YEAR 10 BIOLOGY NOTES

TERM TWO, 2015-2016

TOPICS
1.
(a)
2.
(a)
(b)
3.

Coordination and response

Structure and function of the eye
Cell division
Mitosis
meiosis
Reproduction in plants
(a) Introduction.
(b) Asexual reproduction
(c) Sexual reproduction
4. Germination

1. (A) STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE HUMAN

EYE
POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES

View a model of the eye.

Animation:
Sight animation.
Class practical:
Eye dissection.
Iris reflex.

Video clip:
BBC clip 6016 (eye structure and function plus focusing
and varying light intensity response) (4 min 2 sec)

Assignment 1 on the eye

Demonstration:

Eye test experiments.

e.g. - Blind spot on page( 75 H/ biology bk
- The sausage test (pg 76 h bio bk)
- Stereoscopic vision test (pg 76 h bio bk)
- Dominant eye test

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
Describe the structure and function of the eye as a receptor
Understand the function of the eye in focusing near and distant objects, and in
responding to changes in light intensity
RESEARCH: 1.Find out the common eye defects and what parts of the eye are affected and
their mitigation.
2. Find out why dogs are color blind.
3. Found out how illicit alcohol makes people blind in Kenya.
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EXPERIMENTS: Investigate the effects of changing the light intensity on the pupil size.

NOTES
Introduction
Many animals have eyes, but few are as complex as the human eye.
The human eye:
Is a receptor organ that has receptor cell (rods and cones) that can detect light.
form proper images
distinguish colors(using cones)
NB: Humans have two eyes. This has the following advantages:
- provides a wider field of view (see a larger area)
- It enables stereoscopic vision (3D vision) - being able to judge distance and depth.
Also enables us to judge the speed of an object accurately)
The diagram below shows the internal structure of the eye.
(Refer to diagram in Biology text book (Edexel)

Parts and functions of parts of the eye

The table below shows the main parts of the eye and their functions
Insert table with functions and parts (hand out)

Questions from the table/handout

1. Suggest why the cornea and the lens are transparent (3 lines)

2. Suggest why the choroid layer has the following:

(i) Blood vessels (3 lines)
(ii) Melanin (2 lines)
3. Suggest why the lens is elastic (3 lines)
4. The lens and the cornea refract light. Explain the meaning of the term refract. (2 lines)
5. The aqueous humour supplies nutrients and oxygen to the cornea. Explain why the cornea
needs nutrients and oxygen. (4 lines)
6. Name the two types of muscles that make up the iris (2 lines)

7. What controls the size of the pupil (1line)

8. (i) Name the two types of photoreceptor cells in the retina
(ii) State three differences between the two photoreceptor cells (6 lines)
9. The blind spot is the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye.
(i) State the function of the optic nerve (3 lines)
(ii) State the type of neurons that form the optic nerve (1 line)
(iii) Describe how messages are sent along this neuron to the brain (4 lines)
(iv) State the part of the brain that is responsible for vision (1)
(v) Suggest why a person cannot see if light falls on the blind spots
10. State the type of stimulus detected by the eye. (1 line)
11. The diagram below shows the external parts of the eye.
Diagram from Sharma book. Skip half a page

Suggest the functions of the following parts

(i) The tear glands (3 lines)
(ii) The eye lashes (3 lines)
(iii) The muscles in the State four differences between co- ordination of the human eyes
internal response to light and that of tropic movement of the flowering plant in response to
light.
( 4 marks)
12. State the part of the eye involved in
(i) Color vision
(ii) Maintaining shape of the eyeball
(iii) Change in diameter of the lens eye (2 lines)

(iv) The orbit or socket (2 lines)

(B). THE FUNCTION OF THE EYE IN FOCUSING NEAR AND DISTANT

OBJECTS(ACCOMODATION)
Accommodation means the changes that take place in the eye so that we can see objects
at different distances. It also refers to the refraction of light rays in order to fall on the fovea
(yellow spot) for clear focus of image regardless of the distance of the object.
The parts of the eye involved in this process are:
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 Lens
Suspensory ligaments
Ciliary muscles
The summary below shows the changes that occur in the eye so that one can see a distant
and near objects.

DISTANT OBJECT( e,g an oncoming car

Ciliary muscles relax
Suspensory ligaments tighten
Lens becomes thin and long
Light is bent less towards the retina/thinner
Lens refracts less and light is focused on
Retina.

