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Pulse Chase Primer: The Meselson-Stahl Experiment

Topic
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  • DNA & RNA
  • Science Practices
  • Experimental Design
Resource Type
  • Activities
  • Lessons
Level
High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Favorited By
7 Users
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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.

Details
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
Curriculum Connections
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.
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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.
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