What do you already know?
 

a) Look at the picture with a partner. What do you think the people in the picture are doing?

b) What season do you think it is?

c) What do you think the pig is doing?

2. Can you find …?

1 ...three types of fungi?

2 ...a delicacy?

3 ...any evidence in the picture of what country or region it is?

Vocabulary

3. Match the words with their definitions:

1 truffle 2 snout 3 mushrooms 4 edible 5 poisonous 6 ripe

a) A pig’s nose. b) A fungi that grows underground. c) Ready to eat. d) Dangerous to eat. e) A type of fungi. f) Safe to eat.

4. According to the text...

1 ... what is the best season to collect white truffles?

2 ... what is the best season to collect black truffles?

a) Which mushrooms in the picture do you think are poisonous? Why?

b) Why do you think white truffles are known as ‘white gold’?

The Monera Kingdom contains mainly bacteria. Bacteria are unicellular and they haven't got a nucleus.

Bacteria can be found on land, in water, air and inside other living organisms. There are about a million bacterial cells in just one millilitre of fresh water!

You need a microscope to see bacteria because they are so tiny. They can also reproduce very quickly. In just a few hours, hundreds of bacteria can become millions!

Bacteria can be all different shapes.

1. What types of organisms belong to the Monera Kingdom?

2. Name four places where Monera organisms can be found.

3. Are these sentences True or False?.

1 Bacteria form part of the Monera Kingdom.

2 Bacteria have a nucleus.

3 Bacteria can be seen with the naked eye.

4 Bacteria are unicellular.

4. Work with a partner. Look at the bacterias a-c. What differences can you see between them?

5. Write a short paragraph explaining the Monera Kingdom using the words in the box.

6. Do you think that the bacteria in the images are the same types of bacteria or different types of bacteria? Explain your answer.

Bacteria and humans

Although bacteria are small and simple, they are very powerful. They are also adaptable and can survive in the most extreme conditions.

Diseases caused by bacteria

Bacteria are infectious agents. They can reproduce very quickly and they spread deadly diseases such as tuberculosis and milder diseases such as eye infections. They can also enter into our food and contaminate it. Eating food infected with a bacterial agent can cause diseases such as salmonella.

How we can use bacteria for our benefit

Even though some bacteria can cause serious diseases, the majority of bacteria are actually good for humans. We need the bacteria in our stomachs to digest food. We also use bacteria to make some foods. Even some antibiotics used to cure some diseases are made from bacteria! Other types of bacteria can purify water or break down contaminants, such as oil in the sea.

1. Are all forms of bacteria bad for us? Why?

2. Using the information found on this page, make a table listing how bacterias can harm or help us.

3. How can we stop bacteria entering our food?

4. Name one disease that eating contaminated food can cause.

5. What do you think the symptoms of eating food contaminated with bacteria are? Choose one or more of the options.

a) Vomiting and diarrhoea.

b) A cough and a runny nose.

c) A rash on your body.

The Protoctista Kingdom contains unicellular and multicellular organisms that can live in water or in humid earth. They can also live inside other living organisms. Protozoa belong to this kingdom and so do algae.

Protozoa

Protozoa are unicellular and heterotrophic (they feed on other living organisms), with a nucleus. Protozoa are very diverse and can be different shapes.

Some protozoa can cause serious diseases, such as malaria or dysentery.

However, protozoa called ciliates actually feeds on bacteria. This is very useful because we use them to eat the bacteria in raw sewage from our toilets. This is how we treat sewage in sewage plants.

How protozoa capture their food.

Algae

Algae belong to the Protoctista Kingdom. There are unicellular algae and multicellular algae. They can be microscopic in size or up to 50 metres long, like seaweed! Algae, like plants, are able to photosynthesize which means that they are autotrophic. They are normally found in water, but can also be found on some rocks and trees.

• Unicellular algae can be found in lakes and rivers. They have tails called flagella which help them to move about.
• Multicellular algae, like seaweed and kelp, form into kelp forests in the oceans, providing shelter and food for marine animals.

When algae reproduce excessively, they can cause contamination in ponds and lakes. Some substances they produce are dangerous to the animals that live there and to those that drink the water.

Algae, however, put oxygen into the Earth's atmosphere and oceans. They are used in medicines and food production such as ice-cream and milkshakes. Animals and humans eat certain types of algae. Research into algae is producing new breakthroughs in medicine.

	.....
Green algae live in both fresh and saltwater.		Red algae live mostly in the deepest parts of the ocean.

