Not Just A Bag Of Beans

Add to list Go to activity
Activity link broken? See if it's at the internet archive
In this activity, learners count and measure kidney beans to explore natural selection and variation. Learners measure the length of 50-100 beans. Then they graph and analyze the data including determining the mean, median, mode, and range. Learners identify the type(s) of natural selection occurring in the bean population and answer questions related to biotechnology and commercial farming.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Learning Time:
1 to 2 hours
Estimated Materials Cost:
$5 - $10 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 14 - 18
Resource Types:
Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity, Lesson/Lesson Plan
Language:
English

Materials List (per group of students)

  • 4 pounds of kidney beans
  • 1 - wide mouth container, or 1 - 1000 mL beaker
  • 15 or 30 cm metric rulers
  • 5 - 50 mL beakers or bathroom Dixie cups
  • Lab notebooks
  • pens/pencils
  • colored pencils
  • graph paper
  • data charts

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
      • Agricultural Engineering
      • Bioengineering/Biomedical Engineering
    • Technology
      • Agriculture and Biotechnology
  • Life Sciences
    • Diversity of Life
      • Plants
    • Ecology
      • Populations
    • Evolution
    • Heredity and Genetics
      • Patterns of Heredity
      • Genetic Engineering
  • Mathematics
    • Algebra
    • Data Analysis and Probability
      • Data Analysis
      • Data Collection
    • Measurement
      • Size and Scale
    • Number and Operations
  • The Nature of Science
    • The Scientific Process
      • Conducting Investigations
      • Gathering Data
      • Formulating Explanations
  • The Nature of Technology
    • Technology and Society
      • Technology and the Environment

Informal Categories

  • Food and Cooking
  • Nature and Environment

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

  • Brijbasi, Myrtle

Rights: