Summary
Table of Contents

After studying the basics of enzyme function, students will be exposed to the history and evolution of lactose intolerance/lactase persistence. Both whole group and individual activities will ask students to interact with the concept. They will conduct a lab to understand the role of enzymes in lactose digestion and communicate their knowledge by creating a public health poster.

Learning Goals

Students will make a claim about the ability of lactase pills to digest lactose
Students will conduct an experiment on lactose digestion
Students will reason a connection between their initial claim and their data

title "Got Lactose? Investigating How Enzymes Function" 2024 by Janelle Roberts
under license"Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial"

Version History

Cite this work

Unit 1 - What are Enzymes?

Unit 2 - Lactose Intolerance Fact or Fiction

Unit 3 - Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The co-evolution of genes and culture

Unit 4 - Case Study and Experiment: Can over-the-counter lactase tablets help Sam?

In this section, students will read the background story and then conduct the experiment to determine if Sam can be helped by taking lactase tablets after eating dairy products.

NEXT STEPS FOR STUDENTS:

Unit 5 - Take Your Knowledge Public

Students can communicate their understanding of lactase persistence/lactose intolerance by creating a public health poster. As a whole group, students can brainstorm what the poster should look like and the information that it should contain. Students can then be divided into groups with the following tasks:

Got Lactose? Investigating How Enzymes Function

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Janelle Roberts

In this section, students will read the background story and then conduct the experiment to determine if Sam can be helped by taking lactase tablets after eating dairy products.

School is almost over and students are studying for their final exams. Summer temperatures have settled in and the students have decided to take a break from studying by going out for ice cream.

Mike: How is everyone doing with their studying? I'm getting tired and hungry.

Tom: Me too. And it is so hot. Would anyone like to take a break and get some ice cream in town?

Mike: Yes! That sounds like a perfect idea!

Sam: You guys go without me. Ice cream sort of makes me sick.

Mike: What!? You don't want any ice cream?

Tom: What do you mean it makes you sick?

Sam: Everytime I eat ice cream, I get bad stomach cramps that take some time to go away. My mom feels the same way when she drinks milk.

Tom: That sounds horrible. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't eat ice cream. Maybe you are allergic to milk.

Mike: Didn't we learn something about this in Biology class? It had something to do with enzymes, I think.

Tom: Yeah, you're right. Our teacher was telling us that some people lack an enzyme that helps them with dairy foods. She also said that those individuals can be helped by taking pills that contain the enzyme when they eat dairy based foods.

Sam: Do you really think those pills could help me? Maybe I should try some of them.

NEXT STEPS FOR STUDENTS:

review what you have learned regarding enzymes and lactose intolerance.
Complete the "C" portion of the CER handout.
Conduct the experiment. After completing the lab, students will complete the "E" portion of the CER handout.
Conclude by synthesizing your evidence and your claim.

CER handout

Download: Enzymes_Help_Us_Digest_Food.docx

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Subject:: Health, Medicine and Nursing, Biology
Level:: High School
Material Type:: Activity/Lab, Assessment, Data Set, Lesson, Lesson Plan, Student Guide

Standards

WY.SCI.HS.LS1.1

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

WY.SCI.HS.LS1.2

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes

Standard: Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multi-cellular organisms.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

WY.SCI.HS.LS1.3

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes

Standard: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

WY.SCI.HS.LS2.6

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics

Standard: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex biotic and abiotic interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a modified ecosystem.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

WY.SCI.HS.LS4.1

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Standard: Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

WY.SCI.HS.LS4.2

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

WY.SCI.HS.LS4.4

Wyoming Science Content and Performance Standards

Grades 9-12

Learning Domain: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Standard: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations.

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS1.1

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Structure and Function

Standard: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include identification of specific cell or tissue types, whole body systems, specific protein structures and functions, or the biochemistry of protein synthesis.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS1.2

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Structure and Function

Standard: Develop and use a model to illustrate the hierarchical organization of interacting systems that provide specific functions within multicellular organisms. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on functions at the organism system level such as nutrient uptake, water delivery, and organism movement in response to neural stimuli. An example of an interacting system could be an artery depending on the proper function of elastic tissue and smooth muscle to regulate and deliver the proper amount of blood within the circulatory system.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include interactions and functions at the molecular or chemical reaction level.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS1.3

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Structure and Function

Standard: Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis. [Clarification Statement: Examples of investigations could include heart rate response to exercise, stomate response to moisture and temperature, and root development in response to water levels.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include the cellular processes involved in the feedback mechanism.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS2.6

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

Standard: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and reasoning that the complex interactions in ecosystems maintain relatively consistent numbers and types of organisms in stable conditions, but changing conditions may result in a new ecosystem. [Clarification Statement: Examples of changes in ecosystem conditions could include modest biological or physical changes, such as moderate hunting or a seasonal flood; and extreme changes, such as volcanic eruption or sea level rise.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS4.1

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Natural Selection and Evolution

Standard: Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on a conceptual understanding of the role each line of evidence has relating to common ancestry and biological evolution. Examples of evidence could include similarities in DNA sequences, anatomical structures, and order of appearance of structures in embryological development.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS4.2

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Natural Selection and Evolution

Standard: Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using evidence to explain the influence each of the four factors has on number of organisms, behaviors, morphology, or physiology in terms of ability to compete for limited resources and subsequent survival of individuals and adaptation of species. Examples of evidence could include mathematical models such as simple distribution graphs and proportional reasoning.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include other mechanisms of evolution, such as genetic drift, gene flow through migration, and co-evolution.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)

NGSS.HS.LS4.4

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 9-12

Science Domain: Life Sciences

Topic: Natural Selection and Evolution

Standard: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on using data to provide evidence for how specific biotic and abiotic differences in ecosystems (such as ranges of seasonal temperature, long-term climate change, acidity, light, geographic barriers, or evolution of other organisms) contribute to a change in gene frequency over time, leading to adaptation of populations.]

Degree of Alignment: Not Rated (0 users)