NEAR OBJECTS(e,g .when reading a book)

Ciliary muscle contract
Suspensory ligaments loosen
Lens becomes shorten thicken/fat
Light is bent more towards the retina/
Thicken lens refract more and light is focused
On retina.
Near Circular Contract (NCC)

PRACTICE QUESTIONS/ASSIGNMENT
1. Describe and explain the changes that take place in the eye when a person looks at a bird
flying at a distance as it comes closer (6 lines and 4 marks)
2. Describe and explain the changes that take place to the curvature of the lens as a person
looks at the same bird (2 lines and 3 lines)
3. Explain how the following eye defects can come about and their effects.
(i) Short sightedness (6 lines)
(ii) Long sightedness (6 lines)
(iii) Cataracts (6 lines)
(C) RESPONDING TO CHANGES IN LIGHT INTENSITY
- This takes place so that:
Enough light can enter the eye so that we can see.
Too much light does not enter the eye and damage the retina.
- It involves the follow parts of the eye:
the iris (circular and radial muscles)
the pupil
The following changes take place in the eye at high and low light intensities.
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IN BRIGHT LIGHT ( high ligt intensity)

Circular muscles of iris contract
Radial muscles relax
Pupil becomes smaller
Less light enters the eye
(BCC- Bright light Circular muscles Contract)

IN DIM LIGHT( low light intensity)

Circular muscles of iris relax
Radial muscles contract
Pupil becomes bigger
More light enters the eye

ASSIGNMENT
Accommodation and response of the eye to bright and dim light are both reflex actions.
Describe the pathway of impulses during these reflexes and explain their importance. (10
lines)

Experiment: Inversion of the image on the retina

(a) Hold the apparatus close to your eye, with the card touching your face. Point it towards a
brightly lit area or window and look at the pin-head through the pin-hole. Describe what you see.

(b) Again hold the apparatus close to your face but this time with the pin nearer to you than the
card. Hold the wooden base against your cheek-bone and move the apparatus about slightly
While looking through the pin-hole until the pin-head can be seen as a silhouette against the
Pin-hole. Describe what you see.

Firstly view the pin

Then line up the pin in

Front of the pin-hole

through the pin-hole

LEARNING OUTCOMES

THE END
2. CELL DIVISION

Students will be assessed on their ability to:

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, cloning and asexual reproduction.
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 of genetically different
haploid gametes.

Activity:
Use resource on Active Book and BBC clip 6022 to compare mitosis and meiosis.
Animation:

Cells Alive website for mitosis and meiosis.

Video clips:
BBC clip 6022 (mitosis and meiosis)
(2 min 24 sec)

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Cell division - when a cell divides.
Parent cell- the cell that divides
Daughter cells - the cells formed when a cell divides.
Nucleus - the part of the cell that contains chromosomes.
Chromosomes - are threadlike structures in the nucleus that contain genes.
- Chromosomes occur in identical pairs in body cells (somatic cells)
- A diagram of a chromosome is as below
Diagram of a chromosome without chromatids

- When a cell is about to divide, the chromosome makes a copy of itself and looks
as below

Diagram of a chromosome with chromatids and centromere

Diploid cell- A cell that has two copies of each chromosome. E.g. human somatic cell has 23
pair of chromosomes, a total of 46 chromosomes.
Haploid cell - A cell with only one copy of each chromosome. E.g. human gamete cells have
one copy of each chromosome, a total of 23 chromosomes.
Diploid number - Is the number of chromosomes in a diploid cell. E.g. the diploid number in
humans is 46.
Haploid number - The number of chromosomes in a haploid cell. E.g. the haploid no in
humans is 23.

MITOSIS
Is a type of cell division the produces two genetically identical daughter cells and half the
same number of chromosomes as the parent cell.
The diagram below illustrates a summary of it. The parent cell has 2 chromosomes (1 pair) in
this case.

Importance of mitosis
Mitosis is important as it occurs during the following processes:

Growth Repair,
Cloning and asexual reproduction.
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ASSIGNMENT
Explain why mitosis is needed in the process of growth, repair and in asexual
reproduction (6 lines)
Places where mitosis occurs in living organisms include.
Healing wounds
Growing parts of plants e.g. shoots and roots
When a zygote divides to form an embryo
When a bacteria or yeast cell divides to form other similar cell.

MEIOSIS
-Is a type of cell division that produces 4 daughter cells that are genetically different and
have half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell(produces haploid cells)
-Meiosis is mostly involved in the formation of gametes (sex cells) which are haploid.
The diagram below shows a summary of meiosis (the cell shown has two chromosomes)

NB: In meiosis, the daughter cells formed are genetically different and this contributes to
genetic variation.

Importance of meiosis
- It is involved in gamete production (sexual reproduction)
- It results in genetic variation
NB: Meiosis occurs in the following areas
In plants
in the ovaries
in the anthers
In animals
testes
ovaries
NB: - Examples of gamete cells are
sperm
ova
pollen grains
ovules
ASSIGNMENT
1. State 5 differences between mitosis and meiosis
Hint: Number and type of cells produced, type of reproduction and where it occurs.
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2. Cells can divide by mitosis or by meiosis.

