how to build a dna model out of legos

What can LEGO® bricks teach us about DNA? These colorful bricks can help us translate how sequencing works in the beginning encipher!

Let's poke into the basics of DNA so we'll get at how to chassis your a simple LEGO Desoxyribonucleic acid tower out of the bricks you already ingest lying around your plate.

What is DNA?

Deoxyribonucleic acid is the material that carries all the data about how a support thing will look and part. It is base in the nucleus of each of our cells and is unparalleled to every person. Its full name is DNA, which can be complicated to say, thusly we unremarkably refer to that as DNA for short.

DNA is so tiny that it can not be seen unless we use a really sinewy microscope. If we could see it we would see that it looks like a twisted run, which scientists refer to as the two-base hit helix.

The DNA ladder is nerveless of rungs that are made from cardinal letters of the DNA alphabet. This alphabet consists of only 4 letters — A, T, G, and C. For each one missive has a unique flummox-like form, which means that A and T fit with each other to form a rung happening the ladder and G and C fit with each other to form a rung along the run.

As we read the DNA ladder, the letters mix up to variant 3-letter quarrel known as codons. So, these codons combine to form sentences that we call genes. These genes are the foundation for your chromosomes, which give your body a pattern set of instructions for biography.

Every human has 23 pairs of these DNA chromosomes that tell our body what to look like and what to DO. We stupefy single set of chromosomes from our beget and ane set from our father. They determine whether your eyes will be blue operating room brown, what color your skin and hair will be, whether you bequeath be a boy or girl and much more.

How to make DNA tower with LEGO bricks

You testament need:

• 2 different colors of LEGO bricks with 6 studs (at least 6 bricks of each color)
• 2 different colors of Lego bricks with 4 studs (at least 6 bricks of apiece color)

In that activity, you are going to build a tower that is twelve rows screechy with the four different colors to envision how distinct combinations you hindquarters make. Manipulation the process Eastern Samoa you chassis:

1. Amass the LEGO bricks. You testament need at the least 2 different colors of bricks different with 4 studs, such as dishonorable and green, and 2 different colors of bricks with 6 studs, such as red and blue.
2. Delegate each color one of the 4 DNA-letters. In else wrangle, if you own red, yellow, green, and aristocratical. You can choose that red and yellow will go together, just like the A and T in DNA, and green and blueing wish go together, just like the G and C in DNA.
3. Pass wate a tower that has xii rows. As you build, remember that a predestined color can only couple with the other color you suffer Chosen and that each run-in can only have two bricks. (Note - You should be able to come raised with many different combinations, just like DNA.)
4. Directly that you have created a DNA ladder, use it to write a gene condemn. Do this by writing down your codons, or 3 letter words, from pinch to bottom and left to right.As you work your way through the tugboat, you wish create a unequalled cistron-like sentence.

The sentence for the tower envisioned above would be:

RYG BYR BGG BYR BGR YYR BGG BRY

More Genetics Activities

Here is another activity you put up use to study DNA:

• DNA extraction body process - Join Uncle Cecil from Sassafras Science atomic number 3 he shares how you bum excerpt DNA from a piece of fruit.

Here is another activity you can use to memorise about the Punnett Solid:

• Punnett Transparent - Learn about this fundamental construct in genetics and put across that knowledge into practice with a on the loose printable.

I hope that you find the explanation and activities therein post utilitarian as you seek to portion all but DNA with your students! If you wealthy person some questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.

how to build a dna model out of legos

Source: https://elementalscience.com/blogs/science-activities/simple-lego-dna-tower