Blood Type Pedigr Mystery lab An investigative activity assessing student understanding of blood type, pedigrs, and basic inheritance patterns Created by: It s Not Rocket Science
Included: 3 pages of implementation suggestions NGSS alignment Prior Knowledge When to use Materials Overview assessment Implementation 3 pages of student handouts An editable version of the main student handout This is so you can: customize the mystery to where you live (my students live in the lowcountry of South Carolina so I try to fit different activities to where we are geographically. It makes it more relevant and fun for them so I want you to have the same opportunity to do so!) customize the point values so it best suits your classroom and how you grade Answer key Terms of use
Teacher Notes: Next Generation Science Standard Alignment: HS-LS3-1. Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring. Prior Knowledge: Basics of heredity: Dominant, recessive, genotype, phenotype, heterozygous, homozygous Punnett squares Inheritance of Blood Type Pedigrs: How to create and how to determine pattern of inheritance When to use: Due to the prior knowledge this activity requires in order to complete it, I use it right after teaching (and practicing) pedigrs and determining the inheritance pattern in a pedigr. I teach heredity basics first, then complex inheritance patterns (including blood type) and end with pedigrs, so this is used near the end of my heredity unit. Materials: Student Handouts (pages 6-8) Blank computer paper for making pedigr Ruler Colored pencils or markers (optional)
Teacher Notes: Overview: Students will solve a theft crime using their knowledge of pedigrs and the inheritance of traits like ear lobe attachment and blood type. Students will first create a pedigr of the mystery family, then determine genotypes of the family members in order to identify the thief. At the completion of the lab, students will answer questions about their findings and defend their answers using their knowledge and understanding of inheritance patterns. Assessment: I use this as an in-class activity and count it for a 50-point minor grade. The pedigr Is worth 25 points and the analysis questions are worth 25 points total (5 points each.) Implementation: Print student handouts (pages 6-8) for each student (or one per partnership if you would like to save copies!) Assign partners I make a bag of popsicle sticks with each student s name on a stick at the beginning of the year and use it for EVERYTHING choosing lab groups, making new seating charts, calling on students in class, etc. It takes a few minutes at the beginning of the year but saves so many headaches of students complaining about their lab partner throughout the year because I always just say it was the fate of the bag J Read through the mystery scenario as a class Go over steps they are to take to solve the mystery Answer any questions students have Sit back and watch your investigators work! Approximate Time nded: 50 min 1 hour
Helpful Hints If you haven t taught pedigrs recently, you may nd to review pedigr notation (ex. Circles vs. squares, shaded vs. unshaded, horizontal vs. vertical lines, etc.) If you haven t taught blood type recently, You may nd to do a quick review of which phenotypes correspond to which genotypes, and which alleles are dominant vs. recessive vs. codominant Emphasize with students that + or blood type is inherited separately from the other alleles that determine genotype For non-honors classes, I require students to have me check off their rough draft pedigr before they begin determining genotypes. This is to make sure they have all of the family relationships and pedigr symbols correct. For students that work quickly and solve the mystery before they show all of the work, emphasize that they must show all of their work to defend their reasoning for determining the thief. If students have no idea where to begin, continually point them back to the Where to begin Section of the student handout. If they stick to that order, they will have no problem determining who the thief is! Note: this activity takes approximately 50 minutes to 1 hour for the majority of students to complete. Prepare something extra for those fast finishers! My heredity taboo cards are a great option! Check out in my store!
Name(s): Mystery in Wexford Objectives: 1. Create Joseph and Rita s family pedigr and include all the correct blood types, traits, and relationships. 2. Analyze Joseph and Rita s family genotypes from the pedigr and solve the family mystery. Scenario: Joseph and his wife Rita, owners of a home in Wexford, are a wealthy elderly couple. Joseph died recently of a sudden death when he was struck by lightning in his metal johnboat while fishing for red fish in the Port Royal Sound. His body was never recovered. All of Joseph s children and grandchildren (who happened to be at the house at the time for a Father s Day celebration,) eagerly awaited the reading of Joseph s will, since they all knew that he would provide each of his blood relatives with an equal share of his wealth. When the lawyer arrived to read the will, he noticed that a sum of money was missing from the safe in Joseph s office. The sum missing was equal to one person s portion of the estate value. In addition, a small amount of fresh blood was found on the outside of the safe door, presumably belonging to the thief whose hand most likely got caught on the sharp edges of the safe. As the lawyer was announcing this news, the maid rushed into the room and revealed that she had walked into Joseph s office to do her regular dusting and observed the thief quickly slipping out of the patio doors and running away down the beach. She had not sn the face or bn able to identify the thief, since he or she wore a mask and a bulky overcoat. She did s, however, that the thief had attached ear lobes sticking out from behind the mask. The police were called to the home. Upon arrival, they immediately ordered blood typing tests on all individuals in the house, and on the blood smear on the safe (found to be type A-). They also noted the ear lobe type of everyone present. Your task: As chief investigators of the South Carolina law enforcement division, it is your job to analyze the data to determine who stole the money and what their motive may have bn. Where to begin: 1. Draw this family s pedigr to help you discover who is guilty (on the blank sht you picked up). a. Make sure it is neat. Each generation should be marked with roman numerals on the left of your tr and all individuals of that generation should be on the same horizontal level (use a ruler!). Do a rough draft in pencil below the data table FIRST! b. Write the names of each family member on the shapes. c. Write the blood types of each family member above the shapes. (Phenotypes, not genotypes). d. Shade in every person who has an attached earlobe. Then, use what you know about determining inheritance patterns in a pedigr to determine the inheritance pattern of attached earlobes, and write in all genotypes for this trait under each shape. If the genotype is unknown for the second allele in dominant phenotypes, write both options. e. Determine the genotypes for blood type of Joseph and his family members. Write these in a different color next to each blood type phenotype. Since you don t know Joseph s genotype, you will nd to work backwards. This may take a little trial and error, so be patient! Start by writing in the genotypes you know must be true. (Hint: If someone has blood type AB, you know their genotype is AB J ) f. List the suspects, off to the side, based on the two pieces of evidence collected. Then determine who the thief was based on the information you gathered. Think about motive. The person who stole the money may not have stolen it for themselves. 2. Answer the analysis questions. Include reasoning to support/defend all of your answers!!
