1. 9A: Inheritance and variations
Lesson 4: History of DNA discovery

2. Learning objective
State the roles played by Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Franklin in the development of the DNA model

3. Scientific Process Through experiments scientists knew DNA was made of
nucleotides that appeared in set ratios
They did not know
Exactly how the molecules were joined together
Wanted to know how DNA could make exact copies of itself

4. Maurice Wilkins 1916-2004 Born in New Zealand
Moved to England when he was 6
1938- graduated from St. John’s College in Cambridge
Worked on improving radar
1943- Manhattan project (atomic bomb)
Back in UK- started x-raying biological molecules (DNA)
Rosalind Franklin joined him in this project
1962- Noble Prize in Medicine with Watson and Crick

5. Rosalind Franklin 1920-1958 Wanted to be a scientist from a young age
Difficult for girls at this time
Studied chemistry and physics
Studied the physical structure of coal
Moved to France- learned x-ray diffraction techniques
1951- moved back to England to work with Wilkins
took the 1st photo’s of DNA and predicted the helical structure of the molecule
Died before she could be awarded the Noble Prize

6. James Watson 1928- Born in America
Worked in Chicago, Indiana and Copenhagen
Moved to Cambridge to work with Francis Crick
Studied the structure of DNA
Created the first model that explained replication and genetic codes
1962- Noble Prize in Medicine with Crick and Wilkins
leader and organizer of the Human Genome project

7. Francis Crick 1916-2004 Born in England
Studied physics but switched to biology in 1947
Started working with Watson on DNA model
1962- Nobel Prize
Continued work in genetics
Changed focus and worked on brain research at Salk Institute in California

8. What they discovered

9. Task: comic strip- time line
Create a comic strip or timeline poster of the famous people who helped us learn what the DNA molecule looks like (Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Franklin)
This is an assessed piece of work based on how well you communicate your new knowledge- see rubric next slide

10. Marking rubric
0-2 The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors
3-5 The student attempts to communicate scientific information using some scientific language. The student presents some of the information in an appropriate form using some symbolic or visual representation when appropriate. The student attempts to acknowledge sources of information but this is inaccurate
6-8 The student communicates scientific information using scientific language. The student presents most of the information appropriately using symbolic and/or visual representation according to the task. The student acknowledges sources of information with occasional errors
9-10 The student communicates scientific information effectively using scientific language correctly. The student presents all the information appropriately using symbolic and/or visual representation accurately according to the task. The student acknowledges sources of information appropriately.