Biology by Bradford
Cell Communication escape room
The Silent Relay Station
High on a frozen ridge, the Halvorsen relay station passes radio messages between distant valley towns. A blizzard has knocked out its main power, and the backup system has sealed every door until the crew proves it understands how signals are received, relayed and answered, just as cells do. Five locks stand between you and the snowcat outside, and each needs four answers decoded into a combination. Restore the signal before the storm closes in.
- 5 locksfour multiple-choice questions at each, 20 in all
- About 45 minutesfor a team of three or four
- Online or on papera link to play, or the pack to print
- ForAP Biology classes
- Play linkbiologybybradford.com/escape/u4
The five locks
Each lock’s four answers are decoded with its puzzle into a four-digit combination, so one wrong answer keeps it shut. The questions climb from recall to evaluating evidence.- Lock 1 · Recall
Frosted Antenna Hatch
Light panel Easy
Add up the numbers above the shaded squares.
- Lock 2 · Understand
Generator Room Door
Bar chart Easy
Each letter is a bar. Read its height off the scale.
- Lock 3 · Apply
Radio Console Cabinet
Petri dishes Medium
Count only the solid colonies. Ignore the rings.
- Lock 4 · Analyse data
Fuel Store Padlock
Logic clues Medium
A, B, C and D are four different digits. No clue gives a value away; combine them.
- Lock 5 · Evaluate
Main Gate Transmitter
Overlay Hard
Panel 2 is upside down. Turn it round in your head; only segments lit on both panels count.
Lock 1, as a team sees it
The first four questions and their decoder. The answers, and the reason for each, are in the teacher pack.What is a signaling molecule that binds specifically to a receptor called?
- A Second messenger
- B Kinase
- C Cyclin
- D Ligand
What is the term for the division of the nucleus?
- A Mitosis
- B Interphase
- C Cytokinesis
- D S phase
What is programmed cell death, often triggered when a cell fails a checkpoint, called?
- A Necrosis
- B Apoptosis
- C Denaturation
- D Cytolysis
Which mechanism maintains homeostasis by returning a variable to its set point?
- A Signal amplification
- B Negative feedback
- C Phosphorylation cascade
- D Positive feedback
Light panel
EasyAdd up the numbers above the shaded squares.
Running it
- Online: send teams the play link. They answer a lock’s four questions, decode the letters and enter the combination; after lock 5 they get a completion code to show you. Nobody needs an account.
- On paper: sign in (free) and print the teacher pack: question cards, the five decoders, a guide and the answer key with a reason for every answer.
- Your version: Edit a copy from the library to change any question, then play and print it by its own code, or build a room from the topics your class has covered.