SA1 Combined and Co-ordinated Sciences Revision

B1. Cells and organisms

B1.01 Characteristics of living organisms
All organisms share 7 characteristics.
Some non-living things have some of these characteristics, but no non-living thing has all of them.
The characteristics of living organisms:
● Movement: an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or
place.
● Respiration: the chemical reaction in cells that breaks down nutrient molecules and
releases energy for metabolism.
● Sensitivity: the ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external environment and
respond appropriately.
● Growth: the permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number, cell
size, or both.
● Excretion: the removal from organisms of the waste products of metabolism (chemical
reactions in cells including respiration), toxic materials, and substances over requirements.
● Nutrition: taking in materials for energy, growth, and development; plants require light,
carbon dioxide, water, and ions; animals need organic compounds and ions and usually
water.
● Reproduction: the processes that make new organisms of the same species as themselves.
Keyword:
● Metabolism: the chemical reactions in the body’s cells that change food into energy. Our
bodies need this energy to do everything from nothing to thinking to growing.
How to get 3 marks when it comes to the growth question?
1. Begin small and get larger.
2. By the growth of cells and by adding new cells.
3. Permanent increase in size or dry mass.

B1.02 Cell structure

Living organisms are made of cells.
Large organisms contain millions and billions of cells. They’re multicellular.

Animal cell:
Plant cell:

The structures:
● Cell wall:
- Made of cellulose.
- Protect and support the cell.
- Prevents the cell from bursting when it takes up a lot of water.
● Cell membrane:
- A thin layer of protein and fat.
- Partially permeable (let some substances through but not others)
- Control what goes in and out of the cell.
● Nucleus:
- Control the cell.
- Contains DNA in the form of chromosomes.
● Cytoplasm:
- The jelly-like material that fills a cell.
- Nearly all water contains dissolved substances.
- Where the metabolic reactions take place.
 ● Vacuole:
- Fluid-filled space inside a cell.
- Usually filled with cell sap and a solution of sugars.
- Help the cell keep its shape.
- Small vacuoles are called vesicles.
● Mitochondria:
- Are found in almost all plant and animal cells.
- Where aerobic respiration happens - this is how energy is released from glucose.
- Aerobic respiration is the main way in which cells get the energy that they need to
stay alive.
● Chloroplast:
- Contains green pigments called chlorophyll.
- Where most photosynthesis happens.
- Chlorophyll absorbs energy from sunlight and is used in making food for the plant.
- Only appears in plant cells.
● Ribosomes:
- Very small.
- Where information on DNA is used to make protein molecules.

The differences and similarities between an animal cell and a plant cell:

Differences Similarities

Animal cells don’t have a cell wall. Have most of the structures such as:
Animal cells don’t do photosynthesis therefore, - Cell membrane
they don't contain any chloroplast or starch - Nucleus
grains. - Cytoplasm
- Vacuole
- Mitochondria
- Ribosomes

Bacterial cell
Bacteria - a unicellular organism whose cells don’t contain a nucleus.
 ● Cell wall: isn’t made of cellulose, prevents the cell from bursting if the cell takes up a lot of
water.
● Cell membrane: partially permeable, pressed tightly against the inside of the bacterial cell
wall, controls what goes in and out of the cell.
● Cytoplasm, and ribosomes: the same.
● Mitochondria and chloroplasts: do not have.
● Have circular DNA and plasmids.
● The biggest difference is that bacteria don’t have a nucleus.
● Bacterial cells are also known as ‘prokaryotic cells’

When the cell grows big enough, it will split into 2 different cells.

B1.03 Specialized cells

Examples of specialized cells + functions:
● Ciliated cells – movement of mucus in the trachea and bronchi.
● Root hair cells – absorption.
● Palisade mesophyll cells – photosynthesis.
● Neurones - conduction of electrical impulses.
● Red blood cells – transport of oxygen.
● Sperm and egg cells – reproduction.

Vocab:
● Cell: the smallest units from which all organisms are made.
● Tissue: a group of similar cells that work together to perform a particular function.
● Organ: a structure made up of a group of tissues, working together to perform specific
functions.
● Organ system: a group of organs with related functions, working together to perform body
functions.
● Organism: a living thing.

Cell organization in a multicellular organism:

Living cells group to form a tissue → Tissue
Different tissues group together to form an organ → Stomach
Different organs group together to form an organ system

B1.04 Sizes of specimens:

Magnification - how many times larger an image is than an object.
Formula:
𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒
Magnification = 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡
1m = 1 000 000μm
𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 μ𝑚
Real size in μm = 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
B2. Movement into and out of cells
B2.01 + 02 Diffusion + Osmosis
● Occur inside living organisms.

def Diffusion():
● It’s simply where molecules spread out from each other.
● The net movement of particles that move from a high concentration to a low concentration,
a result of random movement.
● It can occur in liquids and gases.

def Osmosis():
● Osmosis is a special type of diffusion.
● Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution to a more concentrated
solution through a partially permeable membrane.
● Cell membranes are partially permeable.
● Osmosis helps to keep our body fluids balanced and our body cells healthy.

The key point in answering questions: use the result to prove, evidence to get a full point.

The factors that influence diffusion:

● limited to the surface area: if there is a greater area over which particles can move from
one place to another, diffusion will be faster.
● Temperature: particles have more kinetic energy at a high temperature, so their random
movement will be quicker and diffusion will be faster.
● Concentration gradient: If there is a large difference in concentration between 2 areas,
diffusion will take place quickly. This is because although particles will move randomly
towards the area of low concentration, fewer will move randomly in the opposite direction.
● Diffusion distance: If the membrane thickness through which particles move is small,
diffusion will be faster.

