This lesson describes the key structural features of viruses and challenges the students to compare them against those of a bacteria as covered in topic 3. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have primarily been designed to cover point 6.5 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification but can be used a revision tool for point 3.4 as students need to recall the structures of a prokaryotic cell.
Details of the COVID-19 epidemic are included in the lesson to increase relevance and to help students to understand this biological topic in greater depth. They will understand that a virus’ lack of cell structures results in an non-cellular classification and the fact that it is unable to reproduce without a host is one of the additional reasons that renders it as non-living. The main focus of the lesson is the nucleic acid, the capsid and the attachment proteins that are present in these microorganisms and time is taken to explain how these structures are involved in the infection of a host cell. The lipid membrane is also introduced and links are made to the previous lessons on eukaryotic cells. The final section of the lesson challenges the students to recognise the following prokaryotic cell structures from their descriptions:
- plasmid
- pili
- capsule
- cell wall
- flagellum
- circular DNA
- ribosomes
- mesosomes
This lesson has been specifically planned to link to the next lesson which covers point 6.6 on the infection of human cells by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus
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