How Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Take Over

Introduction

Have you ever had to take antibiotics? Your doctor probably told you to finish taking all the pills even if you felt better after one or two days. But why is that? Why shouldn't you stop taking antibiotics as soon as you feel better? You might be surprised to hear that if you do, you might contribute to the creation of antibiotic resistant "superbugs!" Find out how these superbugs can develop in this activity by rolling dice to model how different bacteria respond to an antibiotic treatment.

Credits

Materials

• Six-sided dice (20 total. 15 of one color, 5 of another color.) Note: Alternatively, you can use an online dice roller.
• Paper
• Pen
• Graphing paper (optional)