Osmosis and plant cells

Keyword:
● Turgid: a description of a plant cell that is tight and firm.
● Turgor pressure: the pressure of water pushing outwards on a plant cell wall.
● Flaccid: a description of a plant cell that has lost its turgor pressure and is soft.
● Plasmolyzed: a description of a cell in which the cell membrane has torn away from the cell
wall.
● Water potential gradient: a difference in water potential between 2 areas.
● Anomalous: odd, strange, different.

The effects when you immerse plant tissue in different solutions:

 ● Lower water potential (hypertonic solution) - Water diffuses out of the cell by osmosis. This
causes the cytoplasm to shrink and plasmolyzed happen, Cells become weak and flaccid.
● Equal water potential (isotonic solution) - No net movement of water. The volume or shape
of the plant cell is still the same.
● Higher water potential (hypotonic solution) - The solution inside the cells is more
concentrated than the solution outside, so water diffuses down its concentration gradient
into the cell, by osmosis. This causes the amount of cell matter inside the cell to increase.
As the cytoplasm enlarges, it pushes outwards on the cell surface membrane more and
more. Rather than burst, plant cells have very strong cell walls. This holds the plant cell
intact, and as the cytoplasm pushes outside, the cell simply swells to its full size and
becomes turgid. This cell is turgid.

The importance of water potential and osmosis:

In the uptake of water by plants:

● Water potential is the potential of water to leave a system.
● Water potential is affected by:
1. Water pressure
2. The volume of the water relative to the volume of the system (e.g. a lot of water in a
small system will force water out of the system)
3. The concentration of the water

● In the uptake of water by plants, the soil around the plant must contain water that is more
dilute than the water in root hair cells. This allows water to diffuse in by osmosis (the water
outside the root hair cell will have a higher water potential than the water inside the root
hair cell).

On animal cells and tissues:

● Unlike plant cells, animal cells do not have a cell wall to support them.
● Hypertonic solution - water will move out of the cell by osmosis, causing the cell to shrivel
up.
● Isotonic solution - there will be no net movement of water.
● Hypotonic solution - the water will diffuse into the animal cell by osmosis. However, there is
no cell wall to keep the cell intact, so the water pressure grows so great that the cell bursts.

B2.03 Active transport

What is active transport?
● def(): the process that transports particles across a semi-permeable membrane from a
LOW concentration to a HIGH concentration.
● It needs energy to happen.
● It needs energy because it’s moving particles against the concentration gradient. This
means it needs to actively ‘pump’ the particles across the membrane.
Mitochondria produce energy during respiration.
The energy is in the form of ATP.
Respiration requires oxygen.

Advantages over diffusion:

● Cells in roots can get more minerals by active transport because diffusion stops when
concentrations become equal.
● If concentrations of minerals are very low in the soil, the diffusion won’t do any movement,
so the plant won’t get any of the minerals.
● Active transport is faster so minerals can be taken in quicker.
● Active transport is specific, so the plant can take in the correct minerals rather than any
that are present in the soil.

Diffusion Osmosis Active transport

Difference
High concentration -> Low High water potential -> Low Low concentration -> High
concentration water potential concentration

Doesn’t need energy Doesn’t need energy Need energy. Get from
respiration in mitochondria.

Doesn’t need a membrane Need a partial membrane Need a partial membrane

Examples Gas exchange in lungs - of Movement of water in and out Small intestine villi cells: to
oxygen into the blood and CO2 of cells. maximize the absorption of
out. glucose and its substances.
E.g minerals

Gas exchange in leaves - air Pasta and rice in water. Root hair cells: absorb mineral
from the atmosphere into the ions (such as nitrates) from
leaf. the soil.

B3. Biological molecules

B3.01 Carbohydrates, fats and proteins
Carbohydrates:
● Made of: C, H, O
● Include:
- Cellulose
- Starch
- Sugar
● Starch and glycogen from glucose.
 ● Test:
- Sugar: Benedict’s solution
+ Low -> green
+ High -> yellow
+ Very high -> orange-red (if heated enough)
- Starch: Iodine solution
+ Brown to blue-black

Lipids (fats and oils):

● Made of: C, H, O
● Include:
- Fats
- Oils
* Both don’t dissolve in water (insoluble)
● Formed by glycerol and fatty acids
● Use/function:
- Make cell membranes
- Stores energy
- Heat insulator
- Energy source
● Test: Dissolve in Ethanol
- Milky appearance
- Emulsion

Proteins:
● Made of C, H, O, Nitrogen, sometimes phosphorus and sulfur.
● Formed by a long chain of amino acids.
- There are 20 different types of amino acids.
- They rearrange to make different proteins.
● Use/function:
- Repair tissue
- Build muscle
- Making antibodies, keratin
● Test: Biuret reagent
- Blue -> violet/purple

State that water is important as a solvent

● Water is extremely important as a solvent. All reactions in our body occur in water, our cells
are 70% water on average, substances are transported around our body after being
dissolved in water, etc.
● So water is essential for life.
B4. Enzymes
B4.01 Biological catalyst
Vocab:
● Catalyst: a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction and isn’t changed by
the reaction.
● Enzymes: proteins that are involved in all metabolic reactions, where they function as
biological catalysts.
● Substrate: the substrate that an enzyme causes to react.

Enzyme action concerning the complementary shape of the active site of an enzyme and its
substrate and the formation of a product:

● Reactants and products are formed in a reaction, with reactants being substrates and
enzymes working on them. Enzymes have a specific active site that binds to the substrate,
and various theories explain their function, including the lock and key mechanism.

● The active site of an enzyme is complementary to its substrates, making it specific to them.
Random motion of the substrate causes it to collide with and bind to the enzyme, forming
an enzyme-substrate complex. The enzyme catalyzes the reaction, either breaking it up or
joining two.

* The enzyme is the key, and the substrate is the lock.

