Let's Begin!
You have been hired! By whom you may ask? Dr. Evillllllllllllllll – don, don DONNNN! Ok let’s be honest, he’s really not that scary… But none the less! You have been hired by Dr. Evil because he needs help fighting James Bond. Yes the very one and only 007. You see, Dr. Evil is tired of losing his battles with Mr. Bond and has decided to finally ask for some help. He is paying you and your team a large sum of money – in this case “Class Grade Points” (very valuable I might add) – to figure out 007’s weakness. Naturally, Dr. Evil believes he already knows the answer and that is lies within 007’s genetic code. In order for you to get paid, and Dr. Evil to defeat his rival, he wants you to begin a multi-step program to dive deeper into genetics. Dr. Evil wants hard proof evidence on why he and 007 are different! Let’s not make the boss man angry and get to work!
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Dr. Evil's Step 1
Dr. Evil has divided the class up into groups of 3 – these assignments were handed out at the beginning of class.
For this first step, Dr. Evil wants to know the basics: What is genetics? What are genes? Now even though Dr. Evil wants this project to be a group activity, he also wants to make sure everyone can contribute. For this assignment each person in the group will research the above two questions individually. They will each write one paragraph answering both questions. Dr. Evil does not like it when people take someone else’s credit so make sure to use proper APA citation. These paragraphs will be submitted to the teacher to make sure everyone is on track. Once everyone has finished their research and paragraphs (either in class or for homework) then the group will come together and form ONE single answer for each question. This is the part Dr. Evil wants to hear so make sure your group Tweets him both answers at #Dr.Evil. Click on the Twitter logo below to connect and tweet Dr. Evil To help you out Dr. Evil has provided both resources (on the right) as well as a rubric below. Make sure to check them out before you begin the assignment. |
Resources
Let’s start of really basic on this one: http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/what_is_gene.html This one is a little more complex but has more details: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/gene Here is a step by step so you can follow along: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/molecules/gene/ Last but not least I want to include a video on genes: |
Dr. Evil's Step 2
Resources
Here is an interactive model for DNA: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/molecules/dna/ This is what our government says DNA is: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/basics/dna Maybe these guys know how it works? https://www.familytreedna.com/understanding-dna.aspx But how do we get them? https://www.23andme.com/gen101/origins/ This one is pretty in depth on where you get your genes from: http://www.geneticseducation.nhs.uk/mededu/the-basis-of-genetic-conditions/dna-is-passed-on-from-parent-to-child And we also have to have a video! Look above the rubric for this one. |
*In evil creep voice* Wonderfulllll, muahhh haha! Now that Dr. Evil knows YOU KNOW about genes and genetics, he now wants to go more in depth. He keeps hearing about this thing called DNA. He isn’t sure how it works or how 007 got his hands on this magical stuff but he wants to know! Here are his questions for you:
What is DNA? How does it work? How is it passed on to another living thing? Alright now Dr. Evil doesn’t just want a summary this time, he wants to physically see what you have to tell him. He wants you to use the resources he has provided, as well as any other ones you can find, to answer his question. He ALSO wants a model to your answers – you’ll understand once you start researching. So make him happy and as a group, write a one page paper answering all of his questions. Again, he warns to give credit where credit is due so use APA formatting for any references. Make sure to turn in your paper to the teacher before you start to build your model. We don’t want to waste any scarce resources we have to defeat 007 by building the wrong thing. Your teacher will let you know that you can continue. For the model portion, he wants you to use whatever materials you find worthy to show him how DNA looks and functions. He doesn’t want it too big so make sure it can fit on a table or desk. He has heard that play-doe, foam, food, or even car parts will work! He does have a specific list of things he wants to see so MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE RUBRIC for details. Your group is going to bring this model to class to demonstrate. He will be waiting for the report. Again Dr. Evil can be kind of picky so make sure you look at the rubric for the details he wants – especially the model. Now let’s get those hands working! Good luck! |
The Final Step - Muahh hahahahaaa
Ahha! Now Dr. Evil knows what 007 has and how he got it – but something seems off. Not with your information of course, but with the DNA that 007 possess. How can he be so fast, so deadly, so smart, and so smooooooth? His DNA must be different! This leads us to our final step in the undermining of that dreaded 007. Here’s what Dr. Evil wants you to discover next:
What is a mutation? How are genes naturally selected for? Dr. Evil is about to write you and your group that much deserved check but he wants a few more things first. He has information, a paper, even a model – but he wants a video too. For this final portion of your assignment your group is to make a 3-5 minute video summarizing what you have learned thought the assignment. Before Dr. Evil signs on the dotted line and hands you that MONEY he is going to watch it and make sure that everything he asked for is included. Make sure you answer each of the previous questions in your video. This doesn’t have to be just your group talking, you can make a demo with voice over, an animation, even a slide show. Of course Dr. Evil has again given you a Rubric to follow but this one is a little different. It is a peer review. Look back on your previous assignments to build this video and make sure to use the new research he has provided to answer this sections questions too. Your video is going to be shown in class with your peers grading it so make sure to get this one right! Good luck – Dr. Evil will have your money when you finish! |
Mutations do WHAT!?Resources:
This one is a good summary for mutations: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/variation/mutation/ Pretty basic but it gets the point across: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_18 Who thought of natural selection anyways? http://anthro.palomar.edu/evolve/evolve_2.htm Natural selection in a nut shell can be seen in the video below! |