Section 1: The nature and variety of living organisms
a) Characteristics of living organisms
What are characteristics that living organisms share?
b) Variety of living organisms
What is meant by the term pathogen? What are types of pathogen?
Examples
Features
Diagram
Type
b) Variety of living organisms
Can you explain the common features shared by organisms within the following main groups: plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and protoctists? And also explain the features of viruses?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
a) Levels of organisation
Can you describe the levels of organization within organisms?
b) Cell Structure
Can you describe the structures of cells and compare the structures of
plant and animal cells?
b) Cell Structure
Can you describe the functions of the different cell structures?
Structure
Function
Found in (animal (A), plant (P), fungi (F), protoctist (Pr),
bacteria (B))
Nucleus
A, P, F, Pr
Cell membrane
Cytoplasm
Mitochondria
Ribosome
Cell wall
Chloroplasts
Vacuole
Flagella
Plasmid
Genetic Material
Slime capsule
What is meant by cell differentiation? Why is it important in terms of the
development of specialised cells?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
b) Cell Structure
What is meant by cell differentiation? Why is it important in terms of the development of specialised cells?
b) Cell Structure
How are the following specialised cells found in animals adapted to perform their function?
b) Cell Structure
How are the following specialised cells found in plants adapted to perform their
function?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
Biological Molecule
Diagram (include units it is made up of):
Carbohydrates
Monosaccharides
Elements:
c) Biological Molecules
Uses:
Test for it:
Test for glucose:
Disaccharides
Test for starch:
Polysaccharides/Complex
e.g. starch/glycogen/cellulose
Proteins
Lipids
How can the functioning of enzymes be affected by temperature
and pH?
Can you describe an experiment
to investigate how enzyme
activity can be affected by
changes in temperature?
Explain how enzymes work and the factors
that affect them:
Explain why lipids can be either
fats or oils (think saturated vs
unsaturated fatty acids):
Describe the main similarities and
differences between the three main
groups of biological molecules
(carbohydrates, proteins and lipids)
in the body:
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
d) Movement of substance into and out of cells
Can you explain an experiment to investigate diffusion using
living and non-living systems?
Diffusion:
What is diffusion?
Osmosis:
What is osmosis?
How does osmosis differ from diffusion?
What affects the rate of diffusion? And how does it affect the
rate of diffusion?
Explain why each of the following happens in terms of the movement of
water:
Examples of diffusion:
Can you explain an experiment to investigate osmosis using
living and non-living systems?
Active Transport:
What is active transport?
What does active transport need?
Can you explain the importance of turgid cells in plants?
Give some examples of where active transport occurs:
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
Give the word and symbol equation for photosynthesis:
e) Nutrition – Flowering Plants and g) Gas Exchange
Explain how you would carry out experiments to investigate photosynthesis, including the
evolution of oxygen from a water plant, the production of starch and the requirements of
light, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll:
How does varying carbon dioxide concentration, light intensity and temperature affect the rate of
photosynthesis? Draw a sketch graph to illustrate the effect of each one on the rate of photosynthesis:
Can you label the structure of a leaf and explain how it is adapted
for photosynthesis and efficient gas exchange?
What do plants require mineral ions
for? E.g. magnesium and nitrate ions
How are they adapted to get mineral
ions?
Can you explain gas exchange (of carbon dioxide and oxygen) in relation to respiration and photosynthesis?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
How do energy
requirements vary?
e) Nutrition – Humans
What are some sources and functions of the following nutrients?
Nutrient
Explain what is meant by a balanced diet:
Carbohydrate
Protein
Can you describe the processes of:
Ingestion:
Lipid (fats and
oils)
Digestion:
Vitamin A
Absorption:
Assimilation:
Egestion:
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Mineral:
Calcium
Mineral: Iron
Explain how and why the food is moved through the gut by peristalsis:
Water
Fibre
Sources
Function
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
e) Nutrition – Humans
Label the different parts of the digestive system and explain what happens at each part,
including what enzymes are added
What are the role of the following digestive enzymes:
Enzyme
Name
Enzyme
group it
belongs to:
Salivary amylase
Carbohydrase
Source:
Substrate:
Products:
Pancreatic
amylase
Maltase
Pepsin
Trypsin
Peptidases
Lipase
Lipase
Where is bile produced and stored? What are the roles of bile?
