SCIENCE FACILITIES

Physics Lab
Scientific Attitudes:
➢​ Humble
➢​ Critical Thinker
➢​ Preservant
➢​ Open-Minded
➢​ Skeptic
➢​ Curious
➢​ Objective
➢​ Creative
➢​ Respect for Evidence

Bio Chem Lab

Human Body System
➢​ Endocrine - Regulation of body processes through hormone production.
➢​ Respiratory - Gas exchange between the internal and external environment
➢​ Digestive - Physical and chemical breakdown of food to allow absorption of
nutrients.
➢​ Urinary - Filtration of blood and excretion of wastes from the body.
➢​ Integumentary - Protection against the external and regulation of Temperature
➢​ Nervous - Processing center for sensory input, using the input to elicit appropriate
responses.
➢​ Cardiovascular - Circulation of blood, which transports gases, nutrients,
hormones, and wastes.
➢​ Lymphatic - Circulation of lymph, maintains fluid balance and helps fight
infection.
➢​ Reproduction - Production of reproductive cells that will generate offspring.
➢​ Skeletal - Support and protection of many internal organs.
 ➢​ Muscular: Voluntary and involuntary movement.

Science Learning Center A

Scientific Learning Methods
➢​ Observation
➢​ Question
➢​ Hypothesis
➢​ Experiment
➢​ Analysis
➢​ Conclusion

Science Learning Center B

Branches of Science
➢​ Biology - Study of living things
Botany = Plants , Zoology = Animals
➢​ Chemistry - Study of chemical reactions
➢​ Astrology - Study of the movements of planets, sun, moon & stars
➢​ Meteorology - Study of weather
➢​ Ecology - Study of the environment
➢​ Physics - Study of laws
➢​ Astronomy - Study of everything in the universe beyond earth’s atmosphere
➢​ Geology - Study of earth, rocks, etc.

Phase 1 - Proposal
I.​ Title
➢​ The title must be clear and precise
➢​ It has an objective and purpose
II.​ Statement of the problem (This study aims to…)
➢​ Two categories: The general and specific problem.
➢​ Usually one general problem and three specific problems
➢​ Question or declarative
III.​ Formulation of Hypothesis
 ➢​ Two types:
The null hypothesis & affirmative hypothesis
IV.​ Background of the study
➢​ Why the investigator chose this study to work on
V.​ Significance of the study
➢​ How important your study is for people, environment and community as a whole.

Genetics - The branch in biology that deals with heredity especially the mechanisms of
hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited characteristics.

Gregor Mendel
➢​ The father of Genetics.
➢​ Mendel coined the terms recessive and dominant in
reference to certain traits.
➢​ Through his work on pea plants, discovered the
fundamental laws of inheritance.

Laws of Inheritance
I.​ Law of Individual Assortment
II.​ Law of Dominant and Recessiveness
III.​ Law of Segregation

➢​ The process of transmitting biological traits from parent to offspring through

genes.
➢​ The passing of genetic traits from parent to offspring
➢​ Through heredity, variations exhibited by individuals can accumulate and cause
some species to evolve through the natural selection of specific phenotype
traits.

Inheritance - How traits or characteristics are passed on from generation to generation

DNA - A double-stranded nucleic acid composed of building blocks called nucleotides.
Each nucleotide is composed of 3 parts:
I.​ A five-carbon sugar (called deoxyribose)
II.​ A phosphate
III.​ A nitrogenous base (Divided into 2 groups; Purine base and Pyrimidine base.

Purine Base - structurally characterized by the presence of a five-sided ring fused to a

six-sided ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms (Single ringed structures)
➢​ Cytosine, thymine and uracil - Pyrimidine base
➢​ Adenine, thymine, guanine, cytosine - Four nitrogen bases composed of DNA
molecules.

The Four Nitrogen Bases (Composed of the DNA Molecule)

➢​ Adenine
➢​ Thymine
➢​ Guanine
➢​ Cytosine

Adenine & Guanine - Double ringed

Thymine & Cytosine - Single ringed

DNA
Adenine ↔ Thymine = Thymine ↔ Adenine
Guanine ↔ Cytosine = Cytosine ↔ Guanine

RNA
Adenine ↔ U (Uracil)
Cytosine ↔ Guanine = Guanine ↔ Cytosine

Chargaff’s Rule
The number of bases in the DNA molecule is present in equal quantities. Meaning, the
number of adenine is equal to the number of thymine, and the number of cytosine is
equal to the number of guanine.
The Structure of the DNA Molecule

The tri-dimensional structure of the DNA molecule was first seen in the early 1950s by
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Williams using the technique called X-ray diffraction
analysis. The study revealed that DNA is a double-stranded helical chain of nucleotides
with stacked bases.

The discovery helped James Watson and Francis Crick develop a model of DNA’s
structure. They used existing information, including X-ray data from Franklin and Wilkins,
along with findings from other researchers who modeled DNA with shaped wires.

