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BIOLOGY

IGCSE BIOLOGY

The IGCSE Biology is a two year course which involves a range of studies. Students start the first quarter by learning the basics such as characteristics of living organisms, classification of living organisms, diversity of organisms, simple keys, cell structure and organization, levels of organization, diffusion, osmosis and enzymes. Then the students go on to study nutrition, plant nutrition, mineral requirements, animal nutrition, human alimentary canal, mechanical and physical digestion, chemical digestion, absorption and assimilation. As for the second semester of the school year, students learn transport in plants and humans, transpiration, translocation, aerobic respiration and anaerobic respiration.  After that, they learn gaseous exchange, excretion in humans, homeostasis, tropic and toxic responses, hormones, nervous control in humans, effectors and drugs.

The first semester of the second year in IGCSE Biology includes the study of asexual reproduction, sexual reproduction, sexual reproduction in plants and humans. After that, students learn sex hormones, methods of birth control, sexually transmissible diseases, growth and development, inheritance, mitosis and meiosis. The second semester consists of a wide range of topics. These topics include, monohybrid inheritance, inheritance of blood groups, variation, mutation, and selection, relationships of organisms with another and with their environment, food chains and food web. Finally they learn nutrient cycles, combustion of fossil fuels, population size, and population growth, human influences on the ecosystem, agriculture, pollution and conservation.

IB SL/HL BIOLOGY

The IBS Biology course is a 2 year course that is broken down into 8 quarters.  In the first quarter, students learn Cells and Energy, Chemistry of life and DNA structure. In the second quarter, students learn Cell respiration, cell divisions, theoretical genetics, applied genetic, human health and physiology. In the third quarter, the students learn ecology, applied plant and animal science, ecology and conservation. They learn the ecology of species, communities and ecosystems.  Finally in the fourth quarter, students learn Cells, cell theory and cell structures. After that, they revise for their IB exam towards the end of the school year and after that, they learn further biology which includes growth patterns, how life originated, selective breeding of animals and plants, viruses and ATP and energy release. In the fifth quarter, students learn membranes-vesicles, cell division, mitosis, chromosome behavior, differentiation and functional specialization of cells, nucleic acids, DNA structure replication, transpiration, instrons extrons, reverse transcription and translation. They also learn genetics, meiosis, chiasma, crossing over, recombination, Dihybird crosses, Autosomal linkage, gene mapping, cross over value, centimorgan.. In the sixth quarter, students learn statistical analysis, Chi-squared test, polygenic inheritance, application of genetics to Agriculture and horticulture, human reproduction, defense against infectious diseases, classification and diversity. In the seventh quarter students learn Nerves, muscle and movement, excretion, plant science, transport in Angiospermophytes, germination, plants and people. Finally in the fourth quarter, students learn modern methods and techniques of plant and animal science, wider biological and ethical issues, microbial ecology, reducing harmful impacts of humans on ecosystem and then they revise till their IB exam. After that, the students learn some further biology which includes food preservation and additives, leishmaniasis, blood doping, genetic fingers in the forensic pie, salmonella in eggs, steroids and Goitre. This content is subject to revisions by the IB Organization.

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