UNIT 1: ORGANISMS AND LIFE PROCESSES

1. Life processes and the characteristics of living things

2. Variety of living things
3. Movement in and out of the cells
4. Biological molecules and food
5. Digestion
UNIT 2: PLANT AND ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY
6. Transport in plants
7. Plant and food
8. Gas exchange in plants
9. Gas exchange in animals
[Link] in animals; blood and circulation
[Link] in animals
[Link] coordination in plants
[Link] and excretion
[Link] in plants
[Link] in humans
 UNIT 3: VARIATION AND SELECTION
[Link] and environmental variation
[Link], genes and DNA
[Link] division
[Link] and inheritance
[Link] selection and evolution
[Link] selection- selective breeding
UNIT 4: MICROORGANISMS AND GENETIC MODIFICATION
[Link] modification
[Link] microorganisms
UNIT 5: ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
[Link]
[Link] influence on the environment

UNIT 1: ORGANISMS AND LIFE PROCESSES.

1.1 Introduction to Biology
Biology is a word that comes from the Greek words namely; Bios  life and logos  study. So
biology is the scientific study of life. In other words, it is the scientific study of living
organisms. And living organisms are those that have life and carry out life processes.

1.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING It is the removal of waste products from

THINGS the body of an individual. These waste
All living things share eight characteristics products are produced as a result of some
namely: reproduction, growth, respiration, chemical process in the body. Most waste
excretion, feeding, movement, irritability products are poisonous. Thus it is
and control of internal environment. important to remove them before they
cause death to an organism.
1. Reproduction 5. Feeding/Nutrition
It is the process by which living things It is the process by which organisms obtain
produce new individuals. The process is or make food. Food is a source of energy. It
important because it results in increase in is also used in formation of new body parts.
number of individuals and also ensures 6. Movement
that dead individuals are replaced. Organisms move in different forms. For
2. Growth example in plants, only certain body parts
It is the irreversible increase in size of an move. But in most animals the whole
organism. Growth is of importance organism is displaced from one place to
because: another. This displacement of the whole
(i) It results in increase in size of an body is called locomotion. Plants may
individual move in search of light, water and food.
(ii) Results in appearance of new body Animals move in search of food, shelter,
parts etc.
(iii) Results in changes in body shapes and 7. Irritability
function This word comes from two words namely
3. Respiration irritate which means sensitivity and
It is the process by which living things ability which means power. So irritability
generate energy by breaking down food is the power of an organism to respond to
materials within their bodies. The energy any change in its environment. A stimulus
produced is used for growth, movement is any change in the environment of an
and other process that require energy. organism.
4. Excretion 8. Regulate internal environment
Living organisms have the ability to detect Entomology – The biological study of
changes in their body fluids such as blood insects
and adjust them accordingly. Virology – The biological study of viruses.
Trial Microbiology – study of micro-organisms
Give the characteristic that enables living eg. parasites like plasmodia, viruses,
organisms to; bacteria
a) Get rid of wastes from their bodies Ecology – study of associations or
b) Obtain food for their survival relationship between organisms and their
c) Obtain energy from the food they surroundings.
eat Histology – Study of tissues.
d) Move from place to place
e) Increase in number
f) Increase in size and attain shape.
WHY STUDY BIOLOGY?
BRANCHES OF BIOLOGY  To become doctors to treat
Zoology – The biological study of animals diseases.
or animal-like organisms.  To be able to treat animals of
Botany – The biological study of plants or diseases.
plant-like organisms.  To be able to teach others.
Cytology – The biological study of cells.  To be able to avoid some
Cells are the building blocks preventable diseases e.g. cholera,
of the body of living dysentery, measles, polio, etc.
organisms.  To become florists to grow flowers.
Bacteriology – The biological study of  To learn how to protect nature and
bacteria. our natural environment.
A CELL
All living things are made of units called cells. Cells are the building blocks of the body of
living things. A cell is very small and thus cannot be seen with a naked eye. They can be
seen only through a microscope.
Cells of animals, plants and other organisms are similar in some parts but may differ in other
parts. Figure 1.0 shows the general structure of a plant and animal cell.
Structure of a plant and an animal cell

Functions of the structures of the cells.

1. Cell membrane
This is the outer boundary of the cytoplasm. It surrounds the cells. It is very thin and
inflexible. It performs the following;
 It retains the contents of the cells.
 It controls the substances entering and leaving the cells.
 2. Cell wall and lack membrane bound organelles.
It is found in cells of plants, algae, fungi Prokaryotic cells include bacterial cells.
and bacteria. Plant and algal cell walls The nucleus performs the following
contain a carbohydrate substance called functions
cellulose, fungal cell walls contain chitin  It controls cells the chemical
while cell walls of bacterial cells contain processes that take place in the
murein. cell.
The cell wall is found outside the cell  It determines all activities e.g. cell
membrane and it is made by the sizes, cell shape and a cell that
cytoplasm. does.
It is non-living. The cell wall carries out A cell that does not have a nucleus is not
the following functions. able to carry out its functions or it lives for
 It gives shape to the cell. a very short time for example, the red
 In some cells such as the xylem cells blood cells. They last 120days before they
of the plants, it also contains a are destroyed by the liver and replaced by
substance called Lignin which makes new ones. In some cases, it has to be
the cell firm for support. assisted by another cell near it e.g. a
 It allows some substances to enter or companion cell found in the phloem.
leave the cell. 5. Vacuole
3. Protoplasm It is a cavity in a cell filled with fluid. It is
It is the only living material in the cell. It is mostly found in cells of algae, fungi and
of two kinds namely; plants.
a. Nucleoplasm is the protoplasm Animal cells usually have small and
found in the nucleus. temporary vacuoles. A vacuole contains
b. Cytoplasm is the protoplasm sap which is liquid solution of salts,
found in the cell but outside the sugars, water and some pigments. A
nucleus. Cytoplasm other vacuole is surrounded by a thin membrane
structures that make up the cell. called a tonoplast.
These structures are called Functions of a cell vacuole include;
organelles. These may include;  It helps in making the cell firm.
the nucleus, mitochondrion,  It contains sugars, salts and coloured
chloroplasts and the cell vacuole. pigments.
An organelle is defined as the structure Microscopic and macroscopic
found in the cytoplasm of the cell and organisms
performs a specific function. Microscopic organisms are those
The cytoplasm is where most biochemical organisms that are too tiny and we cannot
processes take place within the cell. see them with unaided or naked eyes.
4. Nucleus They require the use of a microscope to be
This is the largest organelle in the cell. It is observed well. For example, bacterial
fully enclosed by a membrane called the cells, viruses, amoeba, plasmodia
nuclear membrane or envelope. It parasites and others.
contains the majority of the cell’s genetic Macroscopic organisms on the other hand
material organized in DNA molecules are those organisms that are large enough
along with proteins called histone to be seen by our unaided eyes such as
proteins. These form the chromosomes. the large insects, animals, plants and
others.
Unicellular and multicellular
organisms .
Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. A unicellular organism is a single celled
A cell which has a true nucleus and other organism. It is an independent cell
membrane bound organelles is called a capable of life processes. For example, a
eukaryotic cell. And organisms that bacterium, an amoeba, a euglena and
possess eukaryotic cells are called others.
eukaryotic organisms. Multicellular organisms are organisms
Examples of eukaryotic organisms are which are made of many cells, for
plants, animals, fungi and protoctists. example animals, plants and fungi (except
Prokaryotic cells are cells which lack a yeast).
true nucleus (a nucleus with an envelope)

Differences between plant cells and animal cells

Plant cell Animal cell
Has a regular shape Has irregular shape
Has a cell wall Lacks a cell wall
Has a large and permanent cell vacuole Has small and temporary cell
vacuoles
Has chloroplasts Lacks chloroplasts
Stores carbohydrates in starch granules Stores carbohydrates in glycogen
granules
Has small proportion of cytoplasm Has a large proportion of cytoplasm

Similarities between plant and animal cells.

 Both have cell membranes
 Both have a nucleus
 Both have mitochondria
 Both have cytoplasm
Cell differentiation and specialised cells

Animals and plants produced by sexual reproduction begin life as a single cell, a fertilised egg
or zygote. These cells must divide by mitosis to produce a multicellular organism.

Mitosis happens throughout the bodies of animals but only occurs in specific regions of plants.
These are called meristems and are found in the tips of roots and shoots. Here new cells are
formed.

Plant cells are also able to become longer as they grow. This process is called cell
elongation and occurs throughout the plant, not just in the meristems. Cell elongation does
not occur in animals.

The cells of multicellular animals and plants must also differentiate, so that its cells develop
features that enable them to fulfil specific roles. Cells that have differentiated have become
specialised. Without this specialisation, complex multicellular animals and plants would not
exist.

A specialised cell is a cell that is fully differentiated and performs specific functions.

Examples of specialised cells in animals include

Cells of Name and structure of the Function

specialised cell
Transport substances. Defend
Circulatory
the body. Regulate
system
temperature.

Remove waste products and

Excretory system unwanted substances. Regulate
the water content of the body.

Muscular system Bring about movement.

Respond to internal and

external stimuli and conditions.
Nervous system
Carry messages for the body to
work as a coordinated whole.

Respiratory Deliver oxygen for respiration

system and remove waste.
 Reproductive Bring about fertilisation to
system produce new offspring.

To bring about movement.

Support and protect internal
Skeletal system
structures. Produce blood cells.
Store and release calcium.

Examples of specialised cells in plants include

Cells of Name and structure of the specialised Function

cell
Palisade mesophyll

Leaf Carry out photosynthesis.

 Allow gases to circulate for
the exchange of gases
Spongy mesophyll between the leaf and the
environment. Carry out
photosynthesis.

Guard cells

Open and close to control

the exchange of gases –
carbon dioxide, water
vapour and oxygen.

Sieve tubes

Phloem Phloem transports products

consists of of photosynthesis,
sieve tubes including sugars and amino
acids, from the leaf to
And the where they are needed.
phloem
consists of Xylem transport water and
xylem vessels dissolved minerals from the
and tracheids roots, up the plant.

Provide the energy

Companion cells required for transporting
substances in sieve tubes.

Meristem

Growing Produce new cells as they

points divide.

Stem cells An embryo develops from a fertilised egg.

Stem cells are cells that have not Cells at early stages in the development of
undergone differentiation. A cell which the embryo are stem cells. If embryonic
has not yet become specialised is called stem cells are removed from the embryo
undifferentiated. they will differentiate into any cell type.
Some adult stem cells remain in the bodies  treating patients with currently
of adults. These are found in limited untreatable conditions
numbers at certain locations in the body.
 growing organs for transplants
Adult stem cells can be found in; nose,
brain, eyes, blood, heart liver, bone  medical research
marrow, skin and muscles.
There are clinical, ethical and social issues
Adult stem cells can differentiate into
with their use. These issues will be
related cell types only. So bone marrow
different for growth and transplant of adult
cells can differentiate into blood cells and
stem cells, embryonic stem
cells of the immune system, but not other
cells and therapeutically-cloned stem cells.
cell types.
They will also depend on whether the stem
In a growing shoot, new cells are being
cells are to be used for therapy or
produced continuously near the tip. As the
research.
cells become older, further away from the
tip, they become differentiated. They
enlarge and develop a vacuole. It is important to obtain a balanced view.
Sometimes, there are no right or wrong
answers. Other times there are no answers
Stem cells can divide to produce new cells,
at all. Some variables which would be
which can then divide into different cell
considered when discussing stem cells
types. They therefore have the potential to
include:
be transplanted into patients to treat
medical conditions and disease. They could
be used to replace cells that have been Clinical issues
damaged or destroyed, for example
 There is no guarantee of how
 in type 1 diabetes successful these therapies will be, for
example in the use of stem cells in healing
 in cases of multiple sclerosis, which damage caused by Parkinson's disease.
can lead to paralysis
 The difficulty in finding suitable stem
 in cases of spinal cord or brain injury, cell donors.
that have led to paralysis
 The difficulty in obtaining and storing a
The stem cells used could be: patient's embryonic stem cells.
 Mutations have been observed in stem
 embryonic stem cells cells cultured for a number of generations,
 adult stem cells and some mutated stem cells have been
observed to behave like cancer cells.
Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into a
wider range of cell types, but are difficult to  Cultured stem cells could be
obtain. The best source is a five-day-old contaminated with viruses which would be
embryo, although there are transferred to a patient.
clinical, ethical and social issues with their Ethical issues
use.
 A source of embryonic stem cell is
Adult stem cells will differentiate into a
unused embryos produced by in vitro
narrower range of cell types. Bone
fertilisation.
marrow transplants are an example of
adult stem cell transplant. Bone marrow  For therapeutic cloning, is it right to
cells will differentiate into different types of create embryos for therapy, and destroy
blood cell. Bone marrow transplants are them in the process?
carried out:
 Embryos could come to be viewed as a
commodity, and not as an embryo that
 in cases of blood cell cancer such as could develop into a person.
leukaemia and lymphoma
 At what stage of its development
 when blood cells have been destroyed should an embryo be regarded as, and
by cancer treatment treated as, a person?
Benefits and risks associated with the
use of stem cells in medicine Social issues

Stem cells have great potential for:  Educating the public about what stem
cells can, and can't do, is important.
  Whether the benefits of stem cell Patients could be exploited by paying
research use outweigh the objections. for expensive treatments and being
given false hope of a cure as stem cell
Much of the research is being carried
therapies are only in their
out by commercial clinics, so reported
developmental stages.
successes are not subject to peer review.
Stem cell therapy.
This is the use of stem cells to treat (or prevent) a disease or to repair damaged tissues.
At present, the most common form of stem cell therapy is the use of bone marrow transplants. Bone
marrow transplants are used to treat patients with conditions such as leukemia (a type of blood cancer).
Some cancer treatments use chemicals that kill cancer cells (chemotherapy) but this also destroys the
healthy cells. Bone marrow transplants supply stem cells that can divide and differentiate, replacing
cells lost from the body during chemotherapy.
Bone marrow transplants are now a routine procedure and have been used successfully for over 30
years.
Scientists are now able to isolate and culture embryonic stem cells as seen in (figure below).

These are obtained from the fertility clinics where parents choose to donate their unused embryos for
research. In future, it is hoped that we will be able to use embryonic stem cells to treat many diseases
such as diabetes along with brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Stem cells could also be used to
repair damaged nerve tissue. Until now, treatments using embryonic stem cells have not progressed
beyond the experimental stage.
Stem cell research can also present problems. Many people object morally to using cells from embryos
for medical purposes despite the fact that they might one day be used to cure many diseases.
Diagram for extraction of stem cells

Organization of cells.
Cells differ in shape and size. Different cells perform different functions in the body of an organism. The
body cells are organized in different ways. These different ways are: Cells, Tissues, Organs and organ
systems.
Cells in the body of organisms are organized according to the following scheme:
Cells Organized into Tissue
 Tissues Organized into Organ
Organs Organized into Organ system
Systems Organized into organism

TISSUES
A tissue is a group of cells joined and working together to perform certain specific functions.
Examples of tissues include:
i. Photosynthetic tissue: It is found in plants. It consists of palisade cells that contain a lot
of chlorophyll.
Its function is to carry out photosynthesis.
ii. Xylem tissue: It is also found in plants. It is made of xylem cells. Its function is to transport
water and mineral salts within the plant’s body.
iii. Phloem tissue: It is also found in plants.
It consists of sieve tube cells. Its function is to transport manufactured food substances within the plant
body.
iv. Blood tissue: It is found in some animals. It consists of red blood cells, white blood cells
and plasma.
Its function is to transport materials and provide defense against diseases.
v. Muscular tissue: It is made of muscle cells. Its function is to cause movement.
vi. Nervous tissue: It is made of long nerve cells. Its function is to transmit nerve messages.

ORGAN
An organ is a group of tissues that work together to perform certain special functions.
Plants have the following organs.
i. Root: It is an organ and consists of the parenchyma tissue, phloem tissue, xylem tissue and
epidermal tissue. All these work together to enable the root perform its functions such as
absorption of water and mineral salts and others.
ii. Leaf: It is an organ and it consists of photosynthetic tissue, phloem tissue, xylem tissue. All
these work together as a unit to enable the leaf perform its functions. Such as
photosynthesis, transpiration and so on.
iii. Stem: It is an organ and is made of phloem tissue, xylem tissue and strengthening tissues
(collenchyma and sclerenchyma). All these tissues help the stem to perform its functions
such as support and transport of water and mineral salts up the plant.
In animals we have organs like heart, brain, kidney, liver and others. This is because they consist of
blood tissue, muscular tissue, and nervous tissue. These help it to carry out its functions such as
transport of materials, distribution of heat and defense of the body against infections.
ORGAN SYSTEM
An organ system is a group of organs that work together to perform certain specific functions.
In animals we have;
i. Digestive system: Its function is to break down food into small particles that can be
absorbed into blood. So it consists of organs namely the stomach, liver and intestines and
pancreas. All these work together to enable this system perform its functions.
ii. Respiratory system: Its main function is to bring about exchange of gases. So it consists
of organs like the nose, lungs, bronchi, spiracles trachea, tracheoles and others.
iii. Excretory system: Its function is to remove waste products from the body so it has organs
namely liver, kidney, skin, lungs and bladder.
iv. Nervous system: Its function is to transmit nerve messages within the body and to co-
ordinate body activities. It has organs such as spinal cord, brain and nerves.
v. Circulatory system: Its function is to transport food materials within the body so it consists
of the heart and arteries, veins and capillaries.
An organism
It is an individual capable of independent existence. It is capable of independent existence as a result of
the good working together of organs and systems within the body.

VARIETY OF ORGANISMS
The major groups of organisms are plants, animals, fungi, protoctists, bacteria, and viruses.
1. Plants (kingdom plantae)
You may be familiar with the flowering plants but this group of organisms (also called kingdom
plantae) includes simpler organisms like the mosses and ferns. They have the following
characteristics;
a. All plants are multicellular, which means their bodies are made of many cells
b. They are eukaryotic organisms; this means that their cells have got nuclei with nuclear
membranes. (nuclei is the plural of nucleus)
c. Their cells have cell walls unlike animal cells with cells without cell walls. The cell wall
contains a carbohydrate called cellulose which is hard thus plant cells are rigid.
d. Plants also have cells which contain a green pigment called chlorophyll. This is stored in
the organelles called chloroplasts.
e. Plants are able to photosynthesize because they have chlorophyll for trapping sunlight.
 f. When plants photosynthesize, they make food inform of glucose which is stored in form of
starch. They also manufacture sucrose which they usually transport from one part of the
body to another.
g. Some plants are well developed having roots, stems and leaves while others likes the
mosses have no roots and have poorly developed leaves
Examples of plants

2. Animals (kingdom Animalia)

Did you know that we human beings are animals?
Yes we are animals and we belong to a species called Homo sapiens. Animals also range from
the lower animals like the worms, mollusks (such as snails and slugs), sponges and insects
through large animals like the fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals (such as man,
apes, chimps, monkeys, dogs and elephants etc.). Animal kingdom is called kingdom Animalia.
All animals have the following characteristics;
a. They are multicellular like the plants - their bodies are made of many cells
b. They are eukaryotic - have cells with nuclei and nuclear membrane and other membrane
bound organelles.
c. They do not have chlorophyll in their cells. This means they cannot make their own food
by photosynthesis. They obtain food by feeding on food already made by the plants.
They are heterotrophic.
d. Their cells lack cell walls. This makes their bodies soft and flexible - able to change
shape. This feature is very important for organisms that move from place to place.
e. They have ability to locomote - they are able to move from one place to another.
f. Some animals have back bones (vertebrae) and are called vertebrates for example
mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Some lower animals like insects lack
back bones and are called invertebrates.

Examples of animals

3. Fungi
This group consists of very familiar organisms like the mushrooms, toad stools, bread moulds etc. They
have the following characteristics;
a. They are multicellular organisms apart from yeast which is unicellular ie has one cell.
b. The cells have cell walls but contain a substance called chitin instead of cellulose as in
plant cells.
c. Cell of the fungi do not contain chlorophyll just like the animal cells. This means they
cannot photosynthesize - cannot make own food.
d. Fungi feed saprophytically. This means they feed on dead decaying matter of plants
and animals by secreting enzymes called extracellular enzymes which work outside
cells.
e. Multicellular fungi such as the mushrooms and toad stools are made up of bodies
consisting of thread-like filaments called hyphae (singular is hypha). The hyphae
intertwine to form a network called the mycelium which is easily observed on the
surface.
 Detailed structure of the hypha.

Examples of fungi
 The figure shows a labelled diagram of a mushroom.

Yeast cells are unicellular fungi. They are widely used in brewing and baking industries.
 Like most bacteria, protoctists and viruses, some fungi are pathogenic and cause diseases.

4. Protoctists.
These are also called ‘dustbin’ kingdom because it consists of mixed group of organisms which are not
plant, animals nor fungi.
a. Most protoctists are single celled organisms.
b. Some behave like animals such as amoeba, paramecium, and plasmodium because they
can move. These are called protozoa.
c. They are parasites and cause diseases to man for example, plasmodium which causes
malaria in humans.
d. Some organisms behave like plants because they contain chlorophyll and can therefore
photosynthesize just like plants. These are called algae.

The table below shows some examples of protozoa and their means of locomotion
Example of protozoa Description of the protozoa
 Amoeba is unicellular and microscopic.
Lives in fresh water bodies
Uses pseudopodia for locomotion and
feeding
It feeds by engulfing food to form a
food vacuole.

Paramecium

5. Bacteria. (kingdom monera)

This group belongs to kingdom monera. It consists of unicellular organisms only called bacteria. The
study of bacteria is called bacteriology.
a. Bacterial cells are much smaller than animal cells, plant cells, fungal cells or protoctists.
b. They are microscopic organisms - can only be seen using a microscope but not naked
eyes.
c. Bacteria are prokaryotic - their cells have no nuclear membrane.
d. Bacteria have different shapes. - some are spherical (a), rod- shaped (b) or spiral (c).
e. Some bacteria contain chlorophyll in their cytoplasm and carry out photosynthesis.
However most bacteria feed on living dead organisms.
 f. Together with fungi, many bacteria are important in recycling nutrients as
decomposers.
g. Some bacteria are used in making food for example lactobacillus used to make
yoghurt from milk.
h. Some bacteria are pathogenic – have ability to cause diseases to organisms.
Pathogens are organisms that cause diseases to other organisms. Groups which contain pathogens are
fungi, protoctists, bacteria and viruses.

6. Viruses
These are the smallest living organisms. They are ultra-microscopic organism and cannot be seen by a
light microscope but only by electron microscope.

General characteristics of viruses

a. They are microscopic and much smaller than bacterial cells. Most are between 0.01 and 0.1
micrometers.
b. They are obligate parasites. They can only survive as parasites.
c. They are made up of nucleic acids (either DNA or RNA but not both). In either cases, the genetic
material makes up just a few genes – all which is needed for the virus to reproduce inside its
host.
d. They are acellular. That is they are not made of cells. They are very simple without cellular
structures such as the nucleus, and cytoplasm.
e. There are composed of a core body of genetic material enclosed by a protein coat known as
capsid which is made up of capsomere.
f. The DNA of the viruses only reproduces in the living host cells and cannot reproduce outside a
living cell
g. They are specific to the host cell they invade.
h. They cause diseases in plants and animals.
i. They are ubiquitous. (Being present everywhere at once/found in all environments)
Sometimes a membrane called an envelope may surround a virus particle, but the virus does not make
this. Instead it is “stolen” from the surface membrane of the host cell.
Viruses do not feed, respire, excrete, move, grow or respond to stimuli form their surroundings. They do
not carry out any of the normal characteristics of living things except reproduction which they also do
parasitically. This why biologists do not consider viruses as living organisms. You can think of them as
being a border between an organism and a non – living chemical.
Reproduction in viruses.
A virus reproduces by entering the host cell and taking over the host’s genetic machinery to make more
virus particles. After many virus particles have been made, the host cell dies and the particles are
released to infect more cells. Many human diseases are caused in this way, such as influenza, (flu).
Other examples include colds, measles, mumps, polio and rubella (German measles).
Of course, the reproduction process does not continue forever. Usually, the body’s immune system
destroys the virus and the person recovers. Sometimes, however, a virus cannot be destroyed by the
immune system quickly enough, and it may cause permanent damage or death.
Effect of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the body

HIV attacks a specific type of immune system cell in the body. It is known as the CD4 helper cell or T
cell. When HIV destroys this cell, it becomes harder for the body to fight off other infections.
When HIV is left untreated, even a minor infection such as a cold can be much more severe. This is
because the body has difficulty responding to new infections.
Not only does HIV attack CD4 cells, it also uses the cells to make more of the virus. HIV destroys CD4
cells by using their replication machinery to create new copies of the virus. This ultimately causes the
CD4 cells to swell and burst.
 When the virus has destroyed a certain number of CD4 cells and the CD4 count drops below 200, a
person will have progressed to AIDS.

General structure of a virus particle

Viruses are classified into three groups depending on their host

 Bacteriophage:-these have phagocytic effect on the bacteria cells e.g. [Link]

 Plant viruses: these attack plants. For
example, cassava mosaic viruses,
tobacco mosaic viruses, etc.
 Animal viruses: these affect animal
cells. For example, HIV, influenza virus,
polio viruses, rabies virus, bird flu virus,
small pox virus, etc.

Some viruses are DNA viruses since they contain

DNA as their genetic material which others
contain RNA.
Examples of DNA viruses include: chicken
pox virus, small pox virus etc.
Examples of RNA viruses include: rabies
virus, measles virus, mumps virus, influenza
virus and HIV.

End of chapter questions

Copy and answer the following questions 4. Which of the following diseases in
not caused by a virus?
1. Which of the following is not a A. Influenza
characteristic of plants. B. Measles
A. Cells contain chloroplasts C. Malaria
B. Cell wall made from cellulose D. AIDS
C. Bodies are multicellular
D. Stores carbohydrates as 5. (a) Name the kingdom to which
glycogen each of the following organisms
2. Fungi carry out saprophytic belong
nutrition. What is the meaning of i. Mushroom
this term? ii. Chlorella
A. Extracellular digestion of dead iii. Moss
organic matter iv. Lactobacillus
B. Feeding on other living
organisms (b) The diagram shows a species of
C. Making organic molecules by protoctist called Euglena. Use the
photosynthesis diagram to explain why euglena is
D. Secreting digestive enzymes classified as a protoctist and not as
3. Below are three groups of an animal or plant.
organisms
1. Viruses
2. Bacteria
3. Yeasts

Which of these organisms are

prokaryotic?

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. 1 and 2
D. 1,2 and 3
 called ………………………………. or
sometimes as the sugar
……………………………… Plants make
these substances as a result of the process
called…………………………………..
Animals, on the other hand, store
carbohydrate as the
compound………………………………. Both
animals’ and plants’ cells have nuclei, but the
cells of the bacteria lack a true nucleus,
having their DNA in a circular chromosome.
They sometimes also contain small rings of
DNA called …………………..which are used
in genetic engineering. Bacteria and fungi
break down organic matter in the soil. They
are known as ………………….. Some
bacteria are pathogens, which means that
they……………………………. (8)

10. In multicellular organisms, cells are

6. (a) Draw a diagram to show the organized into tissues, organs and
structure of a typical virus particle. organ systems.
(b) Is a virus a living organism? (a)The diagram shows a section through an
Explain your answer. artery and a capillary.
(c) Explain the statement `viruses
are all parasites`
7. Explain the meaning of the
following terms.
(a) Invertebrate
(b) Hyphae
(c) Saprophytic

More questions

8. These three organelles are found in cells:

nucleus, chloroplast and mitochondrion.
(a) Which of the above organelles would be
found in: Explain why an artery can be considered
(i) A cell from a human muscle? to be an organ whereas a capillary cannot.
(ii) A palisade cell from a leaf? (b) Organ systems contain two or more organs
(iii) A cell from the root of a plant? whose functions are linked. The digestive
system is one of the human organ system.
(b) What is the function of each organelle? (i) What is the role of the digestive system?
(ii) Name three organs in the human digestive
9. Copy and complete the following account. system. Explain what each organ does as
Plants have cell walls made part of the digestive system.
of…………………………...They store (iii) Name two other human organ systems and,
carbohydrate as the insoluble compound for each system, name two organs that are
part of the system.
MOVEMENT OF SUBSTANCES IN AND OUT OF CELLS
Living cells require certain materials in order to carry out certain chemical reactions important for life.
These materials mainly include oxygen, carbon dioxide and mineral salts. Cells also need to eliminate
waste materials e.g. CO2, O2, excess H2O.
There are three main ways in which cells take in or out these materials. These are;
1. Diffusion
2. osmosis
3. Active transport

Diffusion
This is the random movement of molecules from a region of their high concentration to a region where
they are in a lower concentration across a fully permeable barrier.
Molecules move randomly using their own kinetic energy. So particles do not need external energy for
them to move.
Diffusion will continue until molecules become evenly distributed. At this point, there is an equilibrium
between two regions.
Diffusion occurs because molecules of liquids and gases are in constant motion and tend to move from
regions of higher to regions of lower concentration.

Diffusion can simply be demonstrated in the laboratory using a drop of ink in glass containing clean
water. After some time it will be seen that blue ink particles have distributed themselves evenly in a
beaker making the solution uniformly coloured.

In Biological systems such as in cells, molecules are separated by cell membrane which is readily
permeable to some particles and impermeable to others. Diffusion occurs only when there is a difference
in concentration of particles or molecules between two regions. This is called the concentration gradient.
A concentration gradient is the difference in concentration of molecules / particles in the two regions.

Factors that affect or influence rate of diffusion

i. Concentration gradient
 ii. Permeability of the medium (or barrier)
iii. Diffusion distance
iv. Temperature of the medium
v. Surface area
vi. Size of diffusing particles.

Concentration (diffusion) gradient

If the concentration gradient is very steep - if one region is much higher in concentration than
the other, the rate of diffusion will also be high. So, the higher the concentration gradient, the
higher the rate of diffusion and vice versa
Permeability of the medium or barrier.
The higher the permeability of the medium or the membrane across which molecules must
diffuse, the higher the rate of diffusion. This is because, diffusing particles experience less
resistance in highly permeable media.
All biological membranes are permeable to most particles to favour rapid rate of diffusion.
Diffusion distance
The shorter the distance the faster the molecules move from the concentrated region to the
less concentrated one. Therefore, membranes such as alveolar membranes must be very thin
so that the respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) take the shortest time to diffuse.
Temperature of medium
The rate of diffusion increases with increase in surrounding temperature. This is because, high
temperature increase the kinetic energy and thus the speed of the diffusing particles, making
the particles to move randomly faster.

Surface area of the barrier.

For diffusion across membranes, the larger the surface area, the faster the rate of diffusion.
Membranes are modified in different ways to increase the surface area over which diffusion
occurs. Modifications include; folding, flattens and branching. For instance, outer skin of the
flat worm (Platyhelminthes) is very flat, alveoli of the lungs are highly folded to enable rapid
diffusion of materials.
Size of diffusing particles
The rate of diffusion increases with a decrease in size of diffusing particles. Smaller particles
are lighter and therefore diffuse randomly faster than the larger particles.

Example of diffusion in biological system

 Some mineral salts are absorbed by diffusion from water into the root hair cells, the cell
wall and cell membrane acting as barrier.
 Oxygen and carbon dioxide enter and live respectively the amoeba cell by diffusion across
a cell membrane.
 Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged across the cell membrane of a red blood cell
by diffusion.
 Oxygen moves out and CO2 moves in the leaf through stomata by diffusion in leaves
during day.
 Oxygen moves into the lungs, and CO2 gets out of the lungs by diffusion
 O2 moves out of the red blood cell while CO2 diffuses out of the tissue cells by diffusion.

Diffusion is faster in organisms with a large surface area to volume ratio.

Calculation of surface area to volume ratio shows that the larger the organism, the larger the
value of SA: Vol ratio.

Experiment to show that diffusion is faster in small organisms

 Obtain an Irish potato and cut cubes of the size 1cm, 2cm and 3cm using a knife and a
ruler.
 Place the cubes in a beaker of potassium permanganate solution
 After 15 minutes, remove the cubes and place them on the white tile.
 Cut the cubes in half and measure the depth to which the dye penetrated
 Calculate the surface area and volume of each cube

Active transport
It is the movement of molecules or ions from a region of low concentration to a region of high
concentration across a living cell membrane. Thus active transport is the movement of
molecules across a living membrane against the concentration gradient.
Because this movement is against a concentration gradient it requires energy. Thus for a cell
to take up materials during active transport, it has a manufacture energy for the process.
Factors affecting active transport
(i) Oxygen: It is required for the synthesis of energy.
How does oxygen affect active transport?
The higher the O2 level, the grater the ability of the cell to carryout active transport and vice versa
Explain the effect of oxygen level on the degree of active transport on the cell
The higher the oxygen level in the cell, the greater is its ability to carry out active transport because
higher O2 levels enable the cell to manufacture more energy
(ii) Presence of metabolic poisons
When a chemical which reduces the cell’s ability to manufacture energy is present, the amount of active
transport reduces. These chemicals include cyanide ions
Examples of active transport
(i) re-absorption of sugar and some salts in the kidney
(ii) absorption of mineral salts from water by plants roots
(iii) Absorption of sugars in the villi of small intestines

FOOD AND THE BIOLOGICAL  All are white

MOLECULES  Burn in air to give heat, CO2 and water.
Food is essential for life. It can be defined as
something eaten and from which we obtain the
nutrients needed for proper functioning of the
body. Classification of carbohydrates:
Why do humans need food? There are three general classes of carbohydrates
We need food for three main reasons. namely;
 To supply us with fuel for energy a. Monosaccharides
 To provide materials for growth and repair b. Disaccharides
of tissues c. Polysaccharides.
 To help fight diseases and keep our bodies a. Monosaccharides/simple sugars
healthy (reducing sugars)
The food eaten is called diet. And the diet These are made of one sugar unit. (Mono=
should be balanced. one and saccharide = sugar). Common
A balanced diet is a meal that contains all the examples include; glucose, fructose and
food values in their correct proportions. galactose. Glucose is found naturally in many
Food values that make up a balanced diet, sweet -tasting foods, such as fruits. Fructose is
 Carbohydrates sweeter than glucose and is used as food
 Lipids sweeteners. It is also called fruit sugar because it
 Proteins is found mainly in fruits.
 Mineral salts Glucose is the main substrate supplying energy
 Vitamins to the cells when broken down during
 Water and respiration.
 Fibre Physical properties of monosaccharides.
The process by which living organisms obtain  Are white
materials and nutrients is called nutrition.  Are very soluble in water even in cold
1. CARBOHYDRATES water
They are compounds containing carbon,  Are sweet to taste
hydrogen and oxygen with a general formula C x  Form colourless solutions with water
(H2O) y where x and y may have the same values  Can be crystallized
or different values. Detection/Testing for reducing sugars in
They are also called saccharides – sugars solution
General functions of carbohydrates We use Benedict’s reagent
 May form structures in the body. All monosaccharides are reducing sugars. This is
 They are energy giving foods in all living because they reduce an alkaline solution of
organisms. copper (II) sulphate to copper (I) oxide.

Procedure: To test a food

sample for presence of
glucose or a reducing
sugar, a small spatula
measure of it is dissolved in
about 2 cm3 of water in a
test tube. The tube is
shaken well. About 1 cm3 of
Benedict’s solution is then
added. The solution turns
blue.
The solution in the test tube is held by a test tube holder and is then heated in a water bath.
Note; a water bath is prepared by half filling the beaker with water and heating it using a Bunsen burner
under a wire gauze on a tripod stand.
Observation. After a few seconds the blue solution gradually turns, green, yellow, orange and finally
brick red precipitate, indicating presence of much glucose or reducing sugars.
It should be noted that the final colour of the solution can help you know how much of the sugar is
present in the food sample. For instance, if the final colour is green, it indicates presence of small
amount of glucose. Yellow shows moderate amount while orange and brick red precipitates indicate
presence of much glucose.

b. Disaccharides / complex sugars / non- reducing sugar

They are carbohydrates formed when two monosaccharide units chemically combine in the process
called condensation. This leads to formation of glycosidic bonds between the two sugar units.
A condensation reaction is one in which two organic compounds react to form a molecule of water as
one of the products.
The type of disaccharides produced during condensation of monosaccharides depends on the types of
monosaccharides that were joined e.g.
Glucose + Glucose → Maltose + water
Glucose + Fructose → Sucrose + water
Glucose + Galactose → Lactose + water
Physical properties of disaccharides.
 They are white
 They exist as crystals
 Are soluble even in cold water but less soluble than the monosaccharides
 Are sweet to taste
 Form colourless solutions with water.
c. Polysaccharides
These are carbohydrates formed when many monosaccharide molecules combine during condensation
reaction to form many glycosidic bonds. i.e. ‘Poly’ means ‘many’. So their general formula is (C6 H10
O5) n where n is a very large number.
Examples include glycogen, cellulose and starch.
Glycogen is a storage carbohydrate found in fungi and animal cells such as the liver and muscle cells in
humans. It is a polymer of glucose. It acts as an energy store and only metabolized when there is a
shortage of glucose supply.
Cellulose is another polymer of glucose. It forms the structural unit of the cell walls of plant cells.
Cellulose much as is a carbohydrate, humans are unable to obtain energy from it since they lack the
enzyme, cellulase for digesting it. It is instead it forms part of the dietary fibre (roughage) which gives
the muscles of the gut something to push against as the food is moved through the intestine. This keeps
the gut contents moving, avoiding constipation and heling to prevent serious diseases of the intestines,
such as colitis and bowel cancer.
Starch
It is also a polymer of glucose molecules formed through condensation reaction. It is the main storage
form of carbohydrate in algae, and plants. In plants it is stored in tubers as in cassava roots and stems
of ginger and Irish potato, fruits of maize and cereal crops like rice and millet.
Physical properties of starch
 It is white
 It is insoluble in cold water and only slightly soluble in hot water giving a turbid solution.
Chemical properties of starch
 It reacts with iodine solution to give a deep blue solution.
 It can be broken-down during hydrolysis to give simple sugars
Testing for starch
Procedure: A sample of food substance is placed in a spotting tile, or crashed and a solution of about 1
cm3 is added to a clean test tube. 3 drops of iodine solution are then added.
Observation
If the solution turns from its original appearance to deep blue/ blue-black, we conclude that starch is
present.
If it turns from its original appearance to brown, we conclude that starch is absent.

2. LIPIDS
These are also organic substances and contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. However, they have much
less oxygen atoms than carbohydrates.
There are two types of lipids namely oils and fats. Fats are solid at room temperature but oils are liquid
at room temperature.
Physical properties of lipids
i. Have low melting points
ii. Are insoluble in water
iii. Are soluble in organic solvents e.g. ethanol
Lipids are stored in animals and seeds of some plants
Functions of lipids
i. They are important sources of energy. Lipids release more energy, when oxidized or broken
down during respiration than carbohydrates.
ii. In some animals they are stored just under the skin where they can act as insulators against
excessive heat loss especially in mammals of the cold deserts.

Testing for lipids

Fats and oils are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol. The test for lipids
uses this fact.
A drop of food substance such as olive oil is placed at the bottom of a test tube using a pipette. About
2cm3 of ethanol are added and the tube is shaken vigorously. The solution is then poured into another
test tube containing about three-quarters full with cold water. This is called an emulsion test.
Observation
If the solution turns from its original appearance to yellow solution and then a white cloudy layer forms
on top of water.
The white layer is caused by ethanol dissolving in water and leaving the lipid behind as a suspension of
tiny droplets called an emulsion.
Grease spot test
This is also used to test for presence of lipids. A drop of solution of a lipid is placed on a white piece of
paper and spread it.
If the spot turns from opaque to a translucent mark, lipids are present and the lipid is absent if the spot
remains opaque.

3. PROTEINS
They are made of units called amino acids. They contain elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
and nitrogen atoms. Some also have sulphur and Phosphorous.
An amino acid has the amino group (-NH2) and the acidic carboxyl group (-COOH). These two groups
are attached to a carbon atom found in the centre. This central carbon atom has two more groups
attached to it namely the hydrogen atom and the side chain R. This R may be a chain of carbon atoms
with their hydrogens.
Testing for proteins in solution
The test for the protein is sometimes called the Biuret’s test.
Procedure: About 2cm3 of solution of the food substance (eg powdered egg white-albumen) is placed in
a clean test tube. An equal volume of dilute (5%) potassium hydroxide is added and the tube shaken
well. Finally two drops of 1% copper (II) sulphate are added.

Observation
If the mixture turns from its original appearance to purple then we conclude that proteins are present. If
the mixture turns solution turns from its original appearance to blue then we conclude that proteins are
absent.

