Characteristics of Living Organisms

Characteristics of living organisms

Every living organism have certain traits that it needs to be demonstrating in order for it to
classify as “living”. There are 7 characteristics that we need to go through. If even a single one of
these characteristics are not present in an organism, then it not alive.

1. Movement – An action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or

place
2. Respiration – The chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release
energy for metabolism
3. Sensitivity – The ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external environment and
to make appropriate responses
4. Growth – Permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number or cell size or
both
5. Reproduction – The processes that make more of the same kind of organism
6. Excretion – Removal from organisms of the waste products of metabolism (chemical reactions
in cells including respiration), toxic materials, and substances in excess of requirements
7. Nutrition -Taking in of materials for energy, growth and development; plants require light,
carbon dioxide, water and ions; animals need organic compounds and ions and usually need
water

Concept and use of classification system

Organisms can be classified into groups by features that they share. Classification systems aim to
therefore classify groups of organisms in a systemic way, in order to reflect their evolutionary
relationships.

Before the advance of technology and science, classification was traditionally based on
morphology and anatomy. Basically, this means that if certain organisms “looked” similar and
shared similar features, then they would be classified under the same umbrella. But it is
important to understand that now, we can more accurately classify organisms by analyzing their
DNA (rather than looking at appearance alone). Organisms which share similar DNA base
sequences and protein amino acid sequences are more likely to be closely related.

Every organism has a scientific name. The binomial system is an internationally agreed system in
which the scientific name of an organisms is made up of two parts (Genus & Species).
The Genus is a generic term used in the classification of living organisms or binomial
nomenclature and species is a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile
offspring.

For example: Homo sapiens

It is important to understand here that Homo represents the genus and is always starts in capital
letters. Sapiens is the species and is all lower case and in italics.

Features of organisms

All organisms are made of cells. Although the cellular structure may be different depending on
the type of organism, there are certain things that are universally shared across every single
organism:

● Cytoplasm
● Cell membrane
● DNA
● Ribosomes
● Enzymes

Now, we can actually organize every single organism into 5 main categories called “kingdoms”.
Here are the 5 kingdoms that you need to know:

● Animal (i.e. Lion)

● Plant (i.e. Tree)
● Fungus (i.e. Yeast)
● Prokaryote (i.e. Bacteria)
● Protoctist (i.e. Marimo)

You need to know the features of these 5 kingdoms so that for a given example of an organism,
you can determine the kingdom it belongs. Here is a simple table to help you.

Now that we understand the features of the 5 kingdoms, we can actually branch further. The
syllabus wants you to understand how to classify different “types” of animals and plants. In the
animal kingdom, animals they can further be classed as vertebrates (with backbone) or
invertebrates (no backbone).
In the plant kingdom, plants can be classed into either flowering plants or ferns. The table below
(Oxford Revision Guide 2018) demonstrates the further classification of both the animal and the
plant kingdom.
Dichotomous keys

A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural
world, such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish. Keys consist of a series of
choices that lead the user to the correct name of a given item.

For example, use the key to answer the question

1. Wings present ……………………………………… Go to 2

Wings absent ……………………………………….. Go to 3
2. One pair of wings visible ………………………………. A
Two pairs of wings visible …………………………….. B
3. Three pairs of legs …………………………………………. C
Two pairs of legs …………………………………………… D

Since this insect has wings, and has two pairs visible, the answer is B!

Organisation of an Organism

Cell structure and organisation

First of all, all organisms are made of cells. They are like the blocks of life. The syllabus wants
you to know how to draw a basic animal and plant cell, label its structures, and also explain the
functions of each of the structures too.

At a very basic level, please refer to the diagram below. The plant cell has everything that an
animal cell has, plus some added structures which are in green text. The functions of each of
these structures will be discussed further down the page.

Cell membrane which is what allows or disallows certain things entering and exiting the
cell.
The nucleus contains genetic information (DNA).
 the cytoplasm is a jelly-like substance in which everything else in the cell is suspended
in.
The mitochondrion is the “power house’ of the cell and the reason for this name is due to
the fact that respiration occurs here.
Plants have some extra structures such as cell walls (to support the cell) and chloroplasts
for photosynthesis. You will learn more about these in future topics.
Plants also have a permanent vacuole, whereas animal cells have small temporary ones.

Whilst the above diagram but be sufficient for the core syllabus, the extended course wants you
to know two extra structures:

● Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER)

● Ribosomes

The RER is basically a set of tubular membranes near the nucleus which have ribosomes studded
onto it, and the ribosomes are then used for protein synthesis.

These ribosomes can either be found on the RER (as mentioned before) but it can be found free
in the cytoplasm as well. If you are comfortable with the first diagram, take a look at this one!

Structure & function summary

● Cell membrane – Selective control of what goes in and out of the cell
● Nucleus – Carries genetic material (DNA)
● Cytoplasm – Jelly like substance in which chemical reactions take place
● Vacuole – The vacuole has many functions
● Stores/isolates harmful material
● Stores small nutrients
● Maintains water balance
● Structural support for plant cells via turgor pressure
● Rough endoplasmic reticulum – Studded with ribosomes
● Ribosomes – Site of protein synthesis
● Mitochondria – Site of aerobic respiration (cells with high metabolism rates will need lots of
these to offer sufficient energy)
● Cell wall – Structural support for plant cells
● Chloroplast – Site of photosynthesis in plant cells

Levels of organisation

There are levels of organisation that you need to be aware of. As we discussed before, the
smallest unit of a living thing is a cell. So that’s a good place to start. A group of cells are called
tissues, a group of tissues are called organs, and a group of organs are then called organ systems.
Take a look here:

● Cell – The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism

● Tissue – Group of cells with similar structures working together to perform a shared function
● Organ – Structure made up of a group of tissues, working together to perform specific
functions
● Organ system – Group of organs with related functions, working together to perform body
functions

Now some cells have structures that help them with their particular function. There are a couple
of these examples:

● Ciliated cells
● Root hair cells
● Xylem vessels
● Palisade cells
● Nerve cells
● Red blood cells
● Sperm and egg cells

Each of the things above will naturally be covered in more detail in other topics in the syllabus
and therefore will not be covered here.

Size of specimens
In the lab, a lot of biology is done under a microscope. For example, we can’t examine the cells
of a human tissue with our naked eyes, right? Therefore, the purpose of the microscope is to
magnify our specimen so that it appears bigger for us to be able to actually see.

Naturally, the syllabus wants you to be able to perform basic equations regarding magnification,
the image size (of the specimen) and the actual size (of specimen). Please memorize the
following equation:

In an exam, they will always give you 2 out of the 3 factors in the equation and tell you to find
the missing one. Just apply the formula above and it will be a walk in the park!

Movement In And Out Of Cells

Diffusion

Diffusion is the net movement of particles from a region of their higher concentration to a region
of their lower concentration down a concentration gradient, as a result of their random
movement.

The constant random movement of particles (and their kinetic energy) allows diffusion to occur.
Ultimately this means that particles will spread out.
It is also important to understand that diffusion is quite often how molecules move in and out of
our cells through the cell membrane.

For example, the diagram below demonstrates a cell surrounded by nutrients (red dots). We can
see that on the left, there are a lot more nutrients outside the cell than inside the cell.

By diffusion, the nutrients will diffuse into the cell (from higher to lower concentration) until the
number of nutrients inside and outside the cell are balanced.
 There are certain factors that affect the rate of diffusion:

● Surface area
● The larger the surface area, the higher the rate of diffusion. This is because more
molecules at a given time will be diffusing.
● Temperature
● The higher the temperature, the higher the rate of diffusion. This is because molecules are
faster and have more kinetic energy with higher temperatures.
● Concentration gradients
● The higher the concentration gradient, the higher the rate of diffusion.
● Distance
● The shorter the distance, the higher the rate of diffusion. This is quite self-explanatory.
The shorter the distance the particles have to move, the quicker the process is going to be.

Osmosis

Concept of osmosis

Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a region of high-water potential (dilute
solution) to a region of low water potential (concentrated solution) through a partially permeable
membrane.

Think of osmosis as the diffusion of water across a partially permeable membrane. When we are
talking about water, we cannot use the term ‘concentration’ anymore because a concentration
denotes the amount of substance dissolved in water.

Because water cannot be dissolved in water, we need to use another term instead: Water
potential.

● For a very dilute solution, because it has a lot of water, it has a high-water potential.
● For a very concentrated solution, because it has less water, it has a low water potential.
So, let’s apply this concept to osmosis. Refer to this diagram:
The left-hand side of the beaker has less solutes dissolved so therefore the solution is more dilute
(or less concentrated) compared to the right-hand side.

Under normal circumstances, the sugar themselves will diffuse across from RHS to the LHS via
diffusion (as we talked about earlier). However, the sugar molecules are too large to pass through
the partially permeable membrane, and therefore cannot diffuse.

Water molecules however can pass by freely through the membrane. The molecules will travel
from the region of high-water potential to low water potential so therefore in this case, water will
move from the RHS to the LHS via osmosis.

Osmosis in plant & animal cells

Cell membranes are partially permeable so cells absorb or remove water via osmosis.
 Consider these scenarios:

1. Adding cell into pure water / dilute solution

● There will be higher water potential outside the cell than inside the cell and therefore
water will move in to the cell
● As water enters the cells they become ‘turgid’
● An animal cell can burst if too much water enters
● A plant cell has support from its cell wall and therefore will most likely maintain its
turgidity without bursting
2. Adding cell into concentrated solution
● There will be higher water potential inside the cell than the outside and therefore water
will move out of the cell
● As the water moves out, cells become ‘flaccid’
● An animal cell can become flaccid if too much water is lost
● A plant cell can become plasmolysed if too much water is lost. This is when the
cytoplasm shrinks due to the loss of water but the cell wall fails to shrink due to its
tough structure. The cytoplasm eventually tears away from the cell wall.

Active transport

Active transport is the movement of particles through a cell membrane from a region of lower
concentration to a region of higher concentration using energy from respiration.

Active transport is used in cases where diffusion or osmosis cannot be relied upon. For example,
if a cell wanted to absorb extra nutrients from outside the cell despite having a higher
concentration of those nutrients inside the cell. Diffusion wouldn’t work because the
concentration gradient is going the opposite way. These situations are encountered frequently in:

● Plant root hairs

● Villi epithelial cells

Active transport uses energy to oppose the concentration gradient and forcefully transport
molecules against it. Here is a simple diagram to help you visualize how it all works:

In the cell membranes of all cells, there are certain embedded protein molecules that carry out
this process. The protein basically ‘captures’ the molecules from one side of the cell, and it
changes shape in a way to transport the captured molecules to the other side of the cell. Energy
(from respiration) is required to alter the protein shape (referred as ATP in the diagram).

Biological molecules
 Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are used as a source of energy
for the body. There are three types of carbohydrates: Monosaccharides, disaccharides,
and polysaccharides.

● Monosaccharides (i.e. glucose) are the simplest form of sugars. They are a single unit and they
cannot be broken down any further to make a simpler sugar.
● Disaccharides are literally two monosaccharides joined together.
● Polysaccharides are large chains of monosaccharides joined together
● Starch is a polysaccharide made of large chains of glucose
● Glycogen is another polysaccharide made of large chains of glucose
● Cellulose is a polysaccharide made of large chains of glucose

Fats/oils

Fats are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The oxygen content is lower than in
carbohydrates. Fats have various purposes in the body:

● Source of energy. In fact, they have two times higher energy content than carbohydrates!
 ● Heat insulation
● Myelin sheath formation
● Cell membrane formation

Fats are made up of three fatty acid units attached to a single unit of glycerol:

Proteins

Proteins are made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur or phosphorus.
They are extremely important to the body and serve many different functions. here are a few:

● Growth
● Tissue repair
● Cell membrane formation
● Source of energy

Proteins are made of long chains of amino acids chemically bonded to each other. There are
about 20 different amino acids that are found in the human body. Different combinations of these
amino acids will give rise to different proteins.

For example, each of the different colored circles represent a different amino acid. They are
joined in a specific sequence as shown below:
It is really important to understand here that the final 3D structure of a protein is derived from
the specific interactions between amino acids that are joined in the protein chain.

The sequence of amino acids in the chain therefore creates the final shape of the protein, and the
shape is what gives the protein its function.

This diagram below represents how a single chain of amino acids eventually turns into a
complex 3D protein structure with a specific function.

