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FlinnPREP™ Inquiry Labs for AP® Biology: Understanding Evolutionary Relationships

By: The Flinn Staff

Understanding Evolutionary Relationships BLAST Advanced Inquiry Lab Kit for AP* Biology
Understanding Evolutionary Relationships BLAST Advanced Inquiry Lab Kit for AP* Biology
Understanding Evolutionary Relationships BLAST Advanced Inquiry Lab Kit for AP* Biology
Understanding Evolutionary Relationships BLAST Advanced Inquiry Lab Kit for AP* Biology
In the Understanding Evolutionary Relationships Inquiry Lab Solution for AP® Biology, students discover what different organisms share in common using BLAST to explore evolutionary relationships with computer-generated organisms.

Includes access to exclusive FlinnPREP™ digital content to combine the benefits of classroom, laboratory and digital learning. Each blended learning lab solution includes prelab videos about concepts, techniques and procedures, summary videos that relate the experiment to the AP® exam, and standards-based, tested inquiry labs with real sample data. FlinnPREP™ Inquiry Lab Solutions are adaptable to you and how you teach with multiple ways to access and run your AP® labs.


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Big Idea 1, Investigation 3, Science Practices 1, 5

Horses, chickens, tuna, humans, Ateles (monkeys), chimpanzees, rabbits, Arabidopsis thaliana (plant), rattlesnakes, frogs, dogs, bees, cows—what do all these organisms have in common? Students find out when they use BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), a bioinformatics computer comparison tool, to research the gene sequence for a protein found in each organism. Evolutionary relationships are surprising and easy to understand with computer-generated cladograms or phylogenetic trees—we might be more alike than you think!

This Inquiry Lab Kit begins with a Baseline Activity that uses BLAST to compile data, which the students use to develop a computer-generated cladogram that depicts evolutionary relationships. Students use this research model as a stepping off point for the second portion of the activity, Opportunities for Inquiry. Questions like, “What other organisms have similar evolutionary patterns?” and “Are other genes conserved among organisms?” help guide and inspire students to develop a testable hypothesis and then design a bioinformatics research project. Results provide a great topic for a mini-scientific conference, as encouraged by the AP Biology learning objectives and science practices.

Includes detailed teacher notes, reproducible student handouts and a list of suggested genes students could explore. A computer with Internet access is required.

Note: This activity cannot be completed as written at this time. Due to lack of funding, the biology workbench website required for this activity is currently unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Correlation to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

Science & Engineering Practices

Asking questions and defining problems
Developing and using models
Planning and carrying out investigations
Constructing explanations and designing solutions
Engaging in argument from evidence
Obtaining, evaluation, and communicating information

Disciplinary Core Ideas

HS-LS1.A: Structure and Function
HS-LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits
HS-LS3.B: Variation of Traits
HS-LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
HS-LS4.B: Natural Selection

Crosscutting Concepts

Patterns
Systems and system models
Structure and function
Stability and change

Performance Expectations

HS-LS1-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins, which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
HS-LS3-1. Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring.
HS-LS3-2. Make and defend a claim based on evidence that inheritable genetic variations may result from (1) new genetic combinations through meiosis, (2) viable errors occurring during replication, and/or (3) mutations caused by environmental factors.
HS-LS4-1. Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
HS-LS4-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment.