Laboratory exercises in genetics for the high school biology class

Abstract

Scope of Study: The laboratory has been regarded as the heart of science by many teachers, yet the present day instruction in high school biology gives little time to the practical application and the learning experiences found in student laboratory periods. Opportunities to study organisms in the laboratory and in nature are most important, if students are to understand basic biological concepts. This paper presents a series of laboratory exercises and demonstrations selected from a group of genetics laboratory manuals, methods books, and source material pertinent to the study. Basic principles of Mendelian genetics are illustrated or offered as problems in the student exercises. -Some of the specific areas covered are: the physical basis of heredity; the cell, the chromosome, the gene, the maintenance and variations of genetic make-up as related to mitosis and meiosis; the law of unit characters, the law of dominance, the law of segregation, and the law of independent assortment.

Findings and Conclusions: Many experiments, other than the ones presented in this study, could be used to enrich the study of high school genetics. The exercises used in this study were selected due to their conciseness and clarity. Some students will be limited by the scope of the proposed exercises, whereas other students will need to exert a maximum amount of effort to understand the material.