THE STORY OF

ROSALIND FRANKLIN
Student workbook

Play written and directed by Serena Worsdell.

 1. VOCABULARY
Science talk Verbs Phrases
Lab To miss someone Calm the situation
Molecule To discover Give advice
Cells To clear Improve relationship
Genetics To moan Meeting of the minds
Inheritance To interprete Regain composure
Theory To give consent Pulse race
Hypothesis To look like Bits and pieces
Models To tarnish Turning point
Results To hire Lightning bolt
Calculations To convey Humane spirit
Miscalculations To play a role Still on
Testable
Evidence
X-ray crystallography
B form DNA
Helix London in the 1940’s and 50’s
Air-raid warden - a person who would
assist civilians to an air-raid shelter.
Characteristics Bomb site
Serious Craters
Short tempered Rubble
Stubborn Bowler hats
Abrupt
Confrontational
Meticulous
Competitive
Ambitious Gender equality
Shy chauvinist
discrimination
Quiet
empowerment Adjectives
equality Awkward
fake feminism Horrified
Nouns feminism
Adulthood gender harassment
Temper matriarchy
misogyny Places
Negotiations
misandry Conference
Legacy patriarchy Common room
Civilisation racism
sexism
sexual stereotyping
 2. SYNOPSIS

The play begins with James Watson’s acceptance speech for the 1962 Noble
Prize. He has won this with two other scientists Francis Crick and Maurice
Wilkins for the discovery of the structure of DNA, eleven years earlier.

In the present day, we meet 3 scientists, who use the scientific checklist to give
a simple explanation on how James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins and
Rosalind Franklin discovered the structure of DNA.

The scientists play the roles of the characters in the story and we go back to
the year 1951 to see the events in more detail.

First, we meet Rosalind Franklin. After living an independent life in Paris, she
joins King’s College London. Her boss, John Randall, is the head of the physics
department and Raymond Gosling becomes her assistant. Maurice Wilkins is
also working at King’s College. Rosalind and Maurice don’t get on and we find
out that Randall has mislead Rosalind. She thinks, she is working by herself on
DNA, while Wilkins believes that she is his assistant.

Rosalind and Raymond get some very good results with Rosalind’s new
techniques in x-ray crystallography but the situation between Wilkins and
Rosalind goes from bad to worse and Randall has to separate them. Rosalind
works on A form and Wilkins on B form of DNA (the most common DNA).

Wilkins finds it hard to work on his own and starts to visit two scientists at
Cambridge; James Watson and Francis Crick. He tells them about the work at
King’s and also moans to them about Rosalind. We also hear the sexist
comments Watson says about Rosalind. Wilkins believes that no one at
Cambridge is working on DNA but both Watson and Crick are getting more
interested in it, especially when they listen to Wilkins.

Francis Crick with knowledge in physics and crystallography and James Watson
with biology and genetics, make a good team, and they both want success.
Watson is more competitive with ambition for a Nobel prize. They decide to
build a model with the hypothesis; to find any general principles on which the
structure of DNA might be based. The results are a failure and they are told by
their bosses at Cambridge to stop working on DNA.

Meanwhile back at King’s London, Rosalind work environment is making her so

unhappy that she decides to leave.
 2. SYNOPSIS cont.
January, 1952

As Rosalind is leaving Raymond Gosling decides to show the work he has been
doing with Rosalind to Maurice Wilkins which includes Photo 51. She has written
the results of the photo into the Medical Research Council (MRC) report but not
shown the photo to anyone.

Over in America, Linus Pauling claims in a report, that he has solved the
structure of DNA. Watson and Crick read the report and discover that Pauling
has made the same mistake as they had. The race to discover the structure is
still on!

February, 1952

Watson visits Rosalind in her lab and they have an argument. Watson is positive
that DNA is helix-shaped and Rosalind says that it hasn’t been proven. Rosalind
gets angry. On leaving the lab Watson runs into Wilkins and Wilkins shows him
Photo 51. Watson has his eureka moment and can’t wait to get back to
Cambridge to tell Crick. Back in Cambridge they start to make a model and
they also get hold of the MRC report with Rosalind’s written results.

