20.109(F12): Practice Virtual Lab

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20.109(F12): Laboratory Fundamentals of Biological Engineering

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Getting in

Sign in (upper right, blue button), then "Launch Your Labs" (center of screen, blue button)

Getting oriented

Here are a couple of exercises to practice finding your way around the LateNiteLabs virtual lab space:

  1. Enter the "Preparing the DNA lab" by clicking the "run" button on the far right of the dashboard
  2. Take an Erlenmeyer Flask from the shelf (click on the Containers shelf-tab to make the containers appear) and place it on the workbench (click, drag, drop). You need to make sure to place any Containers or Instruments in the middle of the workbench. If you place a container so that part of it is not resting on the workbench or part of it is suspended above the workbench an error message will pop up. Discard that container; otherwise materials will not react properly when added to the container.
  3. Add 10 ml of Water from the shelf (click on the Materials shelf-tab to make the materials appear). Click on the Water bottle, drag it down on top of the flask and let go. Enter 10 into the amount box and click Enter.
    NOTE: Whenever you drop an object onto another object, like the Water bottle onto the Beaker, the cursor has to be over the target object, which in this case is the Flask, if the object you drop is over the second object and not the cursor it won’t add.
  4. Take a Constant Temperature Bath from the shelf (Instruments shelf-tab, this time). Take the Flask and place it in the Bath. That is, click the Flask, drag it onto the Bath and let go. Watch it snap into place in top of the Bath.
  5. Raise the temperature of the Bath to 100°C and watch as the water in the flask starts to boil. If you want to take a closer look at what you're working on, use the navigation tools in the lower right corner of the lab:
    The "+" and "-" buttons zoom in and out. The red rectangle pans around the lab. The reset button will bring you back to the original zoom. You can use these navigation tools anytime. Go ahead and try, if you like.
  6. Boil the water in the flask for 30 seconds, using the timer. In the lower-left corner of the screen in front of the workbench is a set of icons. One of those looks like a clock which you can use as a timer. In order to set a new timer, you’ll click on the clock icon. A timer will appear on the benchtop. Move the timer anywhere convenient.
  7. When you're finished boiling the water in the flask, you can clean up your area by dragging everything to the yellow Recycle Bin underneath the workbench. Don't worry, everything you’ll need later on the lab will be available on the shelves for you to use. To clear the whole bench press the trash button on the lower left.
DONE!