Once satisfied with their model, Watson and Crick published their work in 1953 titled
"The Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid."
Their discovery earned them a Nobel Prize.

Chromosomes - Carriers of genes and the unit determiners of hereditary characteristics.

➢​ A packaged and organized structure containing most of the DNA of a living
organism.
➢​ The term chromosome came from the Greek word chroma, which means color,
and soma which means body.
➢​ Humans have 46 chromosomes. (23 from mother and 23 from father)
➢​ P arm - “Petite” | Q arm - “Grande”

Cytogenetics - The study of Chromosomes.

The structure of Chromosomes

➢​ The double-stranded chromosomes, called sister chromatids, appear as a highly
coiled X - shaped structure joined or attached at a certain point by a
centromere.

Homologous Chromosomes
➢​ Chromosomes with:
 -​ The same structure
-​ Have the same locations of the centromere
-​ Their chromosomal arms are the same length
-​ They contain the same genes in the same order along the entire length of their
chromosomal arms.

Karyotype - The number of appearances of chromosomes in the eukaryotic cell.

➢​ The term is also used for the complete set of chromosomes in a species, or an
individual organism.
➢​ Greek - Karyon meaning Kernel seed or Nucleus
➢​ xy - Male | xx - Female = Sex Chromosome
➢​ 1 - 22 somatic cells

Histones - is complexed with many structural proteins.

Transcription - copying of genetic sequences.

Diploids - We have 2 copies of each chromosome, one of each parent.

Genetic Material
➢​ Refers to those materials found in the nucleus, mitochondria and cytoplasm.
➢​ Determines the structure and nature of the cell substances, and capable of
self-propagating and variation.

Mitochondria - Power house of the cell

Nucleus - Control Center of the cell
Cytoplasm - Body of the cell

DD - Homozygous Dominant
Dd - Heterozygous Dominant
dd - Homozygous Recessive

RER - Rough Endoplastic Reticulum

SER - Smooth Endoplastic Reticulum
Mitosis - is a type of cell division in which one cell (the mother) divides to produce two
new cells (the daughters) that are genetically identical to itself.

➢​ Somatic cells (Except sex cells, focuses on the rest of the cells)
➢​ Prokaryotes
-​ Single chromosomes
-​ Found in cytoplasm
-​ Only made of DNA
➢​ Eukaryotes
-​ Many Chomosomes
-​ Found in nucleus
-​ DNA & RNA

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic acid

RNA - Ribonucleic acid

4 STAGES OF MITOSIS (PMAT)

1. Prophase
I.​ In early prophase, the cell starts to break down some structures and build others
up, setting the stage for division of the chromosomes.
II.​ The chromosomes start to condense
III.​ The mitotic spindle begins to form
Mitotic Spindle - a structure made of microtubules, strong fibers that are part of
the cell’s “skeleton.”
IV.​ The nucleolus (or nucleoli), a part of the nucleus where ribosomes are made,
disappears. This is a sign that the nucleus is getting ready to break down.
2. Metaphase
I.​ In metaphase, the spindle has captured all the chromosomes and lined them up
at the middle of the cell, ready to divide.
II.​ All the chromosomes align at the metaphase plate.
Metaphase Plate - a term for the plane where the chromosomes line up
3. Anaphase
I.​ The sister chromatids separate from each other and are pulled towards opposite
ends of the cell.
4. Telophase
I.​ The cell is nearly done dividing, and it starts to re-establish its normal structures as
cytokinesis (division of the cell contents) takes place.

Meiosis - a specialized type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by
half, resulting in the formation of gametes (sperm and egg cells).
➢​ Focused on sex cells only

The role of RNA Molecule in Protein Synthesis

Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) - A nucleic acid that composes the cell.

➢​ Found in: the nucleus specifically in the nucleolus, in the cytoplasm as free
ribosomes, and as ribosomes attached to the Endoplasmic Reticulum.
➢​ RNA is the key material in protein synthesis

The structure of an RNA Molecule

➢​ RNA, just like DNA, is composed of building blocks called nucleotides. It differs
from DNA because the sugar aribose instead of deoxyribose and the nitrogenous
base component is any one of the four bases. (Adenine, guanine, cytosine, and
uracil)

3 Types of RNA Molecules

 1.​ Messenger RNA - (mRNA)
➢​ A very long molecule. It contains hundreds or even thousands of nucleotides.
➢​ Messenger RNA serves as the blueprint for the construction of protein.
➢​ It copies the genetic information (transcription) in the form of base sequences
from the DNA. Then it brings them to the ribosome for the synthesis of the
corresponding protein molecules.

2.​ Transfer RNA - (tRNA)

➢​ An RNA chain composed of about 80 nucleotides.
➢​ It has three loops giving it the shape of a clover leaf.
➢​ Transfer RNA functions in translating the messages within the sequence of bases
carried by mRNA into specific amino acid sequences. The sequence of amino
acids formed is joined together to form a specific type of protein.