March, 1952

Watson and Crick invite Wilkins to see the new model. This time, after six
weeks of trial and error, they have successfully discovered the secret of life; the
structure of DNA, the double helix. Wilkins, Watson and Crick negotiate on how
they can publish their report. It’s decided that all 4, Watson and Crick, Wilkins
and Rosalind Franklin report their work in Nature, however Watson and Crick do
not mention the importance of photo 51 in their report.

1968, James Watson publishes his book, “The Double Helix” he admits that his
comments about Rosalind were wrong and we find out that she died in 1958 at
the age of 37.

Finally in an interview we meet Rosalind Franklin and find out what she thinks
about not receiving the Nobel prize, not having her work acknowledged and
becoming a feminist icon.
 3. CHARACTERS
Scientists working at King’s College London

Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist who made a major contribution in

the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure. She also contributed in the
foundation of the structure of viruses, particularly the TMV tobacco mosaic
virus. Her work became some of the most important foundations of science.

Born in 1920 in London, at the age of 6 was described by her aunt as

alarming clever - “she spends all her time doing maths for pleasure and
always gets her sums right”. She was a very good athlete and played cricket
and hockey. Her family loved to go on mountain hiking holidays, which she
continued to do into adulthood. At the age of 15 she decided to become a
scientist.

She went to Cambridge to study physical chemistry and during World War II
she served as a London air raid warden. In 1945 she received her PhD from
Cambridge and then worked in Paris studying X-ray crystallography. In 1951
she joined the Biophysical Laboratory at King’s College, London.

She was a brilliant scientist that was serious and meticulous. Some
colleagues at King’s found her difficult to work with, as her manner was
abrupt and confrontational. She enjoyed a good argument and was sure of
her opinions. But she was also described as kind and caring and enjoyed
cooking dinner for friends.

Throughout her career, Franklin published: 19 articles on coals and carbons,

5 on DNA, and 21 on viruses. During her last few years, she received
invitations to speak at conferences all over the world. Her virus work would
have earned awards and other professional recognition, had she lived to
continue it. She died in 1958 from ovarian cancer at the age of 37.
 3. CHARACTERS
Scientists working at King’s College London

John Randall was the Head of Physics Department

at King’s College in London. He firmly believed that
DNA held the genetic code and hired a team of
scientists to prove it. He wanted the best scientists
in his department and also wanted to give important
roles to female scientists.
He hired Rosalind Franklin but made her think she
was working independently while Maurice Wilkins
thought she was hired as his assistant.

Maurice Wilkins was a British biophysicist whose

research spanned multiple areas of physics and
biophysics. He had worked on the Manhattan
Project, helping in the development of the nuclear
bomb. He was horrified by the effects of the bomb
and after decided to work in a field of science with
positive applications.
At King’s he was involved in x-ray crystallography
work on DNA. He was a shy and quiet, and didn’t
like confrontation.

Raymond Gosling was a British biophysicist.

While, he was a PhD student at King’s College
London, first he worked under the supervision of
Maurice Wilkins but later Randall reassigned
Gosling to work with Rosalind Franklin. Their x-ray
photographs helped James Watson and Francis
Crick discover the structure of DNA.

He was helpful and eager to please and believed

in collaboration and openness in the workplace.
 3. CHARACTERS
Scientists working at Cambridge University
Francis Crick was a British neuroscientist, biophysicist and molecular
biologist who worked with James Watson. He was creative, hard working
and would spend long hours reading and making calculations.

James Watson is an American geneticist and biologist. He is younger

than the other scientist and very confident. He is ambitious, dreams of
fame and of winning a Nobel Prize. He makes the discovery of the
structure of DNA into a race. His legacy has been tarnished by
offensive, sexist and racist comments.