1. Where can you find organisms from the Protoctista Kingdom?

2. What type of protozoa are used to treat sewage and why?

3. Look at the pictures (a-c). How do you think protozoa move to capture their food?

4. How do algae feed?

5. Name four benefits of algae.

6. Write definitions for the words in the box.

7. Where can you find multicellular algae, such as seaweed and kelp?

a) lakes and rivers

b) humid earth

c) the ocean

8. Find a word in the text that means discoveries or refers to innovation.

Fungi cannot make their own food like plants. They are heterotrophic and feed on the remains of other living organisms. There are unicellular fungi and multicellular fungi. Some fungi, such as yeast, are microscopic. Others, such as mushrooms, are large.

Unicellular fungi

Yeast is a unicellular fungus. It grows where sugar can be found, such as very ripe or decaying fruit and flowers. It also lives in the mouths, skin, intestines and mucous membranes of some animals. Yeast is used to make bread and alcoholic drinks.

Yeast.

Mould

Mould is multicellular and has the appearance of cotton wool. It grows on damp floors or walls and on fruit and bread. Antibiotics and other medicines are also obtained from mould. Some types of mould are dangerous and cause illnesses.

Mould.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are multicellular. They grow in damp, shady places. Mushrooms decompose the remains of other living beings. Decomposition is an essential part of the food chain as it puts nutrients back into the soil, which the plants need. Some mushrooms are poisonous but others we can eat. It is very important to know the difference. Others are parasitic, which means that they attack trees, causing deadly diseases.

Mushrooms.
 

1. List three ways that fungi are beneficial to us.

2. Which of the following are unicellular?

a) yeast

b) mould  

c) mushrooms 

3. Why is it important to be an expert in mushrooms when picking them?

Lichens

A lichen is not a fungus or an alga, it's both! A lichen is a partnership of heterotrophic fungi and algae. This partnership is very beneficial for lichens because they can grow where an alga or fungi could not grow separately. In fact, they can grow in some of the most extreme temperatures on the planet.

Viruses

Viruses are considered to be somewhere between living and non-living material. This is because they cannot perform vital functions on their own and they are not made up of cells. Viruses are tiny and can only be seen though a powerful electronic microscope. They have geometric forms and are very efficient. They can invade the cell of a living being, multiply and destroy the healthy cell.

Viruses are not made up of cells. They have a geometrically-shaped capsule which contains their genetic material
 

1. In your own words, explain why the partnership between fungi and algae is beneficial.

2. What can scientists determine if an area has lots of lichen growing in it?

3. Have a look around your environment; on walls, trees and rocks. Can you find any lichen?

4. Are these sentences True or False?.

1 Algae and fungi can grow in the same places as lichens.

2 Viruses are made up of cells and perform vital functions like other living beings.

Project 1 Observing a mushroom and its spores

You will need: A mushroom, a magnifying glass, a glass of water, a piece of paper and the parts of a mushroom.

The parts of a mushroom

The stem is the part of the mushroom that is fixed into the ground. It supports the cap of the mushroom above the ground.

The cap is the umbrella-shaped part of the mushroom.

Underneath the cap, you can see a part of the mushroom that is arranged in sheets or laminates. These are called gills. It is in these gills that the spores are produced. These spores contain reproduction cells. When they fall to the ground more mushrooms grow.

After two or three days you will see brown dust on the paper. These are the mushroom spores that have fallen from the gills.

1. Draw the mushroom in your notebook and label each part of it.
    
2. Why do you think the mushroom is balanced over a glass of water?
    
3. Observe the spores with a magnifying glass and describe them. Record your observations in your notebook.
    
4. Share your findings with your classmates.

Project 2 Growing mould

Have you ever left a sandwich in your bag and forgot about it, only to discover one day a horrible green mouldy mess? This is because mould loves the starch in bread!

In this experiment, we are going to grow mould on a piece of bread in class and analyse it under a microscope or magnifying glass.

You will need: a slice of bread, a spray bottle, water, a plastic freezer zipper bag, a microscope or magnifying glass.

Step 1 Take a slice of bread and spray it with a bit of water. Remember! Fungi like damp conditions.

Step 2 Place the bread in a plastic freezer zipper bag. This will stop the mould spores escaping into the air.

Step 3 Place the bag in a dark, warm location such as a drawer or a cupboard. Remember! Fungi also like shady conditions.

Step 4 Check and write down in a table how much mould grows each day. When there is enough mould, place it under the microscope to have a better look. Do not open the bag or touch the mould!

Record the following information:

1 How long did it take for mould to start forming?

2 How quickly did it reproduce?

3 Describe what it looks like and what colour it is.

Step 5 When you have documented the test results, throw the bag away with the bread and mould inside.

1. Which kingdom does a truffle belong to?