For example: Consider amino acids A B C D and E. The hyphens represent a chemical bond
between the amino acids.
Protein 1: A-B-C-D-E
Protein 2: A-C-B-D-E

In the example above, protein 1 has amino acids A through to E joined in order. Protein 2 on the
other hand, has a slightly different amino acid sequence. Just from this slight difference in amino
acid order, protein 2 will be completely different from protein 1 in terms of its function and
structure. This is super important for you to understand.

Food testing

We can test for starch, monosaccharides, proteins, and fats in a given sample via the following
tests:

● Starch test [Starch test]

● Add a few drops of iodine solution
● Blue/black coloration means starch is present

● Benedict’s test [Monosaccharide test]

● Add equal amount of benedicts solution into a solution of food and boil gently
● A colour change (from blue) signifies presence and quantity of monosaccharides

● Biuret test [Protein test]

● Add an equal amount of sodium hydroxide to a solution of food and mix
● Add a few drops of 1% copper sulphate
● A violet colour signifies the presence of protein

● Emulsion test [Fat test]

● Dissolve food in ethanol and pour the solution into a clean tube of water
● White emulsion signifies the presence of fat
DNA structure

As you may already know, genetic information is stored inside our DNA. Whilst you do not need
to go into full depth with this, CIE wants you to understand the generic structure of a DNA
molecule:

So first of all, a DNA has a double helix structure whereby two strands are coiled together. Each
strand has chemicals called bases. The double helix is held together via pairs of bases that are
attracted to each other from one strand to the other.

Bases will always pair up in the same way. Adenine (A) will always pair with Thymine (T).
Cytosine (C) will always pair with Guanine (G). The diagram above demonstrates this pairing
(i.e. green is always bonded to purple and pink is always bonded to blue).

Water

CIE wants you to understand the importance of water. Indeed, water is essential to the human
body for many things. One of these things being the fact that water is an important solvent. This
means that nutrients and wastes can be dissolved in water so that it can be transported around the
body. Moreover, majority of our chemical reactions inside our bodies are controlled by enzymes.
Enzymes cannot work unless it is in solution (i.e. in the presence of water).
Enzymes
Enzymes

A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of chemical reaction and is not changed by the
reaction itself.

An enzyme is a biological catalyst that catalyzes many important reactions inside an organism
(such as respiration) and therefore necessary to sustain life.

How enzymes work is more easily shown through a diagram. Take a look below:

Firstly, a substrate is a substance that an enzyme act on. It is important to understand that
enzymes are very specific, and the reason for their specificity lies in their active sites – a region
of an enzyme that binds to a particular substrate. The shape of the active site of an enzyme is
complementary to only one specific substrate.

As demonstrated in the diagram, the green substrate has a shape that pairs impeccably with the
shape enzyme’s active site. As the enzyme binds with the substrate, an enzyme-substrate
complex is formed. The reaction then occurs on the enzyme and the enzyme-product complex is
formed. The products eventually leave the enzyme.

Enzyme activity VS Temperature & pH

There are certain factors that can impact enzyme activity. The two of which CIE wants you to
know is temperature and pH. But before getting into the details, you need to know that all
enzymes have an optimum temperature and an optimum pH. These are certain temperatures or
pH in which a particular enzyme work best in, and it can vary between different enzymes.
For any given enzyme, if the conditions stray too far from the optimum, then denaturation can
occur. This is when extreme non-ideal conditions (i.e. high temperatures or very low/high pH)
causes chemical bonds in the enzymes to break apart. This results in the change in shape of the
enzyme’s active site. Remember, the active site has a very special shape and it fits only one
specific type (and shape) of substrate. An alteration in active site will therefore cause the enzyme
to lose function.

Temperature and enzyme activity

Low temperatures reduce the rate of chemical reactions in general. This is because molecules
need to collide with one another and have enough energy for a reaction to occur. In low
temperatures, molecules are traveling at lower speeds (less energy) and therefore the rate of
successful collisions are lower. Moreover, even when collisions do occur, the molecules may
have insufficient kinetic energies to begin with, and therefore the reaction may not
occur. Enzyme activity is therefore low in low temperatures. It is important to note however, that
low temperatures do not denature enzymes.

Higher temperatures generally increase the rate of chemical reactions. Molecules are faster and
have more kinetic energy. This means that rate of successful molecular collisions is higher, and
most molecules will have sufficient energy required for the reaction. However, temperatures that
are far beyond the optimum temperature of the enzymes can start to denature it, and reduce
enzyme activity as a result. Most enzymes have an optimum temperature of approximately 37
degrees in the human body, and start getting denatured at above 50 degrees.

pH and enzyme activity

The optimum pH of an enzyme can vary. Pepsin is an enzyme found in the stomach’s acidic
conditions and therefore made to work best in a pH of approximately 2. Amylase on the other
hand, is found in saliva (more neutral conditions) and therefore has an optimum pH of 7. Very
high or very low pH’s can denature these enzymes if it deviates too much from their optimum.

Plant Nutrition
Photosynthesis

Background

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants manufacture carbohydrates from raw materials
using energy from light:
Chlorophyll is where photosynthesis happens. It transfers light energy into chemical energy for
the synthesis of carbohydrates (i.e. glucose).

The glucose is then either converted to sucrose for transport around the plant or starch for
storage.

Glucose is too reactive to be transported around the plant on its own. There it has to to be
converted to sucrose first.

It is the same story with storage. Glucose cannot be stored due to its reactivity, so therefore it
must be converted to starch first.

Limiting factor

The term limiting factor is something present in the environment in such a short supply that it
restricts life processes.

For instance, if there was a shortage of carbon dioxide but all other raw materials were in
abundance, then carbon dioxide would be the limiting factor for photosynthesis. If there was a
shortage of chlorophyll, then that would become the limiting factor instead.

Investigations

Necessity of chlorophyll, light, and carbon dioxide

The equation for photosynthesis shows that chlorophyll, light, and carbon dioxide (and water)
are required, otherwise it won’t work… But can we prove it? We sure can.

In a nutshell, what we need to do is get a functioning plant and deprive it of each of these factors
individually and prove that the plant stops photosynthesizing when these factors are absent.

The way to do that is pretty simple. First of all, we are going to de-starch all our plants by
leaving the plants in the dark for 48 hours. During this period the plants will be unable to
photosynthesize and therefore use up all its starch for respiration. This means that in the
beginning of our experiments, all plants (test and control) will have absolutely no starch in them.
This means that after the experiment, if we do a starch test (iodine test) and we find starch is
present, it would indicate that photosynthesis had occurred.

It is to note however that we can’t just add iodine onto a fresh leaf and expect results. First of all,
we need to break the leaf so that iodine can seep in to begin with. Moreover, we need to remove
the chlorophyll to decolourise the leaf so that the colour change from iodine is easier to see. So
here are the steps we need to take:

● Boil the leaf in water

● Kills the leaf to make it permeable
● Boil the leaf in ethanol
● Chlorophyll dissolves and the leaf decolourise
● Rinse the leaf in water
● Spread the leaf out on a white tile
● Add iodine solution

To investigate the effect of light on photosynthesis, we need to partially cover the leaves of the
plant and leave it under sunlight. The covered areas will be deprived of light whereas the rest
will be exposed. A starch test is then carried out after a few hours. The results should show that
the covered areas have a negative starch test (i.e. no photosynthesis) whereas the exposed areas
have a positive starch test.

To investigate the effect of carbon dioxide on photosynthesis, we place a test plant in a

container with a carbon dioxide absorber (i.e. sodium hydroxide) and a control plant without the
absorber. The absorber will remove the carbon dioxide.
A starch test is then carried out after several hours. The results should show that the test plant has
a negative result whereas the control plant has a positive one.

To investigate the effect of chlorophyll on photosynthesis, we need to use a plant with

variegated leaves. This means some parts of the leaf have chlorophyll whereas other parts do not
(and are whiter thus).

After several hours, a starch test is carried out. The results should show that parts of the leaf
without chlorophyll will show negative results whereas the parts that do have chlorophyll will
show a positive result.
Effect of light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration, and temperature on rate of
photosynthesis

You need to be aware of a couple of different graphs. They are quite simple so don’t worry.

● Graph 1: Rate of photosynthesis increases with light intensity until it plateaus. The graph
plateaus because something else becomes the limiting factor (i.e. carbon dioxide). This
means that even with a stronger light intensity, there may not be enough carbon dioxide to
make the rate of photosynthesis even faster.
● Graph 2: Rate of photosynthesis increases with increasing carbon dioxide concentration.
Again, at a certain point the graph will plateau. In this case, the light may become the
limiting factor.
● Graph 3: The rate of photosynthesis increases with temperature until the graph reverses and
eventually drops down to zero. This is because high temperatures will denature enzymes
that are required for photosynthesis.

Leaf structure

You need to know the structure of a leaf, and how this structure is adapted for photosynthesis.
We will go through the functions of each of the structures in the diagram above:

● Cuticle – Made of wax which waterproofs the leaf

● Upper epidermis – A barrier against disease organism. The cells are thin and transparent to
allow light to enter the leaf.
● Palisade mesophyll – Main site of photosynthesis. Cells are long and packed with
chloroplasts to trap light energy. They receive carbon dioxide via diffusion from air spaces
in the spongy mesophyll
● Spongy mesophyll – Cells are spherical and loosely packed. They contain chloroplasts but
not as many as the palisade layer. Loose packing creates air spaces and this allows gas
exchange (i.e. carbon dioxide to the cells, and oxygen from the cells)
● Vascular bundle – Contains xylem and phloem. Xylem vessels bring water and minerals to
the leaf. Phloem vessels transport sugars and amino acids away from the leaf to the rest of
the plant (translocation)
● Lower epidermis – Acts as a protective layer. It contains the stomata
● Stomata – These are gaps in the underside of the leaf, surrounding by a pair of guard cells.
The guard cells control whether the stoma is open or closed. It is through stomata that
carbon dioxide diffuses into the leaf and oxygen diffuses out. Water vapour is also lost
through this structure in transpiration.

Mineral requirements

There are two important mineral requirements for plants that you need to be aware of.

Firstly, nitrate ions are important for plants as they are used in building amino acids (which
eventually become proteins). A nitrate ion deficiency would slow down the growth of the plant,
the stem would weaken. Lower leaves will turn yellowish and the upper leaves will become pale
green as they die off.

Secondly, magnesium ions are required to make chlorophyll. If a plant has a magnesium ion
deficiency then they will lack chlorophyll. Leaves turn yellow from the bottom of the stem
upwards and plant growth will slow down due to reduced photosynthesis.

Human Nutrition
Balanced diet

A balanced human diet contains all essential ingredients in the correct proportions

There are certain factors that affect diet such as:

● Age – Children require more protein per kg of body weight than adults
● Gender – Males generally use more energy than females
● Activity – Higher levels of physical activity will increase demand for nutrients
● Pregnancy – Higher demands for nutrients in order to supply fetus with energy for
development
● Breast feeding mother – Higher requirements for vitamin and water

Malnutrition

Malnutrition is the lack of a balanced diet such as deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a

person’s intake of nutrients.

Malnutrition can lead to consequences such as:

● Obesity (excessive nutrients)

● Starvation (insufficient nutrients)
● Coronary heart disease (excessive saturated fat and cholesterol)
● Kwashiorkor (too much carbohydrates, too little protein)
● Constipation (lack of fibre)
Essential nutrients

Alimentary canal

Useful definitions

● Ingestion – Taking in of substances e.g. food and drink into the body through the mouth
● Egestion – Passing out of food (as feces) that has not been digested or absorbed via the
anus
● Mechanical digestion – Break down of food into smaller pieces without chemical change
to food molecules
● Chemical digestion – Break down of large insoluble molecules into small, soluble
molecules
● Absorption – Movement of chemically digested food molecules through the small intestine
walls into the blood
● Assimilation – Movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body where they
are used and become a part of the cells
Structure and function
Mouth

This is the location of ingestion. Mechanical digestion of food occurs as we chew on it with our
teeth. Chemical digestion occurs due to amylase enzymes in our saliva which break down starch
into maltose.

Esophagus

Round clumps of food (boluses) are passed down the esophagus via peristalsis from the mouth to
the stomach.

Peristalsis is the contraction and relaxation of the esophagus wall muscles which creates a
wave-like motion that pushes the food down the canal.

Stomach

Mechanical digestion occurs as the stomach walls squeeze the food to liquefy it.

Gastric juices contain pepsin (a protease) which chemically digests proteins. It also contains
hydrochloric acid which kill bacteria, but also maintains an optimum acidic pH for pepsin.

Pancreas

The pancreas secretes pancreatic juice into the duodenum.

The juice contains a large variety of different enzymes involved in the chemical digestion of
food.

