Give us a Hand (Chirality) – KS3: DNA Detectives

Chirality can be seen in many objects, from galaxies to flowers, and from foods to medicine. In this lesson students experience first-hand how collaboration between scientists helps make scientific discoveries. In their first task they try and build a simple molecule using clues and see how important it is to share information to build up a theory. They then watch the video ‘Give us a hand’ that introduces them to the concept of chirality in molecules such as DNA. Finally, they combine this knowledge to build a paper model of DNA. Students will do this by formulating and improving their own hypotheses based on the real evidence collected by scientists in the past.
Learning outcomes: 1) Describe how molecules are formed when atoms bond together; 2) Understand that chiral molecules have a different structure from their mirror image; 3) Explain the role of collaboration in developing scientific understanding.
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