Beginner · 2h 24m · 18 lessons
Biology: Beginner
See how your own body works, one cell, one system and one worked example at a time.
What you'll learn
- ✦Explain the cell theory and describe what the main parts (organelles) of a cell do
- ✦Tell a plant tissue from an animal tissue by the job it does, and explain how tissues build an organ
- ✦Explain how the human body gets its food, takes in oxygen, moves it around and gets rid of waste
- ✦Explain how the nervous system and hormones coordinate the body, and how a plant senses and responds to its world
- ✦Tell asexual from sexual reproduction, and explain how a trait passes from parent to child using Mendel's laws
- ✦Explain, in outline, how evolution by natural selection works, and give evidence for it
- ✦Explain how energy moves through a food chain, and name one way to protect a local ecosystem
Certification projects
Build 3 projects to earn your certificate
Hands-on work that proves you can apply what you learned — part of the certificate requirements.
Syllabus
Module 1 · 24m
The Cell Free
What you'll be able to do
- State the cell theory and explain why every living thing is made of cells
- Name the main organelles of a cell and describe what each one does
- Explain diffusion and osmosis using a real plant or animal cell
Module 2 · 24m
Tissues Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Name a plant tissue by the job it does
- Name an animal tissue by the job it does, including blood
- Explain how several tissue types combine to build one organ
Module 3 · 24m
Life Processes Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Explain photosynthesis and tell an autotroph from a heterotroph
- Tell breathing apart from respiration and explain how blood carries oxygen
- Explain how the kidneys remove waste from the blood
Module 4 · 24m
Control and Coordination Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Explain a reflex action and trace the path a signal takes through the nervous system
- Explain how a hormone coordinates the body and why it acts slower than a nerve signal
- Explain a plant tropism using a plant hormone
Module 5 · 24m
Reproduction and Heredity Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Explain asexual reproduction and why its offspring are genetically almost identical to the parent
- Explain fertilisation and why an offspring's traits come from both parents
- Use a dominant and a recessive trait to predict an offspring's traits, and explain sex determination
Module 6 · 24m
Evolution and Our Environment Locked
What you'll be able to do
- Explain natural selection and give one piece of evidence for evolution
- Draw a food chain and explain why energy is lost at every step
- Explain ozone depletion in outline and name one way to reduce waste