levo

Gender

Chromosomes and hormones in biological sex

  • 4 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

How chromosomes determine sex before birth, the hormones that shape sexual development, and what androgen insensitivity and atypical chromosome patterns reveal.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Process

How do chromosomes determine biological sex before birth?

Key term

Which hormones shape sexual development, and what does each do?

Key term

What is androgen insensitivity syndrome?

Evaluation

What do atypical chromosome patterns show about biological sex?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Which sex chromosome combination typically results in female development, and which typically results in male development?

    Model answer

    XX typically results in female development; XY typically results in male development.

  2. 2

    What is the role of the SRY gene in sex determination?

    Model answer

    The SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, triggers the development of testes in XY individuals.

  3. 3

    Why would an individual lacking the SRY gene develop differently despite having a Y chromosome?

    Model answer

    Without the SRY gene to trigger testes development, the individual would not produce male sex hormones and would develop along a female pathway despite having XY chromosomes.

  4. 4

    What is testosterone and what are its main functions?

    Model answer

    Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone (androgen) responsible for the development of male sex organs prenatally and secondary sexual characteristics at puberty.

  5. 5

    What is oestrogen and what are its main functions?

    Model answer

    Oestrogen is the primary female sex hormone responsible for the development of female secondary sexual characteristics at puberty and regulation of the menstrual cycle.

  6. 6

    Define oxytocin and explain its relevance to gender research.

    Model answer

    Oxytocin is a hormone associated with bonding, social behaviour, childbirth and lactation; it is sometimes linked to gender differences in nurturing behaviour.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Approaches in Psychology

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

The stage comes second.
pre-operationalsensorimotorconcrete

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe mean is the arithmetic average of a data set.
BEvery value in the set is added together.
CThe total is divided by the number of values.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Imitation means copying the behaviour of a model.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Gender, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.