JoinAll Case Studies
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Suggested Keywords, to help with your search (besides selecting subjects): clicker cases, directed cases, interrupted cases, discussion cases, intimate debate cases. As a reminder, all cases may be adjusted to meet the needs of your student level. See our case use guidelines.
Grade level filtering: enter desired grade levels in the Keywords box and click Apply.
By David L. Boose
In this problem-based learning case, three housemates in an environmentally-themed college house debate the pros and cons of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) over incandescent lamps. The students raise issues of the cost difference between the lamps ...
Murder by HIV? Grades 5-8 Edition
By Michèle I. Shuster, Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham, Laura B. Regassa
This case study gives students an opportunity to draw a conclusion about an actual crime that was prosecuted in Louisiana. A physician was accused of intentionally infecting his ex-girlfriend with HIV-tainted blood drawn from a patient in his practic...
Murder by HIV? Grades 9-12 Edition
By Laura B. Regassa, Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham, Michèle I. Shuster
This case study gives students an opportunity to draw a conclusion about an actual crime that was prosecuted in Louisiana. A physician was accused of intentionally infecting his ex-girlfriend with HIV-tainted blood drawn from a patient in his practic...
Murder by HIV? Undergraduate Edition
By Naowarat (Ann) Cheeptham, Laura B. Regassa, Michèle I. Shuster
This case study gives students an opportunity to draw a conclusion about an actual crime that was prosecuted in Louisiana. A physician was accused of intentionally infecting his ex-girlfriend with HIV-tainted blood drawn from a patient in his practic...
By Peggy Brickman
In this "clicker case study," students learn about the chemical nature of protein molecules-in particular, how the constituent parts of proteins (amino acids) contribute to protein three-dimensional structure and folding. Several important human dise...
By Karen M. Aguirre
This case study introduces students to Dr. E.L. Trudeau, who performed a seminal early experiment validating the germ theory of infection. Part I introduces Trudeau's Rabbit Island experiment, which is simple and easy for beginning or non-major stude...
Oh, What a Difference a Carbon Can Make!
By Betty Jo Chitester, Weslene T. Tallmadge
Sarah, trapped in the middle of a two-hour lecture on enzyme inhibition, attempts to escape by asking a question. She relates an old story she heard about some teenagers who drank from bottles of antifreeze marked "alcohol." Half of them died, but th...
By Jack F. Eichler
In this clicker case, students are guided through the history of atomic structure, and in the spirit of discovery learning, use data from historical experiments to discern the different models of the atom. In particular, students move from the time o...
By Maureen Leonard (rr)
Resistance to antibiotics arose very shortly after these "wonder drugs" were first introduced. This case study examines resistance to the most commonly used antibiotics, penicillin and its derivatives. In particular, it examines a recent ...
Hunting the Ebola Reservoir Host
By Allison Black, Annie Prud’homme-Genereux
This one-hour introduction to the study of infectious diseases uses recent research on the Ebola reservoir host to motivate students to consider the characteristics of a viral host species and how it can be identified. Presented in the form of an int...
By Loren B. Byrne
Conservation biology focuses on the scientific study and practice of preventing biodiversity loss. Many complex sociocultural factors affect the success of conservation. This case study presents the true story of a Texas man who killed a cat that was...
By Nancy M. Boury
In this "clicker case," students assume the role of pre-med students participating in a summer internship. As interns, they diagnose several different genetic deficiencies of glycolytic pathway enzymes based on the biochemical activity of blood sampl...
By Nancy M. Boury
This case is a variation of a longer case in our collection titled "Murder or Medical Mishap? Death on the Metabolic Ward," which has a "murder-mystery" aspect to it. In both versions of the case, students assume the role of pre-med students pa...
By Dylan P. Macuk, William J. Moser, Jr., Kaleigh A. Tockes, Keith A. Johnson
Since its first recorded appearance in 1996, Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) has wiped out an estimated 70 percent of the Tasmanian devil population. Scientists considered bacterial, viral, chemical, parasitic, and genetic causes before d...
Revolt on the Tuberculosis Ward
By Joyce A. Shaw
Monique is a 30-year-old Haitian woman with advanced pulmonary tuberculosis who has been transferred from a tuberculosis sanatorium to a large general hospital in Port au Prince after developing a secondary infection with Bacteroides fragilis at the ...
Reproductive Isolation in Columbines
By J. Phil Gibson
This clicker case uses plant-pollinator interactions in columbines as a biological scenario to teach students about evolution, reproductive isolation, and angiosperm reproduction. The case is based on an approach to evolution education called tree-th...
By Robin Pals-Rylaarsdam, Monica L. Tischler
This "clicker case" follows two recent college graduates as they look for scientific answers to explain why the plants on their new tomato farm are not doing well. Working with their agricultural extension agent, they explore the scientific literatur...
By Brian Rybarczyk
This case was originally designed for training international graduate students who are or will become teaching assistants (TAs); however, the case can be used in any TA or new instructor training forum with a diverse group of participants. The case s...
Identical Twins, Identical Fates?
By Sarah A. Wojiski
This case tells the story of Elise, a college freshman whose identical twin sister has recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Elise is concerned about her own risk for developing this disease. Through her research and interactions with a physici...
By Lynn Diener
In this interrupted case study, good friends Sara and Mallory discuss Sara's recent healthy weight loss and her difficulty in maintaining her desired weight. Sara recently heard about a hormone, ghrelin, and wonders if that chemical may have somethin...
