Zambia Grade 10 Biology

This course emphasizes understanding and applying scientific concepts and principles, developing skills for a changing technological world. It aims to equip learners with knowledge and skills to become confident citizens, recognize the scientific method's uses and limitations, and prepare for further studies in science-related fields. The course encourages an interest in biological sciences, develops essential abilities and skills, fosters concern for accuracy, objectivity, integrity, and safety, and promotes awareness of social, economic, technological, ethical, and cultural influences on biology. Learners are expected to develop competencies in knowledge with understanding, handling information and problem-solving, and experimental skills and investigations. The curriculum utilizes various teaching methods, including experiments, study tours, fieldwork, group work, individual work, and projects. Assessment includes school-based assessments and a final examination.

Unit 1: Organisms and Life Processes

This unit covers the characteristics of living organisms, distinguishing them from non-living things, and describing the fundamental life processes, including metabolism and the role of enzymes.

Unit 2: Animal and Plant Cells

This unit explores cell structure and organization, including microscope use, specimen preparation, magnification calculation, and the structure and function of cell organelles. It also covers the differences between plant and animal cells and the relationship between cell structure and function in various cell types.

Unit 3: Cells and Water

This unit focuses on diffusion, osmosis, and active transport, explaining their effects and importance in living organisms. It covers concepts like plasmolysis, turgidity, lysis, and crenation.

Unit 4: Nutrients

This unit investigates the presence of nutrients in food, identifies good sources of nutrients, and describes the importance of nutrients, salts, vitamins, and roughage to the body. It also covers nutritional disorders like kwashiorkor, marasmus, goitre, scurvy, rickets, anaemia, and obesity. Additionally, it addresses dietary needs for different conditions and explores micro and macro plant nutrients and their deficiency diseases.

Unit 5: Enzymes

This unit investigates the characteristics of enzymes, including optimum temperature, pH, and specificity. It also demonstrates the effects of temperature and pH on enzyme action and explains the industrial applications of enzymes in baking, brewing, and biological washing powders.

Unit 6: Dentition in Mammals

This unit examines the external and internal structure and function of human teeth, dental formulae, and the differences in dentition between carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. It also covers the causes, signs, and symptoms of gum disease and tooth decay.

Unit 7: Nutrition in Animals

This unit explores holozoic nutrition, including its main processes, the regions and functions of the alimentary canal and associated organs, the processes of digestion, absorption, and assimilation of nutrients, common ailments of the alimentary canal, and the metabolic functions of the liver.

Unit 8: The Soil

This unit covers the composition and fertility of soil, including types and properties of soil, factors affecting soil fertility, causes of loss of fertility, and methods of improving and retaining soil fertility. It also explores the distribution of earthworms in different soil types.

Unit 9: Photosynthesis

This unit investigates the factors necessary for photosynthesis, describes the light and dark reactions, the chemical reactions, and the fate of glucose in plants. It also covers the importance of nutrients in plants and identifies plant storage organs.

Unit 10: Saprophytic Nutrition

This unit investigates the structure and function of Rhizopus or Mucor, describes saprophytic nutrition, and explains its importance in nutrient recycling and decomposition. It also touches upon other types of saprophytic nutrition, such as symbiosis/mutualism and parasitism.

Unit 11: Respiration

This unit describes the respiratory organs of various animals, the mechanism of gaseous exchange, the composition of inspired and expired air, the adverse effects of air pollutants, and gaseous exchange in green plants. It also covers types of tissue respiration, the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the importance of respiration, and its industrial applications.

Unit 12: Gaseous Exchange

This unit focuses on gaseous exchange in animals and plants, including the respiratory organs, mechanisms of inspiration and expiration, composition of inspired and expired air, and the effects of air pollutants.

Unit 13: Health

This unit defines good health and disease, describes various types of diseases, their causative agents, signs, symptoms, methods of transmission, and control, focusing on cholera, malaria, and bilharzia. It also covers HIV/AIDS transmission, dangers of multiple sexual partners, safe sexual practices, causes and reduction of stigma, immunity, immunization, and the life cycles of houseflies and mosquitoes and their role in disease spreading.