Author: Biology Junction Team

Concept Map – Characteristics of Life

Constructing a Concept Map of the Characteristics of Life

 

Objective: Students will work in groups to construct a concept map of the characteristics of life that demonstrates their knowledge of the attributes and criteria used by biologists to measure life.

 

  1. Brainstorming Phase:  Identify facts, terms, and ideas that you think are in anyway associated with the topic. Make a list of these items and print them neatly on small Post-It® notes, one per note, in very brief form, i. e. a single word or short phrase. This is a brain-storming process, so write down everything that anybody in your group thinks is important and avoid discussing how important the item is. Don’t worry about redundancy, relative importance, or relationships at this point. Your objective here is to generate the largest possible list you can. Before your group completes this step, you may have more than 50 items.
  2. Organizing Phase: Spread out your concepts (Post-It® notes) on a flat surface so that all can be read easily and, together, create groups and sub-groups of related items. Place your CENTRAL THEME in the middle of the terms. For this project, the theme of the map is “LIFE CHARACTERISTICS“. Try to group items to emphasize relationships. Feel free to rearrange items and introduce new items that you omitted initially. Note that some concepts will fall into multiple groupings.
  3. Linking Phase: Use lines with arrows to connect and show the relationship between connected items. Write a word or short phrase by each arrow to specify the relationship. Many arrows can originate or terminate on particularly important concepts. Arrows should only go one way, and each arrow should have a linking phrase attached to it.

Example of a Concept Map

 

 

Grading

  Rarely (1) Sometimes (2) Frequently (3) Extensively (4)
Overall The concept map does not seem to have a focus. The purpose of the concept map is not clear. Few characteristics of life are represented. The concept map has a focus, though it is somewhat disjointed or difficult to decipher. Most characteristics of life are represented. The concept map clearly has a focus and a purpose. A casual viewer would understand what the map is trying to convey. All characteristics of life are represented.
Terms Very few relevant terms present Not enough terms are used to show clear relationships and purpose or many terms are irrelevant Extensive use of terms, a few obvious points missing, or irrelevant terms present An extensive use of terms and vocabulary used in the map. Terms are relevant.
Links Many links not clear and unlabeled. Failure to show relationships. Some links not clear or unlabeled. Relationships between ideas poorly established. Links show the relationships between concepts. A few terms have more than one link present. Links clearly show the relationships between concepts. Most of the concepts have more than one link present
Technical Very poor organization, map impossible to follow. Map somewhat difficult to follow. Organization poor. Map easy to read and to follow. Organization fair. Map easy to read and to follow. Organization good. No grammar or spelling errors.

 

POPULATION GENETICS PROBLEMS: HARDY-WEINBERG

POPULATION GENETICS PROBLEMS:  HARDY-WEINBERG EQUILIBRIUM

  1. A study on blood types in a population found the following genotypic distribution among the people sampled: 1101 were MM, 1496 were MN and 503 were NN. Calculate the allele frequencies of M and N, the expected numbers of the three genotypic classes (assuming random mating). Using X2, determine whether or not this population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

 

  1. A scientist has studied the amount of polymorphism in the alleles controlling the enzyme Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) in a species of minnow.  From one population, 1000 individuals were sampled. The scientist found the following genotype frequencies: AA = .080, Aa = .280; aa = .640. From these data calculate the allele frequencies of the “A” and “a” alleles in this population. Use the appropriate statistical test to help you decide whether or not this population was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

 

  1. The compound phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) tastes very bitter to most persons. The inability to taste PTC is controlled by a single recessive gene. In the American white population, about 70% can taste PTC while 30% cannot (are non-tasters). Estimate the frequencies of the Taster (T) and nontaster (t) alleles in this population as well as the frequencies of the diploid genotypes.

 

  1. In another study of human blood groups, it was found that among a population of 400 individuals, 230 were Rh+ and 170 were Rh-. Assuming that this trait (i.e., being Rh+) is controlled by a dominant allele (D), calculate the allele frequencies of D and d. How many of the Rh+ individuals would be expected to be heterozygous?

 

  1. Phenylketonuria is a severe form of mental retardation due to a rare autosomal recessive allele. About 1 in 10,000 newborn Caucasians are affected with the disease. Calculate the frequency of carriers (i.e., heterozygotes).

 

  1. For a human blood, there are two alleles (called S and s) and three distinct phenotypes that can be identified by means of the appropriate reagents. The following data was taken from people in Britain. Among the 1000 people sampled, the following genotype frequencies were observed SS = 99, Ss = 418 and ss = 483. Calculate the frequency of S and s in this population and carry out a X2 test. Is there any reason to reject the hypothesis of Hardy-Weinberg proportions in this population?

 

  1. A botanist is investigating a population of plants whose petal color is controlled by a single gene whose two alleles are codominant. She finds 170 plants that are homozygous brown, 340 plants that are homozygous purple and 21 plants whose petals are purple-brown. Is this population in HWE (don’t forget to do the proper statistical test)? Calculate “F” (inbreeding coefficient) and explain what is happening in this population.

 

Click HERE for answers (but don’t go here until you’ve actually tried to answer these questions!)

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