Biology Triple Autumn Term

Learners will be taught the following topics;

Organisation of ecosystems; This unit looks at both the living and non-living components of an ecosystem, focussing on how they work together and against each other to survive. They will study how animals and plants have adapted to live in their environment. We will carry out sampling practicals to count population sizes and measure the distribution of various species. We will briefly look into how the global environment is being affected by human activities such as pollution and habitat destruction, specifically how they affect the water and carbon cycle. In triple we also look into decomposition and carry out a practical to find out how temperature speeds up the rate of decay. 

Genetic inheritance; This unit starts by looking at types of reproduction and how asexual reproduction leads to making clones and sexual reproduction produces unique offspring. We will study how meiosis produces gamete cells, containing half the number of chromosomes in a normal body cell. We will look at the structure of DNA, that scientists have studied the whole genome and the importance of this for medicine. Genetic mutations occur continuously but rarely they can affect the functioning of an animal or plant, sometimes for the better. We will also look at genetic inheritance and study some genetic disorders. In triple we also look into the history of genetics and how the work of different scientists have helped us gain the knowledge we have today. 

Nervous system; The human body can only survive under specific conditions; constant body temperature and pH as well as a constant supply of food and water. The body has a series of control systems to monitor and adjust the composition of the blood and tissues to stay alive. In this unit we look at the importance of this and focus on how the nervous system helps to sense changes in our body and how we respond to those changes. We will look at both conscious responses and reflex responses, carrying out a practical investigation to find out how fast our reflexes are. In Triple science we will look into the nervous system in more detail; studying the structure of the brain, looking at how our body changes to respond to different temperatures and the structure of the eye. We will look at how challenging it is to understand what the brain does and how scientists have overcome these challenges. We will also look at how we use lenses to correct vision.

 Living things and their environment, genetics, nervous system including reflex responses

End of unit assessment will consist of a 40 mark test

Midway assessment set by class teacher which could be an exam question

Learners will receive guidance in a variety of ways.  These include marked assessments, reports, verbal feedback, written feedback in books, 1:1 interaction, Google Classroom and whole class feedback.