This activity can be done as an example of deciphering a complicated code, or as part of a in-depth study of DNA.

The cube demonstrates RNA’s role in transcription and translation by acting as a string of mRNA carrying the 18 traits for an imaginary creature the students will make. Each row on the cube will code for a single amino acid and to simplify things, traits are determined by just one amino acid.

This activity can be done individually or in pairs, and can be simplified by working in groups where each student is responsible for only a fraction of the whole cube (1 side only, 2 sides, etc) and then the group can collaborate on the drawing, or each student can draw their own creature.

Common Core Standards:

Next Generation Science Standards:

RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.

MS-LS3-1 Develop and use a model to describe why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.

MS-LS3-2 Develop and use a model to describe why asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.

Objectives: Students will use Rubik’s Cubes to model RNA’s role in transcription and translation. The cube acts as a string of mRNA carrying the 18 traits for an imaginary creature the students will make.

Codon CrittersMiddle/High School

Materials:

Background Knowledge:

Developing and Using Models: Modeling in 6–8 builds on K–5 experiences and progresses to developing, using, and revising models to describe, test, and predict more abstract phenomena and design systems.

1 Rubik’s Cube per group Cube Critter handout (1 per student) Codon Table (1 per student/group) Table of Traits (can be shared) Unlined paper Colored pencils or markers

Students should have understanding that: ● Hereditary information is contained in genes,

located in the chromosomes of each cell.● An inherited trait of an individual can be

determined by one or by many genes and asingle gene can influence more than one trait.

● The characteristics of an organism can bedescribed in terms of a combination of traits.

● Although different species might look dissimilar,the unity among organisms becomes apparentfrom an analysis of internal structures and thesimilarity of their chemical processes.

Vocabulary: adenine DNA

guanine

transcription

translation

thymine

amino acid

codon

cytosine traits

Procedure: Before class: ● Make copies of handouts for students/ groups.

(Codon Critters, Codon Table, Table of Traits)

With students: 1. Explain how to use a codon table. Left side is the

first base, top is the second base, right sideshows the last base.

2. Explain some details necessary for this activity:a. Point out to students that the center square

on each face of the Rubik’s Cube is fixed,so that’s how the faces are named. Whenreferring to the “yellow face.” this means theface of the cube with a yellow center tile.

b. The diagram at the bottom of the handoutshows a way to look at the cube soeveryone is using the same row for thesame trait. It’s not absolutely necessary thateveryone does this, but it helps illustratethat even when reading everything thesame way, odds are you’re going to havedifferent traits.

3. Distribute Cube Critters handouts to students.Read through instructions together.

4. Give each student (if working individually) orgroup a Rubik’s Cube. The cubes can be alreadyscrambled, or if the start with solved cubes,instruct the students to mix up the cube byperforming at least 10 random turns.

5. Be available to help students as they workthrough the activity.

Technology Connection

Students can practice transcription and translation with this online activity: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/transcribe/

Optional follow-up/ Extend the lesson

Notes to Teacher:

A teacher’s answer key is available for download at https://www.youcandothecube.com/downloads/ The file is called Codon Cube Critters Checker.xls and a how to use video is online: https://youtu.be/TL6WYIOsOM8

The creatures can also be sorted into into classes, orders, families, etc based on characteristics of the student’s choosing. Students should explain and justify their classifications.

3x3 Rubik’s Cubes are available to borrow from the You CAN Do the Rubik’s Cube Lending Program at no cost other than return shipping. www.youcandothecube.com/lending-library

Thank you to Adam Raymond, math and physics teacher at Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology (Georgia), for the teacher’s answer key for this lesson.

Cube Critters: Student Page

All of life as we know it is based off of DNA. Everything from the smallest and simplest organisms to the biggest and most complex creatures ever to live all begin with guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine. To better understand the universal nature of DNA and to show how four things can create an almost infinite combination of traits, we are going to work with something most (if not all) of you are familiar with: the Rubik’s Cube.

Despite being composed of only six colors and 20 moveable pieces, there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 unique combinations that can be made on a Rubik’s Cube. To put that into perspective, all 7 billion people alive on Earth today would need over 600 million cubes each to make all of the combinations. For this reason alone, the Rubik’s Cube is perfect for our study of transcription and translation.

In DNA, a codon is 3 bases read together and on your Rubik’s Cube, a codon will be three squares in one row of the cube. Each codon will code for an amino acid and in our simplified version, each amino acid will determine a trait. By the time you finish, you will have determined 18 individual traits for your organism and will then illustrate your newly designed critter.

Activity Instructions:

The center square on each face will never change its place. When a side is mentioned by color (for example: the “green” side), it is referring to the side with a green square in the center spot.

Each side of the cube will code for 3 specific traits, all fitting a common theme. To insure that everyone reads their code the same way, the traits will be named in the following manner:

Note the order of the colors of the cube when solved:

The traits will be read in this order for each side: 1 signifies the first trait for that color’s face, 2 the second, and 3 the third. The letters a, b, and c refer to the first, second, and third base respectively for each given trait. Each color face will determine 3 different traits.