● Proteases break down proteins

● Lipases break down lipids
● Amylases break down carbohydrates

Most enzymes in the pancreatic juice have an optimum pH of around 7. The pH of pancreatic
juice is slightly alkaline, and this is to neutralize the acidity of the food coming from the
stomach.

Duodenum

This is the first part of the small intestine. It receives pancreatic juice which contains enzymes
for the chemical digestion of food.

Ileum
This is the second part of the small intestine. The inner walls have finger-like extensions called
villi which massively increases the surface area for nutrient absorption.

Liver

The liver produces a substance called bile which is stored in the gall bladder.

Bile has the function of emulsifying fat into droplets to increase the surface area for lipases to
come and digest them.

Bile is also basic which assists in neutralizing the acidity of the food coming from the stomach.

Colon

This is the second part of the large intestine. The main function of the colon is to reabsorb water
from undigested food and also bile salts to return back to the liver.

Rectum

The rectum stores feces until it is egested

Anus

Muscles control egestion of feces

Cholera infection

Cholera bacteria releases toxins which causes chloride ions to be secreted into the small
intestine. This causes the osmotic movement of water into the gut, and leads to diarrhea.

NOTE: Diarrhea is defined as the loss of watery feces

Diarrhea can be treated using oral rehydration therapy. It involves drinking water with modest
amounts of sugar and salts, specifically sodium and potassium.

Mechanical digestion

Types of human teeth

Mechanical digestion involves physically breaking food into smaller pieces, and our teeth serve
exactly that function!

There are four types of teeth:

● Molar
● Located at back of mouth
● 4 or 5 cusps
● 2 or 3 roots
● Used for chewing and grinding food
● Used for chewing and grinding food
● Pre-molar
● Behind canines
● 2 cusps
● 1 or 2 roots
● Used to tear and grind food
● Canine
● On either side of incisors
● More pointy than incisors
● Used to bite pieces of food
● Incisor
● In front of the mouth
● Chisel shaped
● Used to bite off food pieces
Structure of human teeth
Dental decay

● Dental decay is caused by bacteria which is present on the surface of our teeth.
● The bacteria and food deposits form a layer called plaque.
● Bacteria in plaque feed on sugars which produce acid that dissolves the enamel, resulting in
a hole.
● As the hole deepens it may eventually reach the nerves which result in pain i.e. tooth ache.

Proper dental care

 ● Avoid sugary food so that bacteria cannot make acid
● Regular cleaning to remove plaque
● Use floss to remove trapped food
● Visit the dentist regularly for treating early decay and removal of thick plaque

Chemical digestion

Chemical digestion involves breaking down large, insoluble food into smaller soluble nutrients
that can be absorbed and used by the cells.

Chemical digestion is carried out by enzymes. A lot about chemical digestion has already been
covered above in regards to the alimentary canal, and what enzymes are found where.

Summary of enzymes that you should be aware of:

Remember, the acidic pH of the stomach is maintained by hydrochloric acid which also kills
bacteria via denaturing their enzymes.

The alkaline conditions of the small intestine is maintained by pancreatic juice and bile. The bile
also has the function of emulsifying fats into droplets to increase the surface area for digestion

Absorption
After large food molecules get digested by enzymes, the small soluble nutrients diffuse into the
small intestine walls and then into the blood.

Sometimes the concentration of nutrients i.e. glucose may be higher in the blood than in the
small intestine. In such cases diffusion cannot be relied upon. Instead, active transport is used
for absorption.

Absorption is defined as the movement of small food molecules and ions through the wall of the
intestine into the blood. It can either be done through diffusion or active transport.

The inner walls of the small intestine have finger-like structures called villi which greatly
increases the surface area of absorption.

Structure of a villus

● Blood vessels/capillaries
● Absorbs glucose and amino acids by diffusion
● Lacteal
● Absorbs fatty acids and glycerol
● Epithelial lining
● One cell thick to increase diffusion rate
● Microvilli increase surface area even further
Plant Transport
Xylem and phloem

Function

The transport system in plants is mainly made of the xylem and phloem tissue.

● Xylem tissue transports water, mineral ions, and solutes from the roots to the leaves.
● Phloem tissue transports nutrients from the leaves to the rest of the plant.

Structure

You need to be able to recognize the xylem & phloem in three different parts of the plant: leaf,
stem, and root

Leaf
Stem

Root
Water uptake in roots

Root structure

Water, mineral ions, and other nutrients are absorbed into the plants via the roots.

Root hair cells are cellular extensions which drastically increase the surface area for absorption.

Waters moves from the soil into the xylem via osmosis.
Pathway of water through a plant

Movement in the root

Water in the soil is absorbed into the root hair cells via osmosis. It then makes it way through the
root cortex, across the endodermis, and into finally into the xylem.

Movement in the xylem

Water moves up the xylem due to a combination of factors that include: transpiration pool, root
pressure, and cohesion.

Transpiration pool is when water leaves the leaf via transpiration and therefore results
in negative pressure at the top of the plant.

Root pressure is when water is absorbed in the roots via osmosis resulting to positive pressure at
the bottom of the plant.

A column of water is drawn up the plant from low to high pressure. Water molecules ‘stick
together’ due to cohesion allowing the entire column of water to be drawn.
Water movement in the xylem is much like water movement in a straw. When you stuck on the
top end of the straw it reduces pressure compared to the bottom of the straw. A column of liquid
is therefore drawn from low to high pressure. The liquid column sticks together due to cohesion.

Movement in the leaf

Water enters the leaf through the vascular bundle and can move directly into palisade or spongy
mesophyll cells to be used for photosynthesis.

Otherwise water evaporates into the air spaces in the spongy mesophyll layer, where they diffuse
out via the stomata. We call this transpiration.

Transpiration

Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from leaves via the stomata.

Once water enters the leaf via the xylem vessels of the vascular bundle, it travels to the
mesophyll cells to be used in photosynthesis.

Some water remains on the surfaces of these mesophyll cells and evaporate into the air spaces of
the spongy mesophyll layer. Water vapour diffuses out of the leave via the stomata.

Factors that affect transpiration rate are:

● Temperature
● Higher temperatures result in faster moving molecules and therefore increases diffusion
rate, which in turn, increases transpiration rate
● Humidity
● Higher humidity results in a lower concentration gradient and thus reduces diffusion
rate, which in turn, reduces transpiration rate

Translocation

Translocation is the movement of sucrose and amino acids in the phloem from the source to the
sink.

● Source is the region of production

● Sink is the region of storage OR where they are used in respiration or growth

Some parts of the plant may act as a source and sink at different times during the plant life.
 ● Leaves are the source most of the time but can become a sink in periods of growth i.e. after
autumn when plants growth their leaves again

Animal Transport
Circulatory system

The circulatory system is a system of blood vessels with a pump and valves to ensure one-way
flow of blood.

● Single circulation means blood passes through the heart only once i.e. fish
● Double circulation means blood passes through the heart twice i.e. mammals

Double circulation is advantageous because it maintains a higher blood pressure compared to a

single circulation system.

Blood flow around the body

All mammals (including humans) have a double circulatory system of blood flow.
 1. Deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium (RA)
2. Deoxygenated blood enters the right ventricle (RV)
3. Deoxygenated blood is pumped by the RV to the lungs to become oxygenated
4. Oxygenated blood enters the left atrium (LA)
5. Oxygenated blood enters the left ventricle (LV)
6. Oxygenated blood is pumped by the LV to the rest of the body
7. Body cells use the oxygen and cause the blood to become deoxygenated
8. Deoxygenated blood returns to the heart and the cycle repeats (step 1)

It is very important to understand these steps now so that it makes life easier when we dive
deeper into the heart structure later.

Heart structure and function

Structure of the heart

It is extremely important you familiarize yourself with the different structures of the heart and
the direction of blood flow through it
Vena cava → Right atrium → Atrioventricular valve → Right ventricle → Semilunar valve →
Pulmonary artery → Lungs →Pulmonary vein → Left atrium → Atrioventricular valve → Left
ventricle → Semi-lunar valve → Aorta → Body → Vena cava

Functions of the different structures

Atrium

The right and left atrium contracts to pump blood into the right and left ventricles respectively

Ventricles

The right ventricle contracts to pump blood to the lungs (to become oxygenated).

The left ventricle contracts to pump blood to the rest of the body. It has a thicker wall than the
right ventricle because it needs to pump blood further, and therefore needs more force.

Atrioventricular valves

The atrioventricular valves separate the atrium and ventricles on both sides of the heart.

These valves prevent the backflow of blood, thus ensuring a one-way flow of blood from the
atria to the ventricles.

Semilunar valves

Semilunar valves are found within the pulmonary arteries and the aorta. They prevent the
backflow of blood and ensures unidirectional blood flow in the arteries.

Pulmonary artery

The pulmonary artery carries blood from the right ventricle to the lungs

Pulmonary vein

The pulmonary vein carries blood from the lungs to the left atrium

Aorta

The aorta is a large artery which carries blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body
Vena cava

The vena cava is a large vein which carries deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart
(right atrium)

Septum

The septum is a thick muscular wall which separates the right and left side of the heart. This
separation is important to ensure that oxygenated and deoxygenated blood does not mix.

Activity of the heart

Physical activity increases heart rate

Heart rate is the rate at which the heart beats. The most common way to measure heart rate is by
measuring the pulse rate.

The pulse rate is exactly equal to the heart rate, as the contractions of the heart cause the
increases in blood pressure in the arteries that lead to a noticeable pulse.

Physical activity increases the energy demand in muscles such as the arms and legs. With an
increased rate of respiration, blood must be travel quicker to the muscles to supply them of
oxygen/nutrients whilst also removing waste products such as carbon dioxide. The heart rate
therefore increases to meet these demands.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

An electrocardiogram is a device which can track heart activity. It can accurately measure pulse
rates via the opening and closing of heart valves.

Details regarding the electrocardiogram is not required

Coronary heart disease

What is coronary heart disease

So far, we know that the heart functions as a pump which delivers blood to the rest of the body.
However, the heart muscles themselves also need a blood supply because they too, are respiring
muscles.

The coronary artery is the very important artery which provides the heart muscles with blood.
Coronary heart disease is when the coronary artery becomes blocked, leading to blood (and
oxygen) starvation in the heart muscles. This leads to a heart attack.

Causes

Blockage of the coronary artery begins by the narrowing of the artery due to cholesterol build up
on the inner walls.

Total blockage can occur when a blood clot gets ‘stuck’ in these narrow arteries.
Risk factors

There are certain factors that increase the risk of an individual developing coronary heart
disease:

● Poor diet
● Stress
● Smoking
● Genetics
● Age
● Gender

Treatment with medications

Blood thinning medications are used to reduce the chances of a blood clot forming

Treatment with surgery

● Stents are a tube-shaped device which is placed inside the coronary arteries to physically
hold it open

● Angioplasty is a stent with a balloon which can be inflated once the stent is inserted to even
further increase the diameter of the artery
● Bypass is the process of making a separate ‘new’ artery to allow for an alternative blood
path that the heart can use to receive blood (rather than relying only on the coronary artery)
Blood vessels

Blood vessels are a tubular structure carrying blood through the tissues and organs. Starting from
the heart, the pathway of blood is as follows:

[HEART] → Artery → Arteriole → Capillary → Venule → Vein → [HEART]

You do not need to know all the details of this diagram. Just concentrate on the arrangement of
the vessels i.e. how the artery branches out into arterioles which branch further into capillaries.
Also notice how capillaries join to form venules which join further to become the vein.

Arteries

Arteries take blood away from the heart. They have several important structural features:

● Thick muscular walls to withstand blood being carried at high pressures

● Narrow lumen which expands as blood pulsates through to maintain blood pressure
● Valves absent since high blood pressures prevent back flow
Arterioles

Arterioles are smaller branches of an artery. They eventually branch further to form capillaries.

● Arterioles have muscular/elastic walls that can constrict & dilate in order to regulate blood
flow.

Capillaries

Capillaries are fine branching blood vessels that form a network between the arterioles and
venule.

They allow for the nutrient & waste exchange between the blood and the tissues of the body. The
features of capillaries are as follows:

● Walls are one cell thick to allow for quick diffusion of diffuse rates of nutrients/wastes
● Lumen has a diameter of just one RBC to allow blood cells to pass closely to the walls for
faster diffusion rates
● Valves are absent since the narrow capillary lumen ensures unidirectional blood flow

Venules

Venules are small vessels formed from the joining of the capillaries. Venules combine to
establish a vein.

