Saturday, September 17, 2016

Studying Macromolecules


Last year, my students struggled to get their heads around the macromolecules chapter.  We did a lab that involved building several fairly large and complex ball and stick molecule models.  I found that it didn't help the information stick and when they saw the chemical structures on paper, it didn't look enough like the models to see the connection.  Since their tests are primarily on paper, I wanted them to be comfortable with those structural models.

This year I used the lab from Kim Foglia on the Explore Biology site and modified it just a bit.  It involved printing A LOT of pages.  I didn't want to have to print all of those pages every year, so I laminated all of the pages and modified the instructions. Instead of cutting parts of the molecules off as they went through the dehydration reaction, I had students fold the paper back.  Reusing them means peeling off all the tape, but at least I don't have to make all of those copies again.
Oops! I didn't realize that when I moved
the DNA molecule, several of the
 nitrogenous bases moved behind the paper.
 I revised the directions and gave them to my students in this Google doc. I also wanted a single sheet that would give them the key properties of the molecules at a glance, so I also had them working on completing this chart as they did the lab. We'll see in a week and a half when they take their first unit test how much this has helped their understanding.

Here are the files found on Explore Biology if you are having problems with the site.

6 comments:

  1. Where did you get the cutouts? I love this idea!

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    1. They are from Kim Foglia's website, Explore Biology. The link in the post should bring you right to those files.

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    2. It looks like the website is down. Any chance you still have the original files? - AP Bio teacher who has a new computer and lost the file.

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    3. I just added a link at the end of the post to the folder that has all of the documents. Hope that helps!

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  2. How many students did you put in a group?

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    Replies
    1. Usually I put 2 in a group. If I have an odd number I may put 3 in a group. I feel like the smaller the group, the more productive each member is.

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