Course Description:

Welcome to our Biology Cambridge IGCSE course, meticulously tailored to help you conquer the intricacies of Topic 16: Reproduction. This comprehensive course is specifically designed for both Code 0610 and Code 0970 syllabi, ensuring you’re well-prepared for the IGCSE Biology examination.

Course Highlights:

• Comprehensive Core and Supplement Objectives: Master all core and supplement objectives as outlined in the syllabus for theory (papers 1, 2, 3, 4). These objectives provide a solid foundation for exam success.
• Thoroughly Explained Experiments: Gain a deep understanding of practical experiments with detailed explanations. Notes summarize the method, results, interpretation, evaluation, reliability, and conclusion, enabling you to excel in paper 6 questions.

Course Outline & Objectives (Core and Supplement):

1. Asexual Reproduction (Lesson 1): Key objectives include:

• Describe asexual reproduction as a process resulting in the production of genetically identical offspring from one parent.
• Identify examples of asexual reproduction in diagrams, images, and information provided.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction: (a) to a population of a species in the wild (b) to crop production.

2. Sexual Reproduction (Lesson 2): Key objectives include:

• Describe sexual reproduction as a process involving the fusion of the nuclei of two gametes to form a zygote and the production of offspring that are genetically different from each other.
• Describe fertilization as the fusion of the nuclei of gametes.
• State that nuclei of gametes are haploid, and that the nucleus of a zygote is diploid.
• Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sexual reproduction: (a) to a population of a species in the wild (b) to crop production.

3. Sexual Reproduction in Plants (Lesson 3): Key objectives include:

• Identify in diagrams and images and draw the following parts of an insect-pollinated flower: sepals, petals, stamens, filaments, anthers, carpels, style, stigma, ovary, and ovules.
• State the functions of the structures listed in 1
• Identify in diagrams and images and describe the anthers and stigmas of a wind-pollinated flower.
• Distinguish between the pollen grains of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated flowers.
• Describe pollination as the transfer of pollen grains from an anther to a stigma.
• State that fertilization occurs when a pollen nucleus fuses with a nucleus in an ovule.
• Describe the structural adaptations of insect-pollinated and wind-pollinated flowers.
• Describe self-pollination as the transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or a different flower on the same plant.
• Describe cross-pollination as the transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of a flower on a different plant of the same species.
• Discuss the potential effects of self-pollination and cross-pollination on a population, in terms of variation, capacity to respond to changes in the environment, and reliance on pollinators.
• Describe the growth of the pollen tube and its entry into the ovule followed by fertilization (details of production of endosperm and development are not required).

4. Sexual Reproduction in Humans (Lesson 4): Key objectives include:

• Identify on diagrams and state the functions of the following parts of the male reproductive system: testes, scrotum, sperm ducts, prostate gland, urethra, and penis.
• Identify on diagrams and state the functions of the following parts of the female reproductive system: ovaries, oviducts, uterus, cervix, and vagina.
• Describe fertilization as the fusion of the nuclei from a male gamete (sperm) and a female gamete (egg cell)
• Explain the adaptive features of sperm, limited to flagellum, mitochondria, and enzymes in the acrosome.
• Explain the adaptive features of egg cells, limited to energy stores and the jelly coat that changes at fertilization.
• Compare male and female gametes in terms of size, structure, motility, and numbers.
• State that in early development, the zygote forms an embryo which is a ball of cells that implants into the lining of the uterus.
• Identify on diagrams and state the functions of the following in the development of the fetus: umbilical cord, placenta, amniotic sac, and amniotic fluid.
• Describe the function of the placenta and umbilical cord in relation to the exchange of dissolved nutrients, gases, and excretory products between the blood of the mother and the blood of the fetus.
• State that some pathogens and toxins can pass across the placenta and affect the fetus.

5. Sexual Hormones in Humans (Lesson 5): Key objectives include:

• Describe the roles of testosterone and oestrogen in the development and regulation of secondary sexual characteristics during puberty.
• Describe the menstrual cycle in terms of changes in the ovaries and in the lining of the uterus.
• Describe the sites of production of oestrogen and progesterone in the menstrual cycle and in pregnancy.
• Explain the role of hormones in controlling the menstrual cycle and pregnancy, limited to FSH, LH, progesterone, and oestrogen.

6. Sexually Transmitted Infections (Lesson 6): Key objectives include:

• Describe a sexually transmitted infection (STI) as an infection that is transmitted through sexual contact.
• State that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a pathogen that causes STI.
• State that HIV infection may lead to AIDS.
• Describe the methods of transmission of HIV.
• Explain how the spread of STIs is controlled.

7. Experiment – Germination “The Need for Water” (Lesson 7): Key objectives include:

• To investigate the effect of water on the process of germination.

8. Experiment – Temperature and Germination (Lesson 8): Key objectives include:

• To investigate the effect of temperature on the process of germination.