Veins

Veins take the blood towards the heart. Their structural features are as follows:

● Thin walls with little muscle & elastic fibres (thick muscles not required since blood is
carried at low pressure)
● Large lumen to reduce blood flow resistance
● Valves present to prevent blood back flow

Shunt vessels

Shunt vessels are blood vessels that connect blood directly from the arterioles to the venules.
This allows for an alternative route for blood flow (i.e. blood bypasses the capillaries).
Like arterioles, shunt vessels have walls that can construct & dilate in order to regulate blood
flow.

Tissue fluid

Tissue fluid is the fluid which bathes most body tissues.

The fluid is the mode of nutrient & waste exchange between the blood and respiring tissues.

For example:

● Waste products (such as carbon dioxide) from cells diffuse into the tissue fluid first before
diffusing in the blood
● Nutrients (such as glucose) diffuse into the tissue fluid first before diffusing into the cells

Tissue fluid is produced by leakage of certain substances from blood capillaries, and drained out
by the lymphatic vessels of the lymphatic system.
Details of tissue fluid production and drainage are NOT required. Just understand that blood
capillaries LEAK tissue fluid and the tissue fluid is DRAINED by lymphatic vessels. The tissue
fluid inside lymph vessels are called LYMPH.

The lymphatic system is composed of lymphatic vessels which carry “lymph” and lymph nodes
which produce lymphocytes for immunity.

Blood

Blood is a mixture of several components such as:

● Red blood cells (RBCs)

● White blood cells (WBCs)
● Platelets
● Plasma

Plasma

Blood plasma makes up about 50% of the blood. It is a yellowish liquid that carries the other
blood components such as RBCs/WBCs/platelets.

Red blood cells

Red blood cells contain hemoglobin which binds to oxygen for transportation around the body.

White blood cells

White blood cells are part of the immune system that helps to destroy foreign organisms such as
bacteria.

There are two types of white blood cells that you need to be aware of:

● Phagocytes are types of WBCs which engulf and digest pathogens via phagocytosis
● Lymphocytes are WBCs which produce antibodies

More will be learnt about phagocytosis and antibodies in the next chapter

Platelets

Platelets are substances that form blood clots which is a protective mechanism to prevent blood
loss during an injury.

At the site of damage, platelets immediately stick together and release chemical signals which
attract other nearby cells and clump them together.

A series of chemical reactions takes place. Fibrinogen is converted into fibrin and this forms a
thread which traps RBCs to establish a thick clot. The clot seals off the site of damage.

Diseases and Immunity

Pathogen and disease

A pathogen is defined as a disease-causing organism. Each pathogen has a uniquely shaped

‘marker’ on the surface of their membranes called antigens.
It is very important to understand that antigens are very specific in shape. Every pathogen is
unique because they have differently shaped antigens on their cell surfaces!

A transmissible disease is a disease in which the pathogen can be passed from one host to
another. The pathogen can be transmitted through direct contact (i.e. blood/body fluids) or
indirect contact (i.e. contaminated food/air/animals/etc.)

Body defenses

In order to protect ourselves from pathogens and disease, our body has several protective
mechanisms in place.

Mechanical barriers

Mechanical barriers act as a physical obstruction in order to prevent pathogens from entering our
body. For example:

● Skin
● Nose hairs

Chemical barriers

Chemical barriers are chemical substances in the body which help to trap or destroy pathogens.
For example:

● Mucus
● Traps bacteria that enters the respiratory system via air. The mucus is then beat upwards
by the cilia and pushed up to the mouth.
● Stomach acid
● The acidity kills pathogens that enter our digestive system via the food we eat.
Cellular barriers

Cellular barriers are the protection offered by the cells of our immune system, which take part in
combating against pathogens and disease. For example:

● Lymphocytes (which produce antibodies)

● Phagocytes

Antibodies and phagocytes will be covered in detail below

Cellular barriers

Phagocytosis

Phagocytosis is the mechanism by which phagocytes digest pathogens.

The steps of phagocytosis are as follows:

● Phagocyte extends itself and engulfs the pathogen

● Pathogen becomes trapped in a vesicle called phagosome
● Other vesicles containing digestive enzymes fuse with the phagosome
● Enzymes digest the pathogen

Antibodies

Function

Antibodies are proteins produced by cells called lymphocytes.

They bind to the antigens on pathogens and can either:

● Destroy the pathogen directly

OR
● Alert phagocytes for destruction via phagocytosis

Remember, each pathogen has a uniquely shaped antigen on their cell surfaces. Therefore, for a
particular antibody to aid the destruction of a certain pathogen, the shape of the antigen must be
‘fit’ or be ‘complementary’ to the shape of that particular antigen!

In the example below, only antibody A can ‘lock’ onto antigen A and therefore aid its
destruction. Antibody B cannot due to the fact that it does not have a complementary shape to
antigen A.

Production

Antibodies are produced by lymphocytes. Lymphocytes have receptors in their cell membranes
that have a complementary shape to a certain antigen.

Let’s consider lymphocyte A which have receptors that have a complementary shape to antigen
A.

When a lymphocyte A comes across a pathogen with antigen A on its cell surface, their receptors
can recognize the antigen and activate lymphocyte A.

The activated lymphocyte A then produces antibodies that have the same shape as their
receptors, meaning that these antibodies can lock onto antigen A and destroy them.
Activated lymphocytes also produce memory cells, which are long-lived cells that remain in the
blood even after the infection is over. They have the ability to rapidly produce the original
antibodies if it were to come across the same pathogen/antigen again.

Vaccination

Vaccination is a treatment with a vaccine to evoke immunity to a certain antigen.

The vaccination processes

The process of vaccination is as follows:

● A harmless variant on a certain antigen is introduced to the body i.e. via needle
● Immune response is triggered and activate lymphocytes produce antibodies and memory
cells to fight against the antigen variant
● Therefore, if the real antigen/pathogen eventually makes its way inside the body, there are
pre-established antibodies/memory cells which can rapidly fight against it.
Controlling the spread of disease

Herd immunity is the idea that if most people of a population is immune to a disease, then the
population becomes significantly resistant to the spread of that disease.

In other words, if majority of the population is immunized, it protects the people that are not.

Other consideration for controlling the spread of disease is as follows:

● Personal hygiene
● Food hygiene
● Waste disposal
● Sewage treatment

Passive immunity

Passive immunity is a short-term defense again a pathogen by antibodies transferred from one
individual to another (rather than making their own).

For example, children benefit from the antibodies present in the mother’s breast milk.

Autoimmune disease

Some diseases are caused by the immune system targeting and destroying friendly body cells.

Type 1 diabetes is an example of an autoimmune disease whereby immune cells attack insulin
producing beta cells in the pancreas.

Gas Exchange in Humans

Respiratory system

The respiratory system is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used
for gas exchange.

Gas exchange (in humans) is the delivery of oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream, and the
elimination of carbon dioxide from the bloodstream to the lungs.
The air enters the nasal cavity and makes its way down the trachea and into the lungs. The
trachea branches into bronchi, which branches further into bronchioles.

The trachea is surrounded by cartilage which strengthens and supports the trachea.

The rib cage (not shown in the diagram) surrounds the lungs and its contents. It acts as a
protective barrier and plays a vital role in inhalation and exhalation.

At the end of the bronchioles we find alveoli which is the gas exchange surface of the human
respiratory system. The alveoli are the site at which oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide.
The alveoli have an extremely large surface area for gas exchange, and are surrounded by
numerous capillaries to allow good ventilation with air.

Inhalation and exhalation

Inhalation allows the body to obtain oxygen from air, and exhalation allows the excretion of
carbon dioxide.

To understand how inhalation and exhalation works, it is important to understand the concept of
thoracic volume i.e. the volume of the thorax.

Thoracic volume and air pressure

Air will always move from higher air pressure to lower air pressure.

● When the thorax volume increases it reduces the air pressure inside the thorax (below
atmospheric pressure). Air therefore travels into the body i.e. inhalation
● When the thorax volume decreases it increases the air pressure inside the thorax (above
atmospheric pressure). Air therefore travels out of the body i.e. exhalation

Thorax is the part of the body of a mammal between the neck and the abdomen

The volume of the thorax is dependent on two factors:

 ● Position of the rib cage
● Position of the diaphragm

Inhalation

During inhalation, the thoracic volume increases to make the air pressure in the thorax to fall
below atmospheric levels, and thus forcing air into the body.

This increase in thoracic volume is due to:

● Contraction of external intercostal muscles which cause the ribs to move up and out
● Contract of diaphragm which causes the dome-shape to flatten

Exhalation

During exhalation, the thoracic volume decreases to make the air pressure in the thorax above
atmospheric levels, and thus forcing air out of the body.

The decrease in thoracic volume is due to:

● Relaxation of intercoastal muscles causing the rib cage to move down and in
● Relaxation of the diaphragm resulting in the original dome-shaped appearance

Air composition
The air composition of inspired and expired air is different. Inspired air has more oxygen, whilst
expired air has more carbon dioxide (for obvious reasons of respiration). Nitrogen remains
constant as our bodies cannot make use of nitrogen gas.

The limewater test can confirm the elevated presence of carbon dioxide in expired air. It is a
clear liquid which turns milky when it reacts with carbon dioxide. Blowing into limewater with a
straw will indeed because it became milky.

Physical activity on breathing

With physical activity both the rate and depth of breathing increases.

Exercise means body cells respire more rapidly. More carbon dioxide is produced as a result and
the increased carbon dioxide concentration in the blood leads to an increase in blood acidity i.e.
decreased blood pH.

The brain detects the increased blood acidity and signals for the increase in breathing rate and
depth to allow carbon dioxide to be excreted quicker. It also of course allows oxygen to get to
respiring cells faster as well.

Respiration
Aerobic respiration

Aerobic respiration is defined as chemical reactions in cells that use oxygen to break down
nutrient molecules to release energy.

The energy released from respiration are used for various things in the body:
 ● Muscle contraction
● Protein synthesis
● Cell division
● Active transport
● Growth
● Passage of nerve impulses
● Maintenance of constant body temperature

Investigation: Oxygen uptake by respiring organisms

A simple respirometer is used. An organism is placed in the boiling tube on top of the wire
gauze. A capillary tube connected to the boiling tube is measured against a ruler, and a colored
dye is introduced into it.

With the starting point of the dye measured, the dye will move towards the boiling tube as the
organism uses up the oxygen in the air.

The carbon dioxide produced by the organism is eliminated/absorbed by the soda lime, and
therefore does will affect the dye position.

We can measure the rate of respiration by calculating the distance traveled by the dye and
dividing it by the time it took.
Investigation: The effect on temperature on rate of respiration of germinating seeds

The experimental set up for this experiment is virtually the same before.

Germinating seeds are placed in a boiling tube on a wire gauze. Soda lime is placed at the bottom
(to absorb CO2) and the boiling tube is placed in a water bath of a known temperature (i.e. 30
degrees)

A capillary tube is connected to the boiling tube, with colored dye introduced. The initial
position of the dye is measured against a ruler and as the seeds respire, the dye will move
towards the boiling tube.

The rate of respiration for that particular temperature (i.e. 30 degrees) is calculated:
The experiment can be repeated multiple times to calculate and compare the rate of respiration at
different temperatures i.e. 40°C, 50°C, etc.

Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration is defined as chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient
molecules to release energy without oxygen.

Anaerobic respiration releases less energy per glucose than aerobic respiration, so it is less
efficient.

The equation for anaerobic respiration is different between our muscles and yeast:

● In muscles:

● In yeast

Lactic acid

Oxygen debt

During vigorous exercise muscles may not be receiving oxygen quick enough for aerobic
respiration. In such instances, anaerobic respiration occurs in order to supply the muscles with
energy despite the lack of oxygen.
As we see in the equation above, anaerobic respiration in muscles produces lactic acid, which is
a toxic waste product.

Oxygen is required to remove lactic acid once the exercise stops, and therefore we call this
‘oxygen debt’ i.e. the body ‘borrowed’ oxygen during anaerobic respiration, and must pay it
back to remove the lactic acid.

Lactic acid removal

Lactic acid is aerobically respired in the liver.

Even after exercise stops, the heart rate remains quick and the breathing rate remains deep.

● Fast heart rate allows lactic acid to be transported quickly from the muscles to the liver
● Deep breathing rate allows sufficient supply of oxygen to aerobically respire/remove the
lactic acid

Excretion
Excretion is defined as the removal of toxic materials, the waste products of metabolism, and
substances in excess of requirements in the body.

