Unit Overview

Algae accuse frogs Paulie and Nicole of lying about being siblings—they look so different! Students follow Mosa investigating at the genetic level, discovering crucial reproduction differences. Algae reproduce asexually, simply replicating with all mother's genes passing unchanged, creating identical offspring. Frogs reproduce sexually—sperm fertilizes egg, mixing genes from both parents. This creates genetic variation explaining why Paulie and Nicole look different despite being siblings. Students must identify which potential father frog is theirs by matching inherited traits.

Your students design two alien families from scratch—one that reproduces sexually, one asexually—and discover how genetic variation (or the lack of it) shapes each generation. It's hands-on genetics with a creative twist, turning abstract inheritance patterns into something they can build, compare, and argue about.

Here's the challenge: start with a desired trait in an offspring and work backward. What parent combination would you need? Students use reverse engineering to think like geneticists, designing ideal parent pairings to produce specific outcomes. You pose the problem; they wrestle with the genetics—and discover that inheritance isn't always as predictable as it seems.