Download Your genotype determines your blood type.

Grade 10 Academic Science - Biology
Blood
Parts are adapted from: National Geographic. 1997. Human Body 1
TRC 612 H87 KIT
You get a cut and you bleed. The blood is a red-coloured liquid.
IS THAT IT?
Blood flows throughout your body via the circulatory system. The HEART is the pump and the
BLOOD VESSELS are the pathways. What function does blood perform? In other words, why
do you need blood? It seems to be important, but is it? It is only a red liquid.
IN FACT, blood is amazingly complicated and performs many functions that support the other
organ systems of the body.
Blood is a liquid tissue circulating throughout the body. Blood have FOUR parts each performing
a different and vital role. About 55 percent of blood consists of PLASMA, while the remaining 45
percent is a mixture of red blood cells (43%), white blood cells (1%) and platelets (<1%).
 Red blood cells transport oxygen and some carbon dioxide.
 White blood cells protect the body from disease.
 Platelets are important for blood clotting.
 Plasma is rich in proteins, nutrients, gases, salts and hormones.
TASK
 To make a model of the parts of blood
Purpose
 To understand the parts of blood
 To explore the importance of the different components of blood and their respective roles
Materials
 Four different materials (e.g., different coloured beads, shells, different coloured paper)
 Small jar with lid
 Ruler and marker
Methods
 The jar is 100%. The percentage of each blood
 component is listed above (e.g., Plasma is 55% of blood). On the jar, determine a level
that represents 55%.
 Using ONE of your materials, fill the jar with the material to the 55% level
 Repeat the process for WHITE BLOOD CELLS using a different coloured material
 Repeat the process for PLATLETS using a different coloured material
 Repeat the process for RED BLOOD CELLS (43%) using a different coloured material
 Put the lid on your “Blood Jar”
Questions
1. Why do you think Plasma is the largest component of blood?
2. Why do you think Red Blood Cells make up nearly 43% of blood?
3. How do you think White Blood Cells work to protect the body from disease? Does this
explain why these cells are only a small percentage of blood?
BLOOD TYPING
What BLOOD TYPE are you?
BLOOD TYPES are inherited. A person’s blood type can be determined by examining the
proteins present on the membranes of the blood cells. These proteins are ANTIGENS.
One blood typing method uses A, B and O.
 If red blood cells have the antigen A on the surface of their cell membranes, the person
has Type A blood. This person will have anti-B antibodies (proteins) floating in their
plasma. If these antibodies encounter Type B blood cells, they recognize them as foreign
substances, attach to them and cause the foreign substances to clump together (called
AGGLUTINATION).
 If red blood cells have the antigen B on the surface of their cell membranes, the person
has Type B blood. If red blood cells have the antigen AB on the surface of their cell
membranes, the person has Type AB blood.
 If red blood cells have neither antigen A nor B on the surface of their cell membranes, the
person has Type O blood.
Why is it important to match blood type before performing a transfusion of blood?
Table 1. Methods to determine blood types
When mixed with....
Blood Type
Anti-A Antibodies
Anti-B Antibodies
A
agglutination
No reaction
B
No reaction
agglutination
AB
agglutination
agglutination
O
No reaction
No reaction
Percentage of blood types in North America
37.4
 O+

