DNALC Making Lactose-Free Milk Kit

Product Details
Beginning—Easy to perform; requires little or no prior knowledge.

Many students are aware of lactose intolerance, but how many actually understand what it means and how it relates to human evolution? Help your students make that connection with this exclusive and updated kit from Carolina and the DNA Learning Center (DNALC). Students review the relationship between genes and proteins, learn about enzyme functionality, and explore the relationship between lactase and human evolution. In the core activity, students create a column with immobilized lactase enzyme beads to create lactose-free milk.

Product Features

• Designed for 8 groups of students working in teams of 2 to 4
• Easy and safe for young students; interesting and informative enough for older students
• Connects the real-life experience of lactose intolerance to core science concepts
• Complete visual lab procedure that complements written protocol
• Resource section connects the kit activities to authentic lab techniques, real-world careers, historical perspectives, and more

Time Requirement
Teacher prep, 30 to 45 min. Laboratory activity, approximately one 50-min lab period.

Digital Resources
Includes 1-year access to digital resources that support instruction. Digital resources may include a teacher's manual and student guide, pre-lab activities and videos, interactive digital lessons, and more.

Connections to the Next Generation Science Standards*
Science and Engineering Practices

• Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Disciplinary Core Ideas

• PS1.B: Chemical Reactions
• LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
• LS3.A: Inheritance of Traits
• LS3.B: Variation of Traits

Crosscutting Concepts

• Patterns
• Cause and Effect

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the connections between genes, proteins, and enzymes.
• Learn about enzymes and substrates.
• Understand lactose intolerance and the role genes play in lactase production.
• Carry out a chemical reaction similar to one that occurs in the human gut.
• Immobilize an enzyme for repeated use in cleaving lactose into glucose and galactose.

Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills
Students should be familiar with the structure and function of DNA and the relationship between genes and proteins. Additionally, a basic understanding of the chemical processes of digestion is helpful.

*Next Generation Science Standards® is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.