Question: Why enzymes are called biological catalysts

Answer: Enzymes just occur in living organisms and biological is about living organisms so that
turns out enzymes are called biological catalysts.
 Table of the digestive system
Enzyme Acts on Where found

Amylase Starch (into maltose) Mouth and small

intestine

Maltase Maltose (into glucose) Small intestine

Protease Protein (into amino acids) Stomach and small

intestine

Lipase Fat (into fatty acids and glycogen) Small intestine

Catalase Hydrogen peroxide (into water and oxygen)

𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑒
Hydrogen peroxide > water + oxygen
𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑒
𝐻2 𝑂2 > 𝐻2 𝑂 + 𝑂2

B4.02 Factors that affect enzymes

● Enzymes are susceptible to temperature and pH.
● Each kind of enzyme has a particular temperature and pH at which it works fastest, this is
called the optimum temperature, or optimum pH.

How does temperature affect enzyme reactions?

● The lower the temperature, the slower the enzyme works.
● The higher the temperature, the faster the enzyme works.
● The lower the pH, the less the enzyme functions.
● The higher the pH, the less the enzyme works.

The effect of changes in temperature on enzyme activity, in terms of kinetic energy, shape, and fit,
frequency of effective collisions, and denaturation:

● Kinetic energy: As the temperature of a reaction increases, particles absorb more thermal
energy, leading to faster particle movement and more collisions.

● Shape: As enzymes work faster, they reach their optimum temperature. However, if the
temperature exceeds this, the atoms gain too much kinetic energy, causing the active site
to lose its shape.

● Denaturation: Gaining too much kinetic energy causes denaturation also. When the enzyme
denatures, it changes shape and the active site no longer matches the shape of the
substrate molecule.
 ● Frequency of effective collisions: The higher the kinetic energy is, the higher the frequency
of effective collisions, increasing the rate of reaction. When the shape is changed and the
enzyme denatured, less effective collisions and decreased enzyme activity.
The effect of changes in pH on enzyme activity in terms of shape fit and denaturation.
● The lower the pH, the more acidic an environment is.
● The higher the pH, the more alkaline an environment is.
● Enzymes function best at their optimum pH.

B5. Plant Nutrition

B5.01 Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis: the process by which plants manufacture carbohydrates from raw materials using
energy from light ( =making food using sunlight)

Word equation:
𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
carbon dioxide + water 𝑐ℎ𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑙
> glucose + oxygen

Balanced chemical equation:

𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
6𝐶𝑂2 + 6𝐻2𝑂 𝑐ℎ𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑙
> 𝐶6𝐻12𝑂6 + 6𝑂2

● Chlorophyll transfers light energy into chemical energy in molecules, for the synthesis of
carbohydrates

How a plant uses carbohydrates:

● Releasing useful energy: Energy from respiration can be used for a variety of things like
- Active transport
- Growth
- Reproduction
- Movement
- etc
● Storing, use later:
- Starch – when in a plant, glucose is often converted to starch and then stored in
plant cells. The starch molecules can quickly and easily be broken down into
glucose molecules again when the plant needs them.
● Making sucrose, for transport:
- Plants changed glucose to sucrose and delivered them to other parts of the plant in
the phloem tubes. When the sucrose reaches its destination, it can be changed
back to glucose again, and used in respiration to release energy.
● Making cellulose, to build cell walls:
- We make cellulose to thicken cell walls, make more cells, increase cell sizes, or
repair damaged cell walls.
 - Cellulose is made by linking glucose molecules in long chains. The molecules are
linked in different ways from starch, so the chains stay straight rather than coiling
up into spirals.

● Making nectar to attract pollinators:

- Male gametes rely on insects, bats, or birds to transport pollen grains from flowers
to other flowers, which produce nectar containing sugar from photosynthesis. The
insects then help the flower by pollinating it.
● Making amino acids, to make proteins:
- The plant gets nitrogen in the form of nitrate ions from the soil. These ions were
taken in by active transport through the root hairs. Then they were transported to
all parts of the plant where they combined with glucose and make amino acids.
- Deficiency: weak growth, yellow leaves.
● Making other substances, such as chlorophyll:
- Plants need nitrate ions and magnesium ions to make chlorophyll.
- Deficiency: yellowing of leaves, often especially between the veins. It can’t
photosynthesize well which leads to weak growth.

B5.02 Leaves

Structures of a transverse section of a leaf:

● Waxy cuticle:
- Waterproof layer.
- Prevents water loss.
● Upper epidermis: single layer of transparent cells, which protect the cell.
● Palisade mesophyll: packed with chloroplasts and arranged vertically to maximize the
amount of sunlight energy absorbed.
 ● Spongy mesophyll: irregular cells loosely packed to leave air spaces.
● Lower epidermis: contains stomata (plural) for gaseous exchange.
● Stoma: Guard cells control the opening and closing of these pores.
● Air spaces: allow gases to move to and from the site of photosynthesis.
● Xylem vessels: Transport water and mineral ions, structural support for the plant.
● Phloem vessels: Transport ‘food’ from a source to a sink.
B5.03 Factors affecting photosynthesis
The rate of photosynthesis is affected by several environmental factors, including:
● The supply of raw materials: water and carbon dioxide.
● The quantity of sunlight provides energy for the reactions.
● The temperature affects the activity of enzymes.

The necessity for chlorophyll, light, and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, using appropriate
controls (results only)
● Chlorophyll:
- Apply the starch test (putting iodine solution), the leaf reveals that green parts turn
blue-black and white parts orange-brown, indicating that photosynthesis occurs
only in chlorophyll presence.
● Light:
- The areas that turn blue-black (and hence contain starch) are the areas exposed to
sunlight, and the orange-brown area is the section covered by paper. This shows
that light is necessary for photosynthesis.
● Carbon dioxide:
- The plant with potassium hydroxide solution turns blue-black, and the leaf from the
plant with distilled water turns orange-brown. This shows that carbon dioxide is
necessary for photosynthesis.

