Male of Female?

LO: what decides if you are male or

female and how a Y chromosome
makes a baby male

Starter: True or False?

Your child is what you eat

According to folk wisdom, what you put in your
body before conceiving may affect what comes out
nine months later.
If you want a boy...
Eat more meat the redder the better.
Stick with salty snacks such as pretzels and chips.
Dads-to-be: Stock up on soda, especially cola
drinks.
If you want a girl...
Both partners should eat lots of fish and veggies.
Give in to your chocolate craving, or just eat
sweets in general.

What decides the

sex of an embryo?
A fertilised egg cell
has 23 pairs of
chromosomes. Pair 23
are the sex
chromosomes. Males
have an X and a Y
(XY). Females have
two Xs (XX)

What are the chances?

How does the Y chromosome

make a baby male?
A males embryos testis develop
when it is about six weeks old.
This is caused by the SRY gene on
the Y chromosome. It stands for
sex determining region of the Y
chromosome.
Testes produce male sex
hormone androgen. This helps
develop the embryo into a male.
If there is no male hormone
produced the sex organs

1) Which sex chromosome(s)

would be in the nucleus of:
a) A mans body cell?
b) An egg cell?
c) a womens body cell?
d) A sperm cell?
2) Explain why an embryo needs
a Y chromosome to become a
boy?

Review Learning:
LO: what decides if you
are male or female and
how a Y chromosome
makes a baby male