Scientific English in Biology

SECOND LESSON

Assignment 1: Revising the newsletter

Grades of this assignment will be counted towards your
continuous assessment

• Revise the Science newsletter based on the comments by

the lecturer.

• Photograph your hand-written work (the revised version)

and submit it via G-Classroom [folder: Unit 1-Assignment 1
- part 2]

• Deadline: 22 February 2023

• LATE/ INCOMPLETE submission will NOT be accepted !

Reminder:
Unit 1 - Assignment 2 (speaking): Science news
Compulsory speaking assignment, students to work in
pairs for this assignment:
• Being reporters/ news presenters, you report some
scientific news OR explain a simple scientific/ biological
topic, in 4-5 minutes.

• Submission: video-record of your news (must show your

face when you speak) and submit to Google Classroom
by Monday, 20 February 2023

• Other requirements same as informed in lesson 1.

How to make your news interesting

• Clarity

• Simplicity & Brevity

• Coherence

• and Humanity
(sense of humour, creativeness)
Last week’s homework on listening & speaking

• Tell us about what you watched in the channel Be Smart

and what you learned from the video, by answer the
following questions:
ü What is the title of the video you watched? What is it
about?
ü What are the new things you learn from the video?
ü What are the interesting things you find in the video?

≥ 15-minute habit

Minimum 15 minutes per day to

learn new things in English
Lesson 2

FREE or mostly FREE RESOURCES

Free online resources for learning new
knowledge (on Biology/ Science/ life) in English
• channels:
ü Be Smart
ü The Good Stuff
ü ParrMr;
• Cable TV channels [also on YouTube]: Da Vinci TV; BBC Earth
• HHMI BioInteractive: https://www.biointeractive.org
etc. [also on YouTube]
• BBC documentary series: BBC Life, BBC Planet Earth

Free online resources for listening/speaking

• English-speaking movies
• American TV series, e.g., Friends, Game of Thrones, …
• British comedy, e.g., “Mind your language”, Monty
Python, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, ...
• BBC Learning English (on YouTube & Facebook)
• etc.
Free resources for listening/presentation skills
• YouTube channels: Be Smart

• TED talks (www.ted.com )

Free online resources for reading/ writing

• TED lessons (TED-Ed: https://ed.ted.com )

• TED ideas (https://ideas.ted.com )
• BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/
• University of Toronto: http://writing.utoronto.ca
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
https://writingcenter.unc.edu
• Purdue University:
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html
 Second lesson

Levels of biological
organization

Explain Chemical levels

• atom: .

• molecule: .
Explain Organismal levels
• cell:
• tissue: …
• organ: …
• organ system: …
• organism: …

Explain Ecological levels

• population:
• community: …
• ecosystem: …
• biosphere: …
 Make use of the

Glossary section can be found at the end of the Biology text book !

Hierarchy of Biological Classification

➔pl. Domains: Eukarya

➔pl. Kingdoms: Animalia
➔pl. Phyla: Chordata
➔pl. Classes: Mammalia
➔pl. Orders: Primates
➔pl. Families: Pongidae
➔pl. Genera: Pan
➔pl. Species: Pan troglodytes
 * Systematics & Taxonomy
ü Biologists use a binominal system for naming
organisms
ü Taxonomical classification is hierarchical
ü Organisms can be assigned to three domains and six
kingdoms (or several kingdoms)

Systematics & taxonomy

• Taxonomy
= the study of identifying, classifying and naming organisms
• Systematics
= Taxonomy + the study of evolutionary relationships
• Nomenclature
= principle of naming (so nomenclature is a part of
taxonomy).
• Binominal system for species name!
Nomenclature of species
• Binominal system of nomenclature = a species’ name
consists of two words
• Species epithet (species name) = “generic name” +
“species name”
E.g., Homo sapiens
• Species names are Latinized: generic name must be a
noun and species name must be an adjective
• Epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase

Binomial name

• Example: tiger and lion are both in the genus

Panthera.
Tiger is Panthera tigris
Lion is Panthera leo

Generic name Specific name

 Why scientific nomenclature?
• Common names are easy to
remember but could lead to
confusion.
• E.g., starfish, jellyfish,
cuttlefish, and crayfish are
NOT fish!

Why scientific nomenclature?

• Blackbird is the common name of both species:
Turdus merula & Agelaius phoeniceus
 Scientific nomenclature

• Common names are easy to remember but could lead to

confusion.

• Scientific name is unique for each group of organisms

(taxon), e.g., species Homo sapiens, class Mammalia…

è It allows scientists to accurately identify individual taxa.

