For teachers. Print it (⌘/Ctrl-P): each age band prints on its own page. Pair it with the route sheet, which has a scannable link per rung.
Class set: the protein-structure route
Each rung's idea, one common wrong idea beside it, and a ticket to answer by hand. A wrong idea is always printed next to what the rung actually says.
Ages 9-14
1 BioForge on Spark & Anvil
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2 Junior explorer https://foldcommons.org/junior/explore
The idea. A protein is a 3D shape, not a line of letters.
Some people think: A protein is just its string of letters.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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3 ProteinQuest https://foldcommons.org/tools/proteinquest
The idea. The shape is built from twenty amino acids that differ in character - some shun water, some love it.
Some people think: All twenty amino acids behave about the same.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
4 TraitForge on Spark & Anvil
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5 NotMarbles https://foldcommons.org/tools/notmarbles
The idea. The shape does the job, and shapes move and change when they bind - they are not rigid and not a line.
Some people think: A protein is rigid, like a key that never bends.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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6 VanishPoint https://foldcommons.org/tools/vanishpoint
The idea. A predicted model is sure of its shape in some places and unsure in others - four honest colours.
Some people think: A predicted model is equally sure of every part of itself.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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7 TwoIslands https://foldcommons.org/tools/twoislands
The idea. "Fuzzy" can mean disordered-and-working, not wrong.
Some people think: A fuzzy, low-confidence part is a mistake, so it does not matter.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
8 MicrobeLab on Spark & Anvil
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9 BuriedBet https://foldcommons.org/tools/buriedbet
The idea. Residues bury at interfaces, and two domains may or may not "know" where each other sit (a first look at PAE).
Some people think: If each part of a model is confident, the way the parts sit together must be right too.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
From the Fold Commons protein-structure pathway (https://foldcommons.org/learn/pathway, updated 2026-10-02) and its misconception notes (updated 2026-10-02).
Ages 15-18
10 ReactQuest on Spark & Anvil
11 HelixQuest on Spark & Anvil
12 ShapeForge on Spark & Anvil
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13 NumberReader https://foldcommons.org/tools/numberreader
The idea. Read the real per-residue pLDDT numbers off a structure and say plainly: this is a prediction, not an experiment.
Some people think: A pLDDT number is a measurement of the real protein.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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14 GripChain https://foldcommons.org/tools/gripchain
The idea. Several chains assemble, and binding at one site changes another - quaternary structure and allostery.
Some people think: Each chain in a complex works on its own; binding at one site changes nothing elsewhere.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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15 DomainCuts https://foldcommons.org/tools/domaincuts
The idea. Domains and quantitative PAE; RMSD against the real PDB structure; a model omits cofactors and partners.
Some people think: A predicted model shows everything in the real structure, including its cofactors and partners.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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16 TolerancePaint https://foldcommons.org/tools/tolerancepaint
The idea. Most variants are tolerated; AlphaMissense is a research tool, not a diagnosis.
Some people think: AlphaMissense can tell you whether a person will get sick.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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17 SpliceSplit https://foldcommons.org/tools/splicesplit
The idea. One gene can make several proteins - isoforms - each folding to its own shape.
Some people think: One gene makes exactly one protein.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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18 PocketScout https://foldcommons.org/tools/pocketscout
The idea. Structure -> pocket -> medicine; phenotype -> gene -> structure.
Some people think: A medicine fits its pocket like a key in a lock that never moves.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
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19 CASP, explained https://foldcommons.org/tools/casptracker
The idea. Why "prediction" became trustworthy - decades of CASP blind tests, and a Nobel Prize.
Some people think: AlphaFold is trusted because it is new and clever, not because it was tested.
Exit ticket. In your own words, why is that wrong?
From the Fold Commons protein-structure pathway (https://foldcommons.org/learn/pathway, updated 2026-10-02) and its misconception notes (updated 2026-10-02).