Controls and wet-lab plan
Explain why positive and negative controls are essential and finalize your plan for the wet ELISA.
Numbered wet ELISA procedure, labeled plate layout with positive and negative controls marked, and predicted control colors.
- 1Do thisExplain why positive and negative controls are essential and finalize your plan for the wet ELISA.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisPre-lab: Numbered wet ELISA procedure, labeled plate layout with positive and negative controls marked, and predicted control colors.
- 4Submit it here
- 1CMSD website. Go to clevelandmetroschools.org and click the Clever button.
- 2Clever. Clever opens. Sign in if it asks.
- 3Microsoft (district) login. Use your district Microsoft account (the one for school).
- 4Schoology. Open Schoology, then your class, then Assignments, and find the file named below.
The file to submit is named: Genetics of Disease (Medical Interventions) › Reading qualitative vs. quantitative color results; false positive/negative risk; control logic. › Pre-labOpen Schoology
Argument: disagreeing well, and when opinion becomes fact
How do we argue productively when we disagree, and when does a claim become accepted as fact?
An argument is not a fight. It is two or more people testing claims against evidence to get closer to the truth. The best disagreements aim at the strongest version of the other side (steelman it), refute the actual reasoning, and stay about the idea, not the person.
A sound argument and a clash of opinions are different things. Opinions can simply differ and both stand. A scientific argument is settled by evidence: the side with stronger, more reliable evidence and better reasoning should win, and everyone should be willing to update.
So when does an opinion become a fact? In science, a claim becomes accepted not because enough people like it, but when independent evidence keeps supporting it and repeated attempts to disprove it fail. That is consensus, and it is provisional: it holds until better evidence changes it. Truth is not a vote, but agreement among many careful, independent investigations is the best signal we have.
- • Steelmans: it takes on the strongest version of the other side.
- • Targets reasoning and evidence, never the person.
- • Is settled by evidence, not by who is louder or more popular.
- • Stays open: the participants will change their minds if the evidence does.
- • A claim earns the label “fact” through repeated, independent evidence, not a popularity vote.
- • Even strong consensus stays open to revision if better evidence appears.
Take a claim from this course that people might dispute. Write the strongest argument for it and the strongest against it, then say which the evidence supports and what would change your mind.
- 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 — you open it through Schoology.
Minute-by-minute · 80-minute block
💡 Big idea: How do controls prove that a positive result is real and a negative result is not just a failed experiment?
- 0-10 minDefine positive and negative control in notebook; give a real example of each for an ELISA
- 10-25 minExplain what a positive negative-control result means: write the contamination or reagent scenario
- 25-45 minRead the wet ELISA procedure; number each step in order in your notebook
- 45-58 minDraw the plate layout; mark where positive and negative controls go; label all wells
- 58-70 minList safety steps and gear required for tomorrow's lab; check against the procedure
- 70-80 minWrite predicted colors for positive and negative controls; compare predictions with a partner
- • In 1998, a lab misidentified patient samples partly because controls were not run consistently; patients received wrong diagnoses.
- • Controls are not optional extras; they are what separates a valid experiment from a guess.
- • Today you design your plate layout so Wednesday's run will tell you something you can trust.
- • Exit goal: numbered procedure, labeled plate layout with controls marked, and predicted control colors all written before you leave.
- 1Define a positive control and a negative control in your own words.
- 2Explain what a result would mean if the negative control turned positive.
- 3Read the ELISA wet-lab procedure and number the steps in order.
- 4Mark where the positive and negative controls go in your plate layout.
- 5List the safety steps and gear you need for tomorrow's wet lab.
- 6Predict the expected colors for your positive and negative controls.
- • You will be able to explain the purpose of positive and negative controls.
- • You will be able to lay out an ELISA plate with controls.
- • You will be able to state the expected control results.
- • A positive control contains the target antigen; it must produce a color signal or the test reagents are not working.
- • A negative control contains no antigen; if it turns color, there is contamination or a reagent error.
- • Controls must be run every time, in every experiment; a result without controls cannot be trusted.
Your PLTW work today
Reading qualitative vs. quantitative color results; false positive/negative risk; control logic. · Controls and wet-lab plan
Day 2 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (reached through Schoology), then do the work below.
Do this: Open Activity 1.1.5 ELISA (protocol and results) in myPLTW and review the wet-lab procedure, focusing on controls.
Complete the numbered procedure, labeled plate layout with controls, and predicted control colors.
Monday CER should be posted; plate-layout plan due today.
Numbered procedure, plate layout with positive and negative controls, and predictions in notebook.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction. Submit producibles on Schoology.
Today's PLTW tracker
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible on Schoology.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Reading qualitative vs. quantitative color results; false positive/negative risk; control logic. · Controls and wet-lab plan
Open Activity 1.1.5 ELISA (protocol and results) in myPLTW and review the wet-lab procedure, focusing on controls.
Monday CER should be posted; plate-layout plan due today.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Explain why positive and negative controls are essential and finalize your plan for the wet ELISA.
- Define a positive control and a negative control in your own words.
- Explain what a result would mean if the negative control turned positive.
- Read the ELISA wet-lab procedure and number the steps in order.
- Mark where the positive and negative controls go in your plate layout.
- List the safety steps and gear you need for tomorrow's wet lab.
- Predict the expected colors for your positive and negative controls.
Pre-lab: Numbered wet ELISA procedure, labeled plate layout with positive and negative controls marked, and predicted control colors.
Submit on SchoologyUpload by 11:29 PM for full credit.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Define a positive control and a negative control in your own words. | _______ |
| Explain what a result would mean if the negative control turned positive. | _______ |
| Read the ELISA wet-lab procedure and number the steps in order. | _______ |
| Mark where the positive and negative controls go in your plate layout. | _______ |
| List the safety steps and gear you need for tomorrow's wet lab. | _______ |
| Predict the expected colors for your positive and negative controls. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- You will be able to explain the purpose of positive and negative controls.
- You will be able to lay out an ELISA plate with controls.
- You will be able to state the expected control results.
Teacher-posted resources
Classroom documents for this lesson. Ones marked “Open the file” open right here; the rest are posted in Schoology. Use the label on each card to choose the right move.
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched ELISA lab, controls, diagnosis limits by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.1_The-Mystery-Infection; keywords:elisa, lab. Score 138. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Use this if you were absent, got stuck, or need another pass before you submit the lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched ELISA lab, controls, diagnosis limits by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.1_The-Mystery-Infection; keywords:elisa, lab. Score 138. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
Open this when the class reaches this activity and use it to complete the required lesson artifact.
Placement rationale
Matched ELISA lab, controls, diagnosis limits by path:Medical-Interventions/Unit-1_How-to-Fight-Infection/1.1_The-Mystery-Infection; keywords:elisa, lab. Score 138. Visibility: student-schoology (student-facing resource; link through Schoology rather than local path).
How to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
Lab & supplies
WebXam practice
Cumulative WebXam review
A quick mixed-review pulling questions from earlier units plus today, so the WebXam material stays fresh.
Where this leads — careers
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.
What to do if you were absent
Today is individual PLTW work, so do exactly what we did in class, from home: complete the same PLTW target above, then submit your Pre-lab.
Open Schoology (CMSD) and keep goingHow to get there: open the CMSD website, click Clever, sign in with your Microsoft (district) account, then open Schoology from Clever.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
HHMI BioInteractive- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way (Schoology for routine work) and confirmed.
Drop your Mon, Sep 21, 2026 · Controls and wet-lab plan here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project