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Student Name: Brittany Garvey

Subject: Biology
Topic: Characteristics of Life: Metabolism
Grade Level: 10th Grade
School and CI Name:
Date of Lesson Enactment:
Duration: 2 classes
Essential Questions: Is yeast a living thing? How can we characterize if an object is living or nonliving? What is metabolism?
Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs):
The student will investigate and understand life functions of Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Key
concepts include
a) comparison of their metabolic activities
Objectives:
Students will KNOW
o The characteristics of life, specifically metabolism.
o That yeast is a type of fungus which is a living thing.
Students will UNDERSTAND
o In order to be alive organisms must contain all characteristics of life.
o Yeast is a part of our daily lives.
Students will be able to DO
o Observe using proper microscope techniques.
o Test the metabolism of yeast.
Materials/Resources:
Bakers Yeast
Sugar
Plastic zip-lock baggies
Small Water Balloons
Test Tubes
Test Tube Rack
Container (100 mL)
Gloves
Sharpies
Sterile Nutrient Agar Plate
Microscope
Microscope Slides
Safety
Students will wear goggles and gloves throughout the experiment and will be instructed not to
ingest any substances in the lab. Students will also be instructed on the need to walk in the lab
and clean up any spills. If any glass breaks students will need to inform the teacher and then
the teacher will place the objects in the broken glass box.
Procedures:
Introduction

Ask the students the following questions and have them follow along on their worksheet
Humans use yeast every day. What is yeast, and what are some common uses of yeast?
You can buy yeast to make bread in the grocery store. This yeast consists of little brown
grains. Do you think that these little brown grains of yeast are alive? Why or why not?
To find out whether yeast is alive, we first need to think about what makes something alive.
What are some characteristics of living organisms?
During the experiment the students will investigate "Is yeast alive?, you will test whether the
grains of yeast have two characteristics of living things -- the ability to grow and the ability to
use energy (referred to as metabolism).
We will be looking at metabolism in this experiment in order to test whether yeast is alive. We
will use a petri dish to grow the yeast and then next class you will make observations of the
petri dish in order to determine if yeast it alive.

Body
Inquiry Question: Is Yeast Alive?
Students will follow along with their worksheet to complete the experiment while also
receiving guidance from the teacher on lab procedures and safety precautions.
Procedure to Test Your Predictions
1. Set up four test tubes in a test tube rack.
2. Label each tube with a number, 1-4. Test tubes 1 and 2 will both have yeast, sugar and
water. Test tubes 3 and 4 will both have only yeast and water, with no sugar.
3. Fill test tube 1 4/5 full with warm tap water. Add one packet of dry yeast a little bit at a
time, mixing the yeast in thoroughly before adding more. Mix by putting your hand or thumb
over the top of the test tube and shaking.
4. Pour the yeast solution so that there is an equal amount in each of the four test tubes.
5. Add packet of sugar to test tube 1 and the other half to test tube 2. These tubes will be
your experimental group. Do not add sugar to tubes 3 and 4.
6. Add warm tap water to each test tube, filling each test tube 4/5 of the way to the top.
7. Cover the opening of each test tube with a balloon to catch any gas that is formed. Using
the balloon to seal the end of the tests tube, hold a finger over the end of each test tube and
shake it vigorously to thoroughly mix the contents.
8. Observe the test tubes and record your observations carefully in the table on the next page.
Then, every 5 minutes for 25 minutes, observe what occurs in the test tubes and any changes in
the balloons which cover each test tube, and record your observations.
If the yeast grains are capable of metabolism, it will take some time to produce enough carbon
dioxide to see the change in the balloons. While you are waiting for this change, set up the
experiment to test growth (see page 4).
Once they have completed the above procedure have students prepare for the next phase of the
experiment.
1. Obtain a Petri dish with yeast growth media, and label the bottom with your name, teacher,
and class period. (A Petri dish is a flat, covered dish used by scientists, and the yeast growth
media in the Petri dish contains a mixture of substances that yeast requires to grow.)
2. Spread10-12 grains of yeast across your plate.
3. Add several drops of water on the grains of yeast.
4. Your plates will be incubated at 37 C until the next lab class. How warm or cold is that?
37 C is equivalent to _______ F.
Students will put their petri dish in the incubator and then continue to make observations from
the first part of the experiment on observations of the yeast in the test tubes.
After they have collected their data have students reflect by answering the questions on the
worksheet.
After students are finished have them come together as a class to compare results and share
reflection questions.

Assessment:
Students will demonstrate their understanding following the experiment through the closure
activity. The teacher will check in with the groups as they prepare their conclusion to ensure
that the students are understanding the material and that any questions can be cleared up. The
teacher will also ensure that they are monitoring the students to check for understanding
throughout the inquiry based activity.
The worksheet will be collected by the teacher following the completion of the experiment to
ensure that all students have an understanding of the material.
Closure:
The students in each group will pick one representative. This representative will bring their
petri dish to the front of the classroom and place it under the projector. They will be in charge
of presenting their group answer to the conclusion questions as well as a brief summary to
explain their results on the petri dish. This is a great opportunity for students to display
understanding and give them the ability to show off their hard work.
Accommodations for individual differences:
Students will work in groups to ensure that students that are ELLs will have a friend to guide them and
ask questions. Also, the teacher will be available to provide support where necessary due to the
student-centered approach to the lesson.
Behavioral and organizational strategies: Teacher needs to remain involved in the classroom
discussion and model appropriate lab techniques before beginning the experiment. Also, the teacher
needs to ensure that all students are wearing goggles and gloves throughout the procedure.
Resources/References:
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/waldron/pdf/IsYeastAliveProtocol.pdf

Is Yeast Alive?
Adapted from Is Yeast Alive? by Penny Bernstein at Kent State University, Stark Campus
copyright 2011 by Dr. Ingrid Waldron and Jennifer Doherty, University of Pennsylvania Biology Department 1

Humans use yeast every day. What is yeast, and what are some common uses of yeast?