The effect of varying light intensity and temperature on the rate of photosynthesis (e.g. in
submerged aquatic plants:
● We can use an aquatic plant to measure the rate of photosynthesis, by counting the number
of bubbles given off in units of time, or by measuring the volume of gas given off in units of
time.
● Light intensity:
- As light intensity increases, the volume of gas collected and bubbles produced
decreases.
- The rate of photosynthesis decreases with decreasing light intensity.
- As light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis reaches a maximum. To
measure temperature's effect on photosynthesis, change the temperature of the
warm water bath with the plant.
● Temperature:
- As temperature increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases, reaching its
maximum.
 - As temperature increases, the rate drops dramatically due to denatured enzymes
and proteins, resulting in a flattening graph.

B6. Human nutrition

B6.01 Diet
● Balanced diet: a diet that contains all of the required nutrients, in suitable proportions, and
the right amount of energy.
● A balanced diet consists of:
- Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Lipids (fats and oils)
- Minerals (e.g. calcium and iron)
- Vitamins (e.g. vitamins A, C, and D)
- Fibre
- Water
● Carbohydrates:
- Source:
+ Sugars
Natural (e.g. fruits and honey)
Artificial (e.g. cakes, chocolate, fizzy drinks)
+ Starch (e.g. potato, rice, bread, pasta)
- Function:
+ The main supply of energy.
+ Glucose is required for respiration.
● Protein:
- Source: meat, fish, cheese, eggs, nuts, and beans.
- Function:
+ Growth and repair
+ Enzymes and proteins.
● Lipids:
- Source:
+ Fat (A lipid that is solid at room temperature)
E.g. butter, cheese, meat, fish
+ Oil (A lipid that is liquid at room temperature)
E.g. olive oil, corn oil
- Function:
+ Long-term store of energy.
+ Heat insulation.
+ Protection (particularly around vital games)
+ Cell membranes.
Note: too many lipids can be unhealthy - linked to heart disease.
● Vitamins:
 - Vitamin A source:
+ Carrots, margarine, butter.
- Vitamin C source:
+ Fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Vitamin D source:
+ Sunlight

- Function:
+ Vitamin A: makes a light-sensitive chemical in the eye's retina.
Deficiency: might blindness - difficult to see in dim light.
+ Vitamin C: makes fibers of connective tissue.
Deficiency: Scurvy wounds fail to heal, bleeding of gums.
+ Vitamin D: helps grow bones, and absorb calcium.
Deficiency: rickets-soft bones.
● Minerals:
- Source:
+ Calcium: dairy products (e.g. milk), green vegetables.
+ Iron: red meat, eggs, spinach.
- Function:
+ Calcium: healthy teeth and bones.
+ Iron: part of hemoglobin in the red blood cells that function in carrying
oxygen.
● Water: 60% of the body is made up of water
- Source: drinks and food (cucumber contains 96% water)
- Function: Medium for chemical reactions and transport.
● Fibre:
- Source:
+ Cellulose (fibre) - plant cell wall - so any plants as food.
- Function:
+ Humans aren’t capable of digesting cellulose - its function is to provide
roughage (dietary fibre) for the digestive system's muscles to push against
something.
+ It keeps the gut healthy and avoids constipation.
How age, gender, and activity affect the dietary needs of humans including during pregnancy and
while breastfeeding:
● Energy needs are primarily provided by carbohydrate and fat intake, with growth requiring
structures like proteins, calcium, vitamin D, and iron. Children need more protein per
kilogram of body weight than adults, and males use up more energy than females. Pregnant
females need protein, iron, vitamin D, and calcium, while those with active lifestyles or
manual labor jobs have higher carbohydrate and fat requirements.

The effects of malnutrition to starvation, constipation, coronary heart disease, obesity, and scurvy:
 ● Malnutrition is a lack of proper nutrition caused by insufficient food, insufficient food
choices, or inability to use food.
● It can lead to starvation, constipation, coronary heart disease (CHD), obesity, and scurvy:
- Starvation is caused by consuming too little food, leading to weight loss, organ
damage, and death.
- Constipation is painful and a result of a lack of fiber.
- CHD is caused by cholesterol sticking to arteries and blood clots, while obesity
results from excessive food consumption.
- Scurvy is rare but can be treated with vitamin C from fresh fruits and vegetables.

The causes and effects of vitamin D and iron deficiencies:

● Vitamin D:
- Caused by a poor diet and lack of sunlight exposure.
- Symptoms like bone pain, muscle weakness, and rickets.
● Iron:
- Especially in pregnant women, can result from a lack of iron-rich foods,
inflammation, bowel disease, and high blood loss.
- Causes of anaemia, causing fatigue, decreased performance, cognitive and social
development, and immune function issues.

The causes and effects of protein-energy malnutrition, e.g. kwashiorkor and marasmus:
● Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is a common childhood disorder characterized by
underweight, stunting, wasting, kwashiorkor, and marasmus, often linked to limited food
access and excessive alcohol consumption.
● Kwashiorkor:
- Kwashiorkor is a condition characterized by severe protein deficiency, often
developing in older children.
- Symptoms: fatigue, irritability, and lethargy. As protein deficiency persists,
symptoms may include oedema, bulging abdomen, weight loss, and decreased
immunity.
● Maramus:
- Occurs more commonly in young children and babies.
- Leads to dehydration and weight loss. Marasmus is a form of wasting.
- Symptoms: weight loss, stunting, dehydration, chronic diarrhea, and stomach
shrinkage.