Formation of proteins
Proteins are formed in the process called condensation in which amino acids combine chemically. In
this reaction one amino acid joins with its carboxyl group to the amino group of another amino acid. A
molecule of water is produced in the process (that is why it’s a condensation reaction).
When two amino acids condense chemically, a dipeptide is formed. The bond which joins the two
former amino acids is called a peptide bond.
A polypeptide (protein) is formed when many amino acids have been linked by peptide bonds.
Proteins differ in structure and functions

Function of proteins.
i. Structural proteins. These form structures in the body, for example keratin is a protein which
is found in hair, nails, beaks, horns and hooves of animals.
ii. Hormonal proteins. These help to regulate body activities e.g. insulin secreted by the
pancreas.
iii. Enzymes. These help in catalyzing biochemical reactions e.g. pepsin, amylase
iv. Some provide defense in the body for example antibodies.
Location of proteins
They are stored in seeds of legumes e.g. beans, peas etc. and in the bodies of animals.
Plant proteins have non- essential amino acids and so such proteins are said to be second class
protein. A non-essential amino acid is that one which can be manufactured by the body and so does
not have to be provided in the diet.
Animal proteins contain all essential amino acids and are therefore called first class proteins. An
essential amino acid is that one which cannot be manufactured by the body and so has to be provided in
the diet.
Proteins can lose their natural structure when exposed to high temperature, strong acids, strong alkalis
and organic solvents. This loss in structure is called denaturation and so a protein is said to be
denatured. For example egg white (albumen) when heated will be denatured and turns white and hard
(i.e. coagulates).
Most foods especially animal products
such as meat, cheese, fish and eggs
contain a good amount of proteins.
Plant sources usually contain less
proteins but some foods especially
beans, peas and nuts are richer in
proteins than others. The
recommended daily intake of proteins
is about 70g. A deficiency of proteins
results into a protein – deficiency
disease called kwashiorkor.

4. VITAMINS
The word vitamin comes from two
words vital and amines. These
compounds derived from ammonia.
They are needed in small amounts but in regular amounts because they help enzymes in their activity -
they are co-enzymes.
They help the body to stay health by preventing diseases.
Lack of a particular vitamin results in diseases. Such diseases are thus said to be a deficiency diseases.
Examples of vitamins include;
Vitamin A (retinol), B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinic acid/ niacin), C (ascorbic acid),
D (calciferol) and K (phylloquinone).
Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble; B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, M, C and H are water-soluble.
Each vitamin has a particular function; vitamin A is needed to make a light sensitive substance called
the retinol in the retina of the eye for proper eye sight. Lack of this vitamin (deficiency) leads to night
blindness. That is, the person finds it difficult to see well in dim light.
Vitamin C is need to make fibres of
the material called connective tissue,
binding cells together. This
connective tissue is found in the walls
of the blood vessels and the lining of
the skin surface. Vitamin C also
increases the body’s ability to resist
diseases. Vitamin C deficiency leads
to a disease called scurvy. This is
characterized by wounds failing to
heal and bleeding occurs in the
various places of the body. This is
mostly likely to be noticed in the
gums.
Vitamin D is needed for proper growth
of bones and teeth because it helps in
the absorption of calcium into them.
This makes them hard and strong.
Deficiency of vitamin D leads to poor
growth of bones and teeth, a
condition called rickets. It is most
common among children.
Vitamin B is not a single substance,
but a collection of different substances called the vitamin B group. It includes vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2
(riboflavin), B3 (nicotinic acid/ niacin). These compounds are
involved in the process of cell respiration. Different diseases
result if any of them are missing in the diet. For example, lack of
vitamin B1 results in weakening of the muscles and paralysis, a
disease called Beriberi.

The table showing the main vitamins. Note that you only need to
remember the sources and functions of vitamin A, C and D.

Vitamin Recommended Use in the body Effect of Some foods that are a good
daily amount in deficiency source of the vitamin
diet

A 0.8 mg Makes carotene in Sore eyes, Fish, liver oils, liver, butter,
 retina for good reduced night margarine, carrots
eye sight vision, colds and
Protects the bronchitis,
surface of the unhealthy skin.
eye

B1 1.1mg Helps with cell Beriberi Yeast extract, cereals

respiration

B2 1.4mg Helps with cell Poor growth and Green vegetables, eggs and
respiration dry skin- fish
dermatitis

B3 16mg Helps with cell Pellagra (dry red Liver, meat fish
respiration skin, mental
disorders and
digestive
disorders.)

C 80mg  Increases Bleeding from Fresh fruits and vegetables

resistance to gums and other
diseases membranes, teeth
 Makes cells disorders,
lining the reduced
surface to resistance to
stick together infection. The
disease called
scurvy

D 5µg Helps bones Weak bones, Fish liver oils; also made in
absorb calcium particularly leg the skin in sunlight of
and phosphates bones, poor teeth. specific wave length.
for hardening and The disease called
growth of bones. rickets

4. Mineral salts
They are taken in form of salts. They are required for specific roles in metabolic processes.
Our bodies contain many elements that we get from food as minerals or mineral ions (in
mineral salts).
Some are present in the body in large amounts, for example calcium, which is used for
making bones and teeth. Others are present in much small amounts, but still essential to do
the job. For instance, our bodies contain about 3g of iron, but without it our blood would not
be able to carry oxygen.
Examples of minerals or ions required include; calcium ions, phosphate, potassium, chloride,
sodium, iron, and iodine.

The table showing the main vitamins. Note that you only need to remember the
sources and functions of vitamin A, C and D.
128 Approximate mass Location or role in Examples of foods
in an adult body / g the body rich in the minerals
Calcium 1000 Making bones and Dairy products, fish,
teeth bread, vegetables.
Phosphorus 650 Making bones and Most foods
teeth, part of many
chemicals such as ATP
and DNA.
Sodium 100 Found in body fluids Common salt, most
such as blood foods.
Chlorine 100 Found in body fluids Common salt, most
such as blood foods.
Magnesium 30 Making bones. It is Green vegetables
 found inside cells
Iron 3 Part of haemoglobin in Red meat, liver, eggs,
red blood cells for some vegetables eg.
transport of oxygen. Spinach
Iodine Formation of thyroxine Sea fish, iodized salt.
hormone by the thyroid
gland. Thyroxine is a
growth hormone

Note that some minerals are absorbed directly from the soil by the plant roots and are used to
manufacture important biological molecules. Examples are shown in the table below.

Mineral Importance in the plant body

Magnesium Formation of chlorophyll molecules, needed

for trapping sunlight for photosynthesis

Nitrates
Formation of amino acids, needed for
formation of proteins.

5. Water
It makes up about 65% of body weight in man. It is a medium in which all chemical reactions take place
in the body. On evaporation from the body surface it lowers the body temperature to normal. It is also
present in the synovial fluid of joints where it helps to prevent friction between bones during
movement.
It forms the basis of blood, tissue fluid and lymph in which soluble substances are transported around
the body.
6. Roughage
It is also called dietary fibre. It is the indigestible cellulose material from plant cells.
Its importance in the diet is to add bulk to the food. This helps in stimulating the muscular movements in
the intestines which prevents constipation. Lack of roughage causes constipation because food tends
to be retained for a long time in the intestines which encourages excessive absorption of water from the
food. This food will be hard.

Enzymes
An enzyme is a protein molecule which speeds up the rate of chemical reactions take place within cells
or outside cells of a living organism
Enzymes which work inside cells are called intra cellular enzymes.

Properties of enzymes
i. They work very fast.
ii. They are not used up by the end of the reaction
iii. They speed up chemical reaction
iv. Are affected by the PH of the medium
v. In some their activity is improved by presence of substances termed as Activators
vi. Their activity can be reduced by presence of substances termed as Inhibitors. for example
cyanide ions reduce the rates of a enzyme activity and can lead to death of an individual

Mechanism of enzyme action by lock and key hypothesis

 The molecule that an enzyme act upon is called a substrate
 Each enzyme has a small area on its surface called the active site
 The substrate to be catalyzed attaches itself to the active site of the enzyme
 The reaction takes place to form products
 The enzyme acts by lowering the energy needed to start the reaction so that products are formed
more easily. This energy is called the activation energy
 The substrate fits in the active site on the enzyme perfectly like a key in a lock - the substrates
are complementary to the active site.
 Enzyme catalyses a reaction by causing the reactants (substrates) to react faster. For example, an
enzyme called salivary amylase in saliva can break down a substrate called starch to produce
maltose at a temperature of around 400C but even if that enzyme is absent starch can be broken
down to maltose by boiling but this will take place very slowly
Factors affecting enzymes catalyzed reactions.
The following factors will affect the rate at which an enzyme catalyses chemical reactions.
1. Temperature
2. enzymes concentration
3. substance concentration
4. PH of the medium
5. presence of enzyme inhibitors

Effect of temperature on enzyme activity

Explanation of graph
At first increase in temperature below 400C causes increase in rate of reaction because increasing
temperature increases the number of active enzyme molecules 40 0C is the temperature that causes
most enzyme molecules to be active and because of this the rate of reaction is highest.
The rate decreases as the temperature increases beyond 40 0C because such temperature is very high
and cause the enzyme molecules to be denatured (or destroyed). So as the temperature increases
beyond the greater will be the number of destroyed enzyme molecules. At 60 0C the rate of reaction is O
because all enzyme molecules have been destroyed by heat.

Enzyme concentration
If the substance concentration is kept at a high level and the PH and temperature are kept constant the
rate of reaction is directly proportionally to the enzyme concentration – in other wards as the enzyme
concentration increases so is the rate of reaction
Substrate concentration
For a given enzyme concentration and constant temperature and PH, the rate of reaction
increases with increase in substrate concentration up to some level when the rate will be
constant.

PH of medium
Different enzymes work best at different PH ranges.
Consider the following three enzymes as show to the graphs.

Pepsin works best under acidic conditions, most enzymes act best under neutral conditions and
pancreatic lipase under alkaline conditions
Denaturing enzymes

If enzymes are exposed to extremes of pH or high temperatures the shape of their active site may
change. If this happens then the substrate will no longer fit into the enzymes. This means the key will no
longer fit the lock. We say that the enzyme has been denatured.

It is important you use 'denatured' and not 'killed' as enzymes have never been alive.
 Core practical: Investigating the effect of pH on enzyme activity

Method

1. Set up a Bunsen burner,

heatproof mat, tripod and
gauze.
2. Place a beaker of water on
the gauze and adjust the
flame to keep the water at
about 35°C.
3. Now put two drops of iodine
solution into each spot of a
spotting tile.
4. Add 2 cm3 of amylase
enzyme solution to a test
tube.
5. Place 2 cm3 of starch solution
into the same tube.
6. Finally add 1 cm3 of pH
solution to the tube. This will
keep the pH constant.
7. Mix the solution in the test
tube and place it into the
beaker of water on the
Bunsen burner.
8. Use a pipette to remove a few
drops of solution every 20
seconds from the test tube
and put them into a different well of the spotting tile.
9. Repeat until the iodine solution stops turning black.
10. Record the time this takes. Repeat with different pH solutions.

Safety precautions.

 Iodine solution is an irritant. If it touches skin it should be washed off.

 Goggles should be worn at all times.
Example of results obtained.
pH of solution Time taken before iodine did not change colour

5 240

6 120

7 60

8 140

Interpretation of results

The enzyme amylase breaks down starch into glucose. If the enzyme is working effectively, this will
happen quickly. At pH 7 it took the shortest time before the iodine no longer changed colour. This shows
that the starch was broken down more quickly at this pH. The optimum pH for amylase is therefore pH 7.
Enzymes and food
Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids are large molecules that are needed by the body for growth, repair
and metabolism. They are found in our food. These molecules are too large to pass from the intestine
into the blood, so digestive enzymes break them down into smaller molecules. Once in the body,
different enzymes use these raw materials to synthesise larger molecules.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates include glycogen, starch, sucrose and glucose. The basic building block of a carbohydrate
is a monosaccharide. This is simple sugar, such as glucose and fructose. Enzymes join monosaccharides
together to form disaccharides (two monosaccharides) and polysaccharides (long chains of
monosaccharides).

Carbohydrase enzymes break disaccharides and polysaccharides into monosaccharides (simple sugars).
Carbohydrase enzymes are produced in your mouth (in saliva), pancreas and small intestine.

Proteins

Proteins are large molecules made from amino acids joined together to form chains. They
include enzymes, haemoglobin, collagen and keratin. Each protein has hundreds, or even thousands, of
amino acids joined together in a unique sequence and folded into the correct shape. This gives each
protein its own individual properties.

Protease enzymes are responsible for breaking down proteins in our food into amino acids. Then
different enzymes join amino acids together to form new proteins needed by the body for growth and
repair. Protease enzymes are produced in your stomach, pancreas and small intestine.

Lipids

Lipids are fats and oils. Lipids are large molecules made from smaller units of fatty acids and glycerol.
Digestive enzymes such as lipase break down lipids in the diet into fatty acids and glycerol. Lipase
enzymes are produced in your pancreas and small intestine.
TRANSPORT OF MATERIALS
Osmosis
This is the movement of water molecules from a region of high water molecule concentration to a region
of low water molecule concentration across the partially permeable membrane.
A partially permeable membrane allows water and a few selected molecules to go through it. But a
semi- permeable membrane is one that allows water molecules to go through it and not solute
molecules
A solution which has a high water molecule concentration relative to the solute concentration is a very
dilute one or nearly pure water.
Factors affecting rate of osmosis
These include;
i) Temperature
ii) Concentration gradient

Temperature: The rate of osmosis increases with increase in temperature of the water. This because
water molecules move faster as temperature increases
Concentration gradient: The higher the concentration gradient the higher the rate of osmosis
Terms used in relation to osmosis
Hypertonic solution: This is a strong/ concentrated solution separated from a dilute one by a semi
permeable membrane.
Hypotonic solution: It is a dilute / weak solution separated from a strong one by a semi permeable
membrane.
Isotonic solution: it is a solution of equal concentration with another one separated by a semi
permeable membrane
Osmotic potential: It is a measure of pressure with which water molecules would diffuse out of a
solution if it was separated from another by a semi - permeable membrane.
Osmotic potential depends on the amount of dissolved materials (solute) in solution. The greater the
solute concentration of a solution, the lower it’s the osmotic potential. Thus pure water has the highest
possible osmotic potential. The osmotic potential is lowered by addition of solutes
Water potential: it is the tendency of water to leave solution. Solution of high water potential has a
high tendency to lose water by osmosis. These are dilute solutions or pure water.

EXPERIMENT TO DEMONSTRATE OSMOSIS USING VISKING TUBING

Materials needed: capillary tube, cotton thread, water, sugar or sucrose, visking tubing and a beaker.

Procedure:
 The apparatus is set up as shown in the diagram
 One end of the visking is tied and the upper end is tied to a capillary tube.
 The setup is left for about 2 hours.
Observation
  The solution in the capillary tube will have risen higher after 2 hours,
 The level of water in the beaker will have fallen.

Explanation of the observation

Being partially permeable, the visking tubing has microscopic pores in it which let small molecules of
water to go through it and enter into the sugar solution. It does not allow the sugar molecules to go
through it because they are too big.
The osmotic potential of distilled water is much higher than that in the visking tubing thus water moves
into the visking tubing across that partially permeable membrane causing an increase in volume in the
capillary tube.

What experiment can one carry to prove that sugars did not pass out of visking tubing into distilled
water?
-You boil a little of water in the beaker with Benedict’s reagent.
A blue solution will be obtained which shows that sugar are not present. This means the sugars did not
get out of the visking tubing

Osmosis in relation to animal and plant cells

A plant cell has a cell wall. This is rigid and inelastic. It protects the cell against bursting as a result of
osmotic water uptake. Animal cells on the other hand lack the protective cell wall.
What happens to an animal cell sucha as a red blood cell which is placed in a
hyptonic solution?
The cell takes up water by osmosis and it swells untill it bursts. This is because the cell contents are
hypertonic to the sorrounding solution. So water enters by osmosis. The cell bursts due to lack of a
protective cell wall.
Viewing the cell through a microscope, it wont be seen.
Diagram of bursting rbc

What happens to an animal cell sucha as a red blood cell which is placed in a
hyptonic solution?
The Red blood cell will lose water and become crinkled or crenated. This is because the cell contents are
hypotonic to the surrounding solution so the cell loses water by osmosis and loses its original shape.
The cell surface membrane of the plant and animal cells are partially permeable and so the membrane
of the cell vacuole. However, it should be noted that plant cells have cell walls which are hard and rigid.
They can resist expansion.
What happens to a plant cell when put in pure water or a dilute solution?
- The contents of the cell have a lower water potential than of the external solution. So the cell
will absorb water by osmosis. The cell then swells up and the cytoplasm pushes against the cell
wall and the cell develops an internal pressure known as turgor pressure. And the cell is said
to be turgid.
Turgor is important for plants. The pressure inside the cells pushes neighboring cells against each other
like a box of inflated balloons. This supports the non woody parts of the plant such as young stems and
leaves and holds the stems upright.
Turgor is also important in functioning of the stomata
What happens to a plant cell when put in a concentrated sucrose solution that has a water potential
lower than its contents?
The cell will lose water by osmosis. It will decrease in volume and the cytoplasm will no longer push
against the cell wall. This state is called flaccid.
Eventually the cell contents shrink so much that the membrane and the cytoplasm split away from the
cell wall and gaps appear between the wall and the membrane. The cell in this state is said to be
plasmolysed.
Plasmolysis: It is a condition in a plant cell in which the cytoplasm and vacuole have contracted and
the cell membrane has pulled away from the cell wall as a result of osmotic water loss.
Flaccidity: It is a condition in which a plant cell is deflated and soft due to osmotic water loss. It is the
opposite of turgidity
If the plant loses too much water from its cells so that they become flaccid, this makes the plant to wilt.
This is like a plant left in the pot for long without water. The leaves droop and collapse. This is a
protective action in that it cuts down loss of water by reducing the exposed surface area and closing the
stomata.

Practical: Investigating the effects of osmosis on a potato tuber.

A potato tuber is a plant storage organ. It is a convenient tissue to use to investigate the effect of
osmosis on the mass of a tissue.

Procedure

 Three boiling tubes are obtained. One is half-filled with tap water, a second with concentrated
sucrose solution while the third is left empty.
 Three chips of dimensions 5cm x 1cm x 1cm are cut from the same tuber. No skin is left on the
tuber.
 Each chip is gently blotted to remove excess moisture, and the mass of each cube is found by
measuring using a weighing scale. One chip is placed in each of the three boiling tubes as shown
in the figure
 After 30 minutes, the chips are removed from the tubes and gently blotted to remove excess
liquid, and then reweighed. Each chip is felt using the fingers to compare how flexible or stiff
they are.
 The change in mass (+ or -) is calculated, and the percentage change in mass is computed from
the formula.

 The results are recorded in the table.

Below is a table showing an example of results obtained from an experiment showing effect of
osmosis on mass of a potato tuber tissue.
Tube contents Starting Final mass Change in Percentage Condition
mass (g) (g) mass (g) change in mass (flexible/ stiff)
(%)

Water 6.25 6.76 +0.51 +8.16 Stiff

Sucrose solution 7.10 6.31 -0.79 -11.1 Flexible

Air 6.66 6.57 -0.09 -1.35 Stiff

The results show that;

 Potato chips placed in water gained mass and became stiff.
This is because, contents of the cells in the tissue were hypertonic or concentrated
relative to the surrounding water. So the cells gained water by osmosis, the cytoplasm
expanded in each cell resulting into cells becoming turgid. Cells press one another and
the tissue becomes stiff.
 Potato chips places in sucrose solution lost mass and became flexible.
This is because the solution of sucrose was hypertonic to the cell contents. So the cells
lost water by osmosis, causing the cells become flaccid and hence the entire tissue
became flexible.
 TRANSPORTATION OF MATERIALS INTO AND OUT OF BODY IN UNICELLULAR AND
MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS
In living organisms, if materials are to enter the body across the body surface, the surface area of that
body should be large enough compared to the volume of the body in order to satisfy the body’s
requirements.
Consider three cuboidal organisms A, B and C of different sizes; 3cm, 2cm and 1 cm.
Calculate the surface area and volume of each. Then calculate the surface area to volume ratio of each
and compare them.

Transport in unicellular organisms

For small organisms, they have a much larger surface area to volume ratio compared to large
organisms. Thus small organisms can easily depend on diffusion and osmosis across the body surface.
Also, small organisms can depend on simple diffusion and osmosis since their inner most cells are not
far from the body surface as in large organisms.
Thus in small organisms eg amoeba and earthworms, simple diffusion across the body surface is enough
to satisfy the body’s requirements for example, the obtaining of oxygen and elimination of carbon
dioxide.
Thus the problems faced by some large multicellular organisms are
i. Being large so the body surface area is not large enough to satisfy the very large size.
ii. Being large results in the inner most cells being too far from the body surface so that materials
reaching or leaving these cells take too long.

However, some multicellular organisms have solved these problems of large size in different ways like;
 Becoming flattened as in flat worms so as to bring even the inner most cells closer to the surface.
 Having flattened organs e.g. leaves of most plants in order to reduce diffusion distances.
 Development of transport systems which conveys materials from special organs to cells and also
waste materials from body cells to organs that excrete them.
Transport of water within the plant body
Inside the plant, water moves from cell to cell by osmosis. If a cell has a higher water potential than the
cell next to it, water will move from the first cell to the second. In turn, this will dilute the contents of the
second cell so that it has a higher water potential than the next cell. In this way, water can move across
a plant tissue down a gradient of water potential.

Absorption of water by roots

Behind the root tip are millions of root hairs that help in maximizing the uptake of water by the plant.

The process of absorption of water by the root hairs

The concentration of water molecules in the cell sap of root hair vacuoles is lower than that of the
surrounding water in the soil. So water enters into the root hair cell from the soil by osmosis across the
cell wall and the cell membrane.
This dilutes the contents of the root hair cell which then proves to have a higher water potential than the
cells of the cortex. Thus water moves osmotically from the root hair cell into the cortex. Continuing this
way, a gradient of water potential is set up across the root cortex.
Adaptations of root hairs for water absorption
a) Root hairs are numerous in number. This increases the surface area for maximum water
absorption.
b) The root hair is long and thin for easy penetration through soil particles.
c) Its cell sap has a concentration of lower water potential than surrounding soil solution. This
facilitates water absorption into the root
d) It has very thin walls for easy absorption
 Structure of the root hair cell

Movement of water up the plant

- Water and mineral salts are transported up the plant through the root xylem, stem xylem and
enter into the leaves through the leaf xylem.
- The xylem tissues and the phloem tissues form the vascular bundles of the plant

- Once water is in the xylem vessels of the root, it will be moved up the plant through the xylem
vessels of the stem in a continuous non-broken stream called transpiration stream.
- This transpiration stream is as a result of the suction force generated due to loss of water from
the leaves by transpiration

Transpiration pull is the main force and it operates as follows;

 Water is constantly being lost by the leaves to the atmosphere in form of water vapour through the
stomata. This process is called transpiration
Transpiration is the process by which water is lost in form of water vapor by the plant through stomata
in leaves and young stems or lenticels in old stems, to the atmosphere;
 As water vapor leaves the air spaces of leaves, more water passes from the surrounding mesophyll
cells by diffusion into these air spaces to replace it;
 These mesophyll cells which have lost water will have a lower water molecule concentration (high
solute concentration) than the neighboring cells. This causes water to pass to them from
surrounding cells by osmosis;
 Also those mesophyll cells will in turn have to gain water by osmosis from a xylem vessel in the
veins of the leaf;
 This water in the xylem is in unbroken columns which extend or run from leaves to roots. The water
molecules are unbroken mainly because of the force called cohesion.
Thus as water moves out of the top xylem - in the leaf it pulls the rest of the water column upwards. This
process continues as long as transpiration is taking place.
As the amount of water reduces in the xylem of the root, more water comes in from the neighboring
cortex cells. And because the solution in the root hair cell has a lower water molecule concentration than
the water in the soil, water enters into the plant by osmosis.
Internal structure of the leaf
Transpiration causes water to be pulled up the xylem in the stem and the root in a continuous flow known
as the transpiration stream. The transpiration stream thus has the following functions;
1. Supplies water for the leaf cells to carry out photosynthesis
2. Carries mineral ions dissolved in the water
3. Provides water to keep plant cells turgid
4. Allows evaporation from the leaf surface which cools the leaf in a similar way sweating cooling a
human skin.

TRANSLOCATION
This is the movement of dissolved products of photosynthesis within the plant body.
It occurs mainly in phloem tissue with in sieve tubes. The phloem tissue consists of living cells called
sieve tubes.
These cells have pores in the end walls and so the end walls are called sieve plates. These pores allow
dissolved food substances to pass from one cell to another.
A sieve tube has no nucleus but it is able to remain alive because it is assisted by the companion cell
near it. This companion cell provides energy for the life processes of a sieve tube cell.
Diagram to show arrangement of sieve tube cells

pg 129
It is through the phloem that sugars, amino acids etc., pass from leaves to other parts of the plant where
they are going to be used for growth (e.g. in buds) or stored (e.g. in fruits, seeds and tubers).

1. Glucose the product of photosynthesis is very important as it makes many other important
nutrients, e.g. sucrose.
Sucrose in the leaves then enters the phloem vessels.
The phloem transports the sucrose all across the leaf where it can be made used of.
2. Amino acids are also transported in the phloem.

Sucrose and amino acids are transported

to every tissue of the plant, each cell use
it in a different way.
Root cells convert sucrose into glucose
for respiration and store it.
Growing cells make cellulose for cell
walls from sucrose and use the amino
acids to make proteins for growth.
And fruits use the sucrose to make the
attractive scent and tasty nectar to
attract insects.
The areas of the plant where sucrose is
made, are called sources, and where
they are delivered to and made use of are
called sinks.

Experiment to show that

translocation occurs in the phloem
The ringing experiment
The ring of the back of a potted plant is
removed.
Observation
After a few hours the upper part swells.
When the contents of the swollen part are
analyzed, it is seen that there is a high concentration of sugars above the ring and a lower concentration
below the ring. This is called a ringing experiment

Describe how the structure of xylem tissue is adapted to its functions.

The cells join together to make a long tubular structure.
There are no cross-wall and no living contents so the water and mineral salts can pass through freely.

Describe the mechanism of water movement through the xylem.

Water moves by the pull from the leaves caused by the transpiration.
Xylem vessels are very thin, so they act like a capillary tube helping to withdraw water upward.

Plants need mineral salts

Minerals are needed for plants to make a range of organic compounds from the products of
photosynthesis eg nitrates are needed for production of amino acids.
Uptake on mineral salts
Mineral salts are absorbed from the soil by the root hairs together with water.
Mineral salts are absorbed by diffusion when the concentration of mineral salts in the soil is greater
than that in the cell vacuole of the root hair cell.
However, when mineral salt concentration in the cell sap is greater than that in the soil solution,
minerals are taken up by active transport. This involves use of energy.
Once inside the root, the mineral ions pass across the root cortex mainly by diffusion and enter into the
xylem vessels.
They are then carried up the plant in the transpiration stream.

TRANSPIRATION
Transpiration is the process by which water is lost in form of water vapor by the plant through stomata
in leaves and young stems or lenticels in old stems, to the atmosphere. In the leaves, water molecules
leave the xylem vessels and move from cell to cell. They move through the spongy mesophyll layer
by osmosis along a concentration gradient. Water then evaporates into spaces behind the stomata
and diffuses through the stomata into the surrounding air.

Control of transpiration
Since most water is lost by transpiration mainly through the stomata of the leaves, transpiration is
controlled by the closure and opening of the stomata.
Also some plants have more stomata on the lower epidermis of their leaves to reduce the rate of water
loss by transpiration
Other plants eg hydrophytes increase water loss by having more stomata on the upper epidermis than
on the lower epidermis.

The stoma (many = stomata)

This is a pore formed between two adjacent guard cells apart.
The guard cells that surround the stoma have non uniform cell wall thickness. The inner cell wall is thick,
rigid and inelastic while the outer cell wall is thin, flexible and elastic.
Guard cells have crescent or sickle or banana shape
Diagram of guard cells when stoma is open and closed

Control of opening and closure of the stomata

 Guard cells are surrounded by epidermal cell
 Guard cells contain chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll for absorption of sunlight during
photosynthesis
 Stomata open during day and close at night or during darkness
 During day, guard cells photosynthesise in presence of sunlight and manufacture sugars eg
glucose or sucrose
 The sugars lower the water potential of the guard cells lower than the surrounding epidermal
cells. So water enters osmotically into the guard cells.
 Guard cells swell up and become turgid and bend out wards opening the stoma
 In darkness, guard cells do not photosynthesise and have higher water potential than
surrounding guard cells.
 They loss their water osmotically and become flaccid
 They then bend inwards and cause the stoma to close.
Practical: Experiment to demonstrate Transpiration

Simply, a polythene bag is taken and tied round a branch of a

small plant placed outside in presence of enough sunlight.

Ensuring that there is no pore within the polythene bag, the

plant is left for about 2 hours.

Observation.

The inside atmosphere of the bag becomes misty and drops of

a colourless liquid condense on the walls of the bag. Testing

the liquid using white anhydrous copper (II) sulphate, it turn

blue. This shows that water is produced.

Water is produced from the plant by transpiration.

In the laboratory, transpiration can be demonstrated using the apparatus in the figure ()

Apparatus:

A well-watered potted plant, Vaseline, oil cloth, strong thread or clamping rubber bands, glass slab and a bell

jar.

Procedure
A small well-watered potted plant is taken. The external surface of pot and its soil is covered with oil cloth. The
potted plant is placed on a glass slab in a cooler place.
A dry bell jar is covered over it.
The edges of the bell jar are sealed with Vaseline so that no air enters the apparatus from outside. Leave the
apparatus undisturbed.
Observation

Soon the interior of the bell jar becomes misty.

Afterwards drops of water will be found on the inner surface of the jar.

Explanation

Water comes from leaves of the plant by transpiration and not from elsewhere.

Precautions:

 Do not place apparatus in a very warm place as the water vapors will not be able to condense.

 Keep the apparatus undisturbed.

 Use a glass slab or smooth surface as the base for the apparatus.

 Seal the edges of bell jar so as to avoid the entry of water vapors from outside,

 Cover the soil and the exterior of the pot properly with oil cloth.

Practical: Demonstration of Transpiration from Foliar or leaf surface

Apparatus:

3-5% cobalt chloride solution, two small pieces of filter paper, desiccator or oven, forceps, leaf clasp, slides,

vaseline, a potted plant or fresh shoot of Pipal or Mulberry with one end in water.

Procedure

Two small pieces of filter paper are dipped in 3-5% cobalt chloride solution.

They are taken out and dried in an oven or desiccators till they become blue.

The lower surface of leaf is cleaned gently with dry cotton.

A dry cobalt chloride paper is places over it.

Quickly the paper is covered with a glass slide and its sides are sealed with Vaseline.
Observation

Within a few minutes the colour of the cobalt chloride paper will turn pink. No such change occurs in the dry

cobalt chloride paper kept in between two glass slides with the edges sealed to prevent entry of water vapors
from air (Fig. 11.34). Instead of glass slide and Vaseline, cello tape can be used in both the cases.

Explanation

Cobalt chloride is blue in the anhydrous condition but becomes pink in contact with water. The change of

colour of the cobalt chloride paper from blue to pink clearly indicates that the paper has received water from

the surface of leaf.

Precautions:

 Use dry forceps.

 Dry the leaf surface gently with dry cotton.

 Handle the leaf gently.

 Seal the edges of the slide completely but gently with Vaseline.

Measuring rate of transpiration

a. By weighing method
A small light weight potted plant can be weighed before and after the end of a certain period of time.
The soil surface and the pot should be fully covered to prevent evaporation from the surfaces other
than the plant. The loss in weight by the plant during that time is due to the loss of water by
transpiration.
 b. Using a potometer
To set up a volume potometer, the whole apparatus is placed in water and any air in the tube is
removed.
A shoot is taken from a plant and the end of the stem is cut at an angle. This makes it easier to push
the stem into the rubber tubing which is done under water to stop air from entering
The stem is cut under water to prevent water from entering and blocking the xylem vessels
Diagram of the potometer

It is assumed that the water lost by the plant by transpiration equals to the amount of water absorbed by the
plant through the xylem tissues.
Thus the rate of transpiration is expressed as water taken up by the plant. This is done by measuring the
distance moved by the air bubble per minute
The reservoir is used to reset the air bubble to original position by opening the tap
Advantage of using a potometer
It can be used to compare the rate of transpiration at different conditions of the environment such as windy or
still air, humid area etc.

Factors that affect rate of transpiration

a) Environmental factors:
i) Wind speed
The higher the speed of wind blowing over the leaves, the higher is the rate of transpiration and vice
versa.
This is because a high wind speed removes the water vapor over the leaves so that the rate at which
more water vapor diffuses out through the stomata also increases.
 If the wind speed is low, little water vapor will be carried away and so less water vapor will diffuse out
through stomata i.e. low transpiration rate.
ii) Light intensity
Light of high intensity i.e. bright light causes a high rate of transpiration and vice versa
This is because bright light causes many stomata to open than light of low intensity. When more
stomata are open a lot of water vapor escapes i.e. high transpiration rate.
iii) Humidity
This is the measure of the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. High humidity means that there
is a lot of water vapor in the atmosphere.
High humid conditions cause a decrease in transpiration rate because the outside of the leaf is already
saturated with water vapor and this prevents water vapor from escaping out of stomata i.e. low
transpiration rate.
Low humid conditions result in high rate of transpiration because now the air has little water vapor
surrounding the leaves and this causes more water vapor to escape from the stomata i.e. high rate of
transpiration.

b) Internal factors or non-environment factors

i) Stomata
The greater the number of stomata per unit area of the leaf, the higher the rate of transpiration
Stomata distribution: leaves that have more stomata on the upper epidermis than lower epidermis
transpire more than those with more stomata on the lower epidermis.
Some leaves e.g. those of most dicots have more stomata on the lower epidermis and this is an
adaptation to reduce transpiration rate. In monocots, the number of stomata on the upper epidermis is
the same as on the lower epidermis.
ii) Leaf size
Leaves that are broad, experience high rates of transpiration. This is because the surface area over
which water is lost is greater than those with small leaves.
Hot desert plants have small leaves in order to reduce the transpiration rate.
Also plants in temperate regions and even those of cold deserts e.g. pines and cedar have reduced
leaves in order to reduce the surface area and thus the rate of transpiration. In cold deserts water not
available in liquid state and so plants cannot easily obtain the water from the soil.

iii) Leaf number

A plant with more leaves loses more water by transpiration than one with fewer leaves. This is
because the greater the number of leaves the higher will be the surface area over which water can be
lost. So hot desert plants tend to have fewer leaves and even photosynthesis is carried out by
modified stems.
iv) Presence of cuticle
- Some leaves have a lot of cuticle in the epidermis and this helps them to cut down the rate of water
loss e.g. most desert plants and those of temperate regions. The epidermis has a thick cuticle and
thus they adapted to living in those areas where water is scarce.
- Plants living in areas where there is plenty of water e.g. some yams have a very thin cuticle in order to
encourage water loss so that they avoid getting water logged.

Adaptations of the leaf, stem and root to different environments

Plants which live in extreme environments have adaptations to control their transpiration rate. Most
modifications are adaptations to very dry (arid) environments.
Water plants have no problems of water shortage. They do not need adaptations to conserve water as
desert plants.
Plants modified to cope with a lack of water are called xerophytes.
Living in deserts where water is scarce and evaporation is rapid, or in windy habitats where evaporation can
also be rapid, they have to cut down water loss.

- Very long roots to search for water deep

down in sand dunes.
- Leaves that roll up in dry weather to
increase humidity around stomata,
reducing transpiration.
- Sunken stomata to create high humidity
and reduce transpiration.
- Fine hairs around stomata, reducing air
movement so humidity builds up and
transpiration is reduced.

Leaves reduced to spines – this reduces the

surface area for transpiration and also acts as a
defence against herbivores.
- Reduced number of stomata.
 - Stomata closed during the day- when conditions for transpiration are most favourable.
- Fleshy stem - to store water.

- Leaves needles-shaped to reduce surface area for transpiration and to resist wind damage.
- Sunken stomata to create high humidity and reduce transpiration.
- Thick waxy cuticle on the epidermis to
prevent evaporation from leaf surface.

- Roots do not attach to the

bed of the river or pond
where they grow, but just
float freely in the water.
- The stems and leaf stalks
have hollow spaces in them,
filled with air help to float on
the top of the water where
they can get plenty of light
for photosynthesis.
- Leaves and stomata are on
both surfaces, not just on
the underside as in most
plant to allow absorbing
carbon dioxide from the air,
for photosynthesis.
- The cuticle on the upper
and lower surfaces of the
leaves is much thinner than
in plants that don't live in
water, there is no need to
prevent water loss from the
leaves.

TRANSPORT IN LARGE ANIMALS

Here blood is the main transporter of materials.
Composition of blood in a mammal:
Blood makes 10% of the body weight in an adult human being. It is about six litres.
The fluid part of blood is called plasma while the solid materials in blood include red blood cells, white blood
cells and platelets.
The components of plasma include water, blood proteins, dissolved foods, mineral salts, wastes, gases and
hormones.

Red blood cells (erythrocytes)

They are biconcave discs. Are very small (0.008 mm in diameter and 0.002 mm thick).
 The nucleus is present only in young stages but when mature they lose the nucleus and that is why they only
live for 120 days and they die. They will then be broken down in the spleen and liver. The iron component
found in the haemoglobin of the red blood cell will be re-used to make new red blood cells. They are made in
the bone marrow at the ends of long bones of arms and legs, in ribs, vertebrae, sternum and scapula. In
infants, red blood cells are made in the red marrow of all bones.
The main function of the red blood cells is to transport respiratory gases – oxygen and carbon dioxide.
How they are adapted for this function because;
They have a very thin cell membrane which enables quick diffusion of gases in and out.
The biconcave nature gives them a large surface area over which gases can be transported.
They lack of a nucleus ensures that all the space even that which would have been occupied by the nucleus is
used for transportation of gases.
The cytoplasm of a red blood cell contains a protein called hemoglobin which has a high affinity (it easily
combines) with oxygen.
Their cytoplasm also lacks mitochondria so that they respire anaerobically so that they do not consume the
oxygen they are carrying.

The number of red blood cells in blood varies according to the need. For example people who live at high
altitudes have a problem in that the percentage of oxygen in the air is very low. Because of this problem they
suffer from breathing problems. To solve such a problem they manufacture more red blood cells and thus have
higher numbers of red blood cells compared with people in low altitude areas.
Also when one climbs a mountain, one first gets problems in breathing and other symptoms of lack of enough
oxygen such as headache, nausea, unconsciousness and others. However, after some period of time, such
symptoms disappear due to the adjustment in the circulatory and respiratory system. For example; breathing
rate and the heart rate increase- more blood containing more oxygen is pumped and flows faster to the
respiring tissues. The red blood cell count (erythrocyte count) containing more haemoglobin also increases
due to manufacture of more blood by the red bone marrows. These adjustments enable a person to cope up
with such an environment of low oxygen concentration. The person is said to be acclimatized. And the
process of undergoing these adjustments is called Acclimatization.

What do you understand by the term “Acclimatization” as applied to a mountain climber in relation to red
blood cell count?

WHITE BLOOD CELLS (LEUCOCYTES)

They are colourless and are much larger than red blood cells. They are of two type;
 Granulocytes
 Agranulocytes / thrombocytes

a. GRANULOCYTES
 They have this name because the cytoplasm contains tiny granules.
 Are made in the bone marrow but by different cells from those which make up red blood cells
 Are amoeboid i.e. keep changing shape like amoeba which enables them to squeeze through tiny pores in
blood capillaries. This enables them to reach infected areas.
 Are phagocytic in that they engulf other cells e.g. bacteria. They are thus defensive cells. They gather in large
numbers around wounds and help to destroy bacteria which otherwise would enter in wounds.
 The nucleus is bilobed.
<Space for diagram 10 lines>
 b. Agranulocytes/ thrombocytes
 The cytoplasm is thinner but without granules, that is why they have that name.
 They are made in the lymph nodes that is why they are called lymphocytes.
 The nucleus is very large and round.
 They are also amoeboid but not phagocytic
 They are fewer in number than granulocytes.
 Their function is to produce anti-bodies which destroy foreign agents in the body.
<Space for diagram 10 lines>

c. Platelets
 Are irregularly shaped objects;
 Are made in the bone marrow as fragments from other cells.
 Their function is to bring about blood clotting
<Space for diagram 10 lines>

d. Plasma
This is the liquid part of blood. It is 92% water and contains many important substances such as products of
digestion, plasma proteins (albumin and fibrinogen), anti-bodies, hormones, waste materials (which may
include urea and carbon dioxide)
Its functions are;
 Transportation of;
i. Soluble products of digestion from the alimentary canal to other parts of the body.
ii. Excretory products from tissues to excretory organs.
iii. Hormones from ductless glands to organs that are to be stimulated
iv. Heat from liver and muscles to all body parts.
v. Water and inorganic ions
vi. Red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

 It can clot when the fibrinogen is converted to the fibrin and this enables the sealing off of wounds to prevent
excessive blood loss.
 Plasma can be forced out of blood vessels and into spaces between cells (to form tissue fluid). Here it provides
nutrients to cells and removes waste material. This tissue fluid provides the environment which keeps the cells
alive.

The process of blood clotting

When a blood vessel gets damaged, the platelets are exposed which causes then to release on enzymes called
thrombokinase. This enzyme will quicken (catalyze) the reaction between a protein called prothrombin and
calcium ions to form another enzyme called thrombin. This thrombin enzyme will then catalyze the reaction in
which a protein called fibrinogen is converted to fibrin (clot). This clot seals the wound thus preventing blood
form further moving out of the blood vessels.
The blood clotting mechanism in summary

Broken platelets release Thrombokinase

thrombokinase
Prothrombin + Ca2+ Thrombin enzyme

thrombin enzyme
Fibrinogen Fibrin (clot)

Some people have an unhealthy condition called hemophilia in which the blood does not have the ability to
clot. This disease results into continuous bleeding when some is injured with an open wound. In these people
the blood is unable to clot. It is in heritable.

