BISC209/F13: Lab3: Difference between revisions

Export the labeled data to the thumb drive provided by your lab instructor.  If you can export as an excel doc, do so.

Close the Spectromax software.  DON'T SAVE! (You have already saved and exported adequately.)

Eject the Thumb drive hardware properly.

Shut off the SpectraMax spectrophotometer unless you know another group is waiting.

Take the Flash drive over to the Instructor’s Mac computer and insert the flashdrive.  

Process the data.

Save the daily data file to a folder for your soil sampling site on the Instructor’s computer desktop AND then EDIT: PASTE SPECIAL: TEXT the data carefully to the Google spreadsheet for your group found in SAKAI.  The file is called: BIOLOG-CMD_calc&GraphGroup__2013fa.  Each group has its own google doc linked in the navigation bar in SAKAI.  Each day that you collect data has a separate page in the google doc.

Notice that you will copy and paste one column in the spectrophotometer 96 well format at time into the google spreadsheet.  After pasting column 1, 2 and 3 you will begin the next set of replicates (columns 4-6 then 7-9).   

This is a very important step because it aligns the replicate cells properly.  

We have provided you with a Google spreadsheet called '''BIOLOG-CMD_calc&GraphTEMPLATE_2013_Tues_siteA or B, and _Wed_siteD, or E, or F)'''  You will find this spreadsheet on a thumb drive.  Please follow your instructor's adivice about how to insert your daily data after each reading into this template. You will have to carefully copy and paste the day's absorbance readings to the template. Be sure to use the correct one for your team! It is crucially important that you align the right carbon source to its value (don't forget water) and get the right well numbers transferred to the appropriate position on the Worksheet DAY (1, 2,etc) in the template workbook. Note that the Template contains a separate worksheet (tabs on the bottom) for each day within the full workbook. Make sure that you fill out the appropriate day (DAY 0, 1, 2 etc). If you miss a day, leave that page blank.  

The Google Spreadsheet is pre-formatted with the calculations for these data. It includes the formulas to average replicate measurements each day and it will automatically subtract the background (readings in the water wells). There is a normalization for background that will be subtracted automatically (this threshold absorbance is 0.25 for each carbon source). We hope that including these pre-made calculations in the template will make your calculation of community metabolic diversity (CMD) and the data analysis of carbon source utilization patterns relatively uncomplicated. Please make sure you understand the EXCEL performed calculations. When you are sure that your data has been copied correctly into the appropriate template day, you will notice that the built in calculations will provide a final average absorbance reading for each substrate.