You can buy yeast to make bread in the grocery store. This yeast consists of little brown
grains. Do you think that these little brown grains of yeast are alive? Why or why not?

To find out whether yeast is alive, we first need to think about what makes something alive.
What are some characteristics of living organisms?

To begin to answer the question, "Is yeast alive?, you will test whether the grains of yeast
have two characteristics of living things -- the ability to grow and the ability to use energy
(referred to as metabolism).

Scientific Experiment to Test for Metabolism


We will carry out an indirect test for metabolism. In other words, we will be indirectly testing
whether yeast can use energy, which is one of the characteristics of living organisms.
When yeast, humans, and other living organisms use energy, they break down high-energy
molecules like sugar to get the energy they need and give off a gas called carbon dioxide as
a by-product of this reaction.
1 Teachers are encouraged to copy this student handout for classroom use.

A Word file (which can be used to prepare a modified version if


desired), Teacher Preparation Notes, comments, and other hands-on activities are available at
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/sci_edu/waldron/. Additional biology activities are available at
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/bioactivities.

We will test whether yeast can metabolize sugar and produce a gas which we will presume is
carbon dioxide. Specifically, we will test whether yeast produces a gas when it has sugar
available as a food vs. when no sugar is available.
Research Question:
Does yeast metabolize sugar and produce a gas?
Predictions:
Do you expect yeast to produce a gas when sugar is available? ______
Do you expect yeast to produce a gas when no sugar or other food is available? _____
Explain the reasons for your predictions.

Procedure to Test Your Predictions


1. Set up four test tubes in a test tube rack.
2. Label each tube with a number, 1-4. Test tubes 1 and 2 will both have yeast, sugar
and water. Test tubes 3 and 4 will both have only yeast and water, with no sugar.
3. Fill test tube 1 4/5 full with warm tap water. Add one packet of dry yeast a little bit at a
time, mixing the yeast in thoroughly before adding more. Mix by putting your hand or
thumb over the top of the test tube and shaking.
4. Pour the yeast solution so that there is an equal amount in each of the four test tubes.
5. Add packet of sugar to test tube 1 and the other half to test tube 2. These tubes will
be your experimental group. Do not add sugar to tubes 3 and 4.
6. Add warm tap water to each test tube, filling each test tube 4/5 of the way to the top.
7. Cover the opening of each test tube with a balloon to catch any gas that is formed.
Using the balloon to seal the end of the tests tube, hold a finger over the end of each
test tube and shake it vigorously to thoroughly mix the contents.
8. Observe the test tubes and record your observations carefully in the table on the next
page. Then, every 5 minutes for 25 minutes, observe what occurs in the test tubes
and any changes in the balloons which cover each test tube, and record your
observations.

If the yeast grains are capable of metabolism, it will take some time to produce
enough carbon dioxide to see the change in the balloons. While you are waiting for
this change, set up the experiment to test growth (see page 4).

Observations of Yeast Test Tubes


0 minutes

5 minutes

10 minutes

15 minutes

20 minutes

25 minutes

Test
tube 1
(with
sugar)
Test
tube 2
(with
sugar)
Test
tube 3
(water
)

Test
tube 4
(water
)

9. Discuss the results you obtained with your group. How do you interpret your results?
Do your results match your predictions?

10. Why is it better to have two test tubes with yeast, sugar, and water and two test tubes
with just yeast and water, instead of only one test tube with each type of mixture?

11. When you make bread, if you just mix flour, sugar and water, the dough does not rise,
and the bread will be flat and hard. If you include yeast in the bread dough, then the
dough rises and the bread is bigger and fluffier. Can you explain how the yeast helps
the bread dough to rise?

Procedure to Test for Growth


Research Question: Can the little brown grains of yeast grow?
Instructions
1. Obtain a Petri dish with yeast growth media, and label the bottom with your name,
teacher, and class period. (A Petri dish is a flat, covered dish used by scientists, and
the yeast growth media in the Petri dish contains a mixture of substances that yeast
requires to grow.)
2. Spread10-12 grains of yeast across your plate.
3. Add several drops of water on the grains of yeast.
4. Your plates will be incubated at 37 C until the next lab class. How warm or cold is
that?
37 C is equivalent to _______ F.
Observations
5. At the next lab class, inspect your plate. Do you see any signs of growth on the plate?
Sketch what you see.

6. Take a sample of the growth and observe it under the microscope. Describe what you
see.

Conclusions
Based on your findings, do you think the little brown grains of yeast are alive? Explain why
or why not.

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