Fayla Schwartz, Everett Community College
These questions could all be used as the basis for a collaborative activity, class discussion, or to motivate investigations:
1. Is a virus alive? Why or why not?
To deal with this question, students must analyze information about viral structure and characteristics of life. It also gives students the idea that there are often no distinct boundaries for scientific concepts.
2. Trace the path of a protein that is made and secreted by a cell, from the instructions for its manufacture until the time it is secreted from the cell.
This question can be addressed at different levels (cell structures, transcription and translation). It asks students to synthesize information learned in several areas of cell biology.
3. (In context of a lab where we look at various types of cells under the microscope): How does an onion cell get nutrition?
Students must synthesize information about the plant kingdom, organelles, photosynthesis, and distinctions between cells and organisms.