THE MAMMALIAN HEART

It is found in the thoracic cavity between the lungs. It is slightly displaced to the left.
In structure, the heart is a size of a fist in an adult. It is enclosed in a min envelope called the pericardium.
The pericardium secretes a lubricating fluid into the space (pericardial cavity) that reduces the friction when
the heart is moving.
Diagram to show external parts of the heart
<space for diagram 20 lines>
In mammals the heart has four muscular chambers. These are the two atria and the two ventricles. Atria
have thin walls of muscle. Ventricles have thick folded walls of muscle. The right atrium has two major vessels
which bring de-oxygenated blood into it. One of these vessels brings blood from the upper body and is called
superior vena cava. The one which brings blood from the lower body - parts of the body below the heart is
called inferior vena cava. The right side also has the pulmonary artery which carries de-oxygenated blood
from the heart to the lungs.
The right atrium is separated from the right ventricle by the tricuspid valve. This valve prevents blood from
flowing back to the right atrium when the ventricle pumps it into the pulmonary artery to go to the lungs.
The left atrium is separated from the left ventricle by the bicuspid valve. This valve also prevents blood from
flowing back to the left ventricle when it is pumped.
A large vessel called the aorta carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle out of the heart. The aorta has
the semilunar or pocket valves which prevent back flow of blood into ventricles when the ventricles relax.
The cuspid valves are supported from the papillary muscles in the ventricles by tough inelastic fibres called
tendons.

DIAGRAM TO SHOW VERTICAL SECTION THROUGH THE HEART

 The atria pump blood to only a short distance (just into the ventricles), thus they do not need to be very
muscular. But the ventricles pump blood to much a longer distance for instance, up to the lungs and other
organs of the body and that is why they are much more muscular.
The heart is made of cardiac muscles whose characteristic features are that
 It can contract even without nerve messages from the brain.
 The muscles which form the heart form a net-like pattern by branching and cross-connecting with each other.
This arrangement results in a rapid spreading of waves of contraction among the individual muscle fibres of the
heart. This promotes wholesome contraction of the walls of the atria and ventricles.

DIAGRAM TO SHOW PART OF CARDIAC TISSUE <Space for diagram 20 lines>

The heart itself is supplied by blood via the coronary artery. This artery is a branch from the aorta near the
heart. The coronary vein carries blood from the heart muscle.
Action of the heart
The right half and left half of the heart function simultaneously (at the same time). The right half pumps blood
to the lungs and the left half pumps blood to the rest of the body.
The sequence of heart actions involved in one heart beat is called the cardiac cycle. This cycle is in two stages
namely systolic phase and diastolic phase.
During systole
- The heart muscle contracts forcing blood out through arteries.
- The ventricles relax and pressure in the arteries forces the semi lunar
values to close which prevents blood from flowing back into the
ventricles. This marks the beginning of diastole.

During diastole
 The heart muscle relaxes
 The two atria contract forcing blood into ventricles.
 The vein bringing in blood contracts preventing back flow of blood
and
 The seminar values are closed.

One diastole and one systole make up one complete cycle or heat
cycle. This cycle lasts for 0.8 seconds. The normal heart rate in a mature
person is between 72 to 75 beats per minute. Some factors may result in
changes in this and these include;
 Increase in body temperature increases the heart rate.
 Exercise increases the heart rate
 Fright and excitement will also increase the heart rate.
 Young mammals have higher rates than mature ones.
 Also smaller mammals tend to have higher heart rates than big ones.
 The heart rate reduces during sleep.
The heart rate is influenced by nerve messages from the medulla oblongata in the brain for example, if one is
excited the brain sends messages to the heart at a faster rate causing a higher heart rate. If one is resting the
brain sends messages at a reduced rate and this result in reduction in heart rate.

STRUCTURE OF BLOOD VESSELS

Blood vessels are of two principle types namely arteries and veins. Capillaries are tiny branches connecting
arteries to veins. The capillaries of arteries are called arterioles while those of veins are called venules.
ARTERY
 Has a three layered wall. The outer wall is of fibrous connective tissue which functions to prevent too much
expansion of the wall. The middle layer is thicker and is of smooth muscle and elastic tissue. This middle
layer allows arteries to expand in order to withstand the high pressure of blood being pumped through the
artery. This middle layer also ensures that pressure is maintained in the arteries during diastole by squeezing
on the blood.
 The inner layer is thinner than the outer most layer, is elastic and is of a single layer of cells called the
endothelium.
Cross section through on artery <Space for diagram 10 lines>

An artery divides into arterioles. These are very small and have thin walls. These arterioles enter into tissues
and organs of the body.
Arteries do not have valves at their origin from the heart except the pulmonary artery.
A surge of blood through arteries when blood is pumped into them from the ventricles is called a pulse.

VEINS
A vein also has three layers; its middle layer is thinner than that of the artery.
The lumen is wider than that of artery. Blood flow in a vein is at reduced pressure because the blood has been
to the capillaries which greatly cut down its speed. Because of this, blood flowing back to the heart, through
veins would be slow but this is not usually the case because;
 It is aided by skeletal muscles of the body.
 Also the gravitation pull helps the blood to flow from parts above the heart such as the head.
 Also veins have valves along their length which ensures that blood moves in only one direction and which is
towards the heart.
Veins carry blood towards the heart

Cross-section and Longitudinal sections through vein <Space for diagram 15 lines>
 CAPILLARIES
Capillaries are found in all tissues in the body and pass very close to cells. They connect arteries to veins.
 Are very thin (are one-cell thick)
 Have tiny pores in their walls.
 Have a very narrow lumen (are about the size of a red blood cell).
It is through these tiny pores that water, dissolved substances and other very small molecules pass to and from
surrounding tissues during ultrafiltration.
Their tiny lumen ensures that blood flows slowly through them giving enough time for diffusion of materials to
take place.

CROSS SECTION THROUGH A CAPILLARY <Space for diagram 10 lines>

Table showing comparison between arteries, veins and capillaries.

Arteries Capillaries Veins

Carry blood away from the heart Join arteries and veins Carry blood toward the
heart

Transport oxygenated blood except Contain a mixture of oxygenated Transport deoxygenated

pulmonary artery. and deoxygenated blood blood

They have thick muscular and elasticWalls are very thin i.e. one-cell thick
Walls are thinner than
walls. arteries with little muscle

Have small lumen Lumen very small Lumen wide

Lack valves except at base of those

near the heart Capillaries do not have valves Have valves

Speed of blood is high blood, under Blood flow is slow under low Blood flow is slow, under
high pressure and in pulses. pressure, is smooth (not in pulses) low pressure and is
smooth.

TYPES OF BLOOD CIRCULATORY SYSTEM IN ANIMALS

There are two main types.
 Open circulatory
 Closed circulatory

Open circulatory system

 This is where blood is not found in vessels but flows in spaces called sinuses. In this case the speed of blood
flow is low. There is little control over the direction of circulation. Such animals with this kind of blood
circulatory system face those two problems. It occurs in arthropods and molluscs.

Closed circulatory system

This is where blood is confined or found in vessels. Its advantages are;
 Blood flow is fast since vessels are narrow;
 There is greater control of direction of circulation.
Closed circulatory system occurs in two forms namely;
a) Single closed circulatory system b) Double closed circulatory

Single closed circulatory system

This is closed circulatory in which blood passes through the heart only once in each circulation of the body. In
this case blood is pumped from the heart to the respiratory organ and then to the rest of the body and then
returns to the heart.

It occurs in fish where the respiratory organs are gills. The fish’s heart has two chambers - one atrium and one
ventricle. It is the ventricle which pumps blood to the respiratory organ
Double closed circulation system
This is the closed circulation in which blood goes through the heart twice for each complete circulation. It
consists of two main circulatory routes namely;
 Pulmonary circulation
 Systemic circulation
In the pulmonary circulation, deoxygenated blood is pumped by the right ventricle to pass through the
pulmonary artery and then to the lungs. It will then return to the heart with oxygen via the pulmonary vein.
In the systemic (body) circulation the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood to other body parts. This blood
will return via the vena cava.
Diagram showing the route of circulation of blood in a mammal
 The purpose for pulmonary circulation is to oxygenate the blood. It takes a very short time of about eleven
seconds. In the systemic circulation, the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood through the aorta. The aorta
makes an arch over the heart and gives off branches to all parts of the body except to the lungs. Thus it gives
off
 the carotid artery to the head,
 the subclavian artery to the arms,
 the hepatic artery to the liver,
 the gastric artery to the stomach,
 the mesenteric artery to the intestine,
 the renal artery to the kidney and
 the iliac arteries which enter the legs where they come to be called femoral arteries
After branching to the capillaries in the tissues and supplying them mainly with oxygen and other substances,
the blood returns by way of veins having similar names e.g. if the blood went by way of subclavian artery it
returns by way of subclavian vein. These veins will have collected metabolic waste products from the cells.
The veins in the region above the heart will pour all their blood into the anterior vena cava (superior vena
cava). This venacava then pours its blood into the right atrium of the heart. Those veins from the posterior
regions (behind or below the heart) will pour their blood into the inferior vena cava (posterior vena cava). This
vena cava will then pour its blood also into the right atrium. The main purpose of systemic circulation is to
carry food and oxygen to tissues and to collect wastes.
It requires thirty heart beats to send blood to the lower part of the body and back to the heart.
The two coronary arteries from the aorta carry blood to the heart muscle. They divide to form capillaries which
supply the heart muscle with food and oxygen and collect wastes from its cells. This blood will return to the
heart chambers by way of carotid sinus and into the right atrium.

BLOOD GROUPS
Like all cells, red blood cells also have proteins called antigens on their cell membranes. In the plasma or
serum of blood, there are antibodies that are produced by the agranulocytes. The antibodies attack foreign
cells (e.g. bacteria or cells from another organism) by reacting with their antigens.
The human blood can be classified into four groups namely A, B, AB and O. This is the ABO system. If the red
blood cells have antigens that can be recognized as foreign by the antibodies in serum of the one who receives
blood, this reaction will cause the red blood cells to clump together (agglutinate) i.e. it is the antibodies which
cause agglutination of the red blood cells.
If the red blood cells from the donor have antigens on them which are recognized by the antibodies in the
receiver’s blood as not foreign, agglutination will not take place and transfusion will be a success.
Also if the red blood cells of the donor have no antigen, then no type of antibodies will react with them. So such
an individual whose red blood cells have no antigen is said to be a universal donor.
An individual whose serum does not contain any type of antibodies against red blood cells can receive blood
containing any type of antigens. Such an individual is said to be a universal recipient.
Now a person of blood group A has antigen ‘A’ on the red blood cells and produces antibodies β (beta). Such an
individual can only receive blood successfully (without agglutinating the red blood cells) from group A and O,
 and not from one with blood group B since the antibodies β in his serum will react with the antigens B in the
donor’s blood.
Also a person of blood group B has antigens ‘B’ on the red blood cells and antibodies α (alpha) in the serum.
So he can only receive blood successfully from blood group B and O
An individual of group AB has antigens A and B on the red blood cells but has not antibodies against any red
blood cells. So this individual can receive blood from group A, B, AB and O i.e. is a universal recipient.
An individual of blood group O has no antigens on red blood cells and so can give to anybody. But since his
serum has antibodies α and β he can only receive from a fellow blood group O.

IMMUNITY
Immunity is the ability of the body to protect against all types of foreign bodies like bacteria, virus, toxic
substances, etc. which enter the body. Immunity is also called disease resistance. The lack of immunity is
known as susceptibility. The science dealing with the various phenomena of immunity, induced
sensitivity and allergy is called immunology.

Acquired natural immunity may be;

 Acquired natural active immunity: This is resistance to disease acquired where by a person produces
antibodies when he gets infected by the disease.
 Acquired natural passive immunity: This is resistance to disease acquired when antibodies from the
mother are passed to the baby via the placenta and also via breast milk.
Acquired artificial immunity: this is immunity developed by the injection of immunisable substances. It can
be active and passive.
 Acquired artificial active immunity: This is resistance to disease acquired when a person is injected with
some vaccine to stimulate the body to produce antibodies. A vaccine is a substance containing some dead or
weakened disease causing microbes. The process of introducing them into the body is called vaccination.
 Acquired artificial passive immunity: This is resistance to disease acquired when an individual is injected
with serum containing antibodies from an outside source.

Immune system - antibody production, tissue rejection & phagocytosis

The immune system is the body's defense against disease and foreign
bodies, under the form of antibody production, tissue rejection and phagocytosis.

Antibody production
Antibodies are produced by lymphocytes, which are formed in lymph nodes. Lymphocytes are produced
in the bone marrow, and mature into one of several subtypes. The two most common are T cells and B
cells.

 The B- Lymphocytes produce antibodies in response to the presence of pathogens such as bacteria.

This is because alien cells have chemicals called antigen on their surface. A different antibody is

produced for each antigen.

The antibodies make bacteria clump together in preparation for action by phagocytes, or neutralise

toxins produced by the bacteria. Once antibodies have been made, they remain in the blood to provide

long-term protection.

Some B-lymphocytes (memory B- cells) memorise the antigens the body has been exposed to. They can

rapidly reproduce and produce antibodies to respond to further infections by the same pathogen

(disease-causing organism). The T- lymphocytes help activate B-cells to divide into plasma cells to

produce antibodies (figure), call in phagocytes to destroy microbes and activate killer cells.
 Tissue rejection
Transplants involve replacing a damaged organ with a donor organ. Unfortunately, lymphocytes and
phagocytes will respond to any foreign cells in your body, even if they are not pathogens. If a person's kidney
fail, they can be given a new kidney taken from another person. However the recipient's immune system will
recognise the cells in the new kidney as 'foreign', and will attack and destroy them.
The transplanted organ triggers an immune response, antibodies are secreted and the organ may be rejected.
This is called tissue rejection.

To prevent this happening:

 The donor organ needs to be a similar tissue type to that of the patient e.g. from a close relative.
 Immunosuppressive drugs are used, which switch off the body's immune response. While recovering,
transplant patients are at risk of dying from any disease they are exposed to, so they need to be kept in
isolation.

Phagocytosis
Phagocytes have the ability to move out of capillaries to the site of an infection. They then engulf (ingest) the
infecting pathogens and kill them by digesting them.

The lymphatic system is a collection of lymph vessels and glands. It has 3 main roles:
 Fluid balance: return tissue fluid to the blood.
 Protection from infection: produce white blood cells lymphocytes
 Absorption of fats: transport digested fats from villi to blood stream

1. Lymph and Tissue Fluid

Tissue fluid is a fluid surrounding the cells of a tissue. It is leaked plasma -
Plasma from the blood capillaries move to the tissue through gaps in the walls and become tissue fluid.

Tissue fluid play an important role in substance exchange between blood and cells. It supplies cells with
oxygen and nutrients and takes away waste products including carbon dioxide.
At the end of the capillary bed, the tissue fluid leaks back into the blood, and becomes plasma again, but not
all of it. A little of it is absorbed by the lymphatic vessel and becomes lymph.
 The lymphatic vessel takes the lymph to the blood stream by secreting them
in a vein near the heart, called subclavian vein. The lymph in the lymphatic vessels are moved along by the
squeeze of muscles against the vessel, just like some veins.

The return of tissue fluid to the blood in the form of lymph fluid prevents fluid built up in the tissue.
2. Production of lymphocytes
The lymphatic system is an important component of the immune system, which fights infection. One group of
white blood cells, the lymphocytes, are made in lymph glands such as the tonsils, adenoids and spleen.
The glands become more active during an infection because they are producing and releasing large numbers of
lymphocytes.
The lymphocytes can live and multiply in the lymphatic system, where they attack and destroy foreign
organisms. Lymphoid tissue scattered throughout the body filters out pathogens, other foreign matter and
cellular debris in body fluids.

3. The absorption of fatty acids and glycerol from the small intestine
Following the chemical and mechanical breakdown of food in the digestive tract, most nutrients are absorbed
into the blood through intestinal capillaries. Many digested fats, however, are too large to enter the blood
capillaries and are instead absorbed into lymphatic capillaries by intestinal lacteals. Fats are added to the
blood when lymph joins the bloodstream.

Formation of tissue fluid

Each capillary network has an arteriole end a venous end. The capillary wall is very thin (one cell thick) and has
tiny pores. When blood is forced into this capillary network from the artery, a fluid is filters out together with
 some blood components except red blood cells (since these are large and cannot change their shapes), also
large blood proteins do not filter out. This fluid goes into the spaces between cells (intercellular spaces). This is
called tissue fluid.
This fluid supplies tissue cells with nutrients and oxygen. The cells excrete their wastes into this fluid. The
waste will be absorbed into the blood capillaries and taken to the vein.
Some of the tissue fluid is re-absorbed into venules but the reminder will drain into lymph capillaries. The tissue
fluid that flows into lymph capillaries is now called lymph. Lymph capillaries join to form a lymph vessel.

In the lymph vessels there is no pump to drive the lymph but yet lymph moves in one direction due to:
 The contracting muscles of the skeleton will squeeze the lymph so that it moves in one direction and which is
towards the heart.
 The presence of cup-shaped valves which ensures that lymph moves in one direction.
 For those in the regions above the heart, the lymph flows downwards due to gravity.
In certain regions of the body there are small swellings on lymph vessels. These are called lymph nodes. It is
in these lymph nodes that agranulocytes are manufactured. Lymph nodes also contain stationary granulocytes
which engulf bacteria. During period of infection, many of these granulocytes gather in great number in
lymph nodes causing it to swell which is also painful.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TISSUE FLUIDS, LYMPH

The lymph rejoins the blood circulatory system in the region of the thorax where the thoracic lymph duct pours
into the right subclavian vein.
Functions of lymphatic system
 Has lymphocytes that defend the body by making antibodies.
 It transports water from tissues.
 In lymph nodes phagocytes (‘eat’) bacteria and other harmful substances thus defending the body.
 It forms a link between body cells and blood.
 It drains excess tissue fluid back to the blood circulatory system.

Table showing differences between lymphatic system and blood system

Lymph system Blood system
 There are no red blood cells thus this fluid isIt has red blood cells thus fluid is red in color
colourless

Flow is aided by valves and contracting Flow is largely under pressure

muscles

Flow is largely under pressure It is circulatory type of flow

There is some manufacturing functions Has no manufacturing function

GAS EXCHANGE IN PLANTS

Land-living organisms usually have internal gas exchange surfaces to prevent too much water being lost
from the body.
Plants obtain the gases they need through their leaves. They require oxygen for respiration
and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
The gases diffuse into the
intercellular spaces of the leaf
through pores, which are
normally on the underside of
the leaf - stomata.
From these spaces they will
diffuse into the cells that
require them. Stomatal
opening and closure depends
on changes in the turgor of
the guard cells.
When water flows into the
guard cells by osmosis, their
turgor increases and they
expand. Due to the relatively
inelastic inner wall, the
guard cells bend and draw
away from each other, so the
pore opens. If the guard cells
lose water the opposite
happens and the pore closes.
The guard cells lower their water potential to draw in water from the surrounding epidermal cells, by
actively accumulating potassium ions. This requires energy in the form of ATP which, is supplied by
the chloroplasts in the guard cells.

Importance of the different parts of the leaf.

1. The upper and the lower epidermal cells have few chloroplasts and are covered by a thin layer
of waxy material called the cuticle. This reduces the water loss by evaporation and acts as a barrier
to the entry of disease causing microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi.
The lower epidermis has many pores called stomata. Usually the upper epidermis contains fewer or
no stomata. The stomata allow carbon dioxide to diffuse into the leaf to reach the photosynthetic
tissues.
2. The middle of the leaf has two layers of photosynthetic cells called the mesophyll cells. (Mesophyll
– means).
Just below the upper epidermis is the palisade layer. This is a tissue made of elongated cells each
containing numerous chloroplasts and is the main photosynthetic site.
The palisade cells are close to the source of light and the upper epidermis is relatively transparent
allowing light to pass through to the enormous number of chloroplasts which lie below.
Below the palisade layer is a tissue made of more rounded, loosely packed cells with air spaces
between them called the spongy layer. These cells also photosynthesize but have fewer
chloroplasts than the palisade cells.
They form the main gas exchange of the leaf absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen and
water vapour. The air spaces allow these gases to diffuse in and out of the mesophyll. Water and
mineral salts are supplied to the leaf by vessels in a tissue called the xylem. This forms a
continuous system throughout the plant.
The products of photosynthesis such as sugars are carried away from the mesophyll cells by the
phloem transport system. The veins in the leaf contain both the xylem and the phloem.

Photosynthesis and respiration

Through photosynthesis plants supply animals with two of their essential needs ie food (glucose or
starch) and oxygen, as well as removing carbon dioxide from the air.

All living cells including plant cells respire all the time and need oxygen for this. However photosynthesis
only occurs in present of light. It uses carbon dioxide and water as the raw materials, producing glucose
and oxygen.

At high light intensities, photosynthesis occurs at a much higher rate than respiration. So in bright light,
there is an overall uptake of carbon dioxide from the air around the plant leaves and a surplus
production of oxygen. So the stomata must stay open so that the plant has enough carbon dioxide, most
of which diffuses in from the external atmosphere.
A plant only produces more carbon dioxide than it uses up in dim light. That is, when the respiration rate
is higher than the photosynthesis rate. This can be shown by the graph of carbon dioxide exchange at
different light intensities.
The dashed line on the curve shows where the rate of photosynthesis is equal to the rate of respiration.
At this point there is no net gain or loss of carbon dioxide.
Below this line the rate of respiration is greater than the rate of photosynthesis (more carbon dioxide is
given out). Above this line the rate of photosynthesis is greater than the rate of respiration (more carbon
dioxide is taken up).
The compensation point refers to the value of light intensity at which the rate of photosynthesis is
equal to the rate of respiration.

Investigating the effect of light on gas exchange by the leaf.

Note that hydrogen carbonate indicator solution is very sensitive to changes in carbon dioxide
concentration. It is orange coloured solution when in exposed to atmospheric air containing normal
concentration of carbon dioxide of 0.04%. When extra carbon dioxide is added to it (above 0.04%), it
changes to yellow colour. And when carbon dioxide is taken away from it, it turns to a purple solution.
The table summarises the behaviour of the hydrogen carbonate indicator in different carbon dioxide
concentrations.

Condition Indicator colour

High CO2 concentration (More than 0.04%) Yellow
CO2 in normal air (0.04%) Orange
Low concentration of CO2 (less than 0.04%) Purple

Note, a process that can lead to low concentration of carbon dioxide is photosynthesis. This is because it
consumes carbon dioxide. Respiration on the other hand increases the amount of carbon dioxide thus
increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide.

Experiment to investigate the effect of light on gas exchange by the leaf.

Procedure

a. 10cm3 of hydrogen carbonate indicator solution is placed in each of the four boiling
tubes.
b. Three large leaves of approximately the same surface area and from the same plant are
destarched and placed in tops of three of the tubes. Each tube is sealed with a bung.
c. On tube is placed in bright light (A), one in the dark (covered with silver foil) (B)and the
third covered with translucent material (C) to restrict the intensity of light reaching the
leaf. The fourth tube without a leaf acts as a control.
d. The four tubes are set up under a bright light for a few hours, and the colour of the
indicator recorded.
Results from one experiment like

Tube colour of indicator at the

end of the experiment
A Purple
B Yellow
C Orange
D Orange

Explanation

For the tube in light, the indicator turned purple due to the decrease in the carbon dioxide levels in the
tube. This is because the leaf in this tube is respiring and photosynthesizing at the same time. But the
rate of photosynthesis is higher than the rate of respiration. More carbon dioxide is used up in
photosynthesis due to high light intensities than it is produced in respiration.

For the tube in the dark, the indicator turns yellow due to increased concentration of carbon dioxide.
This is because the leaf in the tube is only respiring in the darkness resulting the production of carbon
dioxide. No photosynthesis takes place.

For the tube in dim light, the indicator remains orange. This is because there is no net increase or
decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide. This is a result of rate of respiration is equal to the rate
of photosynthesis in dim light.

For the control, the indicator remains the same because no carbon dioxide is produced nor used since
there is no leaf to carry out the process of respiration or photosynthesis.

Weaknesses of this experiment

 Health and size of the plant varies. Therefore the rate of respiration and photosynthesis will also
vary. Therefore repeats should be made to make the experiment reliable.
 The effect of night time respiration may be larger than the reduction of carbon dioxide during day
meaning that the tubes in bright light and in dark contain the yellow bicarbonate indicator. An
artificial light should be used to make sure this does not happen.
 Due to the use of the water bath and the placement in the room, the tube in bright light may
receive minimal light hence rate of photosynthesis may not be greater than the rate of
respiration. So as previously, an artificial light should be used.

Extensions

 Small invertebrates on gauze platform can be used to show the effect of respiration relative to
photosynthesis.
  Water weeds can be used instead of leaves
 Similarly to small invertebrates, water snails can be used with the water weed to show effect of
respiration relative to photosynthesis

It can now be seen that when the light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis increase too, but
eventually it reaches a maximum rate and starts to level off. What causes this levelling off? It is because
some other factor needed for photosynthesis is in short supply, so that increasing light intensity does
not affect the rate any more. Photosynthesis is basically affected by three other factors; carbon dioxide
concentration, temperature and chlorophyll concentration. Normally, the factor which holds back the
rate of photosynthesis is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. If a plant is put in a container
with concentrations of carbon dioxide higher than normal, it will photosynthesize at a faster rate. If there
is both high light intensity and high levels of carbon dioxide, the temperature may limit the rate of
photosynthesis, by limiting the rate of chemical reactions in the leaf. A rise in temperature will then
increase the rate. However high temperature above the optimum also reduces the rate of
photosynthesis due to denaturation of enzymes in the plant cell.

Therefore, any of the factors can limit the rate of photosynthesis if it is in short supply. These are called
limiting factors. A limiting factor is that the factor directly affects the rate of photosynthesis on its
own, regardless of the level of the other factors. The major limiting factors for photosynthesis are light
intensity, temperature, and carbon dioxide levels.

In experiment 2, the rate was limited

by temperature, thus increase in
temperature while maintaining the
same concentration of carbon dioxide
increases the rate of photosynthesis
as observed from experiment 1. The
rate of photosynthesis kept on
increasing until carbon dioxide
became limited thus maintaining the
temperature while increasing the level
of carbon dioxide leads to increase in
the rate of photosynthesis with
increasing light intensity as seen in
experiment 3.

PRACTICAL: MEASURING THE

RATE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS USING
POND WEED.

The rate of photosynthesis can be

determined by measuring the rate at which oxygen is produced. Oxygen can be measured by counting
bubbles evolved from pondweed. To do this, a pondweed, Elodea is placed in an upside down funnel
above which is placed the test tube containing water. The weed is put in a solution of sodium hydrogen
carbonate. You can then investigate the amount of gas produced at different distances from a lamp.

Nutrition in plants
All living organisms such as plants and animals require food because food is essential to all living

organisms. Plants are capable of making their own food but humans and other animals cannot.

The process by which green plants make their own food from carbon dioxide and water by using sunlight

energy in the presence of chlorophyll is called photosynthesis. Green plants also need food to acquire

energy. All living organisms need energy to perform various life processes.

This chapter deals with the mode of nutrition in plants. How plants prepare their own food, what all

factors are responsible for photosynthesis etc.

Plants make their own food in the presence of sunlight and hence they are autotrophs. Plants convert

sunlight energy into chemical energy. They use carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to make their own

food in the presence of chlorophyll.

In autotrophic mode of nutrition organisms make their own food with the help of simple inorganic

materials like carbon dioxide and water, in the presence of sunlight. Also in this nutrition organic

food is made from inorganic materials. Green plants have autotrophic mode of nutrition. They have

green pigments called chlorophyll which help in trapping sunlight energy. They use the sunlight to

make food by the process of photosynthesis. The food produced by autotrophs is used by human beings

and animals as well. Photosynthesis occurs in the leaves and the food made is then transported to the

different parts of the plant where it is stored in form of starch or be used in processes such as

respiration, growth and development or repair.

The food prepared by the leaves is in the form of simple sugar called glucose. This glucose is then sent

to other parts of the plant. The extra glucose is stored in the leaves of the plant in the form of

starch. Glucose and starch belong to a category called carbohydrates. Thus green plants convert

sunlight energy into chemical energy. In the process, oxygen gas is released as a byproduct. The whole

process can be summarized by the word and chemical equation.

The carbon dioxide enters the

leaves through tiny pores in them

called stomata. Water required to

make food is taken from soil. This

water is transported to the leaves

through roots and stem. The

sunlight provides energy to carry

out chemical reactions and

chlorophyll present in green

leaves help in absorbing this energy. Oxygen produced as a by-product in this process which goes out in

the air.

The steps for photosynthesis are:

i. Sunlight energy is absorbed by chlorophyll.

ii. Sunlight energy is converted into chemical energy and water is split into hydrogen and oxygen.

iii. Carbon dioxide is reduced to hydrogen so that carbohydrate like glucose is formed.

Requirements necessary for Photosynthesis

Following are the conditions necessary for photosynthesis:

1. Sunlight

2. Chlorophyll

3. Carbon Dioxide

4. Water

Carbon dioxide and water are the raw materials while chlorophyll and sunlight are conditions necessary.

Experiments can be used to find out what factors (carbon dioxide, light, or chlorophyll)

are needed for photosynthesis. But first of all you need to destarch the plants. Plants are destarched

before any investigation to be sure that starch is only made during the investigation of a certain factor

but was absent before. Plants are destarched by leaving them in

the dark for 48 hours.

How does leaving a plant in darkness for about 48 hours destarch plant leaves?

During this period, the plant does not photosynthesize due to absence of light, instead the stored starch

is broken down into glucose which is used in energy production by respiration. Hence starch is used

up.

To be certain that the plant is fully destarched, one of the leaves is tested for starch using iodine

solution.

Starch test with Iodine solution

 Boil the leaf in water for 30 second. This kills the

cells in the leaf and break down the membrane for

iodine solution gets through cell membrane and

reach starch inside the chloroplasts and react with

them.

 Boil the leaf in alcohol (ethanol) in a water bath.

This removes chlorophyll by dissolving it out with

alcohol. Leave it until all the chlorophyll has come

out of the leaf.

 Rinse the leaf in water: Boiling the leaf in ethanol

 makes it brittle, the water softens it.

 Spread the leaf out on a white tile. This makes it easy to see the result.

 Add iodine solution to the leaf. If the colour turns blue- black, starch is present. And if it turns brown,

then starch is not present in the leaf.

Let us discuss some experiments to prove that sunlight, chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and water are

necessary for photosynthesis. This can be proven by getting the result that green leaves make starch as

food and starch gives blue-black colour with iodine solution.

1. Experiment to Show that

Sunlight is Necessary for

Photosynthesis
 Take a potted plant with green leaves and destarch
it by keeping it in a completely dark place for three
days.
 Now wrap an aluminium foil tightly in the middle
part of one leaf in such a way that a small part of a
leaf is covered and remaining part is exposed to
sunlight. The aluminium foil must fixed tightly using
paper clips so that sunlight cannot enter from the
sides.
 Keep the potted plant in sunlight for three to four
days.
 Pluck the partially covered leaf and remove
aluminium foil. Now immerse this leaf in boiling
water for about 30 seconds, then boil it in ethanol
using a water bath. Rinse it in cold water.
 Place this leaf in a petri-dish and add drops of
iodine solution to cover it.
Observation

The middle part of the leaf which was covered by the foil will not turn blue-black on adding iodine
solution while the uncovered part of the leaf which was exposed to sunlight turns blue-black on adding
iodine solution.
Explanation.
The middle part turns brown on addition of iodine because starch was absent since this part did not
photosynthesize due to lack of sun light. The uncovered part turns blue black due to presence of starch
formed by photosynthesis in presence of sunlight.
Conclusion
Sunlight is necessary for photosynthesis and leaves make starch as food by photosynthesis
 It should be noted that certain plants have partially white and partially green leaves. Such leaves are

called variegated leaves. For example, croton and coleus have variegated leaves.

2. Experiment to Show that Chlorophyll is necessary for Photosynthesis

 Take a potted plant croton, as its leaves are partially white and partially green. Such a leaf is called a
variegated leaf.
 Place this plant in a completely dark place for three days to destarch its leaves.
 Now take out the potted plant and place in sunshine for three to four days.
 Pluck the variegated leaf and boil it in water for a few minutes. Remove this leaf and boil it in alcohol so
as to remove its green colour. Wash the decolourised leaf with hot water.
 Pour iodine solution over decolourised leaf and notice the change in colour.
Observation.
We will notice that the part of leaf which was originally white will not turn blue-black. This shows that no
starch is present in this part of the leaf. Also it shows that photosynthesis to make starch does not take
place without chlorophyll.
The inner part of leaf which was originally green turns blue-black on adding iodine solution. This shows
that this part of leaf contains starch.
Thus, photosynthesis to make starch
takes place in the presence of
chlorophyll. From this, we conclude that
chlorophyll is necessary for
photosynthesis to take place.

3. Experiment to Show that

Carbon Dioxide is Necessary for

Photosynthesis
 Take a potted plant with long and narrow leaves and place it in a dark place for three days to destarch
its leaves.
 Take a glass bottle having wide mouth and put some potassium hydroxide solution in it. This
solution will absorb all the carbon dioxide gas from the air present in glass bottle.
 Take a rubber cork which fits nicely into the mouth of the glass bottle and make a slit or cut into it. Put
the destarched leaf while it still attached to the plant in-between the slit of the cork. The leaf should be
put in the cork in such a way that upper half of the leaf remains outside the bottle. Fix this cork to the
bottle. Now half of the leaf is inside the bottle and half outside it.
 Now keep this potted plant in sunlight for three to four days.
Now the upper part of the leaf gets carbon dioxide from air and the lower part which is inside glass
bottle does not get any carbon dioxide.
 Pluck the leaf from the plant and take it out from the glass bottle. Remove green colour of the leaf by
boiling it in alcohol. Wash the decolourised leaf with water.
 Pour iodine solution over the colourless leaf. There is a change in the colour of the leaf.

 We will notice that lower part of the leaf which was inside glass bottle does not turn blue-black. This
shows that no starch is present in this part of the leaf. Thus, we conclude that carbon dioxide is
necessary for the plant to make starch in the process of photosynthesis.
 The upper part of the leaf which was outside bottle turns blue-black. This shows that this part of leaf has
starch in it. Thus, we conclude that carbon dioxide is necessary for the process of photosynthesis to take

place.

Experiment to show that oxygen is produced during photosynthesis

Procedure
(i) Obtain a water plant e.g. Elodea or Hydrilla, a pond weed.
(ii) Set up the experiment as shown in the diagram. Add sodium Hydrogen Carbonate in water
to supply extra Carbon dioxide into the water for the plant.
A transparent glass funnel is used in order that light can reach the plant. This funnel is placed
on plasticene in some regions so that water is circulation in the apparatus.
(iii) Place the apparatus in strong sun light.

Observation
(i) Bubbles of a gas will be seen and as they are produced from the funnel area, water in the
boiling tube is being pushed down wards - displaced by the gas.
(ii) On testing the gas with a glowing splint, it is seen that the gas relight a glowing splint.
Conclusion: Oxygen is produced by plants during photosynthesis

HOW DIFFERENT FACTORS AFFECT THE RATE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

The rate of photosynthesis can be measured in terms of the amount of CO 2 used up per unit time or
measuring the rate at which glucose or starch is made or the amount of oxygen produced per unit
time. But the most common and easiest way is to measure the amount or volume of oxygen produced
per unit time.

Of what significance is the study of these factors?

It is to enable a farmer control these levels which may lead to an improvement in crop production.
The factors are;
(i) Carbon dioxide concentration
(ii) Chlorophyll concentration
(iii) Light intensity
(iv) Temperature

The rate at which photosynthesis takes place is limited by a factor which is short supply. This is in
accordance with the principle of limiting factors.
The principle states that: When a chemical process is affected by more than one factor, its
rate is limited by a factor which is nearest its minimum.
In the case of photosynthesis the above mentioned factors affect its rate and its rate is limited by a
factor in short supply.

a. Light intensity
At constant temperature and carbon dioxide concentration, the rate of photosynthesis increases with
increase in light intensity up to a point of optimum light intensity further increase does not result
increase in rate of photosynthesis.

Explanation
Light energy absorbed by chlorophyll is converted to chemical energy. At very low light levels the plant
will be respiring only not photosynthesizing.
As the light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis increases because;
 Light causes the stomata to open widely for carbon dioxide to enter the leaf and be used as a raw
material for photosynthesis.
 Light is absorbed by chlorophyll to form energy to help in photosynthesis. Later further increase in
light intensity causes no further increase in rate of photosynthesis because other factors like
carbon dioxide become limited.

Experiment to investigate the effects of light intensity on rate of photosynthesis

Procedure
a. Place a pond weed Elodea upside in a test tube containing water.
b. Place the tube in a beaker of fresh water at 25°C. This helps to maintain a constant temperature
around the pond weed.
c. Place excess sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in the water to give a constant saturated solution of
carbon dioxide.
 d. Place the lamp (the only light source) at distance from the plant.
e. Count the number of oxygen bubbles given off by the plant in 1 minute period. This is the rate of
photosynthesis at that particular light intensity.
f. The gas should be checked to prove that it is indeed oxygen – relights a glowing splint.
g. Graph the results placing light intensity on the x-axis.

b. Carbon dioxide concentration

At constant light intensity, optimum temperature and chlorophyll concentration, the rate of
photosynthesis increases with increase in CO 2 concentration up to a certain constant level. At this level
even if the CO2 concentration increases there will be no increase in rate.

Description of the curve.

At first, the increase in rate of photosynthesis is directly proportional to increase in CO 2 concentration.
However, further increase in CO2 concentration did not result in increase in rate of photosynthesis; the
rate of photosynthesis remained constant.

Explanation
Now that CO2 was in plentiful supply and temperature was constant, say 25 0C which is the optimum for
the plant, another factor is in limited supply and is limiting the rate of production of bubbles of oxygen
per minute.
In region AB, CO2 concentration is a limiting factor since if its amount is increased there is an increase
in rate. In region BC another factor is limiting and not CO 2 because increase in CO2 does not result in
increase in rate.

c. Chlorophyll concentration
Chlorophyll is not normally a limiting factor. However if the chlorophyll concentration is low the rate of
photosynthesis falls.
Reduction in chlorophyll levels in leaves is induced or caused by factors e.g.
(i) Diseases e.g. mildews, rusts and viral diseases
(ii) Mineral deficiency especially iron, magnesium and nitrogen together with potassium.
(iii) Normal ageing process (senescence)
(iv) Lack of light since light is required in the last stages of chlorophyll synthesis.

d. Effect of temperature on the rate of photosynthesis

When the temperature rises the rate of photosynthesis rises also. There is an optimum
temperature at which the rate of photosynthesis is maximum. Beyond this temperature, the
reaction quickly comes to a halt (stop).
Explanation
At low temperature, the enzyme does not have enough energy to meet many substrate molecules, so
the reaction is slowed because enzymes are inactive.
When the temperature rises, the particles in the reaction move quicker and collide more, so the rate of
photosynthesis rises also. At the optimum temperature, the enzymes are most efficient and attain their
optimum activity so the rate of photosynthesis is maximum.
Above the optimum, the enzymes are denatured – destroyed and can no longer combine with their
substrates at their active sites, so the rate of photosynthesis reduces.

Practical: Experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of photosynthesis.

 Place a pond weed Elodea upside in a test tube containing water at 20°C.
 Place the tube in a beaker of fresh water.
 Place excess sodium bicarbonate in the water to give a constant saturated solution of carbon
dioxide.
 Place the lamp (the only light source) at a fixed distance from the plant.
 Maintain the room temperature at 20°C.
 Count the number of oxygen bubbles given off by the plant in a one minute period. This is the
rate of photosynthesis at that particular temperature.
 Repeat at different temperature ie at 0°C ( by surrounding the beaker with an ice jacket) and at
temperature greater than room temperature (25°C, 30°C, 35°C, 40°C, 45°C, etc.,) by using a hot
plate.
 Graph the results placing temperature on the x-axis.

What is the fate or what happens to the products of photosynthesis?

 The oxygen may be used by the plant for respiration and the excess is passed out through the
stomata.
 The main product glucose can be combined with other elements e.g. nitrogen and sulphur to
form proteins for growth.
 Glucose can be converted into starch which is insoluble so that it can be stored in various parts
of the plants e.g. roots, stems etc.
 The glucose can be broken down to produce energy in respiration.
 The glucose can be used to make lipids and cellulose necessary for protoplasm and cell wall
respectively.
 Other products like proteins and lipids can be stored in different plant parts.

Adaptations of the leaf for photosynthesis

i. A leaf is broad and flat to give a large surface area exposed to sunlight and air.
ii. A leaf is thin (a few cells thick) so diffusion occurs easily because the diffusion
distance is very short.
iii. Has cuticle. This cuticle is water- tight so prevents leaf from excessive water loss from
the photosynthetic tissues.
iv. Has stomata that control the passage of gases and water vapor between air and the
leaf.
v. Its palisade cells are very near the epidermis and this is the best position where they
can receive maximum sunlight yet they have the most chlorophyll. Also the elongated
shape of palisade cells ensures that the number of cross-cell walls is little so a lot of
light can be observed by these cells.
vi. The spongy tissue cells have many intercellular air spaces between them which allows
easy diffusion of gases to all photosynthesizing cells
vii. Each leaf has an extensive network of veins so ells are supplied with water and mineral
salts easily. Also it ensures that products of photosynthesis can be transported to other
parts of the plant which encourages more or faster photosynthesis.
 In general leaves of most plants ones above do not overlap and overshadow those
below greatly. This pattern is called a mosaic pattern.
viii. Chloroplasts are moved within the cytoplasm of palisade towards the side of
the cytoplasm exposed to more sunlight. This movement of organelles within the
cytoplasm is called cytoplasmic streaming.

