Biology Lab Activity 3-3 Wherever you find water, you will probably find one-celled organisms called Protists. Although Protists are unicellular, they each perform the same life functions as multicellular plants and animals. Protists eat food to obtain energy, exchange gases, get rid of wastes, respond to their environment, and reproduce. Very few of the earth s Protists are human pathogens; however, any knowledge obtained about an organism assists us to better understand the workings of the entire living world. In this investigation, you will compare the structure, behavior, and methods of movement of representatives of different Protist phyla. How are Protists classified? Research Question Protocol Read through this protocol and make a flowchart of the lab. Have your flowchart checked before doing any portion of the lab. A ctivity 1 Drawings and Prepared Slides of Protists Part 1 ) In this part you will familiarize yourself with the structure of several Protists. 1) Locate drawings of paramecium, euglena, amoeba, and didinium in a textbook or on the internet. Be sure to label each of your drawings with the source (complete citation) of the drawing and the scale. 2) Label 5 structures on each drawing. Answer Stop question #1 before continuing Part 2) In this part you will be looking at prepared slides of Protists. 3) Prepared slides of Paramecium, Amoeba, and Euglena are at the front of the room 4) Using the low-power objective of your microscope, locate individuals of each species. Move the slide so one of the organisms is in the center of the field. Switch to the medium-power objective. Then switch to high power. 5) Draw each of the Protists under the magnification that shows an entire Protist. Be sure to label with name of Protist and magnification. Answer Stop question #2 before continuing Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010 Greg Ballog Page 1 of 6
A ctivity 2 Living Protists Part 3) In this part you will be looking at natural communities of protists, multicellular animals, and aquatic plants. 6) Obtain a sample of pond water to observe. The water around plant stems and from the bottom is the most active. 7) Place one drop of the sample on a slide and cover it with a coverslip. 8) Observe the slide under the microscope using both low- and medium-power objectives. Identify protists by type of locomotion. NOTE: Protists will not be the only organisms you will see. You will also find bacteria, algae, larval stages of insects, and invertebrates. Strands of cotton may be used to act as fences if some of the organisms present are moving too rapidly for observation. 9) Make three drawings of different organisms you find in the pond water. Label with type of locomotion and magnification (X40, X100, or X400). If it is multicellular you will have to ask your instructor for help to identify the phylum 10) Clean up Answer Stop questions #3-4 before continuing Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010 Greg Ballog Page 2 of 6
Flow Chart Lab 3-3 Protists Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010 Greg Ballog Page 3 of 6
Data Drawings of Protists Part 1 Paramecium Scale Didinium Scale Euglena Scale Amoeba Scale Prepared Slides of Protists Part 2 Paramecium Magnification Amoeba Magnification Euglena Magnification Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010 Greg Ballog Page 4 of 6
Pond Water Part 3 Mag. Mag. Mag. Pond Water Part 3 Mag. Mag. Mag. Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010 Greg Ballog Page 5 of 6
Stop Questions 1) How do Protists differ from bacteria? 2) Why are the Protists on the prepared slides different colors? 3) Now that you have looked at some living Protists how do you think most Protist diseases are transmitted? 4) Could any of the organisms in the pond culture be pathogens? If so, how could you prevent yourself from being infected? 1) Complete the following table. Analysis Question Protist Euglena Amoeba Paramecium Protist Analysis Table 3-3.1 Autotroph/ Method of Heterotroph Movement Conclusion Method of Getting Food Protist and bacteria diseases are most often spread through water. Clean water is a luxury in many parts of the world. Here we take it for granted. Research the difference between Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary sewage treatments at; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sewage_treatment#pre-treatment to answer the following questions Answer all questions with either Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary. 1) Which level of treatment works most directly on the bacteria and protists that might cause disease? 2) Which level of treatment produces the highest quality of effluent (outflow)? 3) Most of us on Whidbey Island utilize septic tanks for sewage treatment. Which is the highest level of treatment achieved by septic systems? 4) Which level of treatment removes most of the solids from the sewage being treated? 5) Which level of treatment would remove chemical toxins? Lab3-3,Disease,ProtistStudentLabPacket2010 Greg Ballog Page 6 of 6