Procedure: 1) Scramble your Rubik’s Cube thoroughly. Make at least 10 random turns.2) Place the cube on your desk with the yellow face on the top and the orange face

towards you.3) Beginning with the top left corner of the yellow face, record the arrangement of

your cube in Data Table 1 (It may be helpful to write down both the color on thecube and the base in the area provided.)

4) For each set of three bases, find the corresponding amino acid on the CodonTable.

5) Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the orange and blue faces.6) After recording the information for the yellow, orange and blue faces, flip your

cube over so the white face is on top now and the green face is towards you.7) Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the three remaining faces.8) After filling in the amino acids for all traits, complete Data Table 2 by writing the

amino acid for each trait from Data Table 1 into the appropriate box andmatching the amino acid to the trait description.

9) Once all trait descriptions are written, draw a quick sketch of what each trait willlook like in your finished critter.

10) Carefully Draw and color a detailed image of your newly created critter on aseparate sheet of paper, making sure to include all 18 of the traits in yourdrawing.

Codon Table

*In a real codon table, the codons UAA, UAG, and UGA are considered “stop” codons where translationwould end. For this activity, they are replaced with two imaginary amino acids fakeinine and pretendisine,and translation should continue.

Color = Base Color = Base Color = Base

G = G Y = A W = U Aspartic Acid

Trait 1 = = =

Trait 2 = = =

Trait 3 = = =

Trait 1 = = =

Trait 2 = = =

Trait 3 = = =

Trait 1 = = =

Trait 2 = = =

Trait 3 = = =

Trait 1 = = =

Trait 2 = = =

Trait 3 = = =

Trait 1 = = =

Trait 2 = = =

Trait 3 = = =

Trait 1 = = =

Trait 2 = = =

Trait 3 = = =

Data Table 1

Green (G) = Guanine (G) Yellow (Y) = Adenine (A) White (W) = Uracil (U) Blue (B) = Cytosine (C )

Red (R) (on face with Yellow, Orange or Blue center) = Guanine (G) Red (R) (on face with White, Green, or Red center) = Adenine (A)

Orange (O) (on face with Yellow, Orange or Blue center) = Uracil (U) Orange (O) (on face with White, Green, or Red center) = Cytosine (C )

Base 1 Base 2 Base 3Row

EXAMPLE

Amino Acid

Yellow

Ora

nge

Blu

eW

hite

Gre

en

Red

Face

Data Table 2.

Face

Row Amino Acid Description

Y E L L O W

Trait 1- General Appearance

Trait 2- Body Size

Trait 3- Body Type

O R A N G E

Trait 1- Base Color

Trait 2- Pattern Color

Trait 3- Pattern

B L U E

Trait 1- Leg Length

Trait 2- Tail Type

Trait 3- Foot Type

W H I T E

Trait 1- Muzzle

Trait 2- Ears

Trait 3- Eye Color

G R E E N

Trait 1- Wings

Trait 2- Fire Color

Trait 3- Horns

R E D

Trait 1- Biome

Trait 2- Time of Activity

Trait 3- Egg Type

YELLOW Face = Appearance

Trait 1: Coverings Fur Feathers Scales Smooth Asparagine Glutamine Histidine Leucine Lysine Phenylalanine Tyrosine

Methionine Proline Serine Tryptophan Valine

Aspartic Acid Cysteine Fakeinine Glutamic Acid Isoleucine Threonine

Alanine Arginine Glycine Pretendisine

Trait 2: Body Size Dog-Sized Horse-Sized Bear-Sized Elephant-Size

d Arginine Aspartic Acid Cysteine Fakeinine Glutamic Acid Lysine Methionine

Alanine Pretendisine Serine Threonine

Asparagine Leucine Proline Tryptophan Valine

Glutamine Glycine Histidine Isoleucine Phenylalanine Tyrosine

Trait 3: Body Type Skinny Medium Large “Chunky” Asparagine Aspartic Acid Glutamine Histidine Leucine Lysine Pretendisine

Arginine Proline Tryptophan Valine

Glutamic Acid Glycine Methionine Serine Threonine

Alanine Cysteine Fakeinine Isoleucine Phenylalanine Tyrosine

ORANGE   Face   =   Colorations 

Trait   1:   Base   Color 

White  Black  Brown  Orange  Yellow Isoleucine Phenylalanine 

Tryptophan Valine 

Cysteine Fakeinine Methionine Tyrosine 

Alanine Glutamic   Acid Lysine 

Glutamine Pretendisine Serine 

Blue  Green  Purple  Red Arginine Asparagine 

Glycine Proline 

Aspartic   Acid Threonine 

Histidine Leucine 

Trait   2:   Pattern   Color 

White  Black  Brown  Orange  Yellow Isoleucine Phenylalanine 

Tryptophan Valine 

Cysteine Fakeinine Methionine Tyrosine 

Alanine Glutamic   Acid Lysine 

Glutamine Pretendisine Serine 

Blue  Green  Purple  Red Arginine Asparagine 

Glycine Proline 

Aspartic   Acid Threonine 

Histidine Leucine 

Trait   3:   Pattern 

Stripes  Dots  Rings  Blotches  Hearts Arginine Fakeinine Glutamic   Acid Phenylalanine 