B6.02 Digestive system

The digestive system includes 5 processes:
● Ingestion - taking substances, e.g. food and drink, into the body through the mouth.
● Digestion - the breakdown of large, insoluble food molecules into small, water-soluble
molecules using mechanical and chemical processes. Digestion, we divided into 2 types of
digestion:
 - Mechanical digestion: the breakdown of food into smaller pieces without chemical
change to the food molecules.
- Chemical digestion: the breakdown of large, insoluble molecules into small, soluble
molecules.
● Absorption - movement of digested food molecules through the wall of the intestine into
the blood.
● Assimilation - the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the body where
they are used, becoming part of the cells.
● Egestion - passing out of food that has not been digested, as feces, through the anus.

The alimentary canal is a long tube which runs from the mouth to the anus.
The digestive system has 10 parts:
● Mouth: a hollow cavity where the teeth are located, which are in charge of grinding the food
which is mechanical digestion. It contains salivary glands which is chemical digestion. The
mouth is used for ingestion and both mechanical and chemical digestion.
● Salivary glands: secrete saliva which contains amylase, an enzyme that breaks down
carbohydrates (chemical digestion), which moistens food and facilitates chewing and
swallowing. A site of assimilation.
● Oesophagus: a muscular tube that connects the pharynx with the stomach. It helps food to
move toward the stomach.
● Stomach: a kind of bag where food is stored. It contains HCL and protease which will kill all
bacteria and digest the proteins. Mechanical and chemical digestion occurs in the stomach.
● Small intestine: absorbs nutrients from already digested food. A site of chemical digestion
and absorption.
● Pancreas: produces pancreatic juice that breaks down food into simple soluble substances.
Contains amylase, lipase, and protease which will digest all biological molecules,
carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins—a site of assimilation.
● Liver: secretes bile, which is necessary for digestion and fat absorption.
● Gall bladder: stores the bile produced by the liver, until it is required by the digestion
processes.
● Large intestine (or colon): the last structure to process food. It absorbs water and leaves
waste products called feces.
● Anus: the site of egestion - it has sphincter muscles that control when feces are egested
from the body.

B6.03 Digestion
The function of chemical digestion is to produce small, soluble molecules that can be absorbed:
● Food molecules must be small and soluble for absorption.
● Chemical digestion breaks down large molecules into smaller ones, converting insoluble
ones into water-soluble ones, using enzymes, and breaking up large clumps without altering
the food's structure.
Function of enzymes in digestion:
 ● Amylase breaks down starch into simpler sugars.
● Protease breaks down proteins into amino acids.
● Lipase breaks down fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
Where the enzymes are secreted:
● Amylase: from salivary glands into the mouth, and from the pancreas into the duodenum.
● Protease: the stomach and the pancreas.
● Lipase: the pancreas
Functions of the hydrochloric acid in gastric juice:
● Killing bacteria in food.
● Hydrochloric acid maintains a low pH in the stomach, allowing the protease enzyme to
efficiently break down proteins.
Functions of the hydrochloric acid in gastric juice, limited to the low pH:
● Specialized stomach cells secrete hydrochloric acid, maintaining a pH of 2, which
denatures proteins and enzymes from harmful microorganisms.
● This low pH prevents harmful reactions and enhances the efficiency of protease enzymes,
which are secreted into the stomach.
The role of bile in neutralizing the acidic mixture of food and gastric juices entering the duodenum
from the stomach, to provide a suitable pH for enzyme action:
● Bile is alkaline.
● Bile neutralizes acids in gastric juice and food, allowing enzymes to function more
efficiently.
● The neutralization of acids provides enzymes with an environment closer to their optimum
pH.
The role of bile in emulsifying fats is to increase the surface area for the chemical digestion of fat
to fatty acids and glycerol by lipase:
● Bile salts, also known as bile acids or pigments.
● Emulsify fats, increasing their surface area.
● This process, primarily achieved through bile acids, lowers surface tension and allows
enzyme lipase to break down fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
Villi’s function:

B7 Transport
B7.01 Transport in plants
Xylem and phloem
● Xylem - transports water and dissolved minerals from the roots to other parts of the plant.
Support, and strengthen the plant.
● Phloem - transports sucrose and amino acids between the leaves and other parts of the
plant.
Water movement up the plant:
1. Water in the soil.
2. Moves by osmosis to the root hair cells.
3. Through adjacent cells up to the root cortex cells.
4. Into the vascular bundle and go to xylem vessels in the stem.
5. Transpiration pulls to the midrib of the leaf.
6. Carried by veins to mesophyll cells.
Transpiration pull: water moves upwards in the xylem vessels of a ‘transpiration pull’ that draws up a
column of water molecules, held together by cohesion.

Water uptake
Root hair cell function:
● Absorb mineral ions and water from the roots.

Water pathway:
1. Water from the soil enters the plant through the root hair cells by osmosis.
2. Water from the root hair cell moves into the root cortex cells by osmosis.
3. Water from the root cortex cell moves into the xylem cells by osmosis. Water moves up the
xylem towards the leaves via the transpiration stream.
4. Water moves from the xylem cells into the mesophyll cells (palisade and spongy) by
osmosis.

The passage of water:

Root hair → Root cortex → Xylem → Stem → Vein → Leaf

Xylem and phloem transport:

● The xylem vessels transport water and dissolved minerals. This transport occurs in 1
direction only (roots to shoots).
● The phloem vessels transport sucrose and amino acids up and down the stem to growing
and storage tissues.

Transpiration
● Transpiration - the loss of water vapour from leaves.
● Water evaporates from the surfaces of the mesophyll cells into the air spaces and then
diffuses out of the leaves through the stomata as water vapour.

