Monday, 19 January 2026

Lab on ovaries, uterus and the blastula

 Examine the following lab specimens, make a clear, labeled drawing, including magnification and answer the following questions:

1.  Uterus:  This is a mammalian uterus that includes the endomuetrial lining.

a.  What is the purpose of the endometrium?  When does the endometrium start its cycle of thickening and shedding?

b.  Explain the changes that happen to the endometrium during the  human menstrual cycle . What are the hormone levels during different times of the cycle? What are some of the symptoms of the shedding stage of the menstrual cycle.  

c.  Menstruation is a taboo topic in many cultures.  How can our society accommodate the symptoms that are associated with the menstrual cycle?  Give examples


2.  Ovary:  Follicle.  This slide can show the secondary Oocyte

a.  What happens to the developing follicles during the mentsrual cycle?  

b.  Explain how the priimary follicles compete with each other and also the steps that lead to ovulation. 

c.  What hormones do the follicles make?  Draw the hormone diagram for the follicles and include the anterior pituitary. 


3.  Ovary:  Follicle, corpus luteum

a.  What is the corpus luteum? 

b.  what hormones are made?


4.  Blastula:

a.  What kind of division is done by the blastula?  

b.  Explain what a blastopore is and what it becomes in mammals. 

Thursday, 8 January 2026

Lab on Human Reproduction

 Make 3 careful drawings of the following lab specimens and answer the following questions .  Draw each specimen in colour and in a circle made by a petri dish.  Label the drawing and state the magnification. 

1.  Use the DISSECTING MICROSCOPE which has 2 ocular lenses and where the maximum magnification is 10x4 = 40x.  Observe moss under the microscope.   Draw this specimen carefully in colour.  

2.  Moss questions:

a.  Does this plant use INTERNAL or EXTERNAL FERTILIZATION?  Give evidence for your answer.

b.  This plant has many similarities with marine autotrophs like seaweed.  Explain 2 similarities to seaweed and 2 differences, especially as they relate to reproduction,

c.  Use the internet to help you with this question: Is moss sexually dimorphic?  Explain how you can identify female vs male moss.


3.  Use the LIGHT MICROSCOPE which has 1 ocular lens and 3 or 4 objective lenses.  Observe Human Sperm and rodent testis  specimens  under the highest magnification: 10 x 40x = 400x

4.  Human Sperm questions:

a.  What are the 3 parts of human sperm? 

b.  Explain the function of each of the 3 parts.

c.  What is the optimal temperature for sperm production in humans?  

d.  Where is the location of sperm production?


5.  Rodent Testis questions:

a.  What structures are you observing in this specimen? 

b.  Where would the Sertoli cells be most likely to be located in your drawing? 

c.  Where would the spermatids be most likely to be located in your drawing.  

d.  Write the path of sperm starting at the seminiferous tubules and ending at the urethra.  Name all the parts of the body that the sperm passes on its way.   

30 marks for the drawings and questions. 

Thursday, 11 December 2025

DNA replication lesson and study questions

 


 




Study Questions on the DNA Replication video  
If you make 2 column notes or flashcards of these questions, it'll help you remember the steps.

1.  Why does DNA replication happen?  
2.  When sperm and egg meet , they become a _______
3.  Give examples of DNA replication 
4.  Parent cells turn into _______ cells during cell division
5.  How many pieces of DNA are there in human somatic cells?  
5.   Draw a ladder structure of DNA showing the 5' and 3' end
4.  DNA replication is semiconservative.  What does this mean?
5.  How is RNA different from DNA?
6.  What are the nitrogen bases in DNA?  RNA? 
7.  What enzyme synthesizes DNA?  What enzyme synthesizes RNA? 
8.  DNA has only 2 bonds to bind it together.  What are these bonds?

9.  What are the steps for DNA replication?
10.  After helicase unzips the strand, ________ comes and lays down the RNA primer
11.   DNA polymerase III synthesizes the strand in the ____________ direction
12.  What is the difference between the lead strand and lag strand? 
13a.   What enzyme eats the RNA primer?
13b.    After the RNA primer is removed, there is fragmented DNA in the lag strand.  These fragments are known as _________ fragments.
14.  Which polymerase comes along to fill in the gaps with DNA.
15.  In the end there is one more gap left and _________fills in the final gap.
16.  ___________ is the enzyme that relieves the pressure of the supercoiling during DNA replication.