MINERAL NUTRITION IN PLANTS

Plants absorb water and mineral ions from the soil using their roots. These minerals are used by the
plant for growth. Plants can also be grown in soil-free cultures (water cultures) if a correct balance of
minerals is added to water. In the nineteenth century, the German biologist Wilhelm Knop invented
one example of a culture solution. Knop’s solution contains the following chemicals (per dm 3 of water)
0.8g calcium nitrate
0.2g magnesium sulphate
0.2 g potassium nitrate
0.2g potassium dihydrogen phosphate
(Trace) iron (III) phosphate
These mineral ions are used by the plant to manufacture different biological molecules. For instance,
phosphorus is used in the synthesis of DNA, ATP and other substances. Potassium ions are required
by enzymes in respiration and photosynthesis to work, and magnesium forms part of the chlorophyll
molecule.
A culture solution that contains chemicals that provide all the main elements that the plant needs to
make proteins, DNA and chlorophyll as well as other compounds from glucose, is called a complete
culture solution. If you were to make a similar solution, but to replace, for example, magnesium
sulphate with more calcium sulphate, this would produce a culture solution which is deficient in
magnesium. You could then grow plants in complete and deficient solutions and compare the results.
Plant cuttings can be grown using the apparatus shown below, and seedlings can be grown by packing
cotton wool around the seed, instead of using a rubber bung.

The plant is kept in bright light so

that it can photosynthesize. The
covering around the flask prevents
the algae from growing in the
culture solution. The aeration tube
for short periods of supply of oxygen
for respiration of root cells.

Deficiency of minerals results into

poor plant growth and the plant
shall suffer from symptoms of a
particular mineral deficiency
disease. For example, lack of
magnesium means that the plant
won’t be able to make chlorophyll
and the leaves shall turn yellow.

The table below shows the importance of some minerals and the symptoms of their deficiency.
Mineral ion Use Deficiency symptoms
Nitrate Making amino acids, Limited growth of the plant, older leaves turn yellow
proteins, DNA and other
compounds

Phosphate Making DNA and many Poor root growth, younger leaves turn purple.
other compounds, part of
 the cell membrane.

Potassium Needed for enzymes of Leaves turn yellow with dead spots
respiration and
photosynthesis to work

Magnesium Forms part of the Leaves turn yellow

chlorophyll molecules.

Check up on the chapter

1. A variegated leaf attached to the plant was placed in a test tube as shown below. The test tube
contained soda lime to absorb carbon dioxide.

The plant was left in bright light for 24 hours and tested for starch using iodine solution. Which
of the following diagrams shows the expected result.
2. At night, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air in a forest is high. What is the main
reason for this?
A. There is increased respiration by animals that are active at night
B. Plants are unable to absorb carbon dioxide because their stomata are shut
C. Plants begin to respire in the dark
D. Plants can only use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis in the light.
3. Which of the following is not normally a factor that limits the rate of photosynthesis?
A. temperature
B. oxygen concentration
C. carbon dioxide concentration
D. light intensity
4. Which of the following compounds can only be made by a plant if it has access to magnesium
ions?
A. chlorophyll
B. cellulose
C. starch
D. protein

5. A plant with variegated leaves has a piece of black paper attached to one leaf as shown in the
diagram.

The plant was kept under bright light for 24 hours. The leaf was then removed, the paper taken
off and the leaf was tested for starch.
a. Name the chemical used to test for starch, and describe the colour change if the test is
positive.
b. Copy the leaf outline and shade in the area which would contain starch.
c. Explain how you arrived at your answer to (b).
d. What is starch used for in a plant? How do the propertied of starch make it suitable for
this function?

6. Copy and complete the following table to show the functions of different parts of the leaf, and
how that part is adapted for its function. One row has been done for you.
Part of leaf Function How the part is adapted for its function
Palisade Main site for photosynthesis Cells contain many chloroplasts for
mesophyll photosynthesis
layer
Spongy
mesophyll
layer

Stomata

Xylem
 Phloem

7. The graph shows the changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the field of long grass
throughout a 24-hour period in summer.

a. Explain why the levels of carbon dioxide are high at 0200 hours and low at 1200 hours.
b. What factors will limit the rate of photosynthesis at 0400hours and at 1400 hours?

8. The below shows some of the substances that can be made by plants. Give one use in the plant
for each. The first has been done for you.
Substance Use

Glucose Oxidised in respiration to give energy

Sucrose

Starch

Cellulose

Lipid

9. The apparatus shown in the diagram was used to grow a pea seedling in a water culture
experiment.
 a. Explain the purpose of the aeration tube and the aluminium foil around the gas jar.
b. After two weeks, the roots of the pea seedling has grown less than normal, although the leaves
were well developed. What mineral ion is likely to be deficient in the culture solution?
10. A piece of Canadian pondweed was placed upside down in a test tube of water as shown in the
diagram.

Light from the bench lamp was shone onto the weed, and bubbles of gas appeared at the
cut end of the stem. The distance of the lamp from the weed was changed, and the number of bubbles
produced per minute was recorded.
The results are shown in the table below.
Distance of lamp (D) / cm Number of bubbles per minute

5 126

10 89

15 64

20 42

25 31

30 17
 35 14

40 10

a. Plot a graph of number of bubbles per minute against distance of the weed from the lamp.
b. Using your graph, predict the number of bubbles per minute that would be produced of the
lamp was placed 17 cm from the weed.
c. The student who carried out the experiment arrived at the following conclusions.
` The gas made by the weed is oxygen from photosynthesis, so the faster production of
bubbles shows that the rate of photosynthesis is greater at higher light intensities’.
Write down three reasons why his conclusion could be criticised.
(Hint: is counting the bubbles a reliable method of measuring the rate of photosynthesis?)
11. Write a summary account of photosynthesis. You should include a description of the process, a
summary equation, an account of how a leaf is adapted for photosynthesis and note of how
photosynthesis is important to other organisms, such as animals. Use not more than 500 words
(about two pages).

GAS EXCHANGE IN ANIMALS

All living things obtain the energy they need by metabolizing energy-rich compounds, such as
carbohydrates and fats. In the majority of organisms, this metabolism takes place by respiration, a
process that requires oxygen. In the process, carbon dioxide gas is produced and must be removed from
the body. The basic mechanism of gas exchange is diffusion of these gases across a gas exchange
surface for example a cell membrane in unicellular organisms such as an amoeba.

Single-celled organisms, such as bacteria and protozoa, are in constant contact with their external
environment. Gas exchange occurs by diffusion across their membranes. Even in simple multicellular
organisms, such as green algae, their cells may be close to the environment, and gas exchange can
occur easily by simple diffusion, and so they do not complex gas exchange systems.

In addition, being too small in size, they have a large surface area to volume ratio which favours rapid
diffusion of gas across their cell membranes.

Multicellular Organisms are bigger than unicellular organisms. This makes efficient diffusion of gases
more difficult. However, if they are small, or large but very thin (like the flatworms, Platyhelminthes), the
outer surface of the body is sufficient as an exchange surface because the surface area to volume ratio
is still high. Larger multicellular organisms need specialized exchange surfaces e.g. gills or lungs since
they have a small surface area to volume ratio making diffusion across their surfaces difficult.

The efficiency of diffusion is increased if;

1. There is a large surface area exposed to the gas

2. The distance across which diffusion has to take place is small for example across very thin
membranes.
3. There is a good blood supply (large capillary network) and
4. There is a big difference in the concentrations of the gas at two points.
5. The respiratory surface is moist to enable dissolution of the respiratory gases for them to diffuse
faster.
6. Temperature are warm enough to provide enough kinetic energy to the diffusing gaseous
molecules.
GAS EXCHANGE SYSTEM IN HUMANS

The lungs are enclosed in the thorax (chest region) by the ribcage and muscular sheet of tissue called
the diaphragm. They have a spongy texture and can be expanded and compressed by movements of
the thorax in such a way that air is sucked in and blown out. The lungs are joined to the back of the
mouth by the windpipe or trachea.
The trachea divides into two smaller tubes, called bronchi (singular = bronchus), which enter the lungs
and divide into even smaller branches. When these branches are only about 0.2mm in diameter, they
are called bronchioles. These fine branches end in a mass of little, thin-walled, pouch-like air sacs
called alveoli.

The diaphragm separates contents of the thorax from the abdomen. It is not flat but shallow dome
shape, with a fibrous middle part forming the roof of the dome, and muscular edges forming the walls.

When we breathe in, air enters through the nose or mouth and passes down the wind pipe or the
trachea via the larynx. From the trachea, air passes through the bronchi and then through the fine tubes
called the bronchioles in to each lung. Eventually air enters into the microscopic air sacs called the
alveoli, where gas exchanges with blood takes place.
The walls of the trachea and the bronchi contain rings of gristle or cartilage. These support the
airways and keep them open and prevent them from collapsing when we breathe. The cartilage in the
trachea also help prevent it from curving in when food passes the oesophagus.
The inside of the thorax is separated from the lungs by two thin, moist membranes called the pleural
membranes. They make up a continuous envelope around the lungs, forming an airtight seal. Between
the two membranes is a space called the pleural cavity, filled with a thin layer of liquid called pleural
fluid. This acts as lubrication, so that the surfaces of the lungs don’t stick to the inside of the chest wall
when we breathe.

The trachea and bronchi are lined with epithelial layer of cells containing goblet cells which secrete as
sticky liquid called mucus. This helps to trap dirt or microbes such as the bacteria that come along with
breathed in air. The epithelial layer also has cells called the ciliated cells covered by hair-like
structures called the cilia. These beat back and forth sweeping the mucus and trapped particles up
towards the mouth. In this way, dirt and bacteria are prevented from entering the lungs, where they
might cause infection.

VENTILATION IN THE LUNGS

Ventilation refers to the movement of air in and out of the lungs. It renews the oxygen supply in the
lungs and removes the surplus carbon dioxide. Ventilation of lungs is brought about by two movements;
movement of the ribcage and movement of the diaphragm. If you put your hands on your chest
and breathe in deeply, you can feel your ribs move upwards and outwards. The ribs are moved by
intercostal muscles. The outer (external) intercostal muscle pull the ribcage outwards and upwards
when they contract while the inner (internal) intercostal muscles pull the ribcage inwards and down
wards. When the diaphragm muscles contract, diaphragm moves down and becomes more flattened in
shape, and becomes dome shaped when the diaphragm muscles relax.

The rib cage serves two main functions

 protect the lungs and the heart
 it moves to ventilate the lungs

Process of inspiration (breathing in)

1. External intercostal muscles contract and the

internal intercostal muscles relax.
2. Ribs and sternum move upwards and outwards.
This increases the width of thorax front to back
and side to side.
3. Diaphragm muscles contract and the diaphragm
moves down and becomes flat.
4. Volume of thorax increases and pressure in the
thoracic cavity decreases below the atmospheric
pressure.
5. Air from the atmosphere rushes into the lungs
via the nasal cavity, larynx, trachea, bronchi,
bronchioles into the air sacs in the alveoli.
6. The lungs fill with air and they expand. Gas
exchange then occurs between the alveoli and
the blood capillaries.

Process of expiration (breathing out)

1. Internal intercostal muscles contract and the

external intercostal muscles relax.
2. Ribs and sternum move downwards and
inwards. This increases the width of thorax.
3. Diaphragm muscles relax causing the
diaphragm to attain a dome shape.
4. Volume of thorax decreases and pressure in
the thoracic cavity increases above the atmospheric
pressure.
5. This forces the stale air containing more of carbon
dioxide to move out of the air sacs of the lungs through
the bronchioles, bronchi, trachea, larynx and then
through the nasal cavity to the outside.
6. Air movement out of the lungs is aided by the elastic
nature of the lungs which recoil to empty stale air into
the bronchioles.

Summary of breathing in and out

Designing a model for the inhalation and exhalation in the humans

 A bell jar is obtained. This represents the chest cavity.

 Two balloons (representing the lungs) of the same size and material are tied onto the ends of the Y-tube
(trachea and bronchi) so that the tubes open in the balloons.
 Passing the Y-tube through the lower end of the bell jar, the other end of the Y-tube is corked onto the
opening of the bell jar.
 Stretch out the larger balloon and place it over the open bottom of the bell jar. This represents the diaphragm.
 Pulling the diaphragm (balloon) down (that is, away from the lungs) inflates the lungs. This makes the chest
cavity larger and decreases the pressure.
 Pushing the diaphragm (balloon) in (towards
the lungs) in deflates the lungs. This makes
the chest cavity smaller and increases the
pressure.

The lung structure

The human body has two lungs shaped like

cones. The right lung has three lobes. The
left side has less space (because the heart is
situated on the left side of the body); therefore
the left lung has only two lobes. Lungs are
made up of spongy tissue. They are covered with a double membrane called the Pleura. The lung
tissue is made up of several small air sacs called alveoli that are surrounded by blood vessels
(capillaries). The bronchi bring air into the lungs. Bronchioles take air to the alveoli.

Gas exchange in the alveoli

 Gas exchange occurs by the process of simple diffusion between the alveolar air and the
deoxygenated blood in the capillaries across the thin, moist and permeable alveolar membrane.
 The air inside the alveolus contains a higher concentration of oxygen and a lower concentration
of carbon dioxide than the blood in the capillaries.
 This blood has been brought to the lungs by the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated
blood from the heart.
 Oxygen therefore diffuses from the alveolus into the blood capillary through the thin walls of the
alveolus and the capillary. Carbon dioxide diffuses from the capillary into the blood down the
concentration gradient.
The capillaries carrying oxygenated blood from the alveoli join up to form the pulmonary vein, which
returns blood to the left atrium of the heart. From here it enters the left ventricle and is pumped all
around the body, so supplying the tissues with oxygen.

The diffusion gradients of these gases are maintained by;

 Breathing movement which draw air from outside the body into the lungs and then push it out
again; this maintains a relatively high concentration of oxygen and a lower concentration of
carbon dioxide in the alveoli.
 Blood flow past the alveolus which brings deoxygenated blood and carries away oxygenated
blood.

Amounts of the different gases in the atmospheric air can be compared with the air breathed out, as
shown in the table.
Gas Atmospheric air / % Exhaled air / %

Nitrogen 78 79

Oxygen 21 16

Carbon dioxide 0.04 4

Other gases (mainly argon) 1 1

 1. They are numerous, about 480-500 million alveoli in the human lungs which provide a large
surface area over which gas exchange can take place.
2. The alveolar membrane is folded which also increases the surface area over which rapid
diffusion of gas can take place.
3. The walls of the alveoli are only one cell thick as the wall of the capillaries that run besides
them. This provides a very short diffusion distance (about 0.5-1.5 µm) for rapid diffusion of
gases across them.
4. They are largely supplied with capillaries. The continuous flow of blood in the capillaries provides
a steep concentration gradient of the air between the alveoli and the blood. This favours rapid
diffusion of gases across the alveoli.
5. Alveoli are lined by a liquid surfactant that lowers the surface tension and prevents the alveoli
from collapsing. This makes breathing easier.

Protection of the gas exchange system from pathogens and particles.

Pathogens are disease-causing organisms. Pathogens, such as bacteria, and dust particles are present in
the air we breathe in and are potentially dangerous if not actively removed. There are two types of cells
that provide mechanisms to help achieve this.

a. Goblet cells are found in the epithelial lining of the trachea, bronchi and some bronchioles of
the respiratory tract (Figure). Their role is to secrete mucus. The mucus forms a thin film over
the internal lining. This sticky liquid traps pathogens and small particles, preventing them from
entering the alveoli where they could cause infection or physical damage.
b. Ciliated cells have cilia which move back and forth in a flicking motion to move the mucus,
secreted by the goblet cells, upwards and away from the lungs. When the mucus reaches the
top of the trachea, it passes down the gullet during normal swallowing.

PRACTICAL: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF

EXERCISE ON BREATHING RATE.
It is easy to show the effect of exercise on the person’s
breathing rate. They sit quietly for five minutes, making sure
that they are completely relaxed. They then count the number
of breath they take in one minute, recording their results in
the table. They wait for a minute, and then count their breaths
again, recording the result and repeating if necessary until
they get a steady value for the` resting rate’
The person then carries out some vigorous exercise such as
running on the spot for three minutes. Immediately after they
finish the exercise, they sit down and record the breathing rate as before. They then continue to record
their breaths per minute, every minute, until they return to their normal resting rate.
The table shows the results from an investigation into the breathing rate of two girls, A and B, before
and after exercise.

Time from the start of the experiment (min) Breathing rate / breaths per minute

A B

1 13 13

2 14 12
 3 14 12

Rate after 3 min vigorous exercise

7 28 17

8 24 13

9 17 12

10 14 12

Plot a line graph of these results, using the same axes for both subjects. Join the data points using
straight lines, and leave a gap during the period of exercise, wen no readings were taken.
Why does breathing rate need to rise during exercise? Explain as fully as possible. Why
does the rate not return to normal as soon as a subject finishes the exercise?
Describe the difference in the breathing rates of the two girls (A and B) after exercise. Which
girl is more fit? Explain your reasoning.
EFFECTS OF SMOKING
In order for the lungs to exchange gases properly, the air passages need to be clear, the alveoli need to
be free from dirt particles and bacteria, and they must have a large surface area as possible in contact
with blood. There is one habit that can upset all of these conditions – smoking!
Links between smoking and diseases of the lungs are now a proven fact. Smoking is associated with
lung cancer, bronchitis and emphysema. It is also a major contributing factor other conditions such
as coronary heart disease and ulcers of the stomach and the intestine. Pregnant women who smoke
are more likely to give birth to underweight babies. Coronary heart diseases are more describe in the
chapter concerning the structure of the heart.
Effect of smoking on the lining of the air passages.
1. The lungs are kept free of dirt and bacteria by the action of mucus and the cilia. In the trachea and
bronchi of a smoker, the cilia are destroyed by the chemicals in the cigarette smoke. This reduced
numbers of cilia mean that the mucus is not swept away from the lungs, but remains to block the air
passages. This is made worse by the fact that the smoke irritates the lining of the airways,
stimulating the cells to secrete more mucus. This sticky mucus blocking the airways is the source of
`smokers’ cough’. Irritation of the branchial tree, along with infections from the bacteria in the
mucus, can cause the lung disease called bronchitis. Bronchitis blocks normal air flow, so the
sufferer has difficulty breathing properly.
2. Emphysema is another lung disease that kills about 20 000 people in Britain every year. Smoking is
the cause of one type of emphysema. The smoke damages the walls of the alveoli, which break
down and fuse together again, forming enlarged, irregular air spaces.
 This greatly reduces the surface area for gas exchange, which becomes very inefficient. The blood of
a person with emphysema carries less oxygen. In serious cases, this causes the sufferer being
unable to carry out even mild exercise such as
walking. Emphysema patients have to have a
supply of oxygen nearby at all times. There is no
cure for emphysema, and usually the sufferer dies
long after a long and distressing illness.

3. Lung cancer
Cigarette smoke contains a strongly addictive drug
called nicotine. Smoke contains over 7000
chemicals, including; carbon monoxide, arsenic,
ammonia, formaldehyde, cyanide, benzene, and
toluene and more than 60 of these chemicals are
known to cause cancer. They are called
carcinogens and are contained in tar that collects
in the smoker’s lungs.
Cancer occurs when cells mutate and divide uncontrollably, forming a tumour (fig). If the patient
is lucky, they may have a tumour removed by an operation before the cancer cells spread to other
tissues of the body. Unfortunately, tumours in the lungs usually cause no pain, so they are not
discovered until it is too late whereby it may be inoperable, or tumours may have developed
elsewhere.
It should be noted that when you smoke, you are not bound to get lung cancer, but the risk that you
will get it is much greater. In fact, the more cigarettes you smoke, the more the risk increases. This
can be shown by the graph below.
 Evidence of the link between smoking and lung cancer first appeared in the 1950s. In one study, a
number of patients in hospital were given a series of questions about their life styles. They were
about their work, hobbies, housing and so on, including the questions about how many cigarettes
they smoked. The same questionnaire was given to two other groups of patients. The first group
were all suffering from lung cancer. The second (control) group were in the hospital with various
other illnesses, but not lung cancer. To make it a fair comparison, the control patients were matched
with the lung cancer patients for sex, age and so on.
When the results were compared, one difference stood out (table). A great proportion of the lung
cancer patients were smokers than in the control patients. There seemed to be a connection
between smoking and getting lung cancer.

The table showing comparison of the smoking habits of lung cancer patients and other
patients.
Patients Percentage of patients who Percentage of patients who smoked
were non- smokers more than 15 cigarettes a day

Lung cancer patients 0.5 25

Control patients (with

illnesses other than lung 4.5 13
cancer)

The obvious thing to do is not to start smoking. However, if you are a smoker, giving up the habit
soon improves your chances of survival after a few years, the likelihood of your dying from smoking-
related diseases is almost back to the level of a non-smoker.
4. Effect of carbon monoxide from smoke.
One of the harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke id the poisonous gas carbon monoxide. When
this gas is breathed in with the smoke, it enters the blood stream and interferes with the ability of
blood to carry oxygen. It combines with haemoglobin much more tightly than oxygen can, forming
a compound called carboxyhaemoglobin. Haemoglobin has a higher affinity for carbon monoxide
than for oxygen. Thus the presence of carbon monoxide in blood reduces the number of the free
haemoglobin molecules available to transport oxygen. In this way, carbon monoxide acts as a
respiratory poison.
Carbon monoxide from smoke is also a major cause of heart diseases.
If a pregnant woman smokes, she will deprive her unborn fetus of oxygen. This leads to poor growth
and development of the fetus resulting into mass of the baby at birth being lower, on average, than
the mass of the babies born to non-smokers.

GIVING UP ON SMOKING
Most smokers admit that they would like to find a way to give up the habit. The trouble is that the
nicotine in tobacco is a very addictive drug, and causes withdrawal symptoms when people stop
smoking. These include cravings for a cigarette, restlessness and tendency to put on weight
(nicotine depresses the appetite).
There are various ways smokers can be helped to give up their habit;
 Vaping. This involves inhaling vapour containing nicotine from electronic cigarette or e-
cigarette (fig).
 Use of nicotine patches (fig)
 Use of nicotine chewing gum.
All these work in a similar way, providing the smoker with a source of nicotine without harmful tar
from cigarettes. The nicotine is absorbed by the body and reduces the craving for a cigarette.
Gradually the patient reduces the nicotine dose until they are weaned off the habit.

Check-up questions.
1. The structures below are found in the human branchial tree
1. Alveoli
2. Trachea
3. Bronchioles
4. Bronchi
Which of the following shows the route taken by air after it is breathed in through the mouth?
A. 2,3,4,1
B. 1,4,3,2
C. 2,4,3,1
D. 4,1,2,3
2. Which of the following is not a feature of an efficient gas exchange surface?
A. Thick walls
B. Moist lining
C. Close proximity to blood capillaries
D. Large surface area
3. Which row in the table shows the correct percentage of oxygen in the atmospheric and exhaled
air?

Atmospheric air / % Exhaled air / %

A 78 21

B 21 16

C 16 4

D 4 0.04

4. Chemicals in cigarette smoke lead to breakdown of the walls of the alveoli. What is the given to
this disease?
A. Bronchitis
B. Emphysema
C. Coronary heart disease
D. Lung cancer
5. Copy and complete the table, which shows what happens in the thorax during the ventilation of
the lungs. Two boxes have been completed for you.

Action during inhalation Action during exhalation

External intercostal muscles Contract

internal intercostal muscles

Ribs Move down and in

Diaphragm
 Volume of thorax

Pressure in thorax

Volume of air in lungs

6. A student wrote the following about the lungs.

When we breathe in, our lungs inflate, sucking air in and pushing the ribs up and out, and forcing
the diaphragm down. This is called respiration. In the air sacs of the lungs, the air enters the
blood. The blood then takes the air around the body, where it is used by the cells. The blood
returns to the lungs to be cleaned. When we breathe out, our lungs deflate, pulling the
diaphragm up and the ribs down. The stale air is pushed out of the lungs.
The student did not have a good understanding of the workings of the lungs. Re-write their
description, using correct biological words and ideas.

7. Sometimes, people injured in an accident such as a car crush suffer from a pneumothorax. This
is an injury where the chest wall is punctured, allowing air to enter the pleural cavity. A patient
was brought to the casualty department of the hospital, suffering from pneumothorax on the left
side of his chest. His left lung had collapsed, but he was able to breathe normally with his right
lung.
a. Explain why pneumothorax cause the left lung to collapse.
b. Explain why the right lung was not affected.
c. If the patient’s lung is injured or infected, a surgeon can sometimes `rest’ it by performing
an operation called an artificial pneumothorax. What do you think might be involved in this
operation?
8. Briefly explain the importance of the following.
a. The trachea wall contain C-shaped rings of cartilage.
b. The distance between the air in an alveolus and the blood in an alveolar capillary is less than
1/1000th of a millimeter.
c. The lining of the trachea contains mucus-secreting cells and cells with cilia.
d. Smokers have a lower concentration of oxygen in their blood than non-smokers.
e. Nicotine patches and nicotine chewing gum can help someone give up smoking
f. The lungs have a surface area of about 60m2 and a good blood supply.
9. Explain the differences between the lung diseases bronchitis and emphysema.

RESPIRATION
Most of the processes taking place in cells need energy to make them happen.
Examples of energy consuming processes in living organisms are:
(i) The contraction of muscle cells – to create movement of the organism, or peristalsis to move
food along the alimentary canal, or contraction of
the uterus wall during childbirth building up proteins from amino acids.
(ii) The process of cell division to create more cells, or replace damaged or worn out cells, or to
make reproductive cells.
(iii) The process of active transport, involving the movement of molecules across a cell membrane
against a concentration gradient.
(iv) Growth of an organism through the formation of new cells or a permanent increase in cell size.
(v) The conduction of electrical impulses by nerve cells.
(vi) Maintaining a constant body temperature in homoiothermic (warm blooded) animals to ensure
that vital chemical reactions continue at a predictable rate and do not slow down or speed up as
the surrounding temperature varies.
This energy comes from the food that cells take in. The food mainly used for energy in cells is glucose.
The process by which energy is produced from food is called respiration.
Respiration is a chemical process that takes place in cells and involves the action of enzymes producing
energy.
It is sometimes called cellular respiration, internal respiration or tissue respiration.
There are two types of cellular respiration
1. Aerobic respiration
2. Anaerobic respiration
Aerobic respiration is the term for the chemical reactions in cells that use oxygen to break down
nutrient molecules to release energy.
The word aerobic means that oxygen is needed for this chemical reaction. The food molecules are
combined with oxygen. The process is called
oxidation and the food is said to be oxidized.
All food molecules contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The process of oxidation converts the
carbon to carbon dioxide (CO2) and the hydrogen to water (H2O) and, at the same time, sets free energy,
which the cell can use to drive other reactions.
Aerobic respiration can be summed up by the equation.
The word equation for aerobic respiration

The chemical equation for aerobic respiration

The amount of energy you would get by completely oxidizing 180 grams (g) of glucose to carbon dioxide
and water is 2830 kilojoules (kJ). In the cells, the energy is not released all at once. The oxidation takes
place in a series of small steps and not in one jump as the equation suggests. Each small step needs its
own enzyme and at each stage a little energy is released.
Although the energy is used for the processes mentioned above, some of it always appears as heat.
In ‘warm-blooded’ animals (birds and mammals) some of this heat is retained to maintain their body
temperature.
In ‘cold-blooded’ animals (e.g. reptiles and fish), the heat may build up for a time in the body and allow
the animal to move about more quickly. In plants the heat is lost to the surroundings (by conduction,
convection and evaporation) as fast as it is produced.

Mitochondria
It is in the mitochondrion that the chemistry of aerobic respiration takes place. The mitochondria
generate a compound called ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is used by the cell as the source of
energy for driving other chemical reactions in the cytoplasm and nucleus.

Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration is the term for the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules
to release energy without using oxygen.
The word anaerobic means ‘in the absence of oxygen’. In this process, energy is still released from
food by breaking it down chemically but the reactions do not use oxygen though they do often produce
carbon dioxide. A common example is the action of yeast on sugar solution to produce alcohol.
The sugar is not completely oxidized to carbon dioxide and water but converted to carbon dioxide and
alcohol. This process is called fermentation and is shown by the following word equation:

Chemical equation for anaerobic respiration in plants

Example of anaerobic respiration

a. Brewing and bread-making rely on anaerobic respiration by yeast. As with aerobic respiration, the
reaction takes place in small steps and needs several different enzymes. The yeast uses the energy
for its growth and living activities, but you can see from the equation that less energy is produced
by anaerobic respiration than in aerobic respiration. This is because the alcohol still contains a great
deal of energy that the yeast is unable to use.
b. Anaerobic respiration also occurs in muscles during vigorous exercise, because oxygen cannot be
delivered fast enough to satisfy the needs of the respiring muscle cells. The products are different to
those produced by anaerobic respiration in yeast. The process is shown by the following equation:

The word equation for anaerobic respiration in animals

The chemical equation for anaerobic respiration in animals

The lactic acid (lactate) builds up in the muscles and causes muscle fatigue (cramp). This drags
further muscular activity. After the exercise, a person breathes deeply and frequently to taken in a
lot of oxygen needed to convert (breakdown) lactic acid into carbon dioxide and water.
The volume of oxygen needed to breakdown the lactic acid in the muscles cells into carbon dioxide
and water after an exercise is called an oxygen debt.

The table to show the differences between anaerobic and aerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration Aerobic respiration

Occurs in absence of oxygen Occurs in presence of oxygen

Occurs in the mitochondrion of the cell Occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell

Produces less energy Produces much energy

Produces ethanol and carbon dioxide in Produces carbon dioxide and water in both
plants and lactic acid in animals plants and animals

Incomplete combustion of glucose Complete combustion of glucose

The table to show the differences between photosynthesis and aerobic respiration
Photosynthesis Aerobic respiration

Occurs in chlorophyll contain cells eg Occurs in all living cells

plant cells

Occurs in presence of light energy Independent of sunlight energy

Complex carbohydrates are formed from Carbohydrates such as glucose are broken
simple inorganic substances, carbon down in to carbon dioxide and water
dioxide and water.

Oxygen formed as a by-product Oxygen used in the breakdown of food

Chlorophyll is a necessity Chlorophyll not needed

Experiments on respiration and energy

1. To demonstrate anaerobic respiration in yeast
 Boil some water to remove all the dissolved oxygen.
 When cool, use the boiled water to make up a 5% solution of glucose and a 10%
suspension of dried yeast.
 Place 5cm3 of the glucose solution and 1cm3 of the yeast suspension in a test-tube and
cover the mixture with a thin layer of liquid paraffin to prevent atmospheric oxygen from
entering thus maintaining anaerobic conditions.
 Fit a delivery tube as shown in Figure 12.6 and allow it to dip into clear limewater
 Observation (result)
After 10–15 minutes, with gentle
warming, bubbles of gas escape
through the limewater turn it
milky.
Interpretation
The fact that the limewater goes
milky shows that the yeast–
glucose mixture is producing
carbon dioxide. If we assume that
the production of carbon dioxide
is evidence of respiration, then it
looks as if the yeast is respiring.
In setting up the experiment, you
took care to see that oxygen was
removed from the glucose
solution and the yeast
suspension, and the liquid
paraffin excluded air (including
oxygen) from the mixture. Any
respiration taking place must,
therefore, be anaerobic (i.e.
without oxygen).

Control for the above experiment.

It might be suggested that the carbon dioxide came from a chemical reaction between yeast and
glucose (as between chalk and acid), which had nothing to do with respiration or any other living
process. A control should, therefore, be set up using the same procedure as before but with yeast
that has been killed by boiling. The failure, in this case, to produce carbon dioxide supports the
claim that it was a living process in the yeast in the first experiment that produced the carbon
dioxide.
2. Investigating the effect of temperature on the rate of respiration of germinating
seeds
 Set up the two vacuum flasks as shown below.
 Note the temperature of each vacuum flask at the start of the practical.
 Leave the set-ups undisturbed for a day.
 Record any increase in temperature in the vacuum flasks.
 Observation
Temperature in flask B increases. Temperature in flask A remains unchanged.
Interpretation
Germinating seeds carry out respiration and produce heat. This leads to an
increase in temperature in the vacuum flask. Boiled seeds cannot carry out respiration to
produce heat. Therefore the temperature remains unchanged.

Explain what would happen if unsterilized germinating seeds were used?

The temperature increase would be much higher than that caused by sterilized and
germinating seeds. This is because the microorganisms on the seeds also respire and
produce heat.
Conclusion
Heat is produced by the germinating seeds.

Exercise
1. If, in one word, you had to say what respiration was about, which word would you choose from this
list: breathing, energy, oxygen, cells, food?
2. In which parts of a living organism does respiration take place?
3. What are the main differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?
4. What chemical substances must be provided for aerobic respiration to take place:
a. From outside the cell
b. From inside the cell?
c. What are the products of aerobic respiration?
5. Which of the following statements are true? If an organism is respiring you would expect it to be:
(circle the correct alternative).
A. giving out carbon dioxide D. using up oxygen
B. losing heat E. gaining weight
C. breaking down food F. Moving about.

6. Why do you think your breathing rate and heart rate stay high for some time after completing a spell
of vigorous exercise?
7. The germinating seeds in Figure 12.5 will release the same amount of heat whether they are in a
beaker or a vacuum flask. Why then is it necessary to use a vacuum fl ask for this experiment?
8. An experiment with yeast supported the claim that anaerobic respiration was taking place. The
experiment was repeated using unboiled water and without the liquid paraffin. Fermentation still
took place and carbon dioxide was produced. Does this mean that the design or the interpretation of
the first experiment was wrong? Explain your answer.
9. Twenty seeds are placed on soaked cotton wool in a closed glass dish. After 5 days in the light 15 of
the seeds had germinated. If the experiment is intended to see if light is needed for germination,
which of the following would be a suitable control:
A. Exactly the same set-up but with dead seeds
B. The same set-up but with 50 seeds
C. An identical experiment but with 20 seeds of a different species
 D. An identical experiment but left in darkness for 5 days?

Energy from food

Some food contain more energy than others. This depends on the proportion of carbohydrate, lipids or
protein present in them. Energy from food is measured in kilojoules (kJ). For example if 1gram of
carbohydrate is fully oxidized, 17kJ are produced whereas a gram of a lipid yields over twice as much as
this ie 37kJ. Protein can produce about 18kJ per gram.
Food labels usually show the energy content of food along with the amounts of different nutrients that it
contains.

Food with high lipid content, such as butter or nuts, contain a large amount of energy. Others like fruits
and vegetables which are composed of water, have a much lower energy content.
Reasons why the body needs energy.
Energy is needed for different biochemical reactions in the body which include;
 Transport of materials within the body.
 Maintenance and regulation eg Maintaining the body temperature
 Transmission of information (by nerve cells)
 Enables muscle contraction for movements and doing work.
 Digestion or the break down food in the gut
 Formation of new cells by cell division
 For growth and development
 For productions of gametes (such as sperms and eggs)reproduction
 Maintain the heart beat
 Maintenance of breathing rate.

The energy content a person needs to keep healthy depends on their age, body size, gender (sex)
and the amount of activity they do.
Table showing examples of how much energy is needed each day by the people of different age, sex and
occupation.

Age, sex and occupation of a person Energy needed per day (kJ)
Newborn baby 2000
Child aged 2 5000
Child aged 6 7500
Girl ages 12-14 9000
Boy aged 12-14 11000
Girl aged 15-17 9000
Boy aged 15-17 12000
Female office worker 9500
Male office worker 10500
Heavy manual worker 15000
Pregnant woman 10000
Breast feeding woman 11300

These are approximate figures and they are averages.

Generally, the greater the person’s weight, the more energy that person needs. This is why men with a
greater average body mass need more energy than women.

The energy needs of a pregnant woman are increased mainly because of the extra weight that she has
to carry.
A pregnant woman is also encouraged to feed on a diet that contains extra iron or calcium for proper
growth of the fetus.
Similarly, young women who lose blood during menstruation can suffer from anaemia. So they need a
diet that contains enough iron.
A heavy manual worker such as a labourer needs extra energy for increased muscle activity.

Measuring the energy content of a food sample.

If a food sample is burned in air, its energy content can be measured using a simplified food calorimeter.
Suitable foods are dry pasta, crispbread, corn curls or biscuits. It’s not advisable to use nuts since some
people are allergic to them.
Procedure;
 Firstly, the mass of the food sample is found by weighing it on a balance.
 20cm3 of water are placed in a boiling tube and the tube is supported in a clamp on the stand.
 The food is speared on the end of the mounted needle and then held in a Bunsen burner until it
catches fire.
 When the food is alight, the mounted needle is used to hold the burning food underneath the
boiling tube of water so that the flame heats up the water. This is continued, relighting the food
if it goes out, until the food will no longer burn.
 The final temperature of the water is measured using the thermometer to stir the water gently to
make sure that the heat is evenly distributed.

Constants to be used
 4.2 joules of energy raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1₀C (heat capacity of water)
 1cm3 of water has a mass of 1g
Now it is assumed that;

Heat produced by burning food = heat absorbed by water

= mass of water x heat capacity of water x temperature
rise
= 20g x 4.2 Jg-1₀C-1 (final temperature – initial
₀
temperature) eg from 21 C
to 43 ₀C
= 1848 J

For example, imagine you had a piece of pasta weighing 0.55g. The starting temperature of the
20g of water was 21₀C. After using the burning pasta to heat up the water, the temperature of
water was 43₀C.
Scientists measure the amount of energy of a food sample by burning it in a calorimeter (figure).
The calorimeter is filled with oxygen, to make sure the food burns easily. A heating filament
carrying an electric current ignites the food. The energy given out by the food is measured by
using it to heat up water flowing through a coil in the calorimeter.

Noting the temperature change, the energy produced by burning food is obtained as the heat
energy used to increase the temperature of water as in the earlier calculations.

Exam questions

1. A calorimeter is a piece of apparatus used to calculate the energy

content of a food sample.
The diagram shows a calorimeter.
 Food is placed in the dish and burnt in air with high levels of
oxygen.
The temperature rise of the water is measured using the
thermometer.
The energy content of the food is measured in joules per gram of
food.

(a) (i) The oxygen gas inlet allows the food to burn in air with high
levels of oxygen.
Suggest why this gives a more accurate value of the energy
content than
burning food in normal air.
(ii) Suggest why the calorimeter has an insulated outer container.
(b) Table 1 shows the mass of fat in five different types of food. The
mass is measured
in grams of fat per 100 grams of each food.

Mass of fat
Type of food in grams per 100
grams
A 0.1
B 2.5
C 7.4
D 27.2
E 30.9
Table 1
 A student measures the energy content of the five different foods.
Table 2 shows her results.
Reading Energy content of food in joules per gram
food A food B food C food D food E
1 227 1717 5325 7567 11 200
2 272 1960 4400 6650 10 300
3 280 1570 3696 5680 12 205
Mean 260 1749 4474 6632 11 235

Table 2

The student wrote three conclusions in her notebook

(i) The student is wrong to believe that ‘the energy in food is all
contained in fat’.
Name two other large insoluble molecules in food that contain
energy
(ii) Explain whether the student’s results support her conclusion
that food with
more fat contains more energy.
(iii) The student states that her results are reliable because she did
not get an anomaly.
What is meant by the term anomaly?

DIGESTION OF FOOD
Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small water-soluble food
molecules so that they can be absorbed into the watery blood plasma.
In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intestines into
the blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism that is often divided into two processes
based on how food is broken down: mechanical and chemical digestion.
The term mechanical digestion refers to the physical breakdown of large pieces of food into
smaller pieces which can then be broken down by digestive enzymes.
In chemical digestion, enzymes break down food into the small molecules the body can use.

THE HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of
digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion starts from
the mouth and ends in the ileum (small intestines), where absorption of digested food occurs.
Undigested food is then eliminated through the anus.

Digestion in the mouth.

In the human digestive system, food enters the mouth and mechanical digestion of the food
starts by the action of mastication (chewing), a form of mechanical digestion, and food is
wetted or mixed with saliva. Saliva is a liquid secreted by the salivary glands. It
contains salivary amylase, an enzyme which starts the digestion of starch in the food. Starch
is broken down into maltose (a disaccharide); the saliva also contains mucus, which lubricates
the food, and hydrogen carbonate, which provides the ideal conditions of pH (alkaline) for
amylase to work.
After undergoing mastication and starch digestion, the food will be in the form of a small, round
slurry mass called a bolus. It will then travel down the esophagus and into the stomach by
the action of peristalsis. Peristalsis refers to the contraction of muscles behind the food in the
gut causing food to push along.
The stomach is a J- shaped sac-like organ with strong muscular walls. In addition to holding the
food, it's also a mixer and grinder. The stomach secretes acid and powerful enzymes that
continue the process of breaking down the food.
Digestion in the stomach
Gastric juice in the stomach starts protein digestion. Gastric juice mainly
contains hydrochloric acid and pepsin. Hydrochloric acid provides an acidic pH for the proper
functioning of the pepsin enzyme.
As these two chemicals may damage the stomach wall, mucus is secreted by the stomach,
providing a slimy layer that protects the stomach lining from being digested. At the same time
protein digestion is occurring, mechanical mixing occurs by peristalsis, which is waves of
muscular contractions that move along the stomach wall. This allows the mass of food to further
mix with the digestive enzymes.