How is the small intestine adapted for efficient absorption of the products of digestion?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
f) Respiration
g) Gas Exchange in humans
What are the role of the intercostal muscles and
the diaphragm in ventilation?
Label the diagram of the breathing system and explain its function:
What does the process of respiration do?
What does ATP do?
What are the differences between aerobic and anaerobic
respiration?
Aerobic Respiration:
Word and balanced symbol equation:
Where does aerobic respiration take place?
What are the biological consequences of smoking in
relation the the lungs and the circulatory system,
including coronary heart disease?
Anaerobic Respiration:
Word and balanced symbol equation in animals:
Word and balanced symbol equation in plants:
Can you describe experiments to investigate the evolution
of carbon dioxide and heat from respiring seeds or other
suitable living organisms?
How are the alveoli adapted for gas exchange by diffusion between air in
the lungs and blood in the capillaries?
Can you describe an experiment to investigate the
effect of exercise on breathing in humans?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
h) Transport and Transport in flowering plants and humans
Why can simple, unicellular organisms rely on diffusion for movement of substances in
and out of the cell?
Describe the components of the blood and give functions of each part:
Plasma:
What does plasma transport?
Why do multicellular organisms need a transport system?
Red blood cells:
What are the adaptations of red blood cells?
What is the role of the phloem?
What is the role of the xylem?
Platelets:
What is the role of platelets in blood clotting? Why is this beneficial?
i) Excretion in flowering plants and humans
What are the organs of excretion in humans?
What are their excretory products?
White blood cells:
What do white blood cells do?
How does the immune system respond to disease? What are phagocytes and lymphocytes and what do
they do?
What are the waste products in plants and how are they lost?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
What causes valves to open and close?
Can you explain the difference in structure and function of the arteries, veins and capillaries?
h) Transport in humans
What is the structure of the heart and how does it work?
How is the blood pumped
around the body? Explain
the passage of blood on one
circulation through the
body:
Can you explain the general structure of the circulation system?
Can you explain how the heart rate changes
during exercise under the influence of
adrenaline?
Can you explain how factors may increase the risk of developing
coronary heart disease?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
j) Co-ordination and response – flowering plants and humans
Responses can be controlled by nervous and hormonal communication.
What are the differences between the two systems?
Nervous system
Organisms are able to respond to changes in their environment.
- What is homeostasis?
Endocrine system
-
Plant Responses:
What does a coordinated response require?
How do plants respond to stimuli?
Tropism (or trophic response) =
What is the central nervous system and how is it linked to sense
organs?
Phototropism =
Geotropism =
Can you describe the geotropic and phototropic responses of roots
and stems?
How does the stimulation of receptors in the sense organs result in rapid responses?
Can you explain the role of auxin in the positive phototrophic
response of stems?
1)
2)
3)
Stimulus
↓
Receptor
↓
Sensory Neurone
↓
Coordinator (CNS)
↓
Motor neurone
↓
Effector
↓
Response
Can you describe the structure and function of the eye as a receptor? How does it focus on near and distant objects and respond to changes in light
intensity?
Section 2: Structures and functions in living organisms
What are the sources, roles and effects of the following hormones:
j) Co-ordination and response – humans continued
Hormone
Can you describe the structure and functioning of a simple reflex arc? E.g. withdrawal of a
finger from a hot object?
Adrenaline
Source
Role
Insulin
Testosterone
Progesterone
Oestrogen
Can you describe the role of the skin in temperature regulation?
What happens at a synapse? What is the role of neurotransmitters?
Effect
Section 3a: Reproduction & 3a: Flowering Plants Reproduction
Can you describe the structures of a flower and their function?
What are the differences between sexual and asexual reproduction?
Feature
Asexual Reproduction
Sexual Reproduction
Number of parents
Make up of off spring
Cell division processes
Sex cells produced
Fertilisation takes place
Variation in offspring
Has survival value in:
Advantages
Disadvantages
How can plants reproduce asexually using natural methods?
How can plants reproduce asexually using artificial methods?
What does fertilisation involve?
What is pollination?
What is cross-pollination and self-pollination?