The Watson and Crick discovery of the DNA double helix structure
was made possible by their enthusiasm to combine theory, modelling
and experimental results to achieve their goal.

A Cambridge
Ditty
I’m Watson, I’m Krick. Let’s show you our trick,
Watson and Crick we are looking for the DNA answer.
made up part of We believe we’re a stew, of molecular goo,
this short song to which we’ll prove with a model or two!
entertain the
other scientists at Let’s make it a race, there’s no time to waste,
Cambridge. (Our with a Noble prize at the end of the venture.
writer made up We’ll do what it takes, there are a lot of high stakes…
the rest!) looking for the DNA answer.
 4. X-ray Crystallography
Rosalind Franklin learnt the process
of X-ray crystallography. This
technique she used in her scientific
experiments during her lifetime on
carbon and coal, DNA and viruses.

Her work on helical and spherical

viruses is more important now than
when it was actually done; it has
even had an impact on the design of
current vaccines for coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19).

X-ray crystallography
When you shine a light through a crystal,
such as a diamond the light scatters to
reveal a pattern.

Rosalind Franklin bounced X-rays off DNA

crystals and took a photographs of the
pattern made by the scattered X-rays.

Photo 51 presents a clear diffraction patten for B-Form DNA

B-form DNA
Is a right-handed double helix, which was
discovered by Watson and Crick based on
the X-ray diffraction patterns.
It is most common form of DNA.

The Double Helix

If you unzip the two sides of DNA helix, each side can act as a template, or
guide, to make a new copy. By matching up new bases to the original strand,
you can make two identical DNA double helices.
 5. The Scientific Method
The Scientific Method is the process of observing and asking questions.
We use it to find answers about the world around us, by using tests and
experiments.

1.Put the steps in order.

______Hypothesis. Create a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an assumption, an

educated guess based on your research and observation.

______Conclusion. In your conclusion you write a summery of the results,

accept or reject your hypothesis and describe if there are any practical
application you have learnt. Professional scientists publish their final data report
in a scientific journal and give talks at scientific conferences. Sharing data
allows other scientists to build on the work rather than repeat research.

______Analyse. Determine the result of your experiment. Did it succeed or did

if fail?

______Identify the problem. What would you like to know? Use the five W,
who, what, when, where and why.

______Experiment. Experiments allow you to determine the truth of your

hypothesis and the accuracy of your prediction. Your experiment might support
your hypothesis or may reveal it to be false.

______Research and Observation. After a good question make observations

and do some research. Use the internet, the library and interview people.

2. See how Wilkins, Franklin, Watson and Crick used the scientific method to
discover the structure of DNA.

Step 1: What is the structure of DNA?

Step 2: Scientist Oswald Avery discovered that DNA is important for heredity,
this led Wilkins, Franklin, Watson and Crick to study DNA.
Step 3: Watson and Crick hypothesised that DNA was a double helix.
Step 4: Rosalind Franklin took photographs using a technique called X-ray
crystallography. Watson and Crick used wire models of atoms and molecules.
Step 5: Along with the photo 51, the wire models and the evidence, they were
able to propose that DNA was made up of two chains of nucleotides which
formed a double helix and how the DNA was able to copy itself.
Step 6: Wilkins, Franklin, and Watson and Crick published three separate papers
in Nature Journal, making their findings available for other scientist to evaluate.

3. Why are scientific methods important?

 6. Making hypotheses
The 1st conditional

In science hypotheses is an educated guess as to what will happen during an

experiment.

"If this happens, then that will happen"

Example: If you drop a ball, it will fall to the ground.

if + present simple, ... will + infinitive

This is the first conditional and is also used to talk about things which might happen in
the future. Of course, we can't know what will happen in the future, but this describes
possible things, which could easily come true.

Example: If it doesn’t rain, we’ll go to the beach tomorrow.

