Pearson Interactive Labs

Reimagining online labs

Engage students in a comprehensive online lab experience

Structured around the process of science, Pearson® Interactive Labs feature real-world scenarios and guided feedback so students can make and learn from their mistakes.

See the list of upcoming labs for fall 2021 non-majors biology classes and additional upcoming labs for 2022–2023 classes.

Experience reimagined online labs

Read the transcript (PDF)

Features

Process of science

Each lab focuses on the process of science, allowing students to practice developing a hypothesis, setting up and performing an experiment, and using critical thinking to draw conclusions from their data.

Real-world examples

Real world examples engage students with scenarios they can relate to and care about, providing a connection between the lab and their own experience.

Guided feedback

In this risk-free setting, guided feedback allows students to make mistakes and learn from them. Immediate feedback and hints instruct students on what to do rather than simply providing the correct answer.

Data analysis and graphing

During the experiment, students collect data at the lab bench. They then graph and interpret that data in post-lab activities, where they view collected data and answer questions about what the graphs and data show.

Flexible course formats

Interactive Labs can replace in-person wet labs, provide an online-only solution, or work with a hybrid lab course.

Customizable Assessment

Instructors can customize the post-lab quizzes available in Mastering.

Pearson Interactive Labs coming soon!

Interactive Labs — written by educators well respected in their fields — are available for fall 2021 classes. You can access the following subjects with current Pearson non-majors biology titles in Mastering Biology at no additional cost:

Scientific Method

Students learn the steps of the scientific method while determining whether hand soap or hand sanitizer is more effective at decreasing bacterial diversity. Students conduct a virtual bacterial sampling of their virtual lab hands before and after each treatment and calculate the change in bacterial diversity. Students identify the null and alternative hypotheses and use statistics to analyze the resulting data. They also identify dependent and independent variables and learn the importance and use of experimental controls and replicates in the scientific method.

Microscopy

Students learn about the scientific uses of the microscope as well as the different types of microscopes and the images that can be viewed with them. They then learn how to use a compound light microscope as they explore and identify cells and microbes in the environments of blood, pond water, and marine water.

Protein Structure

Students explore the role of proteins as both structural components and enzymatic catalysts in living organisms through the topic of hair styling. Students compare the straightness efficiency ratios among hair strands that receive a positive control (lye), a negative control (placebo lotion), and the treatment containing the enzyme in the carrier lotion.

Diffusion & Osmosis

Students examine the processes of diffusion and osmosis through the exploration of the physiology of hemodialysis. In the first experiment, students look at how the size of a particle affects diffusion. Students add NaOH and phenolphthalein to water and observe how they diffuse across a selectively permeable membrane (dialysis tubing). In the second experiment, students explore osmosis. They soak eggs in vinegar to remove the shell, leaving a selectively permeable membrane (similar to dialysis tubing). Then students use isotonic solution, a sugar solution (corn syrup), and deionized water to see how the tonicity of solutions leads to water movement across a membrane (i.e., osmosis).

Photosynthesis

Students use the scientific method to investigate how different amounts of light influence photosynthesis and ultimately growth in plants. Students conduct an experiment to evaluate potato growth via measurements of photosynthesis and respiration, as a function of different light levels.

Mitosis

Students explore how variations in cell division & mitosis influence cancer and chemotherapy treatment. First, students collect and analyze data on mitotic index in various tissue types and cancer to understand how cancer cells differ from normal cells. Second, students prepare and view slides from cancer cells with and without Taxol chemotherapy treatment in order to determine which stage of mitosis is affected by this anti-mitotic drug.

Genetics

Students explore the genetic interactions that determine physical traits through the topic of cat genetics. In this activity, students are guided through the patterns of inheritance of feline genetic traits. They use that information to identify the father of a litter of kittens, and then predict the pattern of inheritance of an additional trait, pure white fur.