Vertebrate Physiology Laboratory

BIO 3421 - Fall 2019

Laboratory Coordinator: Dr. Rachel Davenport

Office & Hours: Supple Science room 262; Tue/Thu 10:30am-noon & by appointment
Email: davenport@txstate.edu Put Vert Phys in subject line

Laboratory Instructors:
 Meaghan McCormack mmccormack@txstate.edu Office: Supp 135, Mon 11am-12pm *
 Jenni VanHoye jlv53@txstate.edu Office = Supple 135, Fri 2:00-3:00pm *
 Jaclyn Barnard jab463@txstate.edu Office = Supple 135, Mon 10:50-11:50am *
 Joey Robicheaux jar475@txstate.edu Office = Supple 135, Mon 10:50-11:50am *
 Francesco Montoya fam27@txstate.edu Office = Supple 135, Mon 12:30-1:30pm *
 Mark Pearson mrp79@txstate.edu Office = Supple 183, Mon 11:00am-12:00pm *
*and by appointment

Required Materials: There are no materials to purchase for the lab. However, you will need
(1) reliable access to a computer with an internet connection, (2) Microsoft Word or an
equivalent that can save documents as .doc or .pdf, and (3) Microsoft Excel or equivalent
spreadsheet and graphing software. All assignments will be turned in via TRACS. Unless the
site is legitimately down, having computer or internet issues is not an acceptable reason for
submitting work late. Make sure to complete assignments with plenty of time to get to a back-
up computer if needed. You may also need access to a printer to print each week's lab
exercise. There are many computer labs on campus that are free for student use and include
Word, Excel, and free printing.

Purpose: This lab is designed to give students hands-on experience conducting experiments
related to vertebrate-based, physiological concepts, deepen understanding of these
concepts, and demonstrate how scientific experiments are conducted and reported. Students
will also design and carry out their own experiments.

TRACS: Check TRACS regularly for announcements and other information from the lab
coordinator or instructor. Syllabus changes, grades, and other material will be posted here.
Lab exercises will be posted under “Resources” and you will need to bring each exercise to
the relevant class. Failure to do so will mean a loss of participation points. Assignments will
also be submitted each week through the TRACS “Assignments” tool.

Special Needs: Students with special needs as documented by the Office of Disability
Services should identify themselves at the beginning of the semester. If you are uncertain
about your situation but think you may have special needs to be addressed, please speak
with your lab instructor or coordinator to discuss how to best succeed in this course.

Academic Honor Code: Students are expected to uphold the Texas State University
Academic Honor Code - http://www.txstate.edu/honorcodecouncil/Academic-Integrity.html.
Any student caught in an act of academic dishonesty will automatically receive a zero on the
relevant assignment and may be given a zero for the entire lab portion or a failing grade (“F”)
for the entire course. In accord with the University Academic Honor Code, students will also
be reported to the Honor Code Council. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to,
copying answers from another person’s quiz or assignment, looking at another person’s
answers while taking a quiz, submitting someone else’s work as your own, sharing lab
reports, and any other form of plagiarism as defined by the Academic Honor Code and further
outlined in the “Writing Guidelines” folder on TRACS.

Laboratory Rules: If you act inappropriately or disrespectfully, you will be asked to leave
and you will not receive any points that day for your participation or quiz. Make sure to
silence your cell phone before every lab. Safety regulations and proper animal use must be
followed as indicated below. Failure to do so will result in a loss of participation points and
you may be asked to leave.

Safety: Gloves must be worn during experiments as indicated by your lab instructor and lab
manual. Shorts and open-toed shoes are prohibited during labs with chemical use. No food or
drinks are allowed in the lab at any time. These safety regulations will be strictly enforced.

Animal Use: This lab included experimentation using live fish until mid-2017, at which point
University policies changed. The requirements students must fulfill to work with animals, even
goldfish, are now incredibly onerous (including training, health screening, and vaccinations).
Therefore, we no longer use animals in the lab.

Evaluation: You will be able to earn a total of 395 points in the lab. Your score makes up a
portion of your overall grade in the Vertebrate Physiology course.
-Quizzes = 80 points total (8 quizzes for 10 points each)
-Lab Reports = 160 points total (4 for 40 points each)
-Group Project Presentation = 50 points total
-Final Project Write-Up = 50 points total
-Attendance/participation = 50 points total (5 points per class)
-Final Survey = 5 points total (opens near end of semester)

Quizzes: Quizzes will be given during the first 10 minutes of each lab period. They are
designed to test your knowledge of the previous week’s material as well as new material to
be presented during the current week. Quizzes will include short-answer and fill-in-the-blank
questions. Each quiz will only be administered during the first 10 minutes, so if you arrive to
class late you will have less time to complete your quiz. Once the quiz has been collected,
late arrivals will not be permitted to take it.
-What’s the point? Studying for a quiz each week is a great way for students to stay focused
on the material and prepare for the upcoming experiment, and for instructors to gauge the
level of student understanding.

