JoinAll Case Studies
Cases (only) are freely accessible; subscription is required for access to teaching notes and answer keys.
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.
Diabetes and Acid/Base Chemistry
By Eric J. Herrera, Linda M. Roberts
This case study focuses on a teenage patient with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) who presents with severe acidosis, becomes combative and loses consciousness, and is subsequently treated and released. The scenario is used to teach the topics of meta...
By Michael L. Allen
The overall goal of this interrupted case study is for students to practice confirmation/disconfirmation reasoning while learning the basics of solar system and Moon formation. Students will compare predictions corresponding to various Moon formation...
By Anneke M. Metz
This interrupted case study utilizes real patient data and provides students an opportunity to apply knowledge of human metabolism and hormonal control to a complex real-world scenario. The story begins with the discovery of an unconscious patient wh...
By Janna R. Willoughby, Avril M. Harder, Jaqueline M. Doyle
This interrupted case study is based on a journal article that describes the rapid adaptation of a population (in this case, steelhead trout) in response to a shift in environmental conditions despite genome‐wide reductions in genetic diversity. Fi...
By Carolyn L. Danna
This interrupted case study is based on the real symptoms and laboratory results of a 65-year-old female stroke victim who is obese and on medication for hypertension but has no other significant health issues. The case begins with a description of t...
By Krista E. Slemmons
This interrupted case study introduces students to the complexity of understanding natural variation in ecosystems through time in the absence of long term data sets. In particular, students explore the interdisciplinary nature of ecology and examine...
By Thomas E. Hynd, Elizabeth V. Berkeley, Janet C. Daniel, Justin W. Brown, Bisi T. Velayudhan
This interrupted case study tells the story of Katie, an active college sophomore who experiences flu-like symptoms. She initially thinks that her illness is a result of the stress associated with the rigors of college; however, after visiting ...
By Betty Jo Chitester, Weslene T. Tallmadge
This directed case study uses a fictionalized story about a family that has recently moved to the Washington DC area and is confronted with a situation involving lead contamination of the municipal water supply. Students learn how basic chemical prin...
By Annette W. Neuman
This interrupted case study is designed to teach students about chirality and the pH scale in the context of medicinal chemistry. Students read about a college student who wakes in the middle of the night with chest pains. Upon examination in the eme...
Diagnosing and Treating Charlie’s Strange Spots
By Joseph D. Shih
This case study introduces a patient who comes into a doctor's office with an interesting set of symptoms that leads to an exotic cancer diagnosis. The case provides students with an opportunity to identify and classify patient information (signs, sy...
By Ryan P. Rogers
This interrupted case study follows Abby and her husband Jim who have recently adopted a young girl, Ciara. Ciara was homeless prior to the adoption and has no medical records aside from newborn vaccinations. Almost immediately following the adoption...
By Rachel A. Jackson, Kimberly S.C. Vogt
Reading and understanding scientific literature can be a daunting task for students in introductory science courses. This decision/dilemma case study helps ease them into the process by using a short scientific article with a simple experimental desi...
Headaches, Mood Swings, and Dropping Things
By Patrick R. Field, Diana Colgan, Catherine Potok
This interrupted case study walks students through the stages of determining a diagnosis for a neural condition/disease in a 62-year-old female. The case includes the medical history, presenting signs and symptoms, pre-diagnoses, evaluation/observati...
By Joseph DeMasi, Janet A. De Souza-Hart
This directed case study was written to help students learn about an innovative cancer therapy that harnesses a patient's immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells. The critical insight underlying this therapy is to use a cancer patient's o...
By Helen S. Joyner, Clinton Stevenson
In this interrupted case study, students assume the role of a quality assurance intern at a plant that manufactures shredded cheese. As there is no formal sampling plan in place to ensure product quality, students are tasked with developing a fe...
By Janice P. Wittstrom
This case study tells the story of a 14-year-old boy, "Danny," who wants to go on a snowboarding adventure with his friends, but is unable to provide any details when asking his parents for permission. Danny is understandably excited, although comple...
By Kimberly S. Farah
This directed case study was written to help students understand both organic and inorganic analysis of forensic evidence. It tells the story of a fire at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Daisy who are found deceased on the property, both with gunshot wounds...
The Biochemistry of Curly and Straight Hair
By Willietta Gibson
This interrupted case study examines basic concepts of chemical bonding by telling the story of “Madison,” who is learning about the texture of her hair and how it can transition between its natural curly state to a smooth, straight texture. The ...
Evolution by Natural Selection in Oldfield Mice
By Katherine S. LaCommare, Peter A. Van Zandt
The theory of evolution by natural selection is simple, elegant, and profound. Yet, a large number of undergraduate students including biology majors, medical students, and pre-service science teachers maintain a large set of misconceptions that inte...
Speciation and the Threespine Stickleback
By Joan Sharp, Erin Barley, Kevin K.-W. Lam, Suraaj Aulakh, Allison Cornell, Kathleen A. Fitzpatrick
This case study teaches students about allopatric speciation through an investigation of the benthic and limnetic sticklebacks of Paxton Lake, which are among the youngest species on Earth, diverging from each other after the Pleistocene glaciers mel...
