Download The History of DNA WebQuest

Contributors to the Discovery
of DNA Webquest
The work, discoveries, and scientists
involved in the history of DNA.
The Mission
You just got hired as a scientist in a genetics laboratory. As your
first assignment approaches, you want to brush up on your
history of DNA. You decide to research the following:
• The scientists involved in the discovery of DNA.
• The discoveries and research that led to the realization that
DNA was the genetic material.
• The scientists who were involved in discovering the structure
of DNA.
The Mission
You will compile a dossier on the scientists involved as well as
their research and what it meant.
You research the following scientists on the next slides. With
each scientist/s is a list of internet sites you can search for
information. Follow along on your concept map to collect the
main ideas. Remember you only have one period!
DOSSIER
For each scientist/s, find the following information:
• The date of their discovery/research.
• Their discovery or contribution to DNA history.
• How they come to this discovery
– Example: method, DNA technology, process, or model.
Remember, you do not need to visit each website for each
scientist. Just find the information you need for each
scientist.
Frederick Griffith
Websites:
• DNA Transformation
• Slideshow of Griffith's Research (Use Slides 7-12)
• Animation of Griffith’s experiment
Points to Remember:
• What was the name of Griffith’s discovery?
• What did his discovery show?
Oswald Avery
Websites:
• Avery and the transforming principle
• Avery on the Genetics Timeline
Points to Remember:
• What was Avery trying to find out?
• What did Avery finally realize about transformation?
Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase
Websites:
• Diagram of Hershey-Chase experiment
• Description of Experiment
• Interactive Simulation of Experiment
• Another good diagram with description
Points to Remember:
• What did Hershey and Chase use in their experiment to transfer
genetic information?
• What two parts of the virus were being tested in their experiment?
• What did Hershey and Chase conclude?
Erwin Chargaff
Websites:
• Chargaff's Rules
• Description of Chargaff's Rules
Points to Remember:
• What are Chargaff’s rules?
• What did the similarities in base pairing between
different organisms say about DNA?
Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
Websites:
• Rosalind's Research
• More Rosalind Information
• Information on Maurice Wilkins and his work with DNA
Points to Remember
• What technique did Rosalind and Maurice use in their research?
• What did Rosalind and Maurice’s work help show about DNA?
Francis Crick and James Watson
Websites
• People and Discoveries: Watson and Crick
• DNA Structure Contributors
• A look back at DNA 50 years later
Points to Remember:
• What was the name given to Watson & Crick’s structure of
DNA?
• What did their model of DNA help explain about DNA?
Mission Accomplished!
You’re done! Once you have completed your
dossiers, turn them in.