After some time (typically 1–2 hours in humans), the resulting thick liquid is called chyme.
When the pyloric sphincter valve opens, chyme enters the duodenum where it mixes with
digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile juice from the liver and then passes through
the small intestine, in which digestion continues.
Role of the pancreas in digestion
Pancreas secretes enzymes into the small intestine. These enzymes break down protein, fat, and
carbohydrates from the food we eat.
Pancreatic juice is alkaline in nature because of a high concentration of bicarbonate ions; this
helps to neutralize the acidic gastric juice from the stomach and provide optimum pH for
enzyme activity.

The table shows the enzymes secreted by the pancreas and their roles in digestion of
food.
Type of enzyme Food acted upon Products
Peptides and
Trypsin Proteins amino acids

Pancreatic Starch Maltose

amylase

Lipase Lipids Fatty acids and

glycerol
 Role of the liver in digestion
The liver produces bile which is stored in the gall bladder. This is a sac- like organ attached to
the underside of the liver. Bile is a yellow-green, thick, sticky fluid that helps to emulsify (break
down fats mechanically) into small particles to increase the surface area for the lipase enzymes
from the pancreas to break down fat into fatty acids and glycerol in the duodenum. Bile enters
the duodenum by way of bile duct.
Bile also contains alkaline salts that help to neutralize the acidic chyme from the stomach.

The liver produces about 500 to 600 milliliters of bile each day. The liver is an important organ
of the body that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various
substances. The liver is crucial to life. Without it, a person couldn't live more than 24 hours.

When the chyme is fully digested, it is absorbed into the blood. 95% of absorption of nutrients
occurs in the small intestine. Water and minerals are reabsorbed back into the blood in
the colon (large intestine) where the pH is slightly acidic about 5.6 ~ 6.9. Some vitamins, such
as biotin and vitamin K produced by bacteria (E. coli) in the colon are also absorbed into the
blood in the colon. When the colon becomes full of stool, or feces, it empties its contents into the
rectum where they are stored temporarily before elimination during defecation

The role of the small intestines

Food digestion ends in the small intestines with the breakdown of peptides into amino acids
by the peptidase enzymes, maltose into glucose by maltase enzyme, lactose into glucose
and galactose and sucrose into glucose and fructose by the sucrase enzyme. All these
products and those from the duodenum and stomach are then absorbed from the ileum into the
blood.

The table shows a summary of enzymes that digest food in the human gut.
Class of Exampl Food Products Source of Where it
enzyme es acted enzyme acts in the
upon gut
Amylase Starch Maltose Salivary glands Mouth
Carbohydra Amylase Starch Maltose Pancreas Small
ses Maltase Maltose Glucose Walls of small intestine
intestine Small
intestine
Pepsin Protein Peptides Stomach wall Stomach
Proteases Trypsin Protein Peptides Pancreas Small
peptidas peptides Amino acids Wall of small intestine
e intestines Small
intestine

Lipases Lipase Lipids Fatty acids pancreas Small

and glycerol intestine

The small intestine is well adapted for absorbing nutrients after digestion in the
following ways.
i. It is long to provide a large surface area for maximum digestion and absorption of digested
food. The average length of the small intestines in an adult is around 23 feet. It takes food
around 8 hours to pass from beginning to end of the small intestines, which ensures there is
enough time for digestion to occur.
ii. The ileum is narrow to bring the digested food substances into close contact with the walls of
the ileum for easier absorption.
iii. The ileum is highly coiled to slow down movement of food thus allowing more time for
absorption of digested food substances.
iv. The ileum is coiled to also increase the surface area for the maximum absorption of digested
food.
v. The ileum has a large number of villi and microvilli to increase the surface area for absorption of
digested food.
vi. The ileum has a thin layer of epithelial cells for easy and fast diffusion of digested food.
vii. The ileum has a dense network of blood capillaries in the villi into which amino acids, sugars,
vitamins and minerals are absorbed.
viii. The small intestines are lined with circular and longitudinal muscles allowing for
peristalsis of food through the small intestines.
ix. The blood capillaries also promote a steep diffusion gradient for efficient absorption of the
digested food substances.
The ileum has lacteals in the villi for absorption of fatty acids and glycerol.

The structure of a villus

The villi of the small intestine project into the intestinal cavity, greatly increasing the surface
area for food absorption and adding digestive secretions. The villi number about 10 to 40 per
square millimetre (6,000 to 25,000 per square inch) of tissue. They are most prevalent at the
beginning of the small intestine and diminish in number toward the end of the tract. They range
in length from about 0.5 to 1 mm (about 0.02 to 0.04 inch).
The large number of villi give the internal intestinal wall a velvety appearance. Each villus has a
central core composed of one artery and one vein, a strand of muscle, a centrally located
lymphatic capillary (lacteal), and connective tissue that adds support to the structures. The
blood vessels are thought to transport proteins and carbohydrates absorbed by the cells of
the villi, while the lymphatic capillary removes droplets of emulsified fat (chyle). The muscle
strand allows the villi to contract and expand; it is believed that these contractions empty the
contents of the lacteal into larger lymphatic vessels.
Covering the core of a villus is the surface mucous-membrane layer. This is mainly composed of
two cell types: tall, narrow, columnar cells that absorb the substances passed into the blood
and lymphatic vessels; and goblet cells rounded at the end, that secrete mucus into the
intestinal cavity. On the surface of each columnar cell there are about 600 very fine projections
called microvilli that further increase the absorptive area of each villus.
Villi of the intestine move in swaying, contracting motions. These movements are believed to
increase the flow of blood and lymph and to enhance absorption. The villi of the small intestine
absorb about 2 gallons (7.5 litres) of fluid per day, and absorption seems to be indiscriminate.
The villi of the small intestine project into the intestinal cavity, greatly increasing the surface
area for food absorption and adding digestive secretions. The villi number about 10 to 40 per
square millimetre (6,000 to 25,000 per square inch) of tissue. They are most prevalent at the
beginning of the small intestine and diminish in number toward the end of the tract. They range
in length from about 0.5 to 1 mm (about 0.02 to 0.04 inch).
 The large number of villi give the internal intestinal wall a velvety appearance. Each villus has a
central core composed of one artery and one vein, a strand of muscle, a centrally located
lymphatic capillary (lacteal), and connective tissue that adds support to the structures. The
blood vessels are thought to transport proteins and carbohydrates absorbed by the cells of
the villi, while the lymphatic capillary removes droplets of emulsified fat (chyle). The muscle
strand allows the villi to contract and expand; it is believed that these contractions empty the
contents of the lacteal into larger lymphatic vessels.
Covering the core of a villus is the surface mucous-membrane layer. This is mainly composed of
two cell types: tall, narrow, columnar cells that absorb the substances passed into the blood
and lymphatic vessels; and goblet cells rounded at the end, that secrete mucus into the
intestinal cavity. On the surface of each columnar cell there are about 600 very fine projections
called microvilli that further increase the absorptive area of each villus.
Villi of the intestine move in swaying, contracting motions. These movements are believed to
increase the flow of blood and lymph and to enhance absorption. The villi of the small intestine
absorb about 2 gallons (7.5 litres) of fluid per day, and absorption seems to be indiscriminate.

Adaptations
of the villi
for
absorption
of food
i. They are numerous in number. They provide a large surface area for maximum food absorption.
ii. Villi have an epithelium which is one cell thick. This provides a very short diffusion distance for
faster absorption of materials.
iii. The epithelial cells contain numerous mitochondria to provide energy needed for active
transport of certain food nutrients.
iv. The epithelial layer also contains some goblet cells which secrete mucus used to protect the
lining of the ileum from shear stress and mechanical damage.
v. Villi have rich network of blood capillaries. This provides and maintains a steep concentration
between inside of small intestine and blood.
vi. Apical membranes of Villi further form many finger-like projections called microvilli or brush
borders. Villi together with its microvilli tremendously increase surface area of absorption. And
hence supports effective absorption of nutrients into blood.
vii. Villi have permeable membranes. Thus, nutrients can easily get their way through them.
viii. Villus structure consists of the lacteal through which fatty acids and glycerol are
absorbed before joining the blood stream.

Lactase is an enzyme that breaks down the disaccharide lactose to its component parts,
glucose and galactose. Glucose and galactose can be absorbed by the small intestine.
Approximately 65 percent of the adult population produce only small amounts of lactase and are
unable to eat unfermented milk-based foods. This is commonly known as lactose
intolerance. Lactose intolerance varies widely by ethnic heritage; more than 90 percent of
 peoples of East Asian descent are lactose intolerant, in contrast to about 5 percent of people of
northern European descent.
Sucrase is an enzyme that breaks down the disaccharide sucrose, commonly known as table
sugar, cane sugar, or beet sugar. Sucrose digestion yields the sugars fructose and glucose
which are readily absorbed by the small intestine.
The food we eat becomes useful to the body by passing through stages from the time of taking it
through the mouth until the undigested materials are passed out as feaces. The processes are
outlined below.
a. Ingestion
This refers to taking in of solid or liquid food into the mouth. Here the human starts to eat the food. It
occurs in the mouth.
b. Digestion
This is the process by which ingested food is physically (mechanically) broken down into simple
soluble food particles ready to enter the blood stream by absorption. This process starts in the mouth
by chewing or mastication of food (mechanical digestion) and starch digestion by use of salivary
amylase (chemical digestion) to form maltose. It ends in the ileum.
c. Absorption
This is the process by which the digested food enters the blood stream. It occurs in the small
intestines – ileum across the epithelial lining which contains numerous villi.
Absorbed food travels in blood in large blood vessels called the hepatic portal vein which leads to the
liver. In the liver the food molecules are processed, broken down and new substances formed.
d. Assimilation
This is when the absorbed food nutrients enter the body cells where they are utilized by the body in
different process such as energy production, formation of new materials etc.
e. Egestion
This is the process by which undigested food is removed from the body in form of faeces through the
anus.

It should be noted that the term indigestion is different from digestion.

Indigestion also called dyspepsia, refers to an uncomfortable pain in the stomach or chest that
usually occurs after a person has been eating or drinking.
Other symptoms of the condition include feeling full and bloated, feeling nauseous, belching of
gas and heartburn.
Indigestion is caused when stomach acid comes into contact with the lining of the digestive
tract. The acid attacks the lining, breaking it down and causing irritation and inflammation that
can lead to symptoms such as pain and swelling. Indigestion often occurs after eating and may
also be triggered by smoking, drinking alcohol or taking certain medications. Women may also
find they are more affected by the condition during pregnancy.

COORDINATION IN ORGANISMS
Organisms such as plants and animals detect changes in their environment and react to them.
These changes may occur outside the body of the organism (external environment) or within the
body of organisms (internal environment).
In plants for example, light from a certain direction causes the plant to grow in that direction.
The change in environment that causes the organism to react to it is the stimulus. (Plural –
stimuli). And the reaction an organism makes in response to stimulus is called the response.
Consider a person who hears a gun short and runs to hide. In this case, the sound of the gun
shot is the stimulus while running for a hideout is the response of this individual.
Coordination in animals
This is achieved by both the use of nerves to transfer impulses (nervous coordination) and use of
hormones (hormonal coordination) or endocrine systems.
In animals, the change in the environment is detected by special cells, tissues or organs called
the receptors. The receptors send information to the central nervous system that integrates,
interprets and stores information about the stimulus. It also sends the information to the part of
the body responsible to cause a response. The cell, tissue or organ that causes a response is
called the effector. The muscles and glands are examples of effectors. The muscles as effectors
contract and relax to cause movement (running). An example of response that involves glands is
the smell or taste of food that makes one salivate. Saliva is produced by the salivary glands in
the mouth as a response to smell or taste (stimulus).
In a coordination system therefore, the sequence of events following a stimulus is;

Role of the receptors

Receptors detect the stimulus and convert the stimulus energy into electrical energy that can be
transmitted by the nerve cells.
The tables shows examples of human receptors and the energy they receive.
Receptors Type of energy received

Eye (retina) Light

Ear (organ for hearing) Sound

Ear (organ for balance) Mechanical (kinetic)

Tongue (taste buds) Chemical

Nose (organ of smell) Chemical

Skin (touch / pressure / pain Mechanical

receptors)

Skin (temperature receptors) Heat

Muscle (stretch receptors) Mechanical

Notes that receptors may detect different aspects of the energy of the stimulus. For example,
ears do not only detect the sound but different loudness and frequencies of the sound. The eyes
are capable of detecting the light intensities and the colours of light from the objects we see. So
senses tell us a great deal about the changes in the environment.
Nervous coordination in animals
The nervous system
It is made of nerve cells (called neurones). Neurones transmit electrical information in form
impulses from one part of the body to another. The nervous system consists of two parts
namely;
1. The Central Nervous System (CNS) and
2. The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)

The CNS is a concentrated mass of interconnected nerve cells which make up the brain and
spinal cord. The PNS is made up of nerves which link up the CNS to the effectors and receptors.

Structure, types and functions of neurones

There are 3 kinds of neurons namely;
a. Sensory neurons b. Motor neurons c. Relay neurones
Each neurone consists of two main parts namely the cell body and axon.
The cell body has a large nucleus embedded in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm looks granular.
Short strands of cytoplasm called dendrons arise from the cell body and branch at the end into
thread-like processes called dendrites.
There is a long process continuous with the cell body and is called the axon. The cytoplasm in
the axon is called axoplasm. The axon is enclosed in a fatty layer called myelin sheath. The
importance of the myelin sheath is to speed up impulses. It also insulates a nerve fiber from
another. A layer of cells surrounds the sheath and is called neurilemma. The myelin sheath has
gaps called nodes of Ranvier.
Nerves that possess a myelin sheath are termed myelinated nerves while those without are
called non-myelinated nerves.
A dendron conducts impulses to the cell body while the axon conducts impulses from the cell
body.
In a sensory neurone, a dendron is long and conducts impulses from a sense organ to the cell
body of a neurone. Also this neurone has an axon which conducts impulses from the cell body
into the CNS. Its cell body is found in a swelling called a ganglion and it is connected to the axon
by a short side branch. They transmit impulses from sense organs or receptors to the CNS.

In a motor neurone, the cell body is embedded in the CNS. The cell body collects impulses from
other neurons. It has a long axon which carries these impulses from the cell body to an effector
e.g. a muscle fibre or to a gland.

At the point where an axon motor neurone enters a muscle fiber, there is a structure called a
motor-end plate. When impulses reach an end-plate, they set off chemical reactions which
result in muscular contractions.
Motor neurons transmit impulses from the CNS to the effectors.
In the relay neurones the dendron transmits impulses to the cell body. The axon transmits
impulses from the cell body to the dendrites of the motor neurone. Relay neurones are found in
the CNS.

A nerve
It is a bundle of nerve cells - a bundle of neurones. It is like an electrical cable made of small
wires bound together. So in the PNS, a motor nerve consists of fibres of motor neurones only. A
Sensory nerve is made up of fibres of sensory neurones only.
The motor nerves only carry impulses that stimulate effectors such as a muscle.
The sensory nerves carry impulses that stimulate a sensation or feeling.
Some nerves called mixed nerves contain both motor and sensory neurones.

The synapse and transmission of an impulse

A nerve impulse is an electrical signal that can be transmitted/conducted from one neurone to
another. Whatever the nature of the stimulus, the message is transmitted in an electrical signal.
A nerve impulse is transmitted from one neurone to another across a place called a synapse.
A synapse is a tiny gap between the two synaptic knobs of two neighboring neurones. Synaptic
knobs are structures found at the ends of dendrites. So a dendrite of one nerve cell
communicates with that of the adjacent/ neighboring nerve cell through a synapse.
An impulse is transmitted across a synapse in form of a chemical transmitter substance. This
substance is contained in structures called synaptic vesicles found in the synaptic knob. The
chemical substance can either be Acetylcholine or Noradrenaline.

Mechanism of impulse transmission across a synapse

When an impulse reaches a
synapse, the synaptic vesicles
begin to break up releasing
acetylcholine. This substance then
passes across a synapse. This
compound on contact with the
post-synaptic membrane makes it
permeable to the impulse so that
the next neurone will receive the
impulse.
After the acetylcholine has done
its work, it is broken to a simpler
substance by an enzyme called
acetyl cholinesterase. This is
done to stop continuous flow of
impulses which can damage the
cells of the tissue or the organ.

THE CENTRAL NERVOUS

SYSTEM
It is made up of two parts namely
the brain and spinal cord. Its
function is to co-ordinate body
activities. It does this by receiving
impulses from different sensory
parts of the body and sending
impulses to the appropriate
receptors.
The mammalian brain
Mammals have the most well developed brain of all animals. Man in particular, has the most well
developed brain, even of all mammals in that here the brain has the highest density of brain
cells. This facilitates a great ability to solve problems and learning and activities concerned with
intelligence.
The brain of a mammal is covered by two membranes called meninges. These serve to protect
it from mechanical injury such as a blow or physical shock. The brain has 3 main regions namely;
Fore-brain, Mid-brain and Hind brain. The fore brain contains the cerebrum, hypothalamus
and pituitary gland. The hind brain consists of the cerebellum and medulla oblongata.
 PARTS OF THE BRAIN

Description and functions of the different parts

Cerebrum: It is the largest part of the brain. It consists of two cerebral hemispheres. It is highly
folded to increase the surface area in order to accommodate millions of brain cells.
The following are the functions of the cerebrum;
 It controls all voluntary activities of the body.
 It is concerned with intelligence, memory, thought, imagination, reasoning, vision, speech and
taste.
 Its white matter contains axons of neurones and its grey matter contains cell bodies of
neurones.
Medulla oblongata: It is also called the brain stem. It controls some involuntary and reflex
activities of the body such as heart beat, breathing, blood pressure, coughing, swallowing,
sneezing, yawning and vomiting.
Hypothalamus: It is responsible for water balance, carbon dioxide levels in blood, body
temperature, appetite, sleep and osmoregulation. All these are also involuntary activities.
Optic lobes: These controls the sense of sight in different animals.
Cerebellum: It is an enlarged and folded part of the brain. It is in front of the medulla
oblongata. It controls posture, balance and movement.
Pituitary gland: It secretes a number of hormones that control osmoregulation, growth,
metabolism and sexual development.
Olfactory lobes: These control the sense of smell.
 Each structure of the brain develops to a different extent. For example in animals which depend
on the sense of smell for food, the olfactory lobes are very large as in snakes and dogs,
compared to other brain parts, and even to the size of an organism.
Also man has very large cerebral hemispheres relative to other animals. In fish cerebral
hemispheres do not even exist.

The spinal cord

It is located within the vertebral column. It is continuous with the brain. In transverse section, it
is seen to consist of two identical halves that are fused together. These two enclose a small
canal called a spinal canal. This canal is filled with cerebral-spinal fluid. The cerebral-spinal
fluid is continuous with that in the cavity of the brain.
The spinal cord consists of two regions namely the Grey matter and white matter.
Grey matter forms the central part of the spinal cord. It consists of cell bodies of neurones
which give it a grey color. White matter consists of nerve fibres (axons) which give it a white
color. It is the outer part of the spinal cord. The dorsal root of the spinal cord carries spinal
nerve sensory fibres while the ventral root carries motor nerve fibres.
Cross section through spinal cord

Reflex action
This is a sudden, automatic and uncontrolled response of parts of the body or whole body to
external stimulus.
The route followed by impulses during reflex action is called a reflex arc. This arc is made up
of 3 neurones; the sensory or afferent neurone, the relay or intermediate neurone and the
motor or efferent neurone.
The reflex arc that passes through the spinal cord is called the spinal reflex while the one that
passes through the brain is called the cranial reflex.

A description of a spinal reflex

For example if one touches a hot object,
 The heat sensitive cells in the feet detect the heat stimulus,
 They fire impulses via the sensory neurones through the dorsal root and into the white matter
of the spinal cord,
 The impulses enter the relay neurone via the synapse between the sensory neurone and the
relay neurone in the grey matter of spinal cord,
 The relay neurone passes these impulses to the motor neurone via another synapse,
 The motor neurone then sends impulses to an effector organ (muscle) via the ventral root so
that the leg can be withdrawn from fire.

CONDITIONED REFLEX ACTION

This action is said to have taken place if an irrelevant stimulus which originally could not evoke
a particular response comes to be able to evoke that response after paining it with a relevant
stimulus.
In his experiments, Ivan Pavlov brought food to his young dogs and then they salivated. Later
he began sounding the bell just before giving them food. They again continued salivating. After
pairing the two stimuli (i.e. chemical stimulus of food and sound), the bell alone could now
cause the dogs to salivate. This meant that the irrelevant stimulus of sound had replaced the
relevant stimulus (i.e. food). Thus the animals had become conditioned to associate the sound
of the bell with food.
This is the basis of learning by experience.
INSTINCTIVE REFLEX
It is a reflex action which is an in-born behavior and does not have to be learnt. For example, a
newly hatched spider will spin a web; a newly hatched chick will peck at anything and a newly
born human baby will suck at anything put in the mouth.
 HORMONAL COORDINATION AND THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
The endocrine system
It consists of organs that secrete chemicals called hormones, into the blood stream.
There are two kinds of glands - endocrine and exocrine glands.
Endocrine glands differ from exocrine glands

Endocrine glands Exocrine glands

Are ductless glands Glands connected to ducts

Produce hormones Produce juices which may contain

enzymes or mixture of salt
solutions

Their secretions enter blood Juices are produced onto epithelial

stream directly surfaces

Examples of exocrine glands are:

 salivary glands which have salivary ducts through which saliva is secreted into the mouth;
 sweat glands,
 sebaceous gland
 pancreas
 Liver.
 Mammary glands
Examples of endocrine glands are:
 Pineal
 Hypothalamus
 Pituitary

Note that the pancreas is both and endocrine and exocrine gland ie it is a mixocrine gland.
The exocrine function of the pancreas is its secretion of pancreatic juice which is involved in
digestion of fats, starch and proteins.
The endocrine function of the pancreas is secretion of insulin and glucagon hormones. This
insulin does not go through a duct but directly into the blood stream when it is being secreted.
Insulin and glucagon help in the regulation of blood sugar level.

An endocrine gland may be stimulated to produce hormones either by impulses from the CNS or
by a hormone from another ductless gland. When the hormones reach particular parts of the
body they bring about an effect. Parts of the body which are affected by hormones called
target organs.
Position of some of endocrine glands

Examples of the main endocrine glands, their hormones and functions

Gland Hormone Some functions of the hormone

Pituitary Follicle stimulating hormone Stimulates egg development

(FSH) and oestrogen secretion in
females and sperm production
in males.

Luteinising hormone (LH) Stimulates egg release

(ovulation) in females and
testosterone production in
males
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
Controls water content of the
Growth hormone (GH) blood

Speeds up the rate of growth

and development in children

Thyroid Thyroxine hormone Controls the body’s metabolic

rate (how fast chemical
reactions take place in cells)

Pancreas Insulin Lowers blood glucose to normal

Glucagon Raises blood glucose to normal

Adrenal gland Adrenaline Prepares the body for physical

activity

Testes Testosterone Controls development of male

secondary sexual characteristics

ovaries Oestrogen Controls the development of

secondary sexual characteristics
in females

Progesterone Regulates the menstrual cycle.

 Table 14.3 Differences between
endocrine and nervous control

Endocrine control Nervous control

transmission of chemicals transmission of electrical impulses

transmission via blood transmission in nerves

slow transmission rapid transmission

hormones dispersed throughout impulse sent directly to target

body organ

long-term effects short-lived effects

Hormones
Hormone is a chemical substance, secreted by endocrine gland, carried by the blood,
which alters the activity of one or more specific target organs and is then destroyed by
the liver.

Control of metabolic activity by adrenaline (fight or fright hormone)

Adrenaline is a hormone secreted by adrenal glands. When you are frightened, excited,
your brain sends impulses along a nerve to your adrenal glands. This makes them secrete
adrenaline into the blood. It prepares an individual for a physical activity
How Adrenaline helps you to cope with danger:
 Increases heart rate to pump more blood and increase supply of oxygen to brain and
muscles. This provides energy for action (fighting, running…).
 Contract blood vessels in skin and digestive system so that they carry very little blood
and supplies more blood back to vital organs (brain and muscles).
 Stimulate liver to convert glycogen to glucose, increase in glucose release into the blood
by liver so that extra glucose is used to generate energy for muscles to contract.

Examples of situations in which adrenaline secretion increases

Adrenaline is needed and secreted in a “fright, fight or flight” situation. For example,
when you are facing danger, for example, a masked man with a gun is approaching you.
 Your brain sends a signal to the adrenal glands, to start secreting and pumping
adrenaline into the bloodstream. The actions of the adrenaline are listed above this gets you
ready to either stand and fight or run away from the man.

Roles of adrenaline
As adrenaline circulates in the body, it affects a number of organs as shown in the table
Target organ Effect of adrenaline Biological advantage Effect or sensation

beats faster
sends more glucose thumping heart
heart and oxygen to the
muscles

breathing increased oxygenation panting

centre of the faster and deeper of the blood; rapid
brain breathing removal of
carbon dioxide

person goes paler

arterioles of less blood going to the
the skin skin means more is
constricts them
available
to the muscles

dry mouth
arterioles of less blood for the
the digestive constricts them digestive system
system allows more to
reach the muscles

muscles of peristalsis and ‘hollow’ feeling in

alimentary digestion slow down; stomach
relax
canal more energy
available for action

muscles of
tenses them ready for immediate tense feeling; shivering
body
action
more glucose available
conversion of glycogen in blood for energy no sensation
liver to production, to allow
glucose metabolic activity to
increase

fat deposits conversion of fats to fatty acids available in

fatty acids blood for muscle no sensation
contraction

Use of hormones in food production

Farmer sometimes use hormones to make their animals grow faster, or to produce more of a
particular product.
One hormone used in this way is called bovine somatotropin, or BST. BST is a hormone which
is naturally produced by cattle. However, if cows are given extra BST, they make more milk.
Some people think it would be a good idea to give cow BST, to get higher milk yields. You would
need fewer cows to get the same amount of milk.

Here are arguments against it.

 Some people are worried about drinking milk from cows treated with BST. They think
BST might damage their health. However, this is very unlikely, because the hormone
does not get into the milk in any significant quantity.
 To some people, it is difficult to see why we need BST. For example, the European Union
already produces more milk than it needs, so milk quotas have to be imposed, to stop
farmer from producing too much milk.
  There are concerns that the BST might harm the cows. Cows treated with BST make very
large amounts of milk, far beyond the ‘natural’ levels which they produce. This make
them more likely to get infections of their udders (breast), and may make them feel less
comfortable.

Voluntary and involuntary actions

Two types of action controlled by the human nervous system are: voluntary
and involuntary actions. The peripheral nerves transmit both of them.
Comparison of voluntary and involuntary actions
Feature Voluntary action Involuntary action

- Conscious thought (make

decision about making action). - Does not involve thought
Nature - Free will - Not under the control of the will
- Consciously controlled - Cannot control the activities.

Involving
- skeletal muscle (e.g. knee jerk)
If we want to ask
- smooth muscles (e.g.
Examples question, we raise our
peristalsis)
hands
- cardiac muscles (e.g. pumping
of the heart)
Respond with the benefit Respond quickly to avoid
Role
of experience danger

Forebrain (Cerebrum):
- coordinates incoming
- Hind-brain (cranial reflex
information, initiates impulses
Controlled action)
sent to the
by - Spinal cord (spinal reflex
effectors.
action), e.g. blinking of the eyes
- may spontaneously initiate
actions without any sensory
stimulation.

Slow response, as the cerebrum

Speed of needs time to “think” before an Rapid response, as the cerebrum
action action is is not involved.
carried out.

The same stimulus may produce

Response various responses. The same stimulus always
to the E.g. when you are hungry, you results in the same response
same may decide to eat or not to eat, (stereotyped response), e.g. the
stimulus or knee jerk reflex.
just need to drink water.

SENSE RECEPTORS AND SENSE ORGANS

Receptors are cells that detect / receive stimuli. They may be scattered more or less uniformly
all over the body e.g. receptors for pain, touch, temperature or they may be located in a special
sense organ. For example receptors for light are located in the eye while those of sound are
located in the ear. Those of taste are located in the tongue and those of small are located in the
nose.
When a particular receptor is stimulated, it fires an impulse to the particular region in the brain
to which it is connected by nerves. That region of the brain is thus stimulated and a sensation of type
of stimulus is produced. For example a heat sensitive receptor in the skin is connected by
nerves to the heat sensory centre in the cerebral cortex of the brain. When it is stimulated, it fires
impulses to the heat sensory centre of the brain. In this centre a sensation of heat is produced. A
pain sensitive cell (receptor) in the skin is connected to a pain centre in the brain. So when this
receptor is stimulated it fires impulses to the pain centre in the brain where a sensation of pain is
made so that the individual feels pain.

The structure of the mammalian eye

It is spherical in shape. It lies in a cavity in the skull called the orbit (eye socket). The eye
ball is attached to the walls of the socket by 4 sets of rectus muscles and two sets of
oblique muscles. The eye ball is connected to the brain (in the visual centre in the cerebral
cortex) by an optic nerve. There is a thick layer of fat around the eye ball and this
cushions it against shock. Each eye has upper and lower covers called the eye lids. These
protect the external surface of the eye. Blinking keeps the surface of the eyes moist.
There is a tear gland (lachrymal gland) below the upper eyelid. This gland secretes a saline
liquid which is a solution of sodium chloride liquid and hydrogen carbonate. The liquid also
contains an enzyme called lysozyme which destroys microorganisms like bacteria.
The vertical and longitudinal sections of the eye show that it consists of the following parts:-
 Sclerotic layer: It is the outermost layer of the eye. It is tough and composed of
inelastic fibres. It is white in color. its function is to;
- To support and maintain the shape of the eye;
- Protects the inner part called cornea.
 Cornea: It is a transparent layer and is continuous with sclerotic. It allows light to enter
the eye and it refracts the light entering the eye.
 Choroid: It is a pigmented layer. It contains many blood vessels. It nourishes the cells;
its pigments help to prevent internal reflection of light
 Aqueous humor: It is a watery fluid similar to blood plasma. It helps to maintain the
shape of the eye and (ii) carries nutrients to the cornea and lens.
 Vitreous humor: It is a transparent, jelly-like material. It helps to maintain the shape of
the eye. It drains away and is replaced continuously.
 Iris: It is a disc which contains pigments. It consists of two sets of muscles; the radial
muscles and circular muscles. These muscles act antagonistically to regulate the
amount of light entering the eye through the hole in the centre called a pupil.
 Pupil: It is in centre of the eye and beneath the cornea. It is allows light to enter the eye
to reach the lens.
 Lens: It is a transparent oval structure. It is attached to the ciliary body by suspensory
ligaments. It is convex in nature. It acts to bend light entering the eye in order to fall on
the retina.
 Retina: It is a layer of light sensitive cells at the back of the eye. These cells are two
types; rods and cones. Rods are sensitive to black and white. The cones are sensitive
to colors. Rods are very sensitive and will work in dim light. Nocturnal animals have
more rods than average. Cones are sensitive to high light intensity because they are less
sensitive. Diurnal animals have more cones than rods. Most cones are concentrated into
an area called fovea of the retina.
 Fovea (Yellow spot): It is the most sensitive part of the retina. It consists mainly of
cones. When an object is being closely examined by a person, the image is automatically
directed onto the fovea.
 Blind spot: It is located at the point where the optic nerve leaves the eye on its way to
the brain. The blind spot is not sensitive to light. This is because it has no sensitive cells.
The external features of the human eye

Longitudinal section through the eye

A blind spot experiment
Cut a white large paper and put a cross (+) and a circular dark spot (●) at the same horizontal
level about 7cm apart. Hold the paper at arm length in front of your face when the left eye is
closed and look at the cross on the left. Both should be visible. Now bring the book slowly
towards the face while focusing on the cross.
At a certain distance the spot will disappear. This is because spot is falling on the blind spot.

How is the image formed in the eye?

Light rays from an object pass through the conjunctiva, cornea, aqueous humor, lens and
vitreous humor to the retina. The light rays are refracted as they pass through these various
regions and are finally converged (brought to focus) on the fovea of the retina.

A real image which is inverted and is smaller than the object (diminished) is formed on the
retina. The cones and rods are stimulated by the light falling on the retina.
Impulses are then sent via the optic nerve to the visual centres in the cerebral cortex. This
interprets the impulses and an impression or sensation of the object and its correct size, color
and distance from the eye is perceived.
Accommodation - focusing on objects far and near
Accommodation is the ability of the eye to focus far and nearby objects clearly.
The amount of focusing needed by the lens depends on the distance of the object being viewed
– light from near objects requires a more convex lens than light from a distant objects. The
shape of the lens needed to accommodate the image is controlled by the ciliary body - this
contains a ring of muscle around the lens.

Vision of distance objects

The ciliary muscles relax, giving them a larger diameter. This pulls on the suspensory ligaments
which, in turn, pull on the lens. This makes the lens thinner (less convex). As the ciliary muscles
are relaxed, there is no strain on the eye.

Vision of near objects

The ciliary muscles contract, giving them a smaller diameter. This removes the tension on the
suspensory ligaments which, in turn, stop pulling on the lens. The lens becomes thicker (more
convex). As the ciliary muscles are contracted, there is strain on the eye, which can cause a
headache if a near object (book, microscope, computer screen etc.) is viewed for too long.

Eye defects
 a. Myopia: (nearsightedness)
This is a defect of vision in which far objects appear blurred but near objects are seen clearly.
The image is focused in front of the retina rather than on it usually because the eyeball is too
long or the refractive power of the eye’s lens too strong.
Myopia can be corrected by wearing glasses/contacts with concave lenses these help to focus
the image on the retina.
b. Hyperopia: (farsightedness)
This is a defect of vision in which there is difficulty with near vision but far objects can be seen
easily. The image is focused behind the retina rather than upon it.
This occurs when the eyeball is too short or the refractive power of the lens is too weak.
Hyperopia can be corrected by wearing glasses/contacts that contain convex lenses.
c. Astigmatism:
This defect is when the light rays do not all come to a single focal point on the retina, instead
some focus on the retina and some focus in front of or behind it. This is usually caused by a
non-uniform curvature of the cornea. A typical symptom of astigmatism is if you are looking
at a pattern of lines placed at various angles and the lines running in one direction appear sharp
whilst those in other directions appear blurred. Astigmatism can usually be corrected by using a
special spherical cylindrical lens; this is placed in the out-of-focus axis.
Eye related problems:
 Cataracts: A cataract is a clouding of the lens, which prevents a clear, sharp image
being produced. A cataract forms because the lens is sealed in a capsule and as old
cells die they get trapped in the capsule, with time this causes a clouding over of the
lens. This clouding results in blurred images.
 Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)
This is a degenerative condition of the macula (the central retina). It is caused by the
hardening of the arteries that nourish the retina. This deprives the retinal tissue of the
nutrients and oxygen that it needs to function and causes a deterioration in central
vision.
 Glaucoma:
The eye produces a clear fluid (aqueous humor) that fills the space between the
cornea and the iris.

Pupil reflex
The reflex changes the size of the pupil to control the amount of light entering the
eye. In bright light, pupil size is reduced as too much light falling on the retina could
damage it. In dim light, pupil size is increased to allow as much light as possible to
enter the eye. The retina detects the brightness of light entering the eye. An impulse
passes to the brain along sensory neurones and travels back to the muscles of the iris
along motor neurones, triggering a response - the change in size of the pupil due to
contraction of radial or circular muscles.

COORDINATION IN FLOWERING PLANTS

Plants also respond to stimuli. As plants don’t have nerves, their responses are limited to
hormones only. Plants respond to the following stimuli.
The response of plants towards stimulus coming from one direction is called tropism. There
are different kinds of tropisms depending on the type of stimulus.
 Gravity. Roots grow towards gravitational pull and stems grow away. This is
geotropism.
 Water. Roots grow towards water. This is Hydrotropism.
 Light. Shoots grow towards light. This is Phototropism.
Tropisms can be positive or negative. A tropism is said to be positive if the growth response is
towards the source of stimulus and is negative if the response is away from the source of
stimulus.
 The shoot is negatively geotropic but positively phototropic
Tropisms are influenced or are due to chemicals called auxins. These are manufactured at the
tips of shoots and roots. The most common auxin is Indole Acetic Acid (IAA). This hormone
diffuses down the shoot to the zone of cell elongation where it causes the cells to grow by
elongation. Tropisms occur as a result of elongation of cells in growth regions.
IAA is produced in the tips of actively growing roots and shoots and carried by active transport
to the regions of extension where it promotes cell enlargement (Figure 14.32).

Characteristics of auxins
 Auxins are plant growth substances, produced by the shoot and root tips
of growing plants.
 High auxins in the shoot, stimulate cell growth, by the absorption of water
 High auxins in the root, slow down the cell growth
 Auxin are water loving ie diffuse to the side in direction of water.
 Auxins diffuse to lower ends of the plant in response to gravity.
 Auxins hate presence of light - they will diffuse to the shaded side away from the
illuminated side.

Auxin in phototropism
1. If a shoot is exposed to light from one side, more auxins diffuse to the shaded side (from the
tip of the shoot). On this side, cells are stimulated to absorb more water, plant grows
more and the shoot bends toward the light. This is called positive phototropism.
2. If a root is exposed to light in the absence of gravity, more auxins are move to the shaded
side (from the tip of the root). On this side, cells are stimulated to absorb less water, plant grows
less. Root bends away from the light. This is called negative phototropism.

Auxin in geotropism
1. If a shoot is placed horizontally in the absence of light, auxins accumulate on the lower side of
the shoot, due to gravity. Cells on the lower side grow more quickly and the shoot bends
upwards. This is called negative geotropism.
2. If a root is placed horizontally in the absence of light, auxins accumulate on the lower side of
the shoot, due to gravity. Cells on the lower side grow more slowly. The shoot bends downwards.
This is called positive geotropism.

Consider a pot plants which was growing normally and upright. When the pot falls and changes
the orientation, the shoot changes the course of growth (negative geotropism) due to
redistribution of auxins in the plant.
Experiments on tropisms
a. Geotropism in pea radicles
 Soak about 20 peas in water for a day and then let them germinate in a vertical
roll of moist blotting-paper.
 After 3 days, choose 12 seedlings with straight radicles and pin six of these to
the turntable of a clinostat so that the radicles are horizontal.
 Pin another six seedlings to a cork that will fit in a wide mouthed jar. Leave the
jar on its side.
A clinostat is a clockwork or electric turntable, which rotates the seedlings
slowly about four times an hour. Although gravity is pulling sideways on their
roots, it will pull equally on all sides as they rotate.
 Place the jar and the clinostat in the same conditions of lighting or leave them in
darkness for 2 days.
Observation
The radicles in the clinostat will continue to grow horizontally but those in the jar will have
changed their direction of growth, to grow vertically downwards (Figure 14.27).

Interpretation
The stationary radicles have responded to the stimulus of one sided gravity by growing towards
it. The radicles are positively geotropic. The radicles in the clinostat are the controls. Rotation of
the clinostat has allowed gravity to act on all sides equally and there is no one-sided stimulus,
even though the radicles were horizontal. And therefore no tropism exhibited.

b. Phototropism in shoots
 Select two potted seedlings, e.g. sunflower or runner bean, of similar size and
water them both.
 Place one of them under a cardboard box with a window cut in one side so that
light reaches the shoot from one direction only (Figure 14.28).
 Place the other plant in an identical situation but on a clinostat. This will rotate
the plant about four times per hour and expose each side of the shoot equally to
the source of light. This is the control.
Result
After 1 or 2 days, the two plants are removed from the boxes and compared. It will be found that
the stem of the plant with one-sided illumination has changed its direction of growth and is
growing towards the light (Figure 14.29). The control shoot has continued to grow vertically.

Interpretation

The results suggest that the young shoot has responded to one sided lighting by growing
towards the light. The shoot is said to be positively phototropic because it grows towards the
direction of the stimulus.
However, the results of an experiment with a single plant cannot be used to draw conclusions
that apply to green plants as a whole. The experiment described here is more of an illustration
than a critical investigation. To investigate phototropism thoroughly, a large number of plants
from a wide variety of species would have to be used.

Advantages of tropic responses

Positive phototropism of shoots
 By growing towards the source of light, a shoot brings its leaves into the best situation
for photosynthesis.
 Similarly, the flowers are brought into an exposed position where they are most likely to
be seen and pollinated by flying insects.
Negative geotropism in shoots
 Shoots that are negatively geotropic grow vertically. This lifts the leaves and flowers
above the ground and helps the plant to compete for light and carbon dioxide.
  The flowers are brought into an advantageous position for insect or wind pollination.
Seed dispersal may be more effective from fruits on a long, vertical stem. However,
these advantages are a product of a tall shoot rather than negative geotropism.
 Stems that form rhizomes (stems that grow underground) are not negatively geotropic;
they grow horizontally below the ground, though the shoots that grow up from them are
negatively geotropic. Branches from upright stems are not negatively geotropic; they
grow at 90 degrees or, usually, at a more acute angle to the directional pull of gravity.

