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Enzymes Help Us Digest Food
In this hands-on, minds-on activity, students investigate the biological causes of Maria’s symptoms and Jayden’s symptoms. To explore the causes of these symptoms, students carry out two experiments and interpret the results, and they answer additional analysis and discussion questions.
Students learn about enzyme function and enzyme specificity as they figure out that Maria’s symptoms are due to lactase deficiency (resulting in lactose intolerance) and Jayden’s symptoms are due to sucrase deficiency.
In the final section, students are challenged to generalize their understanding of enzymes to interpret a video of an experiment with saliva, starch and iodine. This activity can be used in an introductory unit on biological molecules or later during a discussion of enzymes.
Download Student Handout: PDF format or Word format
Download Teacher Preparation Notes: PDF format or Word format
We invite comments on this NGSS-aligned Hands-On Activity and the accompanying Teacher Preparation Notes, including suggestions for other teachers who are planning to use the activity, useful preparatory or follow-up activities, additional resources or any questions you have related to the activity, or a brief description of any problem you might have encountered. If you would prefer to send your comments or questions in a private message, please write Ingrid Waldron at iwaldron@upenn.edu.
Download Minds-On Activities for Teaching Biology
Introduction and Activities Listing
Intro and Biological Molecules
- Characteristics of Life
- Levels of Organization in Biology (NGSS)
- Introduction to Proteins and DNA (NGSS)
- Enzymes Help Us Digest Food (NGSS; hands-on)
- A Scientific Investigation – What types of food contain starch and protein? (NGSS; hands-on)
- Coronaviruses – Introduction (NGSS)
- Who Took Jerell’s iPod? -- An Organic Compound Mystery (hands-on)
- Is Yeast Alive? (hands-on)
- Macromolecules Jeopardy
Cell Structure and Function
- Cell Structure and Function – Major Concepts and Learning Activities
- Introduction to Cells (NGSS)
- Structure and Function of Cells, Organs and Organ Systems (NGSS)
- Why do some plants grow in odd shapes? (NGSS)
- Introduction to Osmosis (NGSS; hands-on)
- Cell Membrane Structure and Function (NGSS; hands-on)
- Cell Vocabulary Review Game
Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis
- Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis - Key Concepts and Activities
- How do organisms use energy? (NGSS)
- Using Models to Understand Cellular Respiration (NGSS)
- Using Models to Understand Photosynthesis (NGSS)
- Photosynthesis, Cellular Respiration and Plant Growth (NGSS; hands-on)
- Food, Energy and Body Weight (NGSS)
- How do muscles get the energy they need for athletic activity? (NGSS)
- Alcoholic Fermentation in Yeast – A Bioengineering Design Challenge (NGSS; hands-on)
- Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration (NGSS)
- Where does a tree’s mass come from? (NGSS)
- Photosynthesis Investigation (NGSS; hands-on)
Cell Division
- Mitosis and the Cell Cycle (NGSS; hands-on)
- Mitosis and the Cell Cycle (NGSS)
- Meiosis and Fertilization – Understanding How Genes Are Inherited (NGSS; hands-on)
- Understanding How Genes are Inherited via Meiosis and Fertilization (NGSS)
- Comparing Mitosis and Meiosis
- What causes melanoma and other types of cancer? (NGSS)
- Mistakes in Meiosis – Down Syndrome or Embryo Death (NGSS)
- Mitosis, Meiosis and Fertilization Vocabulary Review Game
Genetics
- Genetics Concepts and Activities (NGSS)
- Genetics (NGSS; hands-on)
- Genetics Intro – Family Members (NGSS)
- Genetics Sickle Cell Anemia and Trait (NGSS)
- Genetics Probability – Sex Ratios (NGSS)
- Mistake in copying DNA & Dwarfism (NGSS)
- Soap Opera Genetics (NGSS)
- Were the babies switched? The Genetics of Blood Types (NGSS; hands-on)
- Dragon Genetics I (hands-on)
- Dragon Genetics II (hands-on)
- Learning about Genetic Disorders
- Genetics Vocabulary Review Game
- Genetics Jeopardy
Molecular Biology
- Molecular Biology: Major Concepts and Learning Activities (NGSS)
- DNA (NGSS; hands-on)
- DNA Function, Structure and Replication (NGSS)
- How Genes Can Cause Disease - Introduction to Transcription and Translation (NGSS; hands-on)
- How Genes Can Cause Disease - Understanding Transcription and Translation (NGSS)
- UV, Mutations and DNA Repair (NGSS; hands-on)
- What types of mutations cause more vs. less severe muscular dystrophy? (NGSS)
- Cell Differentiation and Epigenetics (NGSS)
- Genetic Engineering Challenge – Preventing Vitamin A Deficiency (NGSS)
- Gene Editing with CRISPR-Cas – Potential Sickle Cell Anemia Cure (NGSS)
- Molecular Biology Vocabulary Review Game
Evolution
- Resources for Teaching and Learning about Evolution
- Evolution by Natural Selection (NGSS; hands-on)
- What is natural selection? (NGSS)
- Natural Selection and the Peppered Moth (NGSS)