Give one similarity between the two processes
Do cancer cells divide by mitosis or meiosis? Explain your answer

THE END
REPRODUCTION
Students will be assessed on their ability to:

Understand the differences between sexual and asexual reproduction

Understand that fertilization involves the fusion of a male and female gamete to produce a
zygote that undergoes cell division and develops into an embryo
Flowering plants
Describe the structures of an insect-pollinated and a wind-pollinated flower and explain
how each is adapted for pollination

ACTIVITIES
Activities:
Build a model of an insect-pollinated flower.
Table to compare insect and wind pollinated flower structure
Research effect of reduced bee numbers on pollination by using two different sources, for example Telegraph
Science and BBC News./
grow cuttings- use school plants
find runners/ make runners
Animation:
Resource on Active Book.
Class practical:

Flower dissection.

INTRODUCTION
Is the process where new individuals of a species arise from members that are already in
existence.
There are two types of reproduction:
(a) Asexual reproduction
(b) Sexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction
Natural methods of asexual reproduction e.g. using runners
Artificial methods of asexual reproduction e.g. cutting
Asexual reproduction: Is where a part of an existing individual develops into a new freely
living individual without fertilization
OR
Is when a mass of or a whole organ develops into a new freely living individual.
NB:
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 Only one parent is involved.

There is no fusion of gametes.
The offspring arising from asexual reproduction are genetically identical to the
parent.
All descendants of an asexually reproducing individual are genetically identical
All individuals who are genetically identical can be called as clones.
Asexual reproduction can occur naturally or it can be artificial.
(a) Artificial
This involves micro propagation or tissue culture.
The process is summarized below:
Obtain explants- a small piece of plant taken from the tip of stems or side shoots.
Put it in a growth medium containing nutrients e.g. glucose, amino acids and hormones.
The hormones stimulate shoot and root formation to form plantlets.
Transfer the plantlets into pots with soil(compost)
Transfer to a glasshouse where the growth conditions are controlled to encourage
growth.

Include a diagram illustrating process skip page

Practical:
Dissection of an insect and wind pollinated flowers. Skip one pa
Observation of pollen grains after germinating using a microscope
Plant some cuttings and runners in the school compound.
( skip two pages)
QUESTIONS
1. Suggest why tips of stems are chosen (3 lines)
2. Explain why glucose and amino acids are included in the medium (3 lines)
3. Suggest how the conditions can be controlled in a glasshouse for max growth and why (5
lines)

Light intensity Carbon dioxide concentration Moisture content.

4. Explain
Weeds-why the plants produced are said to be clones (3 lines)
Temperature

ADVANTAGES OF MICROPROPAGATION
- produces a large number of genetically identical plants.
- can be used to grow plants whose cuttings and seeds cannot grow.
- Plants can be produced at any time of the year.
- is easy to store a lot of plants
- The explants can be genetically modified to produce desired plants.
Assignment: Suggest disadvantages of micro propagation.
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(b) Natural (vegetative propagation)

Examples of these are runners or cuttings.
(i) Runners
A runner is a slender stem that grows horizontally along the ground surface.
It develops from a side bud on the parent plant and it has nodes and internodes.
some shoots and roots can develop along the nodes producing new plants
The new plants depend on the parent for some time till they are self supporting.
After some time the runner withers and dies and the new plants become self
sustaining.
This is shown diagrammatically as below.

NB: The new plants are all clones of each other.

ASSIGNMENT
Suggest how the new plants get nutrition from their parent plant until they are self
sustaining:
Hint: xylem, phloem

(ii) Cuttings

This refers to short pieces of plants removed from a stem.

The lower end of these cuttings is dipped in well watered soils.
roots and shoots develop from the cutting and grows into a self sustaining plant
Plants that do not develop roots easily can be induced to do so by treating them with plant
hormones e.g. auxins.
NB: Cuttings are commonly used for propagation of plants like sugarcane, cassava etc.
ADVANTAGES OF ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION
- takes a short time to carry out
- can be used to grow seedless plants or those plants whose seeds are hard to germinate.
- It does not require two parents
- Gametes are not needed and so no energy is wasted making them.
DISADVANTAGES
- There is no variation and so the plants find it hard to adapt to changing conditions
- Undesired characteristics may be passed on to the offspring.
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- It gradually reduces the strength of the succeeding generation.

- Faster growth and development results in overcrowding and competition for resources.