Positive geotropism in roots

 By growing towards gravity, roots penetrate the soil, which is their means of anchorage
and their source of water and mineral salts.
 Lateral roots are not positively geotropic; they grow at right angles or slightly
downwards from the main root. This response enables a large volume of soil to be
exploited and helps to anchor the plants securely.
 The lower branches of a potato plant must be partially positively geotropic when they
grow down into the soil and produce potato tubers.

Darwin did the first experiments to study the effects of Auxin

Shoots and roots that have their tips removed will not respond to light or gravity because the
part that produces auxins has been cut off.
Shoots that have their tips covered with opaque material grow straight upwards when
exposed to one-sided light, because the auxin distribution is not influenced by the light.

Effects of weed killers

Weed killers (herbicide) are synthetic plant hormones, similar to auxins. If these chemicals are
sprayed on to plants they can cause rapid, uncontrolled growth and respiration, resulting in the
death of the plant.
Some plant species are more sensitive than others to synthetic plant hormones, so weed killers
can be selective.
Many weed killers kill only broad-leaved plants (dicotyledons), leaving grasses (monocotyledons)
unharmed.

Questions
Core
1 What is the difference between a nerve and a nerve f bre?
2 a In what ways are sensory neurones and motor neurones
similar:
i in structure
ii in function?
b How do they differ?
3 Can a nerve f bre and a nerve carry both sensory and
motor impulses? Explain your answers.
a a nerve f bre
b a nerve
4 Put the following in the correct order for a simple refl ex arc
a impulse travels in motor f bre
b impulse travels in sensory f bre
c effector organ stimulated
d receptor organ stimulated
e impulse crosses synapse.
5 Which receptors and effectors are involved in the refl ex
actions of:
a sneezing
b blinking
c contraction of the iris?
6 Explain why the tongue may be considered to be both a
receptor and an effector organ.
7 Discuss whether coughing is a voluntary or refl ex action.
8 What sensation would you expect to feel if a warm pinhead was pressed on to a touch receptor
in your skin?
Explain your answer.
9 If a piece of ice is pressed on to the skin, which receptors
are likely to send impulses to the brain?
10 Apart from the cells that detect chemicals, what other
types of receptor must be present in the tongue?
11 a To what directional stimuli do:
i roots respond
ii shoots respond?
b Name the plant organs which are
i positively phototropic
ii positively geotropic
iii negatively geotropic.
12 Why is it incorrect to say:
a ‘Plants grow towards the light.’
b ‘If a root is placed horizontally, it will bend towards
gravity’?
13 Explain why a clinostat is used for the controls in tropism
experiments.
14 Look at Figure 14.26. What will the shoot look like in
24 hours after the pot has been stood upright again?
(Just draw the outline of the stem.)
15 What do you think might happen if a potted plant were
placed on its side and the shoot illuminated from below
(i.e. light and gravity are acting from the same direction)?
Extended
16 Look at Figures 14.6 and Figure 14.8. For each diagram, state
a how many cell bodies are drawn
b how many synapses are shown.
17 If you could intercept and ‘listen to’ the nerve impulses
travelling in the spinal cord, could you tell which ones came from pain receptors and which from
temperature receptors?
Explain your answer.
18 Would you expect synapses to occur in grey matter or in
white matter? Explain your answer.
19 Study Figure 14.2. If the spinal cord were damaged at a point
about one-third of the way up the vertebral column, what
effect would you expect this to have on the bodily functions?
20 Study Table 14.3 and give one example for each point of
comparison.
21 The pancreas has a dual function in producing digestive
enzymes as well as hormones. Which other endocrine glands
have a dual function and what are their other functions?
(See also ‘Sex hormones in humans’ in Chapter 16.)
22 What are the effects on body functions of:
a too much insulin
b too little insulin?
23 Why do you think urine tests are carried out to see if a
woman is pregnant?
24 What conscious actions do we take to reduce the heat lost
from the body?
25 a What sort of chemical reaction in active muscle will
produce heat?
b How does this heat get to other parts of the body?
26 Draw up a balance sheet to show all the possible ways the
human body can gain or lose heat. Make two columns,
with ‘Gains’ on the left and ‘Losses’ on the right.
27 a Which structures in the skin of a furry mammal help to
reduce heat loss?
b What changes take place in the skin of humans to
reduce heat loss?
28 Sweating cools you down only if the sweat can evaporate.
a In what conditions might the sweat be unable to
evaporate from your skin?
b What conditions might speed up the evaporation of
sweat and so make you feel very cold?
29 In Figure 14.35 the two sets of pea seedlings were sown
at the same time, but the pot on the left was kept under a
lightproof box. From the evidence in the picture:
a what effects does light appear to have on growing
seedlings
b how might this explain positive phototropism?

HOMEOSTASIS
Homeostasis refers to keeping conditions of the internal environment constant. The internal
environment refers to the immediate surroundings of cells and filled with fluid called tissue
fluid or intercellular fluid.
Explain how tissue fluid is formed
When blood in an artery flows into the narrow capillaries of an artery (called arterioles), a
pressure develops in these capillaries. Because of this pressure, some of the contents of blood
such as plasma with dissolved oxygen, glucose, fatty acids, glycerol, amino acids, vitamins,
mineral salts and hormones are forced out through the pores walls of capillaries. This fluid is
thus forced into the space between cells (intercellular space). Now because it in these tissue
spaces, it is called tissue fluid.

Importance of tissue fluid

 It bathes cells by taking away waste products such as carbon dioxide. The cells release
these waste products into this fluid which takes it away.
 The body cells extract useful materials such as oxygen and nutrients from this fluid.
Thus this tissue fluid is the medium from which cells obtain their requirements and also into
which they discharge their waste products.

What factors of the internal environment need to be maintained constant?

These are levels of carbon dioxide, mineral salts, temperature, pH, glucose, amino acids,
proteins, wastes, and oxygen in the body, bile pigments, vitamin A, D and B 12, salts ions
including sodium, potassium, phosphate, sex hormones and toxins in blood e.g. alcohol and
drugs.
Of what importance is homeostasis or why should these above mentioned factors be maintained
constant?
Since these substances or conditions surround the body cells, any serious fluctuation of any
from the normal may adversely affect the functioning of cells and the organism will suffer from
the negative consequences.
For example
 If the glucose level in the tissue fluid is too high, it would cause the cells to lose water by
osmosis which may result in death of the cells
 If the glucose level in the tissue fluid is too low, it would cause the cells to take up water
by osmosis which may result in bursting leading to death of the cells
 If the tissue fluid does not have oxygen the cell will not be able to obtain oxygen, so it
will not generate energy for itself which will lead to cell death.

Mechanism of homeostasis
Each of the factors are kept at a constant level by a homeostatic (self-regulating) system
outlined below.

As shown above any change from the normal operating levels (set point or the norm) of a factor
by increase or decrease brings into mechanisms which tend to return it to normal. This is an
example of a negative feedback mechanism.
A negative feedback is a compensating change that tends to bring back to normal condition of
a factor that had gone out to the normal condition.
A negative feedback operates in such a way that, if there is a change in the environment, the
change is detected by the sensors or receptors. These in-turn stimulate the corrective
mechanisms to restore the change back to normal after which the corrective mechanisms are
switched off.
For any homeostatic mechanism to work there must be;
i. Receptors which detect the change,
ii. A control center which is to take suitable corrective measures by feed- back system
iii. An effector to carry out the instruction from the control center to maintain a constant
internal environment.
The effectiveness of the homeostatic mechanism depends on the negative feedback.
Sometimes a negative feedback system fails and this leads to further changes from the normal
levels. This further deviation from an already abnormal level is called a positive feedback.

Many conditions are involved but our focus will be mainly;

 Glucose levels in blood.
 Salts and water
 Temperature regulation.
a) Homeostatic control of blood glucose
The normal blood glucose level is about 90mg per 100ml of blood. However, when the
level of blood glucose rises above this norm- this condition is called hyperglycaemia. The
beta cells of islets of Langerhans of the pancreas become stimulated. These in-turn
secrete a hormone called insulin into the blood stream. This flows to the liver where it
causes the following in order to reduce the level of glucose in blood back to normal.
i. Increase the uptake of glucose from blood into the liver cells
ii. Increase the breakdown of glucose into carbon dioxide, water and energy
iii. Conversion of excess glucose into glycogen stored in the liver and muscles.
The concentration of glucose in blood will start to rise after a meal. Sugars from digested
carbohydrates pass into the blood stream during absorption in the ileum and are transported
to the liver in the hepatic portal vein. In the liver, glucose is converted into glycogen. So
the blood leaving the liver in the hepatic vein has a lower concentration of glucose than
when it enters the liver.
When the level of glucose in blood drops below the normal, the alpha cells of islets of
Langerhans become stimulated and secrete a hormone called glucagon in to the blood
stream. This flows to the liver and result into increase in the level of blood glucose by;
decreasing the rate of uptake of glucose by the liver cells from blood, decreasing the rate of
breakdown of glucose into energy and then stimulates the conversion of glycogen into
glucose.
Note; adrenaline secreted by the adrenal gland also increases the level of blood glucose in
preparing an organism for an action.
Some people have a disease resulting from a faulty pancreas. The pancreas cannot secrete
enough insulin hormone to keep the level of blood glucose constant. Instead the blood
glucose rises to abnormally high levels to the extent of appearing in urine. This disease is
called diabetes mellitus.
Another symptom of diabetes is constant thirst. This is because high blood glucose
concentration stimulates receptors in the hypothalamus of the brain leading a feeling of
thirst, so that by drinking, the person will dilute their blood.
 Severe diabetes is very serious and if untreated, the sufferer loses weight and becomes
weak and eventually falls into coma and dies.
Carbohydrates in the diet, such as starch and sugars, are the sources of glucose in the
blood, so a person with diabetes can help to control their blood sugar if they limit the
amount of carbohydrates that they eat.
Type I diabetes is the one that results from a faulty pancreas that cannot produce enough
insulin in blood. In type II diabetes, the pancreas produces the insulin but the body shows
insulin resistance (insulin has less effect than it should do). Type II diabetes is common in
people who are overweight and eat a poor diet that is high in sugar and other
carbohydrates. It can be prevented and controlled by eating a good diet and doing regular
exercise. This type also tends to happen in middle-aged or older people, whereas type I can
happen at any age and is common in childhood. People with diabetes (type I) need to
receive daily injections of insulin to keep their glucose in their blood at the normal level.
Note; insulin is a protein, and if it were to be taken by mouth in a tablet form, it would be
broken down by proteases in the gut before it functions. Instead it is injected into the muscle
tissue, where it is slowly absorbed into the blood stream.
People with diabetes can check their blood glucose using a special sensor. They prick their
finger and place a drop of blood on a test strip. The strip is then put into the sensor, which
gives them an accurate reading of how much glucose is in their blood (figure). They can
then tell when to inject insulin and how much to inject.

b) Control of water content in the body.

This is controlled by a hormone called anti diuretic hormone (ADH) produced by the pituitary
gland. When an individual takes a lot of salty foods, drinks little water and realizes a lot of
sweating, the body fluids become concentrated. When the blood which is more concentrated
with salts than normal and is flowing in the body, reaches the hypothalamus of the brain, it
stimulates the cells of the hypothalamus called osmoreceptors. The hypothalamus then
stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete a hormone called anti–diuretic hormone (ADH). This
hormone causes the kidney tubules to re-absorb more water from the glomerular filtrate back
into blood. Thus the urine passed out will be more concentrated with salts.
Water reabsorbed back in the blood stream dilutes the concentrated blood thereby restoring the
normal osmotic pressure of blood.
Effects of ADH therefore include;
 Increase in the permeability of the walls of the loop of Henle towards water.
 Osmotic water reabsorption from the glomerular filtrate back into the blood
 Dilutes the blood back to normal concentration
 Decrease in the volume of glomerular filtrate as water is reabsorbed from it
 Increase in the concentration of the glomerular filtrate and therefore production of
concentrated urine.
 Reduces the frequency of urine production.

Diuresis means the flow of urine from the body while anti-diuresis means producing less
urine. When the blood is too dilute beyond normal the hypothalamus will not be stimulated
greatly and thus the pituitary gland will also not be stimulated. So less water will be
reabsorbed from the glomerular filtrate. Thus the urine produced will be dilute and in large
quantities.

When one is unable to produce sufficient ADH, less water will be re-absorbed so they tend to
excrete large amounts of urine. The sufferer thus tends to drink large amounts of water. This
disease is called diabetes inspidus

Maintenance of a constant osmotic pressure of body fluids

The maintenance of a constant osmotic pressure of the body fluids is called osmoregulation.
It is done by controlling the amount of water and salts in the body.

Of what significance is osmoregulation?

It is necessary to prevent water from unnecessarily moving into or out of cells by osmosis. For
example if the concentration of salts in tissue fluid is higher than that in cells, water will move
out of cells by osmosis. This can prevent important chemical reactions in cells since they occur
in sufficient amounts of water.
Also if the concentration of tissue fluids is below normal, then cells would take in too much
water by osmosis and may burst. So the concentration of body fluids should be kept within
strict limits.
Processes through which the body gains water are through drinking and through eating foods
containing water.
A mammalian body loses water through exhalation, sweating, urinating, defecation and
vomiting.
c) Control of body temperature.
Some organisms such as the mammals and birds are able to maintain a constant body
temperature irrespective of the varying environmental temperature. Such organisms are called
homoeothermic organisms.
They are able to do that because they have the ability to generate heat through metabolic
reactions taking place inside their bodies. Thus they are also called endotherms.
Graph

On the other hand, some organisms like the fish, reptiles and amphibians are unable to maintain
a constant body temperature but their body temperature always vary with the changing
environmental temperature. Such organisms are said to be poikilothermic. They depend on
the environmental temperature to adjust their body temperature thus are called ectotherms.
The main difference between the two groups is that ectotherms depend on the behavioral
means only such as sun bathing, thermal gapping, hiding in rocks during day and resting on
warm rocks at night etc. to regulate the body temperature.
But the endotherms are able to use both behavioral means and physiological means to regulate
their body temperature.
Examples of behavioral means include; taking hot or cold drinks, shower or swimming, putting
on heavy or light jackets/ clothes, huddling in penguins etc.
Physiological means include all metabolic reactions for generating heat for the body
temperature to rise and mechanisms of getting rid of the excess heat for lowering the body
temperature.
Advantage of endotherms over poikilotherms
Endotherms are always active in all the seasons of cold and warm temperature unlike the
ectotherms eg the goldfish in a garden pond is active in summer when the pond temperature is
warms and very sluggish during winter.
Temperature control by physiological means in mammals
The normal body temperature lies between 35.8◦C and 37.7◦C. However when the body
temperature rises above this, the thermos-receptors become stimulates and send impulses to
the thermoregulatory center of the hypothalamus which in turn sends impulses to different
effectors such as the skin and the muscles to lower the body temperature back to normal.
The skin and temperature regulation.
The human skin forms the outer surface of the skin. It serves the following functions.
 Forming a tough outer layer able to resist mechanical damage
 Acting as a barrier to the entry of pathogens
 Forming an impermeable surface, preventing loss of water
 Acting as a sense organ for touch and temperature changes
 Controlling the loss of heat through the body surface
 The sweat glands are stimulated to produce greater amounts of sweat to the surface of
the skin. This liquid then absorbs excess heat from the body in form of latent heat of
vaporization resulting into cooling of the body.
 The erector Pilli muscle attached to the base of each hair relaxes thereby causing the
hairs too lie flat to the skin surface.
 Vasodilation (widening of lumen) of capillary loops near the skin surface occurs. This
leads to much blood flow near the skin surface radiating the excess heat to the
surroundings. As this happens the inner by-pass capillaries constrict (narrow) allowing
most blood to reach the surface.

 During low temperatures, the hypothalamus sends impulses to the skin resulting into
vasoconstriction of the capillary loop and less blood passing near the skin surface.
 The rate of metabolism increases causing the liver to produce a lot of heat for warming
up the body and raising the body temperature. The adrenaline hormone also increases
the rate of metabolism.
 Shivering also occurs. Shivering refers to uncontrollable bursts of rapid muscular
contraction in the limbs. This releases heat as a result of respiration in the muscles.
 Sweat production stops – thus the heat lost by evaporation is reduced.
EXCRETION IN MAMMALS
Excretion is the removal of wastes products of metabolism from the body. It is an example of
homeostasis in that
 These substances (wastes) just have to be kept at a low level and not totally
eliminated from the body. This is because their presence helps to stimulate important
mechanisms
 Some are required in the body for certain life processes.
Examples of materials that are maintained homeostatically include nitrogenous wastes (urea
and creatinine), carbon wastes (carbon dioxide), excess water, mineral salts and bile pigments.
Homeostatic control of carbon dioxide level in blood
Carbon dioxide is produced as a product of respiration in the body.
It is a waste product because;
i. When it is in high concentration in blood, it is toxic and can also affect the pH of blood.
ii. It is a product made in cells.
Of what importance is carbon dioxide in blood?
Carbon dioxide stimulates the breathing center in the brain which in turn stimulates the
respiratory muscles. This results in ventilation of lungs so that lungs can pick the oxygen
needed by the cells to generate energy required by an organism. If the blood has no carbon
dioxide, breathing will not occur since breathing centers in the brain will not be stimulated.
How is the concentration of carbon dioxide regulated?
When the level of carbon dioxide is high in blood, the breathing centers are stimulated more
so that the breathing rate increases. This results in reduction in the levels of carbon dioxide in
blood.
When the level of carbon dioxide is very low, the breathing centers in the brain will be
stimulated to a very low extent. Thus the rate of breathing is also low. This allows the carbon
dioxide levels in the blood to slowly build up.
Homeostatic control of urea in blood
Urea is a nitrogenous compound and it is a product of protein metabolism.
It is a waste product because it is produced in cells and when allowed to accumulate in the
body it becomes toxic and can cause death to cells.

What structures in the body remove urea?

Urea is removed by the urinary system and the skin. The urinary system consists of kidney,
bladder, ureters and urethra as shown in the diagram.
Humans have two bean – shaped kidneys. Each kidney is about 12cm long and 7cm wide. A
thin tube called ureter comes out of the concave side of each kidney and goes down wards to
a single bag called the bladder. The bladder has an exit called urethra which leads to the
body surface. Between the end of bladder and start of urethra exists a ring of muscle called a
sphincter muscle. This muscle controls the release of urine from the bladder- urine is let out
when it relaxes.

The urinary system for excretion of urea

Structure of a kidney
A vertical section shows that a kidney consists of 3 regions; the cortex which is the outer
region and is dark colored; the medulla which is the inner region and is light colored and the
pelvis.
The medulla consists of between 12 to 16 conical structures called pyramids. Each kidney has
millions of tubes called nephrons. Each nephron begins in the cortex of the kidney where it
coils and then forms a loop that extends into the medulla. This loop ascends back into the
cortex, where it coils again. It then straightens and goes back into the medulla. In the medulla,
several nephrons join to form a collecting duct which runs to the pyramid of medulla. Each
kidney is supplied with oxygenated blood by the renal artery direct from the aorta. The blood
leaves the kidney by way of renal vein.

The structure of a nephron

A nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. It begins with cup – shaped structure called the
Bowman’s capsule. The capsule encloses a bunch of capillaries called the Glomerulus. The
glomerulus receives blood from an afferent arteriole which is a branch of renal artery. Blood
is taken away from the glomerulus by an efferent arteriole. This arteriole joins similar blood
vessels leading to the renal vein.
A tubule leads from the Bowman’s capsule and coils forming a proximal convoluted tubule
(PCT). It forms the first coiling from the Bowman’s capsule. After the PCT it doubles on itself to
form a loop of Henle. From here it coils again forming a distal convoluted tubule (DCT). At
the end, this tubule joins the collecting duct unto which other tubules join. The collecting
ducts leads to the pelvis of the kidney.

Mechanism of kidney function

The renal artery carrying blood containing urea, other excretory products and all other
constituents of blood enters the kidney. A branch of this renal artery called afferent vessel
enters the glomerulus. Once it enters the glomerulus this blood experiences a high pressure
because;
 This afferent arteriole is much wider than the efferent arteriole that leaves the
glomerulus,
 The blood in the afferent arteriole is at a higher speed due to the contraction of the
heart.
So because of this high pressure, the fluid containing urea, mineral salts, water, glucose and
other nitrogenous wastes is forced out or filtered out through the pores in the capillary walls
into the capsular space of the Bowman’s capsule. It is now called glomerular filtrate. The
glomerular filtrate is similar in composition to that of blood except that it does not contain
proteins and red blood cells. This is because;
 Red blood cells are large and yet cannot change shape so cannot go through pores in
the capillary walls.
 Proteins are very large molecules so cannot go through pores in the capillary walls.
White blood cells are large but filter out and are found as part of the glomerular filtrate
because they are amoeboid and thus can squeeze out through the capillary pores.
Filtration in the glomerulus is referred to as ultrafiltration because it takes place through tiny
pores in capillary walls.
 After ultrafiltration, the second step in excretion in the kidney is re-absorption. In this, as the
glomerular filtrate passes through the tubule, all the glucose, amino acids and some water and
salts are selectively reabsorbed back into the network of capillaries surrounding the tubule.
Most of the water is re-absorbed from the loop of Henle. Re-absorption requires a lot of energy.
The remaining filtrate thus consists of water, urea or uric acid (depending on the animal) and
some mineral ions. This fluid is now called urine. The urine is discharged into the collecting
duct and carried to the pelvis.
The third and last step in excretion of urea is removal of urine. The urine is moved from the
pelvis to the ureter. The ureter carries the urine to the bladder where it is stored temporarily
before being discharged to the outside through the urethra.

The table below shows the approximate quantities of some substances in blood plasma,
glomerular filtrate and urine.
Substance In blood plasma In glomerular In urine
filtrate

Protein 900g 0g 0g

200, 000g
Urea 200, 000g 236, 000g (1.8%)
(0.03%)
(0.03%)

Glucose 200, 000g (0.1%) 200, 000g (0.1%) 0g

Water 200 litres 180 litres 213 litres (94%)

The table shows that;

 The kidney removes some materials from blood such as urea but not others for example
glucose, large protein molecules and red blood cells.
 That urea is 60 times more concentrated in urine than in than glomerular filtrate. The reason is
that water has been reabsorbed osmotically from the glomerular filtrate.
 There is no glucose in urine. This is because all glucose has been re-absorbed from the
glomerular filtrate by active transport.
 Salts not needed by the body are left to pass on down the kidney tubule together with the urea
and uric acid. So, these nitrogenous waste products, excess salts and water continue down the
renal tube into the pelvis of the kidney. From here the fluid, now called urine, passes down the
ureter to the bladder.

Table below shows some of the differences in composition between the blood plasma and the
urine. The figures represent average values because the composition of the urine varies a
great deal according to the diet, activity, temperature and intake of liquid.

Substance plasma (%) Urine (%)

Water 90-93 95.0

Urea 0.03 2.0

Uric acid 0.003 0.05

Ammonia 0.0001 0.05

Sodium 0.3 0.6

Potassium 0.02 0.15

Chloride 0.37 0.6

Phosphates 0.003 0.12

The dialysis machine (‘artificial kidney’)

Kidney failure may result from an accident involving a drop in blood pressure, or from a
disease of the kidneys.
In the case of kidney disease, the patient can survive with only one kidney, but if both fail, the
patient’s blood composition has to be regulated by a dialysis machine.
Similarly, the accident victim can be kept alive on a dialysis machine until his or her blood
pressure is restored.

In principle, a dialysis machine consists of a long cellulose tube coiled up in a water bath. The
patient’s blood is led from a vein in the arm and pumped through the cellulose (dialysis)
tubing. The tiny pores in the dialysis tubing allow small molecules, such as those of salts,
glucose and urea, to leak out into the water bath. Blood cells and protein molecules are too
large to get through the pores. This stage is similar to the filtration process in the glomerulus.
To prevent a loss of glucose and essential salts from the blood, the liquid in the water bath
consists of a solution of salts and sugar of the correct composition, so that only the substances
above this concentration can diffuse out of the blood into the bathing solution. Thus, urea, uric
acid and excess salts are removed.
The bathing solution is also kept at body temperature and is constantly changed as the
unwanted blood solutes accumulate in it. The blood is then returned to the patient’s arm vein.

Advantages and disadvantages of kidney transplants compared with

dialysis.

Advantages
 The patients can return to a normal lifestyle – dialysis may require a lengthy session in
hospital, 3 times a week, leaving the patient very tired after each session.
 A dialysis machine will be available for other patients to use.
 Dialysis machines are expensive to buy and maintain.
Disadvantages
 Transplants require a suitable donor – with a good tissue match. The donor may be a
dead person, or a close living relative who is prepared to donate a healthy kidney (we
can survive with one kidney).
 The operation is very expensive.
 There is a risk of rejection of the donate kidney – immunosuppressive drugs have to be
used.
 Transplantation is not accepted by some religions.
EXCRETION IN PLANTS
The main waste product products in plants are carbon dioxide, oxygen and water.
The minor waste products are tannins, gums and resins, mineral crystals, anthocyanins and
alkaloids.
How do plants excrete these wastes?
a. Oxygen a waste product of photosynthesis is excreted through stomata during day light
hours.
b. Carbon dioxide a waste product of respiration is excreted through stomata and lenticels at
night. But it is also used up during photosynthesis during day light hours.
c. Excess water is lost by transpiration. Some such as potatoes have glands at tips or margins
to secrete water droplets, a process called guttation.
d. Tannins are often pumped into bark of trees, in unripe fruits, leaves and galls. They are
eliminated for example when the leaves, fruits or barks fall off the plants. Gums and resins
are secreted into the bark of some Acacia trees and coniferous trees respectively. These
are removed from the plant body when the bark peels off.
e. Mineral crystals like calcium oxalate crystals are stored in the dead tissue of the plants
such as heart wood. For these they will remain until when the plants dies.
f. Anthocyanins are nitrogenous wastes and are normally coloured blue, violet or reduced
brown. They are pumped into flowers (which make flowers colored) and they are excreted
when flowers or leaves where they are fall off the plant.

Why plants do not need efficient excretory organs as seen in animals

i. The rate of metabolism in plants is much slower than in animals of the same weight
thus waste products in plants accumulate very slowly which thus does not necessitate
efficient or quick elimination from the body as seen in animals.
ii. Metabolism in plants is based mainly on carbohydrates and so the products are less
toxic than those of protein metabolism in animals. Thus this does not necessity
efficient excretion as it should be in animals.
iii. Since plants keep growing throughout life unlike animals, they can use up their
nitrogenous wastes in the synthesis of new proteins and so they do not need efficient
ways of eliminating them.
iv. Plants use many of their waste products like CO2 and O2 in their other metabolic
processes. So they do not need to eliminate them so much as in animals thus no need
of efficient excretory organs.

VARIATION AND SELECTION

Variation
This refers to differences in characteristics between individuals of the same species. It is a
tendency for the off springs to differ even slightly from their parents and from each other. It is
of two categories; continuous and discontinuous variation.
A. Continuous Variation:
This is the type where there are intermediate forms between two extremes for example;
weight, height, skin colour and intelligence.
Inherited traits showing continuous variation are controlled by many genes. These genes are
called polygenes (poly = many). Thus such are called polygenic traits, and results from the
accumulative (additive) effect of many genes. Each gene contributes to the phenotype
(outward appearance of an organism). For example if gene A is for the light skin colour and “a”
for dark skin color an individual of genotype AAAAAaa is more brown than one of genotype
AAAaaaa.
Examples of characteristics showing continuous variation
 Height
 Weight or mass
 Skin colour
 Length of fingers
 Intelligence quotient
 Size of the ear lobes
Eye colour

B. DISCONTINUOUS VARIATION
It is the type of variation which shows clear-cut differences between characters with no
intermediate forms for example;
 Blood groups (someone is either A or B or AB or O)
 sex
 tongue roller trait
 red green color blindness
 hemophilia
 sickle cell anaemia
Inherited characters showing discontinuous variations are controlled by major genes - those,
which occur as alternative alleles.

Variations that can be inherited are determined by genes. They are genetic variations.
 These are traits inherited from parents. Include blood groups, skin color, eye color, height, sex
color blindness, hemophilia, boldness, sickle cell anemia, albinism, hairy earlobe etc.
Phenotypic variations may be brought about by genes, but can also be caused by the
environment, or a combination of both genes and the environment.
So, there are variations that are not heritable, but determined by factors in the environment.
These are caused by the environment and therefore are called environmental variations.

A kitten that gets insufficient food will not grow to the same size as its litter mates. A cat with a
skin disease may have bald patches in its coat. These conditions are not heritable. They are
caused by environmental effects.
Similarly, a fair-skinned person may be able to change the colour of his or her skin by exposing
it to the Sun, so getting a tan. The tan is an acquired characteristic cannot inherit a suntan.
Black skin, on the other hand, is an inherited characteristic.
For example, some fair-skinned people never go brown in the Sun, they only become
sunburned. They have not inherited the genes for producing the extra brown pigment in their
skin. A fair-skinned person with the genes for producing pigment will only go brown if he or she
exposes themselves to sunlight. So the tan is a result of both inherited and acquired
characteristics.
Theoretically, continuous variations follow the normal distribution curve, which is bell-shaped.
The highest point peak, mode represents the most frequently occurring set of value.

Causes of variation
(i) Environmental factors
These are external conditions that affect or influence the life processes and cause differences
among living things belonging to the same species. These are not hereditary. E.g. diet, light
intensity, wind velocity, pathogens and altitude. All these can cause an individual to differ from
another or others belonging to the same species.
(ii) Genetic factors
These are factors connected with the behavior of chromosomes at meiosis and the interaction
of genes. These factors include:
Segregation, Recombination and crossing over, Independent assortment, polygenic characters,
Co-dominance and Mutation.
a) crossing-over
Crossing over brings about new types of chromosomes and when these go to the different
gametes and recombine during fertilization, an individual which is different both genotypically
and phenotypically from the parents will result. On fusion with other gametes these are likely to
result in different individuals and thus variation

b) Co-dominance
This brings about variation because the pair of alleles does not dominate the other. For example
a parent of AA blood group married to a BB blood group will produce AB individuals thus
variation.

c) mutation:
It is a change in the genotype of the cell. If a cell is a gamete or even a zygote, the whole
offspring will be affected. If the cell is a somatic (body) cell, only part of the organism will be
affected for example in case of cancer.
Mutations may be advantageous. For example, maize plants may be induced to mutate
producing maize grains which have a large number of chromosomes. These grains are bigger
and grow faster.
But most mutations are disadvantageous e.g. those that cause serious disease like Down’s
syndrome. This disease is characterized by severe mental retardation and reduced resistance to
infection in humans. It is caused by having an extra chromosome.
A mutation caused by changes in a gene is called a gene mutation. An example of a gene
mutation is the one, which causes sickle cell anemia.
Results or consequences of variation:
Genetic variation has played a big role in the phenomenon of natural selection.
a) Natural selection
This is a force which works on populations by favoring those individuals with favorable
variations and selecting against those with unfavorable variations.
In 1859, Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in a book called On the Origin of
species by means of Natural Selection.
 Darwin’s theory was based his theory on 3 observations and two conclusions:
Observations
1. Organisms tend to produce more offspring than are needed to replace them. Eg a single female
salmon can release 5 million eggs per year; a giant puffball fungus produces 40 million spores.
2. Despite the over-reproduction, stable, established population of organisms tend to remain the
same size- seas are not overflowing with salmon, and you are not surrounded by piles of a giant
puffball fungi.
3. Members of the same species are not identical ie there is variation among organisms.

1. From the first 2 observations, there is a “struggle for existence “among individuals in a given population. Many
individuals are produced and yet the population remains almost the same. There is competition for resources.
2. From the third observation, he deduced that if some organisms survive and others die, those individuals who are
not suitably adapted (i.e. who have unfavorable variations) are less able to survive, and those which are well
adapted will survive, grow and reproduce and pass their adaptive characteristics to the next generation. This is
what is called Survival of the Fittest.

THE MECHANISM OF NATURAL SELECTION

The mechanism is as follows:
There are variations within every species (population). Some of these variations are genetical and others are not.
Favorable variations give some selective advantage over unfavorable variations. In all species, some organisms
with unfavorable variations are more likely to be eliminated by earlier death than others. There are some agents
(selection pressure) such as climate, competition for food etc. which produce differential mortality that leads to
a greater chance of survival to those with selective advantage. Individuals with selective advantage are therefore
more likely to survive and pass on their advantageous genetic variations to their off springs.

EXAMPLES OF NATURAL SELECTION

1. Resistance to drugs, antibiotics and insecticides: Some strains of organisms have developed resistance to
drugs and antibiotics due to continued use of these drugs. For example some bacteria can no longer be killed by
antibiotics and some insects have become resistant to insecticides. Even some malarial parasites have resisted
chloroquine. Now in all these cases, the organisms can pass this resistance to the next generation.
2. Sick cell Anemia: In this case people with the sickle cell trait but carriers are more resistant to malaria than
people without the trait. This gives them a selective advantage so that they can survive in greater numbers in
malaria – infested areas.

Feature of natural selection Effect on incidence of sickle cell anaemia

Selection pressure Infection by the malarial parasite

Carriers (people who are heterozygous for the sickle cell allele) and
Natural variation in the
people homozygous for the normal allele; people homozygous for the
species
sickle cell allele often die at an early age.

Type with selective

Carriers – malarial parasite cannot complete life cycle
advantage

Type selected for carriers

Type selected against People with 100% normal haemoglobin (homozygous for normal allele)

Result of natural selection Numbers of heterozygotes in the population are higher than in areas
over many generations where malaria is absent; numbers of people suffering from the disease
are also higher than in other areas.
Evolution of hoverflies with warning colouration.
Diagram
The figure shows the two species of insects: a wasp and a hoverfly. Wasps can defend themselves against
predators using a sting. They also have a body with yellow and black stripes. This is called a warning colouration.
Predators such as birds soon learn that these colours mean that wasps have the sting and they avoid attacking
them.
Hoverflies do not have a sting. However, they have an appearance that is very like a wasp, with similar yellow and
black stripes. They are mimics of wasps. Predators treat hoverflies as if they do have a sting. Clearly, mimicking a
wasp is an advantage to the hoverfly.
Hoverflies evolved this appearance by natural selection.
The selection pressure was predation by birds and other animals. Among the ancestors if present day hoverflies,
there would have been variation in colours. As a result of mutation, some hoverflies gained genes that produced
stripes on their bodies. These insects were less likely to be eaten by predators than hoverflies without stripes. So
they had a selective advantage.
Since the hoverflies with stripes were more likely to survive being eaten, they were more likely to reproduce, and
would pass on the genes for stripes to their offspring. This process continued over many generations. Gradually
more mutations and selection for “better” stripes took place, until the hoverflies evolved the excellent warning
colouration that they have today.

3. MELANISM and the evolution of the peppered moth

The evolution of the peppered moth is an evolutionary instance of directional colour change in the moth
population as a consequence of air pollution during the Industrial Revolution. The frequency of dark-coloured
moths increased at that time, an example of industrial melanism. Later, when pollution was reduced, the light-
coloured form again predominated. Industrial melanism in the peppered moth was an early test of Charles
Darwin's natural selection in action, and remains as a classic example in the teaching of evolution. Sewall
Wright described it as "the clearest case in which a conspicuous evolutionary process has actually been
observed."
The dark-coloured or melanic form of the peppered moth (var. carbonaria) was not known before 1811.
After field collection in 1848 from Manchester, an industrial city in England, the frequency of the variety
was found to have increased drastically. By the end of the 19th century it almost completely
outnumbered the original light-coloured type (var. typica), with a record of 98% in 1895. The
evolutionary importance of the moth was only speculated upon during Darwin's lifetime. It was 14 years
after Darwin's death, in 1896, that J.W. Tutt presented it as a case of natural selection. Due to this, the
idea widely spread, and more people believed in Darwin's theory

Melanin is a dark pigment in some cells. The peppered moth Biston betularia exists in two different forms; the one
which is whitish in color and the other black in color. These months rest on barks of trees.

Before industrialization, the trees were light colored because the lichens lived on them. Because of this birds that
feed on moths used to eat more black ones than white ones because the black ones could easily be seen against
such a background. Therefore the population of the black ones was lower than that of the white ones.
During industrialization, the lichens were killed by the smoke and soot so that the barks of the tree became dark
with soot (selection pressure).

Now the white forms of moths could easily be seen and eaten by birds and their numbers began to decline and
that of black ones rose. In this case the dark forms of moths had gained a selective advantage over the white
forms and are more likely to reproduce and increase in number. This occurred in England.

Another observation is that;

In the country, more of the peppered form survives to reproduce and in the cities more of the dark form
survives to reproduce
So over generations, the number of dark form increase in the cities and that of the peppered form
remain high in the country side

A species is a group of organisms that share common genes and can interbreed to produce
fertile off springs.

NATURAL SELECTION AND THE FORMATION OF NEW SPECIES

 Natural selection favors the survival of individuals with an advantage over others in population
 Least well adapted individuals fail to survive and reproduce
 But populations become increasingly adapted to their environments
 Eventually the two populations are so different that they cannot interbreed and thus become
different species
Example
1. A population of plants lives in a fairly normal type of soil, with normal rainfall
2. Due to change in environment, some of these plants colonize a different area, where water is
found much deeper in the soil and rainfall is considerably less. In this new environment, natural
selection favors those plants with long longer roots (able to reach soil water) and small leaves
with fewer stomata (to minimize water loss)
 3. The two populations of plants are isolated from each other and cannot interbreed
4. Natural variation occurs in these populations due to sexual reproduction and gene mutations
5. The new plants become more and more different from the original population ie long rooted with
small leaves
6. Eventually the two populations are so different that they cannot interbreed.

EVOLUTION
Evolution is a process of gradual development from simpler life forms to more complex ones. There are
more than two million species of organisms on earth.

COURSE OF EVOLUTION AN ORIGIN OF LIFE

 Life began in water as a result of reactions between chemicals in the early earth’s atmosphere
and oceans
 The first life forms were unicells (single cells), similar to bacterial cells
 These unicells became more complex as the cells acquired more and more organelles (such as
mitochondria and chloroplasts)
 Simple multicellular organisms evolved from the unicells probably by unicells undergoing cell
division but the two cells formed fail to separate
 The multicellular organisms became more and more complex giving rise to plants, animals, fungi
and other types of organisms.
 Some of these organisms colonized the land and the evolution of land animals, plants and fungi
began

ARTIFICIAL SELECTION AND SELECTIVE BREEDING

Selective breeding
Selective breeding or artificial selection refers to process by which a farmer/human choosing organisms
(plants and animals) of desirable characteristics and breeds them to produce off springs generation by
generation.
Humans have bred food crops from wild plants and domesticated animals for thousands of years.

Selective breeding takes place over many generations. These are the main steps for both plants and
animals:

1. Decide which characteristics are important enough to select.

2. Choose parents that show these characteristics from a mixed population. They are bred together.
3. Choose the best offspring with the desired characteristics to produce the next generation.
4. Repeat the process continuously over many generations, until all offspring show the desired
characteristics.

Plants are selectively bred to produce strains that;

 Give high yields
 Are resistant to certain diseases
 Are resistant to certain insect pest damage
 Are hardier so that they survive harsher climates or are productive for longer periods of the year
 Have a better balance of nutrients in the crop eg a plant that contains more of the type of amino
acids needed by the humans
 Farmers have selectively bred animals that
 Produce more meat, milk or eggs
 Produce more fur or better
quality fur
 Produce more off springs
 Show increased resistance to
diseases and parasites
There is a technique developed and is
called artificial insemination. This is
transfer of male gametes pre- obtained from
the male into the female reproductive
system by the farmer.
For example
Bulls with desirable features are kept and
semen is obtained from them. The semen is
diluted, frozen and stored. Farmers can buy quantities of this semen to inseminate their cows.
Problems with selective breeding

Because of selective breeding, future generations of selectively bred plants and animals will all share
very similar genes which will reduce variation. Genes and their different alleles within a population are
known as its gene pool. Inbreeding can lead to a reduced gene pool, making it more difficult to produce
new varieties in the future. This also makes organisms prone to certain diseases or inherited defects.

Benefits of selective breeding include:

 new varieties may be economically important, by producing more or better quality food
 animals can be selected that cannot cause harm, for example cattle without horns
Risks of selective breeding include:

 reduced genetic variation can lead to attack by specific insects or disease, which could be extremely
destructive
 rare disease genes can be unknowingly selected as part of a positive trait, leading to problems with
specific organisms, eg a high percentage of Dalmatian dogs are deaf
 creation of physical problems in specific organisms, eg large dogs can have faulty hips due to not
being formed correctly

Modern selective breeding involves cloning

a) Cloning; procedure that produces genetically identical offspring
A clone; an offspring or organism that is genetically identical to its parent from which it arose.

Cloning in animals

a. Embryo transplants

The most basic technique of animal cloning is shown in the figure below.

