Name:Alexys Date: ________________________

Student Exploration: Virus Lytic Cycle

Vocabulary: bacteriophage, capsid, host cell, lyse, lytic cycle, virus

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

1. A computer virus is a program that can copy itself and infect a computer without the
permission of the owner. How do you think a computer virus compares to a real virus?

Both viruses have a host that they affect, for example the computer virus affects the
computer system and real viruses affect a person. Both viruses can spread, they can both
be hard to realize right away and they can be harmful

2. Have you ever been infected with a virus, such as the cold virus or flu virus? A regular cold

3. If so, how did the virus affect you? I felt lazy and I was constantly sneezing and coughing

Gizmo Warm-up
A virus is a microscopic particle that can infect a cell.
Viruses are primarily composed of a protein coat,
called a capsid, and nucleic acid. In the Virus Lytic
Cycle Gizmo™, you will learn how a virus infects a
cell and uses the cell to produce more viruses.

1. Viruses are extremely small. A typical virus is

about 100 times smaller than a single cell, such
as a bacterium. Label the virus and a bacterial
cell in the image at right.

2. Bacteriophages are
viruses that infect
bacteria. Based on the
diagram at left, label
the head, tail, tail fibers,
and the strand of
nucleic acid in the
image at right.

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 Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:

Lytic cycle ● If necessary, click Reset ( ).

Introduction: Unlike living organisms, viruses cannot reproduce on their own. Instead, viruses
infect host cells, taking over the cell’s machinery to produce more viruses. This process is
called the lytic cycle.

Question: What are the steps of the lytic cycle?

1. Observe: Use the navigation arrows on the DESCRIPTION tab to read about the stages of
the lytic cycle. Using your own words, summarize each step of the cycle.

Step Summary

1 A bacteriophage comes into contact with a host cell

↓
The bacteriophage then puts nucleic acid inside the cell that breaks up
2
DNA

↓
The bacteriophage basically dies and the nucliec acid in the cell takes
3
over everything

↓
4 The virus develops in the cell

↓
When it’s done developing the cell bursts, causing more bacteriophage
5
to go infect other cells and the process repeats

(Activity A continued on next page)

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Activity A (continued from previous page)

2. Analyze: The yellow ring inside the bacterial cell represents the bacterial DNA. Why does
this structure disappear by step 3 of the lytic cycle?

Because the nucleic acid from the bacteriophage destroys the host cells DNA

3. Describe: How does a virus destroy the host cell’s DNA?

Because the virus trys to replicate itself, when the nucliec acid enters the host cell, the acid
interacts with things that are already in the cell causing DNA to be destroyed and the cell
eventually breaks open

4. Describe: How are new viruses reproduced?

When the virus interacts with another host cell

5. Think and discuss: Why can’t a virus reproduce on its own?

They don’t have the ability to create the material inside a host cell

6. Justify: To lyse is to burst apart or explode. Why do you think a virus’s reproduction cycle is
called the “lytic cycle”?

If lyse means to burst or explode than I think, the lytic cycle got its name because at the end
of the process the host cell explodes and the whole cycle starts over again

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 Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:
Spread of
● If necessary, click Reset.
infection

Question: How does a viral infection spread?

1. Predict: Suppose that a virus infects a small population of bacteria. Predict how the numbers
of viruses, infected cells, and uninfected cells will change as the infection progresses. On
the blanks below, write increase, decrease, or stay the same.

Viruses: Increase Infected cells: Increase

Uninfected cells: Decrease

2. Observe: Click Play ( ), and watch the simulation. Describe what you see.

I see the lytic cycle happen, the bacteriophage infected one cell and when it bursted, more
bacteriophages went to infect the cells around them

3. Test: Click Reset, and Select the BAR CHART tab. Turn on Show numerical values. Click
Play, and watch each bar as the simulation runs. What do you notice, and how does this
compare to your predictions?

I was watching the graph and the infected cells kept increasing and decreasing, but at the
end both infected cells and healthy cells completely decreased while the virus took over

4. Record data: Select the TABLE tab, and use the data to complete the second column of the
table below. To complete each cell in the third column, subtract the previous time value from
the current time value. For example, if it took 80 minutes to reach 40 cells and 100 minutes
to reach 30 cells, then the time difference is 20 minutes.

Number of Amount of time to decrease

Time (minutes)
healthy cells population by 10
50 0 minutes --
40 56 56 min
30 89 33
20 106 17
10 122 16

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(Activity B continued on next page)

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Activity B (continued from previous page)

7. Analyze: What trend do you see in the third column of your data table? I don’t see a trend

8. Explain: How would you explain this trend? ______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

9. Interpret: Select the GRAPH tab. Run the Gizmo again, and observe what happens in the
SIMULATION pane when the graph shows a decrease in the viruses’ population size.

A. Why does the number of viruses sometimes increase and sometimes decrease?

Because multiple bacteriophages go to the same cell

B. Sometimes when a virus enters a cell, it becomes dormant for a while. Why might
this make it difficult for a doctor to diagnose a viral infection?

Because with tests, they still won’t be able to identify the virus if it’s dormant

10. Extend your thinking: AIDS is one disease

caused by a virus infection. The virus attacks
immune system cells known as T cells.

Based on your observations from the Gizmo,

how would you explain the data shown on
this graph?

The amount of T cells decreased as the

person spends more time with the virus

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