10/15-10/18 Assignment #21
Students started on their lab. It took several class days to complete.
Phase 1: Telephone Genes. Students used the game “telephone” to simulate the action of passing genetic code from generation to generation. The six letter code passed from student to student and gained mutations as it passed down the line just like a genetic code gains mutations as it passes from generation to generation.
Phase 2: Whatever code the student got during the telephone simulation was used as a set of direction to build a chain that simulates or models a protein. Genes are what living things use as directions to create proteins in all of the body’s cells, so we used our gene code to create our model.
Phase 3: We needed to see how well the protein met the constraints and criteria of the lab.
- Constraint: The protein must get stuck in the cell membrane. (We passed our proteins through the cell membrane. Only students whose protein got caught and would not fall through could continue with taking measurements in the lab.)
- Criteria: After a chain gets stuck in the membrane, the longer the chain that made it through, the smoother the skin the protein makes up. Longer chains are better. (We measured the chains in cm.)
- Criteria: Protein chains must be strong enough to be durable skin. Stronger chains are better. (We used a spring scale to measure the strength of the chain until it slipped or broke from the force.)
Phase 4: Analyze the results. Students compare data and describe how their models represent a gene / protein.