Student Model Worksheet

Student Worksheet

Inside the Zoom-it Laboratory: The Red Blood Cell Experiment.
Investigative question: How do red blood cells respond to salt and water?

A. Navigating the Virtual Lab

1. Click on the Virtual Laboratory.

2. When in the Grand Hall, click through the arrows. This will show you a choice of rooms. Select "Solutions", then click on the center of the sign to begin navigating by pressing AND HOLDING the right click on the computer mouse WHILE moving the cursor around.

3. You will find yourself standing by a large Red Door, the entrance to the Solution Lab. Click on the Door and see it open.

4. When the Red Door opens, enter the Solution Lab. Navigate in the lobby by pressing the right click on the computer mouse and by moving the cursor around. Look for the Laboratory Workbench with the Digital Microscope.

5. At the Laboratory workbench, you can see a digital microscope connected to a computer. the microscope is similar to that used by scientists in their labs. Under the microscope, there is a vial with sample blood. Click on the screen of the computer to begin the microscope experiment.

6. Under several thousand magnification, you can see yellow plasma, the liquid part of the blood (water, ions, proteins, sugars and other dissolved chemicals) and some floating cells that serve specific blood functions. In the middle of the screen you will see a red blood cell (erythrocyte). Blood cells are usually very sensitive to the changes in blood's content. (Our body tries hard to keep all characteristics of blood constant, from temperature to the amount of chemicals).

The point of your experiment is to explore how the erythrocyte will react to the changes in the amount of water or table salt added to the blood. To know the answer may be useful, since when people lose blood, it is important to know whether we can add (transfuse) into the blood distilled water or saline to maintain the necessary volume of blood.

7. By clicking on the appropriate control valves (see arrows), you can add salt or distilled water to the sample; then observe and record the changes in the space below in BUILDING A MODEL.

B. Building A Model............................NAME___________________________

You just did a virtual experiment with a red blood cell, salt, and water. Now let's begin to build a model that will let us predict its behavior.

A. Describe the experiment you observed. What did you do and what happened?

B. * What is changing outside the cell?

* What happens to the cell itself?

* Make a theory about what is changing inside the cell.

C. Draw a picture of the "Red Blood Cell Story" that takes into account what you can and can't see is happening to it. Make sure to label and explain your drawing/model. You can use more than one picture if you would like.

1. Click on the Virtual Laboratory.
2. When in the Grand Hall, click through the arrows. This will show you a choice of rooms. Select "Solutions", then click on the center of the sign to begin navigating by pressing AND HOLDING the right click on the computer mouse WHILE moving the cursor around.
	3. You will find yourself standing by a large Red Door, the entrance to the Solution Lab. Click on the Door and see it open.
4. When the Red Door opens, enter the Solution Lab. Navigate in the lobby by pressing the right click on the computer mouse and by moving the cursor around. Look for the Laboratory Workbench with the Digital Microscope.
5. At the Laboratory workbench, you can see a digital microscope connected to a computer. the microscope is similar to that used by scientists in their labs. Under the microscope, there is a vial with sample blood. Click on the screen of the computer to begin the microscope experiment.
	6. Under several thousand magnification, you can see yellow plasma, the liquid part of the blood (water, ions, proteins, sugars and other dissolved chemicals) and some floating cells that serve specific blood functions. In the middle of the screen you will see a red blood cell (erythrocyte). Blood cells are usually very sensitive to the changes in blood's content. (Our body tries hard to keep all characteristics of blood constant, from temperature to the amount of chemicals).
The point of your experiment is to explore how the erythrocyte will react to the changes in the amount of water or table salt added to the blood. To know the answer may be useful, since when people lose blood, it is important to know whether we can add (transfuse) into the blood distilled water or saline to maintain the necessary volume of blood. 7. By clicking on the appropriate control valves (see arrows), you can add salt or distilled water to the sample; then observe and record the changes in the space below in BUILDING A MODEL.