Disorder Detectives

Students take on the role of a cytogeneticist working in a hospital or clinic. They are given a case study and a set of patient chromosome decals and asked to arrange the chromosomes on a prepared board into a completed karyotype. Students then analyze the karyotype and diagnose their patient. Many types of chromosomal abnormalities are presented, though normal karyotypes are also represented. The activity supports 3-dimensional learning and builds toward the following:

• NGSS Scientific and Engineering Practice: Analyzing and Interpreting Data
• NGSS Core Idea: Life Science 3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation