Giant Panda Problem Kit for AP Biology

Giant Panda Problem Kit for AP Biology

Investigate immunology and endocrinology while monitoring giant panda fertility with ELISA. Includes curriculum and materials to support structured, guided, and open inquiry. Covers Big Ideas 2 and 4.

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Overview

Note:This kit can be modified to accommodate at-home use as well as individual workstations in socially-distanced classrooms.
Download instructions for modification.

A ThINQ! Kit

Over the past four decades, the giant panda population has been severely threatened by many factors including:

  • Habitat destruction and fragmentation through human activities and climate change
  • Poaching
  • Slow reproduction because of their narrow reproductive window

Panda habitat map

Humans can support the recovery of the giant panda population by protecting pandas in the wild and their habitat, and by developing molecular and behavioral techniques that enhance panda copulative interactions in captivity.

The Giant Panda Problem Kit for AP Biology provides tools for your students to examine simulated urine samples from giant pandas to determine which panda(s) show evidence of a pregnancy-related complication (pre-eclampsia) through the presence of anti-phospholipid antibodies. Then, in a flexible, guided, or open inquiry investigation, students will design their own ELISA to determine which of four pandas is nearing ovulation to increase the chances of pregnancy in captivity.

Features and Benefits

The Giant Panda Problem Kit is the ultimate way to help your students understand physiological systems by combining immunology, reproductive endocrinology, epidemiology, and the unique properties of antibodies that have revolutionized medicine. As a ThINQ!™ Investigation, the kit is designed to enable students to think through scientific discovery.

  • Aligns with AP Biology Big Ideas 2 and 4
  • Enables both qualitative and quantitative measurements of reactions
  • Integrates multiple core content areas and life science research techniques

With this kit, students are able to

  • Perform a genuine antibody ELISA (Investigation 1)
  • Design and execute a hormone detection ELISA (Investigation 2)

Timeline and Contents Overview

The flexible curriculum will fit within a broad range of available laboratory times. A possible extended inquiry arrangement is:

  • Day 1: Pre-lab activity (modeling the ELISA) and background review
  • Day 2: Investigation 1 — antibody ELISA — digital and/or hands-on* inquiry investigation
  • Day 3: Investigation 2 — hormone detection ELISA
  • Day 4: Post-lab assessment — a paper-based modeling activity and reflection questions

Select the kit that is right for your students:

  Giant Panda Problem Kit
()
Classic ELISA Immuno Explorer™ Kit
(1662400EDU)
Standards alignment AP Biology General Biology, Biotechnology, Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Pedagogical support Open, guided, and structured inquiry Structured inquiry
Main learning objectives Focus on student-driven questions and problem solving Mastery of technical skills
Experiments Investigation 1 — antibody ELISA
Investigation 2 — student-designed hormone detection ELISA
Focuses on inquiry process
Three possible approaches to ELISA. Pair with many disease scenarios including HIV, Zika, bird flu, tuberculosis, and many more. Course content alignment ranges across biodefense, immunology, environmental science, and health science.
Kit contents Materials for 8 student workstations to perform both investigations* Materials for 12 student workstations to perform one protocol approach

*Additional disposable plastic transfer pipets required. See Instructor's Guide for more details.

Additional Information

LT; Create, Share, Inspire.

This hands-on activity is integrated with the Lt Biology Collection, the online learning platform from ADInstruments.

Specifications

Kit contains sufficient materials for 8 student workstations
(2–4 students per workstation)
 
Antigen (chicken γ-globulin)*
1
Primary antibody (rabbit anti-chicken polyclonal antibody)*
1
Secondary antibody (goat anti-rabbit antibody, conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, or HRP)*
1
HRP enzyme substrate (TMB), 25 ml
1
10x PBS, 100 ml
1
10% Tween 20, 5 ml
1
Disposable plastic transfer pipets
80
Microplates with 12-well strips (8 rows of 12 wells)
3
Yellow micro test tubes, 2.0 ml
60
Colored micro test tubes, 2.0 ml
85
Curriculum, including Instructor's Guide, Student Guide, and Instructor's Answer Guide
1
*Convenient lyophilized reagents
 

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items

Use the filters below to refine results!

Image
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17002878EDU
Kit includes simulated hormone, antibodies, HRP enzyme substrate, 10x PBS, 10% Tween, disposable plastic transfer pipets, micro test tubes, micro strip plates, curriculum, for 32 students; education use only

Refills

Image
166-2401EDU_tn.jpg
1662401EDU
Consumables refill reagents for use with ELISA Immuno Explorer™ Kit and the Giant Panda Problem Kit, contains antigen, antibodies, 10% Tween, 10x PBS, HRP enzyme substrate; education use only
Image
166-2406EDU_tn.jpg
1662406EDU
25 μg, antigen (chicken-γ-globulin), lyophilized for shipping and long-term storage; education use only
Image
166-2407EDU_tn.jpg
1662407EDU
25 μg, antibody (rabbit anti-chicken polyclonal), lyophilized for shipping and long-term storage; education use only
Image
166-2408EDU_tn.jpg
1662408EDU
Antibody (goat anti-rabbit antibody conjugated to horseradish peroxidase [HRP]), lyophilized for shipping and long-term storage; education use only

Documents

Number Description Options
10000075827
Giant Panda Problem Kit for AP Biology Student Guide
10000074713
Giant Panda Problem Kit for AP Biology Instructor's Guide
6730
Experimental Design and Planning Worksheet
10000075828
Giant Panda Problem Kit for AP Biology Teacher Model Process
6934
Giant Panda Problem Coloring Page
7184
Response to Environment AP Strand Poster, Ver A