For example:

● Kidneys excrete urea and excess water and salts to form urine
● Lungs excrete carbon dioxide

Urea is the waste product formed in the liver, urine is made in the kidneys and is the combination
of urea with water and other salts

Urea is formed by deamination. Deamination is the removal of the nitrogen containing part of
excess amino acids to form urea.

Urinary system

Production and removal of urine

The urinary system is composed of the kidneys, ureter, the bladder, and the urethra.

1. Urea is made in the liver, and enters the kidneys.

2. Urea, water and other substances make urine
3. Urine is passed onto the bladder to be stored (via the ureter)
4. The urine is eventually excreted from the body through the urethra

Volume and concentration of urine

The volume and concentration of urine may depend on certain factors:

● Hydration
● More water intake leads to more excess water. This means the volume of urine will
increase and the concentration will decrease
● Hot-temperatures (dehydration)
● Dehydration results in less excess water. This means the volume of urine will decrease
and the concentration will increase
Kidney

Structure of the kidney

Kidney tubules (nephrons)

The medulla of the kidneys is made of kidney tubules called nephrons.

The glomerulus (beginning of the tubule) filters water, glucose, urea and salts from the blood.
The rest of the tubule reabsorbs most (but not all) of the glucose, water and salts back. The urea
remains in the tubule.

The urea along with the other remaining components in the tubule is urine. The urine leaves the
kidney via the ureter and eventually leaves the body through the urethra.

Kidney machines
As detailed above, the kidneys play a major role is removing the urea from our blood.

If a patient has kidney dysfunction, then other methods must be used to remove the urea instead.

Kidney dialysis

Kidney dialysis is the method of removing urea from the blood via diffusion.

The blood is extracted and made to pass through tubes in the dialysis machine (see diagram
above).

The tubes have a semi-permeable membrane, and the fluid outside of the tube is called the
bathing liquid.

The bathing liquid is made to have a similar concentration of substances as the blood except
urea.

The low urea concentrations in the bathing liquid means that urea will diffuse out of the blood as
it passes through the tube in the machine.

Other important substances such as glucose, proteins, etc. will remain in the blood because there
is no concentration gradient between the bathing fluid & the blood.

Kidney transplant

The main advantage of a kidney transplant as opposed to kidney machines is that they can return
to a normalized lifestyle (i.e. no need for regular visits to use the machine). Moreover, it would
save the cost of using the kidney machines themselves.
However, for a kidney transplant to work a suitable donor is required which may often be
difficult to find. Moreover, there is always the chance of a tissue rejection.

Coordination and Response

Nervous control in humans

Human nervous system is composed of the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral
nervous system.

The CNS is the brain and the spinal cord, whereas the peripheral nervous system is the nerves
and neurons which connect the CNS to the rest of the body.

Nervous impulses are electrical signals that pass along neurons to transmit information to and
from the brain.

The general nervous pathway

We have various sense organs in our body. Sense organs have the ability to detect certain sensory
stimuli.

● Skin = touch i.e. pain, pressure, temperature etc.

● Eyes = light
● Nose = smell
● Ears = noise
● Tongue = taste

When these sense organs detect stimuli, they send raw information to the brain (CNS) via
nervous impulses in the sensory neurons.

The brain then interprets the information. If an action is required, then the brain will send
impulses to the relevant muscles via motor neurons to carry out this action. These muscles are
called effectors.

Sensory receptor -> Sensory neuron -> CNS -> Motor neuron -> Effector
Example 1

Imagine putting a piece of food in your mouth. You find it to be overly disgusting and you
therefore decide to spit it out.

● Your tongue is a sensory organ and it detects the taste of the food that you put into the
mouth.
● Nerve impulses from the tongue is transmitted to the brain (via sensory neurons)
● The brain then interprets this information. It is at this level that you feel that the food is
disgusting.
● The brain transmits nerve impulses (via motor neurons) to the tongue and mouth muscles,
instructing it to spit the food out

Tongue -> Sensory neuron -> CNS -> Motor neuron -> Tongue/mouth muscles

This is an example of a voluntary action i.e. actions which are a result of a conscious decision by
the brain.

Example 2

“Imagine touching a very hot pan, causing you to IMMEDIATELY take your hands off it.”

● The skin (sense organ) detects high heat

● Instead of nerve impulses being sent to the brain and awaiting it’s response, the information
is transmitted straight from the sensory neurons to the motor neurons
● Motor neurons then transmit impulses to the hand/arm muscles
● The muscles immediately take the hand off the pan

This is a prime example of a reflex arc. If we had awaited the brain to tell the muscles to take our
hands off the high heat, then it would take too long.

Instead, we are instinctively able to carry out this action WITHOUT the brain telling us to do so
because of this reflex arc.

Tongue -> Sensory neuron -> Motor neuron -> Tongue/mouth muscles

This is an example of an involuntary action i.e. an action which is instinctive and not by choice.

Neurons

There are three different types of neurons that you need to be aware of.
Sensory neurons

Sensory neurons carry impulses from sense organ to the brain (CNS).

Motor neurons

Motor neurons carry information from the brain to the effector

Relay neurons

Relay neurons connect a sensory neuron to a motor neuron in a reflex arc

Reflex arc

As we discussed above, a reflex arc allows an immediate response to certain stimuli by

bypassing the brain (CNS).

Synapses

A synapse is a junction between two neurons.

The function of a synapse is to ensure a single direction of neuronal transmission.

Consider impulses passing from neuron A to neuron B. The space between the two neurons is the
synapse.

● Neuron A = pre-synaptic neuron

● Neuron B = post-synaptic neuron

The presynaptic neuron (neuron A) has vesicles which contain neurotransmitters. When
electrical impulses reach the pre-synaptic neuron (neuron B), these vesicles release the
neurotransmitters into the synapse.

The neurotransmitters then diffuse across the synapse and bind to specific, corresponding
receptors on the post-synaptic neuron.

This allows the electrical impulses to be transmitted to, and carried along neuron B
(post-synaptic neuron).

The human eye

Structure and function

It is important to understand how the eyes work.

1. Light rays hit the cornea

2. The cornea refracts (bends) light
3. Light passes through the pupils
4. The lens refracts light further to focus it onto the fovea
5. The fovea contains light receptors that transmit electrical impulses to the brain
6. The brain interprets these impulses and gives us what we call ‘vision’
 ● Cornea – Refracts light
● Lens – Focuses light onto the retina
● Iris – Controls pupil size
● Pupil – Controls the amount of light entering the eye
● Optic nerves – Carries impulses to the brain
● Retina – Contains light receptors called rods (responsible for night vision) and cones
(responsible for colour vision)
● Fovea – An area of the retina where most of the light is focused on, and has a very high
density of cones

Pupil reflex

Light enters the light via the pupils. While too much light can damage the retina, too little light
makes it very difficult to see.

The pupil reflex is designed to appropriately control the level of light that entering the eyes.
They become smaller in bright conditions and larger in dim conditions.

There are two muscles of the iris that control the diameter of the pupils.

1. Circular muscles
 2. Radial muscles

Accommodation

Accommodation is how the lens changes shape in order to fine focus the light directly onto the
fovea.

It does so by bending/refracting incoming light rays so that it converges onto the fovea.

● Light rays from a distant object are parallel so it takes less effort for the lens to focus it
● Light rays from a close object are divergent so it takes more effort for the lens to focus it
For a distant object, ciliary muscles are relaxed. This allows suspensory ligaments to pull tightly
on each side of the lens. The lens therefore becomes stretched and thin. A thin lens has less
power, and therefore bends light less.

For a near object, ciliary muscles are contracted. This allows the suspensory ligaments to loosen.
The lens thus becomes thicker. A thicker lens has more power, and therefore bends light more.

Hormones in humans

Hormones are defined as a chemical substance produced by an endocrine gland and carried by
blood which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs.

Examples

● Adrenal gland secretes adrenalin

● Pancreas secretes insulin & glucagon
● Testes secrete testosterone
● Ovaries secrete estrogen

Adrenaline

Adrenaline is a hormone secreted in fight or flight situations.

It increases blood supply to the necessary parts of the body to cope with a dangerous situation.

Adrenaline has multiple effects on the body:

 ● Increased breathing rate
● Increased heart rate
● Secretion of glucose from the liver
● Pupil dilation

Nervous system vs hormonal system

There are some key differences between the nervous system and the hormonal system.

Hormonal control:

● Chemical transmission
● Blood pathway
● Slow speeds of transmission
● Long-term effect

Nervous control

● Electrical transmission
● Nervous pathway
● Fast speeds
● Short-term effect

Homeostasis

The definition of homeostasis is the maintenance of a constant internal environment.

Positive and negative feedback loops control internal conditions within set limits.

● For example, our optimum body temperature is approximately 37°C – This is the SET
VALUE/LIMIT
● If temperature goes beyond 37 then negative feedback brings it back down
● If temperature falls below 37 then positive feedback brings it back up

Control of sugar levels

Blood sugar levels are controlled by two hormones that are secreted by the pancreas

1. Insulin – Causes liver to use blood glucose and covert it to glycogen for storage inside liver
cells
2. Glucagon – Causes the liver to convert glycogen to glucose and release it into the blood
Essentially, insulin causes blood sugar levels to fall and glucagon causes blood sugar levels to
rise.

When glucose levels are too high, negative feedback will reduce it back down

● Pancreas secretes insulin

● Liver converts blood glucose to glycogen
● Blood sugar levels fall

When glucose levels fall too low, positive feedback will increase it back up

● Pancreas halts insulin secretion

● Pancreas secretes glucagon instead
● Liver converts glycogen to blood glucose
● Blood sugar levels rise

Symptoms & treatment of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is caused by insufficient insulin production.

As you may imagine, this leads to a very high blood glucose level.

The symptoms of type 1 diabetes include

 ● Increased hunger
● Frequent urination
● Blurred vision
● Tiredness & fatigue
● Unexplained weight loss

The management of type 1 diabetes include

● Controlling sugar intakes

● Monitoring sugar levels
● Insulin injections

Maintenance of internal body temperature

Body temperature is maintained at 36 degrees. The body loses heat when the environment is too
hot, and retains heat when the environment is too cold.

The brain has blood temperature receptors that can modulate the temperature accordingly via
certain mechanisms.

Skin structure
Mechanisms to retain heat

● Basic insulation
● The fat layer in the skin acts as an insulator
● Skin hair follicles stand up to trap a layer of air around the skin which is also an
insulator
● Shivering
● Increased metabolism in muscles increase heat circulation
● Vasoconstriction
● Heat is carried in the blood
● If blood goes near the skin surface, then heat radiates out of the body
● Constriction of the skin arterioles reduce the amount of blood flowing near the skin
surface to retain heat in the blood

Mechanisms to lose heat

● Sweating
● Sweat is a mixture of water, salt and urea
● Water evaporates from sweat which causes the skin (and body) to cool down
● Vasodilation
● Dilation of skin arterioles increase the amount of blood flowing near the skin surface to
allow more heat to radiate out of the body

Tropic responses

Auxins

Auxins are plant growth substances. They are produced by the tips of root shoots and plants.

Auxins will always move away from sunlight and towards gravity.

● In the shoots, auxins promote plant growth

● In the roots, auxins inhibit plant growth

Gravitropism

Gravitropism is the response in which parts of the plant react to gravity.

● Positive geotropism = Growth towards gravity

● Negative geotropism = Growth away from gravity

Positive geotropism
Positive geotropism is when a plant grows towards gravity (i.e. in roots)

In the absence of light, if a root is placed horizontally, then auxins will accumulate on the lower
side due to gravity.

Auxins inhibit cell growth in roots, so therefore the lower half of the root will grow slower than
the top. This uneven cell growth causes the root to bend towards the ground.

Negative geotropism

Negative geotropism is when a plant grows away from gravity (i.e. in shoots)

In the absence of light, if a shoot is placed horizontally, then auxins will once again accumulate
on the lower side due to gravity.

In shoots, the auxins promote cell growth. Therefore, the lower side of the shoot will grow
quicker the top. This results in the shoot bending away from the ground.

Phototropism

Phototropism is the response in which plants react to light.

Positive phototropism

Positive phototropism is when a plant grows towards sunlight (i.e. in shoots).

When light is exposed to one side of a shoot, auxins move away and accumulate on the shaded
side.

Auxins promote cell growth in shoots, so the shaded side grows quicker than the exposed side.
This results in the shoot bending towards the sun.

Negative phototropism

Negative phototropism is when a plant grows away sunlight (i.e. in roots).

When light is exposed to one side of a root, again, auxin once again accumulate on the shaded
side.
Auxins inhibit cell growth in roots, so therefore the shaded side grows slower than the exposed
side. This results in the root bending away from the sun.