- How have mutations and natural selection affected fur color in mice? (NGSS)
- How Whales Evolved (NGSS)
- How Eyes Evolved – Analyzing the Evidence (NGSS)
- How does evolution result in similarities and differences? (NGSS; hands-on)
- What is a species? (NGSS)
- Coronavirus Evolution and the COVID-19 Pandemic (NGSS)
- Evolution and Adaptations (NGSS)
Ecology
- Ecology Concepts and Learning Activities (NGSS)
- Exponential and Logistic Population Growth Models vs. Complex Reality (NGSS)
- Some Similarities between the Spread of Infectious Disease and Population Growth (NGSS; hands-on)
- Stability and Change in Biological Communities (NGSS)
- Food Webs, Energy Flow, Carbon Cycle and Trophic Pyramids (NGSS)
- Food Webs (NGSS)
- Carbon Cycles and Energy Flow through Ecosystems (NGSS)
- Trophic Pyramids (NGSS)
- Introduction to Global Warming (NGSS)
- Food and Climate Change – How can we feed a growing world population without increasing global warming? (NGSS)
- Resources for Teaching about Climate Change
- The Ecology of Lyme Disease (NGSS)
Human Physiology and Health
- Negative Feedback, Homeostasis, and Positive Feedback – Examples and Concepts (NGSS; hands-on)
- Homeostasis, Negative Feedback, and Positive Feedback (NGSS)
- How do we Sense the Flavors of Food? (NGSS; hands-on)
- COVID-19 Vaccines (NGSS)
- How to Reduce the Spread of COVID-19 (NGSS)
- Molecular and Evolutionary Biology of HIV/AIDS and Treatment (NGSS)
- Resources for Teaching Cancer Biology
- Carbohydrate Consumption, Athletics, Health – Using Science Process Skills
- Vitamins and Health – Why Experts Disagree
- Regulation of Human Heart Rate (hands-on)
- Should You Drink Sports Drinks? When? Why?
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Comments
2023 revision
We have clarified and improved the instructions for the experiments, as well as many of the questions in the Student Handout. The Teacher Preparation Notes have been enhanced and clarified.
Ingrid
September 2016 Revision
In the revised Student Handout, two of the experiments have been combined to reduce the amount of wait time and make it easier to complete all the experiments in one laboratory period. The revised Teacher Preparation Notes include more information about enzymes.
Are the files posted above
Are the files posted above the revised versions?
Yes
The files posted above are the ones described in the comment above.
Ingrid
urinalysis test strips
Can I use urinalysis test strips instead of glucose test strips, since they are less expensive.
Urinalysis Test Strips and Updated Version of Activity
Yes, we have used urinalysis test strips with good success.
Also, I am working on a revised version of this activity, which I expect to have posted within a week. Meanwhile, if you would like to have the revised Student Handout and Teacher Preparation Notes, please email me at iwaldron@sas.upenn.edu .
Ingrid
2015 Revision
This revised activity is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (see page 2 of the Teacher Preparation Notes). One significant change is the addition of questions that analyze how the enzyme lactase functions in the digestive system and how the digestive and circulatory systems cooperate to provide cells all over the body with molecules that provide the energy for cellular processes.
That is nice. Thanks for your
That is nice. Thanks for your explanation
enzymes help us digest food instructions for all three parts
Hello,
I wanted to know if you can send the instructions for all three parts of the experiment "Enzymes Help Us Digest Food"?
Thank you, Carla Lowden
instructions for all three parts
The procedures for all three experiments are described in the attachment available above.
Ingrid
Using Lactaid Pills from the Drugstore
Tim Best reports success in using Lactaid pills instead of purchasing lactase enzyme.
"I've done 2 parts of the lab recently, and the store-bought lactase seems to work fine. I called Fisher Scientific, and found that depending on the batch the lactase they sell has somewhere between 12000-18000 lactase units per gram. The lactase from CVS is labelled as having 9000 units per pill, so I've just been dissolving 2 pills in 50mL of water, and having each group use 1mL of this solution. The glucose test strips are definitely indicating the presence of glucose when they should, although we've found that it does take more like 5-6 minutes as opposed to 3."
August 2012 revision
The main change in the new version of the Student Handout for this activity is that in the current version students design the second and third experiments. This will help to increase student understanding of the scientific method. If you would prefer to have explicit instructions for all three of the experiments, these are provided in an alternative version of the Student Handout. In addition, the Teacher Preparation Notes have been somewhat expanded and clarified.
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