SBI4U
Exploring Issues in Metabolism: Mitochondrial Diseases
Task: Investigate a specific mitochondrial disease, connect it to metabolic topics you studied in
Unit 2 and report your findings in form of a short report or magazine article. Your teacher
will present a list of mitochondrial diseases. It is first come, first serve. No duplicate topics
are allowed between students.
In your submission, you will summarize your chosen disease in three parts:
 Describe the history and symptoms of the disease.
 Explain the science behind the symptoms. In other words, how does the disease affect the
individual with respect to metabolism & metabolic pathways? This is where you connect your
topic to what you learned about metabolism!
 What are the current treatments or therapies associated with this disease? You must also discuss
the success rate of treatment(s), cost of treatment, challenges/side effects with treatment, etc.
Also, comment on any new research or current students occurring now with respect to this
specific mitochondrial disease.
Things to consider when submitting your work:
o Information should be clear, straight-forward and professional.
o DO NOT copy information word for word from sources. This is a 4U course. You must follow
the rules of academic honesty by utilizing APA within your work in order to give credit to the
original authors. Use your APA style guide package from your teacher. You can also use this
website to help format your bibliography: http://www.citationmachine.net/apa
o Submission should be maximum 1-½ to 2 page single-spaced and organized in paragraphs
(excluding the bibliography). You may opt to write a standard report or wish to get creative and
format your work as an actual magazine article with a catchy heading!
o You may choose to use sub-headings if you wish to organize your findings.
o You will have to do some research to provide me with scientific findings, facts, data and
statistics. Use reputable sources such as scientific magazines (Discover, Nature, Popular
Science, etc), newspaper articles, scholarly journals, government health websites, etc.
o Submit a bibliography with a minimum of 3 credible sources. (Note: generic health websites
such as webmd & mayoclinic are not credible sources! Wikipedia is NOT a credible source)
o Bibliography should be presented in APA format on a separate page at the end of the report (this
page is not part of the 1-½ to 2 page requirement).
Resources
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/
http://www.umdf.org/site/c.8qKOJ0MvF7LUG/b.7934627/k.3711/What_is_Mitochondrial_Disease.htm
http://www.umdf.org/site/pp.aspx?c=8qKOJ0MvF7LUG&b=7934629
Student Checklist
Expectations
Submission is typed, has an effective title, is organized using paragraphs and flows well.
All important information is contained including background scientific information pertaining to metabolism
Credible facts, data & statistics are provided. This information is referenced accordingly in the Bibliography.
There is evidence of critical analysis within the article.
Submission is edited for sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization
At least 3 credible references are cited in a Bibliography section (separate page) using APA format.
Overall presentation is clean, professional and well-organized.
Yes
Evaluation Scheme:
CODE
A1
C1
LEVEL
MARK
EXPECTATION
Demonstrate scientific investigation skills (related to both inquiry and research)
in the four areas of skills (initiating, planning, performing and recording,
analyzing and interpreting, and communicating)
Analyze the role of metabolic processes in the functioning of biotic and abiotic
systems, and evaluate the importance of an understanding of these processes
and related technologies to personal choices made in everyday life.
I
R
1-
1
1+
2-
2
2+
3-
3
3+
4-
4
4+
4++
A1. Demonstrate scientific investigation skills (related to both inquiry and research) in the four areas of skills (initiating and
planning, performing and recording, analyzing and interpreting, and communicating).
 Identify and locate a variety of print and
electronic sources that enable them to
address research topics fully and
appropriately.
 Select, organize, and record relevant
information on research topics from a
variety of appropriate sources, including
electronic, print, and/or human sources,
using suitable formats and an accepted
form of academic documentation (APA).
 Analyze the information gathered from
research sources for logic, accuracy,
Limited
Approaching
Sufficient
Insightful
reliability, adequacy, and bias.
 Draw conclusions based on inquiry
results and justify their conclusions with
reference to scientific knowledge.
 Communicate ideas, results and
conclusions in writing using appropriate
language and in an appropriate format
(report or creative article).
 Presentation neat, planned, and legible,
with evident proofreading of spelling
and grammar.
I
R
1-
1
1+
2-
2
2+
3-
3
3+
4-
4
4+
C1. Analyze the role of metabolic processes in the functioning of biotic and abiotic systems, and evaluate the importance of an
understanding of these processes and related technologies to personal choices made in everyday life.
 Assess the relevance, to their personal
lives and to the community, of an
understanding of cell biology and
related technologies (eg. knowledge of
cellular processes aids in our
understanding of mitochondrial
Limited
Approaching
Sufficient
Insightful
diseases), ensuring that all required and
relevant information is included.
 Presents opinions based on data and
ideas for practical action on the issues
related to topic of choice.
4++