Welcome! You are about to embark on a journey through the cosmos of life. You will learn things about yourself and your surroundings that will broaden and enrich your life. You will have the opportunity to marvel at the microscopic world, to be fascinated by the cellular events occurring in your body at this very moment, and to gain an appreciation for the environment, including the marvelous diversity of the plant and animal world.
We offer a number of suggestions to make your college experience in biology a pleasant one. We have taken the first step toward that goal; we have written a laboratory guide that is user friendly. You will be able to hear the authors speaking as though we were there to share your experience. The authors share a personal belief that the more comfortable we make you feel, the more likely you will share our enthusiasm for biology. It would be naive for us to suppose that each of you will be biology majors at graduation. But one thing we all must realize is that we are citizens of “spaceship Earth.” The fate of our spaceship is largely in your hands because you are the decision makers of the future. As has been so aptly stated, “We inherited the Earth from our parents and grandparents, but we are only the caretakers for our children and grandchildren.”
As caretakers, we need to be informed about the world around us. That’s why we enroll in colleges and universities with the hope of gaining a broad education. In doing so, we establish a basis on which to make educated decisions about the future of the planet. Each exercise in this manual contains a lesson in life that is of a more global nature than just the surroundings of your biology laboratory.
To enhance your biology education, take the initiative to give yourself the best possible advantage. Don’t miss class. Read your text assignment routinely. And read the laboratory exercise before you come to the lab.

Each exercise in the manual is organized in the same way:
1. Objectives tell what you should learn from the exercise. If you wish to know what will be on the exam, consult the objectives for each exercise.
2. The Introduction provides background information for the exercise and is intended to stimulate your interest.
3. The Materials list for each portion of the exercise allows you to determine at a glance whether you have all the necessary supplies needed to do the activity.
4. The Procedure for each section, in easy-to-follow step-by-step fashion, describes the activity. Within the procedure, spaces are provided to make required drawings. Questions are posed with spaces for answers, asking you to draw conclusions about an activity you are engaged in. You’ll find a lot of illustrations, most of which are labeled and others that are not but have leaders for you to attach labels. The terms to be used as labels are found in the procedure and in a list accompanying the illustration. We believe it best for you to sometimes make a simple drawing, and have inserted boxes or circles for your sketches. Where appropriate, tables and graphs are present to record your data.
5. Pre-Lab Questions can be answered easily by simply reading the exercise. They’re meant to “set the stage” for the lab period by emphasizing some of the more salient points.
6. Post-Lab Questions are intended to be answered after the laboratory is completed. Some are straightforward interpretations of what you have done, while others require additional thought and perhaps some research in your textbook. In fact, some have no “right” or “wrong” answer at all!

It is our experience that students are much too reluctant to ask questions for fear of appearing stupid. Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question. Speak up! Think of yourselves as “basic learners” and your instructors as “advanced learners.” Interact and ask questions so that you and your instructors can further your/their respective educations.
Exercise 1 The Scientific Method
Exercise 2 Measurement
Exercise 3 Microscopy
Exercise 4 Structure and Function of Living Cells
Exercise 5 Diffusion, Osmosis, and the Functional Significance of Biological Membranes
Exercise 6 Enzymes: Catalysts of Life
Exercise 7 Respiration: Energy Conversion
Exercise 8 Mitosis and Cytokinesis: Nuclear and Cytoplasmic Division
Exercise 9 Meiosis: Basis of Sexual Reproduction
Exercise 10 Heredity
Exercise 11 Nucleic Acids: Blueprints for Life
Exercise 12 Genetic Engineering: Bacterial Transformation
Exercise 13 Bacteria
Exercise 14Protists