Protein Synthesis Activity - Building Sentences

Type: Activity

Grade Level: Middle School

Time Length: 60 minutes

Summary: Students will simulate transcription and translation by building a sentence “polypeptide” from words “amino acids”. Great kinesthetic and visual activity to introduce protein synthesis. All materials required for the activity are included for easy implementation.

Standards: California - Biology 4a. Students know the general pathway by which ribosomes synthesize proteins, using tRNAs to translate genetic information in mRNA. 4b. Students know how to apply the genetic coding rules to predict the sequence of amino acids from a sequence of codons in RNA. 4e. Students know proteins can differ from one another in the number and sequence of amino acids. 5b. Students know how to apply base-pairing rules to explain precise copying of DNA during semiconservative replication and transcription of information from DNA into mRNA.