Lab 3 worksheet: Measurement, Statistics and Graphing

5 points

Part 1: Metric system and scientific measurement (1 point)

a) The image below is a graduated cylinder with water in it. Each number on the scale is a milliliter. How much water is in this graduated cylinder?

See the source image

b) Make the following conversions and show your work:

a. 7 km = _______ m

b. 376 kg = ________ µg

c. 1,028 mL = _________µL

Part 2: Statistics (1 point)

a) You collected the following data set from an experiment: 12, 15, 9, 5, 11, 6, 5

a. What is the mean of this data set? Show your work.

b. What is the range of this data set? Show your work.

c. What is the median of this data set? Show your work.

Part 3 Interpreting a graph (1 point)

Glucose, an important energy source for animals, is transported into cells by facilitated diffusion using protein carriers. In this exercise, you will interpret a graph from an experiment in which researchers incubated guinea pig red blood cells in a 300 mM (millimolar) radioactive glucose solution at pH 7.4 at 25°C. Every 10 or 15 minutes, they removed a sample of cells from the solution and measured the concentration of radioactive glucose inside those cells. Cells came from either a 15-day-old guinea pig or a 1-month-old guinea pig.

A graph showing glucose uptake in guinea pig red blood cells of different ages

a) What is the independent variable in this experiment? Which axis is the independent variable plotted on?

b) What is the dependent variable in this experiment? Which axis is the dependent variable plotted on?

c) What do the red dots represent in the graph?

d) What concentration of radioactive glucose did the researchers find in the red blood cells of a 15-day-old guinea pig after an incubation time of 30 minutes?

e) What is the main difference between the trends for the 15-day-old and 1-month-old guinea pigs’ red blood cells?

Part 4: Making a graph (1 point)

You want to graph the amount of food in kilograms consumed by each type of animal on a farm per week. The farm has cows, pigs, horses, chickens and donkeys. You find that cows consume 25 kg of food per week, pigs consume 17 kg per week, horses consume 19 kg per week, chickens consume 2 kg per week and donkeys consume 12 kg per week.

a) What is the independent variable in this experiment and which axis should you plot it on?

b) What is the dependent variable in this experiment and which axis should you plot it on?

c) What type of graph should you use to graph this data and why?

d) Now make a graph that follows all of the rules of graphing to depict this data. You can either make your graph by hand using the graphing rules or in a computer program. Attach your graph to your assignment.

Part 5: What’s wrong with this graph? (1 point)

List all of the things that are “wrong” with this graph below. Does it follow all of the rules of graphing?