Conditions that affect transpiration rate:

● Temperature:
- Transpiration happens faster when the temperature is higher.
 -The higher the temperature is, the greater the kinetic energy of water molecules.
This means water evaporates faster from the surface of the mesophyll cells, and the
water vapour diffuses out of the leaf into the air more quickly.
● Wind speed:
- Transpiration will happen very quickly. The plant will start wilting losing more water
than it can take up, so the cells lose their turgidity. The leaves become soft and
floppy.
● Humidity:
- Humidity means the moisture content of the air.
- The higher the humidity is, the less water vapour will diffuse out from the leaves.
- This is because there isn’t much of a diffusion gradient for the water between the
air spaces inside the leaf, and the water outside it.
- Transpiration decreases as humidity increases.

Translocation
● Translocation - the movement of sucrose and amino acids in phloem from regions of
production (leaves) to regions of storage or use in respiration or growth.
● Sources: the parts of plants that release sucrose or amino acids.
● Sinks: the parts of plants that use or store sucrose or amino acids.

The table compares translocation and transpiration

Translocation Transpiration

Transport Amino acids and sucrose Water and mineral ions

From…to… From regions of production From the root to leaves,

(leaves) to regions of storage flowers, and fruits.
or use in respiration or growth.

Tissue that processes Phloem Xylem

B7.02 Transport in animals

Circulatory systems
Vocab:
● Circulatory system: a system of blood vessels with a pump and valves to ensure a one-way
flow of blood.
● Double circulatory system: a system in which blood passes through the heart twice on 1
complete circuit of the body.
● Oxygenated blood: blood containing a lot of oxygen.
 ● Deoxygenated blood: blood containing a little oxygen.

The single circulation of a fish:

● Blood has to pass through 2 capillary systems, those of the gills and the body, before
returning to the heart.
● This results in a marked drop in blood pressure before the blood completes a
circuit-exchange of materials isn’t so good; adequate for fish but not mammals.

The double circulation of a mammal:

● A mammal is a warm-blooded vertebrate (has a spine) animal of a class that is
distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for the
nourishment of the young, and (typically) the birth of live young.

The pathway of double circulation:

1. Oxygen diffuses into the blood from the lungs.
2. Oxygenated blood is carried from the lungs down to the left atrium.
3. Then it goes down to the left ventricle and turns back up.
4. Oxygenated blood is carried to all the cells in the body from the left side of the heart.
5. Then it comes to the systemic circulation where oxygen diffuses from the blood to the body
cells.
6. Deoxygenated blood is returned to the right side of the heart.
7. Then it goes up to the right atrium goes down to the right ventricle and turns back up again.
8. Deoxygenated blood is carried to the lungs and with oxygen diffusing into the blood, it
changes into oxygenated blood and continues the circuit.

Advantages of double circulation over single circulation;

● When the low-pressured blood is delivered back to the heart, raises its pressure again
before sending it off to the rest of the body.
● Blood travels much faster than in a fish.
● Delivering quicker helps for respiration and other active tissues which make it more
effective.
● Maintains high blood pressure in all the main organs of the body.
● Keep the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood separately.

Heart
 ● Blood is pumped away from the heart in arteries and returns to the heart in veins.
● The activity of the heart may be monitored by:
- ECG (electrocardiogram)
- Pulse rate
- Listening to sounds of valves closing.

Coronary heart disease (CHD):

● A disease caused by the blockage of the coronary arteries.
Risk factors of CHD:
● Cigarettes (Smoking)
● Being obese (OBCD)
● Bad diet
● Lack of exercise
● Stress
● Genetic predisposition
● Age
● Gender
Preventing CHD:
● Quit smoking
● Keep a check and manage the blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels.
● Maintain a healthy height-to-weight ratio.
● Remain physically active.
The roles of diet and exercise in reducing the risk of CHD:
● Having a healthy weight reduces your chances of developing high blood pressure. Regular
exercise will make your heart and blood circulatory system more efficient, lower your
cholesterol level, and keep your blood pressure at a healthy level. Exercising regularly
reduces your risk of having a heart attack.
 How do the septum and valves help to ensure that fully oxygenated blood leaves the heart in the
aorta at high pressure?
● The septum separates oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood, ensuring all of the blood
that enters the aorta is fully oxygenated.
● The valve is between the left atrium and the left ventricle. It prevents blood from flowing
back into the left atrium as the left ventricle contracts so that all the blood is forced out
into the aorta.
● There’s another valve at the entrance of the aorta, ensuring blood flows one-way at high
pressure.

The effect of physical activity on the heart rate:

● As you exercise, your heart rate increases.
● Muscle contraction needs energy, which is obtained from aerobic respiration.
● As muscles work harder, they need more energy, and therefore aerobic respiration needs to
happen more quickly.
● The muscles therefore need more oxygen, which is supplied to them by the blood. A faster
heart rate moves blood more quickly, supplying oxygen to the muscles more quickly.

Blood vessels
Table comparing blood vessels
Blood vessel Function The thickness of the The width of the lumen Blood’s pressure Oxygenated or
wall + why? + advantages? deoxygenated?

Arteries Carry blood - Thick and strong. - - Narrow. High pressure Oxygenated
away from the Containing muscle - The walls can stretch
heart and elastic tissue. and recoil.

- Withstand the high - Maintain the blood

pressure of the pressure.
blood.
- Pulsing of the
blood

Capillaries Supply all cells - Very thin, only one - Very small Lowest Deoxygenated
with their cell thick. pressure
requirements, - Proper exchange of
and take away - Allows diffusion. nutrients and gases.
waste - Substances can
products. get in and out easily.

Veins Return blood to - Quite thin. - Wide. Lower pressure Deoxygenated

the heart. - Contains valves.
- No need to have a
thick wall to handle - Help keep the blood
pressure moving easily.
Blood

● Blood: a liquid that contains cells.

● Plasma: the liquid part of blood, contains dissolved substances in it.
● Red blood cells: biconcave blood cells with no nucleus, which transport oxygen.
● White blood cells: blood cells with a nucleus, which helps to defend against pathogens.
● Platelets: tiny cell fragments present in blood, which help with clotting.

