In this model:
a. genetic influence factor of 1 = having both alleles of no effect b. genetic influence factor of 2 = having one allele of no effect and one allele that promotes alcohol use
c. genetic influence factor of 4 = having both alleles that promote alcohol use
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Alcohol abuse and alcoholism certainly involve the contributions from more than one gene. The exact number of genes that influence alcoholism is not known.
• In this activity, individuals who have scores of 120 or higher are considered to be alcohol abusers. By this measure, how many of the modeled individuals did abuse alcohol?
Results for your class will vary, but the graph should show approximately 10–15 percent of the original population with scores above 120.
• If, in the population, 10–15 percent of alcohol users go on to abuse alcohol, how many modeled individuals would you expect to be alcohol abusers?
The answer depends on how many individuals were modeled. For
example, if the class modeled 50 individuals, then you would expect between 5 and 8 scores to be above 120 and therefore represent alcohol abusers.
• Do the results of the modeling activity accurately reflect the statistics for the population?
The scoring in this activity should yield results that are similar to the population statistics. However, results from individual classes will vary. This usually can be attributed to a small sample size. As before, if you do this activity in several classes, you might wish to pool the data.
• How does this model accurately reflect the behavior of alcohol use and abuse? How is it inaccurate?
The model is accurate in that it leads to about one-third of the population abstaining from alcohol use and 10 percent of users abusing alcohol. It also accurately reflects most of the important factors that influence alcohol use. The model is inaccurate in that it does not take into account interactions among the various factors. For
example, it is not the case that environmental factors play a role only in the decision to use alcohol and not in the decision to abuse it.
The genetic influence on alcohol use is also oversimplified. The model fails to stress the role that personal choice plays in an individual’s alcohol consumption.
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Student Lesson 4
Understanding Alcohol: Investigations into Biology and Behavior Activity 3: Modeling Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
1. Remind students that the die-rolling activity they just completed models a person’s use or abuse of alcohol. Explain that they will now complete an activity that models whether a person who
abuses alcohol will go on to become an alcoholic individual.
Alcoholism is a disease characterized by physical dependence on alcohol. When alcohol use is discontinued, withdrawal symptoms occur. People who are alcoholic exhibit tolerance, meaning they need increasing amounts of alcohol to feel intoxicated. They feel a strong need or compulsion to drink and continue despite adverse consequences.
2. Invite students to consider factors they think might influence whether a person continues to abuse alcohol or goes on to suffer from alcoholism. List their responses on the board.
Content Standard F:
Students should
Students will likely name a variety of things. Try to focus their develop an under-responses on the
standing of personal
• presence or absence of a support system,
• ability to control their drinking,
health.
• relative craving for alcohol,
• sensitivity of the brain to alcohol, and
• genetic risk.
The genetic risk factor refers to genes that place an individual at increased risk for becoming addicted to alcohol.
3. Remind the class that only individuals who were designated as alcohol abusers with a score of 120 or higher in Activity 2 will be used in this activity. Display the transparency of the completed graph from Master 4.6, Results for Modeling Alcohol Abuse, and ask students to recall how many modeled individuals abused alcohol.
4. Draw one stick figure on the board to represent each fictitious individual who was an alcohol abuser (a score of 120 or higher) from Activity 2. Assign a number to each fictitious individual. Explain to students that these drawings represent the alcohol abusers from Activity 2.
5. Explain that the procedure for this activity will be a little different from that of the previous activities because of the small number of fictitious individuals whose behavior is being modeled. Assign students numbers that correspond to each of the numbered stick figures. Each student should be assigned two numbers. For example, one student may be assigned numbers 1 and 2, another student 128
assigned numbers 3 and 4, and so forth. Have students write the numbers for their assigned fictitious individuals on their copy of Master 4.7.
This strategy will allow all students to be involved in the activity even though the number of fictitious individuals is low. Several students will record data for the same fictitious individuals.
6. Give each student one copy of Master 4.7, Factors Influencing Alco-
hol Abuse and Alcoholism.
