The Structure of DNA

A Webquest for 10th Grade Biology Students

Created by Jim Zubricky

EDCI 367 - Fall 2002

Bowling Green State Univeristy

Introduction

The year 1953 marked the 500th anniversary of the start of the Italian Renaissance. However, one short article published in Nature magazine in April 1953 began a modern-day renaissance for the science of Molecular Biology. James Watson and Francis Crick's article on the structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) not only rocked the worlds of many a molecular biologist (or biochemist), but also the world as we know it. It is with this information that we are able to explain how a cell reproduces and keeps the genetic information to make itself work, function, and reproduce.

Task

Your overall task is to verify Watson and Crick's elucidation of the structure of DNA using the following methods from the Internet:

references
science journal articles
audio/visual files
graphics

At the end, your group will report your findings to the class using Microsoft Powerpoint. Also, each student will be required to hand in a type-written paper (3-5 pages) on this topic.

Process

In groups of 5, each of you will be assigned a role to play out in this drama:

James Watson - the young American-born biologist who goes to Britain to study about viruses
Francis Crick - the British "boy wonder" working on his PhD in molecular biology
Maurice Wilkins - the lead investigator at King's College (London) working on the structure of DNA
Rosalind Franklin - the French investigator who comes to King's College to collaborate with Maurice Wilkins on DNA
Linus Pauling - the American "king" of Organic Chemistry, who is working towards a stucture of DNA

Using the Internet (I will give you some links to help get you started), your group's research should answer these questions (along with any others posed by you and/or your colleagues:

Why / How did Watson come to work with Francis Crick? What was their working relationship like?
What was the relationship between Wilkins and Crick like?
Why did Franklin have a hard time working with Wilkins?
What was wrong about Watson and Crick's first structure?
How did the Cavendish and King's College share information between the institutions? Were collaborations between institutions accepted?
What do each of the participants feel about "fair play" in scientific research?
What did Linus Pauling's paper say? What was the consequence of his theory of the structure of DNA?
Did Watson and Crick work with Wilkins and Franklin? If so, how did they share information? If not, how did Watson and Crick get their scientific data?
How did Watson and Crick use Erwin Chargaff's data (e.g., Chargaff's rule)?
How did Watson and Crick decide how the bases fit together?
What was their second structure like? What was different about it than the first attempt?
How did Wilkins and Franklin feel about their attempt? Why?
How did Pauling feel about this?
What happened to the four characters (Watson, Crick, Wilkins, and Franklin) after their publications?
Who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962? Who wasn't (why?))?
What are the alive participants doing now?

Some websites that may help you on your search are:

When you feel that you have amassed enough data, you and your groupmates need to formulate a thesis statement that will guide you and your group through the next part of your webquest. When you have a statement, hand it in to your instructor so that it can be checked and discussed with you.

Your next task is to complete a Powerpoint presentation, using the research that you have gathered. Your presentation must contain the following information:

a title slide
a slide that states your thesis statement (usually called an abstract slide)
a slide that contains background information
slides that prove or disprove your thesis
a concluding slide (what does it all mean?)
a reference slide (where did you get your info from?)
two graphics from the webpages
correct grammar/syntax/spelling

Finally, you must (individually) prepare a written paper that will restate the presentation - but in your own words. The requirements for this paper are:

title page
at least three sections (introduction, body, conclusion) that will contain 3 arguments that support your thesis, plus one counterargument
a bibliography
correct grammar/syntax/spelling

This 3-5 paged paper will be due one week after your presentation. More information will be given to you at a later time.

Assessment

This project will be assessed through the following items:

a paper
a Powerpoint presentation
group dynamics (how well did you all work together?)

Assesement for the paper are as follows:

An A paper will have the following:

A clear and concise thesis statement
powerful examples that helps the thesis statement
a counterargument
a bibliography
works cited within the paper
correct grammar and syntax

A B paper will have the following:

A good thesis statement
two powerful examples that helps the thesis
a weak counterargument
works cited within the paper
a bibliography
few grammar/syntax problems

A C paper will have the following:

a "working" thesis statement (it's weak)
examples are weak
counterargument is weak
few works are cited in the paper
a bibliography
grammar/syntax problems

A D paper will have the following:

a weak thesis statement
weak examples and counterarguments
no bibliography
grammar and syntax problems detract from the 'force' of your paper

A F paper will have the following:

paper was not handed in

The presentation will also follow similar guidelines.

Group grades will be assessed through a rubric that will ask students how well students worked together. This will be on a different handout.

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