Looking through the gel
Nick Taylor (11), Luis Cortez (11), Jacob Dulski (11) and Austin Praski (11) view the DNA marks on their gel square. This lab taught students about comparing different DNA samples.
November 11, 2013
This past week in Mrs. Rachael Thomas’s, Science, Forensics students got a closer look at their body composition. The two-day lab introduced the three steps to DNA typing: cut, copy and separate.
The lab corresponded with the current lesson on DNA fingerprinting. Students concocted a gel substrate and injected four types of DNA into holes in the gel. A battery was then used as a power source in order to move the DNA samples down.
“My favorite part of the lab was making the gel,” Annabel Karberg (11) said.
The second half of the lab required students to observe and identify which DNA sample matched the suspect of a fictional crime. The gel squares were put on an overhead light in order to see the DNA’s pattern.
“[This lab] was fun because we got to see how gel electrophoresis really separates the DNA. It helped me understand the process better because I’m more of a hands-on learner,” Marissa Grantham (11) said.