B+
8.5

O-
6.6

B-
1.5

A+
35.7

AB+
3.4

A-
6.3

AB-
0.6
Task
In this activity, you will
 Understand the basis for blood typing, and
 Learn to identify the blood type of demonstrated antigen tests.
Questions
1. If blood from Types A, B, AB and O were mixed with serum containing anti-A antibodies,
which blood types undergo agglutination? Explain.
2. What blood type is considered the UNIVERSAL DONOR? Explain
3. What blood type is considered the UNIVERSAL RECIPIENT? Explain
4. As a criminal fled the scene of a crime, some blood from a cut was left behind. The
forensic scientist determined the blood serum contains anti-B antibody. Two suspects
have been taken into custody. One has Type A blood and the other has Type O blood.
Can the scientist’s findings help determine whether one of these is the criminal? Explain.
Blood Cards
Everybody has a blood type. The most common blood type classification system is the ABO
Blood System. In this system, there are four types of blood: A, B, AB, and O. Your blood type is
established by specific genes you inherit from your parents. You receive one gene from your
mother and one from your father which combine to establish your blood type. These two genes
cause proteins called AGGLUTINOGENS to occur on the surface of all of your red blood cells.
There are three alleles or versions of the blood type gene: A, B and O. Since everybody has two
copies of these genes, there are six possible combinations: AA, BB, OO, AB, AO and BO. In
genetic terms, these combinations are called genotypes, and they describe the genes you got
from your parents.
In addition to agglutinogens, other genes make proteins called AGGLUTININS that circulate in
your blood plasma. Agglutinins are responsible for ensuring that only the blood cells of your blood
type exist in your body.
Your genotype determines your blood type.
The agglutinogen produced by the O allele has no special enzymatic activities. However, the
agglutinogens produced by the A and B alleles do have enzymatic activities which are different
from each other. People whose genotype is OO are said to have type O blood, meaning the
agglutinogen on their red blood cells does NOT have any enzymatic activity. People with Type O
blood have agglutinins a and b in their blood plasma. Agglutinin a helps the body destroy any
Type A blood cells that might enter the circulation system. Agglutinin b helps the body destroy
any Type B blood cells that might enter the circulation system.
People who have an AA genotype are said to have Type A blood because the agglutinogen on
their red blood cells has the enzyme activity associated with the A allele. NOTE: People with the
AO genotype also have the enzyme activity associated with the A allele. Thus, they also have
Type A blood. (Remember the O allele doesn't have any enzyme activity associated with it)
People with Type A blood have agglutinin b in their blood plasma. Agglutinin b helps the body
destroy any Type B blood cells that might enter the circulation system.
Likewise, people with the BB and the BO genotypes are said to have Type B blood. These people
have agglutinin a in their blood plasma. Agglutinin a helps the body destroy any Type A blood
cells that might enter the circulation system.
People who have the AB genotype have the enzyme activity associated with both the A and B
alleles. These people have no agglutinins in their blood plasma.
If you needed a blood transfusion, what blood type could you accept if you were…
You are blood
type…
Circle all types of blood you could accept
A
A
B
AB
O
B
A
B
AB
O
AB
A
B
AB
O
O
A
B
AB
O
Blood and Malaria – Mapping Malaria in the World
Adapted from: National Geographic. 1997. Human Body 1
Malaria is a serious infectious disease. An infected person suffers from the following symptoms:
 intense chills
 fever
 uncontrolled sweating
 anemia (i.e., loss of haemoglobin from the red blood cells
 enlarged spleen
 loss of strength
 intense headaches and abdominal pain
 loss of immunity.
In the temperate, developed world, malaria is considered a “disease of the past”; yet, it is a
health problem in much of the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. Annually, about 1.5
million people die from malaria. Nearly one million deaths occur in Sub-Sahara Africa (World
Health Organization, 2009).
Malaria is caused by protist parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Four species of Plasmodium
