Scribd
Upload
2 views

5090 Practical Assignment 2

CAIE 5090 Biology Practical

Uploaded by

YNL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2 views

5090 Practical Assignment 2

CAIE 5090 Biology Practical

Uploaded by

YNL
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Name: ______________________________ Class: ___________ Date:______________

Practical Assignment 1.2

Materials needed:
• fleshy scale leaf of an onion bulb • forceps • light microscope and lamp
• scalpel • mounting needle • coverslip
• glass slide • iodine solution • white tile

Procedure and observations:


1. Use a scalpel to cut a 1 cm square from a fleshy scale leaf of an onion bulb. Be careful when using
sharp instruments.
2. Use a pair of forceps to peel off the thin transparent lining from the inner surface of the scale leaf. This
is the epidermis.
3. Place the epidermis on top of a drop of water on a clean microscope slide. Make sure that the
epidermis is spread out flat on the slide and not folded. If folded, use the forceps and mounting needle
to tease it apart gently.
4. Add a drop of iodine solution onto the epidermis. The iodine solution stains the cell contents, allowing
them to be seen more easily.
5. With the help of a mounting needle, carefully lower a coverslip at an angle over the specimen on the
slide so that air bubbles are not trapped between the slide and coverslip.

6. Observe the stained specimen using the low power setting of the microscope. Then examine the cells
with the high power setting. You should be able to see the cell contents – the darkly stained nuclei
and the thick cell walls.

Precautions:
1. Do not leave the peel too long in air, otherwise it will dry and show air bubbles in it.
2. The peel should be mounted in the centre of the slide.
3. Be gentle when handling the fragile epidermis or it might tear.
4. Avoid the entry of any air-bubbles in the mount.

Questions:
1. The onion epidermal cells form a lining on the surface of the fleshy scale leaf. How are the cells in the
onion epidermal tissue arranged?
________________________________________________________________________________

2. From your answer to Question 1 above, what do you think is the main function of the epidermal
tissue?
________________________________________________________________________________
3. Which structures of the cell can you see (cell wall, nucleus, large vacuole, cytoplasm)?

_________________________________________________________________________________
4. Do you see a large number of cells in the peel or only one? What is the general shape of these cells
(rectangular, circular, triangular, polygonal, etc.)?
_________________________________________________________________________________

5. What is the darkly stained body in each cell?


_________________________________________________________________________________

6. Can you see any vacuole in the cell cytoplasm?

_________________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the position of the cytoplasm in the cell? (central or peripheral)

_________________________________________________________________________________
8. What is the shape of the nucleus? (spherical, oval, irregular etc.)
_________________________________________________________________________________

9. Make a large, labelled drawing of three adjacent epidermal cells in the space below. Note the way
these cells are arranged. Remember to follow the rules of making good biological drawings.

You might also like