Students will work in groups to extract DNA from fruit using an extraction buffer of water, dish soap and salt. Each group will need a strawberry, banana and kiwi slice. Rubbing alcohol is kept frozen until added gently down the side of a test tube containing the fruit and buffer to allow the DNA to rise to the top where students can observe, hold, and show to other groups.
Students will work in groups to extract DNA from fruit using an extraction buffer of water, dish soap and salt. Each group will need a strawberry, banana and kiwi slice. Rubbing alcohol is kept frozen until added gently down the side of a test tube containing the fruit and buffer to allow the DNA to rise to the top where students can observe, hold, and show to other groups.
Students will work in groups to extract DNA from fruit using an extraction buffer of water, dish soap and salt. Each group will need a strawberry, banana and kiwi slice. Rubbing alcohol is kept frozen until added gently down the side of a test tube containing the fruit and buffer to allow the DNA to rise to the top where students can observe, hold, and show to other groups.
- Have students work in groups of at least two people
- Mix up the extraction buffer before class. Per 1 cup of water, add about 2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap and one tablespoon of salt. Give each group a beaker of the solution. - Keep the rubbing alcohol in the freezer until it is needed - I have students wash and reuse the mesh cloth and plastic bags all day, it saves on waste - Each lab group will need one strawberry, one chunk of banana (about 1/5th a banana), and one slice of kiwi (about 1/3 a kiwi). - Make sure when students pour in the rubbing alcohol, they tilt the test tube so the rubbing alcohol gently runs down the side of the test tube. - Help students see the DNA rising to the top, let them hold it and show it to other groups!