BIO 401. Life at the Edge: The Physiological Ecology of Extreme Environments. Fall 2003

      Dr. Bruce W. Grant and Dr. Itzick Vatnick
      Department of Biology, Widener University, Chester, PA, 19013
      BWG office Loveland Hall # 9, ext. 4017, IV office Kirkbride # 516, ext. 4245
      grant@pop1.science.widener.edu and vatnick@pop1.science.widener.edu

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      This page was last modified 18 September 2003, and has been accessed times since 1 September 2003. 


      Fall 2003, Biology401: Assignment #5 - Biophysical Ecology.

      Task: This assignment will assess your learning outcomes and experiences in the two labs on biophysical ecology: "Measuring and Modeling the Theory of Cooling" and "Modeling and Measuring Lizard Operative Environmental Temperatures" that you did over the past two Tuesday lab classes. Please answer the questions in the box below, and send me your responses by email.

      Assessment:

      • +20 points if completed by Tuesday 23 September 2003.

      Detailed Instructions:

      1. Copy the entire text in the box below from this page into a word processor (such as MS-Word).
      2. Answer each of these questions directly in the word processor between the [[Q#:START]] and [[Q#:END]] brackets.
      3. Do mot make any changes to these brackets.
      4. Spell check and proof read your answers.
      5. Copy the entire block of text (questions and answers) and paste it into a "New Message" in whatever email software you know and love. (*** PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME AN "ATTACHMENT FILE" ***)
      6. Copy the following text to the email subject line: Biology401: Assignment 5 - Biophysical Ecology
      7. Send your email to me at my home email address grant@dca.net and cc: it to yourself

      Important Note: **** you can only complete this assignment
           on a computer from which you can send email ****



      BIO 401: Assignment 5 - Biophysical Ecology.

      [[Name:START]] replace this text with your name [[Name:END]]

      Take a quick look at the data you and your classmates collected from the first lab: "Measuring and Modeling the Theory of Cooling" (posted here: CoolingLabStudentResults.xls) and answer Questions #1 - #5.

      Question 1. Please briefly summarize in a short paragraph the results YOU found with your investigations (if you did not get the equipment to work, skip to the next question). [#1]
      [[Q1:START]]

      [[Q1:END]]

      Question 2. What were three of the main ideas, general concepts, or principles that you were supposed to understand and take with you from the first lab: "Measuring and Modeling the Theory of Cooling"? [#2]
      [[Q2:START]]
         1 -
         2 -
         3 -
      [[Q2:END]]

      Question 3. What was the one thing you learned from this lab that you will likely
      remember a year from now? [#3]
      [[Q3:START]]

      [[Q3:END]]

      Question 4. What was one idea, concept, or principle that you really did not get from the lab (and the follow-up classroom discussions), that you feel you were really were supposed to understand? [#4]
      [[Q4:START]]

      [[Q4:END]]

      Question 5. What was one idea, concept, or principle that you wanted to learn more about had there been more time? [#5]
      [[Q5:START]]

      [[Q5:END]]

      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Take a quick look at the data you and your classmates collected from the second lab: "Modeling and Measuring Lizard Operative Environmental Temperatures" (posted here: TbLizStudentResults.xls) and answer Questions #6 - #10.

      Question 6. Please briefly summarize in a short paragraph the results YOU found with your investigations. [#6]
      [[Q6:START]]

      [[Q6:END]]

      Question 7. What were three of the main ideas, concepts, or principles that you were supposed to understand and take with you from the second lab: "Modeling and Measuring Lizard Operative Environmental Temperatures"? [#7]
      [[Q7:START]]
         1 -
         2 -
         3 -
      [[Q7:END]]

      Question 8. What was the one thing you learned from this lab that you will likely
      remember a year from now? [#8]
      [[Q8:START]]

      [[Q8:END]]

      Question 9. What was one idea, concept, or principle that you really did not get from the lab (and the follow-up classroom discussions), that you feel you were really were supposed to understand? [#9]
      [[Q9:START]]

      [[Q9:END]]

      Question 10. What was one idea, concept, or principle that you wanted to learn more about had there been more time? [#10]
      [[Q10:START]]

      [[Q10:END]]

      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Question 11. Comment specifically on the modeling part. How have your ideas or attitudes toward quantitative research, and the use of computers to study and understand physiological ecology, changed as a result of your doing your own computer simulations? Please reflect upon this topic in at least one paragraph, and offer a critique not only your learning of these quantitative skills, but also of the lab activities in helping you to learn these skills. [#11]
      [[Q11:START]]

      [[Q11:END]]








      Please Read This Comment.

              You are welcome to download some or all of the material we have posted at this site for your use in your physiological ecology course. This does not include commercial uses for profit. If you do use any lengthy exerpts (more than 2 lines) of the material above, we request that you formally acknowledge this site and/or sites we have acknowledged as the source(s). We also request that you reciprocate and send us a copy of your physiological ecology educational materials so that we may see what you have put together.

        Please send comments or suggestions to Bruce W. Grant: grant@pop1.science.widener.edu.

        Copyright - Bruce W. Grant and Itzick Vatick, 2003.