This week in triple science we continued to learn about monoclonal antibodies. We began by learning about vaccinations, we learnt that vaccinations give us weakened/inactivated pathogens so our immune system can make the antibodies needed to fight them off in the future. Some of our white blood cells then become memory cells that remember how to make the specific antibodies for that pathogen.
We also found out that monoclonal antibodies are used in pregnancy tests. On a pregnancy test the monoclonal antibodies have a dye attached to them and they bind to HCG so when the person’s urine is in that area it detects if they have HCG or not. If they do, the monoclonal antibodies are trapped in an area further along the pregnancy test which makes that area turn to the colour of the dye. If they don’t have HCG the monoclonal antibodies go straight past that area. HCG is a hormone produced by the placenta when a woman is pregnant.
In our lesson we discovered that mouse lymphocytes are combined with tumour cells to make a hybridoma cell. The tumour cell divides continuously inside and outside of the body allowing many copies to be made and the mouse lymphocytes make the antibodies needed.
Our next lesson was on Wednesday and we learnt how monoclonal antibodies are used for cancer treatment. We learnt that monoclonal antibodies are used for:
• Blocking receptors on cells to prevent pathogens from binding.
• Binding to a pathogen and triggering an immune response.
• Drug delivery.
One advantage of using monoclonal antibodies is that they only bind to specific diseased or damaged cells, this way the other cells in that area won’t be harmed like they are in other treatments such as radiotherapy. A disadvantage would be that they initially created more side effects than expected, the monoclonal antibodies produced were mouse antibodies which triggered an immune response in humans.
In our last lesson of the week we learnt about growing bacteria in a lab. We now know that bacteria divide by binary fission. We also know that after a certain amount of time the bacteria would be forced to stop growing as there wouldn’t be sufficient nutrients to support all of them. We did a practical in that lesson where we grew our own bacteria. We were given agar plates which had been sterilised in an autoclave before we received them. We then had a Bunsen burner so that the heat would kill any bacteria in our working area. We had to put our inoculating loop inside the flame of the Bunsen burner in order to sterilise it. We then spread some E.coli it on the agar and sealed it with Sellotape to make it airtight and prevent cross contamination.
Exam questions that I think might come up on this topic:
1. Why do the agar plates have to be put in the autoclave before being used for experiments?
A. The agar plates are sterilised so there is no chance of cross contamination.
2. What is an antibody?
A. An antibody is a protein produced by white blood cells which bind to pathogens to kill it.
3. What is a monoclonal antibody?
A. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins produced from a single clone of cells.
4. What is a pathogen?
A. Pathogens are harmful bacteria.
5. What is a clone?
A. A clone is an organism that is genetically identical to another organism.

This week in triple science we started off the week completing a work sheet to show our understanding of finding the moment, distance and force. This helped us revise for an upcoming test to confirm we have mastered this topic.
Wednesday was our next triple science lesson. This lesson included learning about gears and how they work. A gear is made up of two teethed wheels where the teeth interlock to create movement. During this lesson we learnt that a smaller gear attached to a big gear means that bigger gear turns slower with a greater force. When two gears interlock this also causes a change in direction.
On Thursday we completed revision sheets which the teacher made for us from questions which needed to be completed. These questions were based on topics completed during this term in class. There were twelve different questions to complete.
On Friday we were introduced to monoclonal antibodies. In my opinion this was my favourite lesson of the week. This is because it was very interesting. We learnt that a monoclonal antibody is a protein produced from a single clone of cells. The antibodies are specific to a type of chemical or cell in the body. They are made by using mouse lymphocytes to make antibodies and combined with a particular tumour cell making a hybridoma cell. This allows the cell to divide and produce more copies of itself. This allows it to produce a lot of a specific antibody. This has been used in products such as pregnancy tests. It works by using unbound antibodies which detect human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). The unbound antibodies will move down the test strip and if the woman is pregnant the antibodies will become bound to a secondary antibody and the dye attached to the antibody will make that section go blue. These monoclonal antibodies have revolutionised the diagnosis because you can now detect if somebody is pregnant earlier and they attach to HCG; a hormone present only if you are pregnant.
During our normal science lesson, we carried on about parallelogram of forces, explained to you during another student’s blog in week 3. Below are some images of what we have done this week.

Exam questions

1. Explain what the force and speed would be like if a smaller gear was attached to a larger gear.
A. The larger gear will turn with a slower speed but greater turning force.

2. What is a clone?
A. a genetically identical organism or cell.

3. How do you calculate moment?
A. forceX distance

4. What is a monoclonal specific to?
A. chemical or cell in the body

5. What hormone is present within the urine while you are pregnant?
A. HCG

This week in triple science, we have been working on finding the moment and balancing the load and effort with the help of a lever.

During our lesson on Monday, we learnt about how less force is needed when you are further away from the pivot. For example, when opening a door, there is less force needed when you push the side furthest away from the hinges; due to there being a longer distance.

A moment is the turning effect of a force around a fixed point, also known as a pivot.

We then learnt how to work out the moment, distance and force when given certain measurements. This equation is: M
———
F x D
Moment is measured in Nm
Force is measured in N
Distance is measured in M

An exam type question that you may be given is:
A spanner is used to undo a nut. The force needed is 17N and is 10cm away from the centre of the nut. Find the moment.
Firstly, you convert the 10cm to metres due to the moment being measured in Nm. To find this we do 10 divided by 100= 0.1m. Then use the equation m=f x d. So, 0.1m x 17N = 1.7Nm – this is the moment.

Furthermore in another lesson we learnt about how the load of something on one side has to be the same as the effort on the other side. In a better form, the sum of the clockwise moments = the sum of the anti-clockwise moments. This therefore links with levers, a simple machine making work easier to do by reducing the effort needed to move the load. This happens by increasing the distance and levers are examples of force multipliers.

Another question you may be given is:
On the anti-clockwise side of the pivot, there is a load of 10N which is 7m away from the pivot. On the clockwise side, there is a load 2m away from the pivot but there is no measurement for the load. Please find out the force on the clockwise side if it is at equilibrium.
To do this, you multiply 10N by 7m which gives you 70Nm (the moment for the anti-clockwise side). Now use your moment (70Nm) and divide that by the 2m (the distance on the clockwise side)- giving you 35N, the force you were missing to find the moment.

In addition to this, during our normal lessons of science, we learnt about the resultant force of a parallelogram. To do this, we measured a bottom line, and then a diagonal line coming off of one of the corners. We then drew a line the same length opposite the horizontal line. Afterwards, we drew another diagonal line so all angles were the same, and all lines drawn were the same length as the other line (both horizontal lines were the same length). Finally, you draw a diagonal line through the middle and measure it accurately due to that being your resultant force of the parallelogram.

We also did a practical on finding the centre of mass of an irregular shape. We drew an irregular shape with 0 lines of symmetry, and then pierced a hole in one side and put it on a stand. We then hung a weight attached to a piece of string in front of our shape, and drew the line where the string hung. We kept doing this on different sides of our shape, and found the point at which all our lines met. This was then the centre of mass of our shape.

Below are some images of the work I have done this week.