STUDY SMART NOT HARD: 7 Proven Tips and Tricks to excel in Biology

Biology is a mandatory course that every high school student needs to take up. Even though biology is a challenging subject, understanding the basics of biology can help you a lot. You can easily deal with these challenges by following these proven tips and tricks. You can pick up some of the strategies that best suits you

1.     READ

Reading the text is extremely important before you attend the class. Engage in active reading i.e., read out loud from your textbook and they try to repeat out aloud the main concepts that you have read. While reading the chapter highlight the main concepts within the book using colored pencils. Even if you don't have time to read the entire chapter, look at the diagrams within the chapter which will help to clear the main concepts of the chapter. While reading also notes down the important keywords and definitions related to the chapter. It is a well-known fact that those students who attend biology class score higher than the students who don't.

 

2.     GENERAL TO SPECIFIC

Master general concepts so that you can tackle the specific ones. For example, to understand Kreb's cycle you need to have a basic understanding of animal cell structure.

 

3.     LEARNING TERMINOLOGY

To understand biology better you need to familiarize yourself with different terms. Breakdown complex words to identify the root. For example, the term Endoplasmic reticulum can be broken down into:

Endo (within), Plasmic (cytoplasm), and Reti (Net), thus the term Endoplasmic reticulum means net-like structure found inside the cytoplasm.

 

4.     PRACTICE DIAGRAMS

Biology is a visual subject; thus, the diagrams help you to understand the concept and remember information that is difficult to retain. You also need to practice diagrams as much as possible and a well-presented diagram can help you to fetch more marks.

 5.     PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

Practicing previous year's exam questions is equally important as it provides an insight into how well prepared you are for the biology exam. This will also help them to improve their time management skills.

 

6.     MAKE FLASHCARDS

You can prepare flashcards for the important vocabulary or keywords of the chapter. Write the key term on onside of the flashcard in bold letters and a short concise note on the backside of the flashcard.

7.     MAKE USE OF MNEMONIC DEVICES.

A mnemonic device is a memory aid and helps you to remember an idea or it helps to recall a piece of information. For example, I Prefer Milk And Tea as a mnemonic to remember the different phases of mitosis i.e, Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase.

 

 

Introduction to Kingdom Fungi and how to grow Bread Mold at Home

Fungi (singular fungus) is a group of multicellular or unicellular eukaryotic organisms that exhibits a heterotrophic mode of nutrition and includes yeasts, molds, toadstools, and mushrooms. This kingdom includes about 100,000 species and is further classified based on their structure and mode of reproduction.

Basic characteristics of Fungi

Eukaryotic (presence of well-defined nucleus and have membrane-bound organelles).

The vegetative body is made up of long, branching filamentous structures called hyphae that help them to absorb nutrients. Network or a group of hyphae are called mycelium (Exception: Yeast is unicellular and do not produce hyphae)

Achlorophyllous (chlorophyll is absent), thus they cannot make their food.

Fungi exhibit a heterotrophic mode of nutrition, they feed themselves by the absorption of nutrients. Fungi are either saprophytic (obtain food from the dead and decaying matter), parasitic (depend on another living host), or symbiotic (live in a mutually beneficial relationship with other organisms)

Non-Vascular (conducting tissues xylem and phloem is absent).

The cell wall is presently made up of complex polysaccharide chitin and glucans. The cell wall prevents desiccation and protects it from predators.

The most common method of reproduction in fungi is by producing spores. Fungi produce two main types of asexual spores, sporangiospores, and conidia. Sexual spores produced in fungi are ascospores, basidiospores, and Zoospores.

Fungi exhibit alternation of generation and thus have both haploid and diploid stages during their life cycle.

 HOW TO GROW BREAD MOLD

Mold is a fungus that is multinucleated, filamentous, and composed of hyphae. These thrive in warm and moist conditions, reproduce employing spores, and can be black, green, orange, or purple. The spores of the mold are carried by the wind and when they land on a suitable surface, they begin to grow. To grow mold, the following materials are required:

1.     Bread slice.

2.     Transparent sealable bag or container.

3.     A spray bottle.

Procedure

Take a slice of bread and with the help of a spray bottle, lightly spray the bread with a coat of mist or place the bread in the sealable bag along-with a wet paper towel. Seal the plastic bag and place the bread in a warm and moist condition. The mold is heterotrophic and gets its food from the starch of the bread (breaks down starch into simple sugars). After 3-4 days, you will observe mold growth on the bread.