CO2:

 Usually, most of the CO2 absorbents are with -OH eg: NaOH or KOH
 Sources of CO2 are usually those with the -CO3 eg: CaCO3, H2CO3
 a non-chemical source: gas cylinder
 the gas is supplied through a bubbler.
 to measure CO2 concentration: use probe with meter
Temperature:
 method of controlling: use an electronic water-bath (a beaker of boiling water)-
depends on the experiment
 use an electronic thermostat
 heat screen*/ heat filter
 *for uniform distribution of heat.
 incubator
 digital/mercury thermometer
 for food tests, such as Benedict's test, the temp must be above 80'C.
Time:
Always mention:
 the method of timing (stopwatch/ wall clock)
 -precise time
 -mention the time according to the need
(Teacher's advice: Don't be vague when mentioning the time period; be sensible, realistic and
precise! )
Sample Size:
 the larger the sample size, the more reliable the results.
 When making concentrations, the minimum number you should make is 3. Ideally,
the number of conc you're going to make must be 5.
 mass must be the same when comparing two samples.
Measuring:
 use mm calipers
 a ruler- calibrated to cm or mm
 measuring cylinders
 syringe, pipette
 weighing scale/ electronic balance
 digital/mercury thermometer
MEASURING PLANT LENGTH-
 use ruler
 use a thread
MOVEMENT AND TIME
 measure distance moved at a certain time (or)
 measure time taken for certain distance moved
VOLUME OF CAPILLARY TUBING:
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  mention the diameter
 and the surface area
RATE OF TRANSPIRATION=
 DIAMETER (of capillary tubing)/ DISTANCE MOVED (by the droplet) or
LENGTH
Reliability:
 never use the same sample when you are going to repeat the experiment
 always reset- whenever resetting the exp. always refresh the specimen with the same
mass and volume you were using in the first exp.
 repeat and take average/ plot a graph
Accuracy:
 use the right apparatus
 gas syringe for measuring volume of gas
 look at "Measuring" for more information ^^
 Plants:
 always use same species
 same developmental age
 keep in mind the size of leaves, size of roots, and the number of roots (and leaves).
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS:
 light intensity
 temperature
 humidity
 CO2 and O2 concentrations
 wind
 water
 mineral content
 same mass of germinating seeds
 shoots of same size/length
when the plant is placed in water, the stem must be cut slanted under water to prevent any air-
locking
use of bung or air-tight screw to prevent evaporation of water
in some questions, you'll see a screw: it's there for resetting the apparatus
accuracy factor: measure properly and cut using a thread
to control the surrounding temperature, plant experiments must be done in a thermostatically
controlled room
When using a suspension, always use either same mass or same volume
in a question on dry mass (and you're dealing with seeds): the water is removed (evaporated)
by placing seeds in an incubator or oven but never use bunsen flames-it damages the seed!
when cutting the leaf in discs for comparing the rate of photosynthesis (or cutting anything,
such as a potato):

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the size and cross-section must always be the same
always cut the curved edges out and cut out a flatter surface from the center
DNA:
 if the question is on electrophoresis, the distance is always taken
 for accuracy: always cut out the same size of DNA fragments
 restriction enzymes are used to cut at any specific place
Light:
 Keep three things in mind:
 keeping light constant
 varying it
 excluding it
 in any experiment, you can only test for one factor at a time.
 Varying Light:
 same wattage of bulb & varying distances
 same distance and varying bulb wattage
 different number of lamps at same distance
 a dark room with light of fixed illumination
 lamp at same distance and use light filter with different thicknesses.

