Lesson: Components of the Blood Biology

Students will be able to

• recall that blood is a fluid connective tissue that transports useful and waste substances around the body, helps maintain homeostasis, and protects the body from injury and disease,
• recall that the average human adult has around 5-6 liters of blood in their body,
• state the components of the blood as being red blood cells (erythrocytes), plasma, platelets, and white blood cells (phagocytes and lymphocytes),
• describe the composition of blood as being largely plasma (containing water, salts, proteins, and waste products), with a large proportion of red blood cells and a small volume of platelets and white blood cells,
• describe the structure of red blood cells as being biconcave and having no nucleus,
• describe the function of red blood cells in binding to and transporting oxygen around the body,
• recall that the function of white blood cells is to protect the body from disease,
• recall that the function of platelets is to help the blood form clots at the site of injury.