CHAPTER 3 SEX DETERMINATION:

MORE COMPLICATED THAN YOU THOUGHT

PART I.
A. Watch the video twice
How much did you understand?

B. Vocabulary:
Evolve. To change into a something better.

Pregnant. A female being that is waiting for a baby.

Assumption. a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.

Either …. or. To give or present more than one options.

take it for granted. Something that is not appreciated because you believe it will
always stay the same or be available.
C. Complete the following sentences.

1. My wife is ___________ right now with our first child, and when people see her

with her big baby bump,

2. Now, there are some ______________ behind that question that we take for

_____________ because of our familiarity with our own human biology.

3. Well, the answer depends on the sex determination system that has _________

for our species.

4. Since females only have X's to pass on in their egg cells, and males can give

___________ an X ____ a Y in their sperm cells.

D. Speaking practice.

1. how do you think technology evolve the last year?

2. What are some things that you take it for granted?

3. Do you know somebody who is pregnant? If so. Is it a boy or is it a girl?

PART II.
A. Watch the video twice
How much did you understand?

B. Vocabulary:

Mammals. a warm-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that is distinguished by the

possession of hair or fur.
Genetic. related to genes or heredity. related to origin,
Instead. as an alternative or substitute.
However. Used to introduce a statement that contrasts or seems to contradict
Together. Two o more things that are joined or gathered. Whit somebody else.

C. Complete the following sentences.

1. This system has worked well for ___________, but throughout the tree of life, we

can see other ______________ that have worked just as well for other animals.

2. There are other groups of animals that also have ___________ sex
determination,

but their systems can be pretty different from ours.

3. but ________ of the sex being determined by dad, their sex is determined by
mom.

4. ___________ in these animals, one Z and one W chromosome together,

as a pair, produces a female.

D. Speaking practice.
1. How is determined the sex of birds?

2. what percentage is there on birds of being is male or female?

PART III.
A. Watch the video twice
How much did you understand?

B. Vocabulary:

Gene.  A unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and will
remain.
Defend. Resist and protect from harm or danger.
Mate. When a male and a female come together for breeding; copulate.
Colony. A place to live.
Fertilize. To cause an egg, female animal or plant to develop a new individual.
Nest. A structure or place made or chosen by an animal for laying eggs.

C. Complete the following sentences.

1. In an ant ________________, there are dramatic divisions of labor.

2. There are soldiers that __________ the colony, there are workers that collect
food,
clean the ________ and care for the young, and there's a queen and a small
group
of male reproductives.
3. Now, the queen will __________ and then store sperm from the males. And this
is
where the system gets really interesting.
4. However, if she lays an egg without ___________ it, then that egg will still grow
up
to be an ant, but it will always be a male.
5. And male ants live their life like this, with only one copy of every ___________,
much like a walking sex cell.

D. Reading. Read the video transcript and answer the following questions.
1. A male ant have both a father and a mother. T F NI
2. In the nest there are soldiers that clean it. T F NI
3. If the queen fertilizes the egg, it will become a female. T F NI
4. Ants have an interesting way of breeding. T F NI
5. The haplodiploid system works on bees. T F NI
PART IV.
A. Watch the video twice
How much did you understand?

B. Vocabulary:

However. To show contrast or contradict.

At all. Nothing.
Assume. To guess or predict
Reach. Arrive at. Get something
Embryo. An unborn in the process of development. That is inside the egg.
Overall. In general or total
Mnemonic. A pattern of ideas, or associations that assists in remembering
something.

C. Complete the following sentences.

1. it's easy to ___________ that for all animals the sex of their babies still must be
determined by genetics.
2. ______________, for some animals, the question of whether it will be a boy or a
girl has nothing to do with genes ___________.
3. In these animals, the sex of an _____________in a developing egg is determined
by the temperature.
4. and it remains undetermined until sometime in the middle of the ____________
development period, when a critical time is ____________.
5. I'm not sure who came up with this ____________, but you can remember that
when it comes to painted turtles, they are all hot chicks and cool dudes.

D. Reading. Read the video transcript and answer the following questions.
1. The sex of alligators and most turtles depends on the weather. T F NI
2. The sex of the baby is determined when the egg is laid. T F NI
3. all the embryo turtles will become will become female. T F NI
4. Warm temperatures will produce a male. T F NI
5. The speaker is not sure whose idea mnemonic is. T F NI
PART V.
A. Watch the video twice
How much did you understand?

B. Vocabulary:

Move up. To go above. To be ascended.