Aspartic   Acid Cysteine Histidine Serine Tyrosine 

Asparagine Glutamine Leucine Lysine Methionine Tryptophan 

Glycine Isoleucine Pretendisine Valine 

Alanine Proline Threonine 

WHITE   Face   =   Head   Structure  

Trait   1:   Muzzle 

Short  Long  Short Beak 

Long Beak 

Curved Beak 

Arginine Fakeinine Glutamic   Acid Phenylalanine 

Aspartic   Acid Cysteine Histidine Serine Tyrosine 

Asparagine Glutamine Leucine Lysine Methionine Tryptophan 

Glycine Isoleucine Pretendisine Valine 

Alanine Proline Threonine  

  Trait   2:   Ears 

Short Pointed 

Long Pointed 

Short Floppy 

Long Floppy 

“Dumbo” 

Isoleucine Pretendisine Proline Threonine 

Glutamic   Acid Histidine Leucine Lysine Tryptophan 

Alanine Fakeinine Glycine Valine  

Asparagine Aspartic   Acid Cysteine Serine 

Arginine Glutamine Methionine Phenylalanine Tyrosine 

  Trait   3:   Eye   Color 

Blue  Green  Black  Red Arginine Aspartic   Acid Cysteine Fakeinine Glutamine Phenylalanine 

Glycine Pretendisine Proline Serine Tryptophan 

Alanine Glutamic   Acid Leucine Methionine Threonine  

Asparagine Histidine Isoleucine Lysine Tyrosine Valine 

  

 

BLUE Face = Extremities

Trait 1: Leg Length Very Short Short Medium Long Very Long Alanine Glycine Threonine

Glutamine Histidine Leucine Pretendisine Tryptophan Tyrosine

Cysteine Fakeinine Phenylalanine Serine

Arginine Asparagine Aspartic Acid Glutamic Acid Lysine

Isoleucine Methionine Proline Valine

Trait 2: Tail Type None Nub Medium Long Two Tails Fakeinine Glutamic Acid Histidine Lysine Methionine Valine

Leucine Phenylalanine Threonine Tyrosine

Alanine Cysteine Serine

Arginine Glutamine Glycine Pretendisine

Asparagine Aspartic Acid Isoleucine Proline Tryptophan

Trait 3: Foot Type Hoof 3-Toed No Claws Short

Claws Long Claws

Arginine Asparagine Glutamic Acid Phenylalanine Pretendisine

Histidine Lysine Serine Tyrosine

Glycine Proline Valine

Alanine Isoleucine Methionine Threonine Tryptophan

Aspartic Acid Cysteine Fakeinine Glutamine Leucine

GREEN Face = Fantastic Add-Ons

Trait 1: Wings None Bird Insect Dragon Fairy Isoleucine Pretendisine Proline Threonine

Glutamic Acid Histidine Leucine Lysine Tryptophan

Alanine Fakeinine Glycine Valine

Asparagine Aspartic Acid Cysteine Serine

Arginine Glutamine Methionine Phenylalanine Tyrosine

Trait 2: Fire Color Red Orange Yellow White Blue Green Glycine Lysine Serine

Fakeinine Histidine Phenylalanine Threonine

Cysteine Glutamic Acid Proline Tyrosine

Leucine Tryptophan Valine

Arginine Isoleucine Methionine Pretendisine

Alanine Asparagine Aspartic Acid Glutamine

Trait 3: Horns Antlers Small

Pointy Big Pointy Curly None

Arginine Fakeinine Glutamic Acid Phenylalanine

Aspartic Acid Cysteine Histidine Serine Tyrosine

Asparagine Glutamine Leucine Lysine Methionine Tryptophan

Glycine Isoleucine Pretendisine Valine

Alanine Proline Threonine

RED Face = Environment

Trait 1: Biome Desert Forest Plains Arctic Arginine Glutamic Acid Histidine Lysine Phenylalanine Tyrosine

Fakeinine Glycine Leucine Tryptophan Valine

Alanine Methionine Pretendisine Proline Serine

Asparagine Aspartic Acid Cysteine Glutamine Isoleucine Threonine

Trait 2: Time of Activity Day (Diurnal) Night (Nocturnal) Dusk/Dawn

(Crepuscular) Leucine Threonine Valine Fakenine Lysine Tyrosine Pretendisine Tryptophan

Serine Glycine Proline Cysteine Glutamic Acid Glutamine Histidine

Arginine Alanine Isoleucine Aspartic Acid Asparagine Phenylalanine Methionine

Trait 3: Egg Type Blue Speckled

Red Speckled

Striped Solid White

Solid Brown

Alanine Glycine Threonine

Glutamine Histidine Leucine Pretendisine Tryptophan Tyrosine

Cysteine Fakeinine Phenylalanine Serine

Arginine Asparagine Aspartic Acid Glutamic Acid Lysine

Isoleucine Methionine Proline Valine