Summer SAVY, Session 3 Day 2, Forensic Science (1st – 2nd)
The Cracking the Code class excelled at creating an illustration of our fingerprints yesterday. We started the morning reviewing what we learned about fingerprints and created a concept map to show what we learned. They were so excited to begin learning about how DNA is often left behind at crime scenes. This is a particularly important discovery that is used in criminal cases. It helps a defense or prosecution build a case to prove innocence or guilt.
Today, students made a very impressive illustrative model of a DNA strand. Students learned about the double helix strand. They learned about the nucleoid pairs, Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine. The students took their illustrative models and started to create a 3D model of DNA.
In our next activity, we discussed the use of DNA as evidence, and students justified their thinking about whether they believe “Our strongest evidence can be invisible to the human eye?” We then discussed the pros and cons of the debate: “DNA evidence is the best way to solve crimes.”
Then, students conducted a lab experiment where they extracted DNA from a strawberry. How cool! This is one that they might want to recreate at home! They were amazed! Next, we analyzed DNA profiles to find patterns to solve cases.
An extension activity is to extract their own DNA from their saliva using an Extraction Buffer. Watch here!