Helpful troubleshooting tips: Chemical Basis of Life, Gathering Energy, Energy Challenge: Respiration, Energy Challenge: Photosynthesis, Genetic Blueprints, Cellular Replication, Genetic Replication, Making Proteins, and Graphing Remediation
Searching For Signatures Help
In this unit you will take a closer look at what happens “behind the scenes” in cells. How exactly is it that they break down food? Or make their own food? How do cells communicate with one another? The following lessons will cover the details and engage you in the processes through interactive simulations and games.
Interpreting Graphs
Reading and interpreting energy graphs can be difficult if you’ve never seen them before. If you need help, there is an option to complete a quick graphing review. When you are done with the review you’ll be taken back to the lesson where you left off.
Troubleshooting
Why don’t I have enough ATP in my Energy Challenge Simulations?
For certain simulations, like Fermentation, Krebs and Aerobic Electron Transport you will need to first generate ATP by running glycolysis. Make sure to put down all the pathways so that you get a dynamic energy flow. You may also need to run a pathway more than once.
Why can’t I build my single-stranded piece of DNA?
Have you checked to make sure that your strand is 10 nucleotides long? The screen will only show about 5-7 nucleotides. In order to add more to the strand, physically move the strand (by clicking and dragging with the mouse) on screen up or down in order to increase the length.
Scoring
The total number of points you can earn for Unit 6: Searching for Signatures is 1,483. For a lesson by lesson breakdown see the table below:
Energy Challenge Simulations
Energy Challenge Game: Glycolysis
In the Energy Challenge Game, you’ll use biochemical pathways to generate a target number of the molecule ATP (the energy “currency” in living things). Some of these pathways take place in our bodies, and others don’t – they take place in plants, bacteria or even archaeans, prokaryotes that are like bacteria.
Pay attention to the ingredients you’re adding, the chemicals that come out of the pathways, and amounts of each. There will be questions about those details after the game.
In Glycolysis, your target is to generate eight molecules of ATP. Glycolysis is the pathway you will use to generate ATP. It is represented by two arrows.
You will need to generate eight molecules to move on. ATP is represented with orange spikes.
Hit the X in the top right hand corner to close the informational panel and get started. If you need to see the panel again, hit the orange information icon.
Energy Challenge Game: Fermentation
Glycolysis is not the only biochemical process in living organisms. Often the byproducts of one biochemical process will feed another process.
To complete the next challenge, you’ll have to take this into account. Your target is to generate eight molecules of ATP, but this time, you will also need to generate the NAD+ that is required for glycolysis. You will have an additional pathway available: Fermentation.
Hit the X in the top right hand corner to close the informational panel and get started. If you need to see the panel again, hit the orange information icon.
Energy Challenge Game: Methanogenesis
In the next screen, you will see the anaerobic transport chain of methanogenesis. You will need to generate 3 ATP molecules to reach the target. The anaerobic electron transport chain of methanogenesis will be available.
Your ATP target amount is 3 molecules.
Energy Challenge Game: Krebs Cycle
Glycolysis only partially breaks down glucose – one of the bi-products of glycolysis is pyruvate, which still has lots of energy left in the bonds to be harvested. To complete this next challenge, you won’t have an infinite supply of glucose. Your target is to generate 8 molecules of ATP, but this time, you will only have one glucose molecule. You’ll have an additional pathway available, the Krebs Cycle. The Krebs cycle is often represented as two arrows in a circle.
You will need to generate eight molecules of ATP to move on. Use both Glycolysis and the Krebs cycle to complete this challenge.
Energy Challenge Game: Aerobic Electron Transport
Until now, the ATP target you’ve had to reach has been very small, just 6 or 8 molecules. In this next round, your target will be much larger: 60 ATP. Electron Transport Chain is represented by four rounded rectangles across a line. You’ll need to use byproducts from Glycolysis and Krebs to run the Aerobic Electron Transport.
Energy Challenge Game: Round 5
Though plants do it all the time, this is the first time you’ll generate ATP and split water using light. In this round of the game, you’ll use the first phase of photosynthesis, the light-dependent reactions, and oxygenic photosynthetic electron transport to reach your goal of splitting 12 water molecules and a target ATP amount of 20.
Energy Challenge Game: Round 6
Until now, you’ve been reaching target amounts of ATP. In this round, you’ll be using lots of ATP that was generated through the light-dependent reactions and oxygenic photosynthetic electron transport to make the glucose that plants make during the Calvin Cycle, this second phase of photosynthesis. The Calvin Cycle is represented by a schematic in the form of a circle with several arrows.
Your target amount of glucose is 3 molecules. Glucose is represented by a pink hexagon.
Energy Challenge Game: Round 7
In this final round of the game, instead of splitting water as plants do, you’ll use the anoxygenic photosynthetic electron transport that purple sulfur bacteria do to split hydrogen sulfide and generate ATP that can be used later to make glucose. In this round, your target ATP amount is 14. Anoxygenic photosynthetic electron transport is represented by two rounded rectangles across a line.
Genetic Blueprint Simulations
DNA Builder Sim - Build Nucleotides
In this activity you will be tasked with building the four nucleotides of DNA by connecting three basic components (phosphate group, sugar and base) at the correct bonding sites. If you make a mistake you can always click and drag the nucleotide back to the bank on the left.
Build Single-Stranded DNA
In this activity you will connect your nucleotides together into a single strand, creating the covalent bonds that make up the sugar-phosphate backbone.
You’ll be asked to build a strand that is 10 nucleotides long. The screen will only show about 5-7 nucleotides. In order to add more to the strand, physically move the strand (by clicking and dragging with the mouse) on screen up or down in order to increase the length.
Build Double-Stranded DNA
Here you will need to match the base pairs together to form double-stranded DNA, connecting together base pairs to form hydrogen bonds. Use the model’s radius as a hint to know if you are matching correctly. If it’s greater than 1nm there’s a mismatched pair. Look for the bulge and remove that nucleotide. To remove a nucleotide, simply click and drag it back to the bank on the left side.
Genetic Replication Sim - 100 Base Challenge
Here you’ll take the role of DNA Polymerase, the enzyme that replicates DNA in cells. Your task will be to make a complementary strand of DNA as quickly and as accurately as possible. To add to your new strand of DNA, click the appropriate base.
In this mode, errors will not stop you and you can go as fast as you wish. At the end, your time
will be shown.
Accuracy Challenge
In this mode, every base you add will make the screen scroll faster. To add to your new strand of DNA, click the appropriate base. The game ends when you enter an incorrect base or miss a base. Click the X to close the popup and start the race!
