Course Title: Conduct simple activities in a biological science laboratory
Part B: Course Detail
Teaching Period: Term2 2010
Course Code: BIOL5098
Course Title: Conduct simple activities in a biological science laboratory
School: 155T Vocational Health and Sciences
Campus: City Campus
Program: C3209 - Certificate III in Science
Course Contact: Nevil Schultz
Course Contact Phone: +61 3 9925 4221
Course Contact Email: nevil.schultz@rmit.edu.au
Name and Contact Details of All Other Relevant Staff
Nominal Hours: 10
Regardless of the mode of delivery, represent a guide to the relative teaching time and student effort required to successfully achieve a particular competency/module. This may include not only scheduled classes or workplace visits but also the amount of effort required to undertake, evaluate and complete all assessment requirements, including any non-classroom activities.
Pre-requisites and Co-requisites
This course will be run in conjunction with Cell Biology BIOL 5099
Course Description
This unit covers the skills required to conduct simple activities in a biological science laboratory. It involves performing basic microscopy tasks, including specimen preparation, staining and scientific sketching.
National Codes, Titles, Elements and Performance Criteria
National Element Code & Title: |
VPAU075 Conduct simple activities in a biological science laboratory |
Element: |
Operate monocular and stereo microscopes |
Performance Criteria: |
1.1 Perform basic cleaning and general maintenance of monocular and stereo microscopes |
Element: |
Prepare and stain plant and animal tissue specimens for microscopic examination |
Performance Criteria: |
2.1 Produce scientific diagrams of slide specimens |
Element: |
Produce scientific diagrams of slide specimens |
Performance Criteria: |
3.1 Prepare and stain plant and animal tissue specimens for microscopic examination |
Learning Outcomes
Details of Learning Activities
Theory classes
Classroom demonstrations on Microscope use & Tissue preparation
Laboratory exercises
Teaching Schedule
| Week | Date | Topic | Task | Practical | Assessment Due dates |
| 1 | 12 July | Cell Theory and Organelles | |||
| 2 | 19 July | Pro- and Eukaryotes | |||
| 3 | 26 July | Diffusion, Active Transport, Osmosis | Microscope Prac 1 | ||
| 4 | 2 Aug | Microscope Prac II | |||
| 5 | 9 Aug | Prac reports for Mic 1 & Mic 2 due | |||
| 6 | 16 Aug | ||||
| 7 | 23 Aug | Osmosis & Diffusion | |||
| 8 | 30 Aug | Osmosis & Diffusion report due | |||
| 9 | 6 Sept | Organelle Powerpoint asignment due |
Learning Resources
Prescribed Texts
References
Other Resources
Overview of Assessment
This course is competency based and students will be assessed as competent in the above learning outcomes with:
verbal & written questions on microscope terms, correct handling & use
• practical demonstration by the student of wet mount & squash preparations of plant material
• practical demonstration by the student of microscope techniques
• research assignment on cell images
• a laboratory report
Students must be assessed as competent in all assessment tasks to receive a COMPETENT result (A pass) in this course.
Assessment Tasks
Each Task will be Competency Based. The overall result for the course will be assessed as CA (competent) or NYC (Not Yet Competent).
To be assessed as competent overall, the student will need to be asessed as competent in all of the following assessment tasks:
Oral & Written Quiz on microscope use.
Preparation of wet mount microscope slide
Correct focussing of microscope
Powerpoint on cell organelle
Laboratory report on plant & animal tissue observation
Assessment Matrix
Other Information
For information on late submission of work or absence on the day of assessment, please go to the Program site on the Learning Hub for C3209 Certificate III in Science or contact the Program Co-ordinator, Judi Mc Cann.
Course Overview: Access Course Overview