Question

Name: Lab Section (circle one): Th 9:30am F 7:45am / F 9:55am Remember to staple this prelab to the front of your lab exercise, and turn in before you leave lab. Lab #11 PRELAB: PROKARYOTES AND PROTISTS (due at start of lab 4/18 or 4/19) Don't forget to bring your textbook to lab BACKGROUND There is a great diversity of organisms that exists on this planet, and in order to make sense of this diversity, it is natural for humans to want to categorize organisms into meaningful groups. In biology most common way to categorize organisms is based on evolutionary relatedness. The basic premise groups we are looking at this week, the Prokaryotes and Protists, are NOT very closely related. Small size is the main characteristic they have in common. Prokaryotes and Protists are microbes, microscopic organisms that exists as single cells or as simple colonies. Prokaryotes include all types of bacteria, and Protists include all eukaryotic organisms that DO NOT fit into the animal, plant, or fungus category The goal of this week's lab is to introduce you to the basic structure and diversity of Prokaryotic and Protist organisms, as well as the major differences between the two groups, including: I. List the characteristics of prokaryotes and recognize the major shapes of prokaryotic cell:s 2. Describe the appearance of the cyanobacteria Nostoc. 3. Observe some of the major protists, and determine how they move and get their food. 4. Identify a slime mold and describe how it moves and eats. 5. Distinguish between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. QUESTIONS Read p. 299-311 of your textbook (Prokaryotes and Protists sections). Then use the information to answer the following questions. BACTERIA ARE PROKARYOTIC I. Summarize how prokaryotic cells are organized structured differently compared to eukaryotic cells. The three most common forms of prokaryotic cells are coccus, bacillus, and sprirochetes Draw/describe each of these forms below: 2.

Answer 1

1. Prokaryotic Cells differ from eukaryotic cells in the following aspects:

	Prokaryotic	Eukaryotic
Transcription and Translation	Both occur simultaneously	translation occurs after transcritption is complete
mRNA processing	No processing	mRNA after transcription is processed and spliced
membrane bound organelles	not present	present
Uni/Multicellular	Unicellular	Multicellular

2.

1. Coccus- Spherical shaped, Ex.Streptococcus

2. Bacillus - Rod-shaped, ex. Lactobacillus

3. Spirochetes - Spiral-shaped, ex. Treponema

0 2