OBJECTIVE- As you know, the building blocks of life are cells. Prokaryotic cells are those cells that do NOT have a nucleus. They mostly include bacteria and archaea. These cells do not have membrane bound organelles. Eukaryotic cells are those that have a true nucleus. That would include plant, animal, algae and fungal cells. As you can see in the picture, eukaryotic cells are typically larger than prokaryotic cells. In this lab, we will look at examples of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic unicellular organisms, most of which are commonly found in pond water
MATERIALS- Microscope, Slides, Coverslips, Pond Water
PROCEDURE 1. Obtain a sample of pond water and place it on the slide. Cover the slide with a coverslip so that there is no air bubbles trapped. 2. View your slide under low power. You may need to move the slide around before you can locate a microorganism. 3. Once you have located a microorganism you should draw it. Remember all drawings should be as accurate as possible. 4. Fill out the information about your organism next to your drawing as best as you can. Use the reference sheet on the last page of this lab to try to identify your organism. a. Field Size- Refer to measuring with the microscope lab for field of view side b. Object size- estimate how many would fit across your field of view. Divide the number of um of the field size by the number of species that would fit. This is your object size. c. Method of locomotion (motile or sessile) d. Specific organelles- list all organelles you can see
Ocular Magnification- _________________
Objective Magnification- ______________
Total Magnification- ___________________
Field Size (um)- ________________________
Object size (um) - _____________________ Method of locomotion- _______________ Shape - ________________________________ Color- _________________________________ Specific organelles- ___________________ Specimen name- ______________________
Ocular Magnification- _________________
Objective Magnification- ______________
Total Magnification- ___________________
Field Size (um)- ________________________
Object size (um) - _____________________ Method of locomotion- _______________ Shape - ________________________________ Color- _________________________________ Specific organelles- ___________________ Specimen name- ______________________
Ocular Magnification- _________________
Objective Magnification- ______________
Total Magnification- ___________________
Field Size (um)- ________________________
Object size (um) - _____________________ Method of locomotion- _______________ Shape - ________________________________ Color- _________________________________ Specific organelles- ___________________ Specimen name- ______________________
Ocular Magnification- _________________
Objective Magnification- ______________
Total Magnification- ___________________
Field Size (um)- ________________________
Object size (um) - _____________________ Method of locomotion- _______________ Shape - ________________________________ Color- _________________________________ Specific organelles- ___________________ Specimen name- ______________________
Read the information below. Then answer the questions that follow based on what your read and your knowledge of biology.
How did the first eukaryotes evolve? Scientists think that the first eukaryotes may have begun as large prokaryotic cells. The DNA of some eukaryotic organelles is very similar to the DNA of bacteria. Because the DNA is similar, scientists think that the organelles may have once been bacteria. These bacteria enter the larger prokaryotes. The bacteria were able to live in the larger cell, and they because the organelles of the larger cell. Green photosynthetic bacteria probably became the chloroplast that you see in plant cells and in photosynthetic protest cells. Other bacteria became the mitochondria found in all eukaryotic cells.
Analysis Questions 1. Which type of organism was present first; Eukaryotes or Prokaryotes? Support your answer.
2. Describe what the image above is trying to represent.
3. What evidence do we have to suggest that prokaryotic organisms became the cellular organelles of eukaryotic organisms?
4. Did you see any organisms in the pond water that would be similar to the prokaryotic organisms that became the mitochondria or chloroplast? Explain.