Laboratory Reports: Out of the first seven experiments during the semester you will choose
four on which to write a report. The due dates for these are set to give you one to two weeks
to complete each report, but it is recommended that you complete them as soon as possible
after the lab to stay on top of the coursework and to keep the experiment fresh in your mind
while writing it. One letter grade is subtracted from each late lab report. A detailed description
of the contents and grading rubric is posted in Assignments on TRACS. Explicit feedback will
be given to help guide your future lab reports.
-What’s the point? Every researcher keeps an experiment log, which includes the materials
and procedures used, results and conclusions, and notes about potential sources of error or
ideas for how to change things in the future. Researchers keep these for a number of
reasons, including to replicate an experiment exactly, to easily write up a publication on the
experiment, to provide proof for patents, and to allow future researchers to continue the
project. Your lab manual will already have the information for materials and procedures so
there’s no need to re-write these, but your own results and conclusions will be submitted as a
lab report. The conclusions will especially help you understand the physiological concepts
presented in lab and lecture. Further, scientists must publish their experiments in order to
communicate their findings with the world and allow science and research overall to move
forward. Writing these lab reports gives you practice reporting scientific data and will help you
hone your science-writing abilities, preparing you for science-related careers.

Group and Final Projects: The group project will be an experiment based on an idea or
concept of your choosing, done in groups of three or four. As a group you will run your
experiment and prepare a short presentation for your class, which will be followed by a short
question and answer session. The final project will be another experiment based on an idea
or concept of your choosing, for which you may work alone or in a group (up to four people
max). You will then write up a summary of your experiment (similar to a lab report, but it will
also include your question, hypothesis, materials, and methods).
-What’s the point? Coming up with your own experiment will help foster creativity and critical
thinking, allow you to focus your learning on the topics you find most interesting, and give you
a chance to put the scientific method into practice. Scientists are called upon often to speak
or present data at conferences, seminars, etc. While this presentation is informal and brief, it
will still help prepare students for future speaking engagements. The group project will give
students practice with collaboration and teamwork, which are almost always necessary in
science professions. Finally, the write-up will provide students with further practice reporting
scientific data to hone science-writing abilities and prepare for science-related careers.

Attendance and Participation:

Attendance is mandatory. A missed lab will result in a zero on the quiz and participation
points. Your presence is required during all stages of experimentation. If you miss a lab due
to documented illness or emergency, you may make up in another section that week only
with permission from your instructor or coordinator. If you know that you will be absent due to
an athletic or pre-scheduled class field trip, contact your instructor or coordinator immediately
to schedule a make-up lab.
Participation points may be deducted if a student is disruptive or disrespectful, fails to print a
lab, wears inappropriate attire, etc. In order to maximize your points, be sure to show up to
each lab on time and stay until you are dismissed, keep your work bench clean and tidy,
follow lab rules, and also be helpful to other students that may be having trouble completing
the lab or to your lab instructor who may need assistance restocking or cleaning.
-What’s the point? The Texas State Mission Statement lists shared values of the university,
including personal responsibility, collaboration, student involvement, etc. and these values
are also key in the scientific community. Ideally, all students will be engaged, motivated, and
helpful, easily earning the full amount of participation points each day.
Laboratory Schedule:

Lab Dates Assignments Due

--- 8/26 – 8/30 (No Labs)
Introduction 9/2 – 9/6

1 9/9 – 9/13 Quiz 1 (in class)

Membrane Physiology

2 9/16 – 9/20 Quiz 2 (in class)

Neurophysiology First report on Lab 1 or 2 due
before next class

3 9/23 – 9/27 Quiz 3 (in class)

Sensory Physiology

4 9/30 – 10/4 Quiz 4 (in class)

Muscle Physiology Second report on Lab 3 or 4 due
before next class

5 10/7 – 10/11 Quiz 5 (in class)

Cardiovascular Physiology

6 10/14 – 10/18 Quiz 6 (in class)

Respiratory Physiology Third report on Lab 5 or 6 due
before next class

7 10/21 – 10/25 Quiz 7 (in class)

Excretory Physiology Fourth report on lab 5, 6, or 7 due
before next class

8 10/28 – 11/1 Quiz 8 (in class)

Group Projects Work on project

--- 11/4 – 11/8 (No labs) Work on project

Project Presentation for next class

9 11/11 – 11/15 Group Presentation (in class)

Presentations & Final Work on final project
Projects
--- 11/18 – 11/22 (No labs) Work on Project Write-Up

--- 11/25 – 11/29 (No labs)

Project Write-Up due by Wed 11/27
at midnight for ALL labs

--- 12/2 – 12/6 (No Labs) Focus on finals