Section 3a: Flowering Plants Reproduction
Can you explain how the growth of the pollen tube followed by fertilisation leads
to seed and fruit formation?
The ovule forms a ________and the ovary in which it is found becomes a __________.
The zygote develops into an ___________with small root (___________) and shoot (___________).
The other contents of the ovule develop into ___________ which will be a food store for the young
plant when the seed ___________.
The ovule wall becomes the ___________ or the ___________.
The ovary wall becomes the ___________; this can take many forms depending on the type of fruit.
What are the structures of an insect-pollinated flower and a wind-pollinated flower and how are they both adapted for pollination?
Feature
Insect
Wind
Petals
Scent
Nectar
Stigma
Anthers
Pollen grains
How can seeds be dispersed?
Why are they dispersed?
Can you describe a practical that you could use to investigate the conditions
needed for seed germination?
What are the structures of the seed and why
are they important?
What are the conditions needed for seed
germination?
How do germinating seeds utilise food
reserves until the seed can carry out
photosynthesis?
Section 3a: Human Reproduction
Can you describe the structure and function of the female reproductive system?
Can you describe the structure and function of the male reproductive system?
Can you explain the roles of oestrogen and testosterone in developing secondary sexual characteristics and give some examples of these?
What are the key stages in sexual reproduction in
humans?
Section 3a: Human Reproduction
Can you explain the roles of oestrogen and
progesterone in the menstrual cycle?
What is the role of the placenta in the nutrition of the developing embryo?
How are sperm cells adapted to carry out their function
effectively?
How are egg cells adapted to carry out their function
effectively?
How is the developing embryo protected by the amniotic fluid?
Section 3b: Inheritance
DNA
How is genetic information in a cell stored?
DNA
What is the structure of a DNA molecule?
What is the function of DNA?
Genome:
Gene:
Allele:
Dominant:
Recessive:
Homozygous:
Heterozygous:
Genotype:
Phenotype:
Section 3b: Inheritance
How is the sex of a person controlled? Draw a punnett square to
explain:
Differences in the characteristics of individuals of the same kind may
be due to differences in:
•
•
•
When does the determination of an offpsring’s sex happen?
Individuals of a particular species look similar since they inherit similar
genes.
They look different because their genes are not identical (have
different alleles).
Classify the following characteristics:
Piercings, Physical fitness, tongue rolling, natural eye colour, language
spoken, foot size, muscial ability, height, weight, skin colour, natural
hair colour, right and left handedness
Inherited:
Both:
Environmental:
What is monohybrid inheritance?
Use a genetic diagram to describe:
Family Pedigrees:
useful for tracing family likenesses and inherited diseases.
A male is represented by a square. A female is represented by a circle
Generally shading indicates the presence of a character in the
phenotype
Sometimes a dot signifies a normal phenotype but who carries the
defective allele.
Can you predict the probabilities of outcomes from monohybrid
crosses?
Most phenotypic features are the result of polygenic inheritance
rather than single genes.
What does polygenic inheritance mean?
What is a mutation?
Can you describe the process of evolution by means of natural
selection?
How has resistance to antibiotics increased in bacterial populations?
How does this lead to infections being difficult to control?
Section 3b: Inheritance
BEFORE CELL DIVISION:
__________________ IS REPLICATED.
How does sexual
reproduction produce
genetic variation in
offspring?
Life Cycle of Humans:
In human cells, the haploid number is ______ and the
diploid number of chromosomes is _________.
Mitosis is the type of cell division that occurs during:
•
•
•
•
Human cells have ______ pairs of chromosomes in the
nucleus.
In mitosis, two ________________cells are formed.
Both daughter cells have _____________
chromosomes.
Cells are __________ ______________– contain
exactly the same chromosomes
_______________reproduction – offspring produced
by mitosis.
Draw a diagram to summarise mitosis:
Draw a diagram to summarise meiosis:
Meiosis is all about the formation of gametes.
Human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus.
In meiosis, four slightly different cells are formed.
These daughter cells have ___________ chromosomes.
Sperm cells (the male ___________) are made in the
__________ by meiosis.
The egg cells or ova (the female ___________) are made
in the ____________ by meiosis.