A. Complete the sentences with the present simple.

1. If I ________ (go) out tonight, I ________ (go) to the cinema.

2. If you ________ (get) back late, I ________ (be) angry.

3. If I ________ (see) her, I ________ (tell) her.

4. If ________ (have) enough money, I ________ (buy) some new shoes.

5. If Barcelona ________(win) tomorrow, they ________ (be) champions.

6. She ________ (miss) the bus if she ________ (not leave) soon.

7. I ________ (not go), if you ________ (not come) with me.

8. They ________ (have) lunch if they ________ (have) time.

9. I ________ (go) to the party tonight if I ________ (study) today.

10. We ________ (go) to the cinema if it ________ (rain).

B. Finish the 1st conditional sentences with your own ideas.

1. If I go to France this summer I’ll visit …

2. If I feel very hungry this evening, I’ll eat …

3. If I have time next weekend, I’ll go to …

4. If I have to write a story for homework, I’ll write about …

5. If I have enough money, I will buy …

 7. Phrasal verbs
A. Create the phrasal verbs used in these lines from the play.

around on on on off off out out up up

1. Scientist: To find ______ the structure of DNA.

2. Gosling: Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin just didn’t get ______.
3. Wilkins: I’m impressed by your new techniques. To tell you the truth I’m
feeling a little left ______.
4. Watson: We hit it ______ straight away.
5. Scientist: Rosalind was getting more and more fed ______ at King’s.
6. Watson: How would Rosalind look if she took ______ her glasses.
7. Crick: We were working ______ other projects at Cambridge.
8. Scientist: Our subject has to focus ______ the natural world.
9. Crick: The first models we built were wrong but we didn’t give______.
10. Watson: We used bits and pieces lying ______ our lab.

B. Match the phrasal verb with its meaning from the list below.

a. To remove something, a piece of clothing, eyewear, etc

b. To be left somewhere in a messy or careless way, not put
away in the correct place.
c. To be tired of something or angry about something that
has continued for a long time.
d. To spend time.
e. To discover.
f. To concentrate.
g. To have a friendly relationship with someone.
h. To stop trying to do something.
i. To not include someone in something.
j. To be friendly with each other immediately.
 8. Types of Sciences
Sciences can be broken down into three main branches.
A. Physical science is the branch of science that deals with inorganic
materials, which are materials that are not living.

B. Life science is a branch of science that involves the study of organic things,
which are things that are living.
C. Earth science is a field of natural science that deals with the materials of the
earth and its atmosphere.

1. Match the jobs in science below to it’s branch of science.

Astronaut
Astronomer
Astrophysicist
Biochemist
Biologist
Biotechnologist
Botanist
Chemist
Computer scientist
Cosmologist
Environmental scientist
Forensic Scientist
Geologist
Land planner
Oceanographer
Marine Biologist
Meteorologist
Nuclear Technician
Palaeontologists
Odd one out - Biophysicist
Pharmacologist
Physicist The structure of DNA was solved
Software Engineer using biophysics, which is the field
Space Scientist of science that applies the theories
Virologist and methods of physics to
Zoologist understand biology.

2. Your teacher will give you one of the jobs to research and report
back to the class.

3. Vote on your favourite job in science.

 9. ARTISTS INSPIRED BY SCIENCE
1. Read the descriptions about the following artists that are inspired by
science. Then match their works of art on the following page.

1. Jen Stark. Her extraordinarily colourful 2-D and 3-D art is alive with science.
In her work she explores space and time and microscopic patterns in nature.
She uses bright colours found in flowers and insects.
2. Susan Aldworth works side by side neuroscientists and creates work inspired
by how the brain works and the study of the consciousness.

3. Luke Jerram creates glass models of microbes and viruses. These sculptures
are designed with the help of virologists from around the world.