The functions of the following components of blood:

● Red blood cells:
- Transport oxygen.
- Haemoglobin can combine with oxygen to make oxyhaemoglobin. Oxyhaemoglobin
releases its oxygen when the oxygen is low. This happens when the blood passes
through capillaries close to cells that are respiring, using up oxygen.
● White blood cells:

- Divided into 2 types: phagocytes and lymphocytes.

- Phagocytes do phagocytosis: taking bacteria or other small structures into a cell’s
cytoplasm and digesting them with enzymes.
- Lymphocytes produce antibodies to protect us against antigens.
● Platelets: blood clotting which prevents blood loss and the entry of pathogens.
 ● Plasma: transport of blood cells, ions, nutrients, urea, hormones, and carbon dioxide.

B8. Diseases and immunity

B8.01 Pathogens and transmissible diseases
● Pathogen: a disease-causing microorganism.
● Transmissible disease: a disease in which the pathogen can be passed from one host to
another.

● A pathogen is transmitted:
- Direct contact, including through blood and other body fluids.
- Indirectly, including from contaminated surfaces, food, animals, and air.

Body defense against pathogens:

● Hairs in the nose: filter out particles from the air, which could contain pathogens.
● Mouth/tongue: if we smell or taste bad food, we don’t want to eat it, or it might make us
sick.
● Mucus: traps bacteria. Then they are swept up to the back of the throat and swallowed,
rather than being allowed to get into the lungs.
● Skin: prevents pathogens from entering the body. If the skin is broken, a blood clot forms to
seal the wound and stop pathogens from getting in.
● Stomach: contains HCL, which kills all bacteria in our food.
● White blood cells: phagocytosis and produce antibodies to protect us from antigens.

Controlling the spread of disease:

● Clean water supply:
- Water is the most essential health need and is used for different purposes.
- Contaminated water contains dangerous bacteria such as cholera, polio.
- It also can transmit diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid.
- Before being supplied to houses, the water is filtered to remove dirt, then treated
with chlorine to kill all the microorganisms in it.
- Soil and rocks underground act as a natural filter for underground water which is
less likely to become contaminated than the surface area found in rivers and lakes.
● Hygienic food preparation:
- Hygienic food preparation prevents us from getting food poisoning from bacteria.
- There are 4 ways to hygienic food preparation:
+ Wash your hands before touching or eating food.
+ Keep animals away from food.
Houseflies usually have harmful bacteria on their feet because they may
have been walking on rubbish, faeces,...
+ Do not keep food at room temperature, keep it in the fridge. Because
bacteria can form a large population if the temperature is right for them.
Low temperature slows down bacterial growth.
 + Keep raw meat away from other foods. Raw meats often contain bacteria so
like if you keep raw meat with other foods, bacteria can breed there.
● Good personal hygiene:
- Keeping your body clean can reduce the risk of passing or getting transmissible
disease.
- Wash your teeth twice a day, take a shower, and wash your hands with soap.
● Waste disposal:
- Waste is close to where people live and work. Bacteria breed in waste food.
Dangerous chemicals seep out of the rubbish, polluting the ground and waterways.
● Sewage treatment:
- Sewage is waste liquid from houses and industry,...
- Sewage contains urine and faeces, toilet paper, detergents, oil, and many other
chemicals.
- Untreated sewage is called raw sewage. Raw sewage contains many bacteria and
pathogens. Poliomyelitis and cholera are the 2 most serious diseases that can be
transmitted through water polluted with raw sewage.

Features of viruses

​
B8.02 The immune system
● Active immunity as defence against a pathogen by antibody production in the body.
● Each pathogen has its antigens, which have specific shapes.
● Antibodies: proteins that bind to antigens leading to the direct destruction of pathogens or
marking of pathogens for destruction by phagocytes.
● Specific antibodies have complementary shapes that fit specific antigens.
● There are 2 ways to gain active immunity:
- After an infection by a pathogen.
- By vaccination
● The process of vaccination:
 - Weakened pathogens or their antigens are put into the body.
- The antigens stimulate an immune response by lymphocytes which produce
antibodies.
- Memory cells are produced that give long-term immunity.
● Vaccinations are available for some pathogens to help control the spread of diseases.
● Vaccination helps your immune system to recognise viruses and bacteria and destroy them
quickly.
The pathogen is unable to breed in a person who has been vaccinated. If the people have
been vaccinated, the pathogen can’t spread; if it can’t, it dies. In this way, vaccination helps
control the spread of diseases.

B9 Gas exchange and respiration:

B9.01 Gas exchange in humans
Diagram of human breathing system

The differences between inspired and expired air:

Using limewater to test carbon dioxide:
● Tube containing expired air became cloudy quicker than tube containing inspired air.
● Expired air contains more carbon dioxide than inspired air.
● There are only bubbles in the tube containing inspired air.
● When you breathe in, the air is drawn from the end of the short tube in A, causing air to be
pulled into the limewater in A through the long tube. This leads to bubbles in A only.
Oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water vapour:

Gas Inspired air (%) Expired air (%)

Oxygen 21 16
 Carbon dioxide 0.04 4

Water vapour Variable Saturated

Why does expired air still contain significant oxygen?

● Expired air mixes with normal air in the bronchi and trachea, so that what we breathe out is
a mixture of the air in the alveoli and atmospheric air.

Which gas has the greatest increase and why?

● CO2 has the greatest increase.
● Body cells produce CO2 in aerobic respiration. It diffuses out of the blood and into the
alveoli. Therefore, extra CO2 is present in the air that we breathe out, increasing its
concentration.

