Escape Room Practice Problems

Directions​: The following problems are hypothetical situations that you and your team may
come across while attempting to escape the room during the event. Solve in groups of 2 or 3.
DIRECTORS/VOLUNTEERS​: DO NOT GIVE STUDENTS THE NEXT PAGE UNTIL THEY
HAVE SOLVED THE PREVIOUS ONE.
Questions Set 1

1. You and your team come across a puzzle.

Ex.

Once you have completed the puzzle, you should have a certain number of pieces left.
Remember that number. You will need it. Ask a volunteer for the next page.
2. The symbol of the element you created in the previous problem is also an indicator/sign that
will lead to your next puzzle. One of the books below has this symbol on the top right corner of
its cover. Do you see it?

You will now open that book to a certain page. The page number is the sum of the number of
remaining ​pieces from the first puzzle and the number of structures from the list below that are
in plant cells, but not animal cells.

- Endoplasmic Reticulum
- Cell Wall
- Cell Membrane
- Nucleus
- Ribosomes
- Chloroplast
- Lysosome

Ask a volunteer for the next page.

Below are images of pages from that book. Find the page with the right page number. Look at
the first letter of the first word on that page. Remember this letter.

___________ is our genetic material. We get it from our parents and pass it down to our kids.
Remember your answer.

Ask a volunteer for the next page.

3. You and your team come across a lock on a cabinet. You need a four letter code. Use the
letter from the page in the book and the letters of your answer for the fill-in-the-blank problem at
the bottom of the previous page. The letter from the book should come first. Below is an image
of the lock and possible code combinations you can choose from.

Pretend the lock is a magical lock. Every combination/code opens the cabinet door, but only one
combination will lead to the right set of keys. Choose the correct combination.

You and your team are now left with two keys to choose from.
“Anaerobic respiration does not involve this element. Pick the key labeled with this element.”

Check with a volunteer to see if you and your group found the right key.
Solution to #1-3:
 Questions Set 2
1. In front of your team is a section of DNA with only 1 side labeled. Fill in each box with its
missing nucleotide base pair.

a. The 4 letters from top to bottom will form a 4 number

code made up of the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 based on the letter’s position in the
alphabet. For instance, if the 4 letters were A, Z, T, and D (in order from top to
bottom), the code would be 1, 4, 3, 2 because A is the beginning of the alphabet,
Z is at the end, D is 2nd earliest, and T is 2nd to last. Remember the four
numbers in the exact order. Now answer the following question:
i. What nucleotide base is present in RNA but not DNA?
b. Remember the first letter of your answer and look around the cabinet doors for a
lock with the same letter on taped to it.

Ask a volunteer for the next set of instructions

 2. Once you have walked over to the lock, enter the 4-digit code you found from the
previous setting (for instance, 1432). Open the cabinet door and inside you will find a slip
of paper with these questions:
a. “______ electrons are the electrons on the outermost orbital of an atom.”
b. “This is the name for negative ions.”
Answer these questions in this exact order​. Take the first letter of each word to form the
abbreviation of a state name.
Inside the cabinet will also be a list of the abbreviated state names (For example: CA)
numbered and listed in alphabetical order. Locate the abbreviated name of the state you
found from answering the 2 questions and remember the 2 digit number next to it.

Ask a volunteer for the next set of instructions

 3. Walk over to the table with a scale with a 50 mL beaker on top. The scale should have
“0” for the weight. If it does not, call a volunteer over to help zero out the weight of the
beaker itself. Then fill up the beaker to the number of milliliters you found earlier (ie: if
your answer was CA and the number next to it was 5, you would fill up the beaker with 5
mL of water) using the graduated cylinder. Try to be as exact as possible.

Place the beaker back on the scale and record the weight. Round to the nearest tens
digit (ie 45.59 grams will round to 50 grams but 32.89 grams will round to 30 grams).
Walk over to the periodic table and locate the element with this atomic number (ie atomic
number is 50). Now, answer the following question about this element:
How many neutrons does this element have?

Using your answer, look around the room for a drawer labeled with the number of
neutrons you found earlier. Inside the drawer will be a key. Present the key to a
volunteer and you’ve escaped!

Ask a volunteer for the solutions

 Set 2 ​Solutions
#2-1:​ C T A G = 2-4-1-3

a.
b. What nucleotide base is present in RNA but not DNA?
i. Uracil = U
#2-2: a. “​Valence​ electrons are the electrons on the outermost orbital of an atom.”

b. “This is the name for negative ions.” ​Anions

Abbreviated state name: VA = #46

#2-3. Element with atomic number 46 = Palladium (Pd) with atomic mass of 106.42
Neutrons= atomic mass-atomic number (aka protons) = ​60 ​neutrons