7. Complete the die rolling as a class. For each fictitious individual, the die needs to be rolled 5 times. After the first roll, students record the number in the space provided under “Support system”
on their handout. Likewise, they record the results of rolls 2
through 5 under “Loss of control,” “Craving for alcohol,” “Brain sensitivity to alcohol,” and “Genetic addictive factors.” Have students take turns performing a single die roll.
8. Display a transparency of Master 4.8, Score Sheet for Modeling
Alcoholism. Instruct students to assign a score for each of the five categories (for each individual) based on the die roll and the values listed on Master 4.7, Factors Influencing Alcohol Abuse and Alco-
holism. Instruct students to add the five scores for each individual to obtain a total score.
Scores will range from 0 to 90 in this activity.
9. Display a transparency of Master 4.9, Results for Modeling Alco-
holism. As before, construct a histogram of the results.
Because the number of individuals being modeled in this activity is low, the histogram bars will not be very high.
Figure 4.5. Sample
histogram of class
data for modeling
alcohol abuse and
alcoholism.
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Student Lesson 4
Understanding Alcohol: Investigations into Biology and Behavior 10. Hold a class discussion to analyze the graph and interpret the results of the activity. Lead the discussion with the following questions.
Content Standard A:
• If in our society, one-half of alcohol abusers go on to become alco-Use mathematics in all
holic, how many of the fictitious individuals would you expect to become alcoholic?
aspects of scientific
inquiry.
If one-half of alcohol abusers go on to become alcoholic, you can calculate the predicted number by multiplying the number of individuals modeled in Activity 3 by 50 percent (0.50).
• If a score of 45 or higher indicates the individual has progressed from an alcohol abuser to an alcoholic, how many of the fictitious individuals have progressed to being alcoholic?
Answers will vary. The possible scores for Activity 3 range from 0 to 90. Approximately half of the fictitious individuals modeled will fall into this category.
• Do the data from this activity accurately reflect the statistics from the population?
The data will vary considerably from class to class. The data collected in some classes may show no individuals who are alcoholic.
Other classes may have data in which more than the predicted number of fictitious individuals are alcoholic.
If the data vary greatly from the predicted, you may find this to be an opportunity to discuss sample size and the limitations of a model such as this. If you are collecting and pooling data from several classes, you can discuss how larger sample sizes are more likely to match results from a large population of individuals.
• How does the number of individuals classified as alcoholic in this activity compare with the number of alcohol abusers? to alcohol users? to the general population?
Students should respond that the number of individuals classified as alcoholic is smaller than the number of individuals classified as alcohol abusers and is much smaller than the number of individuals in the initial population modeled in Activity 1.
This is a good opportunity to remind the class that not everyone who chooses to consume alcohol will develop a drinking problem, and not everyone who abuses alcohol will necessarily become an alcoholic.
130
• What factors are responsible for the individuals with the highest risk for alcoholism? (Display the transparency of Master 4.8, Score
Sheet for Modeling Alcoholism, to help students respond to this question.)
In addition to those factors discussed in Activity 2, students may add the following:
• a lack of a support system, or the unwillingness of the individual to use such a system;
• loss of control that leads to heavy drinking;
• a craving for alcohol;
• a brain with a low sensitivity to alcohol that doesn’t set up blocks to alcohol consumption; and
• a genetic predisposition toward alcohol addiction.
• How does personal choice influence alcohol use, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism?
Students will list a number of factors and ways in which personal choice is important. Some of these responses may include the
following:
Availability—Even if alcohol is readily available, an individual can still choose not to use it.
Peer pressure—An individual chooses his/her friends, and even when peers consume alcohol, the individual can still choose to be different.
Media pressure—Despite the tendency of TV, movies, advertisements, and music to portray alcohol use in a favorable light, an individual can choose to place these influences in perspective and resist their messages.
Family environment—Families may have positive or negative beliefs about alcohol use. Likewise, religious views may prohibit alcohol use or tolerate it in moderation. These views can be followed or resisted.
Legal restrictions—Minors considering alcohol use can choose to obey or disobey laws that restrict their access to alcohol.
Support system—If individuals realize that they are abusing alcohol, then they can turn to family or friends for support. If a personal support system is absent, then individuals can seek professional guidance and counseling. Such a decision can help prevent alcohol abuse from progressing to alcoholism.
