Active and Passive Transport: Red Rover Send Particles Over

Students compare and contrast passive and active transport by playing a game to model this phenomenon. Movement through cell membranes is also modeled, as well as the structure and movement typical of the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane. Concentration gradient, sizes, shapes and polarity of molecules determine the method of movement through cell membranes. This activity is associated with the Test your Mettle phase of the legacy cycle.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Melinda M. Higgins

Bacteria Are Everywhere!

Students are introduced to the concept of engineering biological organisms and studying their growth to be able to identify periods of fast and slow growth. They learn that bacteria are found everywhere, including on the surfaces of our hands. Student groups study three different conditions under which bacteria are found and compare the growth of the individual bacteria from each source. In addition to monitoring the quantity of bacteria from differ conditions, they record the growth of bacteria over time, which is an excellent tool to study binary fission and the reproduction of unicellular organisms.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Janet Yowell, Jasmin Hume

Bacteria Culture Club

Yogurt is the byproduct of hungry bacteria that digest the lactose in milk. You can make more yogurt just by feeding the bacteria more milk.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Breathing Cells

Students use a simple pH indicator to measure how much CO2 is produced during respiration, at rest and after exercising. They begin by comparing some common household solutions in order to determine the color change of the indicator. They review the concepts of pH and respiration and extend their knowledge to measuring the effectiveness of bioremediation in the environment.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Authors: Janet Yowell, Kaelin Cawley, Malinda Schaefer Zarske

Building Blocks of Life

All living beings are made up of cells. Some of them are made up of only one cell and others have many cells. Also in: Dutch | French | Hungarian | Spanish

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Game, Lesson Plan

Authors: Dr. Biology, Shyamala Iyer

Carbon Dioxide Exercise

Students work in groups, plotting carbon dioxide concentrations over time on overheads and estimating the rate of change over five years. Stacked together, the overheads for the whole class show an increase on carbon dioxide over five years and annual variation driven by photosynthesis. This exercise enables students to practice basic quantitative skills and understand how important sampling intervals can be when studying changes over time. A goal is to see how small sample size may give incomplete picture of data.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Randy Richardson

Cell Celebration!

In this lesson, the students look at the components of cells and their functions. The lesson focuses on the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Each part of the cell performs a specific function that is vital for the cell's survival. Bacteria are single-celled organisms that are very important to engineers. Engineers can use bacteria to break down toxic materials in a process called bioremediation, and they can also kill or disable harmful bacteria through disinfection.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Authors: Glen Sirakavit, Janet Yowell, Kaelin Cawley, Malinda Schaefer Zarske

Cell Function Choice Board and Rubric

The cell is vitally important to all living things. Students will choose ONE of the following projects to reinforce their study of cell structure and function. Be sure to look at the rubric on page 2 for grading criteria.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Assessment

Author: Bonnie Hawkins

Cell Membrane Color Sheet and Build a Cell Membrane

Students color-code a schematic of a cell and its cell membrane structures. Then they complete the "Build-a-Membrane" activity found at http://learn.genetics.utah.edu. This reinforces their understanding of the structure and function of animal cells, and shows them the importance of being able to construct a tangible model of something that is otherwise difficult to see.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Amber Spolarich

Cell Membrane Experimental Design

The final activity of this unit, which integrates the Keepers of the Gate unit through the Go Public challenge, involves students taking part in experimental design. They design a lab that answers the challenge question: "You are spending the night with your grandmother when your throat starts to feel sore. Your grandma tells you to gargle with salt water and it will feel much better. Thinking this is an old wive's tale, you scoff, but when you try it later that night it works! Why?" Students must have their plan approved by the instructor before they begin. A formal lab write-up is due as part of the laboratory investigation.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Melinda M. Higgins

Cell Membrane Structure and Function

Students learn about the different structures that comprise cell membranes, fulfilling part of the Research and Revise stages of the legacy cycle. They view online animations of cell membrane dynamics (links provided). Then they observe three teacher demonstrations that illustrate diffusion and osmosis concepts, as well as the effect of movement through a semi-permeable membrane using Lugol's solution.

Material Type: Lesson Plan

Author: Amber Spolarich

Cells

In this unit, students look at the components of cells and their functions and discover the controversy behind stem cell research. The first lesson focuses on the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In the second lesson, students learn about the basics of cellular respiration. They also learn about the application of cellular respiration to engineering and bioremediation. The third lesson continues students' education on cells in the human body and how (and why) engineers are involved in the research of stem cell behavior.

Material Type: Full Course

Cellular Hydration

Students will conduct an experiment to examine how the process of osmosis affects the functioning of cells in the body. Students will observe, test and retest the change a vegetable undergoes when it sits in salt water and then put back in fresh water. Students then connect the process of hydration/dehydration to their own life and why they feel thirsty after eating salty foods.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Cellular Respiration and Bioremediation

In this lesson, students learn about the basics of cellular respiration. They also learn about the application of cellular respiration to engineering and bioremediation. And, students are introduced to the process of bioremediation and several examples of how bioremediation is used during the cleanup of environmental contaminants.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Authors: Janet Yowell, Kaelin Cawley, Malinda Schaefer Zarske

Cellular Respiration and Population Growth

Two lessons and their associated activities explore cellular respiration and population growth in yeasts. Yeast cells are readily obtained and behave predictably, so they are very appropriate to use in middle school classrooms. In the first lesson, students are introduced to yeast respiration through its role in the production of bread and alcoholic beverages. A discussion of the effects of alcohol on the human body is used both as an attention-getting device, and as a means to convey important information at an impressionable age. In the associated activity, students set up a simple way to indirectly observe and quantify the amount of respiration occurring in yeast-molasses cultures. Based on questions that arise from this activity, in the second lesson students work in small groups as they design and execute their own experiments to determine how environmental factors affect yeast population growth.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson Plan

Author: Mary R. Hebrank

Cellular Soap Opera

Every cell in your body needs to take in nutrients, oxygen, and raw materials and export wastes and other substances—but it’s not just a random traffic jam! A cell membrane (also called a plasma membrane) regulates what comes in and what goes out. Explore the properties of soap films and relate them to the properties of plasma membranes and the mechanics of transport across membranes.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Diffusion Demonstration

In this interactive demonstration students will make observations of diffusion of a semi permeable membrane and be able to compare these observations to the functions of a cell membrane.

Material Type: Activity/Lab, Simulation

Author: Kari Donze

Energy Flow through Organisms: An Introduction to Photosynthesis and Respiration

This classroom activity introduces students to energy flow through organisms, producers & photosynthesis, and consumers & respiration.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Brad Snyder

Investigating Osmosis Using Water and Gummy Bears

This activity is a classroom lab where the students gather data on the affect water has on gummy bear candies and develops an experiment based on a new question regarding a not plain water solution. Students will perform calculations and graph their results.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Katie Melgaard

Adaptations for Bird Flight – Inspiration for Aeronautical Engineering

This activity first asks the students to study the patterns of bird flight and understand that four main forces affect the flight abilities of a bird. They will study the shape, feather structure, and resulting differences in the pattern of flight. They will then look at several articles that feature newly designed planes and the birds that they are modeled after. The final component of this activity is to watch the Nature documentary, "Raptor Force" which chronicles the flight patterns of birds, how researchers study these animals, and what interests our military and aeronautical engineers about these natural adaptations. This activity serves as an extension to the biomimetics lesson. Although students will not be using this information in the design process for their desert resort, it provides interesting information pertaining to the current use of biomimetics in the field of aviation. Students may extend their design process by using this information to create a means of transportation to and from the resort if they chose to.

Material Type: Activity/Lab