Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘Biological sex is more complex than just male or female’

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Is everyone either male or female? How do you know? How can you define — without question — everyone’s sex? Biologists weigh in on why answers to these questions are not as simple as you might think.

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By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘Biological sex is more complex than just male or female’

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. Computers use a type of code called binary. The prefix bi- means “two.” Binary works based on only two symbols: 1 and 0. Based on this information, explain why the word binary is used to describe this code. Next, consider the word “spectrum.” Would it be accurate to describe these two symbols as occurring on a spectrum? Why or why not?
  2. Imagine someone tasks you with guessing the average weight of a dog on Earth. Would this task be easy or difficult? If you answered that it would be easy, explain how your knowledge of dogs would help you with this task. If you answered difficult, describe a better way to characterize the weight of dogs on Earth. Next, imagine you are describing dogs to someone who has never seen one. Regardless of whether you said the original task would be easy or difficult, point to one potential misconception that might come from describing all dogs by a single weight value.

During Reading:

  1. What are gametes? What two types of gametes occur in humans?
  2. How accurate is to describe these two types of gametes as the same size? Explain your answer.
  3. Give one example of a trait ascribed to males and females that falls on a spectrum.
  4. Give an example of how testosterone influences male development.
  5. Describing X and Y chromosomes as “sex chromosomes” could mislead some. Briefly explain why, based on information from the story.
  6. What are three body processes that are partially controlled by genes on the X chromosome?
  7. What is Turner syndrome?
  8. Imagine being asked to define someone’s sex based on what gametes they make. How could this cause a problem for someone with Turner syndrome?
  9. On which chromosome does the SRY gene typically occur? Give one example of how someone might have the SRY gene but lack the chromosome with which this gene is usually associated.
  10. Approximately what share of the population is defined as intersex?

After Reading:

  1. Refer back to your answer to Question 1 in Before Reading. The term binary describes most computer code accurately. But biological sex — though sometimes described as binary — is more complicated than a computer code. Explain how someone could argue that computer code fits the binary description better than biological sex does. Point to two examples from this story to support your answer.
  2. What is one thing that you read in this story that surprised you? Briefly explain why this information surprised you. For instance, did you believe something different before reading? Or, perhaps you had never considered a particular idea before?