“Chips” Off the Old Block?

In this activity, learners bake cookies by following different recipes to better understand genetic mutations. Everyone in the group bakes the same type of cookie: chocolate chip. Most learners use the original recipe; a few (about a third) follow recipes in which an alteration (mutation) has occurred. Learners work in groups to make observations, including an "in depth enzymatic analysis" to determine whether a particular cookie was produced from a recipe that contained a mutation and, if so, the type of mutation. This lesson guide suggests that learners bake the cookies at home and bring them in on the day of the taste testing activity.