The size and scale of cells: including standard form
You can describe numbers and sizes of cells using appropriate units and standard form.
The size and scale of cells: including standard form
You can describe numbers and sizes of cells using appropriate units and standard form.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Most animals and plants are made up of millions or billions of cells.
- Cell numbers can be expressed in standard form.
- Cells are usually too small to see with the unaided eye.
- Comparison of sizes of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, and cell structures, in µm, nm, and in metres in standard form.
Keywords
Million - 1 000 000, or one thousand thousand, or 10⁶.
Billion - 1 000 000 000 or one thousand million, or 10⁹.
Standard form - A way of writing down very large or very small numbers easily; e.g. 1000 = 10³.
Micrometre (µm) - One millionth of a metre, or 1 m / 1 000 000, or 1 × 10⁻⁶ m.
Magnification - Making small objects appear larger in order to see more detail.
Common misconception
Pupils commonly convert units incorrectly, multiplying when they should divide or dividing when they should multiply.
It can help to relate the unit conversions in the lesson to an everyday example, e.g. pounds to pence.
To help you plan your year 10 biology lesson on: The size and scale of cells: including standard form, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 biology lesson on: The size and scale of cells: including standard form, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
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The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
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Explore more key stage 4 biology lessons from the Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells unit, dive into the full secondary biology curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
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Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions