Mystery Spore Project

Zi (Jack) Lee

Mystery Spore Lab Report

Professor Krista C. Dobi

12-1-2015

Abstract

The objective of the mystery spore lab report is to classify which kingdom and phyla it is closely similar to. To initiate this experiment, Professor Dobi gave all of us a petri dish with 3 drops of the mixture and we then spread the mixture with a sterile spreader. The spore is then put in the back of the lab room with the exposure of 1.2 sunlight from the lightbulbs.  Throughout our meetings in lab, we analyzed the development of the spore and sketched pictures of it. In addition, we discussed about the development in class and noted significant changes to it over time. With the use of our regular and dissecting microscopes, we were able use all variety of objective lens to analyze the structure of the mystery spore in fine detail. After completing most of the labs, we came to a conclusion that the mystery spore belongs to the plants kingdom. Using the plant comparison table, I was able to see notable similarities and differences between all divisions/groups of plants. As a result, it has been clear to me which phyla does the mystery spore belong to after comparing it to four different groups of plants: Bryophyta, Pterophyta, Anthophyta, and Coniferophyta. My findings and deductions will later be discussed in the results section on why I believed the mystery spore belongs to the Pterophyta division.

Materials and Methods

On September 1st (Day one), we were first exposed to the mystery spore project. Each of us has a petri dish containing our mystery spores. Our tasks were to analyze the weekly transformation of the spore with the use of microscopes and to determine which kingdom and phyla it belongs to. As Professor Dobi mentioned in class, the mystery spore is in no way identical to any of the organisms that we looked at. With that being said, we had to keep the mystery spore’s objective in mind when scrutinizing through each phyla of the five kingdoms: animal, plant, fungi, protist, and moneran kingdom.

        The mystery spore was put inside a petri dish and under lightbulbs which provide 1.2 sunlight located at the back of the lab room. On September 17th, we finally saw a significant change in the development of the spore. The notable highlights of the spore were that it’s green, looks similar to a plant, multi-cellular, and contained brownish circles. To clarify, these characteristics derived from an analysis of the spore under the regular microscope and the dissecting microscope.

        On September 24th, we saw an astonishing development in the mystery spore after putting drops of water into the petri dish. After putting the spore under the dissecting microscope, we can clearly see the male and female hermaphrodite. After the discussion in class, we concluded that sexual reproduction can occur since both sexes are present under the microscope of the spore. In addition, if water was present, it can facilitate the reproduction process by making it easier for the sperm to swim/travel to the eggs. The analyses of the spores under both microscopes were the primary indicators for my result.