Here's an example of what's due today

Outbreak relationship map

Thu, Sep 10, 2026 · Week 3 · Genetics of Disease (Medical Interventions)

Today's goal: Build a relationship map linking patients, places, and times to find how an outbreak might be spreading.

Learn first

What a finished product looks like

This is a model of the work you should turn in today. Use it to check your own: match the structure and the level of detail, do not copy it. Your data and wording should be your own.

Outbreak relationship map

Completes: A node-and-link diagram connecting patients by shared places and times, with the likely common source circled and a one-sentence testable hypothesis.

I drew each patient as a node and connected any two who shared a place or event. The earliest cases (Patient A on day 1 and Patient B on day 1) both ate at the same restaurant on the same day, so I circled that restaurant as the likely source.

Hypothesis: the outbreak began at the downtown restaurant on August 28, and the disease spread through contaminated food served that day.

Network map with a central source node labeled Source connected by lines to four patient nodes labeled A, B, C, and D.

Also due today: Photograph and upload to portfolio; bring to Friday's CER writing session.

Check yourself

WebXam problem for today's skill

One exam-style question that uses exactly what you practiced today. Try it before you reveal the answer, then read why each choice is right or wrong.

WebXam-style domain: Biotechnology Research and ExperimentsSelf-check skill: Identifying the index case and common exposure in an outbreak

An epidemiologist maps five cases of food poisoning. Four of the five ate at the same cafeteria on the same day before getting sick. What does this shared exposure most likely point to?

Tap an answer to see the full explanation. Nothing is recorded or graded.

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