THE END
(b) Sexual Reproduction
Introduction
-Refers to the fusion of two reproductive cells during the process of
fertilization.
-Reproductive cells (gametes) are formed in the flowers.
Sexual reproduction has the following features:
involves the formation of gametes ( male and female gametes)
involves two parents
involves fertilization

Key words
Gametes
Fertilization
Zygote
Pollination

Sexual reproduction in plants

The organ involved in sexual reproduction is the flower.

A typical flower has the following parts:
-

the male parts which include the anthers and filament

the female parts which include the style, stigma, ovary
Other parts include the petals, sepals, and nectary.

The structure of a flower depends on the method by which it is pollinated. Pollination

refers to the transfer of pollen from the anthers to the stigma.

Pollination can be done by insects(insect pollination), wind(wind pollination) etc

The diagrams below show an insect and wind pollinated flowers.

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ASSIGNMENT
1. Complete the table below about the parts of a flower and their functions.
Part of a flower
Petals

Function
1...........................................................................
..
2...........................................................................
.

Stigma
Style
Ovary
Anthers
Filaments
Nectary
2. Complete the table below showing the differences between an insect pollinated and a
wind pollinated flower.
Feature
Type of pollen
Colorful scented petals
Nectary
Type of anthers
Type of stigma
Position of stigma
Position of anthers

Wind pollinated flower

Insect pollinated flower

3. Suggest reasons for the following:

Insect pollinated flowers have sticky pollen while wind pollinated ones have light
smooth pollen.
(2 lines)
(3 Wind pollinated flowers have anthers hanging outside the flower as well as a
feathery stigma(4 lines)

Fill in the blank spaces in the statement below

After fertilization of an ovule _________ develops into a testa and _________ develops into a
testa and _____________ develops into endosperm.

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What happens after pollination?

This is what happens:
Pollen grain lands on stigma and it germinates
It grows a pollen tube down the style
Enters ovule via the micropyle
Male and female nucleus fuse(fertilization)
Ovule becomes seed
Ovule coat becomes seed coat and the ovary becomes fruit
The diagram below shows the events:

NB:
Fertilization means the fusion of the male and female gamete nucleus to form a zygote.
The zygote then undergoes cell division (mitosis) to become an embryo.
Include illustration of formation of a zygote and embryo - embryo becomes a
seedling, then plant or fetus and then baby in humans

PRACTICAL: STUCTURE OF THE WIND AND INSECT POLLINATED FLOWER AND

POLLEN
Aim: To observe a wind pollinated and insect pollinated flower and their pollen
grains
1. Get a wind and wind pollinated flower.
2. Make a labeled sketch of both of them
3. Remove the petals of the insect pollinated flower and make a drawing to show the parts of
the flower.
4. Repeat step 4 for the wind pollinated flower.
5.SEED
ObserveGERMINATION
the pollen of both flowers and make a drawing.
6. Dissect through the ovary of the insect pollinated flower to observe the ovules.

How a seed germinates

Germination is said to have occurred:

When the seed tested bursts.

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 When the radicle or plumule emerges out from the seed.

The diagram below shows a typical seed - insert diagram of a seed

EXPERIMENT: DEMONSTRATING CONDITIONS NEEDED FOR

GERMINATION
USE THE HAND OUT GIVEN TO INVESTIGATE THE CONDITIONS NEEDED
FOR GERMINATION
Answer the questions that follow:
1. Suggest reasons why the following environmental factors are needed for
germination.
(a) Water (3 lines)
(b) Warm temperature (3Worksheet
lines)
(c) Oxygen (3 lines)
2. A part from the above factors, suggest three other factors (environmental or
structural that are needed
for germination to take place (4 lines)
Assignment
Answer all the questions
1. You can investigate the conditions necessary for germination with mung beans. Set up the tubes as
shown and leave them for a week, checking them every day to see if germination has started.

Page 179 biolgy for IGCSE

Diagram
Only the seeds in A have all the conditions needed for germination.
(a)(i) State the three environmental conditions that affect the germination of seeds.
1............................................................................................................................................................
2............................................................................................................................................................
3............................................................................................................................................................

(ii) Explain how each of the conditions you have stated above affects germination.
1................................................................................................................................................................
.
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..................................................................................................................................................................
.
2................................................................................................................................................................
.
..................................................................................................................................................................
.
3................................................................................................................................................................
.
..................................................................................................................................................................
(3)
(iii) Explain why the seeds in tubes B, C and D did not germinate.
A..............................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................
.
C..............................................................................................................................................................
.
................................................................................................................................................................
.
D.............................................................................................................................................................
..
................................................................................................................................................................
.
(3)
(iv) State which test tube was the control?
.............................................................................................................................................................
.
(1)
(Total 10 marks)

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