In this series of guided inquiry activities, students explore how organisms adapt to their environments through changes in their genetic codes.
The learner will:
- create make-believe creatures and environments that have specific characteristics.
- rate the success of each creature in a randomly assigned environment by examining which of the creature's characteristics help, hinder, or have no effect on the creature's success in each environment.
- write the genetic code for their creatures from a list of fictitious genetic codes.
- apply his/her knowledge of genetic codes and environments to engineer new creatures that could survive in various extreme environments within our solar system.
National Science Education Standards
Activity 1: Construct imaginary creatures and environments from the lists of characteristics below.
Activity 2: Write out the genetic code for the original creatures you created in Activity #1.
Activity 3: Design a creature that could live in each of the planet/moon environments described on your planet and moon environment cards.
Activity 1: Constructing Imaginary Creatures and Environments
Activity Page One asks students to create three unique creatures and three unique environments from a list of provided creature and environment characteristics. The students will then reason about the success of creatures in their environments based on a scoring rubric.
Activity 2: Discovering Your Creatures' Genetic Code
Activity Page Two challenges students to write out the genetic code for each of their creatures from Activity #1. Students will then experiment with changes in the genetic code resulting in changes in creature characteristics in response to environmental condtions.
Activity 3: Creating Your Own Creature
Activity Page Three asks students to design creatures that can live in some of the extreme environments of our solar system.
