Investigating an outbreak: research possible explanations
Open your materials, follow the steps, then turn in your work.
Use the reference cards to compare possible explanations for all seven Day 1 histories and revise your contact map.
Today is Checkpoint B: seven research notes and an updated contact map. Use the official Day 1 histories in Schoology and keep your editable copy. Finish these investigation checkpoints before the DNA lesson.
1. Open your materials
2. Start the work
Open the research library. Read the rule and Model R, then reopen your seven case notes and the official Outbreak Investigation Day 1 sheet through Schoology.
Show all 4 required steps
- Open the research library. Read the rule and Model R, then reopen your seven case notes and the official Outbreak Investigation Day 1 sheet through Schoology.
- Use reference cards R1 to R8 and the note outline to compare possibilities for each of the seven main histories. Cite a case clue, a reference fact, and a missing or conflicting fact. Compare two possibilities when supported; do not invent a second answer.
- Check your existing contact map against the Day 1 sheet. Correct unsupported connections. Below the map or connection list, write one testable explanation about a possible connection. Name a new record that could support or weaken it. Do not circle a confirmed source.
- Submit your research notes and updated map together as one PDF in the September 9 Schoology assignment linked below. Keep the editable copy for discussion and conclusions tomorrow. Stop at Checkpoint B; do not use Day 2 or Day 3 evidence.
Lost your place? Find the first case note without a reference ID. Choose a relevant card, compare one clue, and name one unknown before continuing.
Check your work before submitting
- My research notes cover all seven main histories using case clues and reference IDs.
- I compared plausible possibilities or explained why the evidence is insufficient.
- I named missing or conflicting facts without making up results.
- My map uses source facts, and my explanation names evidence that could test it.
3. Turn in your work
DueCheck Schoology- Hand in
- Research notes and updated contact map
How to submit and name your file
Submit one PDF with your seven research notes and updated map in the September 9 assignment linked below. Include clear photos if you drew the map on paper. Keep your editable copy. Check Schoology for the deadline.
In Schoology, open your course and the assignment for this lesson. Attach your file, select Submit, and check that it appears in the submission.
PDF upload helpYou get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
Find this lesson's Schoology assignments
These are existing assignments for your section. Follow the directions in the assignment you are working on; this list does not add new work. Check Schoology for each deadline.
Link will not open? Open Schoology, choose your course and section, and find the title shown above.
How this lesson connects
Day 1 case notes → contact map → researched explanations → DNA evidence. Keep one investigation record and revise it as new evidence arrives.
Need help? Warm-up, timing, and directions▸
💡 Big idea: A symptom match supports a possibility, not a diagnosis.
- 0-10 minReopen Checkpoint A; read the rule and Model R
- 10-50 minCompare source-backed possibilities for the seven histories
- 50-65 minCheck the map and write one testable explanation
- 65-75 minCheck reference IDs, source pages, and missing facts
- 75-80 minSubmit Checkpoint B and keep the editable record
- • Today I want you to build on your case notes. Keep the same investigation record.
- • The research library gives you short reference cards, a worked example, and a note outline. Read the cards you need.
- • Tomorrow we will discuss and revise these explanations before moving to DNA evidence.
- • A hypothesis is an explanation we can test.
- • A symptom can fit more than one illness; an illness name may not name one agent.
- • A missing clue is not a negative test result.
PLTW connection and today's work
Continue PLTW Activity 1.1.2, Investigating an Outbreak, using its Day 1 histories in Schoology. The original portal library supports the activity's research and hypothesis work.
Today's stopping point: Stop at Checkpoint B. Discussion and the official conclusion questions follow on September 10, before Activity 1.1.3. Keep later case evidence out.
PLTW activity titles identify the course connection. If your account will not open, use the posted materials for today and tell Mr. Mendoza. Do not mark an online activity complete unless you completed it.
Course connection
- Activity 1.1.2 Investigating an Outbreak
Use the turn-in directions at the top of this page. Do not create a second submission unless your teacher asks for one.
Show another explanation or a smaller first step
Need help? Choose a starting point
Lesson resources: reading, slides, and vocabulary▸
Use the slides and optional guided notes to help with the checkpoint work listed above. Submit only the parts named in this lesson.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
For the original slide animations, use the PowerPoint download.
Citation auditRecord the clue before explaining it. A connection is not proof of .
A symptom match supports a possibility, not a diagnosis.
Driving question: Which explanations fit the Day 1 evidence, and what could help us test them?
What you already know: Your Checkpoint A notes already separate signs from symptoms. The library defines hypothesis and infectious agent before you compare.
New idea: A symptom match supports a possibility, not a diagnosis.
Visual or model: F1. F1 is the research-note sequence from the library: source clue, reference fact, possible explanation, missing evidence. Every note follows it. What to notice: A symptom match supports a possibility, not a diagnosis. Compare two possibilities when the cards support both; otherwise name the missing evidence.