3.​ Ribosomal DNA - (rRNA)

➢​ The chief component of ribosomes, the organelles that are attached to the ER or
free-floating in the cytoplasm.
➢​ Ribosomal RNA is synthesized in the nucleus. Its function is to create the bonds
that will connect the amino acid molecules to form a polypeptide chain

The roles of DNA Molecule, Genes, and Chromosomes in the Transmission of

Traits

DNA Replication
➢​ Replication means to produce two identical copies of DNA from one original
DNA Molecule.
➢​ Replication does not randomly begin at any point in the DNA Molecule; it begins
in a specific region called replication origin.
1958
Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl conducted an experiment whose results provided
strong evidence supporting the semi-conservative method of DNA Replication.
 ●​ Initiation Phase
➢​ The process of replication begins when the enzyme called helicase acts on the
DNA molecule replication origin and unwinds and unzips in two strands.
➢​ Unzipping the DNA strand along its entire length is not feasible due to the
high-energy input. Hence, a replication fork is created.
Replication Fork - is done by breaking the bonds between the nitrogenous bases.
➢​ Each strand exposes the four types of nucleotides: adenine, cytosine guanine
and thymine.

●​ Elongation Phase
Complementary strands synthesized using parental strand as template
➢​ DNA strands have directionality (5’ to 3’, and 3’ to 5’)
➢​ Strands are anti-parallel
➢​ Helicase unwinds double-stranded DNA
➢​ One strand starts with 5’ end, other with 3’ end (directionality)
Directionality - one end is different from the other end.
Leading Strand
➢​ Synthesized continuously
➢​ Direction: 5’ to 3’
➢​ Follows replication fork
➢​ Uses DNA polymerase III
Lagging Strand
➢​ Synthesized discontinuously
➢​ Direction: 3’ to 5’ (but fragments built 5’ to 3’)
➢​ Forms Okazaki fragments (named after Reji Okazaki, who discovered them)
➢​ Requires primase to lay RNA primers
➢​ DNA polymerase works backward

Protein Synthesis
➢​ Process by which cells build or manufacture proteins.
➢​ Involves a series of biochemical reactions that transforms DNA molecules into
RNA molecules and then into proteins.
➢​ Protein synthesis involves two major steps: Transcription and Translation
 ●​ Transcription Process
➢​ Transcription is the first step in protein synthesis.
➢​ The enzyme helicase unzips the DNA into two strands, exposing the nitrogenous
bases: A (adenine), G (guanine), C (cytosine), and T (thymine).
➢​ One strand of DNA serves as a template to make messenger RNA (mRNA).
➢​ This process occurs in the nucleus and is catalyzed by the enzyme RNA
polymerase.
➢​ mRNA carries genetic information to guide protein production.
➢​ RNA differs from DNA by having uracil (U) instead of thymine (T).

mrNA & Codons

➢​ mRNA reads DNA in three-letter sequences called codons.
➢​ Each codon is made of 3 nitrogenous bases and corresponds to a specific
amino acid.
➢​ This concept is known as the triplet code.
➢​ According to George Gamow, this code allows the formation of proteins using
the 20 different amino acids.

●​ Translation Process
➢​ After the process of transcription, mRNA exits the nucleus via the nuclear pores.
The translation process takes place in the ribosomes, which are the actual
factories of proteins.
➢​ The main objective of translation is to convert the information carried by mRNA
codon into protein.
Protein - made up of one or more polypeptide chains.
The process of translation involves series of chemical reactions and has several
chemical components:
➢​ Ribosomes are responsible for the translation process.
➢​ They read the mRNA code, link amino acids, and ensure proper protein
assembly, including elongation and termination.
➢​ rRNA (Ribosomal RNA) helps form the ribosome's structure and supports protein
synthesis.
➢​ tRNA (Transfer RNA) carries specific amino acids to the ribosome based on the
mRNA code.
Transfer RNA (tRNA) helps decode mRNA during protein synthesis by matching codons
with the correct amino acids. Each of the 61 tRNAs has:

➢​ One site to attach a specific amino acid

➢​ One site (anticodon) to pair with the mRNA codon

The tRNA brings the correct amino acid to the ribosome, where proteins are made.
When the anticodon pairs with a codon (e.g., codon AAT pairs with anticodon UUA),
the amino acid is added to the growing protein chain. This process is called elongation.
It continues until the whole mRNA is read and a full protein is formed.

Do’s and Dont’s inside the laboratory

Do’s Dont’s

Do remember where emergency Don’t eat or drink in the lab

equipment is located

Wear appropriate personal protective Avoid skin and eye contact with
equipment (PPE) chemicals

Dispose of the waste and clean up the Do not taste or intentionally sniff
workstation chemicals

Use equipment only for its designated Do not work alone in a laboratory if the
purpose procedures being conducted are
hazardous

Always listen to instructions to avoid Don’t use equipment or chemicals you

confusion are not familiar with

Label your samples and chemicals Don’t ignore warning signs or labels

Report any accidents or spills immediately Never leave an ongoing experiment

unattended

Note: You can look for more do’s and dont’s on the internet! :)