Imagine that...
It's 1900. Hugo DeVries, Erich von Tschermak, and Carl Correns have just rediscovered Gregor Mendel's work published 35 years earlier. You are interested in the properties of heredity, but are somewhat skeptical that Mendel's laws of inheritance apply universally to plants and animals. Therefore you decide to decide test Mendel's laws using Drosophila, a rapidly growing, highly fecund insect that you think will be an excellent model for studying inheritance.
Over the next few weeks, you will simulate genetic crosses of Drosophila, using computer software called the Genetics Construction Kit (GCK). In addition to simulating genetic crosses, this software also allows you to record and analyze your results more easily. See the GCK Manual for detailed instructions.
For this assignment, pairs of students will analyze one straightforward problem: GCK I (part B). Do the characteristics in your population follow Mendel's laws of inheritance? If not, how do they differ?
At the next lab meeting, you must be prepared to orally present the main finding(s) of your studies and the evidence supporting your conclusions.
For this assignment, pairs of student will analyze a single problem (GCK II).
One week later, a jointly prepared, short summary succintly describing your main finding(s) and the supporting evidence is due. Don't show everything you did; only present the relevant crosses and results. If you did some crosses that don't happen to provide evidence for a specific finding, leave it out! If desired, you may prepare your summary as an abbreviated lab report consisting of a Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion section, as described in Pechenik.
For this assignment, pairs of student will analyze a single problem (GCK III).
One week later, an individually prepared, complete lab report fully describing your objectives, methods, results and conclusions is due. Don't show everything you did; only present the relevant crosses and results. If you did some crosses that don't happen to provide evidence for a specific finding, leave it out! This report must follow the format of a scientific report as described in Pechenik.
The next week, a revised lab report, prepared jointly if desired, is due. This full report will be evaluated for content and form as described in the Checklist for Evaluating Lab Reports
Genetics Construction Kit (GCK)
William R. Morgan wmorgan@acs.wooster.edu