Edexcel IGCSE Biology · Spec 3.8
Reproductive Structures and Their Functions
Covers state the functions of male reproductive structures, State the functions of female reproductive structures and Relate structure location to reproductive function.
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Reproductive Structures and Their Functions
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Explained
Reproductive structures, and why each one sits where it does
Almost every mark in this topic comes from linking a structure to a function. The testes are a good example of why. They sit in the scrotum, outside the main body cavity, because sperm production works best a little below core body temperature. Position is not incidental here. It is the answer.
The male structures
- Testes: produce sperm and the hormone testosterone.
- Scrotum: holds the testes below core body temperature, which sperm production requires.
- Sperm ducts: carry sperm away from the testes.
- Glands: add secretions to the sperm, and the mixture is called semen.
Sperm and semen are not the same thing, and questions occasionally rely on the difference. Sperm are the cells. Semen is sperm together with the fluid the glands provide.
The female structures
- Ovaries: release eggs and produce hormones.
- Oviducts: carry the egg towards the uterus, and are the usual site of fertilisation.
- Uterus: supports the developing fetus.
- Cervix: the ring of muscle that retains the fetus during pregnancy.
- Vagina: receives sperm, and forms the birth canal.
The oviduct is worth singling out. Fertilisation usually happens there rather than in the uterus, so an answer placing it in the uterus is describing implantation, not fertilisation. Those are two separate events in two separate places.
What examiners say about this topic
Principal examiner reports for Edexcel International GCSE Biology show that answers score when they name the requirement rather than describe the outcome. One response is recorded as gaining two marks for referring to the need for two parent cells in sexual reproduction, and to the need for gametes and fertilisation.
Reports also show this topic being used for calculation, with candidates asked to work out the volume of a sperm cell from data in a table and compare it with another cell. Knowing the structures is not the whole of it. Be ready to handle numbers about them.
How to phrase a structure and function answer
Name the structure, state what it does, and where the mark scheme allows it, say why that works. The scrotum does not simply "hold the testes". It holds them outside the body so they stay cooler, and cooler is what sperm production needs.
That three part shape, structure, function, reason, is the safest way to answer anything in this section, because it gives the examiner the mark point even when the question wording is brief.
Spec 3.8
What you need to know
- State the functions of male reproductive structures
- State the functions of female reproductive structures
- Relate structure location to reproductive function
Active recall
Quick check
Answer each question before opening the answer.
Why are the testes held in the scrotum?
To keep them below core body temperature for sperm production
Where does fertilisation usually occur?
In an oviduct
Give one function of the cervix
It retains the fetus during pregnancy or dilates during childbirth
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