Overview
I need help creating the key flow chart and lap report.
BIO 2215 Exercise 18: Identification of Unknown Microbial Species
PROJECT GRADING RUBRIC – 62 points total
**This is an individual project, no collaboration with other students is permitted. All
experimental work must be completed during regularly scheduled class times. No make-up
labs are allowed. Please plan your schedule accordingly.
Students are strictly prohibited from utilizing any artificial intelligence (AI) bot/program to furnish any
answers to this project. This includes the statement of purpose, dichotomous key flowchart,
procedures, results, and lab report. All work on this project and the associated lab report must
represent the student’s own original work from this semester. Any evidence of plagiarism or the use
of AI in the completion of this project will result in a zero for all components of the project and the
student will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct for potential disciplinary action.
Preliminary Assignments (6 points): Before starting to identify your organisms, you must
understand what you will be doing and plan your sequence of experiments – the planning steps are
essential. You may not be allowed to proceed in the project unless the required planning steps are
completed. Begin by reading Ex. 18 in the lab manual & Chapter 10 Section 2 in the textbook. You
may also benefit from reviewing past exercises associated with this project (Ex. 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8).
o 2 pts Ex. 18 Online Pre-lab Quiz - After completing the preliminary reading you must take
your online pre-lab quiz for Ex. 18 before the due date.
o 1 pt Statement of Purpose - Use the information in your lab manual and on Blackboard to
write a statement of purpose. This should include the two main goals of the experiment. In
total this should be no longer than three sentences, must be entirely in your own words,
and use proper spelling and grammar. This will be written on page 269 and you will upload
a photo/scan of your page 269 to the upload portal in Blackboard before the due date.
o 3 pts Dichotomous Key Flowchart - Use the information on page 267 and the proper
formatting discussed in lab as a guide to generate a dichotomous key flowchart on page
269. You will upload a photo/scan of your completed page 269 to the upload portal in
Blackboard before the due date.
Experimental Assignments & Techniques (16 points):
o 4 pts Completed Lab Manual Pages – Throughout the project you will complete pages
271 – 277 in your lab manual. Be sure to fill in all information with detail and clarity, you
may need to look at earlier exercises to assist in this process – all methods/procedures
must come from previous exercises (Ex. 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8) and be described in enough
detail to be carried out with just your descriptions. Be sure to use correct terminology, but
do not plagiarize. These pages will be checked periodically in lab and completion may be
required to proceed.
o 10 pts Technique Checks - Throughout the experiment your instructor will be making
technique checks (isolation, separation, Gram stain, etc.). Do NOT discard any results
unless directed to do so. Points will be deducted for sloppy technique, including poor
microscopy, inoculation, or incubation procedures. Points may also be deducted for running
extra tests or duplicate tests, requiring excessive help, or not completing the experiment on
time.
o You MUST be able to obtain isolated colonies →1 pt
o You MUST be able to use colony morphology and macroscopic observations to
separate your unknowns →4 pts
o You MUST be able to Gram stain and focus each unknown without assistance→2
ptso You MUST successfully complete biochemical testing using Gram stain observations
and a dichotomous key flowchart → 2 pts
o You MUST not waste lab resources, finish without excessive extra steps or extra
time, and you must clean up materials when finished →1 pt
o 2 pts Identification Summary - Use your completed lab manual pages to summarize all
your results, observations, and conclusions in the chart on page 277. Be detailed and use
correct terminology, spelling, and binomial nomenclature. Results should describe what you
observe (colors, reactions (such as bubbling), morphologies and arrangements, etc.);
whereas conclusions should explain what the result means (what enzyme(s) they possess,
what pathways they can use, what carbon and/or energy sources they can use, what
products they produce, etc). You will upload a photo/scan of page 277 to the upload portal
in Blackboard before the due date.
