2018 科普快遞科學演⽰⽐賽 – 演⽰概述

SciPOP Science Demonstration Contest 2018 – Demonstration Overview

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學校名稱 Name of School：Singapore International School (HK)

參賽編號 Team No.：16

队长 Leader: Kaze Ho Hau Yi 队员 Team Member: Katie Lor Wing Yan

队员 Team Member: Celine Lam Yuen Ting 队员 Team Member: Abigail Kang Jun Ha

题⽬ Revealing the invisible

Title
⽬标 To show the audience how easily “invisible” molecules that make up living
Aim organisms in our day-to-day life can be extracted and become visible under the
naked eye.
内容简介 Everything around us is made up of many molecules that many of us consider
Introduction “invisible” as we cannot generally see them with our naked eye. As students
and as members of the general population, we do not realise how easy it is to
extract these “invisible” molecules in order to make them visible. Some
examples of these molecules include DNA in our cells, caffeine in coffee
beans etc…

Thus we decided to choose this topic in order to reveal to the audience some
of these “invisible” molecules under the topic of Life Sciences. Our highlight
demonstration focuses on DNA, which is vitally important for our survival,
both directly and indirectly. The knowledge of DNA is especially beneficial in
the field of forensic science as it allows the tracking of humans by collecting
samples such as blood and hair! Many times we presume that the extraction
procedure of DNA and other molecules is very “high-tech” and complicated.
But this is not entirely true! Did you know that extracting DNA from plants is
relatively simple and even do-able at home? This demonstration will utilise
the knowledge that we have obtained from Biology and Chemistry classes, not
just to show the process of organic molecule extraction (namely DNA), but
also how simple and fun science can be.
⽰范⼤纲 Extraction of DNA from strawberries
Demonstration Usage of the DNA extraction solution (made up of isopropyl alcohol, salt,
Overview water & dish soap) to remove the DNA from the nucleus of strawberry cells.
DNA tested by using the spectrophotometer to determine purity of the DNA
extracted.

重点⽰范 Highlight Demonstration:

Extraction of DNA from strawberries:
使⽤道具／仪器／ 1. Beakers
化学品 2. Measuring Cylinder
3. Motar & pestle
Props/Instruments/
4. 99% isopropyl alcohol
Chemicals used
5. Non iodised salt
6. Glass rod
7. Tea bags
8. Spatula
9. Forceps
10. Unscented dish soap
11. Deionised water
12. Cuvettes
13. Spectrophotometer

涉及科學概念 1. Solubility of the DNA - soluble in water but not in alcohol hence alcohol
Science Concepts can be used to precipitate DNA from water
Involved 2. Precipitation of DNA in isopropyl alcohol - the alcohol interacts with water
molecules to form hydrogen bonds. This reduces the solubility of the DNA
as there’s less water in the solution, so the DNA precipitates out into the
alcohol. Alcohol also has to be ice cold in order to make the DNA less
soluble in water thus causing it to “fall out” of the water to precipitate in the
alcohol.
3. Membrane structure - the soap molecules have a very similar structure to
the phospholipid structure of the cell/nuclear membrane, hence can be used
to break apart the regular structure of the membrane

⽰范流程 1. Prepare the extraction solution by mixing water, unscented soap, non-
Demonstration iodized salt and protease.
Process 2. Use a mortar and pestle to crush the strawberries and mix the crushed
strawberries with the extraction solution.
3. Explain to the audience the structure of plant cells and the rationalise the
reason for adding in each material.
4. Filter the mixture with teabags and mix the filtrate with alcohol.
5. Explain to the audience that DNA is not soluble in alcohol so it can allow
DNA to be solidified.
6. Test the DNA obtained with a spectrophotometer for its purity.
7. Explain how to use the spectrophotometer to calculate the purity of the
DNA.
8. Show the audience the result and suggest possible improvements for future
experiments.