Scientific nomenclature

➔pl. Domains: Eukarya

➔pl. Kingdoms: Animalia
➔pl. Phyla: Chordata
➔pl. Classes: Mammalia
➔pl. Orders: Primates
➔pl. Families: Pongidae
➔pl. Genera: Pan
➔pl. Species: Pan troglodytes
 • Taxonomy (phân loại học) = the study
of identifying, classifying and naming
organisms
• Systematics (hệ thống phân loại học) =
Taxonomy + the study of evolutionary
relationships
• Nomenclature (danh pháp/ cách đặt
tên) = principle of naming organisms
• Binominal system for species name:
“generic name” + “species name”

A view of life

EVOLUTION:
the basic unifying
concept of biology
 Concept of evolution & natural selection

ü Species adapt in response to changes in their

environment
ü Natural selection is an important mechanism by
which evolution proceeds
ü Populations evolve as a result of selective pressures
from changes in the environment

To watch at home
Please read again the text A VIEW OF LIFE
• Organisms have several levels of organization
• Several levels of ecological organization can be identified
• Biologists use a binominal system for naming organisms
• Taxonomic classification is hierarchical
• Organisms can be assigned to three domains and six kingdoms
• Species adapt in response to changes in their environment
• Natural selection is an important mechanism by which
evolution proceeds
• Populations evolve as a result of selective pressures from
changes in the environment
* Then practice explaining key terminology again

Quiz 1: Choose the best answer

1. Which of the following is a correct sequence of levels

of biological organization?

A. Cell, organ, tissue, organ system

B. Chemical, cell, organ, tissue

C. Chemical, cell, tissue, organ

D. Tissue, organ, cell, organ system

E. Chemical, cell population, species

 2. A community is formed of various:

A. Species

B. Families

C. Ecosystems

D. Populations

E. Organisms

3. Which of the following is a correct sequence of levels

of biological organization?

A. Organism, population, ecosystem, community

B. Organism, population, community, ecosystem

C. Population, biosphere, ecosystem, community

D. Species, population, ecosystem, community

E. Ecosystem, population, community, biosphere

4. In the binomial system of nomenclature, the first
part of an organism's name designates the:

A. Specific epithet

B. Genus

C. Class

D. Kingdom

E. Phylum

5. A group of similar genera are group together

into a ____________.

A. Phylum

B. Class

C. Family

D. Order

E. Subphylum
6. Which of the following is a correct sequence of levels of
classification?

A. Genus, species, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom

B. Genus, species, order, phylum, class kingdom

C. Genus, species, order, family, class, phylum, kingdom

D. Species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom

E. Species, genus, order, family, class, kingdom, phylum

7. The theory of evolution is the principal unifying theory

in biology because :

A. It explains the hierarchy of taxonomic classification.

B. It explains the diversity of life.

C. It explains natural selection.

D. It explains why some organisms are more complex

than others.
8. Evolution can best be described as _______________
A. natural selection of adaptive changes in response to
environmental changes.
B. survival of the fittest.
C. because some genotypes are better adapted to a
specific environment, they produce more offspring.
D. genetic variability gives rise to differential
reproductive fitness.
E. the loss of species unfitted to a changed
environment.

9. Darwin suggested that evolution takes place by:

A. Mutation

B. Changes in the individuals of a population

C. Natural selection

D. Interaction of hormones

E. Homeostatic responses to each change in the

environment
10. Which of the following observations did NOT
contribute to Darwin's theory of evolution?
A. Variation exists within a species.
B. Organisms produce more young than survive.
C. Individual characteristics are inherited by
transmissible units.
D. Organisms compete for resources.
E. Well-adapted organisms pass their adaptations to
offspring.

11. The ultimate source of variation within a population

is ______________.

A. selection

B. mutation

C. adaptation to environment

D. cross-breeding

E. speciation
12. Which of the following is NOT an example of
adaptation?

A. The prehensile tails of New World monkeys

B. The thermotolerance of the archaebacterium,

Thermococcus

C. The mitochondrium of the eukaryotic cell

D. The red color of sunburn in humans

E. The red color of the rose

Quiz 2: FILL IN THE GAPS

The basis of evolution is the genes that are passed on
from generation to (1)__________: these produce an
organism’s inherited traits. These (2) ___________ vary
within populations, with organisms showing heritable
differences (variation) in their traits. Evolution itself is
the product of two opposing forces: processes that
constantly introduce variation, and (3)____________
that make variants either become more common or
rare. New (4)___________ arises in two main ways:
either from mutations in genes, (5)____ from the
transfer of genes between populations and between
species. New combinations of genes are also produced
by genetic recombination, which can increase variation
(6)_________ organisms.
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Common grammatical mistakes

WRITING TIPS
# 2: Using articles (a/an, the, ∅)
 a/an, the, ∅

• a/ an = indefinite article

• the = definite article

• ∅ = omission of article / no article / zero article

!!! Articles are often used incorrectly !!!

On using articles (a/an, the, ∅)

Study this topic in the following websites, after that do
the Quiz in Google Classroom:

• http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/articles/

• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/using_ar
ticles.html

• http://www.englishpage.com/articles/index.htm

• Basic writing in English:

https://www.internationalschooltutors.de/English/
Assignments / homework

#1 (Assignment 1): REVISE science newsletter

#2 (Assignment 2): 5-minute SCIENCE NEWS

#3: read again “A view of life” and practise explaining

key terminology

#4: using articles

#5: WATCH a video in any recommended YouTube

educational channels or TED talks