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Milk: How Sweet Is It?

Topic
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  • Enzymes & Reactions
  • Anatomy & Physiology
  • Metabolism & Nutrition
  • Science Practices
  • Data Analysis
Resource Type
  • Activities
  • Labs & Demos
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IB
Used In
1 BioInteractive Playlists
Favorited By
17 Users
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Description

In this activity, students simulate a lactose tolerance test, similar to the one shown in the short film The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture, to determine which samples contain the lactase enzyme.

To simulate measuring glucose in patient blood samples, students combine synthetically manufactured “patient intestinal fluid samples,” made of either water or a lactase solution, with milk, and then measure the amount of glucose produced in the solutions over time. Students work in pairs to collect, analyze, and graph their data to determine which “patients” are lactase persistent (lactose tolerant) and lactase non-persistent (lactose intolerant).

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.

Student Learning Targets
  • Plan the steps in an experimental procedure, including controls.
  • Test for the presence of glucose in a sample using glucose test strips.
  • Collect, analyze, graph, and interpret data to draw a conclusion.
     
Details
Estimated Time
One to two 50-minute class periods.
Key Terms

allergy, disaccharide, enzyme, galactose, glucose, intolerance, lactase, lactose, monosaccharide, persistence

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Version History
Date Published 06.14.11
Curriculum Connections
NGSS (2013)

HS-LS1-6; SEP3, SEP4, SEP6

AP Biology (2019)

ENE-1.D, ENE-1.G; SP3, SP4, SP6

IB Biology (2016)

2.5, 6.1

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9–12.3, ELA.RST.9–12.7, ELA.WHST.9–12.1
Math.S-ID.1; MP2, MP4, MP6

Vision and Change (2009)

CC2, CC4; DP1, DP2

Materials
Resource Google Folder (Link)
Teacher Materials (PDF) 329 KB
Student Handout (PDF) 395 KB
Teacher Materials - Español (PDF) 285 KB
Student Handout - Español (PDF) 369 KB
Additional Materials
  • plastic medicine cups
  • one permanent marker
  • glucose reagent test strips
  • glucose color chart
  • plastic stirring rods or coffee stir sticks
  • graduated cylinder (or medicine cups with millimeter markings)
  • timer, clock, watch
  • paper towels
  • colored pencils (optional)
  • graph paper (optional)
  • large beakers or containers with a pouring spout (100-mL volume or more)
  • smaller beakers or containers with a pouring spout (35-mL volume or more)
  • graduated cylinder (50 mL or larger)
  • kitchen sieve or funnel
  • box of lactase capsules or Lactaid caplets
  • coffee filter
  • mortar and pestle (optional)
  • tap water
     
Use This Resource With
Video Resource
The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture

Explore Related Content

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Lactase Persistence: Evidence for Selection
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Interactive Assessment for Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
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Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
A still from an animation of lactase digesting lactose.
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Lactose Digestion in Infants
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Natural Selection for Lactose Tolerance
Click & Learn
Recent Adaptations in Humans
Click & Learn
Regulation of the Lactase Gene
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Activity for Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
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Blood Glucose Data Analysis
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Blood Glucose Data Analysis
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Body Mass Index (BMI)
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The Fate of Fat
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Molecular Structure of Fat
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Lactose Intolerance: Fact or Fiction
This Resource Appears in the Following Playlists
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By: BioInteractive

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