In this activity, students explore the processes scientists used to analyse and identify the toxic substance responsible for dog deaths on Auckland beaches.
By the end of this activity, students should be able to:
- identify a given toxin using known chemical structures
- explain what a molecular formula is
- explain in simple terms how liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) can be used to detect toxins
- show an understanding of the concept of LD50.
Download the Word file for:
- introduction/background notes
- what you need
- what to do
- student handouts.
Related content
For more information about marine toxins, read the following articles:
TOXINZ is the National Poisons Centre’s database of toxic compounds. Find out about the life-saving resource in this Kiwi Innovation Network Limited video.
