Have you ever wondered why some people are lactose intolerant? Participants test simulated patients in a hands-on lab activity to find out! They learn about lactose intolerance by performing an experiment, analyzing data, and drawing...

Sugar isn't good for you, but it's great for microbes. A simple experiment has pupils investigate the digestion of starch by microbes to produce sugars. They apply two bacterial cultures, an amylase solution, and distilled water on a...

Get a surprised reaction from trying out the chemical reaction. Scholars conduct a chemical experiment by adding yeast to hydrogen peroxide and dish soap in a plastic bottle. They learn that yeast contains a catalase enzyme that releases...

Around the world, about 2/3 of adult humans are lactose intolerant. Scholars work in small groups to discuss a few statements about lactose intolerance. Then, they watch a video on the topic and readdress each statement. Whole-class...

How do reverse transcriptase inhibitors work? Young virologists examine the function of azidothymidine, a drug doctors use to treat HIV patients, during a hands-on modeling activity. Groups create a strand of DNA from an HIV RNA strand...

Got milk? Only two cultures have had it long enough to develop the tolerance of lactose as an adult. Learn how the responsible genes evolved along with the cultures that have been consuming milk. This rich film is supplied with a few...

We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...

Many physicals include a blood glucose test, but what are doctors actually testing? Scholars graph and interpret blood glucose data, allowing them to observe the differences in lactase persistence and draw conclusions. They then connect...

Help! Someone's trying to take my DNA! An interesting lab experiment has scholars use basic materials to extract DNA. By applying ethanol, cold water, and a protease enzyme, like pineapple juice, they pull strands of DNA from peas,...

How do doctors fight a virus that's constantly mutating? Show science scholars how we fight HIV using one of its own most fundamental processes through a thoughtful demonstration. The lesson focuses on how protease inhibitors prevent HIV...

Use food coloring in electrophoresis. The last segment in a four-part series mimics DNA fingerprinting by using chromatography. Teams conduct chromatography on food coloring to find colors that use similar pigmentation in their makeup.

Who actually goes looking for a virus? Expose your class to the high-stakes life of an epidemiologist on the trail of the Nipah virus. Pupils engage in a short video, then examine how scientists predict, model, and find the source of...

Get your class to take a closer look at DNA. Pupils conduct research to determine the methods used by scientists to analyze the molecular structure of DNA. The class members investigate different types of molecular imaging along with gel...

Substances that decompose with the help of living organisms do so at different rates. Scholars experiment with Winogradsky columns to determine the rate of decomposition, the oxygen and sulfide content changes, and bacteria levels. The...

HIV mutates rapidly, making treatments challenging to find. Scholars learn about why it mutates so quickly and how scientists race to find treatments. The resource approaches the issue from both a molecular and evolutionary perspective...

Brown rice contains vitamins B and E, while white rice lasts longer in storage. The availability of rice around the world makes it a great candidate for genetic engineering. Scholars apply their knowledge of genetic engineering to solve...

In this activity, you will simulate an enzymatic reaction and explore what factors affect the activity of an enzyme.

How well do you know the relationship between enzymes and activation energy? This resource provides you with short quizzes and tutorials to provide feedback for those topics you don't understand.

[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] This activity describes how enzymes speed up biochemical reactions and their importance to living organisms.

This is a basic project on the effect of enzymes on apple slices. The goal of the project is to monitor enzyme activity by measuring the amount of apple juice released by pectinase.

Students can use an O2 Gas Sensor to measure the amount of O2 produced when H2O2 is broken down by the enzyme catalase at different concentrations, pH values, and temperatures. They will also measure the enzyme's initial reaction rates.

Do this activity to find out how to make milk curdle.

Students perform DNA forensics using food coloring to enhance their understanding of DNA fingerprinting, restriction enzymes, genotyping and DNA gel electrophoresis. They place small drops of different food coloring ("water-based paint")...

In this activity, students understand the relationship between enzyme reaction rates and various environmental factors such as pH and temperature. They recognize the metabolic differences between endotherms and exotherms. They generate...