Curricular Unit: Cellular Respiration and Population Growth
Contributed by: Engineering K-Ph.D. Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke University
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Bread contains yeast cells. click for copyright |
Grade: 7 (7-10)
Time Required: 8 hours spread over 10 or more days
Summary
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.
Engineering Connection |
Keywords: yeast, cellular respiration, fermentation, alcohol, alcoholism, population growth, environmental factors, experimental design
Related Subject Areas
Related Lessons
Related Activities
Assessment (Return to Contents)
Any of the questions used in the Assessment/Evaluation sections of the lessons and associated activities for this unit may be used at the end of this unit. In order to avoid repeating verbatim the assessments in Population Growth in Yeasts (Lesson 2) and How To Make Yeasts Thrive (Associated Activity for Lesson 2), or the assessment for the Yeast Cells Respire, Too activity, the scenarios presented can be changed slightly. The questions for students can remain the same, however.
Contributors
Mary R. Hebrank, Project and Lesson/Activity Consultant, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke UniversityCopyright
© 2004 by Engineering K-Ph.D. Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke Universityincluding copyrighted works from other educational institutions and/or U.S. government agencies; all rights reserved.
Supporting Program
Engineering K-Ph.D. Program, Pratt School of Engineering, Duke UniversityLast Modified: January 31, 2007