The process if cloning animals by embryo transplant

b. Adult cell cloning

Formation of cloned animals eg dolly sheep

 The animal or parent sheep to be cloned, has its udder cells removed and cultured
 Egg cell from the donor sheep is removed or isolated. It is enucleated ie its nucleus is removed
 One udder cell is transferred into the enucleated egg cell
 Its then stimulated to divide mitotically by an electric shock
 The developing cells in culture are then transferred into a foster mother or surrogate sheep. The
embryo grows
 The lamb born is genetically identical (a clone)to the parent cell
 Dolly

Dolly's taxidermied remains

Other name 6LLS (code name)

(s)

Species Domestic sheep (Finn-Dorset)

Sex Female
Born 5 July 1996

Roslin Institute, Midlothian, Scotland

Died 14 February 2003 (aged 6)

Roslin Institute, Midlothian, Scotland

Resting National Museum of Scotland(remains on

place display)

Nation Scottish

from

Known for First mammal cloned from an adult

somatic cell

Offspring Six lambs (Bonnie; twins Sally and Rosie;

triplets Lucy, Darcy and Cotton)

Named Dolly Parton[1]

after

Cause of Lung disease and severe arthritis

death
 Producing genetically identical plants ie plant clones
a) Traditional plant cloning
 A plant to be cloned has its side shoot removed carefully
 Side shoot is dipped in rooting powder to encourage root formation
 Plant is then transferred in to compost
 The plant is then placed under glass (mini-greenhouse) which creates a warm environment to
speed up growth and a humid one to reduce water loss from the cuttings (fogging
greenhouses)

b) Modern plant cloning is called micro propagation

Micro propagation is the propagation of plants by growing plantlets in tissue culture and then planting
them out
Or is the practice of rapidly multiplying stock plant material to produce a large number of progeny
plants using modern tissue culture methods
Or producing a large number of individual plants from a small piece of plant tissue
Procedure for micro propagation
 The tips of the stems and side shoots are removed from the plant to be cloned. These parts are
called explants.
 Explants are trimmed to a very small size about 1mm
 They are placed in an agar medium that contains nutrients and plant hormones that encourage
growth
 More explants can be taken from new shoots that form one the original ones
 The explants with shoots are transferred to another culture medium containing a different
balance of plant hormones to induced root formation
 When explants have grown roots, they are transferred to greenhouses and transferred into
compost.
 They are gradually acclimatized to normal growing conditions

Advantages of micro propagation

a) Large numbers of genetically identical plants can be produced rapidly
b) Species that difficult to grow from seed or from cutting can be propagated by this method
c) Plant can be produced at any time of the year
d) Large numbers of plants can be stored easily
e) Genetic modifications can be introduced into many plants quickly after modifying only a few
plants

USING MICRO ORGANISMS AND GENETIC ENGINEERING

Micro-organisms

These include protozoa, fungi (unicellular yeast and moulds), bacteria and viruses.
Microorganisms eg yeast and bacteria are used in fermentation and biotechnology.

Fermentation: is chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria, yeast or any other microorganism

typically involving effervescence and giving off heat
Or it is a metabolic process that consumes sugar in absence of air or oxygen and producing organic
acids, gases or alcohol

Eg yeast is used to produce alcohol or beer or wine, and in baking of breads and cakes
Lactobacillus is used in conversion of milk to yoghurt by formation of lactic acid from lactose milk sugar.
Another bacterium is used in the cheese manufacture, another in the conversion of ethanol in wine to
vinegar

Biotechnology refers to the use of microorganisms in making products useful to humans.

A fermenter: a vessel used to grow microorganisms.
 Fermenters are usually made from a metal that will not corrode, such as stainless steel. They may hold
thousands of litres. The table describes the main features of a fermenter and their function.

Feature Function Reason

An aseptic precaution to prevent
Hot steam sterilises the inside of the
Steam inlet contamination by unwanted
fermenter
microorganisms

Allows sterile nutrients to enter the Microorganisms need nutrients so that

Nutrient inlet
fermenter they can grow and reproduce

Water jacket with Microorganisms grow best at an

Keeps the temperature inside constant
cooling water optimum temperature

Microorganisms need oxygen for

Air inlet Provides a source of oxygen
aerobic respiration

An aseptic precaution to prevent

Stops microorganisms getting inside
Filter on air inlet contamination by unwanted
the fermenter
microorganisms

Mixes the microorganisms with the

Keeps the mixture inside the
Stirring paddles nutrients and keeps the temperature
fermenter agitated (stirred)
even

The pH inside the fermenter is monitored to check it is at the optimum value for the particular
microorganism being grown. The pH can be adjusted, if necessary, using acids or alkalis.

Aseptic precautions: ways used prevent contamination by unwanted microorganisms.

Ie before the fermenter is filled with new nutrients and culture, it is cleaned and sterilized using very hot steam
under pressure.
i) Production of antibiotic penicillin
 Starter culture is prepared containing sugars ie lactose from corn steep liquor for energy, other nutrients
and oxygen
 The contents are kept at a steady temperature of about 24◦C
 A broth of spores of the mould penicillium is made in the culture
 The spores develop into filaments of cells which multiply rapidly
 After about 40 hours, the cells start to produce penicillin for several days.
 At the end, fermenter contains broth of cells, unused nutrients and penicillin solution
 Broth is filtered, and penicillin is extracted from watery solution using organic solvents
  It is re-dissolved back in water to crystallize out as pure penicillin.

Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic respiration is a type of respiration that does not use oxygen. It is used when there is not
enough oxygen for aerobic respiration

Types of Anaerobic Respiration

The types of anaerobic respiration are as varied as its electron acceptors. Important types of anaerobic
respiration include:

 Lactic acid fermentation – In this type of anaerobic respiration, glucose is split into two
molecules of lactic acid to produce two ATP.
C6H12O6 (glucose) → 2 lactic acid + energy

 Alcoholic fermentation – In this type of anaerobic respiration, glucose is split into ethanol, or
ethyl alcohol. This process also produces two ATP per sugar molecule.
C6H12O6 (glucose) + → 2 C2H5OH (ethanol) + 2 CO2 + energy

 Other types of fermentation – Other types of fermentation are performed by some bacteria
and archaea.

Examples of Anaerobic Respiration

Sore Muscles and Lactic Acid

During intense exercise, our muscles use oxygen to produce ATP faster than we can supply it. When this
happens, muscle cells can perform glycolysis faster than they can supply oxygen to the mitochondrial
electron transport chain.

Experiment to demonstrate the products of anaerobic respiration in yeast

Procedure

 A small amount of water is gently boiled in a boiling tube- to drive off any air that is dissolved in
the water
 Water is allowed to cool
 A small amount of sugar is dissolved in water
 A little yeast is added and the mixture is stirred
 A thin layer of liquid paraffin is added to the surface of the mixture using a pipette
 The boiled water ensures that there is no oxygen in the mixture and the layer of paraffin stops
the oxygen diffusing in from air
 A control apparatus is set up containing the same contents except that boiled (killed) yeast is
used instead of living yeast
 Both sets of apparatus are left in a warm place for an hour or two.
 Observation

 Gas bubbles are observed in the test experiment. No bubbles in the control
 Lime water solution turns cloudy or hydrogen carbonate solution turns from orange to yellow

This shows carbon dioxide produced

 The bung is now taken out of the first boiling tube and liquid paraffin removed using a pipette
 If contents are sniffed, a smell of alcohol is noticed

ii) Tradition production of beer from barley

 Barley seeds are germinated by soaking them in water on a flat surface in a malt house.
 Seeds produce amylase enzyme for digesting starch into maltose
 Seeds are killed after germination by heating without destroying enzymes
 They are dried to form a malt which can be stored
 Malt is ground up and mixed with hot water in a large vessel ie mash tun. Amylase breaks down
starch to maltose
 Mash is boiled to stop enzyme working and is then filtered
 Hops are added for taste and stopping bacterial growth
 Yeast is added which ferments the sugars making beer
 Beer is centrifuged, filtered and pasteurized and put in casks or barrels

Making of yoghurt
 The
production of yoghurt uses fermentation of milk by the lactic acid bacterium called lactobacillus.
The same bacterium is used in the manufacture of cheese.

The bacterium turns milk into a semi-solid food with a sour taste.

To make yoghurt, milk is first pasteurized at 85- 95₀Cfor 15-30 minutes- to kill any natural bacterium
that it contains.

It is then homogenized to disperse the fat globules

It is then cooled to 40-45 ₀C and inoculated with a starter culture of two species of bacteria. These
reduce lactic acid as well as starting to digest the milk proteins

The culture is kept at this temperature for several hours while the pH is maintained at about 4.4
(optimum pH for the bacterium)

The mixture thickens as the drop in pH causes the milk proteins to coagulate

When fermentation is finished, the yoghurt is stirred and cooled to about 5 ₀C

Flavorings, colourants and fruit may be added before it is packaged for sale.

The drop in pH as yoghurt forms gradually reduces the reproduction of the lactic acid bacterium
although it doesn’t kill them. It also helps to prevent the growth of other micro-organisms and so
preserves the nutrient of the milk.

Genetic modification (genetic engineering)

Genetic engineering involves the transfer of genes from one organism to (usually) an unrelated species.
The basis of gene technology is the production of recombinant DNA.
Recombinant DNA is the new DNA formed when a section of DNA (gene) is snipped out of the DNA of s
one species and inserted into DNA of another.

The organism that receives the new gene from a different species of organism is called a transgenic
organism.

Transgenic organism has an added capability because of the new genes. It will manufacture the proteins
the new genes code for.
Eg some bacteria have had human genes that code for insulin production will make human insulin. And
if the transgenic bacteria are cultured by the billion in a fermenter, they become a human insulin
factory.

A genetically modified organism is an organisms whose characteristics have been improved as a result
of new genes introduced in its DNA.
Why bacteria are used in biotechnology and genetic engineering

 Because they can be grown and manipulated without raising ethical concerns.
 They have a genetic code that is the same as all other organisms, so genes from other animals
or plants can be successfully transferred into bacterial DNA.
 Bacteria have two sorts of DNA ie the DNA in the bacterial chromosome and the DNA in a much
smaller pieces called plasmids. Plasmids can be transferred between bacterial cells.

Process of genetic engineering:

This involves two kind of enzymes;

1. Restriction enzymes – cut out specific genes from a DNA molecule on both DNA strands
2. DNA ligase enzymes – join cut ends of DNA molecules.
It also involves the use of vectors- which are a means of transferring a gene from any cell into a
bacterium.

Two vectors can be used

 A plasmid; a gene is inserted in to the plasmid and the plasmid is transferred into the
bacterium
 A bacteriophage; a virus transfers its own DNA into the bacterial cell. This DNA is incorporated
into the DNA of the host cell and eventually causes the production of many virus particles.

Producing a genetically modified (transgenic) bacterium using plasmid vectors

1. Plasmids are isolated from the bacterium

2. Extract target gene (human insulin gene) from donor cell. This is done by cutting the gene out
of human DNA using a restriction enzyme

3. Cut open the bacterial DNA, also using the same restriction enzyme

4. Insert the gene and “stitch the DNA together” using DNA Ligase enzyme to create
recombinant plasmids

5. Bacteria are incubated with the recombinant plasmids. Some bacteria will take up the
plasmids.

6. Genetically modified bacteria can then be cultured in fermenters to produce large volumes of
insulin.
Producing a genetically modified (transgenic) bacterium using a bacteriophage.

 A foreign gene is inserted into the DNA of the virus. The virus will inject it into the bacterium
with its own genes.
 This method was used in the early days but most gene transfer now is carried out using
plasmids.
The example you need to know is the creation of E. coli bacterium that makes human insulin.

Describe the use of a range of products that can be produced as a result of genetic

modification of bacteria.

1. Human insulin ; for people suffering from diabetes

2. Enzymes for washing powders ; used for removing biological stains eg blood stains contain

proteins and grease marks contain largely lipids. Enzymes can digest these large molecules into

smaller soluble ones. Bacteria can be genetically engineered to produce enzymes that work at

extremely high temperature allowing even faster and more effective action.

3. Enzymes in the food industry eg bacteria used to produce enzyme glucose isomerase that turns

glucose into fructose (sweeter) so less is used in sweetening foods

4. Human growth hormone eg bacteria engineered to produce large quantities of growth hormone

to prevent retarded growth in children

5. Bovine somatotrophin (BST) ; this increases the milk yield in cows and muscle or meat

production in bulls

6. Human vaccines; modified bacteria can be used produce antigens of the hepatitis B virus.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 164

Producing genetically modified plants.

1. Vector used is Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
2. DNA from another species is cut with a restriction enzyme to isolate a desired gene
3. Plasmids are isolated from the agrobacterium
4. Plasmids are cut with the restriction enzyme
5. Desired gene is then joined to the cut plasmid using ligase enzyme
6. Leaf discs are obtained from the plant to be modified
7. The discs are floated on the liquid containing the plasmids- some leaves will
take up the plasmids
8. Leaf discs are cultivated on a nutrient medium by micro propagation
9. Plantlets are grown into whole plants whose cells now contain the new
genes

Genetically modified (GM) crops are

engineered to;
- Have bigger yields
- Be frost resistant (e.g. frost resistant
strawberries)
- Have resistance to disease

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 165

- Grow in harsher environments (e.g. drought-resistant rice)

- Have vitamins in them that they would not normally have (e.g. golden corn)
- Have a longer sell-by date (e.g. non-squash tomatoes)
- Be a different colour / taste to normal (e.g. chocolate carrots)
- Have stronger taste (e.g. chilis)
- Be easier to eat (e.g. easy-peel oranges)

Producing genetically modified animals (by injecting DNA directly into a newly
fertilsed egg cell)

1. The required gene is cut out using a restriction enzyme

2. Fertilized eggs are obtained from the donor mouse
3.

Reproduction in living organisms

Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new

individual organisms – “offspring” – are produced from their “parents”. Reproduction is a
fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of
reproduction.

There are two forms of Reproduction: Asexual and Sexual. In asexual reproduction, an
organism can reproduce without the involvement of another organism; while Sexual
reproduction typically requires the sexual interaction of two specialized organisms, with
typically a male fertilizing a female of the same species to create offspring organisms whose
genetic characteristics are derived from those of the two parental organisms.

Reproduction in plants
Reproduction in plants is no different. It takes place via both Sexual and Asexual mechanisms
and differs according to the plant species. We will learn here in depth about the various
modes of reproduction in plants:

a. Asexual reproduction in plants

Many plants are able to propagate themselves using asexual reproduction. This method does
not require the investment required to produce a flower, attract pollinators, or find a means of
seed dispersal. Asexual reproduction produces plants that are genetically identical to the
parent plant because no mixing of male and female gametes takes place. Traditionally, these
plants survive well under stable environmental conditions when compared with plants
produced from sexual reproduction because they carry genes identical to those of their
parents.

Natural Methods of Asexual Reproduction in plants

Natural methods of asexual reproduction include strategies that plants have developed to
self-propagate. Many plants—like ginger, onion, gladioli, and dahlia—continue to grow from
buds that are present on the surface of the stem. In some plants, such as the sweet potato,
adventitious roots or runners can give rise to new plants. In Bryophyllum and Kalanchoe, the
leaves have small buds on their margins. When these are detached from the plant, they grow
into independent plants; or, they may start growing into independent plants if the leaf
touches the soil. Some plants can be propagated through cuttings alone.

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 166

Examples of asexual reproduction structures

1. Runners or stolons eg. in
straw berries

2. Rhizome eg. Ginger

3. Bulbs eg. Onions

4. Stem tubers eg. Irish potatoes

5. Vegetative leaves eg.

bryophyllum leaves

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 167

Some plants can produce seeds without fertilization. Either the ovule or part of the ovary,
which is diploid in nature, gives rise to a new seed. This method of reproduction is known
as apomixis.

Artificial Methods of Asexual Reproduction

These methods are frequently employed to give rise to new, and sometimes novel, plants.
They include grafting, cutting, layering, and micro propagation.

Grafting

Figure 3. Grafting is an artificial method of asexual reproduction used to produce plants

combining favorable stem characteristics with favorable root characteristics. The stem of the
plant to be grafted is known as the scion, and the root is called the stock.
Grafting has long been used to produce novel varieties of roses, citrus species, and other
plants. In grafting, two plant species are used; part of the stem of the desirable plant is
grafted onto a rooted plant called the stock. The part that is grafted or attached is called
the scion. Both are cut at an oblique angle (any angle other than a right angle), placed in
close contact with each other, and are then held together Figure 3. Matching up these two
surfaces as closely as possible is extremely important because these will be holding the plant
together. The vascular systems of the two plants grow and fuse, forming a graft. After a
period of time, the scion starts producing shoots, and eventually starts bearing flowers and
fruits. Grafting is widely used in viticulture (grape growing) and the citrus industry. Scions
capable of producing a particular fruit variety are grated onto root stock with specific
resistance to disease.

Cutting

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 168

Plants such as coleus and money plant are propagated through stem cuttings, where a
portion of the stem containing nodes and internodes is placed in moist soil and allowed to
root. In some species, stems can start producing a root even when placed only in water. For
example, leaves of the African violet will root if kept in water undisturbed for several weeks.

Layering

Figure 4. In layering, a part of the stem is buried so that it forms a new plant.
Layering is a method in which a stem attached to the plant is bent and covered with soil.
Young stems that can be bent easily without any injury are preferred. Jasmine and
bougainvillea (paper flower) can be propagated this way Figure 4.

In some plants, a modified form of layering known as air layering is employed. A portion of
the bark or outermost covering of the stem is removed and covered with moss, which is then
taped. Some gardeners also apply rooting hormone. After some time, roots will appear, and
this portion of the plant can be removed and transplanted into a separate pot.

Micro propagation (also called plant tissue culture) is a method of propagating a large
number of plants from a single plant in a short time under laboratory conditions (Figure 5).
This method allows propagation of rare, endangered species that may be difficult to grow
under natural conditions, are economically important, or are in demand as disease-free
plants.

b. Sexual reproduction in plants

Sexual reproduction is a process involving the fusion of two gametes (sex cells) to form a
zygote and the production of offspring that are genetically different from each other.

Fertilisation is the fusion of gamete nuclei. Sexual reproduction involves the production of sex
cells. These sex cells are called gametes and they are made in reproductive organs.
The process of cell division that produces the gametes is called meiosis (Chapter 17). In
sexual reproduction, the male and female gametes come together and fuse, that is, their
cytoplasm and nuclei join together to form a single cell called a zygote.
The zygote then grows into a new individual.
In flowering plants the male gametes are found in pollen grains and the female gametes,
called egg cells, are present in ovules.
Flowers are reproductive structures; they contain the reproductive organs of the plant. The
male organs are the stamens, which produce pollen. The female organs are the carpels.
After fertilisation, part of the carpel becomes the fruit of the plant and contains the seeds. In
the flowers of most plants there are both stamens and carpels. These flowers are, therefore,
both male and female, a condition known as bisexual or hermaphrodite.
Some species of plants have unisexual flowers, that is, any one flower will contain either
stamens or carpels but not both. Sometimes both male and female flowers are present on the
same plant, e.g. the hazel, which has male and female catkins on the same tree.

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 169

In the willow tree, on the other hand, the male and female catkins are on different trees.
The male gamete is a cell in the pollen grain. The female gamete is an egg cell in the ovule.
The process that brings the male gamete within reach of the female gamete (i.e. from stamen
to stigma) is called pollination. The pollen grain grows a microscopic tube,
which carries the male gamete the last few millimeters to reach the female gamete for
fertilisation. The zygote then grows to form the seed. These processes are all described in
more detail later in this chapter.

Flower structure
The basic structure of a flower is shown in Figures 16.18 and 16.21.
Petals
Petals are usually brightly coloured and sometimes scented. They are arranged in a circle
(Figure 16.18) or a cylinder. Most flowers have from four to ten petals. Sometimes they are
joined together to form a tube (Figures 16.20 and 16.21) and the individual petals can no
longer be distinguished. The colour and scent of the petals attract insects to the flower; the
insects may bring about pollination.
The flowers of grasses and many trees do not have petals but small, leaf-like structures that
enclose the reproductive organs (Figures 16.28 and 16.29

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IGCSE BIOLOGY 170

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 171

Figure 16.21 Daffodil flower. Outline drawing of Figure 16.20. In daffodils, lilies, tulips, etc.
(monocots) there is no distinction between sepals and petals.
Sepals
Outside the petals is a ring of sepals. They are often green and much smaller than the petals.
They may protect the flower when it is in the bud.
Stamens
The stamens are the male reproductive organs of a flower. Each stamen has a stalk called the
filament, with an anther on the end. Flowers such as the buttercup and blackberry have
many stamens; others such as the tulip have a small number, often the same as, or double,
the number of petals or sepals.
Each anther consists of four pollen sacs in which the pollen grains are produced by cell
division. When the anthers are ripe, the pollen sacs split open and release their pollen (see
Figure 16.26).
Pollen
Insect-pollinated flowers tend to produce smaller amounts of pollen grains (Figure 16.22(a)),
which are often round and sticky, or covered in tiny spikes to attach to the furry bodies of
insects.

Wind-pollinated flowers tend to produce larger amounts of smooth, light pollen grains
(Figure 16.22(b)), which are easily carried by the wind. Large amounts are needed because
much of the pollen is lost: there is a low chance of it reaching another flower of the same
species.

Carpels
These are the female reproductive organs. Flowers such as the buttercup and blackberry have
a large number of carpels while others, such as the lupin, have a single carpel. Each carpel
consists of an ovary, bearing a style and a stigma.
Inside the ovary there are one or more ovules. Each blackberry ovary contains one ovule but
the wall flower ovary contains several. The ovule will become a seed, and the whole ovary
will become a fruit. (In biology, a fruit is the fertilised ovary of a flower, not necessarily
something to eat.)
The style and stigma project from the top of the ovary. The stigma has a sticky surface and
pollen grains will stick to it during pollination. The style may be quite short (e.g. wallflower,
Figure 16.18) or very long (e.g. daffodil, Figures 16.20 and 16.21).

Receptacle

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The flower structures just described are all attached to the expanded end of a flower stalk.
This is called the receptacle and, in a few cases after fertilisation, it becomes fleshy and
edible (e.g. apple and pear).
Lupin
The lupin flower is shown in Figures 16.23 to 16.25. There are five sepals but these are joined
together forming a short tube. The five petals are of different shapes and sizes. The
uppermost, called the standard, is held vertically. Two petals at the sides are called wings
and are partly joined together. Inside the wings are two more petals joined together to form a
boat-shaped keel.
The single carpel is long, narrow and pod shaped, with about ten ovules in the ovary. The long
style ends in a stigma just inside the pointed end of the keel. There are ten stamens: five long
ones and five short ones. Their filaments are joined together at the base to form a sheath
around the ovary. The flowers of peas and beans are very similar to
those of lupins.
The shoots or branches of a plant carrying groups of flowers are called inflorescences. The
flowering shoots of the lupin in Figure 16.25 are inflorescences, each one carrying about a
hundred individual flowers

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Pollination

Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma.
The anthers split open, exposing the microscopic pollen grains (Figure 16.26). The pollen
grains are then carried away on the bodies of insects, or simply blown by the wind, and may
land on the stigma of another flower.
Insect pollination
Lupin flowers have no nectar. The bees that visit them come to collect pollen, which they take
back to the hive for food. Other members of the lupin family (Leguminosae, e.g. clover) do
produce nectar.
The weight of the bee, when it lands on the flower’s wings, pushes down these two petals and
the petals of the keel. The bee, with pollen grains sticking to its body, then flies to another
flower. If this flower is older than the first one, it will already have lost its pollen. When the
bee’s weight pushes the keel down, only the stigma comes out and touches the insect’s body,
picking up pollen grains on its sticky surface.

Adaptations of insect pollinated flowers

Insect-pollinated flowers are considered to be adapted in various ways to their method of
pollination. The term ‘adaptation’ implies that, in the course of evolution, the structure and
physiology of a flower have been modified in ways that improve the chances
of successful pollination by insects.
 Most insect-pollinated flower have brightly coloured petals and scent, which attract a
variety of insects.
 Some flowers produce nectar, which is also attractive to many insects.

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 The dark lines (‘honey guides’) on petals are believed to help direct the insects to the
nectar source and thus bring them into contact with the stamens and stigma.

These features are adaptations to insect pollination in general, but are not necessarily
associated with any particular insect species. The various petal colours and the nectaries of
the wallflower attract a variety of insects. Many flowers, however, have modifications
that adapt them to pollination by only one type or species of insect.
 Flowers such as the honeysuckle, with narrow, deep petal tubes, are likely to be
pollinated only by moths or butterflies, whose long ‘tongues’ can reach down the tube
to the nectar.
 Tube-like flowers such as foxgloves need to be visited by fairly large insects to effect
pollination. The petal tube is often lined with dense hairs, which
impede small insects that would take the nectar without pollinating the flower. A large
bumble-bee, however, pushing into the petal tube, is forced to rub against the
anthers and stigma.

Many tropical and sub-tropical flowers are adapted to pollination by birds, or even by
mammals such as bats and mice.

Wind pollination
Grasses, cereals and many trees are pollinated not
by insects but by wind currents. The flowers are often
quite small with inconspicuous, green, leaf-like
bracts, rather than petals. They produce no nectar.
The anthers and stigma are not enclosed by the
bracts
but are exposed to the air. The pollen grains, being
light and smooth, may be carried long distances by
the moving air and some of them will be trapped on
the stigmas of other flowers.
In the grasses, at first, the feathery stigmas protrude
from the flower, and pollen grains floating in the air
are trapped by them. Later, the anthers hang outside
the flower (Figures 16.28 and 16.29), the pollen sacs
split and the wind blows the pollen away. This
sequence varies between species.
If the branches of a birch or hazel tree with ripe male
catkins, or the flowers of the ornamental pampas
grass, are shaken, a shower of pollen can easily be
seen.

Adaptations of wind pollinated flowers

 Wind-pollinated flowers are adapted to their method of pollination by producing large
quantities of light pollen, and having anthers and stigmas that project outside the
flower (Figures 16.28 and 16.29).
 Many grasses have anthers that are not rigidly attached to the filaments and can be
shaken by the wind.
 The stigmas of grasses are feathery, providing a large surface area, and act as a net
that traps passing pollen grains.

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
Table 16.3 Features of wind- and insect-pollinated flowers
Feature Insect-pollinated Wind-pollinated
present – often large, coloured and scented,
petals with guidelines to absent, or small, green and inconspicuous
guide insects into the flower
nectar produced by nectaries, to attract insects absent
long filaments, allowing the anthers to hang
stamen present inside the flower freely outside the
flower so the pollen is exposed to the wind
large and feathery; hanging outside the flower
stigmas small surface area; inside the flower to catch pollen
carried by the wind
smaller amounts; grains are often round and
larger amounts of smooth and light pollen
sticky or covered
pollen grains, which are
in spikes to attach to the furry bodies of
easily carried by the wind
insects
bracts
(modified absent sometimes present
leaves)

Fertilisation
Pollination is complete when pollen from an anther has landed on a stigma. If the flower is to
produce seeds, pollination has to be followed by a process called fertilisation. In all living
organisms, fertilisation happens when a male sex cell and a female sex cell meet and join
together (they are said to fuse together). The cell that is formed by this fusion is called a
zygote and develops into an embryo of an animal or a plant (Figure 16.30). The sex cells of
all living organisms are called gametes.
In flowering plants, the male gamete is in the pollen grain; the female gamete, called the egg
cell, is in the ovule. For fertilisation to occur, the nucleus of the male cell from the pollen grain
has to reach the female nucleus of the egg cell in the ovule, and fuse with it.

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Fertilisation. The male and female gametes fuse to form a zygote, which grows into a new
individual.

Germination

The stages of germination of a French bean are shown in Figure 16.31.

A seed just shed from its parent plant contains only 5–20% water, compared with 80–90% in
mature plant tissues. Once in the soil, some seeds will absorb water and swell up, but will not
necessarily start to germinate until other conditions are suitable.
The radicle grows first and bursts through the testa (Figure 16.31(a)). The radicle continues
to grow down into the soil, pushing its way between soil particles and small stones. Its tip is
protected by the root cap (see ‘Water uptake’ in Chapter 8).
Branches, called lateral roots, grow out from the side of the main root and help to anchor it
firmly in the soil. On the main root and the lateral roots, microscopic root hairs grow out.
These are fine outgrowths from some of the outer cells. They make close contact with the soil
particles and absorb water from the spaces between them.
In the French bean a region of the embryo’s stem, the hypocotyl, just above the radicle
(Figure 16.31(b)), now starts to elongate. The radicle is by now firmly anchored in the soil, so
the rapidly growing hypocotyl arches upwards through the soil, pulling the cotyledons with it
(Figure 16.31(c)). Sometimes the cotyledons are pulled out of the testa, leaving it below the
soil, and sometimes the cotyledons remain enclosed in the testa for a time. In either case, the
plumule is well protected from damage while it is being pulled through the soil, because it is
enclosed between the cotyledons
(Figure 16.31(d)).
Once the cotyledons are above the soil, the hypocotyl straightens up and the leaves of the
plumule open out (Figure 16.31(e)). Up to this point, all the food needed for making new cells
and producing energy has come from the cotyledons.
The main type of food stored in the cotyledons is starch. Before this can be used by the
growing shoot and root, the starch has to be turned into soluble sugar. In this form, it can be
transported by the phloem cells. The change from starch to sugar in the cotyledons is brought
about by enzymes, which become active as soon as the seed starts to germinate. The
cotyledons shrivel as their food reserve is used up, and they fall off altogether soon after they
have been brought above the soil.
By now the plumule leaves have grown much larger, turned green and started to absorb
sunlight and make their own food by photosynthesis (page 66). Between the plumule
leaves is a growing point, which continues the upward growth of the stem and the production
of new leaves. The embryo has now become an independent plant, absorbing water and
mineral salts from the soil, carbon dioxide from the air and making food in its leaves

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Factors that affect seed germination include;

 Water
 Oxygen
 Temperature
Use of water in the seedling
Most seeds, when first dispersed, contain very little water. In this dehydrated state, their
metabolism is very slow and their food reserves are not used up. The dry seeds can also
resist extremes of temperature and desiccation. Before the metabolic changes needed for
germination can take place, seeds must absorb water.
Water is absorbed firstly through the micropyle, in some species, and then through the testa
as a whole. Once the radicle has emerged, it will absorb water from the soil, particularly
through the root hairs.
The water that reaches the embryo and cotyledons is used to:
● activate the enzymes in the seed
● help the conversion of stored starch to sugar, and proteins to amino acids
● transport the sugar in solution from the cotyledons to the growing regions
● expand the vacuoles of new cells, causing the root and shoot to grow and the leaves to
expand
● maintain the turgor (Chapter 3) of the cells and thus keep the shoot upright and the leaves
expanded
● provide the water needed for photosynthesis once the plumule and young leaves are above
ground
● transport salts from the soil to the shoot.

Uses of oxygen

In some seeds the testa is not very permeable to oxygen, and the early stages of germination
are probably anaerobic (Chapter 12). The testa when soaked or split open allows oxygen to
enter. The oxygen is used in aerobic respiration, which provides the energy for the many
chemical changes involved in mobilizing the food reserves and making the new cytoplasm
and cell walls of the growing seedling.

Importance of temperature
In Chapter 5 it was explained that a rise in temperature speeds up most chemical reactions,
including those taking place in living organisms.
Germination, therefore, occurs more rapidly at high temperature, up to about 40°C. Above
45°C, the enzymes in the cells are denatured and the seedlings would be killed. Below certain
temperature (e.g. 0–4°C) germination may not start at all in some seeds. However, there is
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considerable variation in the range of temperature at which seeds of different species will
germinate.

Experiments on the conditions for germination

The environmental conditions that might be expected to affect germination are temperature,
light intensity and the availability of water and air. The relative importance of some of these
conditions can be tested by the experiments that follow.

The need for water

a. Label three containers A, B and C and put dry cotton wool in the bottom of each.
b. Place equal numbers of soaked seeds in all three.
c. Leave container A quite dry; add water to B to make the cotton wool moist; add water
to C until all the seeds are completely covered (Figure 16.32).
d. Put lids on the containers and leave them all at room temperature for a week.

Result

The seeds in B will germinate normally. Those in A will not germinate. The seeds in C may
have started to germinate but will probably not be as advanced as those in B and may have
died and started to decay.

Interpretation

Although water is necessary for germination, too much of it may prevent germination by
cutting down the oxygen supply to the seed.

The need for oxygen

a. Set up the experiment as shown in Figure 16.33.
CARE: Pyrogallic acid and sodium hydroxide is a caustic mixture. Use eye
shields, handle the liquids with care and report any spillage at once.
b. If the moist cotton wool is rolled in some cress seeds, they will stick to it. The bungs
must make an airtight seal in the flask and the cotton wool must not touch the
solution. Pyrogallic acid and sodium hydroxide absorb oxygen from the air, so the
cress seeds in flask A are deprived of oxygen. Flask B is the control (see ‘Aerobic

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respiration’ in Chapter 12). This is to show that germination can take place in these
experimental conditions provided oxygen is present.

c. Leave the flasks for a week at room temperature.

Result
The seeds in flask B will germinate but there will be little or no germination in flask A.
Interpretation
The main difference between flasks A and B is that A lacks oxygen. Since the seeds in
this flask have not germinated, it looks as if oxygen is needed for germination.
To show that the chemicals in flask A had not killed the seeds, the cotton wool can be
swapped from A to B. The seeds from A will now germinate.
Note: Sodium hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide from the air. The mixture (sodium
hydroxide + pyrogallic acid) in flask A, therefore, absorbs both carbon dioxide and
oxygen from the air in this flask.
In the control flask B, the sodium hydroxide absorbs carbon dioxide but not oxygen. If
the seeds in B germinate, it shows that lack of carbon dioxide did not affect them,
whereas lack of oxygen did.

Temperature and germination

a. Soak some maize grains for a day and then roll them up in three strips of moist
blotting paper as shown in Figure 16.34.
b. Put the rolls into plastic bags. Place one in a refrigerator (about 4°C), leave one
upright in the room (about 20°C) and put the third in a warm place such as over a
radiator or, better, in an incubator set to 30°C.
c. Because the seeds in the refrigerator will be in darkness, the other seeds must also
be enclosed in a box or a cupboard, to exclude light. Otherwise it could be objected
that it was lack of light rather than low temperature that affected germination.
d. After a week, examine the seedlings and measure the length of the roots and shoots.

Result
The seedlings kept at 30°C will be more advanced than those at room temperature.
The grains in the refrigerator may not have started to germinate at all.
Interpretation
Seeds will not germinate below a certain temperature. The higher the temperature,
the faster the germination, at least up to 35–40°C

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Controlling the variables during germination

These experiments on germination illustrate one of the problems of designing biological

experiments.
You have to decide what conditions (the ‘variables’) could influence the results and then try
to change only one condition at a time. The dangers are that:
(1) some of the variables might not be controllable,
(2) controlling some of the variables might also affect the condition you want to investigate,
and
(3) There might be a number of important variables you have not thought of.

1 In your germination experiments, you were unable to control the quality of the seeds, but
had to assume that the differences between them would be small. If some of the seeds were
dead or diseased, they would not germinate in any conditions and this could distort the
results. This is one reason for using as large a sample as possible in the experiments.
2 You had to ensure that, when temperature was the variable, the exclusion of light from the
seeds in the refrigerator was not an additional variable. This was done by putting all the
seeds in darkness.
3 A variable you might not have considered could be the way the seeds were handled. Some
seeds can be induced to germinate more successfully by scratching or chipping the testa.

Exam questions on the topic

1. A teacher set up an experiment to investigate the factors required
for seed
germination. He set up four test tubes containing cotton wool and

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cress seeds as
shown in the diagram.

He placed tubes A, B and C in an incubator at 20°C and tube D in a

fridge at 4°C.
He left the tubes for four days then returned to look at them.
He asked his students to produce a table to show the factor being
tested and
whether the seeds germinated.

a) Copy and complete the table to show the factor being tested
and whether the seeds are likely to germinate
Seeds
Test tube Factor being tested
germinated
A
control (all factors
B yes
present)
C oxygen
D

b) (i) Suggest how the students could see if germination had

taken place.
(ii) Name two other variables the teacher should control in his
experiment.

c) Other seeds such as beans or peas contain larger food stores.

(i) Suggest a food molecule that seeds could use as a food
store.
(ii) Explain why it is important for seeds to have a food store.

d) Describe an experiment you could carry out to determine the

energy content of a
seed.

Self-pollination and cross-pollination

Self-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther of flower to the stigma of the
same flower, or a different flower on the same plant.

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Cross-pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther of a flower to the stigma of
a flower on a different plant of the same species.

In self-pollinating plants, the pollen that reaches the stigma comes from the same flower or
another flower on the same plant. In cross-pollination, the pollen is carried from the anthers
of one flower to the stigma in a flower of another plant of the same species.
If a bee carried pollen from one of the younger flowers near the middle of a lupin plant (Figure
16.25) to an older flower near the bottom, this would be self-pollination. If, however, the bee
visited a separate lupin plant and pollinated its flowers, this would be cross-pollination.
The term ‘cross-pollination’, strictly speaking, should be applied only if there are genetic
differences between the two plants involved. The flowers on a single plant all have the same
genetic constitution. The flowers on plants growing from the same rhizome or rootstock (see
‘asexual reproduction’ earlier in this chapter) will also have the same genetic constitution.
Pollination between such flowers is little different from self-pollination in the same flower.
If a plant relies on self-pollination, the disadvantage will be that variation will not occur
in subsequent generations. Those plants may not, therefore, be able to adapt to changing
environmental conditions. However, self-pollination can happen even if there are no
pollinators, since the flower’s own pollen may drop onto its stigma. This means that even if
pollinators are scarce (perhaps because of the reckless use of insecticides) the plant can
produce seeds and prevent extinction.
Cross-pollination, on the other hand, will guarantee variation and give the plant species a
better chance of adapting to changing conditions. Some plants maintain cross pollination by
producing stamens (male reproductive parts) at a different time to the carpels (female
reproductive parts).
However, cross-pollinated plants do have a reliance on pollinators to carry the pollen to other
plants.

Fertilisation
The pollen grain absorbs liquid from the stigma and a microscopic pollen tube grows out of
the grain.
This tube grows down the style and into the ovary, where it enters a small hole, the
micropyle, in an ovule (Figure 16.35). The nucleus of the pollen grain travels down the pollen
tube and enters the ovule. Here it combines with the nucleus of the egg
cell. Each ovule in an ovary needs to be fertilised by 2 a separate pollen grain.
Although pollination must occur before the ovule can be fertilised, pollination does not
necessarily result in fertilisation. A bee may visit many flowers on a Bramley apple tree,
transferring pollen from one flower to another. The Bramley, however, is ‘self-sterile’;
pollination with its own pollen will not result in fertilisation. Pollination with pollen
from a different variety of apple tree, for example a Worcester, can result in successful
fertilisation and fruit formation

Sexual reproduction in humans

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Reproduction is the process of producing new individuals. In human reproduction the two
sexes, male and female, each produce special types of
reproductive cells, called gametes. The male gametes are the sperm (or spermatozoa) and
the female gametes are the ova (singular = ovum) or eggs as shown in the diagram below.

To produce a new individual, a sperm has to reach an ovum and join with it (fuse with it). The
sperm nucleus then passes into the ovum and the two nuclei also fuse. This is fertilisation.
The cell formed after the fertilisation of an ovum by a sperm is called a zygote. A zygote will
grow by cell division to produce first an embryo and then a fully formed animal.
It should be noted that the gametes, ovum and the sperm are haploid cells. They have one
set of chromosomes (n). Fusion of these gametes restores the diploid nature of the body cells
(2n). Each gamete cell contains 23 chromosomes.

In humans, the male produces millions of sperm, while the female produces a smaller number
of eggs (usually one a month for about 40 years).
Usually only one egg is fertilised at a time; two eggs being fertilised at the same time
produces (non-identical) twins.
To bring the sperm close enough to the ovum for fertilisation to take place, there is an act of
mating or copulation. In mammals this act results in sperm
from the male animal being injected into the female. The sperm swim inside the female’s
reproductive system and fertilise any eggs that are present. The
zygote then grows into an embryo inside the body of the female.

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The human female reproductive system

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Side view front view

Table 1 summarises the functions of parts of the female reproductive system. The eggs are
produced from the female reproductive organs called ovaries. These are two whitish oval
bodies, 3–4 cm long. They lie in the lower half of the abdomen, one on each side of the uterus
(Figure 16.41 and Figure 16.42) Close to each ovary is the expanded, funnel-shaped opening
of the oviduct, the tube down which the ova pass when released from the ovary. The oviduct
is sometimes called the Fallopian tube.
The oviducts are narrow tubes that open into a wider tube, the uterus or womb, lower down in
the abdomen. When there is no embryo developing in it, the uterus is only about 80mm long.
It leads to the outside through a muscular tube, the vagina.
The cervix is a ring of muscle closing the lower end of the uterus where it joins the vagina.
The urethra, from the bladder, opens into the vulva just in front of the vagina.

Part Function
cervix a ring of muscle, separating the vagina from the uterus
funnel of
directs an ovum (egg) from the ovary into the oviduct
oviduct
ovary contains follicles in which ova (eggs) are produced
carries an ovum to the uterus, with propulsion provided by tiny cilia in the wall; also
oviduct
the site of fertilisation
urethra carries urine from the bladder
uterus where the fetus develops

vagina receives the male penis during sexual intercourse; sperm are deposited here

Male reproductive system

Table 16.5 summarises the functions of parts of the male reproductive system. Sperm are
produced in the male reproductive organs (Figures 16.43 and 16.44), called the testes
(singular = testis). These lie outside the abdominal cavity in a special sac called the scrotum.
In this position they are kept at a temperature slightly below the rest of the body. This is the
best temperature for sperm production.
The testes consist of a mass of sperm-producing tubes (Figure 16.44). These tubes join to
form ducts leading to the epididymis, a coiled tube about

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6 metres long on the outside of each testis. The epididymis, in turn, leads into a muscular
sperm duct.

table 16.5 Functions of parts of the male reproductive system

Part Function
epididymis a mass of tubes in which sperm are stored
can become firm, to insert into the vagina of
penis the female during sexual intercourse in order to
transfer sperm
prostate gland adds fluid and nutrients to sperm to form semen
a sac that holds the testes outside the body,
scrotum
keeping them cooler than body temperature
seminal vesicle adds fluid and nutrients to sperm to form semen
muscular tube that links the testis to the urethra
sperm duct
to allow the passage of semen containing sperm
testis male gonad that produces sperm
passes semen containing sperm through the
urethra
penis; also carries urine from the bladder

The two sperm ducts, one from each testis, open into the top of the urethra just after it leaves
the bladder. A short, coiled tube called the seminal vesicle branches from each sperm duct
just before it enters the prostate gland, which surrounds the urethra at this point.
The urethra passes through the penis and may conduct either urine or sperm at different
times. The penis consists of connective tissue with many blood spaces in it. This is called
erectile tissue.

