Please read the important information regarding these games at the bottom of the page.

The Eye of the Donkey Game - Help

Aim of the game:

In this game the mission is to successfully copy DNA from a crime scene.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
1.
Write your name in the box – using no more than 10 characters. Click on start!

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
2.
Read the texts and click on "Ok".

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
3.
The lecture on PCR including five questions is more than 15 minutes long. Click on "Skip lecture" if you want to proceed to the game. (Note: You don't gain any points if you answer the five questions correctly.)

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
4.
Click on "Ok".

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
5.
Pick the objects that have been left at the crime scene by clicking on them.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
6.
Click on the button on the PCR machine.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
7.
You will find that the PCR machine does not work. So you will have to do the process manually. To begin, drag and drop the three waterbaths in the cupboards onto the bench to the right.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
8.
Click on the on/off button on the wall.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
9.
Each waterbath will be used for a step in the three-step PCR process. Click on the little note on the wall to get information and facts about the names on the three PCR stages - denaturing, annealing and synthesising. To hide the note again – click anywhere in the picture. Information about the three stages also appears at the end of this "Help" page.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
10.
To setup the waterbaths to carry out each stage in the PCR process, do the following:
a) write "denaturing" here.
b) write "annealing" here.
c) write "synthesizing" here.
d) click on "check" on each PCR machine when ready.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
11.
The next step is to adjust the conditions for each waterbath.
a) Adjust the correct temperature by clicking on "+" or "-".
b) Adjust the correct time on each waterbath.
Don't forget you can look at the note on the wall to get the information, or you can look at the KEY at the bottom of this "help" page.

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
12.
Now, you should be ready to start amplifying the DNA in your crime samples. Start the process as follows:
a) Put the test tube in the waterbath marked denaturing.
b) Click on the start button.
(Denaturing is the stage where you separate the two strand in the DNA molecule.)

Help - the Eye of the Donkey Game
13.
a) Move the test tube to the second waterbath marked annealing.
b) Click on "start".
(Annealing is the stage where the so called primers attach to their sites.)

c) Move the test tube to the waterbath marked synthesising.
d) Click on "start".
(Synthesising is the stage in PCR when the enzyme polymerase starts to build new DNA)

 

KEY
Denaturing
temperature: 95 degrees Celsius
time: 45 seconds

Annealing
temperature: 56 degrees Celsius
time: 30 seconds

Synthesising
temperature: 72 degrees Celsius
time: 60 seconds





To cite this page
MLA style: "The PCR Method - a DNA Copying Machine". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. <http://nobel-external-educationalgames-app.azurewebsites.net/educational/chemistry/pcr/help.php?objectname=/educational/physics/integrated_circuit>

About the educational games

The educational games are based on Nobel Prize awarded achievements and were produced between 2001 and 2012. Most games have not been updated since production (including potential scientific facts changes) and are provided here on an 'as is' basis by popular demand.

Some of the games run in modern browsers without the need of any plugin (either as a new version or using Ruffle), but many of the games still require Adobe Flash Player. Flash is an old technology that has reached end of life. These games will no longer work without a dedicated setup. If you are depending on these games in your profession, please advice your local IT support. We do not have the resources to provide support.

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