Quantitative Modeling of Membrane Transport and Anisogamy by Small Groups Within a Large-Enrollment Organismal Biology Course

Abstract

Quantitative modeling is not a standard part of undergraduate biology education, yet is routine in the physical sciences. Because of the obvious biophysical aspects, classes in anatomy and physiology offer an opportunity to introduce modeling approaches to the introductory curriculum. Here, we describe two in-class exercises for small groups working within a large-enrollment introductory course in organismal biology. Both build and derive biological insights from quantitative models, implemented using spreadsheets. One exercise models the evolution of anisogamy (i.e., small sperm and large eggs) from an initial state of isogamy. Groups of four students work on Excel spreadsheets (from one to four laptops per group). The other exercise uses an online simulator to generate data related to membrane transport of a solute, and a cloud-based spreadsheet to analyze them. We provide tips for implementing these exercises gleaned from two years of experience.