Biology Practical Tips GRAPHS! 1.

.the value which is varying is always on the y-axis while the constant value is on the x-axis. 2.no unbroken lines 3.it must be neat and thin 4.the points can be joined using a ruler or by hand 5.do not draw beyond the plotted points. 6.blobs or centre points more than 1mm are NOT acceptable 7.if zero is present in the reading, ur graph MUST pass through zero. 8.label both axis! 9.use appropriate units 10.use appropriate scale 11.use sharpened pencil to plot 12.plot the dots within circles, of equal sizes, must be clear and not too big. SOURCES OF ERRORS! 1.temp nt controlled 2.pH not controlled or nt measured accurately 3.difficulty in judging the colour. 4.difficulty in having the same time 5.inaccuracy in preparing serial dilution 6.inaccuracy of equipment, fr e.g. pipette/syringe 7.too short time. 8.evaporation of the solution which can cause the concentration to change. LIMITATIONS OF ERRORS! 1.measure the volume accurately using syringe with narrow range of calibration 2.repeat more times at each pH/conc./temp 3.use range of pH/conc./temp 4.accurate specific measuring devices 5.use colorimeter to measure the degree of colourness. 6.use buffer to control pHs 7.use of water bath/thermostat to control temp 8.use thermometer to measure the temp. 9.thermostatically controlled environment. 10.repeat with each conc. 11.volume of the sample(e.g. enzyme/substrate) must be the same..cuz as

volume increases, conc also increases 12.keep only one factor different, and all others must be the same. Reliability.....take minimum of 3 readings! repeat with mre pH/conc/temp and find out their mean Accuracy.....seing electronic thermostat use of pippettes instead of measuring cylinders KEY 1)read the whole question till the end 2)decide number of readings to take 3)don't go for more or less than 3 readings per conc/vol of any ques. 4)make a table 5)write down the UNITS in each coloumn of the table...e.g. conc/cm^3 , temp/C

MICROSCOPY!!!
1)propotion of thickness must be correct. 2)draw the organelles where u see them, dont just draw anywhere within the cell! never draw what u know. 3)whenever u see the plant cells, draw the cell walls. 4)IN PLAN DIAGRAMS, NO DRAWING OF ANY CELLS, AND NO SHADING...if u'll do either of them, u'll lose the whole mark!! 5)when asked to draw 2 cells, draw the ones that are easiest to draw. and dont draw more then 2 cells! 6)fraw the adjacent (touching) cells. 7)drawing should be large, unshaded. 8)in plan diagrams show the relative thickness of each layer. 9)draw the exact shape, if its oval or round or has wavy outlines 10)label the diagram...simplest thing to label is cytopasm, nucleus and cell membrane. 11)if its a trachea cell, then label goblet cells, cilia, blood vessels, muscular tissue, cartilage cells (lacunae) 12) when asked to compare 2 diagrams....make a table (drawing a table itself has 1 mark!)....put atleast one similarity ERRORS IN MESUREMENTS! 1)irregular in shape

2)difficulty in focusing 3)preperation is squashed