The Effect of Alcohol, Smoking & Vaping Lesson Plan looks directly at the effects of alcohol (vodka) cigarette smoke extract, and vape extract on overall cell viability, motility, and behavior. In research labs, human lung cells grown in tissue culture are commonly used to study the effect of toxins on living cells, but that’s not possible in a classroom. In this lab, students instead look at the protozoan Tetrahymena, a model organism often used in research on health and disease related topics, including ciliary function. This safe, easily grown single-celled protist doesn’t look much like a human. Nonetheless, Tetrahymena’s basic cell processes are very much like those of human cells. Substances that impact Tetrahymena basic cell functions may also interfere with similar human cell functions. For example, substances that affect the function of Tetrahymena cilia that propel the cells through water and sweep food into the mouth can also affect human cilia, like those that help move harmful inhaled material out of the lungs. The lab allows students to experimentally explore for themselves the effects of toxic substances on Tetrahymena viability, motility, and behavior, and to consider possible related effects on human cells.
The images and video below show how the smoke is extracted.
The video below shows how vapor is extracted.
Module Protocols
Relevant Concept
Motility; Environmental Impact on Growth and Survival; Cell Response to Environmental Stimuli; Science as a Process
Next Generation Science Standards Relationships:
High School: HS-LS1-1 Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the structure of DNA determines the structure of proteins which carry out the essential functions of life through systems of specialized cells.
See our glossary for the terms used in the modules.