DNA Fingerprinting

Teacher: Janet L. Ritter
Subject: Biology
Grade Level(s): 9 10
Target Audience: Biology I
Materials Needed: Adding machine paper, rulers, pencils, scissors, poster board, graph paper
Class Time: 1 90-minute class period or 2 45-minute class periods
Brief Summary: Simulation of the process of gel electrophoresis used to separate DNA fragments of different lengths. Each student prepares his/her own DNA fingerprint and compares it to others in the class.
Student Objective(s): To demonstrate the process of DNA fingerprinting and to compare DNA fingerprintsof all students in a class in order to show how they are different.
Integration (tying it all together): Prior to conducting this activity, discuss the process of DNA fingerprinting. Show students the actual equipment used and relate it to the materials in the simulation. Discuss the uses, abuses, limitations, etc. of DNA fingerprinting.
Description of Activities: Students use strips of adding machine paper to simulate a section of DNA. They cut the strips at random to simulate the action of restriction enzymes. Poster board is used to simulate a gel box and the various fragments of "paper DNA" are placed on the poster board gel box according to size. The results are "photographed" on a piece of graph paper.
Further Information and References: This activity was adapted from a similar activity that appeared in The Science Teacher, March 1996.

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