Synthetic hormone 2,4-D

This synthetic hormone is similar to auxins. Spraying these one plants causes uncontrolled
growth which can kill the plants. They are therefore used as weed killers, and are also selective.
This means that they work better on some plant species than others.

Drugs
Drugs are defined as any substance taken into the body that modifies or affects chemical
reactions in the body.

Medicinal drugs

Medical drugs are drugs used to prevent or treat diseases.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are used in the treatment of bacterial infections. They work by specifically targeting
certain bacterial features (such as cell walls) to kill them.

Viruses and other non-bacterial pathogens are unaffected by antibiotics as they do not have
bacterial features.

Antibiotic resistance

Thanks to genetic mutation, simply by chance, some bacteria may be resistant to antibiotics.

If antibiotics are overused, then it will allow these resistant bacteria to survive and reproduce,
leading to the rise of an entire strain with antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is a good example of natural selection.

Antibiotics should therefore be used only when truly necessary, and the course of antibiotics
given to the patient should always be fully completed before it is stopped.
Misused drugs

Some drugs are often misused, and some examples of this are:

● Alcohol
● Heroin
● Tobacco smoke

Alcohol and heroin misuse

Alcohol and heroin are depressants. When both of these drugs are used in excess the effects are
similar:

● Slower reactions times

● Loss of self-control
● Addiction and withdrawal

Moreover, alcohol can lead to liver damage and heroin can lead to STIs such as HIV due to
needle sharing.

Tobacco smoke

Tobacco smoke contains a lot of bad chemicals and substances.

● Carbon monoxide – Binds to hemoglobin in RBCs and hinders oxygen transport

● Nicotine – Causes addiction
● Tar – Causes cancer
Smoking has been proven to be linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung
cancer, and coronary heart disease.

Testosterone in sports

Testosterone is an appealing drug for athletes because it promotes muscle building and can give
the athlete faster recovery times.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic variations of testosterone.

In most sports, the use of testosterone is banned

Reproduction
Reproduction is the process of making more of the same kind of organism.

There are two types of reproduction that you need to be aware of:

● Asexual reproduction
● Sexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction

Asexual reproduction is the process resulting in the production of genetically identical offspring
from a single parent i.e. cloning

Advantages of asexual reproduction are:

● Quick
● Only single parent required
● Good genetic characteristics always passed on
● No dispersal so offspring will grow in the same favorable environment

Disadvantages of asexual reproduction are:

● Little variation i.e. less adaptability to a changing environment

● Unlikely to withstand disease if parent not resistant
● Lack of dispersal lead to increased competition for nutrients
Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction is the process involving the fusion of two gametes (one from each parent) to
form a zygote. This results in the production of offspring that is genetically different from the
parents.

Gametes are sex cells that have half of the normal chromosome number (haploid).

Therefore, when the male and female gamete fuse together they form a new cell with the normal
chromosome number (diploid).

Advantages of sexual reproduction are:

● Variation among offspring, and therefore more adaptable to a changing environment

● More likely to withstand disease
● In plants, seed dispersal reduces competition for nutrients as offspring will grow in a
different environment

Disadvantages of sexual reproduction are:

● Requires the fusion of two gametes

● Slower process

Plant reproduction

Plants mostly reproduce sexually, and therefore that will be the focus of this section.

The sexual reproduction in plants involves the fusion of the male gamete (pollen) and the female
gamete (ovule).

A plant flower has both a ‘male part’ containing the pollen and the ‘female part’ which contains
the ovule.

● Male part = Stamen

● Female part = Pistil/carpel

Sexual reproduction occurs when the pollen from the stamen of one flower successfully reaches
the ovule of either the same flower, or a different flower.

This transfer of pollen is called pollination, and we will look into this in a bit more detail down
below.
Important concepts to understand at this stage are:

● Transfer of pollen is pollination

● Successful pollination results in fertilization
● A flower can self-pollinate i.e. pollen transfer within the same flower or a different flower
of same plant
● A flower can cross pollinate i.e. pollen transfer to a different flower of a different plant

Structure of a flower

The term carpel & pistil has the same meaning, but I would suggest using carpel in your
examination as this is the official term for IGCSE.

The carpel is the female reproductive part of the plant. It is made of three important structures:

● Stigma = The sticky surface that catches pollen

● Style = Links stigma to ovary
● Ovary = Contains ovules which develop into seeds after fertilization

The stamen is the male reproductive part of the plant. It is made of two important structures:

● Anther = Contains pollen

● Filament = Supports the anther
Pollination

Pollination is the transfer of the pollen (male sex cell) from the anther to the stigma.

Once the pollen lands on the stigma, it is transferred to the ovule (female sex cell).

The fusion of the pollen and ovule leads to what we call fertilization.

There are main two methods by which plants facilitate pollination

● Insect pollination
● Wind pollination

Insect pollination

Insect pollination uses insects that land on the flower to carry pollen.

As insects move around within the flower, some pollen become caught onto the insect’s body.
The insect therefore physically carries pollen and successful pollination occurs when it rubs its
body against a stigma of the same flower (self-pollination) or a different flower (cross
pollination).

Wind pollination

Wind pollination uses the wind to carry pollen.

Pollen that gets carried by the wind may end up on the stigma of the same flower
(self-pollination) or a different flower (cross pollination).

Insect pollinated vs wind pollinated flower

There are some key differences between an insect pollinated flower and a wind pollinated
flower.
Cross pollination vs self-pollination

Self-pollination is the transfer of pollen from the another of one flower to the stigma of the same
flower, or a different flower of the same plant.

● Advantages
● Only one parent required so less reliance on pollinators
● Less competition among offspring
● Disadvantages
● Less variation (since genes are all from the same plant)
● Less adaptable to changing environment and resistance to disease

Cross pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another
flower on a different plant (of same species)

● Advantages
● Increased variation
● Greater adaptability to changing environment and more resistant to disease
● Disadvantages
● More reliance on pollinators

In the above diagram, A and B represent self-pollination. C represents cross pollination.

Fertilization

When a pollen grain lands on the stigma of the correct species, a pollen tube will begin to grow.

It grows through the style, enters through a small gap in the ovary called the micropyle, and
eventually reaches the ovule.

The nucleus of the pollen then passes along the pollen tube and fuses with the nucleus of the
ovule, resulting in successful fertilization.

The zygote eventually develops into a seed. The seed remains dormant until the conditions are
right, and germination occurs.

Germination

Germination is the development of a plant from a seed or spore after a period of dormancy.

The conditions that must be met for germination to occur are as follows:

● Water – For the activation of enzymes

 ● Oxygen – For respiration for growth
● Temperature – Optimum temperature for enzymes

Investigation of germination

● Set up boiling tubes each containing 10 cress seeds on cotton wool

● Leave tubes in set environmental conditions for a period of time

● A, B and C placed in an incubator of 20°C
● D is placed in a fridge of 4°C
● Compare the growth/germination of each of the test tubes
● Results are as follows:
● A (no water) = No germination
● B (control) = Germination
● C (no oxygen) = No germination
● D (cold temperature) = No germination

Human reproduction

Human reproduction is focused on the male gamete (sperm) fertilizing the female gamete (egg).

Male reproductive system

 ● Penis
● Can become firm and erect for insertion into the vagina
● Testis
● Sperm production
● Scrotal sac
● Holds testes outside of body to keep it colder than body temperature (ideal for sperm
production)
● Epididymis
● Sperm storage
● Vas deferens/sperm duct
● Tube connecting testis to urethra
● Prostate gland
● Add nutrients & fluid to sperm to make it semen
● Urethra
● Passes semen or urine out through the penis (but never at the same time)

Female reproductive system

 ● Vagina
● Entry point for penis
● Cervix
● Ring of muscle separating vagina from uterus
● Uterus
● Location of fetal development
● Ovary
● Production of egg cells
● Oviduct/fallopian tubes
● Site of fertilization
● Movement of egg cell to uterus via cilia in the wall

Human pregnancy overview

1. Sperm enters vagina

2. Sperm passes through cervix
3. Sperm enters oviduct
4. If an egg is present, it becomes fertilized
5. Fertilization results in zygote formation
6. Zygote divides to make an embryo (ball of cells)
7. Embryo implants into the uterus walls
8. Embryo develops further to form a fetus
9. Fetus develops within uterus/womb
10. Birth of a baby

Fetal development & birth

Once an egg is fertilized by sperm, it forms a zygote. The zygote undergoes cell division to form
a ball of cells called the embryo.

The embryo implants itself into the uterus lining, where it begins to develop into a fetus
Fetal development

The placenta brings fetal blood supply close to the mother’s blood without mixing. Nutrients
diffuse from the mother’s blood into the fetus’ blood. Oppositely, waste diffuses from the fetus’
blood into the mother’s blood.

The umbilical cord carries fetal blood to and from the placenta. This cord is therefore essential
for the nutrient/waste exchange between the fetal blood and the mother’s blood.

The amniotic fluid protects the fetus from physical harm, and is held inside the amniotic sac.

Umbilical cord
 ● Umbilical artery
● Carries blood from the fetus to the placenta
● Placenta
● Nutrient/waste exchange
● Nutrients pass from mother’s blood to fetal blood
● Waste products pass from fetal blood to mother’s blood
● Umbilical vein
● Carries blood from the placenta to the fetus
● Some toxins such i.e. nicotine or pathogens i.e. rubella, can cross the placenta from the
mother’s blood and affect the fetus

Ante-natal care of pregnant woman

Before birth, the baby obtains all dietary requirements from the mother via the placenta.

It is therefore very important that the mother’s diet is well balanced with:

● Amino acids/proteins for growth

● Calcium for bone development
● Iron for RBC formation

Process of childbirth

The process of childbirth is as follows:

● Labour is triggered by the oxytocin hormone

● Muscular walls of the uterus contract
● Pressure from contraction breaks the amniotic sac and releases amniotic fluid
● Contractions become more violent and push the baby down the cervix
● The cervix becomes dilated for the baby to pass through
● The vagina stretches in order to allow the baby to be born
● The Baby is still attached to the placenta via umbilical cord post birth
● The umbilical cord is therefore cut and tied
● The placenta breaks away from the uterus wall and passes out

Breast-milk vs formula

It is important to understand the ongoing debate about the advantages and disadvantages of
breast feeding compared to formula.
Advantages

● No risk of allergic reaction

● Natural antibodies in breast milk (passive immunity)
● Breast milk is at ideal temperature
● No additives
● Bonding between mother & baby

Disadvantages

● Difficult to do in public
● Painful
● Mother must be present

Puberty

Puberty is the name for the time when the body begins to change as a child transitions into
adulthood.

● Testosterone triggers the development of secondary sexual characteristics in males

● Estrogen triggers the development of secondary sexual characteristics in females

Menstrual cycle

There are four main hormones involved in the menstrual cycle:

1. Estrogen – Builds the uterus lining

2. Progesterone – Maintains the uterus lining
3. FSH – Causes a single follicle in the ovary to mature (a mature follicle contains the egg,
along with other surrounding cells)
4. LH – Secreted from pituitary glands which stimulate ovulation
The stages of the cycle can be summarized as follows:

1. Uterus lining breaks down due to the lack of progesterone

2. Estrogen levels rise to build the uterus lining
3. FSH causes a single follicle to mature
4. On day 14, estrogen levels drop and LH levels spike to cause ovulation
5. The ovum gets released into the oviduct, leaving behind the remains of the mature follicle.
6. The cells that get left behind after ovulation become the corpus luteum
7. The corpus luteum secretes progesterone which maintains the thick uterus lining in
preparation for implantation

Human birth control

There are various methods of birth control that you must be familiar with.

Common methods of birth prevention include:

 ● Natural
● Abstinence
● Withdrawal
● Rhythm
● Chemical
● Contraception
● Spermicide
● Mechanical
● Condoms
● Femidom
● Diaphragm
● Surgical
● Vasectomy
● Laparotomy

Common methods of birth promotion include:

● Artificial insemination
● Fertility drugs
● In-vitro fertilization

Sexually transmitted disease

Sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) are infections that can be transmitted via body fluids during
sexual contact.

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is an example of an STI. An HIV infection can lead to
AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

As the name suggests, the HIV virus destroys the body’s immune system. The virus attacks
lymphocytes in the blood stream, and a decreased lymphocyte count leads to reduced antibodies,
and therefore compromised immunity.

Methods of transmission include:

● Unprotected sex
● Sharing needles
● Mother to fetus via the placenta

Methods to prevent the spread of HIV include:

● Condom usage
● Abstinence of sexual intercourse
 ● Using sterilized needles instead of sharing
● Bottled milk

Inheritance

Inheritance is the transmission of genetic information from generation to generation.

