Mike Shaw's helpsite

Episode 8 Photosynthesis

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 20:51:00 +0000

Here is a new link to an old show. It got broken somehow - sorry about that!

Episode 13

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:19:00 +0000

Watch out - here be lovesick peacocks and indestructible super-rodents...

Episode 10 Microbes and immunity

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:17:00 +0000

You are the battleground in a war that is constantly raging between your immune system and a host of microbes. Grab a helmet, check your ammo and join the fight...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:41:00 +0000

full answers to questions 4, 5, 6 and 7 on page 64.

4.
a) look these up 4 marks
b) they are valves - think about how they control blood flow
c)
i) oxygenated so the left, into the heart so the atrium
ii) from the body so the right, into the heart so an atrium

5.
a)
i) look for one with evidence of haemoglobin in it - why is that useful?
ii) look for one with a big nucleus - why is that useful?
iii) look for one with a mobile cell membrane - why is that useful?

b)
there are lots to choose from. Find a function for any of these

platelet
hormone
glucose

6.
a) look for a high heart rate
b) look for something sudden
c) look for a low steady heart rate
d) look for a gradual increase

7.
a
i) state the rate (roughly 70bpm) - say why
ii) state what happens to the rate - say why
iii) state what happens to the rate - say why
b
would a fit person would recover faster or slower than an unfit person?

Episode 12 - Ecosystems and food webs

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:07:00 +0000

Get yourself ready for the cold wet field course that awaits you! Find out how the topic of ecology relates to the real world...

episode 11 - communication and control

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:04:00 +0000

Keeping your body under control in an ever changing environment takes learning, nerves and hormones.

Episode 10 - Immunity and Microbes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:03:00 +0000

You are constantly at war with an army of invading microbes. Find out how it's going, and what weapons you have at your disposal...

New venture - GCSE videos

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 19:39:00 +0000

just trying to see if this works... Hope you find it interesting. This one is all about enzymes.

Episode 10 - Fighting Disease

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:15:00 +0000

You are a battlefield in a war that rages constantly in your bloodstream. Find out how you stay on top, and what happens if the microbes ever win...

Episode 19 Cell Division

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 18:22:00 +0000

Once upon a time you were a tiny dot called a zygote. Then, you made a perfect copy of yourself by cell division. From then on, its just been one division after another...

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:46:00 +0000

episode 5 - Blood

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Thu, 20 May 2010 21:47:00 +0000

You see a lot of it in video games these days, but what's it for, and why is it bad for you if it leaks out? Find out all about blood in this episode.

all biology podcasts now loaded to i-tunes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:42:00 +0000

I think I've finally got all the podcasts loaded up onto i-tunes at the same time. If you can think of any more topics I need to cover - mail me. Biotechnology, human impact on ecosystems, human reproduction and the hormones of the menstrual cycle are all things I think it might be good to do - can you think of any more?

Episode 3 - diet

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:19:00 +0000

What's the difference between a vitamin and a mineral? Why are unsaturated fats good for you, while saturated ones aren't? Is there anything good at all about pancakes in my patent chocolate, cream and rum sauce?

Episode 2 - Digestion

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:16:00 +0000

What's good to eat? What's not? How do you turn a yummy quark and lettuce sandwich into something you can use to repair a torn ligament? find out as we go down the digestive tract...

Episode 18 - Genetic Engineering

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:09:00 +0000

How can we train bacteria and plants (maybe even animals) to grow better, or make new products for humans? Genetic engineering is big news.

Episode 17 - cancer and smoking

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:47:00 +0000

A rather grim topic this episode as we review some of the latest science on why you should really try to give up smoking NOW!

Episode 9 - genetics

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:46:00 +0000

Why do you look so much like a better made version of your parents? Listen to the wonderful world of genetics...

Episode 8 - Photosynthesis

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 18:44:00 +0000

seriously, plants are central to everything that happens on Earth.Well almost. Find out why in this episode.

Lower schoolroom Prep Help

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Today, I have asked you to write up the instructions for doing food tests.

Here are some of the key words you'll need to use;

Starch test, iodine solution, yellow = negative, black = positive, dimple tile, spatula.

protein test, Biuret's solution, blue=negative, purple = positive, dimple tile, spatula

sugar test, Benedict's reagent, boiling tube, spatula, water bath, goggles, blue = negative, orange/yellow/green = positive.

this is really all you need, but wrap it up in some nice lanuage, with some good drawings where you think they will help!!!

Lower Schoolroom Prep Help

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:39:00 +0000

Hi there! For your prep today, I asked you to read through pages 10, 11 ans 12 in your text books. This covers the topic of organ systems quite well. As George H-W said, the organ systems idea is connected with the Mrs Nerg idea very strongly.

I then asked you to look at the questions on page 13;

specifically 3, 4 and 5

3 -
a) look at the diagram of the flower in fig 3.2 - what does it say?
b) same as a)
c)look in paragraph 1, page 11
d)look in fig 3.3 at the label by the feet of the human
e) bottom paragraph, page 10.

4.
a)one organ - k*****
b) one organ - b****
c) two organs m***** and b***
d) this isn't really answered by the book, so have it for free - stomach, small intestine

5.
Why is the school arranged into departments? Why do you have cupboards in your house? Why do you have rooms in your house instead of one big space? Why do cities have different districts? These questions all have the same answer as question 5.

good luck everyone...

Episode 4 respiration

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:11:00 +0000

Energy is the key! How do your mitochondria make it possible for you to get out of bed in the afternoons?

Episode 1 Cells

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:09:00 +0000

It all starts here. If you don't know how cells work, you don't know enough about biology.

Episode 3 Digestion

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:08:00 +0000

How do you get the nutrients you need to keep on going? Find out about the wonders of enzymes and digestion in this episode...

Episode 7 Carbon and Nitrogen

noreply@blogger.com (Mike Shaw's Blog) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:07:00 +0000

We hear a lot about the greenhouse effect these days, and we should, but get inside the science of the carbon and nitrogen cycles in this episode.