The Foundation for GCSE Biology
......it really is at the heart of the subject!
The Year 9 course covers the following topics:
Practical investigations into Photosynthesis
Human diet and Nutrition
Enzymes
Blood and Circulation
Breathing and Gaseous exchange
Respiration and Energy
Ecology and Pollution
All Year 9 students study Biology at the High School. We have one double, and one single lesson each week. The course in Year 9 allows us to do a lot of practical work, which is directly linked to the topics listed above. The photograph shows Year 9 boys testing leaves for starch during the Photosynthesis section of work.
During the Nutrition section, we look at how scientists test for organic chemicals in food, analyse vitamin levels in diets, and discuss the problems associated with malnutrition. Students also carry out enzyme investigations and make a direct link to the digestive process in humans.
We then move on to Blood and Circulation. Everybody enjoys the heart dissection! However, the tests we do on pulse rates and fitness levels do tend to show that a few rugby players are not as fit as they should be!
This section is taught up to full GCSE level and can be quite difficult initially. However, most students find the section on Heart and Circulation fascinating, especially as they can monitor their pulse rate and blood pressure in controlled experiments. We study the respiratory system and look at how red blood cells, like the ones on the right, carry oxygen throughout the body in the form of oxyhaemoglobin. Aerobic and anaerobic respiration are explained, and the effects of lactic acid are both discussed and experienced!
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The Biology Department are particularly keen to link the Year 9 course to the health of the boys. We discuss problems associated with diet, exercise, heart problems, and disease, and try to discuss the worldwide effects.
The boys also produce Anti-Smoking posters which go on display to the rest of the school. I feel that this has a lasting effect on the lads, and would like to think that it is directly related to the low number of smokers in our Sixth Form.
Much of the Spring Term involves the study of Ecology. See the extra page on the ecology projects which all Year 9 students carry out (usually with the help of their parents!)
