Extremophiles

Starter: Make a list of the extreme environments humans can survive in.

Learning goals: Knowledge: Be able to define what an extremophile is and give some examples of the habitats they live in. Skill: Selecting appropriate information from the internet.

Guinness book of world records Deinococcus radiodurans has been listed as the world’s toughest bacterium. It can survive cold, dehydration, vacuum, radioactivity and acid. http://wn.com/Extremophile_Hunter

Challenge: Use the internet to help you complete the table provided. Using your assigned card, find out what habitat the assigned extremophiles live in and how they are adapted to their environment. Thermophile Cryophile Halophile Acidophile Metallotolerant Radioresistant. Complete the data table on my website for each of the extremophiles from a “Gallery Walk” of other group’s research

Plenary: Design your own extremophile. What habitat does it live in and what would its features be? Can a friend guess where your extremophile lives?