Lessons | What Is a Virus? • How Does a Virus Spread?
What Is a Virus?
The following activities are meant to introduce students to what viruses are and how they function. First, students will watch a series of videos that provide some background information on the structure and function of viruses. Then, students will use their math skills and materials at home to build a model that helps them visualize how small a virus particle is in comparison to bacteria, cells and a human eyelash. Lastly, students will be challenged to design their own model of a virus to show how they work and spread.
Activities
Share Your Work
Post your projects on social media with the hashtag #MassSTEMWeek or email them to us at stemweek@i2learning.org
Resources
Articles and Online Models
Article of different types of germs, including viruses (kidshealth.org)
NY Times article about how viruses work (nytimes.org)
Size and Scale Online Model (learn.genetics.utah.edu)
Vocabulary
Micrometer (μm)
one millionth (0.000001; 106) of a meter
Nanometer (nm)
one billionth (0.000000001; 109) of a meter
Virus
a particle that enters the human body and hijacks cells to create more of itself, causing the human body to react with certain symptoms (cough, fever, sneezing etc.) to remove the virus.
DNA or RNA
Genetic material that is inside all cells and virus particles. It gives the instructions for creating new proteins, such as new viruses or new cells.
Hijack
to take over something, usually by force, and then use it for one’s own purposes
Domino Effect
When one event causes a number of other events to subsequently occur
Videos
“What is a Coronavirus” Brainpop
“What is a virus? How does a virus work?”
Nanometers and micrometers from Khan Academy
How Does a Virus Spread?
As we’ve seen with the 2019 novel coronavirus, viruses can spread very quickly when we don’t take precautions. In this series of activities, students will watch a video to understand the basics of how a pandemic spreads, use their math skills to solve the “handshake problem” and then use Scratch to simulate how social distancing can slow the spread.
Activities
Introduction to How Pandemics Spread
How Many Hands Will You Shake
Simulating the Spread Using Scratch
Resources
Articles and Online Models
Do Fist Bumps Spread Fewer Germs Than Handshakes? (cedars-sinai.org)
“Flatten the curve” simulator (washingtonpost.com)
Scratch Ideas page (scratch.mit.edu)
“Why Tough Times can Create Better Neighbors” (newsela.com)
Vocabulary
Virus
a particle that enters the human body and hijacks cells to create more of itself, causing the human body to react with certain symptoms (cough, fever, sneezing etc.) to remove the virus.
Pandemic
an outbreak of a disease that is common over a whole country or the world
Epidemic
a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time
Social Distancing
maintaining a greater than usual physical distance from other people or of avoiding direct contact with people or objects in public places to reduce the transmission of an infection