Analyze the mutation
Interpret your mutation model with a CER and evaluate the model's limitations.
CER arguing how the point mutation affects the resulting protein, using the Wednesday sequence comparison as evidence and connecting the protein change to a possible diagnosis in the reasoning.
- 1Do thisInterpret your mutation model with a CER and evaluate the model's limitations.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisCER: CER arguing how the point mutation affects the resulting protein, using the Wednesday sequence comparison as evidence and connecting the protein change to a possible diagnosis in the reasoning.
- 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: Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science) › Unit 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis: DNA, chromosomes, genes, proteins, protein synthesis, mutation, inheritance. › CEROpen Schoology
Read to prepare for today
Vetted sources picked for today's question. Skim these before you take a position or start the work, so your argument and evidence are grounded.
- 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: The severity of a mutation depends on where it falls in the protein, what amino acid it changes, and what function that amino acid has in the final folded protein.
- 0:00Return Wednesday notebook entries; compare original and mutated amino acid sequences as a class (anonymized)
- 0:10Classify each group's mutation (silent, missense, nonsense) and discuss severity expectations
- 0:22Research: find one real genetic disease caused by a missense or nonsense mutation similar to yours (NCBI Genes and Disease)
- 0:38CER writing: claim about how the mutation affects the protein, evidence from sequence comparison, reasoning from amino acid property change and disease connection
- 0:58List two variables that determine mutation severity; state one limitation of a paper translation model
- 1:10Pair-share CERs; preview Friday final submission
- • Yesterday you introduced a mutation and got a new amino acid sequence. Today the question is: so what? Does the new sequence produce a protein that still works, works differently, or does not work at all?
- • The answer depends on two things: which amino acid changed, and where in the protein that amino acid does its job. An amino acid buried deep in the core of a protein and one sitting in the active site are not equally important.
- • You will write a CER today that connects your mutation to a possible diagnosis. This is the payoff of the whole central dogma unit: a change in DNA, traced all the way through RNA and protein, producing a disease.
- • We will also be honest about what the model cannot show. Paper models are 2D. Real proteins fold into complex 3D shapes. The model is useful but limited.
- 1Compare the original and mutated amino acid sequences.
- 2Write a CER: how does this mutation affect the resulting protein?
- 3Relate the protein change to a possible diagnosis.
- 4Identify two variables that determine a mutation's severity.
- 5State one limitation of a paper or virtual model of translation.
- • I can interpret how a mutation changes a protein.
- • I can connect a protein change to a diagnosis.
- • Two variables that determine mutation severity are the position of the changed amino acid in the protein (active site vs. structural region) and whether the new amino acid has different chemical properties (polar vs. nonpolar, charged vs. uncharged).
- • A nonsense mutation introduces a premature stop codon, producing a truncated (shortened) protein that is usually nonfunctional; this often has severe clinical consequences.
- • A paper or virtual model of translation cannot represent the three-dimensional folding of the actual protein, which means the model can show the amino acid sequence but not the functional impact of that sequence change.
Your PLTW work today
Unit 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis: DNA, chromosomes, genes, proteins, protein synthesis, mutation, inheritance. · Analyze the mutation
Day 4 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (reached through Schoology), then do the work below.
Do this: In myPLTW, complete the Lesson 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis mutation-analysis reflection in the lab activity.
Mark the Lesson 2.2 mutation-analysis reflection complete in myPLTW.
You modeled the mutation Wednesday. By the end of today your CER and the mutation severity analysis should both be done.
Completed CER with sequence comparison evidence and a real-disease connection in the reasoning.
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.
Unit 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis: DNA, chromosomes, genes, proteins, protein synthesis, mutation, inheritance. · Analyze the mutation
In myPLTW, complete the Lesson 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis mutation-analysis reflection in the lab activity.
You modeled the mutation Wednesday. By the end of today your CER and the mutation severity analysis should both be done.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Interpret your mutation model with a CER and evaluate the model's limitations.
- Compare the original and mutated amino acid sequences.
- Write a CER: how does this mutation affect the resulting protein?
- Relate the protein change to a possible diagnosis.
- Identify two variables that determine a mutation's severity.
- State one limitation of a paper or virtual model of translation.
CER: CER arguing how the point mutation affects the resulting protein, using the Wednesday sequence comparison as evidence and connecting the protein change to a possible diagnosis in the reasoning.
Submit on SchoologyUpload by 11:29 PM for full credit.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Compare the original and mutated amino acid sequences. | _______ |
| Write a CER: how does this mutation affect the resulting protein? | _______ |
| Relate the protein change to a possible diagnosis. | _______ |
| Identify two variables that determine a mutation's severity. | _______ |
| State one limitation of a paper or virtual model of translation. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- I can interpret how a mutation changes a protein.
- I can connect a protein change to a diagnosis.
Resources & readings
Hand-picked materials for this lesson. Class file items open the document directly; the rest are vetted readings and interactives from other biomedical programs.
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 CER.
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:
Learn.Genetics (University of Utah): DNA to protein- 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, Oct 19, 2026 · Analyze the mutation here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project