Toothpick Fish Inquiry Task

The purpose of this activity is to experiment with genes in an environment for a population of “Toothpick Fish,” explaining the relationships between genes, traits, variation, survival, and reproduction.  The activity is a simulation, but it models the way fish and other organisms live in nature.

• Students will generate a hypothesis based on given information.
• Students will collect and analyze data throughout the performance assessment.
• Students will utilize prior understanding of Mendelian Genetics to predict genetic outcomes of potential breeding crosses of fish.
• Students will create a complete graph including title, key, and axes labels.
• Students will interpret collected data and apply conclusions to a real world instance.