Skip to main content
HHMI BioInteractive
  • Español
  • Site Search
  • Log In/Create Account
  • BioInteractive Resources
  • Planning Tools
  • Professional Development
  • About Us

Pulse Chase Primer: The Meselson-Stahl Experiment

Image from the activity

Topic

  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  • DNA & RNA
  • Scientific Skills & Literacy
  • Experimental Design

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Lessons

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Saved By
14 Users
Share This

Description

This activity can be used in conjunction with the short film The Double Helix. It introduces students to the classic experiment by Matthew Meselson and Franklin Stahl, which revealed that DNA replication follows the semiconservative model.

In 1958, Meselson and Stahl published the results of a pulse-chase experiment to determine how cells replicate their DNA. Students will first read about how the experiment was conducted and describe the predicted results based on three possible models of DNA replication. They then evaluate the actual experimental results.

Student Learning Targets

  • Interpret experimental evidence to distinguish between different models of DNA replication.

  • Describe the semiconservative model of DNA replication.

Estimated Time

One 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

conservative replication, dispersive replication, experiment, nucleotide, radioactive, replication, semiconservative replication

Primary Literature

Meselson, Matthew, and Franklin W. Stahl. “The Replication of DNA in Escherichia coli.” Proceedings of the National Academies of Science 44, 7 (1958): 671–682. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.44.7.671.

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 05.06.14
Date Updated 06.21.16

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS1-1, HS-LS3-1; SEP2, SEP4

AP Biology (2019)

IST-1.M; SP2, SP3, SP4

IB Biology (2016)

2.6, 2.7

Common Core (2010)

ELA-RST.9–12.7

Vision and Change (2009)

CC2, CC3; DP1, DP3

Materials

Teacher Materials (PDF) 3 MB
Student Materials (PDF) 1 MB

Use This Resource With

Video Resource
The Double Helix

Educator Tips

Hear how educators are using BioInteractive content in their teaching.
Educator standing in front of a movie still. Play Video Next Slide Next Slide
/
1-Minute Tips

Double Helix and Pulse-Chase Experiment

Educator Cheryl Coronado discusses how she uses the short film "The Double Helix" to introduce her students to how DNA's structure was uncovered. She then follows with the accompanying pulse-chase student activity that describes the experiment that proved DNA replication is semi-conservative.
Previous Slide Next Slide
Close Modal

Explore Related Content

Other Resources About Science History

Showing of
Screenshot from the video of Mary Leakey
Animated Shorts
Animated Life: Mary Leakey
Image from the video of Lattimer with a coelacanth
Animated Shorts
Animated Life: The Living Fossil Fish
Illustration of a trophic cascade taken from the film
Short Films
Some Animals Are More Equal than Others: Keystone Species and Trophic Cascades
Image from the activity
Phenomenal Images
Written in Chalk
Image of a starfish
Film Activities
Activity for Some Animals are More Equal than Others
Screenshot of CGI dinosaurs reacting to the asteroid strike
Film Activities
Activity for The Day the Mesozoic Died
Photo of an icefish in sub-freezing water
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes
Two bear cubs walking on their hind legs crossing a road
Short Films
From Ants to Grizzlies: A General Rule for Saving Biodiversity
Image from the film of Wegener with a sled dog
Animated Shorts
Animated Life: Pangea
Image from the video
Clips
The Discovery of Ribozymes
Image from the film
Lessons
Identifying Patterns in Observations
van Leeuwenhoek examining a microscope
Animated Shorts
Animated Life: Seeing the Invisible
Image of Darwin drawing his tree diagram from the film
Lessons
Reading Primary Sources: Darwin and Wallace
Image of Darwin from the film
Short Films
The Origin of Species: The Making of a Theory
Title screen of the film
Short Films
The Double Helix
Image from the film of DNA forming a double helix
Film Activities
Activity for The Double Helix
Image from the film of AR Wallace
Animated Shorts
The Animated Life of A. R. Wallace
Image of Darwin and his maid from the video
Film Activities
Activity for The Making of a Theory
Photo of a manatee with bone structure superimposed
Lessons
The Making of a Theory: Fact or Fiction
A map from the Wallace line activity.
Lessons
Discovering the Wallace Line

Other Related Resources

Showing of
Computer image of different types of RNA
Click & Learn
RNA Diversity
Image from the interactive
Click & Learn
Structure and Function of Telomeres
Computer image of DNA
Animations
The Chemical Structure of DNA
Photo from the video showing A, C, G, and T
Animations
Building Blocks of DNA
Image of stacked blocks from the animation
Animations
Chargaff's Ratio
Diagram of a DNA sequence on a sheet of paper
Animations
Human Chromosomes
Computer image of DNA unwound
Animations
Paired DNA Strands
Schematic image of DNA replicating from the video
Animations
DNA Replication (Schematic)
screenshot from the DNA replication animation showing helicase unwinding the double helix and the replication complex
Animations
DNA Replication (Basic Detail)
Computer model of DNA replication
Animations
DNA Replication (Advanced Detail)
HHMI BioInteractive
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter Signup
  • HHMI.org
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility