Descriptive Lab Report Guide
Directions
Now that the lab is complete, it is time to write your lab report. The purpose of this guide is to help you write a
clear and concise report that summarizes the lab you have just completed.
The lab report is composed of two sections:
Section I: Overview of Investigation
o Provide background information.
o Summarize the procedure.
Section II: Observations and Conclusions
o Include any charts, tables, or drawings required by your teacher.
o Include answers to follow-up questions.
o Explain how the investigation could be improved.
To help you write your lab report, you will first answer the four questions listed below based on the lab that you
have just completed. Then you will use the answers to these questions to write the lab report that you will turn in
to your teacher.
You can upload your completed report with the upload tool in formats such as [Link], Microsoft Word,
or PDF. Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to turn in a paper copy of your report or use a web-based
writing tool.
Questions
Section I: Overview of Lab
1. What is the purpose of the lab?
Ans) I think the purpose of this lab is a fun activity of making and learning about genes and the Punnet
Square.
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Lab Report Guide
2. What procedure did you use to complete the lab?
Outline the steps of the procedure in full sentences.
Ans) I follow the certain procedure below which is stated as a excerpt in the Student Lab Guide. The
summary of this is below [Link]: The First Step is to See the Introduction, after that the 2nd
Step is to check the cheat Sheet. Then the 3rd Step is to calibrate the “Genotubes”, and finally the last &
4th Step is to repeat until the order is finished.
“You can refer to the Orders Cheat Sheet at any time by selecting the icon in the lower-left
corner. Select the Orders Cheat Sheet again to close that view. The dominant allele for hair texture is S
for straight. The recessive allele for hair texture is s for curly. The dominant allele for hair color is E for
chestnut. The recessive allele for hair color is e for black. (Note that horse genetics can be very
complicated, so we are using simplified examples for the sake of this activity. Also, the coat color gene
in horses is known as an extension gene, hence the use of the letters E/e to represent the alleles.) c)
Select Next to learn how to fill the first order. Step 2: Complete Order 1. a) To get started, you must first
calibrate the Gene-O-Tubes. Move the slider under each genotype to select the matching phenotype.
Then fill in Table A in the Student Guide. Select Continue to proceed to the order. b) Select two horses
for mating and drag them into the Offspring-O-Matic. You may use parent horses from the same Gene-
O-Tube to fill the order. For each order, you will have three attempts to pick the correct horses to mate.
Remember that each horse donates one of its two alleles, creating four possible genotypes in the
Punnett square of the Offspring-O-Matic. c) Click in each square of the Offspring-O-Matic to display the
drop-down menu, which allows you to select the genotypes to complete the Punnett square. Record
these in Punnett square A of the Student Guide. Select Continue to proceed. Note: To correctly fulfill
each order, two things must happen. (1) You must select horses that can produce a genotype that
results in the correct phenotype. (2) The Offspring-O-Matic must output this genotype. For example, you
could select Ss x Ss with the understanding that a curly-haired horse is possible. However, the
probability of this occurring is ¼, so the Offspring-O-Matic may output a straight-haired horse. It is
important to note that your horse selection was not wrong, but the odds were not in your favor! d) If you
get the correct horses, you will be prompted to proceed to the following order item by selecting
Continue. If your horse selection or the odds do not produce the correct output, you will be prompted to
select Try Again. e) The Orders Cheat Sheet will pop up to help you remember what horses are needed
for each order. Review the information, then select Orders Cheat Sheet to close this pop-up when you
are ready to proceed to Horse 2. f) Complete Order 1 for Horse 2. Select two horses for mating and
drag them into the Offspring-O-Matic. If you get the correct horse, you will be prompted to proceed to
the following horse by selecting Continue. If your horse selection or the odds do not produce the correct
output, you will be prompted to select Try Again. g) The Orders Cheat Sheet will pop up to help you
remember what horses are needed for this order. Review the information, then select Orders Cheat
Sheet to close this pop-up when you are ready to proceed to Horse 3. h) Complete Order 1 for Horse 3.
Select two horses for mating and drag them into the Offspring-O-Matic. If your horse selection or the
odds do not produce the correct output, you will be prompted to select Try Again. i) When you have
successfully completed the order, you will see a prompt that tells you it is time to load the horses onto
the truck. Select Ready. You will see your horses load onto the truck. Step 3: Complete Order 2. a) You
do not need to calibrate the Gene-O-Tubes for Order 2. b) Select two horses for mating and drag them
into the Offspring-O-Matic. For each order, you will have three attempts to pick the correct horses to
mate. Remember that each horse donates one of its two alleles and there are four possible genotypes
in the Punnett square of the Offspring-O-Matic. c) If you get the correct horse, you will be prompted to
proceed to the following horse by selecting Continue. If your horse selection or the odds do not produce
the correct output, you will be prompted to select Try Again. d) The Orders Cheat Sheet will pop up to
help you remember what horses are needed for this order. Review the information, then select Orders
Cheat Sheet to close this pop-up when Complete Order 2 for Horse 2. Repeat steps 3b–d until you fulfill
the order for Horse 2.”
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Lab Report Guide
Section II: Observations and Conclusions
3. What charts, tables, or drawings would clearly show what you have learned in this lab?
Each chart, table, or drawing should have the following items:
a. An appropriate title
b. Appropriate labels
Ans)
Texture Color
Genoty
SS Ss ss AA Aa aa
pe
Phenot curl Blac Blac
smooth smooth Chestnut
ype y k k
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Lab Report Guide
4. If you could repeat the lab and make it better, what would you do differently and why?
There are always ways that labs can be improved. Now that you are a veteran of this lab and have
experience with the procedure, offer some advice to the next scientist about what you suggest and why.
Your answer should be at least two to three sentences in length.
Ans))First, I would try to make the graphics sound better, because they sometimes sound to robotic and
repeated. Then, I would make it more creative with light & sound effects and everything in between.
Writing the Lab Report
Now you will use your answers from the four questions above to write your lab report. Follow the directions
below.
Section I: Overview of Lab
Use your answers from questions 1 and 2 as the basis for the first section of your lab report. This section
provides your reader with background information about why you conducted this lab and how it was completed.
It should be one to two paragraphs in length.
Ans) This lab was all about learning how baby horses get their looks from their parents. We used a fun computer
game to understand this.
Here's what I did:
1. I read the instructions and looked at a cheat sheet to help us.
2. I set up tubes that showed us what different horse genes look like.
3. I picked parent horses and put them in a machine to make baby horses.
4. I filled in squares to guess what the baby horses might look like.
5. I kept doing this until I made all the horses the game asked for.
Section II: Observations and Conclusions
Use your answers from questions 3 and 4 as the basis for the second section of your lab report. This section
provides your reader with charts, tables, or drawings from the lab. You also need to include answers to the
follow-up questions and ways in which you would improve the lab.
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Lab Report Guide
Ans) Here's a simple table to show what we learned:
Title: How Horse Genes Work
Texture Color
Genotype SS Ss ss AA Aa aa
Chestnu
Phenotype smooth smooth curly Black Black
t
If I could do this lab again, I would make it even better by:
1. Making the pictures and sounds more fun and less boring.
2. Adding little quizzes to help me remember what we learned.
3. Showing me real horses and how breeders use this in real life.
Overall
When complete, the lab report should be read as a coherent whole. Make sure you connect different pieces with
relevant transitions. Review for proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, and other conventions of
organization and good writing.
Ans) These changes would make the lab more fun and help me understand why it's important.
I learned a lot from this lab. Now I know how baby horses get their hair color and shape from their mom and
dad. It's like a fun puzzle where we can guess what the baby will look like!
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