Middle schoolers are presented with information that will allow them to recognize that yeasts are unicellular organisms that are useful to humans. In fact, their usefulness is derived from the contrast between the way yeast cells and human cells respire. Specifically, while animal cells derive energy from the combination of oxygen and glucose and produce water and carbon dioxide as by-products, yeasts respire without oxygen. Instead, yeasts break glucose down and produce alcohol and carbon dioxide as their by-products. The lesson is also intended to provoke questions from students about the effects of alcohol on the human body, to which the teacher can provide objective answers.

Concepts

cellular respiration, engineering, fermentation, unicellular organisms, yeast, stem

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Additional Tags

alcoholism, integrated teaching and learning program and laboratory, teachengineering, alcohol

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Classroom Considerations

• Knovation Readability Score: 5 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)