Mississippi Science GEN.5.7
The Standard
- GEN.5
- Students will apply population genetic concepts to explain the variability of organisms within a population.
Enrichment: Use genomic databases for sequence analysis and apply the information to species comparisons, evolutionary relationships, and/or determine the molecular basis of inherited disorders.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Population Genetics
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students find DNA sequences in a genomic database and compare the same gene across species. They use matching bases and differences to make a supported claim about how closely the species are related.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can find COX1 sequences for a human, chimpanzee, and mouse in NCBI Nucleotide. They can align the sequences, count differences in the same stretch, and explain why the closest match supports a closer relationship.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may compare different genes or stretches of unequal length and treat the counts as meaningful. They may also think a close match proves one living species descended from another.
How to Assess It
- Give students three short, aligned COX1 sequences labeled human, chimpanzee, and mouse. Ask which animal is more closely related to humans and require the number of base differences as evidence.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs printed COX1 alignments from NCBI Nucleotide; have them mark mismatched bases with a highlighter and total each pair's differences.
Ask students to write two sentences explaining why fewer COX1 differences suggest a closer relationship, but do not prove direct ancestry.
Play a matching game: give groups three species cards and three COX1 alignment cards, then have them justify each match.
Give students a fish COX1 sequence to search with NCBI BLAST; have them compare its top matches with the fish's market label.
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Printable GEN.5.7 Worksheet
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