The effects of exercise on breathing rate:

● Anaerobic respiration: the chemical reaction in cells that break down nutrient molecules to
release energy without using oxygen.
● Equations:
- Word: Glucose → Lactic acid + energy
- Chemical: 𝐶6𝐻1206 → 2𝐶3𝐻6𝑂3 + 2𝐴𝑇𝑃
● Lactic acid builds up in muscles and blood during vigorous exercise causing an oxygen
debt.
● During vigorous exercise, your heart can't pump blood around your body fast enough. To
gain enough energy, in addition to respiring aerobically, your muscle cells also respire
anaerobically, resulting in the build-up of lactic acid.
● The temporary shortage of oxygen during vigorous exercise is 'oxygen debt'.
An easy way to remember this is: During exercise, you 'borrowed' extra energy without
'paying' for it with oxygen.
● Lactic acid can prove to be toxic to muscle cells, causing cramps, etc.
● Therefore, after exercise, we continue to breathe hard and our heart rate remains high for
some time, to supply our muscles with enough oxygen to further break down lactic acid into
carbon dioxide and water.

Oxygen debt is removed after exercise by

● Continuation of a fast heart rate to transport lactic acid in the blood from the muscles to
the liver.
● Continuation of deeper and faster breathing to supply oxygen for aerobic respiration of
lactic acid.
● Aerobic respiration of lactic acid in the liver.

The link between physical activity and the rate and depth of breathing:
 ● An increased carbon dioxide concentration in the blood, which is detected by the brain,
leads to an increased rate and greater depth of breathing.

The features of gas exchange surfaces in humans (lungs):

● Large surface area
● Thin surface
● Good blood supply
● Good ventilation with air

B9.02 Respiration
Using energy
Our body uses energy for different purposes:
● Muscle contraction
● Protein synthesis
● Cell division
● Growth
● The passage of nerve impulses and the maintenance of a constant body temperature

Aerobic respiration
● Aerobic respiration: the chemical reactions in cells that use oxygen to break down nutrient
molecules to release energy.
● Equations:
Word: glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water
Chemical: 𝐶6𝐻1206 + 602 → 6𝐶02 + 6𝐻20

Anaerobic respiration
● It doesn't need oxygen to happen, it just needs glucose to happen and it only produces lactic
acid. It happens in the cytoplasm, not in the mitochondria.
● Anaerobic respiration releases much less energy per glucose molecule than aerobic
respiration.

B10 Coordination and response

B10.01 The nervous system
Vocab:
● Stimuli: changes in the environment that organisms can detect.
● Receptors: cells or groups of cells that detect stimuli.
● Effectors: parts of the body that respond to a stimulus; muscles and glands are effectors.
Coordination:
● Stimuli are sensed by receptors using senses.
● Receptors send an electrical signal to the brain.
● The brain sends an electrical signal to the effectors.
* Electrical impulses travel along neurones.
Types of neurones:
● There are 3 types of neurones:
- Sensory neurone.
- Relay neurone (interneurone).
- Motor neurone.

The nervous system:

● Central nervous system (CNS): brain and spinal cord.
● Peripheral nervous system (PNS): the nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.

Process:
Stimuli → Receptor → Electrical impulse on neurone
→ Spinal cord/Brain → Send response → Nerve fibres
→ Effector.

Stimuli → Sensory neurones

Receptors → Relay neurones } Reflex Arc
Effectors → Motor neurones
 ● As a neuron is a specialised cell, it has all the organelles of a normal animal cell (cytoplasm,
nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes).
● The cell body is inside the CNS, and the axon stretches into the PNS to the effector.
- Dendrites receive the signals from the relay neuron.
- The axon carries the signal outwards and is covered by myelin sheaths, an
electrically insulating cover.
- Nerve Endings send the message to trigger effectors.

B10.02 Endocrine system (Hormones)

Gland Hormone that secretes Function of hormone

Adrenal gland Adrenaline Prepares the body for vigorous action.

Pancreas Insulin Reduces the concentration of glucose in the

blood.

Glucagon Increases the concentration of glucose in the

blood.

Testis (plural: testes) testosterone Causes the development of male secondary

sexual characteristics.

Ovary Oestrogen Causes the development of female secondary

sexual characteristics and helps control the
menstrual cycle.

Endocrine system:
● The endorcrine system (or the hormonal system) controls body responses with the use of
hormones.
● Hormones are chemical substances that are produced by endocrine glands, which release
them directly into the bloodstream. It’s carried in the blood to a target organ. The activity of
the target organ will be altered by the hormone to bring about a response.
● In this way, hormones can cause changes at some distance from the gland where they were
made.

B10.03 Homeostasis
● Homeostasis: the maintenance of a constant internal environment within set limits.
● Homeostatic mechanisms control our body temperature.
● When blood glucose levels shoot up, homeostasis mechanisms cause the blood glucose
concentration to fall back down to the set limit.

Feedback loop:
 ​

* Examples of negative feedback system:

● Thermoregulation (control of body temperature)
● Blood glucose concentration

Controlling blood glucose concentration:

● The hormones insulin and glucagon, secreted by the pancreas, control blood glucose
concentration.
● Insulin is produced in the pancreas. Glucagon is also produced in the pancreas.
● The hormones travel to the liver in the blood, which is the organ that controls blood glucose
levels.
● Glycogen is a short-term storage molecule. It’s a polymer made of glucose molecules.
● When the blood glucose level increases above its set point:
- The pancreas secretes insulin, which travels to the liver in the bloodstream.
- Insulin stimulates liver cells to absorb glucose and stimulates the conversion of
glucose to glycogen.
- Insulin also encourages an increase in the rate of respiration - this means more
blood glucose is taken up by cells and respired.
- All of this reduces blood glucose levels.
● When the blood glucose level decreases below its set point:
- Glucagon is secreted by the pancreas, which then travels to the liver via blood.
- The hormone glucagon stimulates the conversion of glycogen to glucose (this
process is gluconeogenesis)
- Then the glucose is released back into the bloodstream. This increases blood
glucose levels.