Teacher note
It is important to discuss the issue of personal choice so that students will not think that the influences modeled in this lesson constitute any individual’s predetermined fate.
131
Student Lesson 4
Understanding Alcohol: Investigations into Biology and Behavior
• What factors might influence alcohol use, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism but do not involve personal choice?
Genetic factors that influence alcohol metabolism, brain sensitivity to alcohol, and risk for alcohol addiction are not under personal control.
Activity 4: Applying the Model
1. Inform students that since they have completed the modeling activities to examine the range of alcohol use, alcohol abuse, and alcoholism in a small group of fictitious individuals, they will now explore how this range applies to the U.S. population. Tell students that there are approximately 200 million people between the ages of 13 and 65 in the United States.
These calculations can be done either by students individually or as a class.
• If 33 percent of the population does not use alcohol, how many Content Standard A:
individuals do not use alcohol?
Use mathematics in all
200 million x 0.33 = 66 million people do not use alcohol
aspects of scientific
inquiry.
• If 67 percent of the population uses alcohol, how many individuals use alcohol?
200 million x 0.67 = 134 million people use alcohol
• If 10 percent of alcohol users will become alcohol abusers, how many individuals are alcohol abusers?
134 million x 0.10 = 13.4 million people abuse alcohol
• If 50 percent of alcohol abusers will become alcoholic, how many individuals are alcoholics?
13.4 million x 0.50 = 6.7 million alcoholics
2. Display the transparency of Master 4.10, When Is Alcohol Use a Prob-
lem? Read over the transparency with the students. Explain that these simple questions screen for possible alcohol abuse or alcoholism. If a potential problem is identified, such an individual should see a doctor who has the training to more accurately diagnose the individual for alcoholism. Remind students that individuals diagnosed with alcoholism have options for achieving and maintaining a full recovery. Furthermore, all individuals, even those susceptible to alcoholism, have the option of choosing not to start drinking alcohol.
132
Figure 4.6. Distribu-
tion of alcohol
nonusers, users,
abusers, and alcoholics
among Americans aged
13 to 65.
There is no simple test to identify someone with a drinking problem.
However, honest answers to the four questions shown on Master
Assessment:
4.10 can help an individual decide whether a problem is likely to To evaluate students’
exist. To make the questions easier to remember, they have been understanding of mod-written in such a way that the first letter of a key word in each ques-eling, ask them to pro-
tion spells “CAGE.”
vide other examples of
scientific models and
1. Have you ever felt that you should Cut down on your drinking?
to explain what types
2. Have people Annoyed you by criticizing your drinking?
of information scien-
3. Have you ever felt bad or Guilty about your drinking?
tists can get from
4. Have you ever had a drink first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover (Eye opener)?
these examples. Stu-
dents will likely men-
Source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1996. Alcoholism: getting the facts. Bethesda, MD: NIAAA.
tion models of the
weather and of
ecosystems. Students
A “yes” answer to one of these questions may suggest that a drinking may also mention that
problem exists, while more than one “yes” response is highly indica-scientists use animals
tive of a problem. Even if a person answers “no” to these four ques-as models to learn
tions, an alcohol problem can still exist.
about humans. They
If not brought up by the class, mention that molecular modeling also may refer to the stud-has many uses.
ies they analyzed in
Lesson 3.
133
Student Lesson 4
Understanding Alcohol: Investigations into Biology and Behavior Lesson 4 Organizer
Activity 1: To Drink or Not to Drink
What the Teacher Does
Procedure Reference
Have students reflect on the simulations of mice behavior in
Page 119
response to alcohol.
Step 1
Ask the class what factors influence an individual’s decision
Pages 119–120
whether to drink alcohol. Sort their answers into the follow-
Steps 2 and 3
ing categories:
• Availability
• Family environment
• Peer pressure
• Media pressure
• Legal restrictions
Explain that students will roll dice to model whether ficti-
Page 120
tious individuals will drink alcohol.
Step 4
Pass out to each student one die and a copy of Master
Page 120
4.1, Environmental Factors Influencing Alcohol Use and
Step 5
Nonuse.
Have students complete their rolls and record data for each
Page 121
of their modeled individuals.
Steps 6 and 7
• Have students assign scores using Master 4.2, Score
Sheet for Modeling Alcohol Use.
