Teaching-mechanic library

particle_spread · biology · simulator.predict

Concept: Diffusion

Player does: Predict how particles spread from the crowded chamber

Breaks: Particles move toward empty space on purpose

Particles move randomly and simply spread out net from high to low concentration; they have no destination in mind.

membrane_balance · biology · simulator.predict

Concept: Osmosis

Player does: Predict which way water crosses and whether the cell swells or shrinks

Breaks: Salt crosses the membrane instead of water

In osmosis, water crosses the semipermeable membrane toward the higher solute concentration; the solute itself often cannot cross.

atp_gate · biology · simulator.intervene

Concept: Active transport

Player does: Spend ATP to pump ions against the gradient before the budget runs out

Breaks: Transport always goes down the gradient

Active transport uses ATP to move substances against their concentration gradient, unlike passive diffusion.

membrane_router · biology · sorter.bins

Concept: Membrane selectivity

Player does: Route molecules to simple diffusion, channel, or pump

Breaks: Anything small passes freely

The membrane is selectively permeable, so a molecule's charge and polarity, not just its size, decide its crossing route.

shape_docking · biology · linker.pairs

Concept: Enzyme specificity

Player does: Dock each substrate into its matching active site

Breaks: Enzymes are used up in reactions

An enzyme's active site releases the product and is reused, so the enzyme itself is not consumed.

dock_blocker · biology · simulator.predict

Concept: Competitive inhibition

Player does: Decoys occupy sites; predict how much more substrate restores the rate

Breaks: Inhibitors destroy enzymes

A competitive inhibitor blocks the active site reversibly; adding more substrate can outcompete it and restore the reaction rate.

genome_repair · biology · transformer.encode

Concept: DNA base pairing

Player does: Rebuild the damaged strand by complementary pairing

Breaks: A pairs with G

DNA base pairing is fixed: A pairs with T, and G pairs with C.

rna_assembly · biology · transformer.encode

Concept: Transcription

Player does: Read the template strand and assemble the mRNA (U for T)

Breaks: mRNA is an exact copy of the template strand

mRNA is complementary to the DNA template strand, not an identical copy, and it swaps thymine for uracil.

protein_factory · biology · transformer.encode

Concept: Translation

Player does: Route codons to amino acids with the codon table to build the chain

Breaks: Each nucleotide codes for one amino acid

A group of three nucleotides, a codon, specifies one amino acid, not a single nucleotide.

chromosome_logistics · biology · sequencer.linear

Concept: Mitosis

Player does: Duplicate and separate chromosome sets in stage order

Breaks: Chromosomes duplicate during prophase

Chromosomes duplicate during interphase, before mitosis's stages of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase begin.

meiosis_shuffle · biology · simulator.sample

Concept: Meiosis & variation

Player does: Shuffle homolog pairs; predict how many gamete types appear

Breaks: Meiosis makes identical cells

Meiosis shuffles homologous chromosomes to produce genetically varied gametes, not identical cells.

punnett_forge · biology · builder.genetics

Concept: Mendelian genetics

Player does: Fill the Punnett square to breed a familiar with the needed trait

Breaks: Dominant traits are always the most common

A trait's frequency in a population depends on allele frequency, not simply on whether the allele is dominant.

survival_sim · biology · simulator.predict

Concept: Natural selection

Player does: Change the environment; predict which trait spreads

Breaks: Individuals evolve because they need to

Natural selection acts on existing variation across a population over generations; individuals themselves do not evolve by need.

drift_sim · biology · simulator.sample

Concept: Genetic drift

Player does: Run tiny populations and watch alleles vanish by chance

Breaks: Evolution always improves fitness

Genetic drift changes allele frequencies by random chance, especially in small populations, regardless of fitness.

ecosystem_network · biology · linker.network

Concept: Food webs

Player does: Remove a species; trace the cascade through the web

Breaks: Removing a predator helps every other species

Removing a predator can trigger a cascade that harms some species, such as prey overpopulating and depleting their own food.

energy_pyramid · biology · tuner.formula

Concept: Energy flow (≈10% rule)

Player does: Size each trophic level from the energy passed up

Breaks: Energy is recycled like matter

Energy flows one way through an ecosystem and is mostly lost as heat at each level, unlike matter, which cycles.

feedback_controller · biology · simulator.intervene

Concept: Homeostasis

Player does: Release insulin or glucagon to keep glucose in the safe band

Breaks: Hormones switch on and stay on

Hormonal control in homeostasis is a continuous feedback loop, releasing and easing off as the level shifts, not an on/off switch.

threshold_pulse · biology · simulator.intervene

Concept: Action potentials

Player does: Stack inputs until threshold fires an all-or-none spike

Breaks: Stronger stimuli make bigger action potentials

An action potential is all-or-none once it fires; a stronger stimulus raises firing frequency, not the spike's size.

organelle_city · biology · linker.pairs

Concept: Organelle functions

Player does: Assign each city service to its organelle

Breaks: Plant cells don't have mitochondria

Plant cells have mitochondria for cellular respiration in addition to chloroplasts for photosynthesis.

taxonomy_tower · biology · sorter.hierarchy

Concept: Classification hierarchy

Player does: Nest kingdom through species into a climbable tower

Breaks: Species that look alike are closest relatives

Taxonomic closeness is based on shared ancestry and genetics, and can differ from superficial resemblance.

levels_tower · biology · sequencer.linear

Concept: Levels of organization

Player does: Climb cell → tissue → organ → system → organism

Breaks: Organs are built directly from cells

Cells form tissues, tissues form organs, so organs are built from tissues, not directly from cells.

photosynthesis_recipe · biology · transformer.composition

Concept: Photosynthesis

Player does: Route light, water, CO₂ through the stations to make glucose

Breaks: Plants get their mass from the soil

Most of a plant's mass comes from carbon dioxide fixed by photosynthesis, not from the soil.

respiration_forge · biology · transformer.composition

Concept: Cellular respiration

Player does: Run glucose through glycolysis, Krebs, and the ETC to charge ATP

Breaks: Plants don't do cellular respiration

Plants perform cellular respiration to make ATP just as animals do, in addition to photosynthesis.

krebs_wheel · biology · sequencer.cycle

Concept: Krebs cycle

Player does: Rotate the wheel so each intermediate feeds the next

Breaks: Glucose enters the Krebs cycle directly

Glucose is broken down to pyruvate and then acetyl-CoA before entering the Krebs cycle, not directly.

heart_run · biology · sequencer.linear

Concept: Blood flow

Player does: Sprint through the chambers in blood-flow order; valves are one-way gates

Breaks: All arteries carry oxygen-rich blood

The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs, so arteries are not defined by carrying oxygen-rich blood.

boss_anatomy · biology · linker.pairs

Concept: Parts & functions

Player does: Strike the weak point whose function the announcer names

Breaks: The right side of the heart pumps to the body

The right side of the heart pumps to the lungs, while the left side pumps oxygenated blood to the body.

immune_defense · biology · sorter.type_match

Concept: Innate vs adaptive immunity

Player does: Deploy the right defender against each invader

Breaks: Antibiotics kill viruses

Antibiotics target bacterial processes and have no effect on viruses.

vaccine_memory · biology · simulator.predict

Concept: Immunological memory

Player does: Predict how fast the second infection is cleared

Breaks: Vaccines give you the disease

A vaccine trains memory cells to recognize a pathogen without causing the actual disease.