Name______________________________________________ Pd_____ Shark Cell Tank My Organelle:__________________ The year is 2.2 billion B.C. Eukaryotic cells are looking for business partners to go the long haul with. That’s right, we’re talking evolution. Welcome to the Shark Cell Tank, where prokaryotic cells seek endosymbiosis to invest, grow, and save them’cell’ves. If the eukaryotic cells hear a great proposal, they’ll invest their own resources, and fight each other for a deal. But the prokaryotes must hold up their end of the bargain too. The prokaryotes must provide their eukaryote with suitable functions to help it survive. 1. Students will form groups of 2 and research one of the organelles below. 2. Students will then create a pitch to throw to the sharks to be accepted into their eukaryotic cell through endosymbiosis. 3. The eukaryotes may then propose questions to the future organelles to see if they are a worthwhile investment. 4. BUILD YOUR OWN EUKARYOTE: Students will research one eukaryotic cell type that they would be interested in modeling their own cell after. This could be anything from a ciliate to a brain cell. Our Cell Type: ___________________________ Student groups in the crowd will invest points in hopes to acquire the pitched organelles for their own eukaryotic cell. Each group gets 50 points to invest in the pitched organelles and each organelle can only be bought by the four highest bidders (can be modified for larger classrooms). Points spent for the organelle pitched do not go to the pitchers. The points are simply banked as to not overcomplicate selling order vs total money available for spending. Each group will automatically get their own pitched organelle as well as a Nucleus, Nucleolus, RNA, Ribosomes, and Plasma Membrane. 5. Finally, students will write a response on how their cell will function with only the organelles that they were able to purchase in the activity. The organelles that were not chosen by the students in the original list will be put up for auction at the end for their remaining points. Again, 4 highest bidding groups get that organelle. Be sure to include the following in your response: Relationships between all your acquired organelles, the products you can make/functions you can perform, reasoning for purchases with respect to your chosen cell type (ExLiver cells would very much require a rough ER for protein secretion), and any difficulties the cell would have. (Disclaimer: Endosymbiotic Theory strongly supports the endosymbiosis of present day Mitochondria and Chloroplasts. Additional organelles also believed to be endosymbionts are cilia, flagella, centrioles, endoplasmic reticulum, and possibly the nucleus as well. For the purpose of this activity, we will be assuming all organelles originated as prokaryotes that were engulfed by our primordial Earth eukaryotes.) List of Organelles to pick from: Cell Wall Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum Golgi Apparatus Pili/Fimbriae Centrosome Cytoskeleton Mitochondrion Chloroplast Flagellum/Cilia Lysosome Peroxisome Capsule Central Vacuole/Food Vacuole 2. All students will create a “pitch” that sells your future organelles (current prokaryotes) to the eukaryotic “sharks”. You will still have your organelle for your own cell. Example Pitch Mitochondria: “We are here seeking protection from the outside environment in exchange for our ATP. We are the powerhouse of the cell so you need us.” Students should include most/all of the following in their pitch: What success that organelle can provide animal/plant eukaryotes Functions and products that that your prokaryote could produce as a future organelle Start-up Cost: What resources you’ll need from the “sharks” (eukaryotic cell). What happens if you are defective/missing/etc Name Drop: How do you get along with others? What other organelles do you work well with? A visual or a prop to show what your organelle can do. 3. Students (Sharks) will propose questions to future organelles to see if they’re worthwhile investments. Examples: (Shark tank themed if you can. The punnier the better.) Size of your organelle in comparison to other organelles? Where have you invested your resources already? What’s your “market” for your product? How much product can you produce? What does it cost to make your product? How could you cut down on costs of your organelle? Why you’re better than the competition or other organelles on the market. 4. Each group will automatically get their own pitched organelle as well as a Nucleus, Nucleolus, RNA, Ribosomes, and Plasma Membrane. Each group gets 50 points to invest in the pitched organelles and each organelle can only be bought by the four highest bidders. Organelle Nucleus + Nucleolus+ RNA Ribosomes Plasma Membrane Starting Organelle:________________________ Points Spent Free Free Free Free Remaining Points 50 50 50 50 5. Finally, students will write a response on how their cell will function with only the organelles that they were able to purchase in the activity and their starting organelles. The organelles that were not chosen by the students in the original list will be put up for auction at the end for their remaining points. Again, 4 highest bidding groups get that organelle. Be sure to include the following in your response: Relationships between all your acquired organelles, the products you can make/functions you can perform, reasoning for purchases with respect to your chosen cell type (Ex- Liver cells would very much require a rough ER for protein secretion), and any difficulties the cell would have.
