Here are some past essay questions:
Here are video tutorials for some assessment statements in topic 3 – more are being added all the time. Thank you to Stephanie Castle (at UNIS, New York).
Topic 3 Genetics
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Category Archives: 3. Genetics
3.1 Genes
IB Biology 3.1 genes from Bob Smullen
Many assessment statements are covered in videos by Stephanie Castle (with more being added all the time).
Some excellent interactive animations & tutorials on DNA & Genetics – just click on ‘Tour the Basics’ & ‘Heredity & Traits’.
Where do genes come from? A TED-Ed video (not on the syllabus):
3.2 Chromosomes
IB Biology 3.2 chromosomes from Bob Smullen
How DNA supercoiling is achieved to make chromosomes (1m 31s):
We need to know how sex is determined in humans – what about other animals?: Sex Determination: More Complicated Than You Thought, a 6m TED-Ed lesson. Here is another TED-Ed lesson: Secrets of the X chromosome in 5m.
3.3 Meiosis
IB Biology 3.3 meiosis from Bob Smullen
Mr. Andersen uses chromosome beads to simulate both Mitosis & Meiosis (11m 53s):
Three animated, narrated tutorials from McGraw Hill Education how meiosis works, stages of meiosis and Mitosis & Meiosis compared – and here’s one from Sinauer Associates – Meiosis.
In Crash Course Biology #13 – Meiosis: Where the Sex Starts, Hank gets down to the nitty gritty about meiosis.
Here is Mr W’s Meiosis! Rap and here is Mitosis versus Meiosis RAP BATTLE (from Asap SCIENCE). Finally, Hitler gets confused by Meiosis.
To diagnose genetic (chromosomal) diseases in an unborn baby, there are two ways of taking samples – Amniocentesis or Chorionic Villus Sampling.
3.4 Inheritance
IB Biology 3.4 inheritance from Bob Smullen
A short, simple explanation of Mendel’s work:
Mr Andersen talks you through Genetics:
And here Paul Andersen introduces A Beginner’s Guide to Punnett Squares in a 12m 15s tutorial. He also gives examples of monohybrid crosses and one example of a dihybrid cross (which we don’t need to know for SL).
In Crash Course Biology #9 – Heredity, Hank and his brother John discuss heredity via the gross example of relative ear wax moistness.
Inheritance of blood types:
Radiation & Mutation
Chernobyl: what happened thirty years ago? – one of the engineers tells his story in 2m 50s. The health dangers of radiation in 4m 32s.
Sickle Cell Anaemia
A 4m 40s video from TEDEd: How this disease changes the shape of your cells
3.5 Genetic Modification & Biotechnology
IB Biology 3.5 genetic modifcation and biotechnology from Bob Smullen
An animated, narrated tutorial on Gel Electrophoresis from Sinauer Associates, and here is a video tutorial from Stephanie Castle:
For Gel Electrophoresis & DNA profiling – click on ‘Restriction Digestion & Gel Electrophoresis’ to see an Interactive Animation from Wiley or here for fantastic animated tutorials from McGraw Hill Education – DNA fingerprinting & Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) or how about a 5m27s lesson from Naked Science Scrapbook: how does DNA fingerprinting (DNA profiling) work?. Or, finally, Paul Andersen describes the process of DNA Fingerprinting and DNA profiling.
How to set up and run a Gel electrophoresis (for DNA profiling):
For Gene Transfers (genetic modification) see these fantastic animated tutorials from McGraw Hill Education – Restriction Endonucleases, steps in Cloning a gene & construction of a Plasmid vector or click on ‘Cloning’ to see an Interactive Animation from Wiley.
An animated, narrated tutorial on human embryonic stem cells (from Sinauer Associates).
Some excellent interactive animations & tutorials on Stem Cells, Gene Therapy or Cloning just click on Genetic Technology at the bottom of this page or for DNA extraction, Gel electrophoresis, PCR & DNA microarrays just click on Virtual Labs.