Education Technology

Type 1 Diabetes: Managing a Critical Ratio

Subject Area
Science: Life Science: Cells and Heredity
Science: Life Science: Human Body
Level
9-12
Software
TI-Nspire™ CX
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series

Type 1 Diabetes: Managing a Critical Ratio

Activity Overview

Students gain understanding of a critical ratio — how many units of insulin are needed after a meal or snack to balance the grams of carbohydrates in the food.




Explore the science of math with Type 1 Diabetes: Managing a Critical Ratio

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that destroys a body's ability to make insulin, a naturally occurring hormone that enables cells to extract glucose from the blood for energy. It's an incurable condition, but it can be managed.

The inaugural STEM Behind Health TI-Nspire™ activity, Type 1 Diabetes: Managing a Critical Ratio, introduces students to the science and math of the disease management, which is, for Chelcie and all T1 diabetics, a matter of life and death.

Through the activity, students gain understanding of a critical ratio — how many units of insulin Chelcie must use after a meal or snack to balance the grams of carbohydrates in the food.

This first-of-its-kind lesson provides math and science educators with interactive simulations that promote essential concepts and practices, including:

  • Engaging in ratios and proportional thinking
  • Analyzing biological control mechanisms
  • Planning and carrying out investigations
  • Using computational thinking
  • Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information
Special thanks to Kurt Griffin, M.D., Ph.D. for his help in developing the lesson. Now the director of clinical research at The Sanford Project, Dr. Griffin is working with Texas Instruments to inspire students to think about careers that are dedicated to healing diseases, providing hope for cures and researching treatments that support wellbeing.

Subject Area
Science: Life Science: Cells and Heredity
Science: Life Science: Human Body
Level
9-12
Software
TI-Nspire™ CX
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Vernier EasyData,Vernier EasyLink and Vernier EasyTemp are registered trademarks of Vernier Science Education.