Formal Scientific Lab Report (40 points): While it is important to correctly identify each of your
organisms, the scientific process you use to reach this identification is also important. A formal
scientific report detailing your investigation of Exercise 18 must be turned in via the Blackboard
Turnitin portal before the due date/time (late submissions, up to 24 hours late, will be accepted
with a 25% deduction and no report will be accepted past that period). Reports without names
on the title page or not submitted through the Turnitin portal will NOT be graded and will receive a
zero. Reports without a reference page or citation of the laboratory manual will also NOT be graded
and will receive a zero. Turnitin is used to check for plagiarism, note you cannot reuse a lab report
from a previous semester.
o 8 points – Correct identification of Both Organisms - On the title page of your report
you will list the identity of microbe A and microbe B (using correct binomial nomenclature)
along with which was your Gram-positive and which was your Gram-negative.
o 32 points – Formal Scientific Lab Report - The formal scientific report must follow the
format for a traditional lab report as outlined in appendix 2 of your lab manual (Title page,
Introduction, Materials and Methods (including your dichotomous key flowchart), Results,
Discussion, References). The report must be typed in Arial size 12 font, double spaced,
use 1-inch margins, and consist of no more than 9 pages (this includes title page (stand-
alone page), dichotomous key flowchart (stand-alone page) and references). Points will be
deducted for incorrect format. Nothing after the 9th page will be graded and points will be
deducted accordingly. All materials should be written in your own words and properly cited
using AMA (American Medical Association) format. In-text citations with page numbers are
required. Correct spelling, grammar, use of binomial nomenclature and clarity will be
considered for each section of the report. Breakdown of the lab report is as follows:
o 4 pts: Title Page & Overall Format
o Stand-alone title page including: Descriptive title, Name, Date, Course & Section
#, Unknown number, Identity of unknowns written in correct binomial
nomenclature and identified as microbe A and B, and which was Gram-positive
and Gram-negative.
o Formatting throughout paper as directed: Arial size 12 font, double spaced, 1-inch
margins, figures and tables should not be split across two pages.
o Entire report must be 9 pages or less. This includes the title page (stand-alone
page), dichotomous key flowchart (stand-alone page), and references section.
o Must use correct subheadings for each section (Introduction, Materials and
Methods, Results, Discussion, and References).o Scientific conventions must be followed (i.e. correct use of binomial nomenclature,
past tense, no use of 1st person, all statements in your own words with limited use
of quotations only when appropriate).
o 5 pts: Introduction
o Statement of purpose clearly defined.
o The importance or relevance of this project should be clearly stated.
o Background information provided and connected to the statement of purpose.
o Summary of methods used and how they helped to accomplish your purpose.
o Summary of project conclusions, including the identification of each unknown
organism, and how those are connected to the purpose.
o 7 pts: Materials and Methods (4 pts) with Dichotomous Key Flowchart (3 pts)
o All methods performed in this project for the identification of your unknown
organisms should be included in enough detail the experiment could be replicated
by a reader with equivalent microbiology knowledge.
o Each method should be written in complete sentences and have its own
paragraph. Be sure to use in-text citations where appropriate for each process.
o Results and conclusions must not be included in this section.
o Final draft of your Dichotomous Key Flowchart with a descriptive title and a figure
legend on a stand-alone page at the end of this section.
Must be neat and large enough to clearly read all components.
Must include all components outlined above. Be sure to address any
feedback provided by your instructor on your initial submission
o Use clear questions and answers
o Correct use of binomial nomenclature
o All six possible organisms identified in the correct pathway for
your experiment must be present
Should be discussed in the text for this section.
o 5 pts Results
o Text provided immediately after the “Results” subheading should describe all results
obtained and what table(s) they can be found in.
o All results and observations for microbe A and microbe B included in one or more
tables.
Each table must include a descriptive title and be numbered appropriately.
This will include colony morphology, cellular morphology and arrangement,
Gram reaction, and biochemical test results.
Each table should present the results with details on observations (colors,
shapes, reactions etc.) but should NOT include conclusions or a discussion of
the results.
Correct terminology must be used.
o 8 pts Discussion
o Here you will discuss all results and what they mean for your microbe A and B. What
do they tell you about the cellular structure and biochemical profile of your
organisms? How did you use each result/conclusion to identify your organisms?
Include a thorough and detailed discussion of the purpose and outcomes of
Days 1-3.
experimental purpose.
microbe – first explain them all for microbe A and then for microbe B.
detailed and descriptive with correct terminology.
identification of the unknown (which organisms were eliminated from
the possibilities and why).
growth, enzymes, metabolic pathways, carbon and/or energy sources,
and metabolic byproducts based on your experimental data.
o This section should finish with a concluding paragraph to wrap up the project. This
must include the identification of each organism.
o 3 pts References
AMA formatted in-text citations used for any information that was not a
result/observation or considered common knowledge.
AMA formatted Reference section including the laboratory manual at a minimum.
All references in this section must have coordinating in-text citations