weekend! Otherwise, you will feel guilty!
The goals for the lab are to
1] show you the "classical" examples used for plant anatomy courses.
2] expose you to important Tropical & Hawaiian examples.
3] show you some simple staining methods that can be applied to fresh sections.
4] teach you how to use a sliding microtome and freezing microtome.
5] introduce you to various types of Scientific Photography.
6] show you some simple methods for digital photo processing.
7] show you the esthetic qualities of plant anatomy.
Lab Format
It is important that you work the entire 3 hours!
The lab will be divided into two parts.
The first part will be devoted to studying the specimens we have selected for each topic.
The second part of the lab will be devoted to teaching you special techniques like Photomicroscopy. If you skip out early you will miss this!
The TA will get you started at 1:30, by giving you a QUIZ!
After the quiz, she will go over the lab materials we have gathered for you.
One of us will provide orientation for the technical part of the lab about midway through the 3 hour lab period.
There will be several different types of activities in the labs.
We will have commercial slides which cover basic aspects of the subject matter.
We will also have various plants from Hawaii and the tropics which we will analyze via hand-sectioning and staining. We will help you section and stain difficult specimens, especially during the first few labs.
It is important, however, to make it clear that each student will be responsible for completing all of the lab assignments. That doesn't mean that you have to make sections of everything, but you should look at everything. We will let the class know if a student has a really good section so that everyone can look at it.
I think that it is important to learn how to analyze anatomical features of unknown plants, like those that grow here. You will quickly see that many if not most plants do not have "textbook" anatomy. However, you will be able to understand the anatomy of novel plants by learning the basics of Plant Anatomy!!!!!
You do not need to remember the names of these plants. However, I do try to use a few model plants like Sugarcane to illustrate many different structures, and you will become familiar with the names of these plants. This should give you some depth of knowledge as well as some breadth. Observation is often the first step in developing a research problem. Anatomical observations can lead to ecological, physiological and even molecular hypotheses.
We will expose you to several different types of microscopy which you can use in your class project.
You will also learn photomicroscopy.
We will also teach you how to use the freezing microtome to make uniform 30-50 micron sections. You will also use a sliding microtome to make wood sections.
Once you have some slides, you will modify them with computer programs.
You will learn how to measure anatomical structures with computer software.
These experiences will help you in many ways that extend beyond this class!!!! Computer technology is everywhere! In order to get ahead at the Univ. or in a job you will need to know your way around various computer peripherals. You will also need to know to use various computer programs and peripherals.
I have gone to a lot of effort to make step by step tutorials that you will need to work through on your own.
Most of this effort will be directed towards your research paper which is actually part of your lecture grade. However, the lab offers the best opportunity to demonstrate the equipment to you.
If you are not familiar with computers etc., we will help you get started!
The things we will teach you today were unheard of when I was an undergraduate! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!
There will be three lab ID Tests during the semester. These will correspond with the Lecture Exams & cover similar topics. The third Lab Exam will be given during the Final Lecture Period of the semester.
I will show you images and ask you to identify specific structures and their general function(s). I usually give overview slides to help with orientation. There are usually 50 questions on each exam. They deal with material covered since the previous exam. I tend to have a lot of simple questions rather than a few hard ones. This diminishes the point value of each question which is advantageous for you.
The Lab ID Tests will be approximately 50% from commercial slides and 50% from plants that we analyze in the lab. These tests are LONG but each question is only worth 1-2 points.
There may be some Technique Questions on these exams as well. I will show you photos of various instruments and ask you questions about them.
I will post a sample Lab Exam which can be accessed from the Plant Anatomy Home Page.
Each will be worth 100 points. Total = 300 Points.
You will sit with the Teaching Assistant for these. You can arrange a time to meet her for these. The purpose of this is to be sure you know how to use the photomicroscope correctly! This is very important because we only have one photomicroscope that we all must use.
These may be done at the same time since you need to obtain Kohler Illumination before you take photos.
3] Hand Sectioning Test with the Teaching Assistant
Each of these will be worth 331/3 points for a total of 100 Points.
The TA will devise short quizzes which will be given at the beginning of the lab.
She will explain exactly what she expects at the first lab.
These will include questions concerning anatomy and techniques that you learned in the previous lab.
There will be approximately 15 of these. Each will be worth 10 Points = approx. 150 Points
Total Lab Points = 550
I will give you lab handouts. These do NOT contain a lot of illustrations. Illustrations can be seen in labs posted on the Website and the CD.
You will need a Three-ring binder for your lab handouts.
You can obtain a CD from me which has color illustrations.
Locate & Double Click the Folder anatweb
Double Click the Folder pages
Double Click the File bot410LecDirPg1.htm or default.htm
The former takes you to the lecture directory while the latter takes you to the Bot 410 Home Page.