Reebop Gene Expression Information

Marshmallow Meiosis Reebop Gene Expression Information

Phenotype & Genotype Chart

Phenotype Genotype 1 antenna AA 2 antennae Aa No antennae aa 1 hump MM 2 humps Mm 3 humps mm Orange nose QQ or Qq Green nose qq Curly tail TT or Tt Straight tail tt 2 pink eyes EE or Ee 3 pink eyes ee Red legs (4 legs) LL or Ll Black legs (4 legs) ll 3 body segments (not DD or Dd including the head) 2 body segments (not dd including the head)

Supplies and Parts:

Antennae (1, 2, or 0) green pipe cleaners - cut into 2 inch strips Humps (1, 2, or 3) Mini-marshmallows Noses (1) Green or orange tic tacs Tails (1) Red pipe cleaners- cut into 3 inch strips Legs (4) Red or black Twizzlers – cut into 1 inch pieces Body segments (2 or Regular marshmallows 3;not including the head) Eyes (2 or 3) Pink Good & Plenty Connective tissue (Use Toothpicks (whole or broken) as many as you need.)

Sources: Several teachers have published this activity. Here are two.  Soderberg, P. (1992) Marshmallow Meiosis. The Science Teacher, 59(8)28-31.  http://home.ptd.net/~jmbacb/docs/marshmallow_meiosis_teachers_manual.pdf Name ______Date ______

Activity: Marshmallow Meiosis/Reebops

Goals: 1. To demonstrate how offspring receive a random selection of traits from their parents. 2. To explain how meiosis is responsible for the tremendous variation within a species.

Background: Reebops are imaginary creatures made out of marshmallows and other common items. They tend to live in discarded soda cans. However, they are rarely seen in the wild as they are extremely fast. Once you have a male and a female in captivity, your room will soon be filled with Reebops. They are very prolific and require minimal care. Reebops live quite comfortably in a covered shoebox with small holes punched in the sides for ventilation. Reebops help illustrate how meiosis is an important reason for the tremendous variation that exists in every species. Reebops have only seven pairs of chromosomes, each carrying the gene/allele for a trait that affects their outward appearance (phenotype). This makes them ideal subjects for studying genetics and the transfer of traits from parent to offspring. (Many professional geneticists use fruit flies.) Mom and dad Reebops are heterozygous for all seven traits.

Materials: (per team of 4) 4 large white marshmallows, 4 pieces of two pipe cleaners in two sizes and colors (long and red for tails, short and green for antennae), several toothpicks, paper plate, white construction or printer paper, a small white envelope, a variety of small candies: mini-marshmallows, Tic-Tacs, Good & Plenty, Twizzlers (black and red), Reebop Gene Expression Information

Procedure: 1. What I Know: Write two sentences describing what you already know about the process of meiosis.

2. Examine the reebop parents that are on display in your classroom. The pair will serve as the parents for the baby reebops you will create. 3. Work in table groups of four students made up of two gender teams – a team of two to represent the male parent and a team of two will represent the female parent. 4. Obtain a sheet of reebop chromosome pieces and cut apart the chromosome pairs. (Each team of two students is responsible for a set of chromosomes. Blue for male and pink for female.) 5. Set out the 2 parental sets of chromosomes with same lengths together and letters facing down. 6. Members of each “gender team” should take turns selecting one chromosome of each length from each parent and place them together in a “new baby” pile. 7. The baby reebop characteristics are determined by turning over the chromosomes and encoding them according to the Genotype/Phenotype Chart. 8. Circle the alleles selected for the rebop offspring on your Baby Rebop Chart. Then, write down the genotype and phenotype of your new baby reebop on the chart. 9. One student from each group should get the materials needed to make their baby Reebop. (Caution: Do not eat any of the materials.) 10. When completed, display your baby Reebops in a designated “nursery” area. 11. Study all the offspring and note their appearance.

12. What I Observed: a. Baby Reebop Chart:

Alleles Trait Phenotype Genotype (circle the allele combinations selected) AA Aa aa Number of antennae QQ Qq qq Nose Color EE Ee ee Number of eyes DD Dd dd Body Segments (not including the head) MM Mm mm Number of humps TT Tt tt Tail shape LL Ll ll Color of Legs (4 legs)

b. Reebop Drawing (Include your Rebop’s name.)

Name of Reebop: ______

13. Questions: Answer the following questions I complete statements. a. What similarities exist in the Reebop population - all of the baby Reebops you and your classmates constructed?

b. What differences exist in the Reebop population?

c. How does this activity demonstrate meiosis – the process that occurs in sex cells (sperm and egg) by which the number of chromosomes is reduced by half?

d. Gamete cells or sex cells contain half the number of chromosomes. The other body cells contain a full amount of chromosomes. Does your baby Rebop contain the half amount or the full amount of chromosomes?

14. What I Wonder: Pose a question about what you may still like to know about the topic of meiosis.

15. Claim and Evidence Writing Prompts: Use the following prompts to help you construct your lab conclusion, What I Learned.  Goal: State the goal of this lesson. The goal of this lesson is…  Claim: What did you learn from the activity that satisfies the goal of this lesson? This is an I Learned statement. I learned that…  Evidence: How can you prove from your observations that you learned what you claim? This can be a general statement that you will explain in detail in your explanation. I know this because….  Explanation: Use specific data from your observations to support your claim and describe the evidence. Use details to support your claim.  Concluding Statement: Reword the goal and either add information you learned about the topic from your text book, class discussions, and/ or personal research OR you can extend the statement by adding a relevant question.

16. What I Learned: Write at least a one paragraph summary of what you learned from completing this activity. Use the Claims and Evidence Writing Prompts to help you compose your summary. Supplies and Parts:

Antennae (1, 2, or 0) green or any other color pipe cleaners - cut into 2 inch strips Humps (1, 2, or 3) Mini-marshmallows Noses (1) Green or orange tic tacs Tails (1) Red or any other color pipe cleaners- cut into 3 inch strips Legs (4) Red or black Twizzlers – cut into 1 inch pieces Body segments (2 or 3;not Regular marshmallows including the head) Eyes (2 or 3) Pink Good & Plenty Connective tissue (Use as Toothpicks (whole or broken) many as you need.)

Sources: Several teachers have published this activity. Here are two.  Soderberg, P. (1992) Marshmallow Meiosis. The Science Teacher, 59(8)28-31.  http://home.ptd.net/~jmbacb/docs/marshmallow_meiosis_teachers_manual.pdf

Materials for one quad (100 students) Students work in groups of four to create one reebop baby. green pipe cleaners - cut into 2 inch strips 1 package or about 25 pipe cleaners Mini-marshmallows 1 bag Green or orange tic tacs 4 pkgs of each Red pipe cleaners- cut into 3 inch strips 1 package or about 25 pipe cleaners Red or black Twizzlers – cut into 1 inch pieces 1 package of each Regular marshmallows 2 packages Pink Good & Plenty 1 package Toothpicks (whole or broken) 2 boxes of round colored type