Pasta Classification

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Pasta Classification

Objective: Have students understand taxonomic classification using various types of pasta

PROCEDURE:

• Students completed a worksheet which broke down the “ Food

Kingdom ” into the various taxonomic levels

• Groups of students classified 13 pasta types ranging in shape and ingredients

Food

Carbs

Pasta

Protein

Bread

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

RESULTS:

• Student groups successfully classified pasta down to “species” level

• Student groups debated which characteristics of the pasta were most important to classify pasta at each taxonomic level (color, shape, texture, etc.)

Laungani

Mickle

In this activity the students were given a wide variety of pasta and were asked to separate the various types based on morphological characteristics. The pasta ranged in shape color and major ingredient (rice, egg, flour). The students had to also explain to the RSEMs which characteristics were being used to break groups of pasta into smaller sub-groups. The individual pasta types were the “species” while larger more inclusive groups were the higher taxonomic levels. After the student groups completed their pasta taxonomy, they were given an “unknown” pasta which had many of the same characters as multiple “species” of pasta and the students debated which characters of the unknown were going to be used to classify it. The most important idea that the students got out of this activity was the role of shared characteristics in classification, which is central to the fields of taxonomy, phylogenetics, and evolution.

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