Unit 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis: DNA, chromosomes, genes, proteins, protein synthesis, mutation, inheritance.
What to do if absent- 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.
Week overview - Decoding a Diagnosis: from DNA to protein
Model how DNA in a gene is transcribed and translated into a protein, and explain how a mutation can change that protein and be inherited.
- 1Open the Unit 2.2 task in your PLTW shell to see the graded DNA-to-protein model.
- 2Build or draw a DNA segment and identify a gene on a chromosome.
- 3Transcribe the gene's DNA into messenger RNA, base by base.
- 4Translate the messenger RNA into an amino acid sequence using a codon chart.
- 5Introduce a mutation into the DNA and trace how it changes the resulting protein.
- 6Explain how that gene and its alleles could be passed to the next generation.
- • You can model transcription of a gene from DNA to messenger RNA.
- • You can translate messenger RNA into an amino acid sequence.
- • You can explain how a mutation changes a protein and how a gene is inherited.
Daily lessons this week
Open any day for its full lesson, the work due that day, and guided notes.
Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing whether genetic test results should be shared with relatives, with a reference to the shared nature of genetic information in the reasoning.
Pre-lab mutation plan: the original DNA template sequence (9 bases minimum), the mRNA transcription, the amino acid translation, and the specific base-pair change you plan to introduce Wednesday.
Lab notebook entry: original DNA template strand, mRNA transcription, original amino acid sequence (with codon chart citations), mutated sequence after the point mutation, mutation type classification with justification, and one model limitation.
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.
Complete DNA-to-protein packet: transcription-translation model with original and mutated sequences labeled, Thursday CER with sequence-comparison evidence and diagnosis connection, mutation variable and limitations documented, and self-assessment form.
Quick intro to the week
- A diagnosis can come down to a single misread letter in DNA, so today you trace the whole path from gene to protein yourself.
- Today's goal: model transcription and translation and show how one mutation ripples out to a protein and to a family.
- Monday's bioethics debate fits the unit: if a genetic test reveals a mutation, who has the right to know the result?
- Your graded DNA-to-protein model is submitted in the PLTW course shell.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the PLTW PBS Unit 2.2 benchmark by modeling protein synthesis and mutation in the online course shell.
- • A gene is a segment of DNA on a chromosome that codes for a protein.
- • Transcription copies DNA into messenger RNA, and translation builds a protein from it.
- • A mutation changes the DNA sequence and can alter the resulting protein.
- • Model transcription and translation from DNA to protein.
- • Predict how a mutation changes a protein and how an allele is inherited.
📋 PLTW evidence due Friday: completed Unit 2.2 DNA-to-protein model showing transcription, translation, and a mutation.
All PLTW activities are completed inside the PLTW course environment — this page only gives direction.
This week's PLTW tracker
Your week at a glance. Check off each deliverable as you finish it, then submit so Mr. Mendoza can see how the class is pacing.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
| Day | Date | Focus | Key deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Wed, Oct 14 | Ethics of genetic data | Written CER (3-5 sentences) arguing whether genetic test results should be shared with relatives, with a reference to the shared nature of genetic information in the reasoning. |
| Tuesday | Thu, Oct 15 | DNA, genes, and protein | Pre-lab mutation plan: the original DNA template sequence (9 bases minimum), the mRNA transcription, the amino acid translation, and the specific base-pair change you plan to introduce Wednesday. |
| Wednesday | Fri, Oct 16 | DNA and protein modeling | Lab notebook entry: original DNA template strand, mRNA transcription, original amino acid sequence (with codon chart citations), mutated sequence after the point mutation, mutation type classification with justification, and one model limitation. |
| Thursday | Mon, Oct 19 | Analyze the mutation | 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. |
| Friday | Tue, Oct 20 | Submit diagnosis evidence | Complete DNA-to-protein packet: transcription-translation model with original and mutated sequences labeled, Thursday CER with sequence-comparison evidence and diagnosis connection, mutation variable and limitations documented, and self-assessment form. |
- M: Philosophy for Kids / John Carroll bioethical debate
- T: teacher background notes + PLTW launch task
- W: lab / data or model work
- Th: analysis / CER or design revision
- F: submit tracker + weekly evidence
Due by week's end: DNA-to-protein model.
Lab day — what to bring & watch
This explainer accompanies the PLTW lab protocol — watch it before lab.
What to do when absent
Most days, this class is your PLTW coursework — and PLTW is online and individual. So being out usually just means doing exactly what we did in class, from home.
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.
You can't do those from home — do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: DNA to protein; Khan: heredity.
Class still runs. A substitute will post today's plan — complete the online activity above; it's built to be self-guided. Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Learn.Genetics (University of Utah): DNA to proteinVocabulary
Virtual resources
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.
Standards this week
WebXam practice
Drop your Week 8 here. Use a clear file name (your initials + project). Routine work still goes to Schoology (via the CMSD portal).
Upload a project