Concord Consortium
Aquapores
Aquapores allow water to travel through cell membranes while keeping other molecules out. The animation offers an up-close look at these parts of the cell membrane. It explores multiple vantage points and shows the importance of these...
Concord Consortium
Diffusion Across a Semipermeable Membrane
Semipermeable membranes allow water to go through—but not larger molecules. The simulation encourages pupils to adjust the membrane pore size to understand how this works. It also provides a way to trace the movement of a single molecule.
Concord Consortium
Diffusion of a Drop
Trying to learn through diffusion rather than simply studying the material rarely works for scholars. This simulation helps make learning diffusion fun. Pupils add a drop of dye to water and observe the diffusion as the molecules bounce...
Discovery Education
The Science of Addiction: The Story of Teens
Users of Discovery Education's interactive on the biology of addiction examine common misconceptions about opioids and learn about the factors that cause addiction. Additionally, they listen to the stories of three teens and their...
Cancer Care
What is Breast Cancer?
How gets breast cancer? What are the hereditary risk factors? Can individuals reduce their risk factors? If you are looking for a resource to use during October's in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, check out the lessons in this packet.
Towson University
The Wildlife Forensics Lab
Can science put an end to the poaching of endangered species? Show your young forensic experts how biotechnology can help save wildlife through an exciting electrophoresis lab. Grouped pupils analyze shark DNA to determine if it came...
Towson University
Looking Into Lactase: Structured Inquiry
Why is lactase important? Biology scholars explore enzyme function in a structured inquiry lab. The activity tasks lab groups with observing how temperature and pH affect enzyme activity, as well as determining which milk products...
Towson University
The Crucial Concentration
Which sports drink provides the best pick-me-up after the big game or grueling workout? It may not be the one you'd think! Food science is the focus in a surprising lab activity. Pupils use colorimetry to determine the amount of protein,...
Towson University
Chestnut Tree Lab
What will your class learn in a curious tale of a fungus, a virus, and a chestnut tree? Biology scholars discover the world of viral biocontrols through a DNA restriction lab. Groups research the decline of the American chestnut tree at...
Towson University
Case of the Crown Jewels
Can your biology class crack the Case of the Crown Jewels? Junior forensics experts try their hands at DNA restriction analysis in an exciting lab activity. The lesson introduces the concept of restriction analysis, teaches pipetting and...
Towson University
Transformation Lab
Transform your class' understanding of genes and antibiotic resistance with the Transformation Lab. Junior geneticists create and observe their own resistant strains of E. coli through research, discussion, and experimentation. The...
Polar Trec
Why Can’t I Eat This Fish?
Can turning on the television lead to toxins in the food supply? The lesson offers an opportunity for young scientists to complete guided research. A worksheet lists each question as well as the web page necessary to answer the question....
Polar Trec
Do Microorganisms Live in Antarctica?
Can microorganisms live in the dry, cold climate of Antarctica? Young scientists view a research project measuring microorganisms in the Taylor Glacier. They record the findings from dirty ice, clean ice, boots, sediment, and more. Then...
Polar Trec
Drawing Diatoms like Ernst Haeckel
Why do scientists rely on drawings rather than just photographs of their research studies? The activity introduces drawings of microscopic organisms and the importance of accuracy. Young artists draw organisms and learn why focus and...
Polar Trec
Bioaccumulation of Toxins
In 2015, Peter Cook found that sea lions with high levels of exposure to toxins suffered permanent brain damage if they survived at all. Scholars learn about the accumulation of toxins at various levels of the food chain. Using...
University of Minnesota
C. elegans and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
Introduce the topic of astrobiology in a unit that's out of this world. Biology scholars examine the search for extraterrestrial life by culturing roundworms, a species that has been key in helping researchers understand the challenges...
University of Minnesota
Neurotransmission Model
Don't lose your marbles — you'll need them for a lesson on neurotransmission. Young scholars build a neurotransmission model using marbles, beads, rubber bands, string, and other elements. After studying specific neurotransmitters,...
Florida International University
Are You Concentrating?
Explore the importance of a concentration gradient in the rates of dissolution. Using the ocean ecosystem, learners study rates of dissolution around coral reefs. A hands-on experiment helps individuals discover the effects of changing a...
CK-12 Foundation
Passive Transport
Some molecules move through a membrane with diffusion while others require protein channels. The video and interactive discuss both types of passive transport. Challenge questions allow scholars to demonstrate their understanding.
CK-12 Foundation
Symbiosis: Mutualism, Commensalism, and Parasitism
Hyenas normally hunt alone, however scientists discovered that in Israel, hyenas hunt with wolf packs. When relationships develop between different species, we call it symbiosis. The videos teach about the three types of symbiosis and an...
CK-12 Foundation
Meiosis
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" makes the perfect theme song for meiosis. The simulation encourages scholars to move the chromosomes and chromatids to properly illustrate the meiosis break up. Multiple-choice questions allow...
CK-12 Foundation
Cellular Respiration: Can Photosynthesis Be Reversed?
Cellular respiration and photosynthesis relate closely, but many don't realize how. Scholars drag and drop the reactants and products to the chemical reactions for both processes. Then they answer three multiple-choice questions.
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Strangest Dream
Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final instructional activity in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Step Inside the Brain
Before digital microscopes, scientists hired artists to draw the things visible in the microscope. Through training in neuroscience and art, Cajal revolutionized the way we view the beautiful brain. The third lesson plan in a series of...