In this activity, each student is provided with a worksheet and three index cards. Each card indicates a different cell part (e.g., lipopolysaccharide, capsule, DNA). Students are placed in small groups and given a written scenario regarding a bacterium with a certain goal it must carry out. They must work together to decide what cell parts are needed to form the basic structure of any cell as well as to carry out the specific functions required by their scenario. To "build" their bacterium, they must negotiate and trade index cards with other groups to acquire their desired cell parts.