Genetic information is stored in the form of DNA within the cell nucleus. Here are some key
definitions that you must be aware of:

● Chromosome is a thread like structure of DNA

● A gene is a length of DNA which codes for a specific protein
● An allele is a version of a gene

* example, imagine a gene that codes for eye color. There are variations in this gene called
alleles. One allele for this gene may code for brown eyes, whereas another allele may code for
blue eyes. *
Sex inheritance

Normal human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes. These called known as diploid cells.
One of the pairs of chromosomes codes for sex inheritance.

Sex inheritance depends on the presence of X and Y chromosomes.

● Males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY)

● Females have two X chromosomes (XX)

DNA structure and function

The function of DNA is to control cell function by controlling the production of proteins i.e.
enzymes, antibodies, cell receptors, etc.

The DNA is made of a double helix backbone, which are connected by pairs of bases.

● Adenine always pairs with thymine

● Cytosine always pairs with guanine
The sequence of bases along a particular length of a DNA strand codes for the manufacture of a
specific protein.

Consider the particular length of DNA (gene) in the diagram above. The code within that length
is ATTCGAA. This base sequence within the gene codes for the specific types and order of
amino acids that become joined to form a protein.

All body cells contain the same genes, but not all genes are expressed because the cell only
makes certain proteins that it really needs.

Protein manufacture

As we’ve discussed above, a gene is a particular length of a DNA molecule containing a specific
sequence of bases. This base sequence codes for which amino acids should be joined in what
order, to build a particular protein.
DNA held within the nucleus of the cell. Let us consider a particular gene (gene A) that makes a
certain protein (protein A).

● A molecule called mRNA ‘copy’ the DNA base sequences found within gene A – This is
called transcription
● mRNA molecule leaves the nucleus
● mRNA passes through the ribosomes in the cytoplasm
● Ribosomes ‘read’ the base sequences and assemble various amino acids in a specific order
based on the base sequences – This is called translation

Diploid vs haploid

As mentioned before, a normal human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. This particular
number is extremely important for normal bodily function. Cells like this are called diploid cells,
and are majority of the cells in the human body.

Gametes i.e. sperm cells/egg cells, have only a single set of 23 chromosomes. This is half the
normal amount in order to maintain 46 chromosomes after fertilization.
In summary:

● Diploid cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes

● Haploid cells have a single set of 23 chromosomes

Cell division

Mitosis

Mitosis is the nuclear division giving rise to genetically identical cells. This is very important for
various bodily functions:

● Growth
● Repair
● Cell replacement

Imagine diploid cell A (46 chromosomes) undergoing mitosis. If this cell were to simply divide
in half, then it the resulting cells will only have 23 chromosomes.

Therefore, the cell duplicates its chromosomes before mitosis occurs (i.e. from 46 to 92) in order
to maintain the chromosome number after the cell division occurs.

Meiosis

Meiosis is a type of nuclear division giving rise to cells that are genetically different. This is a
reduction division to form haploid cells which produce gametes.

Essentially, diploid cell A (46 chromosomes) will form haploid cells with 23 chromosomes.

Monohybrid inheritance

Important definitions

● Genotype = The genetic make-up of an organism in terms of the alleles present

● Phenotype = Observable features of an organism
 ● Alleles = Variations of a given gene
● Homozygous = Two identical alleles of a particular gene
● Heterozygous = Two different alleles of a particular gene
● Dominant allele = Allele that is always expressed if present
● Recessive allele = Allele that is only expressed if the dominant allele is not present

Monohybrid crosses

A monohybrid cross is a genetic mix between two individuals who have homozygous genotypes,
or genotypes that have completely dominant or completely recessive alleles, which result in
opposite phenotypes for a certain genetic trait.

Eye colour

There are different alleles that code for eye colour

● Blue eye allele (b) is recessive

● Brown eye allele is dominant (B)

A brown eyed individual can therefore have two possible genotypes: BB or Bb

A blue-eyed individual can only have one possible genotype: bb

Example 1 – Homozygous recessive (bb) X Heterozygous (Bb)

Consider a brown eyed person with genotype BB having a child with another person with blue
eyes genotype bb
You can use the punnet square to look at all the possible genotypes of the child.

In this scenario, the chance of a blue-eyed child is 2/4 and the chance of a brown eyed child is
2/4, therefore the ratio is 1:1

Example 2 – Homozygous recessive (bb) vs Homozygous dominant (Bb)

Consider a brown eyed person with genotype Bb having a child with another person with blue
eyes genotype bb

In this scenario, the chance of a blue-eyed child is 0/4, and the chance of a brown eyed child is
4/4.

Example 3 – Heterozygous (Bb) X heterozygous (Bb)

Consider a brown eyed person with genotype Bb having a child with another person with brown
eyes genotype Bb

In this case, the chance of a blue-eyed child is 1/4, and the chance of a brown eyed child is 3/4.
The ratio of blue: brown is 1:3

Co-dominance
Co-dominance is when a pair of alleles are neither dominant to one another. Both alleles can
therefore impact the phenotype.

Blood type is a good example of co-dominance. The alleles of blood types are: IA, IB and IO.

● IA and IB are co-dominant

● IA and IB are dominant over IO

Combination of these alleles can therefore result in blood groups A, B, AB, and O.

Sex-linked characteristics

Sex linked characteristics are characteristics in which the gene responsible is located on the sex
chromosome, and therefore making it more common in one sex than the other.

Red-green colour deficiency

The colour deficient gene is an abnormal gene found in the X chromosome (Xc).

A male (with XY chromosomes) with these gene will inevitably have colour deficiency because
males only have one X chromosome, so this abnormal gene will always be expressed.
 Females on the other hand, may have the colour deficient gene but have normal colour vision.
This is because females have two X chromosomes (XX).

The normal colour vision allele dominates the abnormal allele, so as long as the female has one
normal X chromosome then they will have good colour vision.

To summarize:

● Male (XY) = Normal colour vision

● Male (XcY) = Colour deficient
● Female (XX) = Normal colour vision
● Female (XcX) = Normal colour vision i.e. carrier
● Female (XcXc) = Colour deficient

Variation and selection

Variation

Variation is defined as differences between individuals within the same species.

Variation can be caused by various factors. The most important ones that you need to be aware of
is:

● Sexual reproduction
● The mixing of genes from the father & mother to produce offspring with a completely
unique genetic make-up causes variation
● Mutation
● Random changes of the DNA of an organism

Genetic vs phenotypic variation

● Genetic variation – The differences in genetics among individuals within the same species
(mainly due to sexual reproduction & mutation)
● Phenotypic variation – The variability of phenotypes within a population (influenced by both
the genetic & environmental factors)

Continuous vs discontinuous variation

● Continuous variation – Results in a range of phenotypes between two extremes i.e.

height/weight/etc.
● Discontinuous variation – Results in limited number of set phenotypes with no intermediates
i.e. tongue rolling
 Sickle cell anemia

Sickle cell anemia is caused by the mutation in a gene that codes for hemoglobin. The abnormal
base sequence of the hemoglobin gene causes sickle-shaped red blood cells.

Sickle celled RBCs are less efficient at carrying oxygen, and more likely to become stuck in
capillaries preventing blood flow.

The faulty Hb gene is dominated by the normal Hb gene but it can still have an effect in the
heterozygous genotype.

Consider the three possible genotypes (N = normal, n = abnormal)

● HN HN – 100% normal Hb
● HN Hn – Mostly normal Hb, but some abnormal Hb found i.e. non-life-threatening sickle cell
trait
● HnHn – 100% abnormal Hb, life-threatening condition

The symptoms of sickle-cell anemia are as follows:

● Fatigue and anemia

● Pain crises
● Bacterial infections
● Lung & heart injury
● Leg ulcers
● Eye damage

Sickle-cell anemia and malaria

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a
certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans.

Sickle-cell anemia provides protection against malaria, because the parasites cannot penetrate
sickle-celled RBCs.

Therefore, sickle-celled genotypes are favourable in countries where malaria is highly prevalent.
● A person with sickle cell anemia (HnHn) will be fully protected against malaria, but likely to
die from sickle-cell disease
● A person that has no sickle cell anemia (HNHN) has no protection from malaria, and is
therefore likely to contract the disease
● A person that is a sickle-cell carrier (HNHn) gains moderate malarial protection, and will not
die from sickle cell disease

Adaptive features

Adaptive features are inherited functional features of an organism that increases in fitness.

Fitness is defined as the probability of an organism surviving and reproducing in the

environment in which it is found.

Adaptive features of xerophytes

Xerophytes are plants that survive with very little water i.e. cactus. These plants have adaptive
features which allow it to maximize water uptake and minimize water loss.

● Thick cuticle to minimize evaporation

● Small leaves to reduce surface area for evaporation
● Less stomata to reduce the surface area for diffusion
● Sunken stomata to maintain humidity around stomata (and therefore reduce diffusion of water
out of the plant)
● Rolled leaves to maintain humidity around the stomata
● Extensive roots to maximize water uptake

Adaptive features of hydrophytes

Hydrophytes are plants that grow on or in water.

● Wide flat leaves to increase surface area for floatation and to be exposed to as much light as
possible
● Reduced plant structure as there is less need for a rigid structural support
● Thin waxy cuticle as water preservation isn’t as important
● Small roots as water can be obtained directly through the leaf and stem
● Stomata are open on the upper side of the leaf in order to maximize gas exchange without
worrying about too much water
Natural selection and evolution

Natural selection

Natural selection describes the concept that for a given environment, organisms with the most
beneficial features are ‘selected’ to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation.

The steps are as follows:

● There is variation within a population

● Many offspring are produced
● There are competition for resources among individuals within the population
● There is struggle for survival
● The most ‘fit’ individuals that are more adapted to the environment will survive and
reproduce
● Fitter individuals pass on their genes/alleles to their offspring

Evolution

Natural selection ensures that only the most favourable genes get passed onto the next
generation.

Over time, populations therefore become more suited to their environment. This is known as
evolution.

Antibiotic resistance

Upon the use of antibiotics, most bacteria of a certain strain will die. However, due to pure
chance, there may be some bacteria that have had a genetic mutation with gives them resistance
to the antibiotics used.

These resistant bacteria survive and reproduce rapidly. This produces many more bacteria that
also have the resistant gene. Eventually, the antibiotic will be ineffective due to the abundance of
resistant bacteria.

Artificial selection

Artificial selection is the intentional reproduction of animals and plants by humans that have
desirable traits.
By using this method, the organisms can pass down favourable traits to their offspring to produce
more organisms with the characteristics that we want.

Natural selection is natural because the environment provides selective pressure for organisms
that live within the environment. Artificial selection is artificial because it is not the environment
which provides the pressure, it is human manipulation instead.

Selective breeding

● Selection by humans of individuals with desirable traits

● Crossing these individuals to produce next generation
● Selection of offspring showing the desirable characteristics
● Over many generations this can improve the quality of crop plants and domesticated animals

Organisms and Their Environment

The ecosystem

Many organisms live together in an ecosystem, and each of them have an important role to play
in maintaining the balance of that ecosystem

Roles of organisms

● Producer – An organism that makes its own organic nutrients, usually from sunlight via
photosynthesis
● Consumer – An organism that gains energy by feeding on other organisms. They can be
further classified into primary, secondary, tertiary consumers
● Herbivores – Animals that gain energy by eating plants
● Carnivores – Animals that gain energy by eating other consumers
● Decomposers – Organisms that gain energy by breaking down dead, or organic waste material

Energy flow through an ecosystem

The principle source of energy input into the ecosystem is the sun. Plants use photosynthesis to
convert light energy (from sunlight) into chemical energy in nutrients.

The chemical energy stored in food gets transferred to the environment.

Trophic levels

A trophic level is the position of an organism in a food chain, food web, pyramid of numbers, or
the pyramid of biomass.

All the things mentioned above demonstrate the direction of energy transfer within organisms.

All feeding relationships begin with the producers. Producers then are eaten by consumers.

The energy flow is as follows:

Primary producers -> Primary consumers -> Secondary consumers -> Tertiary consumers ->
Quaternary consumers
Energy transfer along trophic levels

Starting from the producers, energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next.

At each level, 90% of the original energy is lost due to various factors:

● Respiration – Energy is used to respire

● Movement – Energy is used for movement
● Maintenance of body temperature – Energy is used in homeostasis
● Indigestible material within an organism – Some parts of eaten material cannot be digested or
used by the consumer

Therefore, higher the trophic level, the smaller the amount of energy that is available to them.
For this reason, it is rare to see more than 5 trophic levels. Organisms higher up would not be
able to sustain themselves due to the lack of energy.

