Samantha Williams of Bethel Tate High School came up with an attention-grabbing strategy for the use of gel electrophoresis in her science classroom. Students used dyes to solve the problem of whether any of these samples could be the father in a paternity hearing. It was concluded that none of the sample DNAs matched the child’s DNA enough to be a parent. At the very least more testing would need to be done.
Another group solved the problem of whether any of the samples provided matched a suspect’s sample in a crime. No samples matched well enough to conclude that this was the murder.
Williams then had students write a conclusion based on the results of the experiment.
Williams received the gel electrophoresis kit and other lab supplies for her classroom when she attended Ag Biotech Academy. Register now for this summer’s workshop!
