Step 1. Preparing the slide

1. Take a clean, glass microscope slide
2. Peel a thin layer of onion skin using your fingers or forceps or tweasers
3. Place the thin layer of onion skin onto the slide
4. Stain the layer of onion skin with iodine solution - this makes the onion skin more visible
5. Place a cover slip over the iodine-stained layer of onion skin

Safety Concerns
- Hold slide on the edges to avoid finger marks
- Avoid iodine solution skin contact

Step 2. Setting up the Microscope

1. Place the slide onto the microscope stage
2. Ensure that the lens is, at first, set to the lowest magnification
3. Using the coarse focus knob, twist until the stage is as close as possible to the lens
4. Switch on the microscope's light

Safety Concerns
- Adjust stage height carefully - avoid contact between lens and the slide on the stage
- Do not stare directly at the light source

Step 3. Adjusting the Focus

1. Look through the eyepiece
2. Using the coarse focus knob, turn until the specimen is in focus
3. Using the fine focus knob, further focus the specimen
4. Switch lenses to ones of higher magnification
5. Use the fine focus knobs to refine focus when using the new lenses

Safety Concerns
- When switching lenses, be careful to ensure that the lens does not come into contact with the slide on the stage

Step 1. Preparing the Petri Dish

1. Light a Bunsen Burner and place a sterilized petri dish next to it - the Bunsen Burner will stop conamination
2. Using a marker, draw three separate sections on the petri dish
3. Using a marker, draw a spot in the centre of each section

Safety Concerns
- Be careful of burns from Bunsen Burner
- Tie back hair when using a bunsen burner
- Ensure all equiptment is sterilized
- Wash hands and do not touch any surfaces after having done so

Step 2. Testing the Bacteria

1. Pour a bacteria culture onto the petri dish
2. Using a spreader, spread the bacteria culture around the petri dish, ensure that the whole dish is covered
3. Place an antiseptic soaked paper dish onto one of the marked spots, then place an antibiotic soaked paper dish onto another marked spot, and finally place another chosen anti-microbial solution onto the final spot.
4. Seal the petri dish
5. Place the petri dish in an oven at 30°C, and leave it for some time

Safety Concerns
- When possibe, keep the petri dish sealed to avoid risk of contamination

Step 3. The Results

1. Observe the ring around each anti-microbial solution soaked paper disk
2. Measure the diameter of each ring
3. The ring with the greatest diameter determines the most effective bateria-killing anti-microbial solution.

Steps

1. Pour sodium hydrogen carbonate solution into a boiling tube
2. Place pondweed in the tube
3. Using a metre ruler, place the pondweed boiling tube 10cm away from the light source, with a tank of water inbetween to magnify the light rays
4. Using a stopwatch, wait two minutes for the pondweed to start producing bubbles
5. Using the stopwatch, count the number of bubbles produced in one minute
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5, moving the pondweed boiling tube 10cm further away each time.

Safety Concerns

Step 1. Obtaining Potato Cylinders

1. Using a cork borer, hollow out 5 cylinders of potato
2. Using a ruler, cut each cylinder to an equal length of 3cm
3. Using a paper towel, gently blot dry each cylinder
4. Weigh each cylinder and record their initial mass

Safety Concerns
- Be careful when using a sharp knife

Step 2. Submerging in Solutions

1. Take 5 boiling tubes
2. In one boiling tube, pour distilled water
3. In the other boiling tubes, pour four different concentrations of sugar solution
4. Put the potato cylinders into the boiling tubes
5. Leave the potato cylinders in the solutions for some time
6. After some time, remove the potato cylinders, gently blot them dry with a paper towel, and measure their final length and mass. Compare the final measurements with the initial measurements

Safety Concerns
- Do not drink ditilled water

Step 1. Preparations

1. Get a partner
2. Person 2 should sit on a chair, and place the forearm of their non-dominant arm on a table with their non-dominant hand hanging off the table's edge.
3. Person 1 should hold a ruler directly over Person 2's hand, ensuring that 0cm lines up with the tippedy top of Person 2's hand.

Safety Concerns

Step 2. Testing

1. Person 1 should drop the ruler randomly without giving any indication to person. Person 2 should catch the ruler as quickly as they possibly can, by clentching their fist.
2. Record the number from the ruler that is in line with the top of Person 2's thumb.
3. Repeat steps 1 - 2 five times.
4. Each person should swap roles and repeat steps 1 - 2.
5. Use a conversion table to convert the recorded distances into reaction times.

Safety Concerns

Step 1. Germination

1. Pour a fixed volume of water into three petri dishes.
2. Place cotton wool in the petri dishes.
3. Place 10 seeds in each petri dish.
4. Leave the petri dish in a warm location and allow time for the seeds to germinate.

Safety Concerns

Seeds may be a biohazard. Wash hands after handling seeds.

Step 2. Altering Light Intensity

1. Once the seeds have germinated, make sure that there is an equal number of seeds in each petri dish, if not all seeds have germinated, remove the ungerminated seeds. If this causes an imbalance in the number of seeds in each petri dish, remove seeds from other petri dishes until each petri dish has the exact same amount of seeds.
2. Place each petri dish in a different environment: One in sunlight (eg: windowsill); one in partial sunlight; and one in complete darkness (eg: a cupboard).
3. Everyday for five days, measure the height of each seedling in each petri dish with a ruler, ensuring that they are at full height (Use forcepts to fully extend the seedlings), and record the results.
4. Calculate the mean height of the seedlings in each petri dish each day.

Safety Concerns

Investigation 1. Population size

1. Using two tape measures, create a 20m x 20m square in a field.
2. Use a random number generator to obtain two random numbers between 0 and 20. Use the numbers as coordinatesa long the tape measures.
3. Set down a quadrat at the coordinates.
4. Count and record the number of Daisies inside the quadrat.
5. Repeat steps 2 - 4 nine more times to have a total of ten measurements.
6. Add up the number of Daisies recorded inside all ten quadrats.
7. Estimate the total number of Daisies in the 20x20m field using the equation: Total population size = Total Area/Area sampled * Number of Daisies recorded in sampled areas

Safety Concerns

Investigation 2. Effect of variation in a factor

1. Lay a tape measure from the base of a tree to an open area of ground.
2. Place a quadrat touching the 0m mark on the tape measure.
3. Count and record the number of daisies in the quadrat.
4. Repeat step 3, placing a quadrat at 5m intervals along the tape measure until the end of the transect line.
5. Plot a graph of the number of daisies against the distance from the 0m mark.

Safety Concerns

Step 1. Preparing Test Tubes

1. Add 5cm³ of Lipase solution into a test tube and label as "Lipase".
2. Add 5 drops of Cresol Red indicator into a different test tube and label as "Milk".
3. Add 5cm³ Milk into the "Milk" tube.
4. Add 7cm³ Sodium Carbonate solution to the "Milk" tube, which should result in a purple solution.

Safety Concerns

Step 2. Doing Science

1. Place a thermometer in the "Milk" tube.
2. Place both tubes in a beaker of water at 20°C.
3. Wait for the "Milk" tube to reach the same temperature as the water.
4. Transfer 1cm³ of Lipase from the "Lipase" tube into the "Milk" tube and start a timer immediately.
5. Record the time taken for the solution in the "Milk" tube to turn yellow.
6. Repeat all above steps at the same water temperature twice more and calculate a mean.
7. Repeat all above steps at a different water temperture, increasing in incriments of 10°C until 60°C.

Safety Concerns