Tag: nucleotide

  • Thymine Dimers & DNA Repair

    Thymine Dimers & DNA Repair

    Teaching DNA damage and repair can feel abstract for students, until they can clearly visualize and apply it. This classroom-ready activity helps students understand thymine dimers and nucleotide excision repair (NER) through diagram analysis, structured questions, and real-world connections. By focusing on how DNA is damaged by UV radiation and how cells fix that damage,…

  • Dog SNPs and Curly Hair

    Dog SNPs and Curly Hair

    In an effort to add more real data to the DNA (genetics) unit, I added a shortened form of the HHMI activity:  “Mapping Genes to Traits in Dogs Using SNPs”   The activity on HHMI is too advanced for freshman level biology, but I thought it would be a good introduction to DNA sequences. The activity…

  • Construct a DNA Model Using Marshmallows

    Construct a DNA Model Using Marshmallows

    Use marshmallows and toothpicks to construct a model of DNA. Mini marshmallows represents the nucleotides, large marshmallows represent deoxyribose.