4. George Seurat studied the science of colour and pioneered the revolutionary
painting technique Pointillism.
5. Fabian Oefner is a photographer who's work questions the relationship
between time and reality. His Disintegrating images of cars look as if they have
exploded.
6. Janet Saad- Cooke works with astronomers, engineers and architects. The
“Sun Drawings” move and change in response to the sunlight and the passage
of time.
7. James Turrel is an artist, architect, scientist, astronomer, psychologist and a
pilot. All of his experiences inform his work which is focuses on light.
2. Add these extra sentences to the corresponding artist.
a. Her most recent work include prints made from human brain tissue.
b. It is a technique of painting in which small dot of colour are applied in a
patten to form an image .

c. Into the Light features nine installations and Roden Crater is his life's work
which includes spectacular light projections and tunnels.
d. Her sculpture 30 Cubed is inspired by the idea of the wormhole and the
mathematics behind it.
e. His image of the Lamborghini Miura SV was created with a real car and took
2 years to create.
f. Photographs of his glass artwork are now used in medical journals and text
books.
g. By fusing sunlight, time, reflection and motion she develops new ways to
create art.
3. Discussion: Can you be both artistic and scientific?
 9. ARTISTS INSPIRED BY SCIENCE

b. c.
a.

d. e.

f.
g.
 10. Gender Equality - vocabulary
Fill in the gaps to complete the definition

chauvinist matriarchy
discrimination misogyny
empowerment misandry
equality patriarchy
fake feminism racism
feminism sexism
gender harassment gender stereotyping

1. ____________________ is discrimination based on gender, typically women.

2. ____________________ is when a person is treated disfavourably or when a

person's dignity is violated.

3. ____________________ is undermining a person and their work based on their

gender, typically women.

4. ____________________ is about all genders having equal rights and opportunities.

5. ____________________ is a system of society in which men hold the power.

6. ____________________ is the process of gaining freedom and power to do what

you want.

7. ____________________ is a social system in which women have more power than

men.

8. ____________________ is the state of being equal, especially in status, rights and

opportunities.

9. ____________________ is hatred against women or girls, typically exhibited by

men.

10. ____________________ refers to actions or statements that appear to support

feminist principles but are not grounded in gender equality.

11. ____________________ is the formation or promotion of a fixed general idea of

how men and women will behave.

12. A ____________________ is a person who believes one gender is superior to the

other.

13. ____________________ is the hatred of, contempt for or prejudice against men or
boys.

14. ____________________ is discrimination and prejudice towards people based on

their race or ethnicity.
 11. Gender Equality - conversations
In groups use the vocabulary from the previous exercise to discuss the
questions below.

1.Do women in your country earn less than men for doing the same job?

2. Why does gender inequality exist in the workplace in developed countries?

3. How can gender inequality in the workplace affect families?

4. Which professions are usually associated with men?

5. Which professions are usually associated with women?

6. How can men benefit from gender equality in the workplace?

7. Actress Emma Watson once said that “fighting for women’s rights has too
often been synonymous with man-hating.” Do you agree?

8. How does gender equality compare nowadays to when your grandparents

were your age?

Communication principles

Gender equality is not just a women’s Use gender-responsive language

issue
Don’t victimise
Don’t diminish women’s contributions
Don’t patronise
Don’t reinforce gender stereotypes
Focus on facts
Portray diversity
Embrace openness
 12. History of DNA
Match the scientist to their achievement

This medical doctor and

researcher discovered
the link of diseases to
Charles
c h r o m o s o m e
Darwin 1859
abnormalities.

Gregor This embryologist

Mendel cloned Dolly the
1866 sheep.

This scientist identified

Friedrich “nuclein” now known as
Miescher 1869 DNA, in the nuclei of
human white blood cells

This geneticist led The

Rosalind 1953 Human Genome Project
Franklin which was an international
project which sequenced the
whole of the human genome.

This biologist wrote

Marthe the most important
Gautier 1958 idea ever in biology;
The Origin of Species.

This biologist
experimented on pea
Ian Wilmut 1996 plants. He discovered
that inheritance involves
separate particles - now
know as genes.

John Sulston 2003 This chemist took the

world’s most famous
p h o t o g r a p h
demonstrating the
double-helix structure.