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DNA: The Molecule of Heredity > Group Activity
Make a class model of DNA: Form two lines of students, with the students in each line facing a different direction. Each
of you in the line should put your left hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you and extend your right hand out toward the other line, palm facing forward. Each of you is a nucleotide. The hand on the shoulder represents the sugar–phosphate link. The hands extended, almost touching, represent the base pairs. It is easy to see the antiparallel nature of DNA in this model.
As an additional exercise, have one student play the role of DNA polymerase by matching "complementary bases"—that is, by pairing up students in opposite lines on the basis of eye color or some other basis. For example, pair brown eyes with green eyes, and pair blue eyes with gray or black eyes.
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