End of term summary

Today we're going to summarise what we've been looking at so far with a couple of videos. Watch these and make notes on the following:

1. Watch part of this documentary. In which ways are maggots and flies similar to Bacteria? (The section you need to see is at about 35 minutes).
2. This is the decay documentary that we saw earlier in the year. What are slime moulds? (Go to about 1 hour to find out).                                                                                                  
3. In what ways do viruses depend on host cells to become reproduced? Try and name more than 1:     

Classifying micro-organisms

Today we're going to be looking at how micro-organisms can be classified. Answer the following in your books:

1. What two systems for classifying viruses exist?
2. Briefly describe the characteristics of each of the seven groups in the Baltimore system:
3. Are fungi plants or animals, or something different? Explain why.
4. Use the picture below to describe what an antigen is and where it is located. Are they the same or different for different species?                                        
5. How many different types of bacteria are there thought to be in the world? Why is it hard to get an accurate estimate?
6. Watch this video about avirus getting into the body. Briefly outline the different steps required for a virus to infect someone, starting with the first man sneezing.
7. What characteristics and tests are used to classify species of Bacteria?
8. Use these search results (or do your own at the new scientist page) to find an article about microbiology. Summarise it and explain how it is relevant to the course.
9. Finally, try any of the activities here and explain how they relate to microbiology:

Assignment 2 write ups

Today we're going to finish off the second assignment, which can be found on the shared area. Make sure you've included relevant information under each heading, and have included photos wherever appropriate.

If you finish early and have other subjects to work on, feel free to do so.