can produce the disease in its various forms:
 Plasmodium falciparum
 Plasmodium vivax
 Plasmodium ovale
 Plasmodium malaria
P. falciparum is the most widespread and dangerous. Untreated, it can lead to fatal cerebral
malaria.
The parasites spend part of their life cycle in the red blood cells of humans and the other part in
mosquitoes. A mosquito bites a person infected with the parasite. Along with the red blood cells,
the parasite is sucked into the mosquito. The parasite develops and multiples in the mosquito’s
stomach. The mosquito carries and spread the disease. When it bites another person, the
mosquito injects saliva containing the malaria parasite into the human body. The parasite enters
the person’s red blood cells where it multiplies. The parasite ruptures the red blood cell and
spreads into other red blood cells.
The prevalence of malaria has decreased over the past 50 years. Today, about 90 percent of all
malaria cases occur in Africa.
TASK
You will
 Identify the areas of the world where malaria is most prevalent
 Explore reasons for the occurrence or absence of malaria in a country.
Materials
 World map
 Data sheet of malaria prevalence
 Colour pencils
Methods
 Make a map that shows the prevalence of malaria. Use the following key
> 100 Red
50-100 Yellow
25-50 Green
<25 Blue
 Colour the map by country according to your key
 Answers questions
Questions
1. What kind of climates do many of the malaria-occurrence countries have?
2. Why do you think malaria is found most frequently in these countries?
3. Knowing malaria is spread by mosquitoes, what are TWO strategies you could
recommend to reduce the spread within a country?
4. Contrast the change in malaria between 1990 and 2000
Table 1. Rates of Malaria for Selected Countries between 1990 and 2000
Country
1990 Malaria Cases
2000 Malaria Cases
Rate per 1000
Rate per 1000
Angola
26.1
132.1
Botswana
7.9
41.4
Cameroon
74.5
46.0
Chad
36.5
47.0
DR Congo
4.4
19.9
Benin
20.0
113.7
Burkina Faso
55.7
86.8
Gambia
237.7
100.5
Guinea-Bissau
80.5
180.2
Malawi
409.3
332.0
Namibia
245.2
274.2
Niger
152.0
60.2
Nigeria
13.0
21.6
Rwanda
189.2
118.6
Senegal
55.3
119.3
Swaziland
14.6
43.6
Sudan
301.2
137.2
UR Tanzania
411.1
151.3
Togo
234.6
87.3
Uganda
132.1
137.8
Zambia
235.8
109.4
Zimbabwe
63.3
121.3
Afghanistan
23.0
9.5
Islamic Republic of Iran
1.4
0.3
Pakistan
0.7
0.1
Turkey
0.2
0.2
Change
DPR Korea
0.1
3.3
India
2.4
2.0
Thailand
5.0
1.3
Cambodia
12.7
4.7
China
0.1
0.1
Philippines
1.4
0.5
Viet Nam
1.9
0.8
Brazil
3.8
3.6
Ecuador
7.0
7.9
French Guiana
50.8
22.6
Honduras
10.9
5.4
Nicaragua
9.4
4.4
Peru
1.3
2.7
NARC LAB
Forensics is often used to determine the narcotic use by an individual. While the test cannot
determine if the individual has ever taken the drug, it can DETECT the presence of cocaine, PCP,
THC and other controlled substances. This type of test usually uses urine and a series of steps
with various reagents that will change colour in the presence of certain chemicals. The method of
testing is the same for each drug, while the reagent is different.
You are about to be tested for cocaine. NOTE: Unless required by a court of law, you have the
right to refuse testing. Legally, urine and blood testing is regarded as an invasion of privacy.
PROCEDURE
 Working in groups of EIGHT, assign one urine sample to each member of your group
 Note the SAMPLE NUMBER of your urine sample
 Add TWO drops of your urine to a slide
 Add ONE drop of anti-human antibody to the urine on the slide
 Add ONE drop of enzyme (phenolphthalein indicator) to the mixture on the slide. The
enzyme will react with the drug.
 Mix the sample with a toothpick
 After about one minute, note any change in colour. If there is NO TRACE drug, the
colour will be pink. If drug is present, the test will show no change.
NOTE: For this type of accuracy, the person to be tested MUST have taken the drug(s) within a
prescribed period of time. Explain why?
Table 1. Results of Drug Testing
Sample Number
Colour Change
(Y / N)
Drug Present
(Y / N )
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Questions
1. From your testing, which samples tested for positive drug use?
2. Explain how the enzyme reacted with the drug to produce a positive result?
3. Why does the negative test change colour when an enzyme is added, while the positive
test produces no colour change?