Radiation and Mutation

In this unit, students will consider how radiation affects humans, and how to best protect ourselves from sources of radiation. To do this, students will learn about how organelles allow animal cells to function, how radiation could affect those organelles, and how DNA mutations could cause cells to malfunction. This relates to the history of nuclear weapons testing in Nevada, which led to increases in cancer cases near the test site. Students will also learn about different types of radiation, and ways to protect themselves from radiation, including time, distance, and shielding. Finally, students will research a career of their choice related to nuclear science.  

Hands-on Activities:

• Students learn about the nucleus, mitochondria, and cell membrane through hands on investigations 
• Students choose from a variety of project choices to model how the parts of a cell could be represented if a cell was a city 
• Students play the game of telephone and connect it to how mutations might occur during replication 
• Students throw radiation (ping pong balls) at a model cell and consider how time, distance, and shielding can be used to protect from radiation 

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS):

MS-LS1-2 •  MS-LS3-1 •  MS-PS4-1