Virus Structure

 Viruses are very small particles that can infect animals and plants and make them ill. They are made from a small amount of genetic material - either DNA or RNA (similar to DNA) and a protein shell. Viruses can come in a range of different structures but for this activity we are just going to be looking at one example.

Covid - 19 is caused by a virus, from a type of viruses called coronaviruses. The structure of these viruses are made up of a piece of RNA surrounded by a protein shell, covered by a lipid membrane, with proteins on the outside. 

To make a model of this the first thing that you need to do is take a piece of silver foil and roll it into a ball. This is going to represent the RNA centre surrounded by the protein shell.

You are then going to cover this with a layer of butter, to represent the lipid membrane. Lipids are fats. Butter is also made from fats so it will work in a similar way. We can then add some sprinkles to represent the proteins on the surface of the virus.

You are going to need 2 virus models for this activity so you will need to make a second model in the same way.

We are now going to test our models to see what happens when we wash our hands. In one bowl we are going to add some warm water and in the second bowl we are going to add warm water and some liquid soap. We are then going to add one virus model to each bowl

Give each bowl a mix and so that the virus model gets covered, just like it would do when you wash your hands and leave it in the water for a minute so that you can see what happens

After about a minute take the virus models out of the water and see what has happened... What do you see? You should see that the model that was in the bowl with soap and water had broken down more than the model that was in the bowl with just water. This shows that it is best to wash your hand with soap and water as if the virus breaks down it can't cause illness.

The video tutorial for this activity is available on the Surrey Libraries Facebook Page or the Surrey Libraries YouTube Channel