We are currently working through the specification for an IGCSE in Biology. The following is copied straight from that specification and is all the information we need to know about meiosis: Understand that division of a cell by meiosis produces four cells, each with half the number of chromosomes, and that this results in the formation…
Category: GCSE biology
Genetics: Cell division – Mitosis
We are currently working through the specification for an IGCSE in Biology. The following is copied straight from that specification and is all the information we need to know about mitosis: Understand that division of a diploid cell by mitosis produces two cells which contain identical sets of chromosomes. Understand that mitosis occurs during growth, repair,…
Genetics: DNA Replication
We have looked quite extensively at the structure of DNA as well as carrying out a study on the scientists who first discovered its structure and making our own models: The next thing the children needed to know about was DNA replication. This would be fairly important for their cell division lessons on Mitosis and Meiosis…
2014-2015 School Year: Science
I always maintain science is our weakest area in our little homeschool. I am so pleased I keep a blog because to my surprise, when I looked over the past year, I found we had done a reasonable amount! Over the past year we have done some Incr-Edible science (self penned food science), Spar-Klean science…
Microbes: Ebola Virus Study
When I chose to study Ebola as an example of a virus, it was in January, before the out break in Africa. It was a difficult decision to go ahead with the study, when the children were being exposed on a daily basis, through newspapers and radio reports, to the ravaging affects Ebola was having…
Microbes: Fungus and Bacteria – Intrinsically Linked
I probably don't need to say this, but did you know that fungi can kill bacteria? Most antibiotics used today were found originally in fungi, although many of these chemicals are now synthesized in factories. Strictly speaking, antibiotics are substances made by microorganisms that stop growth of other microbes or kill them outright. The first ever antibiotic…
Incr-Edible Science: Bacteria and Yogurt Making
So far we have looked at the different types of bacteria, building our own model: We've experimented with growing bacteria cultures on agar in petri dishes testing which area of the kitchen was the dirtiest: And finding out which was dirtiest the loo or the sink? We are currently testing the efficacy of various cleaners…
Project Based Learning: Microbes – Virus
The first thing I wanted to do was revise what makes something living alive. The reason for this is that Viruses aren't generally accepted as being a living thing, but instead of simply teaching that to the children I wanted them to work it out for themselves. Characteristics of living organisms – movement as an…
Spar-Klean Science: What is the dirtiest place in the kitchen?
We did this experiment along side our dish cloth verses the loo germ growing fest. First we made the agar from gelatin, bouillon and water: The children decided to take samples from the door handle, the coffee machine, the fridge door, the floor and the sink: My heart sank as I watched C11 poke the…
Spar-Klean Science – Is the loo really cleaner than the dish cloth?
I need to be honest and say I am posting this against my better judgement. I mean, no one is going to want to eat at my house if the cloth we use to clean the dishes is actually dirtier than my loo! That said, 'dirty' may be a misnomer here because we all know…
Project Based Learning: Microbes – Bacteria
This week we have been learning all about Bacteria. Bacteria, a type of prokaryotic cell, can come in an assortment of shapes: Source As we are currently studying the plague we decided to concentrate primarily on the rod-shaped bacilli, of which Yersinia Pestis (the bacteria that causes the plague) is one: Yersinia Pestis magnified x200 Source…
Incr-Edible Science: Yeast (Micro Fungi – part 2)
After covering mold type fungi in Part 1, we moved onto the unicellular yeast: This is Leeuwenhoek, the man responsible for the discovery of micro-organisms through his very simple 'microscope' A labelled diagram of a yeast cell Yeast as we know it To find out a bit more about yeast we mainly used the same resources as before: We…
Project Based Learning: Microbes – Fungus
We've just spent a couple of weeks learning about Fungi. We're not talking macro Fungi (mushrooms and the like) but Micro-fungi. Micro fungi are eukaryotic organisms which have an absence of the large fruiting body of the mushrooms and the like. Fungi such as mould, mildew, yeast and even rust. Both macro and micro fungus are vital…