Mississippi Science GEN.1A.6
The Standard
- GEN.1A
- Students will demonstrate that all cells contain genetic material in the form of DNA.
Investigate the structural differences between the genomes (i.e., circular/linear chromosomes and plasmids) found in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Structure and Function of DNA
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare how DNA is arranged in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. They tell a main chromosome from a plasmid and show the difference in a sketch.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can draw a typical bacterium with one circular chromosome and a separate, smaller plasmid. They can draw a eukaryotic nucleus with several linear chromosomes and explain what the shapes show.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may call every circular DNA molecule a plasmid or think a plasmid replaces the main chromosome. They may think every prokaryote has plasmids or that all cells keep chromosomes in a nucleus.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to draw the DNA in a typical bacterium and an animal cell. Have them label the chromosomes and add a possible plasmid to the bacterium.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs one long yarn loop, two short loops, and three yarn strips; have them model bacterial and animal DNA and label each part.
Ask, "If a bacterium has two DNA loops, why might only one be called its chromosome?" Have students write two sentences.
Hand out cards showing a bacterial chromosome, a bacterial plasmid, and a human chromosome; students sort them by shape, size, and cell type.
Show a sketch of an antibiotic resistance plasmid beside a bacterial chromosome; students circle the plasmid and explain the difference.
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Printable GEN.1A.6 Worksheet
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Related Standards
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Conduct investigations using a microscope or multimedia source to compare the characteristics of protists (euglena, paramecium, amoeba) and the methods they use...
- BIO.1B.1
Develop and use models to compare and contrast the structure and function of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) in organisms.
- FB.3.1
Compare and contrast prokaryotic/eukaryotic and plant/animal/bacteria cells.
- BIO.1C.2
Investigate to compare and contrast prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells, and plant, animal, and fungal cells.
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