What This Document Is
This document is a lab exercise designed to accompany a Cell Biology course (BIOL 211) at Bellevue College. It centers around the use of the “Fast Plants® 1 – Growth and Genetics” Gizmo, a virtual simulation allowing students to explore plant life cycles and basic genetic principles. The lab focuses on observing traits in rapidly growing plants and investigating patterns of inheritance, mirroring the foundational experiments conducted by Gregor Mendel.
Why This Document Matters
This lab is intended for undergraduate students in Cell Biology who are learning about genetics and plant biology. It’s used to reinforce theoretical concepts with a hands-on, albeit virtual, experience. The Gizmo provides a controlled environment to observe genetic crosses and analyze offspring traits, which can be challenging to demonstrate effectively with traditional, long-cycle plants. It’s particularly valuable for visualizing Mendelian genetics in action.
Common Limitations or Challenges
This document is a lab *guide*; it doesn’t provide a comprehensive explanation of genetics or plant biology. Students will need prior knowledge of these concepts to successfully complete the exercise. The Gizmo is a simulation, and while it accurately models key principles, it doesn’t replicate the complexities of real-world plant growth and genetics. This lab focuses on specific traits and inheritance patterns and doesn’t cover the full scope of plant genetics.
What This Document Provides
The full document includes: a vocabulary list defining key genetics terms (allele, genotype, phenotype, etc.), prior knowledge questions to assess initial understanding, step-by-step instructions for using the Fast Plants Gizmo, guided observation prompts for analyzing plant traits in containers A and B, a pollination activity with instructions for creating an F1 generation, and questions designed to encourage inference about inheritance patterns. It also includes a section introducing Gregor Mendel’s work and its relevance to the Gizmo activity. This preview only provides a summary of the document’s purpose and scope; the full lab instructions and data collection sections are not included here.
