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| Description | The marble game is a simple children’s game that provides a realistic conceptual framework for understanding a wide variety of physiological processes. The game has ten marbles distributed between two adjacent boxes. At each turn, a ten-sided die is rolled to decide whether a marble moves from box 1 to box 2 or vice versa. The marble game is a simple kinetic Monte Carlo simulation of molecular partitioning between two compartments that students implement (from scratch) in an Excel spreadsheet by following the directions of a self-study guide. Using their spreadsheets, students investigate how the simulation behaves by plotting the number of marbles in box 1 as a function of time. In this active-learning environment, students discover how the system approaches equilibrium, and that a dynamic equilibrium is maintained by the constant hopping between boxes. By parameterizing the simulation, students discover how the system properties depend on system size and the jump rates between boxes. The kinetics of this simple two-box system can be used to develop quantitative models of transport and equilibrium for a wide variety of systems of physiological interest including: membrane transport; diffusion; drug elimination; electrical conduction; osmosis; and ion channel gating. Student modules (and instructor guides) are available for testing and evaluation http://circle4.com/biophysics. Support from the NSF (Grant DUE-0836833) is gratefully acknowledged. | |||
| Type of Resource | Assignment/activity (non-laboratory), Book chapter, Laboratory exercise, Laboratory manual, Online tool, Simulation, Study guide, Teaching strategies & guidelines | |||
| Format | Web Page - HTML | |||
| Technical Note | Excel | |||
| Author |
Peter Nelson, Benedictine University
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| Grade/Age Levels |
High School upper division (Grades 11-12) Undergraduate lower division (Grades 13-14) Undergraduate upper division (Grades 15-16) Graduate Professional (degree program) Continuing Education Informal Education |
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| Pedagogies | ||||
| National Science Educational Standards |
Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry (K-12), Change, constancy, and measurement (K-12), Chemical reactions (9-12), Conservation of energy and increase in disorder (9-12), Evidence, models, and explanation (K-12), Evolution and equilibrium (K-12), Interactions of energy and matter (9-12), Matter, energy, and organization in living systems (9-12), Motions and forces (5-12), Nature of scientific knowledge (9-12), Structure and properties of matter (9-12), Systems, order, and organization (K-12), Understanding about science and technology (K-12), Understandings about scientific inquiry (K-12) | |||
| APS/ACDP Medical Objectives in Physiology |
Biological membranes, solutes and solutions, Oxygen and carbon dioxide transport, Pulmonary gas exchange, Transcapillary transport | |||
| Related Research Papers |
http://link.aip.org/link/?jcp/134/165102 http://services.aamc.org/30/mededportal/servlet/s/segment/mededportal/?subid=8081 http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/25/1_MeetingAbstracts/481.5?sid=8161dc7a-35f9-479 |
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| Learning Time | 2-3 hours | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Type of Review | Reviewed By Archive Board | |||
| Funding Sources | National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Other , HHMI | |||
| Keywords | ||||
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—Pauline Schork, Clinton High School