Cell Membrane Experimental Design
Thinking about experimentation.Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
The final activity of this unit, which integrates the Keepers of the Gate unit through the Go Public challenge, involves students taking part in experimental design. They design a lab that answers the challenge question: "You are spending the night with your grandmother when your throat starts to feel sore. Your grandma tells you to gargle with salt water and it will feel much better. Thinking this is an old wive's tale, you scoff, but when you try it later that night it works! Why?" Students must have their plan approved by the instructor before they begin. A formal lab write-up is due as part of the laboratory investigation.
Students design a lab using all the expertise they have gained through the unit. The lab analysis must help them answer the Grand Challenge question. By formulating their own plans for the lab, students are participating in the engineering design process: engineers use their previous knowledge and personal experience to aid the design of novel solutions to problems. Engineers also utilize experimental design to further test their solutions. Students use their previous knowledge from the earlier lessons and activities to facilitate their lab design process.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Design and conduct an experiment to help answer the challenge question.
- Write a formal lab report for the experiment.
- Explain how the designed lab furthers their understanding of the engineering design process.