What goes on in 1st-Yr Biology Labs?

Hi! This is a post I wrote about a year ago for my other blog Young and Unheroic. I’ve imported it here on Vet Bites as it may have some useful info! :)

Ever wondered what goes on in a first-year biology lab?

In this post, I’ll be giving you a brief overview of the lessons and skills we learned during our biology practicals for the first year of vet school. 

These laboratory sessions were for general biology subjects so there weren't only vet students in the class. See this post for my first-year subjects!

The biology practicals were more intense than high school. There was always a new skill to be learned at the same time as conducting experiments and meticulously following instructions in the manual. Many times, I became stressed because it was information overload!

I wasn’t perfect at all the skills and more often than not, I made errors and had to learn from my mistakes. But in the end, you’ll realise how much you’ve learned in such a short time. The university really wants to prepare you for the future. In real-life, you’ll be working in fast-paced scenarios and these lab sessions help you learn to cope with the pressure.

Read below for a list of some tasks and topics that constituted our laboratory sessions! At the end of the article, you'll also find my top tips for a stress-free lab session!

Here is what you might expect to learn in your first-year biology practicals…

Semester 1

• Microscopes: learn how to use them and project the image onto a computer
• Natural selection: model natural selection by capturing slaters
• Biodiversity: measure species richness, abundance, and diversity by counting invertebrates in leaf litter
• Reports: learn how to write scientific reports
• Inheritance: study recombinant chromosomes using Sordaria (fungi)
• Anatomy: dissect a locust, squid, fish, and rat to compare body systems (digestive, reproductive, circulatory)
• Plants: measure the effect of different abiotic factors on water flow through xylem
• Plants: excursion to botanic gardens to learn about sporophytes and gametophytes
• Plant sexual reproduction: dissect flowers to study pollen morphology

Semester 2

• Pipetting: learn how to use the P20, P200, and P1000 pipettes
• Spectrophotometer: learn how to use them to measure concentrations of compounds in solution
• DNA: isolate DNA from the bacteria, E. coli, then quantify it
• Plants: measure photosynthesis and respiration levels in Eruca sativa under different environmental conditions
• Reports: write a report for assessment based on a lab experiment
• Osmosis: studied hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic solutions using red blood cells and plants
• Microbes: grow the bacteria from our mouths, hands, and noses on agar plates
• Microscopes: learn how to set up Köhler Illumination and do oil immersion
• Epidemiology: model disease transmission by shaking hands with everyone then growing the bacteria on our hands
• Pollution: measure and compare the diversity of marine invertebrates from two bays in Sydney Harbour with varying levels of contamination
• Population: estimate population size of mealworm beetle larvae using the mark-recapture technique
• Conservation: learn how to use a computer simulation tool to assess the viability of a bandicoot population

TOP TIPS for less stressful and more constructive lab sessions:

1. Come prepared! Always read your lab manual before coming into your practical so you know exactly what you’ll be doing in that session.

2. When pre-reading, act out each step in the methods with your hands, as if you’re actually carrying out the experiment. Role-play!

3. Watch YouTube videos of the steps, processes, or techniques that you’re unsure about, before coming to class.

4. Try understanding a little bit of the theory behind the practical before your lab session.

5. While doing the experiment, try thinking one step ahead and know what’s coming next.

6. Don’t fear mistakes or errors! That’s what these lab sessions are for… to teach you new skills you’ve never learned, seen, or even heard of before! Expect to make mistakes! I made a tonne of mistakes! That’s what learning is all about – if you get it wrong, try and try again!

7. Don’t forget your lab coat, goggles, and closed-in shoes!

Looking back, I remember role-playing the experiments in my room by myself. I must have looked really silly trying to look down a non-existent microscope and pour an imaginary solution into thin air – haha! But trust me, it helps!

Does this strike your fancy? Maybe biology is right for you! The skills they teach you in first year will build the foundation from which you can then branch out into more specific areas … such as veterinary science, where you'll still be applying the skills taught in your first-year biology units!

All the very best!

Love, Young and Unheroic

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