Measuring Light Intensity:

 light meter
 light-dependent resistor
 photometer
 camera meter
 photodiode

Methods of Eliminating Light:

 card board box, black paper, dark room, black bag
 place in a cupboard
Enzymes:
 temperature, pH, and substrate concentration
 When varying the concentration of the enzyme, then the substrate concentration must
be kept constant
 temp control: use water bath
 pH control: use buffer solution
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  Exp on Effect of Chemicals on Enzyme Action:
 must think whether the chemical is an inhibitor
 when dealing with beads of enzyme: always use the same number/ same mass of
beads
 KEY: Remember the 4 factors affecting enzyme activity plus the effect of inhibitor
Indicator:
 used to show the presence of a substrate
 it always shows a change in it's original color to mark the end point of a reaction
 the color change of the indicator will always be mentioned in the question only if it
isn't mentioned in our syllabus
 For any exp: note color change at a fixed time (or)
 note the time taken for the color change to take place
 when repeating the experiment, always replace/refresh the indicator with the same
volume and concentration that was used in the previous exp
 (Two of the points that i ddint know how to title:p)
 the specimen is always wrapped to exclude a certain environmental factor when an
absorbent, such as CO2, is added
 wrapping is also done to prevent evaporation

Humans:
 measurement of height, sex, heart rate, disease
 Reliability factors:
 age group
 gender
 body mass/size
 genetics/race
 state of health
 time of the day the test is being conducted
 any tolerance or addiction
 use of any stimulant or depressant
 metabolism
 Metabolic activity decreases with age!!!
Population:
 sigmoid curve: drawing, labelling, and the reasons behind every phase
 What decreases population?
 destruction of habitat
 disease
 food availability
 migration and emigration
 increase in predators
 increase in parasite
 lesser nesting places
 hibernation
 accumalation of toxic waste

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  for plants: -increased grazing -environmental factors: natural disasters, soil erosion -
deforestation: causes soil erosion
 IMPORTANT LIMITING FACTORS!!!!
 Food Availability and Disease!!!
Wind:
 use a fan
 for varying wind: vary the fan speed or the distance from the specimen

Organism Growth:
 source: corn syrup, glucose, protein, low grade NH3
 never write nutrient broth
 mention 2 examples at least
 same amount or conc of nutrient broth to the two sets of specimen
 the nutrient supply must be kept constant
 mention flow rate through fermenter
 For batch culture: note the amount of time the organism is left in the fermenter
 keep in mind the O2 supply, temperature, pH
 sterility of the fermenter is very important [so that no other organism grows and acts
as a competitor]
 sterility is important in both batch and continous culture- in fact, every time you set
up a batch culture, sterility must be mainatained
Planning Questions:
 decide what the experiment is on (like diffusion, osmosis, photosynthesis)
 use the same apparatus; describe what you're going to vary and what must be kept
constant- decide which is the dependant and independant variable (eg light intensity?
CO2 conc? or gas produced?)
 how will you vary (count bubbles? use gas syringe?)---always ask yourself: is it a
comparison
 units--same volume, same mass, same concentration
 What are the constants? How will you keep them constant?
 give brief discription of the steps; if time is required, BE SPECIFIC.
 inference: in some exps you need a control, but don't write anything which isn't
required otherwise
 precautions
Reliability:
 give time for caliberation
 (Calibration time is adjusting time)
 Repeat 3 times to be certain that the results are consistent-do not change the parameter
 large sample size
Why repeat?
 increases the certainty that the results are consistent
 so that anomalous results can be removed
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  permit variance from mean
 to take an average

Accuracy:
 means measuring in a reliable manner.
 weighing scale
 thermometer
 vernier calliper
 measuring cylinder
 gas syringe
 use of a buffer solution to maintain pH
 using sol of known conc (by serial dilution)
 comparing colors of sol by a colorimeter
 larger number of known conc
 washing syringes and pipettes
 mixing and stirring for uniformity to prevent settling of suspension
 in microscopy: eye-piece graticule
 to measure the surface area, the specimen is placed on a grid, where the full squares,
half or more than half are taken into consideration
 FILTERING AND CENTRIFUGING: the suspension spins and the more dense sinks
at the bottom
Control:
 in an exp with living organisms, the control must be a dead organism
 whatever factor is being used in the question is emitted from the control
 For counting chromosomes and making them visible, the growing regions of the plant
are cut
 cut surface of the specimen
 chromosomes are counted by placing cut surface under a high power light
microscope(with high magnification)
How to make chromosomes visible?
 add dye/stain them
Examples of dyes:
 methylene blue
 aceto-carmine
 aceto-orcein