How many Biology Labs?

[JennifersLost]

I'm using Prentice Hall Biology: Exploring Life for my 10th grader this year.

 

It has an accompanying lab book with close to 80 labs to do. I went through these and found that I'd reasonably be able to gather the equipment and do about 40 of them with my son.

 

But...40 labs? Really? I don't know that we will realistically be able to do that many in the time we have without science overtaking everything else. My son enjoys science, but doesn't plan to "go into" science. How many bio labs did you do? What seems reasonable to you?

[SheWhoWaits]

I think I would aim for 1 lab per week, but not stress if i missed a week now and then.

[HollyinNNV]

I'm using Prentice Hall Biology: Exploring Life for my 10th grader this year.

 

It has an accompanying lab book with close to 80 labs to do. I went through these and found that I'd reasonably be able to gather the equipment and do about 40 of them with my son.

 

But...40 labs? Really? I don't know that we will realistically be able to do that many in the time we have without science overtaking everything else. My son enjoys science, but doesn't plan to "go into" science. How many bio labs did you do? What seems reasonable to you?

 

We are using the same curriculum. We are planning for a lab once a week. On the weeks that there is a unit test, there will be no lab. There are 30 weeks in our science school year. So, we'll do approximately 18 labs with write ups. It is possible that we'll be able to fit in a few more, if they are short. But only 18 will get the whole "write-up" treatment.

Holly

[JennifersLost]

Thanks Holly,

 

18 - 25 sounds much more do-able than 40. Some of them do look easy - with stuff you can find around the house, but some seem very complicated. I want a good range of labs for him to do but I want to do other subjects, too!

[Anna]

You can aim for 10-20 labs. It will be fine.

[Beth in SW WA]

My 10th grade neighbor said she only did about 8 labs during her public school high school Bio class. And that was only during the first semester. She didn't do any during the second semester. I was surprised.

 

This is also the neighbor who didn't do proofs in Geometry.

[Anna]

Some of you may be surprised at how few labs some of the high schools these days actually do in a year.

[QueenCat]

What do you consider a lab? We try to do a hands on activity most weeks but I wouldn't call them all full fledged labs. To me, a full fledged lab would use the Scientific Method, and have a lab report. I would shoot for one of those for each unit (if appropriate), depending on how the curriculum is set up. Our curriculum has 14 units. My guess is will be doing around 10 for biology but I'm still trying to figure that out. Our curriculum (Thinkwell) doesn't come with labs so I'm having to find them, and match them up to the units. Not fun.

[Jann in TX]

They did a whopping total of 3 yes THREE labs all year! Two of the labs were scheduled on days when over half of the class was absent due to other academic trips/contests...my dd missed 2 of the labs--the 'microscope' one--the ONLY time they ever used a microscope in the whole course!!! and the 'disection' lab--only 3 of the 27 students were present for that one...NO MAKE-UPS...

 

The Chemistry classes did not do any labs---not even virtual ones!

 

Needless to say dd will be doing plenty of Chemistry labs at home starting this fall--and since her sister is STILL working in her Biology book--she will tag along with those labs too...

 

The dd who attended PS wants to go to college for Pre-Med (not sure the specialty after that...)--so Math and Science are pretty important!

[Robin in DFW]

Same experience with my oldest (formerly in ps, now at CC). She had only a few labs for biology but lots of coloring in those biology coloring books. Chemistry had only a few labs as well.

 

I'm thinking if you have about 10 labs/experiments per course, you are ahead of your dc ps counterparts!

 

Robin