The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway
By Nora S. Green
Woolly mammoths and other cold-adapted animals, such as reindeer and musk ox, developed a number of adaptations that allowed them to survive in frigid environments. These include small ears, thick fur, and even long tusks. Many of these species devel...
By Annie Prud’homme-Genereux
This flipped case study examines the selective pressures that have affected the evolution of diverse human skin pigmentations. To prepare for the case, students begin by watching videos and doing research on their own. In class, students use the info...
By Dachin N. Frances, Sanja Hinić-Frlog
The federal governments in Canada and the United States have adopted vastly different positions regarding the conservation status of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). This international issue provides students an opportunity to exa...
Electric Cars and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles
By Jack F. Eichler
This “clicker case” provides students with an overview of batteries and fuel cells and the oxidation-reduction reactions used in these devices. The context for this overview is a comparison of battery-electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehi...
By Michele M. Cox
This interrupted case study reviews the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in apoptosis, or programmed cell death, and how it may be used in the treatment of cancer. The case narrative follows "Derek," a college student who travels to Philade...
By Laura A. Schoenle, Cynthia J. Downs
This interrupted case study introduces two distinct, but not mutually exclusive, strategies for defending against parasites: resistance and tolerance. Students analyze and interpret research conducted on resistance and tolerance to gastrointestinal p...
By Kaitlin A. Pate, Paul M. Acosta, Melinda A. Payne, Breanna N. Harris
In this interrupted case study, students meet a pair of fictional newlyweds on their way to Australia for their honeymoon. Initially eager to enjoy the sun, sand, and sights, Tanya and Julien Brahim end up more intimately acquainted with the local wi...
By Ashley E. Rhodes, Timothy G. Rozell, Abigail R. Wilson
This interrupted worksheet case study, developed for introductory or intermediate undergraduate physiology courses, aims to eliminate misconceptions that many students have about lactate, lactic acid, and changes in the body during exercise. The case...
By Brett C. Couch
Why are chilies so hot? This case study begins with a story about an undergraduate student who is inspired to learn about capsaicin production in chilies after losing a spicy chicken wing eating contest. The case was developed as an initial activity ...
By Matthew J. Van Sant
This directed case study on thyroid dysfunction was written to help students understand how negative feedback pathways work. The title character suffers from hypothyroidism, and although a specific cause cannot be determined from the information prov...
By Janet A. De Souza-Hart, Joseph DeMasi
The steps involved in transcription and translation can be difficult for students to comprehend. Relating popular culture references (such as song titles) to protein sequences can help students understand the conversion of DNA and RNA information to ...
The Polar Bear of the Salt Marsh?
By Beth A. Lawrence, Christopher R. Field
Polar bears are an iconic symbol of climate change, but regionally relevant examples of susceptible biota are needed to highlight how global forces impact local environments. In this interrupted case study, students follow a young naturalist as she e...
By Amber J. Raven, Jessica Williamson, Raelynn D. Haynes
This case study was developed for an upper-level undergraduate evolution course in order to provide an example of natural selection in hominids and encourage critical thinking and understanding of the subject. The case focuses on the cognitive evolut...
Know Your Enemy, Know Yourself
By Kelsie M. Bernot, Telah A. Wingate, Kiara D. Whitaker
This case study relates the actual experiences of a woman with breast cancer as she shares her experiences through a series of blog posts at various stages of treatment (diagnosis, mastectomy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and maintenance)....
By Nathaniel R. Beres
The function and regulation of hemoglobin is often difficult for students to understand. This directed case study is an attempt to make the topic more approachable by relating the story of “Joanna” and “Alex,” two students who visit their loc...
No Longer Living the Sweet Life
By Noura Farih, Lauren T. Lund, Sara E. Morgan, Johnny M. Turner, Breanna N. Harris
In this interrupted case study, students will help “Dr. Gupta” investigate and assess complications arising in one of her long-term patients, “Jorge Alvarez.” Jorge was diagnosed with Type II diabetes mellitus ten years ago as documented in �...
Selection on a Case by Case Basis
By Adam R. Irvine, Eva S. Horna-Lowell, Mathew J. Driscoll, Emily D. Broder
This "clicker case" gives students an opportunity to apply their understanding of three different types of selection (directional, stabilizing, and disruptive) to a variety of model systems. The case describes each type of selection in detail, presen...
By David E. Gammon
In this case study, students participate in a game in which they assume the roles of various stakeholders in a proposed oil and gas project in southeastern Peru at a meeting that takes place in 1998 in Cusco, Peru. Ultimately one ...
By Brian K. Sato, Eduardo Cruz-Hinojoza, Duyen Dinh-Dang
This "clicker case" focuses on the use of molecular biology concepts and techniques to protect the property of a fictional bread company. Students will address questions as to how one can "mark" a yeast strain by embedding a particular DNA sequence i...
By Maria P. Chadiarakou, Anitha Sundararajan, Ingrid E. Lindquist, Gabriella A. DeFrancesco, Madeline Kwicklis, Drew A. Lighthall, Natasha E. Farmer, Michèle I. Shuster, Joann Mudge
DNA sequencing and analysis (bioinformatics) is an increasingly important tool for understanding biological data, including medical data. In this case study, students will be exposed to DNA sequencing to quickly identify how an outbreak of methicilli...