Here is a modified activity from Fingerprints of Life, “It’s Just Right” module. Invite your students to discuss what is meant by an extremophile and extreme environment. In this activity, students design and implement an experiment to test the extremes at which Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one-celled organisms commonly known as baker’s yeast, can metabolize, as measured by the production of carbon dioxide. The students work in groups to test the limits of salinity.Report your student’s results on the NASA Educators Online Network, or NEON.
The complete write-up of this activity is available in NEON. Register, log in, join the NASA Explorer Schools group and find the Fingerprints of Life: Extremophiles: “It’s Just Right” forum.
Link to the NES Virtual Campus home page.