Understanding Reproduction and Chromosomes

Cost: $ RN

Four Activities in One Kit Activity 1: Asexually Reproducing Organisms Activity 2: Human Chromosomes and the Process of Making Karyotypes Activity 3: Using the Karyotypes to Investigate Sexual Reproduction Activity 4: Genetic Disorders

Online Onion Root Tips Link

Students should have background knowledge on chromosome structure and meiosis prior to the lab.

Activity One: The Different Forms of Asexual Reproduction Start lesson with engaging scenario Video Divide into groups and assign an organism to study. Each group will be given a prepared microscope slide of their organism and a study card. Use the microscope slide to gather information of your organism and the mechanism in which they reproduce asexually. Groups that were assigned the same organism to study discuss their results. Class Discussion of all the organisms. See Table in handout. Follow up questions to identify the key components of asexual reproduction.

Organism Picture of Organism Type of Asexual Reproduction Description of Asexual Reproduction Hydra See next slide. BuddingDevelops an outgrowth which is detached from the parent and becomes a new individual. Paramecium See next slide. Binary FissionParamecium cell divides into two; each cell has a nucleus with identical genes. Yeast See next slide. BuddingYeast cells divide in half to produce two genetically identical cells. Moss Small green plants that grow in moist areas. Spore formationSpores are produced that are genetically identical to parent. They can travel by wind. Rhizopus (Mold) See next slide. Spore formationSpores reproduce asexually inside long tube like structure called sporangium.

Paramecium Link

Hydra Reproducing Asexually

Moss

Life Cycle of Producing Spores

Magnification of Budding Yeast

Key Points of Asexual Reproduction Offspring are genetically identical to parents. Each parent organism transfers their genes through the process of mitosis. Advantages: Organism does not require another sex to pass on a full set of identical genetic traits Faster than sexual reproduction Disadvantages No genetic diversity Population of organisms lack the traits to adapt to a changing environmental conditions Unfavorable genes will always be passed on