Inquiry Lab

Procedure :

1. As a group, collaborate to come up with a question about the conditions of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium or any evolutionary process that may be tested. If you have trouble, ask your teacher for guidance.

2. Design an experiment to test your question. Consider the following as you frame your experiment:

• Question - What are you testing in your experiment? What are you trying to find out?

• Hypothesis - What do you think will happen? Why do you think so? What do you already know that helps support your hypothesis?

• Materials - What materials, tools, or instruments are you going to use to find out the answer to the question?

• Procedure - What are you going to do? How are you going to do it? What are you measuring? How can you make sure the data you collect are accurate? What are the independent and dependent variables in this experiment? What is your control? What safe practices do you need to use?

• Data Collection - What data will you record, and how will you collect and present it? Show and explain any data tables and graphs that you plan to use.

3. Have your teacher approve the experimental procedure before you begin the exercise.

4. After you perform the experiment, analyze your data:

• Data Analysis - What happened? Did you observe anything that surprised you? Show and explain any tables and graphs that support your data.

• Conclusion - What conclusions can you draw from the results of your experiment? How does this compare with your initial hypothesis? Identify some possible sources of error in your experiment. If given the opportunity, how might you conduct the experiment differently?

5. Be prepared to present the findings of your experiment to the class according to your instructor's specification.

Prelab to be filled out:

-What question will you explore?

-On the basis of your previous laboratory exercise, background knowledge, and research, what is the hypothesis that you will test?

-What will be the independent and dependent variables?

-What will be the control group(s)?

-What equipment and materials will you need (list items and quantity)?

-What procedure (step-by-step) will you follow?

-What safety steps will you follow (equipment and procedures)?

-How will you collect data?

-How will you analyze data?

Turn in for teacher approval to begin your lab!

During lab:

-What changes or modifications have you made to the investigation?

-Include any data collection or analysis as instructed by your teacher. What results did you see in the experiment?

-Was the hypothesis accepted or rejected? What conclusions can you draw on the basis of the data and analysis?

-What sources of error may have existed, and how might the experiment have been conducted differently? What additional questions arose from the experiment?