Meiosis leads to four __________ sex cells with
______________ the number of chromosomes. This is so
that when _______________ takes place, the __________
has a full set of chromosomes again. Random fertilisation
produces genetic __________ of offspring. After
fertilisation, the ________ will divide by __________.
Section 4: Ecology and the environment
a) The organism in the environment
What is meant by the following terms:
•
•
•
•
b) Feeding relationships
What is trophic level?
What is a producer?
population
What is a primary, secondary and tertiary consumer?
community
What is a decomposer?
habitat
What is a food chain?
ecosystem
What is a food web?
How can quadrats be used to estimate the population size of an organism in two different areas?
Why does the level of biomass decrease at each trophic level?
What do the arrows show?
Pyramids of numbers:
Pyramids of biomass:
Pyramids of energy transfer:
c) Cycles within ecosystems:
Can you explain the key stages in the carbon cycle including respiration, photosynthesis,
decomposition and combustion?
How are substances and energy transferred along a
food chain? What is bioaccumulation?
Why is only 10% of energy transferred from one trophic
level to the next?
Section 4: Ecology and the environment
c) Cycles within ecosystems:
Can you explain the key stages in the carbon cycle:
Respiration:
•
•
•
•
Photosynthesis:
Decomposition:
Combustion:
d) Human influences on the environment
The following gases are greenhouse gases:
How do human activities contribute to greenhouse gases?
•
•
•
•
•
d) Human influences on the environment
What are the biological consequences of pollution of air by sulphur dioxide?
How does an increase in greenhouse gases result in enhanced greenhouse effect and how many this lead to global
warming?
What are the biological consequences of pollution of air by carbon monoxide?
What are the biological consequences of pollution of water by sewage?
What is eutrophication and what can cause it?
What is global warming? Give some consequences of global warming:
Section 5: Uses of biological resources a) Food production
Crop plants:
Micro-organisms
How can glasshouses and polythene tunnels be used to increase the yield of certain crops? What
conditions are used?
What are the role of yeast in the production of beer?
Can you describe a simple experiment to investigate carbon dioxide production by yeast, in different conditions?
How are fertilisers used to increase crop yield?
What is the role of bacteria (Lactobacillus) in
the production of yoghurt.
What are the reasons for pest control?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using pesticides and biological control with crop plants?
Can you label an industrial fermenter and explain the need to
provide suitable conditions in the fermenter?
Section 5: Uses of biological resources
c) Genetic Modification
b) Selective breeding
How can plants with desired characteristics be developed by selective breeding?
What is genetic engineering?
•
Genetic engineering involves
changing the _________
_________ of an organism using
the following process:
What do restriction enzymes do?
What do ligase enzymes do?
o
o
o
How can animals with desired characteristics be developed by selective
breeding?
What is a vector? Give some
examples of vectors:
What is meant by the term
transgenic?
Explain what is meant by GM Crops and some examples, as well as why it is
important:
Can you evaluate the potential for using genetically modified plants to improve
food production (use plants with improved resistance to pests as an example):
Benefits
Concerns
How can large amounts of human insulin can be manufactured from genetically
modified bacteria that are grown in a fermenter?
Required Practicals
When planning any investigation
what do you need to consider?
When drawing any graph what do
you need to consider?
C
S
O
L
R
A
M
P
S
U
2.12 Practical: Investigate how enzyme activity can be affected
by changes in temperature
2.23 Practical: Investigate photosynthesis, showing the
evolution of oxygen from a water plant
2.39 Practical: Investigate the evolution of carbon dioxide and
heat from respiring seeds or other suitable living organisms
2.23 Practical: Investigate photosynthesis, the production of
starch and the requirements of light, carbon dioxide and
chlorophyll
K
2.9 Practical: Investigate food samples for the presence of glucose, starch,
protein and fat
Required Practicals
2.50 Practical: investigate breathing in humans, including the
release of carbon dioxide and the effect of exercise
5.6 Practical: investigate the role of anaerobic respiration by
yeast in different conditions
2.17 practical: investigate diffusion using living and non-living systems
3.5 Practical: investigate the conditions needed for seed germination
2.17 practical: investigate osmosis using living and non-living systems
4.2 Practical: Investigate the population size of an organism in two
different areas using quadrats