Data Table: Name Blood Type Ear Lobe Relation Joseph N/A Fr Married to Rita Rita AB- Fr Married to Joseph Jane O- Fr Married to Howard Howard AB- Attached Son of Joseph and Rita Claire A+ Fr Daughter of Joseph and Rita Paul B+ Fr Married to Claire Joey B+ Fr Son of Joseph and Rita Danny A- Attached Son of Joseph and Rita Robyn AB- Fr Married to Danny Julie A- Attached Daughter of Jane and Howard Brian B- Fr Son of Jane and Howard Adam B- Fr Son of Jane and Howard Justin O- Fr Son of Claire and Paul Shayna A- Attached Daughter of Claire and Paul Jeremy AB- Fr Son of Danny and Robyn Alexandria A+ Fr Daughter of Danny and Robyn Amelia B- Attached Daughter of Danny and Robyn Pedigr Rough Draft:
Analysis Questions: Use the back of this sht if you nd more room for your answers. 1. Explain the inheritance pattern of the ear lobe attachment trait. Explain how you determined this. 2. Explain the two inheritance patterns of blood type. 3. What did you determine Joseph s blood type to be? Include genotype and phenotype. Explain how you determined this, including Punnett Squares to support your reasoning. 4. Who was the thief of the money? How did you determine this? Include what the thief s potential motive may have bn for stealing the money. 5. How are pedigrs a useful tool for understanding inheritance patterns? Think of at least thr ways they are beneficial.
Answer Key: I A+ or B+ Joseph AB- Rita O- AB- A+ B+ B+ A- AB- II Jane Howard Claire Paul Joey Danny Robyn EE or A- B- B- O- A- AB- A+ B- III Julie Brian Adam Justin Shayna Jeremy Alexandria Amelia EE or = fr ear lobe = attached ear lobe Suspects (A- and attached) Julie Danny Shayna
Answer Key: (with genotypes for blood type) I A+ or B+ = Bi = Ai + - + - Joseph AB- = AB Rita II O- = ii AB- = AB A+ = Ai B+ = Bi B+ = Bi A- = Ai AB- = AB + - + - + - Jane Howard Claire Paul Joey Danny Robyn EE or III A- = Ai B- = Bi B- = Bi O- = ii A- = Ai AB- = AB A+ =? B- = Bi Julie Brian Adam Justin Shayna Jeremy Alexandria Amelia EE or = fr ear lobe = attached ear lobe Suspects (A- and attached) Julie Danny Shayna
Ear lobe attachment is an autosomal recessive trait. This was determined by looking at the pedigr. It is only possible for two parents that have the same phenotype (Joseph and Rita with fr ear lobes) to have a child with a different phenotype (Howard and Danny with fr ear lobes) if the two parents are carriers and the child is homozygous recessive. It is not sex-linked because affected moms (like Robyn) do not pass it to their sons. Blood type is both codominant and multiple alleles. It is codominant because blood type AB is both fully A and fully B. Both A and B are shown separately. Blood type is multiple alleles because more than two alleles determine the trait. There are two dominant alleles (A and B, or I A and I B depending on the notation) and one recessive allele (i.) Joseph has to be blood Type A+ or B+, with a heterozygous genotype (Ai or I A i; Bi or I B i.) These are the only genotypes that can create children that are AB, A, and B. Specifically, he must be able to make heterozygous A so that Claire can have Justin, who is O. Finally, Joseph has to be positive blood (heterozygous) so that he and his negative wife (Rita) can make kids that are both + and -. Punnett Squares to support are below. A B A B A AA AB B AB BB + + - + - i Ai Bi i Ai Bi - The thief of the money is Danny. This was determined by first narrowing down the suspects to the thr people with A- blood and attached ear lobes (Julie, Danny, and Shayna.) Then from there sing if any of those thr people, or their children, were not related, since only blood relatives would receive an inheritance. It is impossible for two negative blood types to make a positive, therefore they could not have made their daughter Alexandria. Motive could be that she is adopted, and her dad Danny wanted to ensure her inheritance. Pedigrs allow us to trace how diseases or traits pass through a family. They allow us to determine inheritance patterns of traits, such as autosomal or sex-linked, dominant or recessive. They can also help us to determine genotypes of individuals, in order for us to calculate probability of passing traits on to future generations. Finally, we can sometimes s who inherited their traits from whom (ex. I got red hair from my Grandma.)
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