By Kyla Flanagan
Students assume the roles of CDC researchers who must determine how to most effectively stop an impending Zombie apocalypse. The story line leads students through the process of developing a mathematical model of a Zombie outbreak, which they then us...
By Edwin H. Price
In this case study, students examine hydrologic characteristics of a real farm property in northwest Georgia and calculate the volume of storm runoff expected for a typical storm using the U.S. Soil Conservation Service (SCS) method. The case is used...
By Clyde Freeman Herreid, Paula P. Lemons
In this PowerPoint-based clicker case, developed for use in either a general biology or general genetics class, students are introduced to the life and work of Gregor Mendel. The initial slides set up the story as we see Mendel, who is ill, rem...
Mathematically Modeling Aircraft Fuel Consumption
By Kevin Pyatt, Jacqueline Coomes
The problem studied in this case deals with the identification of potential ways to lower fuel consumption in a 737 aircraft. Students are presented with actual flight data, such as fuel weights, passenger loads, fuel consumption, trip mileage, and t...
By John C. Withey, Christina M. Kennedy
In this case study, students apply principles of landscape ecology, experimental design, and data interpretation to examine alternative explanations for how birds respond to forest fragmentation and landscape matrix. Using an interrupted format, the ...
African Illness: A Case of Parasites?
By Kevin M. Bonney
This case is based on a British patient presenting to a hospital with an array of symptoms after returning from an African safari. Students learn about potential causes of the symptoms based on the patient's potential exposure to parasites endemic to...
The Case of the Jamaican Fisherman
By Joyce A. Shaw
Designed for a first- or second-semester Anatomy & Physiology course, this directed case study involves a 48-year-old Jamaican fisherman who suffered a cerebrovascular accident. He was taken to a hospital, where he stayed for three days bef...
Applying Newton’s Third Law of Motion in the Gravitron Ride
By Anthony J. Creaco, Owen A. Meyers, David A. Krauss
A trip to an amusement park is the setting for this introduction to the concept of centripetal force in terms of Newton's laws of motion and vector quantities. A student who is a physics major helps his friend understand the action-reaction for...
By Terry Platt, Eric Ribbens
This clicker case is designed to lead students to a conceptual understanding of oxidative phosphorylation (and, by analogy, photosynthesis). Students begin with a pre-class handout that presents background information on DNP, a weight-loss drug that ...
The Molecular Origin of Life: Replication or Metabolism-First? Introductory Version
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux, Rosalind H. Groenewoud
This case explores both the evidence and inconsistencies in the two major hypotheses for the origins of life on Earth: Replication-First or Metabolism-First....
The Molecular Origin of Life: Replication or Metabolism-First? Advanced Version
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux, Rosalind H. Groenewoud
This case explores both the evidence and inconsistencies in the two major hypotheses for the origins of life on Earth: Replication-First or Metabolism-First. The case has two versions published on this website; one is written at the introductory leve...
Is High Fructose Corn Syrup Bad for the Apple Industry?
By Jeffri C. Bohlscheid
In this interrupted case, students analyze a peer-reviewed article and apply the scientific method to solve an agricultural mystery. A fictional apple farmer and his son are trying to determine if high fructose corn syrup has led to the loss of the b...
Classic Experiments in Molecular Biology
By Robin Pals-Rylaarsdam
All introductory biology textbooks, and many sophomore-level genetics textbooks as well, describe several classic experiments in molecular biology. This interrupted case study takes students through two of these classic experiments, namely, those by ...
By Tonya Laakko Train
This case centers on a fictional group of young adults who studied abroad together in Scotland as college students. A number of them develop disease symptoms and die a few years after the trip. The cause of death is determined to be a prion disease. ...
By Jeffrey J. Byrd, Samantha L. Elliott
As nonliving entities, viruses face specific challenges when replicating in a host. Avoiding the host immune system is something that every virus aims for in order to successfully reproduce itself and infect another host. Many viruses rep...
By Jeffrey J. Byrd, Samantha L. Elliott
This case study considers the evolution of HIV from SIV, as well as the evolution of HIV within humans by mutation rate. It also discusses the immune evasion proteins NEF and VPU, and how anti-retroviral drugs act to stall viral replication. Finally,...
Why Was the 1918 Influenza So Deadly?
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux, Carmen A. Petrick
In this intimate debate, students examine the causes of the devastation wrought by the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic. Students consider whether the 1918 flu was exceptionally deadly because of its biology, or whether prevalent geopolitical-socioeco...
By Brahmadeo Dewprashad
This case study on the chemistry of cocaine is in the form of a classroom discussion between a professor and her students about cocaine, its addictive properties, a search for an addiction treatment, and the chemistry involved in the synthesis of coc...
It's All Greek to Me: Physiology Edition
By Leslie G. Wooten
Stephania and Nikolaus Stamos are concerned about their baby daughter. They take her to her pediatrician, who immediately notices that the once bright and active child is small for her age, pale, lethargic, and has a swollen abdomen. Students ex...
It’s All Greek to Me: Genetics Edition
By Leslie G. Wooten
Stephania and Nikolaus Stamos are concerned about their baby daughter. They take her to her pediatrician, who immediately notices that the once bright and active child is small for her age, pale, lethargic, and has a swollen abdomen. Students examine...