Mature. Developed physically.
Hierarchy. A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one
above the other according to status or authority.
Dominant. The most powerful of a group.
Settle. Stablish, solve

C. Complete the following sentences.

1. For some tropical fish, the question of will it be a boy or will it be a girl isn't
___________until even later in life.
2. However, as they ____________, they become female.
3. They also spend their lives in small groups with a strict dominance
____________ where only the most dominant male and female reproduce.
4. The largest and most _________ male will then quickly become female and take

her place,

5. and all of the other males will _____________ one rank in the hierarchy.

D. Reading. Read the video transcript and answer the following questions.
1. The sex of a tropical fish is not settled until later in life. T F NI
2. clownfish all start their lives as male then they become T F NI
females
3. Clownfish have a hierarchy system. T F NI
4. If a male dies, another female will replace the position. T F NI
 VIDEO TRANSCRIPTS

PART I

My wife is pregnant right now with our first child, and when people see her with her big
baby bump, the first question people ask, almost without fail, is, "Is it a boy or is it a girl?"
Now, there are some assumptions behind that question that we take for granted because
of our familiarity with our own human biology. For human babies, we take it for granted
that there's a 50/50 chance of either answer, boy or girl. But why is it that way? Well, the
answer depends on the sex determination system that has evolved for our species. You
see, for most mammals, the sex of a baby is determined genetically with the XY
chromosome system. Mammals have a pair of sex chromosomes, one passed down from
mom, and one from dad. A pair of X's gives us a girl, and an X and a Y together gives us a
boy. Since females only have X's to pass on in their egg cells, and males can give either
an X or a Y in their sperm cells, the sex is determined by the father and the chance of
producing a male or a female is 50/50.

PART II

This system has worked well for mammals, but throughout the tree of life, we can see
other systems that have worked just as well for other animals. There are other groups of
animals that also have genetic sex determination, but their systems can be pretty different
from ours. Birds and some reptiles have their sex genetically determined, but instead of
the sex being determined by dad, their sex is determined by mom. In those groups, a pair
of Z sex chromosomes produces a male, so these males only have Z's to give. However,
in these animals, one Z and one W chromosome together, as a pair, produces a female. In
this system, the chance of a male or a female is still 50/50, It just depends on whether
mom puts a Z or a W into her egg. Certain groups have taken genetic sex determination in
completely other directions.

PART III

Ants, for example, have one of the most interesting systems for determining sex, and
because of it, if you are a male ant, you do not have a father. In an ant colony, there are
dramatic divisions of labor. There are soldiers that defend the colony, there are workers
that collect food, clean the nest and care for the young, and there's a queen and a small
group of male reproductive. Now, the queen will mate and then store sperm from the
males. And this is where the system gets really interesting. If the queen uses the stored
sperm to fertilize an egg, then that egg will grow up to become female. However, if she
lays an egg without fertilizing it, then that egg will still grow up to be an ant, but it will
always be a male. So you see, it's impossible for male ants to have fathers. And male ants
live their life like this, with only one copy of every gene, much like a walking sex cell. This
system is called a haplodiploid system, and we see it not only in ants, but also in other
highly social insects like bees and wasps.

PART IV

Since our own sex is determined by genes, and we do know of these other animals that
have their sex determined by genes, it's easy to assume that for all animals the sex of their
babies still must be determined by genetics. However, for some animals, the question of
whether it will be a boy or a girl has nothing to do with genes at all, and it can depend on
something like the weather. These are animals like alligators and most turtles. In these
animals, the sex of an embryo in a developing egg is determined by the temperature. In
these species, the sex of the baby is not yet determined when the egg is laid, and it
remains undetermined until some time in the middle of the overall development period,
when a critical time is reached. And during this time, the sex is completely determined by
temperature in the nest. In painted turtles, for example, warm temperatures above the
critical temperature will produce females within the eggs, and cool temperatures will
produce a male. I'm not sure who came up with this mnemonic, but you can remember that
when it comes to painted turtles, they are all hot chicks and cool dudes.

PART V

For some tropical fish, the question of will it be a boy or will it be a girl isn't settled until
even later in life. You see, clownfish all start out their lives as males, However, as they
mature, they become female. They also spend their lives in small groups with a strict
dominance hierarchy where only the most dominant male and female reproduce. And
amazingly, if the dominant female in the group dies, the largest and most dominant male
will then quickly become female and take her place, and all of the other males will move up
one rank in the hierarchy
So for some species, the question of boy or girl is answered by genetics. For others, it's
answered by the environment. And for others still, they don't even bother with the question
at all. Take whiptail lizards, for example. For those desert lizards, the answer is easy. It's a
girl. It's always a girl. They are a nearly all-female species, and although they still lay eggs,
these eggs hatch out female clones of themselves. So will it be a girl or will it be a boy?
Throughout the entire animal kingdom, it does really all depend on the system of sex
determination. For humans, that system is a genetic XY system. And for me and my wife,
we found out it's going to be a baby boy. (Kiss)