Summarize the results by constructing a histogram using
Pages 121–122
data from the entire class on Master 4.3, Results for
Step 8
Modeling Alcohol Use.
= Involves copying a master.
= Involves using a transparency.
134
Have students interpret the graph. Ask,
Pages 122–123
• How are the scores distributed?
Steps 9 and 10
• What do low scores represent?
• What factors contribute to low scores?
• Does this distribution accurately model alcohol use in a
population?
• How many individuals have scores of 15 or less?
• According to the Surgeon General, about 33 percent of
the population report that they do not drink alcohol.
Predict how many individuals in this activity would not
drink alcohol.
• Is this number higher or lower than expected?
Activity 2: Modeling Alcohol Use and Abuse
What the Teacher Does
Procedure Reference
Ask the class to recall their conclusions from Lesson 3 about
Page 124
how different mice respond to alcohol.
Steps 1–3
Explain that students now will roll dice to model alcohol use
Page 124
and abuse in their fictitious individuals. Display a trans-
Step 4
parency of Master 4.4, Modeling Genetic Influence, and give each student a copy of Master 4.5, Factors Influencing Alcohol Use and Abuse.
Have students complete their rolls, record data on Master
Pages 124–125
4.5, and compute scores for each modeled individual.
Steps 5 and 6
Summarize results of the activity by constructing a histogram
Pages 125–126
using data from the entire class on Master 4.6, Results for Step 7
Modeling Alcohol Abuse.
135
Student Lesson 4
Understanding Alcohol: Investigations into Biology and Behavior Have students interpret the graph. Ask,
Pages 126–127
• How are the scores distributed?
Step 8
• What factors contribute to alcohol abuse? (Explain that
this activity assumes that only two genes contribute to
alcohol use.)
• If individuals with scores of 120 or higher are consid-
ered to abuse alcohol, then how many modeled indi-
viduals are abusers?
• If in the population, 10–15 percent of alcohol users go
on to abuse alcohol, then how many modeled individ-
uals would you expect to be alcohol abusers?
• Is the number of modeled alcohol abusers higher or
lower than expected?
• How does the model accurately reflect the behavior of
alcohol use and abuse? How is it inaccurate?
Activity 3: Modeling Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
What the Teacher Does
Procedure Reference
Explain that the class will now model whether an alcohol
Page 128
abuser will go on to become an alcoholic individual.
Step 1
Challenge the class to list reasons that might influence
Page 128
whether an alcohol abuser will develop alcoholism.
Step 2
Explain that individuals with scores of 120 or higher in the
Page 128
previous activity are alcohol abusers and will be modeled in
Step 3
this activity. Display the transparency of the completed
graph from Master 4.6.
Assign each student two of the alcohol abusers to model,
Pages 128–129
and explain the procedure.
Steps 4 and 5
Pass out to each student a copy of Master 4.7, Factors
Page 129
Influencing Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Step 6
136
Have students complete their rolls, record data, and com-
Page 129
pute scores for each modeled individual based on Master
Steps 7 and 8
4.8, Score Sheet for Modeling Alcoholism.
Summarize results of the activity by constructing a his-
Page 129
togram using data from the entire class on Master 4.9,
Step 9
Results for Modeling Alcoholism.
Have students interpret the graph. Ask,
Pages 130–132
• If one-half of alcohol abusers go on to become alco-
Step 10
holic, then how many of the modeled individuals
would be expected to become alcoholic?
• If a score of 45 or higher indicates that an individual
becomes alcoholic, then how many of the modeled
individuals became alcoholic?
• Do the data from this activity reflect the statistics from
the population?
• How does the number of individuals classified as alco-
holic in this activity compare to the number of alcohol
abusers? To alcohol users? To the general population?
• What factors contribute to high risk for alcoholism?
• How does personal choice influence alcohol use, alco-
hol abuse, and alcoholism?
• What factors might influence alcohol use, alcohol abuse,
and alcoholism but do not involve personal choice?
Activity 4: Applying the Model
What the Teacher Does
Procedure Reference
Have the class apply the statistics for alcohol use, alcohol
Page 132
abuse, and alcoholism from the model to the U