- Copy one relevant clue from a case note with its source page.
- Compare it with a reference card; cite the card ID and source title.
- Write possibility 1 and, when the cards support it, possibility 2; otherwise write why the evidence is insufficient.
- Name the missing or conflicting fact and the new record that could help, then write one testable explanation below your map.
Real biomedical example: Symptoms that overlap between illnesses are why laboratory testing exists; the note names the test that is missing. Source: Signs and Symptoms of Flu.
What the evidence supports: The records and references support the Checkpoint B product: seven research notes using the library outline, the corrected contact map or list, and one testable explanation written below it, submitted in Checkpoint B.
What it cannot prove: A symptom match cannot confirm a cause, and a missing result cannot be read as negative.
- • Sign: A clue another person observes or measures, such as a temperature reading.
- • Symptom: A clue the person experiences and reports, such as a headache.
- • Exposure: Contact with a possible source of illness. It is not proof of infection.
- • Contact map: A drawing or list of stated connections between people, each labeled with its source fact.
- • Hypothesis: An explanation we can test with new evidence.
- • Checkpoint: A stopping point in the official activity. Each checkpoint is one PDF.
Use it now: Use Model R. Does MR1 prove that two people with a cough share one infection? Explain in one sentence.
Go further, optional: The library's source links let you check or extend a card. The cards themselves contain every required fact.
Your Checkpoint A case notes and map, reopened beside the official Day 1 sheet in the Schoology hub.
Limit: Only Day 1 evidence. Day 2 and Day 3 evidence stays closed at this checkpoint.
The research library's reference cards R1 to R8 (each with its cause, possible clues, limit and source), Model R, and the research-note outline.
Limit: The cards are a starting set, not every possible illness. Conditions can overlap.
Check each history for a laboratory result, an onset time and a clinical assessment; mark what it does not state as unknown, never as negative.
Limit: A missing clue is not a negative test. The record cannot confirm one cause.
MI-OUTBREAK-B · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: intern on the outbreak investigation team
Decision: Three histories share a cough. A partner says that settles the cause. Decide how you will use the reference cards before you write your research notes. Use E1, E2 and the limits in E3.
- • Add laboratory confirmation and a case definition before writing any explanation, since a claim that may change is not worth recording.
- • Compare the possibilities the cards support for each clue, then write one testable explanation below the map with the record that could test it.
- • Circle the source and the on the map now, since matching symptoms across seven histories settles the cause.
Response: One PDF: seven research notes using the library outline, the corrected contact map or list, and one testable explanation written below it, submitted in Checkpoint B. The choice discussion is preparation, not another submission.
Claim ceiling: Compare the possibilities the reference cards support and name the missing evidence. A symptom match cannot confirm a cause, and a missing result cannot be read as negative.
Students often think a symptom match proves the cause. The trap: several causes can share a symptom. Compare the full record and name missing evidence
MR1 reports a cough and runny nose. MR2 says symptoms began gradually. MR3 supplies no laboratory result. R1 and R2 show that these clues can fit a cold or COVID-19. The evidence supports comparing causes, not confirming one. An appropriate laboratory result could help distinguish possibilities.
| Record | Fact | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| MR1 | Cough and runny nose reported | Symptoms overlap between illnesses |
| MR2 | Gradual onset | Timing alone does not confirm the cause |
| MR3 | No laboratory result supplied | Unknown is not a negative result |
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Original simulated practice for the research and explanation work in Activity 1.1.2. It contains no official case answers.
- Date and label the entry.
- Record the procedure, observation, or design decision clearly.
- End with what the evidence means and the next step.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: Use the official histories and the research library for your own work. Keep Model R separate from official evidence.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Practice: try a question, then check your answer▸
Claim ceiling for this check: Compare the possibilities the reference cards support and name the missing evidence. A symptom match cannot confirm a cause, and a missing result cannot be read as negative.
A history supplies no laboratory result. Can you record a negative test?
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Missed class or ready for more?▸
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Work independently using the same library, seven histories, and note outline. A labeled connection list may replace the map. Submit the same combined record. If a required Schoology file will not open, tell me; do not invent case facts.
Research library and Model RSubmit one PDF with your seven research notes and updated map in the September 9 assignment linked below. Include clear photos if you drew the map on paper. Keep your editable copy. Check Schoology for the deadline.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Research library, Model R, and note outlineHow I will check this work
- My research notes cover all seven main histories using case clues and reference IDs.
- I compared plausible possibilities or explained why the evidence is insufficient.
- I named missing or conflicting facts without making up results.
- My map uses source facts, and my explanation names evidence that could test it.
This checkpoint is your evidence record, not a final diagnosis or a formal CER. Use the Schoology assignment linked above to submit it.
This week
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