Summary
Students will learn how to disrupt cell respiration and what happens when cell respiration is disrupted. This is intended for a Pre-AP or AP Biology class, utilizing the respiration lab recommended by CollegeBoard. If selecting this lesson for other groups of students, read through the differentiations to decrease the difficulty of the lesson.
Essential Question(s)
How do cells obtain and use energy?
Snapshot
Engage
Students read a case study about cyanide poisoning in Chicago.
Explore
Students perform a cell respiration lab, looking at respiration rates in seeds.
Explain
Students create research posters to share their lab results and participate in a Gallery Walk and discussion.
Extend
Students research other inhibitors of respiration, fermentation, and anaerobic restrictions.
Evaluate
Students present their research to the class.
Materials
Chicago Cyanide Murders case study handout
Cell Respiration Lab handouts
Plastic tubs
Water (3 different temperatures)
Respirometers
Cotton balls
KOH
Peas
Thermometers
Plastic beads
Tape
Food coloring
Poster paper
Access to the internet
Engage
To begin, pass out copies of the Chicago Cyanide Murders case study for students to read. Have students read in groups of two or three and answer the questions on the case study.
Explore
Pass out cell respiration lab handouts, which are adapted from the 2001 CollegeBoard AP Biology manual - the current CollegeBoard AP Biology lab manual can be found following the link (The lab itself is on page 188 for the teacher version and page 202 for student of the PDF). Give students time in their lab groups to read the instructions and answer the pre-lab questions. Students will then be assigned a temperature to investigate and will explore the cell respiration rates of peas, so each group will test only one temperature.
Differentiation: To decrease difficulty of the lesson, move this lab to the Extend section, and omit the other Extend activity.
Explain
In their lab groups, have students create a Research Poster related to their cell respiration experiments. On the poster, students should include their research question, hypothesis, data table, graph, and research conclusion. Ask the groups to present their posters to the class. After the presentations, hang up the posters and have a discussion about how the different temperatures affected the rates of photosynthesis and what happened with the different conditions of the peas.
Have students write Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) statements using the prompt: The relationship between temperature and respiration ______. Remind students that complete CER statements do not just have a claim, but also evidence and a reason to justify the claim.
Extend
Have students sign up in groups of 2-3 (different from their lab groups, preferably) to explore a specific inhibitor of cell respiration. A signup sheet with the list of inhibitors is available in the "Inhibitors of Cell Respiration" attachment.
Ask groups to research their inhibitor and create a 5-10 minute presentation about their inhibitor and how it works. Students should include:
The name of their inhibitor.
The type of drug.
Uses.
How it works (where it blocks cell respiration).
Symptoms of ingesting the inhibitor.
Any known treatments that can reverse the effects of the inhibitor and how quickly the treatment has to be administered.
Evaluate
Students will present their research from the Extend activity to the class. After the presentations, ask students to write a Two-Minute Paper where they reflect upon how cells use and obtain energy and the ways in which that can be inhibited.
Resources
AP College Central https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-biology/course/lab-manual-resource-center
Biology Corner. (n.d.). Chicago cyanide murders: A case study in cellular respiration. Retrieved from https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/case_study_cellular_respiration.html
K20 Center. (n.d.). Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER). Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f506fc09
K20 Center. (n.d.). Research Poster. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/1643efb18793d632c1f6f6639d0068ed
K20 Center. (n.d.). Two-Minute Paper. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f506cf73