Unit 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis: DNA, chromosomes, genes, proteins, protein synthesis, mutation, inheritance.
Your PLTW coursework: Principles of Biomedical Science ▸ Unit 2: Clinical Care ▸ Lesson 2.2 Decoding a Diagnosis ▸ "Activity 2.2.4 Clues in the Chromosomes", "Activity 2.2.5 My, Oh, Meiosis", "Activity 2.2.6 A Family Affair"
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. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Week overview - Decoding a Diagnosis: from DNA to protein
Model how DNA in a gene is transcribed and translated into a , and explain how a can change that protein and be inherited.
- 1Open the Unit 2.2 task in your PLTW shell to see the graded DNA-to- model.
- 2Build or draw a DNA segment and identify a gene on a .
- 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 into the DNA and trace how it changes the resulting .
- 6Explain how that gene and its alleles could be passed to the next generation.
- • You can model of a gene from DNA to messenger RNA.
- • You can translate messenger RNA into an amino acid sequence.
- • You can explain how a changes a 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 plan: the original DNA template sequence (9 bases minimum), the mRNA , the amino acid , and the specific base-pair change you plan to introduce Wednesday.
Lab notebook entry: original DNA template strand, mRNA , original amino acid sequence (with codon chart citations), mutated sequence after the point , mutation type classification with justification, and one model limitation.
CER arguing how the point affects the resulting , using the Wednesday sequence comparison as evidence and connecting the protein change to a possible diagnosis in the reasoning.
Complete DNA-to- packet: - model with original and mutated sequences labeled, Thursday CER with sequence-comparison evidence and diagnosis connection, 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 yourself.
- Today's goal: model and and show how one ripples out to a and to a family.
- Monday's bioethics debate fits the unit: if a genetic test reveals a , who has the right to know the result?
- Your graded DNA-to- model is submitted on the class site.
Your PLTW coursework this week
Do this: Advance the PLTW PBS Unit 2.2 benchmark by modeling synthesis and in the online course shell.
- • A gene is a segment of DNA on a that codes for a .
- • copies DNA into messenger RNA, and builds a from it.
- • A changes the and can alter the resulting .
- • Model and from DNA to .
- • Predict how a changes a and how an is inherited.
📋 PLTW evidence due Friday: completed Unit 2.2 DNA-to- model showing , , and a .
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | Tue, Oct 20 | 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. |
| Wednesday | Wed, Oct 21 | 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. |
| Thursday | Thu, Oct 22 | 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 | - | 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 | - | 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.
4 panels from the illustrated semester.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
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 Clever, then myPLTWHow to get there: open Clever and sign in with your Microsoft (district) account. Both myPLTW and Schoology are in Clever. Do the activity in myPLTW. Turn the work in on this site or hand it to Mr. Mendoza, because that is the step that counts as submitted. Schoology only shows your report-card grade later.
You can't do those from home: do this instead: Teacher-posted data/model packet, same objective. Supplemental: Khan: DNA to ; 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
Resources & readings
Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.