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(Lab 8) Straighterline microbiology lab BIO250L
Identifying an Unknown Organism worksheet
2025 Verified
StudentgName:
AccessgCodeg(locatedgongtheglidgofgyourglabgkit):
LabgReportgFormatgExpectations
Utilizegcollegeglevelggrammargandgprofessionalgformattinggwhengcompletinggthisgworksheet.gSubmissionsg
withoutgpropergformatting,gallgrequiredgphotosgorgsufficientgresponsesgwillgbegrejected.
Pre-labgQuestions
1. WhatgisgthegpurposegofgLabg8?gWhatgconceptsgisgitgtryinggtogconveygtogagmicrobiologygstudent?gMi
crobiologyglabgeightgaimsgtogprovidegstudentsgwithgagsystematicgmethodgforgidentifyinggmicroorga
nisms.gStudentsggaingabilitiesgingobservation,gclassification,gandgcriticalgthinkinggbygusinggagdichot
omousgkey,gagtoolgthatghasgpaired,gcontrastinggstatementsgleadinggtogidentifyinggangorganism.gTheg
laboratorygservesgtogreaffirmgtaxonomygconceptsgwhileghighlightinggthegvarietygofgmicroorganismsg
andgencouraginggknowledgegofgtheirgdistinctivegcharacteristics.gItgoffersghands-
gongtrainingginglaboratorygmethods,gpromotinggmeticulousnessgandgsystematicgapproachesgtogiden
tification.
2. Whatgisgthegpurposegofgdesigninggagdichotomousgkey?gHowgwillgitgbegutilizedgingthisglab?
Togoffergangorganizedgandgeffectivegmethodgforgrecognizinggandgcategorizinggorganismsgaccordingg
togobservablegtraits.gThegdichotomousgkeygisgvalidginglaboratorygsettingsgforgtaxonomicgclassificati
on,gspeciesgidentification,gandgteaching.gItghelpsgscientists,gresearchers,gandgstudentsgidentifygorg
anismsgconsistentlygandgreliablygingtheglabgorgwhengconductinggfieldwork.gThegkeygsimplifiesgdistin
guishinggbetweengvariousgspeciesgandgprovidesgangorganizedgmethodgforgclassifyinggthegdiversityg
ofglife.
3. Usinggagreputablegsourcegonline,gdescribeghowgthegFluidgThioglycollategMediumg(FTM)gtestgwork
s.gProvidegenoughgelaborationgthatgyougclearlygdemonstrategyourgknowledgegofgthisgtest.gThegFlui
dgThioglycollategMediumg(FTM)gtestgaimsgtogevaluategoxygengneedsgandgmicroorganismggrowthgp
atterns.gThisgadaptablegmediumghasgagsemi-solidgconsistencygduegtogsodium
, Lab 8 Identifying an Unknown Organism BIO250L
g g g g g g
thioglycollategandgagtinygquantitygofgagar.gThegorganismgisginjectedgintogFTMgtubesgforgthegtest,gan
dgthegtubesgaregsubsequentlygincubatedgtogpromoteggelationgandgthegcreationgofgangoxygenggradie
nt.gThegtube'sgbottomgisgoxygen-
depleted,gwhereasgthegtopgcontainsghighergoxygengconcentrations.gAerobesgdevelopgmainlygatgtheg
top;gfacultativeganaerobesgaregfoundgthroughoutgbutgaregmoregconcentratedgatgthegtop,gandgobliga
toryganaerobesgaregfoundgatgthegbottomgwheregoxygengisgscarce.gIngclinicalgmicrobiology,gthegFTMg
testgisgfrequentlygusedgtogisolateganaerobic