AP Biology Animal Behavior Lab

The following represent common mistakes people will make going into their Animal Behavior Lab

1. Only one variable should be changed for the experiment. If you change light intensity, change only that, not light intensity AND temperature. Choose one variable to change and keep all others constant. In addition, make sure the variable changed is environmental in nature. This lab is to test invertebrate response to environmental changes.

At the end of the experiment you will have to identify the following:
Controlled variables
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Experimental group
Control group

Identifying these before the experiment will help.

2. Data must be quantified. Saying "it moved a lot" is not acceptable for data. You must come up with a way to record your data with numbers in a comparable manner.

3. You cannot perform an experiment in which you see "how much it can take until it dies." This type of experiment will not be approved and will not be graded.

4. Remember to follow typical experimental procedure:
Identify the Problem
Research the Problem
Form a hypothesis
Design a procedure
Perform the experiment and collect data
Analyze the data
Form conclusions from the data