This activity utilizes the emergence of antibiotic resistance, and mechanisms thereof, to teach essential concepts including natural selection, bacterial gene transfer, mutation, and gene expression. It also provides a connection between course content and modern applications of important concepts. The activity (app. 25 minutes) is intended for introductory students in biology. It is flexible and can be modified to work for both majors and non-majors courses, and is designed to be effective for all class sizes. In the activity, students will identify molecular targets of common antibiotics, explain the roles of mutation and natural selection in resistance, explore bacterial gene transfer mechanisms, predict antibiotic/resistance relationships, formulate hypotheses, and interpret graphical data.

See Resource Page linked above for full activity information.