Food chains & food webs

Food chains show the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, beginning with
producers.

A food web is a network of interconnected food chains

Food pyramids

Food pyramids are graphical representations (in the form of pyramids) that show feeding
relationships of organisms at each trophic level.

The pyramid of numbers simply shows the number of organisms in each trophic level.
Unfortunately, this can at times be somewhat misleading. It is misleading because it may not
depict the true amount of energy in each trophic level.
For instance, 10000 aphids may feed off a single large oak tree. Using this information for the
pyramid of numbers gives us a fairly odd-looking pyramid. It makes it feel as if there may not be
‘enough’ producers to support the food chain.

Instead, the pyramid of biomass is a much more accurate representation of the actual energy
levels in each trophic level. The oak tree has more than enough energy to support the food
chain.

Carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles

Carbon cycle
Water cycle
Nitrogen cycle

Population size

A population is a group of organisms of one species living in the same area at the same time.

A community is a combination of all populations of different species in an ecosystem.

An ecosystem is a unit containing the community of organisms and their environment,

interacting together.

Sigmoid population curve

There are four main phases of growth for a population which we will look at in more detail
below.

Some important factors that can influence population growth are as follows:

● Food supply
● Predation
● Disease
1. Lag phase
● The population growth begins slowly from a few individuals
2. Log phase
● Exponential growth due to ideal conditions and maximum growth rate is achieved
3. Stationary phase
● The carrying capacity of the environment is reached i.e. the maximum population size that
the environment can support
● This could be due to limitation of resources such as food, space, etc.
4. Decline/death phase
● Sudden environmental change causes an inability of the environment to support the
population

Biotechnology & genetic engineering

Biotechnology is defined as the exploitation of biological processes for industrial and other
purposes, especially the genetic manipulation of microorganisms for the production of
antibiotics, hormones, etc.

Genetic engineering is defined as the deliberate modification of the characteristics of an

organism by manipulating its genetic material.

Examples of genetic engineering:

● Insertion of human genes into bacteria for the production of insulin

● Insertion of genes into crop plants to confer resistance to herbicides
 ● Insertion of genes into crop plants to confer resistance to insect pests
● Insertion of genes into crop plants to provide additional vitamins

Anaerobic respiration of yeast

The anaerobic respiration of yeast can be used for various industrial processes such as biofuel
production and bread making.

Ethanol used for biofuels

● Yeast is added to a source of sugar and kept in warm conditions.

● In the absence of oxygen, ethanol is produced via anaerobic respiration
● Ethanol can then be used as biofuels

Bread-making

● Yeast is activated by mixing it with sugar and water

● The mixture is then added to flour to form dough
● Dough is left in a warm place to rise
● The dough rises due to trapped carbon dioxide (a product of anaerobic respiration)
● Appropriate temperature must be maintained as enzymes control respiration
● When the bread is fully cooked, high temperatures kill the active yeast and the ethanol
evaporates

Human influences on ecosystems

Food supply

Modern technology has dramatically increased food supply:

● Agricultural machinery to use in larger land areas and improve efficiency

● Chemical fertilizers to improve yields
● Insecticides to improve crop quality and yield
● Herbicides to reduce competition with weed
● Selective breeding to improve production by crop plants and livestock
Monocultures and livestock production

Large scale mono-cultures of crop plants

Monoculture farming means that on a given agricultural land is grown only one species of a crop
at a time. If two or more species are sown in the field together (for example beans and corn), it is
not a monoculture but a polyculture system.

The main benefits of monoculture farming are:

● Easier to manage
● More efficient
● Promotes technological advances in agriculture
● Offers higher earnings

The disadvantages of monoculture farming are:

● Reduced diversity in ecosystem

● Increased pests
● Problems associated with insecticides

Intensive livestock production

Livestock farming involves the rearing of animals for food and other human uses, such as
producing leather, wool and even fertilizer. This type of farming primarily applies to cattle or
dairy cows, chickens, goats, pigs, horses and sheep.

The benefits of intensive livestock production are:

● Helps the economy and the agricultural industry

● Provides food security

The disadvantages of are:

● Easier spread of disease

● Welfare issues of livestock i.e. living in confined space

Providing sufficient food for the world population

Famine is an extreme scarcity of food. There are various factors as to why it exists today:
● Uneven distribution of food
● Drought/flooding
● Poverty
● Increasing population

Nearly 1 000 million people do not get enough to eat and over 400 million are chronically
malnourished today.

It is therefore important to understand what it takes to find a solution to this problem:

● Social implications
● Strategic plans that incorporate population concerns such as population growth,
distribution and rural-urban migration patterns are crucial
● Community development strategies which integrate essential social services as well as
production resources should be encouraged
● Economic implications
● Financial support must be given to research on the integration of technologies for food
production.
● Environmental implications
● Reducing soil erosion and impoverishment, deforestation, falling agricultural output, and
poor water management should be implemented,

Habitat destruction

Animal habitat destruction is a big issue that exists today. Whilst habitats can be destroyed
naturally i.e. tsunami, earthquakes etc. a lot of it cause solely from human activity:

● Increased area for food crop growth, livestock production, and housing
● Extraction of natural resources (such as trees)
● Marine pollution

Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other
uses.

There are many undesirable effects of deforestation:

● Loss of habitat for animals living in the forest

● Reduction of food resources and breeding grounds of animals, potentially leading to
extinction
● Soil erosion due to the lack of soil support from tree roots
● Less photosynthesis leading to increased atmospheric CO2 levels and thus contributing to the
greenhouse effect
● Reduction of rainfall due to less plants to transpire water in the water cycle

Pollution

Pollution is the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has
harmful or poisonous effects.

There are various causes of land and water pollution you need to be aware of.

Land & water pollution

Insecticides

Insecticides are used to kill pests to enhance crop yields but they can often also kill other
harmless animals.

For example, DDT was used to kill mosquitos but it also remained in the environment and was
absorbed into food chains resulting in bioaccumulation which killed a lot of other good animals.
DDT is now banned.

Herbicides

Herbicides are used to kill weeds and other unwanted crops to reduce competition and increase
crop yields.

Herbicides can get washed int water systems and kill aquatic plants which result in a disruption
of the food chain.

Nuclear fall-out

This is a leakage from a nuclear power station. Radioactive particles can get carried into the
environment and settle. Organisms then absorb these particles which can result in cancer.

Chemical waste

Inorganic waste (i.e. nickel, aluminum, lead, mercury) that are dumped into water bodies can
lead to the bioaccumulation of these metals.
 Plastics

Plastics can not only physically trap and harm animals, but they can deteriorate into smaller
pieces and be consumed by them too. To make matters worse, toxic gases are produced when
plastics are burned.

Untreated sewage

Sewage is untreated organic waste produced along with household and industrial waste material.

Dumping untreated sewage into the environment can lead to a lot of problems such as:

● Eutrophication
● Death of aquatic animals due to pathogens in the sewage
● Spread of water borne diseases which can infect people by drinking polluted water

*Eutrophication has come up multiple times in previous examinations, so make sure you learn
this! *

Eutrophication is the excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently
due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life.

The stages of eutrophication are as follows:

1. Sewage or fertilizers somehow leak into a water body i.e. lake

2. Various things are present in sewage/fertilizers such as phosphates, organic matter, bacteria
3. Phosphates promote algae growth while bacteria reproduce by feeding on organic matter
4. Excessive algae form a blanket on the water surface
5. Aquatic plants die due to the lack of light
6. As plants die, bacteria aerobically decompose dead matter
7. Oxygen supply becomes depleted and aquatic animals die
8. The entire food chain becomes disrupted

Now that we understand the damage that untreated sewage can do, it is important to know how
we actually treat it. The treatment of sewage provides clean, drinkable water.

1. Large objects such as sticks are screened out

2. Suspended grit is allowed to settle in the grit settling chamber’
3. Organic matter is digested via the ‘sludge digester’ and allowed to settle in the ‘sludge settling
tank’
4. The remaining liquid goes into an aeration tank which contains stones that have
microorganisms on the surface to digest other remaining organic matter
5. Water passes out and may be chlorinated to kill any remaining bacteria
Greenhouse effect (climate change)

Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that prevent infrared radiation to pass through.

These gases are very important in maintaining the surface temperature of the earth.

Examples of greenhouse gases are:

● Carbon dioxide
● Methane
● Chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs)
● Nitrogen oxides
● Water vapour

With industrial revolution we are now produced excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. This
leads to the enhanced greenhouse effect, where more and more infra-red radiation is becoming
trapped. This is resulting unstable climate conditions which is causing harm to the entire globe.

Acid rain
 Acid rain is rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm.

Acid rain is caused by the release of nitrogen oxides and/or sulfur dioxides into the atmosphere.

● Nitrogen oxides are made from the reaction of nitrogen + oxygen in high temperatures of car
engines
● Sulfur dioxide is release by coal factories, cars, and oil refineries

These two gases can react with rain water to produce acid rain.

Acid rain can do a lot of damage to the environment:

● Damages leaf cuticles and kills plants

● Acidifies lakes and kills aquatic animals
● Damages buildings made of limestone
● Aluminum ions are leached out of the soil and washed into watery bodies

Some solutions to reduce the incidence of acid rain may include:

● Using oil instead of coal (since coal contains more sulfur)

● Switching to more renewable resources of energy
● Using catalytic converters in cars (which removes nitrogen oxides from car exhausts)

Conservation

Extinction and endangerment of a species

Extinction is the dying out or extermination of a species. Some factors that may cause extinction
are:

● Climate change
● Habitat destruction
● Hunting
● Pollution
● Introduced species i.e. species that are not native to a particular location, and has the tendency
to spread and cause damage to the environment

An endangered species of animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction.

sConservation of endangered species

It is important to conserve endangered species in order to prevent extinction.

Conservation may involve:

● Monitoring and protecting habitats

● Education
● Captive breeding programs
● Seed banks
● Conservation programs

Fruit juice production

Pectinase is an enzyme that breaks down pectin – A protein found within plant cell walls.

Pectinase is used commercially to break down pectin within fruit cell walls in order to allow
easier extraction of juice from the fruit.

Biological washing powders

Biological washing powders are washing powders that contain enzymes (mainly proteases &
lipases) in order to break down organic substances.

Hot water must be used with washing powders so it is important that the containing enzymes
have a high optimum temperature – otherwise they would just become denatured.

The enzymes are often obtained from thermophilic bacteria found in hot springs, and have an
optimum temperature of 70 degrees Celsius.

Lactose-free milk

For people that are lactose intolerant, it is important to produce lactose-free milk. Lactase is the
enzyme that breaks down lactose.
Milk is passed down a series of fixed, immobile beads of lactase which digest the lactose to
produce lactose-free milk.

The immobile set-up of the enzymes is advantageous for various reasons:

● Enzymes can be conserved as they do not become dissolved

● Separation of the product from the enzyme is easy since the enzymes are attached on the
surface, and do not get mixed with the end product

Penicillin production

Penicillin is an antibiotic made by a fungus called penicillium. A fermenter is used to mass

produce penicillin.
Sugars, ammonium salt, and penicillium is added to the fermenter.

● Sugar is for respiration

● Ammonium is for protein and nucleic acid production

Here are some features about fermenters that you must be aware of:

● Monitors pH and temperatures

● Air provides oxygen for respiration
● Has cooling mechanisms to maintain an optimum temperature of approximately 24 degrees
Celsius
● Stirrer keeps the contents suspended

Bacterial production of human protein

Useful human proteins such as insulin (for management of type 1 diabetes) can be made by
bacteria. This is an example of genetic engineering.

Here are the important steps of this process that you need to be aware of:

1. Human cells with human insulin genes are selected

2. Chromosomes from those cells are extracted
3. Insulin gene from the chromosome is removed via an enzyme called restriction
endonuclease enzyme
4. A suitable bacterial cell is selected
5. Bacteria have loose DNA called plasmids
6. Plasmid is removed from the bacteria
7. Plasmids are cut open via the same restriction endonuclease enzyme used to cut out the
insulin gene from the human chromosome
8. Human insulin gene is inserted into plasmids via ligase enzymes
9. Plasmids are returned back to the bacterial cell
10. The bacteria are left in a fermenter to reproduce
11. Rapid asexual reproduction produces a huge colony of bacteria that all have the human
insulin gene, and hence produces insulin
12. The insulin can be extracted from the fermenter and used to treat diabetic patients