Production of gametes
a) Sperm production

The lining of the sperm-producing tubules in the testis consists of rapidly dividing cells.
After a series of cell divisions, the cells grow long tails called flagella (singular: flagellum) and
become sperm, which pass into the epididymis.
During copulation, the epididymis and sperm ducts contract and force sperm out through the
urethra. The prostate gland and seminal vesicle add fluid to the sperm. This fluid plus the
sperm it contains is called semen, and the ejection of sperm through the penis is called
ejaculation.

Section through sperm-producing tubules

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Human sperm (×800). The head of the sperm has a slightly different appearance when seen
in ‘side’ view or in ‘top’ view

b) Ovulation

The egg cells (ova) are present in the ovary from the time of birth. No more are formed during
the female’s lifetime, but between the ages of 10 and 14 some of the egg cells start to
mature and are released, one at a time about every 4 weeks from alternate ovaries. As each
ovum matures, the cells around it divide rapidly and produce a fluid filled sac. This sac is
called a follicle (Figure 16.47) and, when mature, it projects from the surface of the ovary
like a small blister (Figure 16.48). Finally, the follicle bursts and releases the ovum with its
coating of cells into the funnel of the oviduct. This is called ovulation. From here, the ovum is
wafted down the oviduct by the action of cilia in the lining of the tube. If the ovum meets
sperm cells in the oviduct, it may be fertilised by one of them.
The released ovum is enclosed in a jelly-like coat called the zona pellucida and is still
surrounded by a layer of follicle cells. Before fertilisation can occur, sperm have to get
through this layer of cells and the successful sperm has to penetrate the zona pellucida with
the aid of enzymes secreted by the head of the sperm.

Section through an ovary

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Mature follicle as seen in a section through part of an ovary (×30). The ovum is surrounded
by follicle cells. These produce the fluid that occupies much of the space in the follicle.

Mating and fertilisation

Mating
Sexual arousal in the male results in an erection. That is, the penis becomes firm and erect as
a result of blood flowing into the erectile tissue. Arousal in the female stimulates the lining of
the vagina to produce mucus. This lubricates the vagina and makes it easy for the erect penis
to enter.
In the act of copulation, the male inserts the penis into the female’s vagina. The sensory
stimulus (sensation) that this produces causes a reflex in the male, which results in the
ejaculation of semen into the top of the vagina.
The previous paragraph is a very simple description of a biological event. In humans,
however, the sex act has intense psychological and emotional importance.
Most people feel a strong sexual drive, which has little to do with the need to reproduce.
Sometimes the sex act is simply the meeting of an urgent physical need. Sometimes it is an

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experience that both man and woman enjoy together. At its ‘highest’ level it is both of these,
and is also an expression of deeply felt affection within a lasting relationship
Fertilisation
The sperm swim through the cervix and into the uterus by wriggling movements of their tails.
They pass through the uterus and enter the oviduct, but the method by which they do this is
not known for certain.
If there is an ovum in the oviduct, one of the sperm may bump into it and stick to its surface.
The acrosome at the head of the sperm secretes enzymes which digest part of the egg
membrane. The sperm then enters the cytoplasm of the ovum and the male nucleus of the
sperm fuses with the female nucleus. This is the moment of fertilisation and is shown in more
detail in Figure 16.49. Although a single ejaculation may contain over three hundred million
sperm, only a few hundred will reach the oviduct and only one will fertilise the ovum.
The function of the others is not fully understood. The released ovum is thought to survive for
about 24 hours; the sperm might be able to fertilise an ovum for about 2 or 3 days. So there
is only a short period of about 4 days each month when fertilisation might occur. If this fertile
period can be estimated accurately, it can be used either to achieve or to avoid fertilisation
(conception) (see ‘Methods of birth control in humans’).
The fertilised egg has 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 from the father, bringing its
chromosome number to 46 (the same as other human body cells). It is called a zygote.

Pregnancy and development

The fertilised ovum (zygote) first divides into two cells. Each of these divides again, so
producing four cells. The cells continue to divide in this way to produce a solid ball of cells
(Figure 16.50), an early stage in the development of the embryo.
This early embryo travels down the oviduct to the uterus. Here it sinks into the lining of the
uterus, a process called implantation (Figure 16.52(a)). The embryo continues to grow and
produces new cells that form tissues and organs (Figure 16.51). After 8 weeks, when all the
organs are formed, the embryo is called a fetus. One of the first organs to form is the heart,
which pumps blood around the body of the embryo.

As the embryo grows, the uterus enlarges to contain it. Inside the uterus the embryo becomes
enclosed in a fluid-filled sac called the amnion or water sac, which protects it from damage
and prevents unequal pressures from acting on it (Figure 16.52(b) and (c)). The fluid is called
amniotic fluid.
The oxygen and food needed to keep the embryo alive and growing are obtained from the
mother’s blood by means of a structure called the placenta.
Placenta
Soon after the ball of cells reaches the uterus, some of the cells, instead of forming the
organs of the embryo, grow into a disc-like structure, the placenta (Figure 16.52(c)). The
placenta becomes closely attached to the lining of the uterus and is attached to the embryo
by a tube called the umbilical cord (Figure 16.52(c)). The nervous system (brain, spinal
cord and sense organs) start to develop very quickly.
After a few weeks, the embryo’s heart has developed and is circulating blood through the
umbilical cord and placenta as well as through its own tissues

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(Figure 16.51(b)). Oxygen and nutrients such as glucose and amino acids pass across the
placenta to the embryo’s bloodstream. Carbon dioxide passes from the embryo’s blood to
that of the mother.
Blood entering the placenta from the mother does not mix with the embryo’s blood.
Functions of the placenta and umbilical cord
The blood vessels in the placenta are very close to the blood vessels in the uterus so that
oxygen, glucose, amino acids and salts can pass from the mother’s blood to the embryo’s
blood (Figure 16.57(a)). So the blood flowing in the umbilical vein from the placenta carries
food and oxygen to be used by the living, growing tissues of the embryo.
In a similar way, the carbon dioxide and urea in the embryo’s blood escape from the vessels
in the placenta and are carried away by the mother’s blood in the uterus (Figure 16.57(b)). In
this way the embryo gets rid of its excretory products.
There is no direct communication between the mother’s blood system and that of the
embryo. The exchange of substances takes place across the thin walls of the blood vessels. In
this way, the mother’s blood pressure cannot damage the delicate vessels of the embryo and
it is possible for the placenta to select the substances allowed to pass into the embryo’s
blood. The placenta can prevent some harmful substances in the mother’s blood from
reaching the embryo. It cannot prevent all of them, however: alcohol and nicotine can pass to
the developing fetus. If the mother is a heroin addict,
the baby can be born addicted to the drug.
Some pathogens such as the rubella virus and HIV can pass across the placenta. Rubella
(German measles), although a mild infection for the mother, can infect the fetus and results in
major health problems, including deafness, congenital heart disease, diabetes and mental
retardation. HIV is potentially fatal.
The placenta produces hormones, including oestrogens and progesterone. It is assumed that
these hormones play an important part in maintaining the pregnancy and preparing for birth,
but their precise function is not known. They may influence the development and activity of
the muscle layers in the wall of the uterus and prepare the mammary glands in the breasts
for milk production

Birth
The period from fertilisation to birth takes about 38 weeks in humans. This is called the
gestation period. A few weeks before the birth, the fetus has
come to lie head downwards in the uterus, with its head just above the cervix (Figures
16.52(d) and 16.55). When birth starts, the uterus begins to contract rhythmically. This is the
beginning of what is called ‘labour’. These regular rhythmic contractions become stronger and
more frequent. The opening of the cervix gradually widens (dilates) enough to let the baby’s
head pass through and the contractions of the muscles in the uterus wall are assisted by
muscular contractions of the abdomen. The amniotic sac breaks at some stage in labour and
the fluid escapes through the vagina.
Finally, the muscular contractions of the uterus wall and abdomen push the baby head-first
through the widened cervix and vagina (Figure 16.56). The umbilical cord, which still connects
the child to the placenta, is tied and cut. Later, the placenta breaks away from the uterus and
is pushed out separately as the ‘afterbirth’. The sudden fall in temperature felt by the newly
born baby stimulates it to take its first breath and it usually cries. In a few days, the remains
of the umbilical cord attached to the baby’s abdomen shrivel and fall away, leaving a scar in
the abdominal wall, called the navel.

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Induced birth
Sometimes, when a pregnancy has lasted for more than 38 weeks or when examination
shows that the placenta is not coping with the demands of the fetus, birth may be induced.
This means that it is started artificially.
This is often done by carefully breaking the membrane of the amniotic sac. Another method is
to inject a hormone, oxytocin, into the mother’s veins.
Either of these methods brings on the start of labour. Sometimes both are used together.
The sudden fall in temperature felt by the newly born baby stimulates it to take its first breath
and it usually cries. In a few days, the remains of the umbilical cord attached to the baby’s
abdomen shrivel and fall away, leaving a scar in the abdominal wall, called the navel.
Induced birth
Sometimes, when a pregnancy has lasted for more than 38 weeks or when examination
shows that the placenta is not coping with the demands of the fetus, birth may be induced.
This means that it is started artificially.
This is often done by carefully breaking the membrane of the amniotic sac. Another method is
to inject a hormone, oxytocin, into the mother’s veins.
Either of these methods brings on the start of labour.
Sometimes both are used together. Time and also release a hormone, called testosterone,
into the bloodstream. The male secondary sexual characteristics, which begin to appear at
puberty, are enlargement of the testes and penis, deepening of the voice, growth of hair in
the pubic region,
armpits, chest and, later on, the face. In both sexes there is a rapid increase in the rate of
growth during puberty.
In addition to the physical changes at puberty, there are emotional and psychological
changes associated with the transition from being a child to
becoming an adult, i.e. the period of adolescence.
Most people adjust to these changes smoothly and without problems. Sometimes, however, a
conflict arises between having the status of a child and the sexuality and feelings of an adult.
The menstrual cycle
The ovaries release an ovum about every 4 weeks.
In preparation for this the lining of the uterus wall thickens, so that an embryo can embed
itself if the released ovum is fertilised. If no implantation occurs, the uterus lining breaks
down. The cells, along with blood are passed out of the vagina. This is called a menstrual
period. The appearance of the first menstrual period is one of the signs of puberty in girls.
After menstruation, the uterus lining starts to re-form and another ovum starts to mature.
Hormones and the menstrual cycle
At the start of the cycle, the lining of the uterus wall has broken down (menstruation). As
each follicle in the ovaries develops, the amount of oestrogens produced by the ovary
increases. The oestrogens act on the uterus and cause its lining to become thicker and
develop more blood vessels. These are changes that help an early embryo to implant.
Two hormones, produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the brain, promote ovulation.
The hormones are follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
and luteinising hormone, or lutropin (LH). They act on a ripe follicle and stimulate
maturation and release of the ovum.
Once the ovum has been released, the follicle that produced it develops into a solid body
called the corpus luteum. This produces a hormone called progesterone, which affects the
uterus lining in the same way as the oestrogens, making it grow thicker and produce more
blood vessels.
If the ovum is fertilised, the corpus luteum continues to release progesterone and so keeps
the uterus in a state suitable for implantation. If the ovum is not fertilised, the corpus luteum
stops producing progesterone. As a result, the thickened lining of the uterus breaks down and
loses blood, which escapes through the cervix and vagina. The events in the
menstrual cycle are shown in Figure 16.58. Menopause
Between the ages of 40 and 55, the ovaries cease to release ova or produce hormones. As a
consequence, menstrual periods cease, the woman can no longer have children, and sexual
desire is gradually reduced.

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Methods of birth control in humans

As little as 4 weeks after giving birth, it is possible, though unlikely, that a woman may
conceive again.
Frequent breastfeeding may reduce the chances of conception. Nevertheless, it would be
possible to have children at about 1-year intervals. Most people
do not want, or cannot afford, to have as many children as this. All human communities,
therefore, practice some form of birth control to space out
births and limit the size of the family.

Natural methods of family planning

Abstinence

This is the most obvious way of preventing a pregnancy. This involves a couple avoiding
sexual intercourse. In this way, sperm cannot come into
contact with an egg and fertilisation cannot happen.

Monitoring body temperature

If it were possible to know exactly when ovulation occurred, intercourse could be avoided for
3–4 days before and 1 day after ovulation. At the moment, however, there is no simple,
reliable way to recognise ovulation, though it is usually 12–16 days before the onset of the
next menstrual period. By keeping careful records of the intervals between menstrual periods,
it is possible to calculate a potentially fertile period of about 10 days in mid-cycle, when
sexual intercourse should be avoided if children are not wanted.
On its own, this method is not very reliable but there are some physiological clues that help to
make it more accurate. During or soon after ovulation,
a woman’s temperature rises by about 0.5°C. It is reasonable to assume that 1 day after the
temperature returns to normal, a woman will be infertile.
Cervical mucus
Another clue comes from the type of mucus secreted by the cervix and lining of the vagina.
As the time for ovulation approaches, the mucus becomes more fluid. Women can learn to
detect these changes and so calculate their fertile period.
By combining the ‘calendar’, ‘temperature’ and ‘mucus’ methods, it is possible to achieve
about 80% ‘success’, i.e. only 20% unplanned pregnancies. Highly motivated couples may
achieve better rates of success
and, of course, it is a very helpful way of finding the fertile period for couples who do want to
conceive.

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Artificial methods of family planning

Barrier methods
Sheath or condom
A thin rubber sheath is placed on the erect penis before sexual intercourse. The sheath traps
the sperm and prevents them from reaching the uterus. It also prevents the transmission of
sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Diaphragm
A thin rubber disc, placed in the vagina before intercourse, covers the cervix and stops sperm
entering the uterus. Condoms and diaphragms, used in conjunction with chemicals that
immobilise sperm, are about 95% effective. However, a diaphragm does not prevent the risk
of transmission of STIs.
Femidom
This is a female condom. It is a sheath or pouch, made of polyurethane or rubber, with a
flexible ring at each end. The ring at the closed end of the sheath is inserted into the vagina
to hold the femidom in place. The ring at the open end is placed outside the vagina. During
sexual intercourse, semen is trapped inside the femidom.
A femidom reduces the risk of infection by STIs.

Chemical methods
Spermicides
Spermicides are chemicals which, though harmless to the tissues, can kill or immobilise
sperm. The spermicide, in the form of a cream, gel or foam, is placed in the vagina. On their
own, spermicides are not very reliable but, in conjunction with condoms or diaphragms, they
are effective.
Intra-uterine device (IUD)
A small T-shaped plastic and copper device, also known as a coil, can be inserted by a doctor
or nurse into the wall of the uterus, where it probably prevents implantation of a fertilised
ovum. It is about 98% effective but there is a small risk of developing uterine infections, and it
does not protect against STIs.
Intra-uterine system (IUS)
This is similar to an IUD; is T-shaped and releases the hormone progesterone slowly over a
long period of time (up to 5 years). The hormone prevents ovulation. An IUS does not protect
against STIs.
Contraceptive pill
The pill contains chemicals, which have the same effect on the body as the hormones
oestrogen and progesterone. When mixed in suitable proportions these hormones suppress
ovulation and so prevent conception. The pills need to be taken each day for the 21 days
between menstrual periods.
There are many varieties of contraceptive
pill in which the relative proportions of oestrogen- and progesterone-like chemicals vary. They
are 99% effective, but long-term use of some types may increase the risk of cancer of the
breast and cervix. The pill does not protect against STIs.
Contraceptive implant
This is a small plastic tube about 4cm long, which is inserted under the skin of the upper arm
of a woman by a doctor or nurse. Once in place it slowly releases the hormone progesterone,
preventing pregnancy. It lasts for about 3 years.
It does not protect against STIs, but has more than a 99% success rate in preventing
pregnancy.
Contraceptive injection
This injection, given to women, contains progesterone and stays effective for between 8 and
12 weeks. It works by thickening the mucus in the cervix, stopping sperm reaching an egg. It
also thins the lining of the uterus, making it unsuitable for implantation of an embryo. It does
not protect against STIs.
Surgical methods
Male sterilisation – vasectomy
This is a simple and safe surgical operation in which the man’s sperm ducts are cut and the
ends sealed. This means that his semen contains the secretions of the prostate gland and
seminal vesicle but no sperm, so cannot fertilise an ovum. Sexual desire, erection,
copulation and ejaculation are quite unaffected.
The testis continues to produce sperm and testosterone. The sperm are removed by white
cells as fast as they form. The testosterone ensures that there
is no loss of masculinity. The sperm ducts can be rejoined by surgery but this is not always
successful.

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Female sterilisation – laparotomy

A woman may be sterilised by an operation in which her oviducts are tied, blocked or cut. The
ovaries are unaffected. Sexual desire and menstruation continue as before, but sperm can no
longer reach the ova. Ova are released, but break down in the upper part of the oviduct. The
operation cannot usually be reversed.

The use of hormones in fertility and contraception treatments

Infertility
About 85–90% of couples trying for a baby achieve pregnancy within a year. Those that do
not may be sub-fertile or infertile. Female infertility is usually caused by a failure to ovulate or
a blockage or distortion of the oviducts. The latter can often be corrected by surgery.
Using hormones to improve fertility
Failure to produce ova can be treated with fertility drugs. These drugs are similar to
hormones and act by increasing the levels of FSH and LH.
Administration of the drug is timed to promote ovulation to coincide with copulation.
Artifcial insemination (AI)
Male infertility is caused by an inadequate quantity of sperm in the semen or by sperm that
are insuffciently mobile to reach the oviducts. There are few effective treatments for this
condition, but pregnancy may be achieved by artificial insemination (AI). This involves
injecting semen through a tube into the top of the uterus. In some
cases, the husband’s semen can be used but, more often, the semen is supplied by an
anonymous donor.
With AI, the woman has the satisfaction of bearing her child rather than adopting, and 50% of
the child’s genes are from the mother. It also allows a couple to have a baby that is
biologically theirs if the man is infertile.
Apart from religious or moral objections, the disadvantages are that the child can never know
his or her father and there may be legal problems about the legitimacy of the child in some
countries.
In vitro fertilisation
‘In vitro’ means literally ‘in glass’ or, in other words, the fertilisation is allowed to take place in
laboratory glassware (hence the term ‘test-tube babies’). This technique may be employed
where surgery cannot be used to repair blocked oviducts.
In vitro fertilisation has received considerable publicity since the first ‘test-tube’ baby was
born in 1978. The woman may be given fertility drugs, which cause her ovaries to release
several mature ova simultaneously. These ova are then collected by laparoscopy, i.e. they are
sucked up in a fine tube inserted through the abdominal wall. The ova are then mixed with
the husband’s seminal fluid and watched under the microscope to see if cell division
takes place. (Figure 16.50 is a photograph of such an ‘in vitro’ fertilised ovum.)
One or more of the dividing zygotes are then introduced to the woman’s uterus by means of a
tube inserted through the cervix. Usually, only one (or none) of the zygotes develops, though
occasionally there are multiple births.
The success rate for in vitro fertilisation is between 12 and 40% depending on how many
embryos are transplanted. However, new research using time lapse photography of the
developing IVF embryos during the first few days of life could raise the success
rate to up to 78%. It could also reduce the cost from between £5000 and £10000 for each
treatment cycle to £750 in Britain. The photographs are used to select the best embryos,
based on their early development.

Using hormones for contraception

Oestrogen and progesterone control important events in the menstrual cycle.
Oestrogen encourages the re-growth of the lining of the uterus wall after a period and
prevents the release of FSH. If FSH is blocked, no further ova are matured. The uterus lining
needs to be thick to allow successful implantation of an
embryo.
Progesterone maintains the thickness of the uterine lining. It also inhibits the secretion of
luteinising hormone (LH), which is responsible for ovulation. If LH is suppressed, ovulation
cannot happen, so there are no ova to be fertilised.
Because of the roles of oestrogen and progesterone, they are used, singly or in combination,
in a range of contraceptive methods.
Social implications of contraception and fertility treatments
Some religions are against any artifcial forms of contraception and actively discourage the
use of contraceptives such as the sheath and femidom.
However, these are important in the prevention of transmission of STDs in addition to their
role as contraceptives.
Fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation are controversial because of the ‘spare’
embryos that are created and not returned to the uterus. Some people believe that since
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these embryos are potential human beings, they should not be destroyed or used
for research. In some cases the ‘spare’ embryos have been frozen and used later if the first
transplants did not work.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

A sexually transmitted infection is an infection that is transmitted via body fluids through
sexual contact.
AIDS and HIV
The initials of AIDS stand for acquired immune defciency syndrome. (A ‘syndrome’ is a
pattern of symptoms associated with a particular disease.)
The virus that causes AIDS is the human immunodefciency virus (HIV).
After a person has been infected, years may pass before symptoms develop. So people may
carry the virus yet not show any symptoms. They can still infect other people, however. It is
not known for certain what proportion of HIV carriers will eventually
develop AIDS: perhaps 30–50%, or more. HIV is transmitted by direct infection of the blood.
Drug users who share needles contaminated with infected blood run a high risk of the
disease. It can also be transmitted sexually, both between men and women and, especially,
between homosexual men who practice anal intercourse. Prostitutes, who have
many sexual partners, are at risk of being infected if they have sex without using condoms
and are, therefore, a potential source of HIV to others.
Haemophiliacs have also fallen victim to AIDS. Haemophiliacs have to inject themselves with
a blood product that contains a clotting factor. Before the risks were recognized, infected
carriers sometimes donated blood, which was used to produce the clotting factor. Babies born
to HIV carriers may become infected with HIV, either in the uterus or during birth or from the
mother’s milk. The rate of infection varies from about 40% in parts of Africa to 14% in Europe.
If the mother is given drug therapy during labour and the baby within 3 days, this method of
transmission is reduced.
There is no evidence to suggest that the disease can be passed on by droplets (Chapter 10),
by saliva or by normal everyday contact.
When AIDS first appeared, there were no effective drugs. Today, there is a range of drugs that
can be given separately or as a ‘cocktail’, which slow the progress of the disease. Research to
find a vaccine and more effective drugs is ongoing.
There is a range of blood tests designed to detect HIV infection. These tests do not detect the
virus but do indicate whether antibodies to the virus are in the blood. If HIV antibodies are
present, the person is said to be HIV positive. The tests vary in their
reliability and some are too expensive for widespread use. The American Food and Drug
Administration claims a 99.8% accuracy, but this figure is disputed.

Control of the spread of STIs

The best way to avoid sexually transmitted infections is to avoid having sexual intercourse
with an infected person. However, the symptoms of the disease are often not obvious and it is
diff cult to recognise an infected individual. So the disease is avoided by not having sexual
intercourse with a person who might have the disease. Such persons are:
● prostitutes who offer sexual intercourse for money
● people who are known to have had sexual relationships with many others
● casual acquaintances whose background and past sexual activities are not known
These are good reasons, among many others, for being faithful to one partner.
The risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease can be greatly reduced if the man uses a
condom or if a woman uses a femidom. These act as barriers to
bacteria or viruses.
If a person suspects that he or she has caught a sexually transmitted disease, treatment must
be sought at once. Information about treatment can be obtained by phoning one of the
numbers listed under ‘Venereal Disease’ or ‘Health
Information Service’ in the telephone directory.
Treatment is always confidential. The patients must, however, ensure that anyone they have
had sexual contact with also gets treatment. There is no point in one partner being cured if
the other is still infected.
STIs that are caused by a bacterium, such as syphilis and gonorrhoea, can be treated with
antibiotics if the symptoms are recognised early enough. However, HIV is viral so antibiotics
are not effective.

Cell division

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For most of the time, DNA exists in the nucleus as thin strands. When the cells containing
nuclei are ready to divide, the DNA copies itself then coils and condenses to
form chromosomes.

Each chromosome is made from a single molecule of DNA. Each section of this single
molecule of DNA contains a code for the production of a particular protein called a gene.

Cell division is a process by which a single parent cell divides to form daughter cells.

There are two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis.

Mitosis is a type of cell division in which a diploid body cell copies itself and finally divides
into two identical diploid daughter cells. The daughter cells are clones – identical to each
other. Every base pair of their DNA is identical.

The stages of mitosis are:

Stage What happens

The cell spends most of its life in this phase. The DNA in chromosomes copies itself ready for
Interphase
mitosis.

The DNA in chromosomes and their copies condenses to become more visible. The membrane
Prophase
around the nucleus disappears.

Metaphase Chromosomes and their copies line up in the middle of the cell.

Anaphase Chromosomes and their copies are pulled to different ends of the cell.

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Stage What happens

Telophase New membranes form around the chromosomes at each end of the cell.

Cytokinesi
The cell membrane pinches in and eventually divides into two daughter cells.
s

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Cancer and carcinogens

Cells grow then divide by mitosis only when we need new ones. This is when we're growing or
need to replace old or damaged cells.
When a cell becomes cancerous, it begins to grow and divide uncontrollably. New cells are
produced even if the body does not need them. A group of cancerous cells that produces a
growth is called a tumour.

What causes cancer?

There are genetic factors that increase the likelihood of developing some cancers. Chemicals
and other agents that can cause cancer are called carcinogens.

Carcinogens cause cancer by damaging DNA. Carcinogens cause mutations to occur. A single
mutation will not cause cancer. Several are required for this to occur. For this reason, we are
more likely to develop cancer as we get older.

Something that increases the likelihood of developing a disease is called a risk factor. There
are several risk factors for various types of cancers including:

Lifestyle factors:

 viruses linked with cancer, such as the human papilloma virus (HPV), being spread
from person to person through sexual intercourse
 the chemical carcinogens in cigarette smoke increasing the risk of lung cancer
 alcohol intake is linked with certain cancers
 exposure to ultraviolet radiation, part of which is ionizing, during sunbathing or
outdoor activities, leading to the development of skin cancers
 diet, including fat and salt intake, increases the risk of cancer
Industrial and environmental factors at work:

 exposure to ionizing radiation increases the risk factor

 exposure to chemical carcinogens
There are also genetic risk factors for some cancers,

Importance of mitosis
1. Growth
In plants growth involves an increase in cell number and cell size. Each mitotic event results
in a doubling of cell number. Between One mitotic event and another (interphase) the cells
grow.
In animals, growth can occur all over the body and usually stops at maturity.
In plants, growth occurs only at special growing points called meristems at the tip of the
stems and roots.

2. Asexual reproduction
Asexual reproduction takes various forms.
• Simple microbes: a single microbe splits into two daughter cells. This is a simple form of
Reproduction called binary fission.
Other microbes: budding occurs, in which two daughter cells form but are not the same size.
Higher organisms, especially plants: asexual reproduction is called vegetative reproduction,
for example strawberry runners.
Animals: asexual reproduction is rare in higher animals but is known in lizards. It is more
common in lower animals, for example greenfly reproduce asexually throughout the summer.

3. Mitosis in repair

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It is well known that human skin replaces itself about once a month and red blood cells live
for only 120 days. In both cases mitosis is continual in the process of repair and replacement.
After a cut in the skin, rapid mitosis occurs around the wound to regenerate the skin and
Close the wound. Similar events occur in plants, which produce scar tissue to seal damage.

MEIOSIS:
Meiosis is a type of cell division that leads to formation of reproductive cells called gametes.
These gametes are sex cells.
Meiosis is more complex than mitosis in that it involves two cell divisions. It leads to formation
of four haploid cells (contain half amount of genetic material) instead of two in mitosis.
The daughter cells formed are genetically different from one another and from the parent cell
from which they arose.
Meiosis occurs in two stages noted as meiosis I and meiosis II.

Meiosis leads to genetic variation.

Genetic variation refers to different combinations of alleles or genes in the sex cells.
During first division, chromosomes are separated between daughter cells independent of
each other.
During second division, chromosomes are separated into chromatids in each daughter cell.
This leads to formation of 4 daughter cells each with half number of chromosomes as the
parent cell.

CHROMOSOMES, GENES AND DNA

Organisms resemble their parents because they inherit characteristics from them. The DNA is
the chemical basis of inheritance in nearly all organisms. DNA is a short form of
deoxyribonucleic acid (deoxyribose is a sugar molecule)
DNA is found in the nucleus of a cell in chromosomes. A small section of DNA that determines
a particular feature or characteristic of the organism is called the gene.

Genes determine the features by instructing cells to produce particular proteins which lead to
the development of the feature.
So a gene can also be described as a section of DNA that codes for a particular protein.
DNA has the ability to replicate- make exact copies of its self so that when a cell divides by
mitosis, each cell is able to receive exactly the same type and amount of DNA. Thus the cells
formed are genetically identical.

The DNA is found inside the nucleus of each cell in our bodies.

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THE DNA STRUCTURE

The structure of DNA was discovered by two scientists; James Watson and Francis Crick.
A DNA molecule is made up of long chains of nucleotides, formed into two strands.
A nucleotide is a5-carbon sugar molecule joined to a phosphate group and an organic base
In DNA the sugar is deoxyribose and the organic base is either adenine (A), thymine (T),
cytosine (C) or guanine (G).
The nucleotides are joined by their phosphate groups to form a long chain, often thousands of
nucleotides long. The phosphate and sugar molecules are the same all the way down the
chain but the bases may be any one of the four listed above

The DNA in a chromosome consists of two strands (chains of nucleotides) held together by
chemical bonds between the bases. The size of the molecules ensures that A (adenine)
always pairs with T (thymine) and C (cytosine) pairs with G (guanine). The double strand is
twisted to form a helix (like a twisted rope ladder with the base pairs representing the rungs)

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The genetic code

A gene is a section of DNA that codes for a particular protein.

Characteristics of the genetic code

a) The genetic code is a triplet code
Only one strand of a DNA molecule actually codes for the manufacture of the
proteins in the cell. This strand is called the sense strand while the other strand is
called the anti-sense strand.
The proteins are made of chains of amino acids.
A sequence of 3 nucleotides in the sense strand of the DNA molecule codes for 1
amino acid. Since the sugar and the phosphate are the same in all nucleotides, it is
actually the base that codes for the amino acid.

E.g. the triplet of bases CGA specifies the amino acid alanine,
The base triplet CAT specifies the amino acid valine, and
The triplet CCA stands for glycine.
The tri-peptide valine–glycine–alanine is specified by the DNA code CAT–CCA–CGA
Thus the DNA code is triplet code.

b) The code is a universal code.

The triplets of bases that code for the amino acids are the same in all organisms. Eg
the base sequence TGT codes for amino acid cysteine in humans, bacteria, bananas,
monkeys or in any other organism.
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Thus the code is universal to all organisms.

The DNA base sequence . . . determines . . . the sequence of amino acids in a

peptide

The chemical reactions that take place in a cell determine what sort of a cell it is and what its
functions are. These chemical reactions are, in turn, controlled by enzymes. Enzymes are
proteins. It follows, therefore, that the genetic code of DNA, in determining which proteins,
particularly enzymes, are produced in a cell, also determines the cell’s structure and function.
In this way, the genes also determine the structure and function of the whole organism.
Other proteins coded for in DNA include antibodies and the receptors for neurotransmitters.
The manufacture of proteins in cells
DNA molecules remain in the nucleus, but the proteins they carry the codes for are needed
elsewhere in the cell. A molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) is used to transfer the
information from the nucleus.
It is much smaller than a DNA molecule and is made up of only one strand.
Another difference is that mRNA molecules contain slightly different bases (A, C, G and U).
Base U is uracil. It attaches to the DNA base A. ie T in DNA is substituted for U in RNA.
To pass on the protein code, the double helix of DNA unwinds to expose the chain of bases.

One strand acts as template (the sense strand). A messenger RNA molecule is formed along
part of this strand, made up of a chain of nucleotides with complementary bases to a section
of the DNA strand.
The mRNA molecule carrying the protein code then passes out of the nucleus, through a
nuclear pore in the membrane. Once in the cytoplasm it attaches itself to a ribosome.
Ribosome makes proteins.
The mRNA molecule instructs the ribosome to put together a chain of amino acids in a
specific sequence, thus making a protein.
Other mRNA molecules will carry codes for different proteins. Some proteins are made up of
a relatively small number of amino acids. As stated, insulin is a chain of 51 amino acids. On
the mRNA molecule each amino acid is coded by a sequence of three bases (a triplet), so the
mRNA molecule coding for insulin will contain 153 bases.
Other protein molecules are much bigger: haemoglobin in red blood cells is made of 574
amino acids.

DNA REPLICATION
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When a cell is about to divide, it must first make an exact copy of each DNA molecule in the
nucleus. The process by which DNA makes exact copies of its self is called DNA replication.

Summary of the process.

GENE MUTATIONS (when DNA makes mistakes)

Mutation is the change in the amount or structure of DNA. When mutation occurs in
individual genes or when mistakes are made and a wrong nucleotide is made, this is called
gene mutation.

Gene mutation can alter the sequence of bases in the gene. This in turn leads to coding for
wrong proteins.
Ways gene mutations occur.
a) Duplication.
The nucleotide is inserted twice instead of once. This alters the entire sequence of
nucleotides

b) Deletion
A nucleotide is missed out. This alters the entire base sequence and thus a protein is
altered.

c) Substitution
Here a different nucleotide is used

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d) Inversions
The sequence of the base is reversed. The effects are similar to substitution. Only
one triplet is affected and this may or may not result in a different amino acid and
altered protein structure.

Mutations that occur in the body cells such as in the heart, skin or intestines will only affect
that particular cell. If they are harmful, the cell will die and the mutation will be lost with it. If
it does not die, a group of cells containing the mutant gene will be produced. If the organism
dies, the mutations will be lost be lost with it and the mutant genes won’t be passed on to the
offspring. Only mutations in the sex cells ie gametes are passed on to the off springs of the
next generation. And this is the beginning of the genetic disease.
Sometimes gene mutations are advantageous to the organism. Eg due to random mutations,
bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.
The resistant bacteria are advantageous over the non-resistant one in that when the
antibiotics are used, the resistant one will survive the treatment and reproduce.
All their off springs will be resistant and the proportion of the resistant will increase in the
bacterial population as this in each generation.
This resistance is an example of natural selection.
Mutagens
These are agents of mutation
Examples of mutagens include;
 Ionizing radiations such as ultraviolet light, X-rays and gamma rays.
 Chemicals eg mustard gas and nitrous oxide, chemicals from cigarette smoke and tar,
charred food when cooking.
CHROMOSOME MUTATIONS
This refers to the change in the structure or number of chromosomes of DNA. The cell
contains less or more of the chromosomes than it what it has to contain.
This is due to errors during the separation of chromosomes eg bits can break off from one
chromosome and become attached to another chromosome.
Sometimes the sex cells do not form properly and contain more or fewer chromosomes than
normal. Eg ova containing 2 copies chromosome 21. When an ovum like this is fertilized by a
normal sperm, the zygote will have 3 copies of chromosome 21. This is called trisomy.
Unlike other mutations, the effect of this chromosome mutation is non-fatal and the condition
that results is called Down’s syndrome.

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UNDERSTANDING OF GENETICS INCLUDING THE WORK OF MENDEL

In the mid-19th century Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) studied the inheritance of different
characteristics in pea plants. He found that when he bred red-flowered plants with white-
flowered plants, all the offspring produced red flowers. This went against the prediction that
the colours would blend to produce pink flowers. If he bred these plants with each other, most
of the offspring had red flowers, but some had white. This was because the allele for red
flowers is dominant and the allele for white flowers is recessive.

This was the basis of our understanding of inheritance. At this point we did not know what
a gene was. One of Mendel's observations was that the inheritance of each characteristic is
determined by 'units' that are passed on to descendants unchanged. We now know these as
genes.

The genetic diagram shows all of the possible alleles for a particular characteristic. Dominant
alleles are capital letters, while the recessive alleles are lower-case letters.

The cross first completed by Mendel.

This genetic diagram shows the outcome of Mendel's first cross. All the offspring have red
flowers (100%), even though they are heterozygotes and carry the recessive allele for white
flowers (Ff).

The genetic diagram below shows Mendel's second cross.

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Three-quarters (75%) of the offspring have red flowers (FF and Ff) and a quarter (25%) have
white flowers (ff).

The ratio of the different phenotypes can be shown as: Red: white = 3: 1

The ratio of the different genotypes can be shown as: FF: Ff: ff = 1: 2: 1

Mendel's work expanded the knowledge of genetic inheritance before DNA had even been
discovered. Mendel's work was not accepted by most scientists when he was alive for three
main reasons:

 When he presented his work to other scientists he did not communicate it well so they
did not really understand it.
 It was published in a scientific journal that was not well known so not many people
read it.
 He could not explain the science behind why characteristics were inherited.
The idea that genes were located on chromosomes emerged in the late 19th century when
better microscopes and staining techniques allowed the visualization and behaviour of
chromosomes during cell division.

In the early 20th century, it was observed that chromosomes and Mendel's 'units' behaved in
similar ways. This led to the theory that the 'units', now called genes, were located on
chromosomes.

In the mid-20th century two scientists, James Watson and Francis Crick worked out the
structure of DNA. By using data from other scientists Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins,
they were able to build a model of DNA. They showed that bases occurred in pairs, and X-ray
data showed that there were two strands coiled into a double helix. This model was used to
work out how genes code for proteins.

Genetic key terms

 Chromosomes are contained inside the cell's nucleus. These are long strands of DNA, which
are made up of many genes.
 A gene is a small section of DNA on a chromosome, that codes for a particular sequence
of amino acids, to make a specific protein. It is the unit of heredity, and may be copied and
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passed on to the next generation.

DNA is a large and complex polymer, which is made up of two strands forming a double
helix. DNA determines the characteristics of a living organism. With the exception of
identical twins, each person's DNA is unique.

DNA is made from base pairs which always come in the following combinations A-T, T-A,
C-G and G-C. The order of these letters makes up an organism's genetic code.

 An organism's genome is one copy of all of their DNA. With the exception of identical
twins, no two people's genomes are the same.
Some characteristics are controlled by a single gene, such as fur in animals and red-green
colour blindness in humans. Each gene might have different forms, and these are
called alleles.

The diagram shows the relationship between the cell, its nucleus, chromosomes in the
nucleus, and genes.

Chromosomes are found in the nucleus of a body cell in pairs. One chromosome of each pair
is inherited from the mother and the other one is inherited from the father. The chromosome
in each pair carries the same gene in the same location. These genes could be the same, or
different versions:

 Alleles are different versions of the same gene. For example, the gene for eye colour has
an allele for blue eye colour and an allele for brown eye colour. For any gene, a person may
have the same two alleles, known as homozygous or two different ones, known
as heterozygous.
 The genotype is the collection of alleles that determine characteristics and can be
expressed as a phenotype.
Alleles may be either dominant or recessive:

 A dominant allele is always expressed, even if one copy is present. Dominant alleles are
represented by a capital letter, for example you could use a B. The allele for brown eyes, B,
is dominant. You only need one copy of this allele to have brown eyes. Two copies will still
give you brown eyes.
 A recessive allele is only expressed if the individual has two copies and does not have
the dominant allele of that gene. Recessive alleles are represented by a lower case letter,

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for example, b. The allele for blue eyes, b, is recessive. You need two copies of this allele to
have blue eyes.
 Homozygous alleles are both identical for the same characteristic, for example BB or bb.
 Heterozygous alleles are both different for the same characteristic, for example Bb.
Most characteristics are a result of multiple genes interacting, rather than a single gene.

Carrying out a genetic cross

Monohybrid crosses

Genetic crosses of single gene combinations (monohybrid inheritance) can be shown and
examined using Punnett squares. These show the possible offspring combinations that could
be produced, and the probability of these combinations can be calculated.

Worked example 1

The height of pea plants is controlled by a single gene which has two alleles: tall and short.

The tall allele is dominant and is shown as T.

The small allele is recessive and is shown as t.

Complete this Punnett square to show the possible allele combinations of the offspring
produced when two pea plants are bred.

In this Punnett square the top row shows the alleles of parent 1 and the left-hand column
shows the alleles of parent 2.

Parent 1 is TT - tall

Parent 2 is tt - short

Parent 1 alleles

T T

t Tt Tt
Parent

alleles

t Tt Tt
2

If you add the combinations into each box you see that all the possible offspring have the
same allele combination - Tt.

Note: You should always write the dominant allele first. This means that all the offspring
produced will be tall.

Worked example 2

In this genetic cross, Parent 1 is still tall but is heterozygous with alleles Tt. Parent 2 is short
and is homozygous with alleles tt.

In this Punnett square the top row shows the female alleles and the left-hand column shows
the male alleles.

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Female alleles

T t

t Tt tt
alleles
Male

t Tt tt

Half of the possible offspring have the allele combination Tt and will be tall and the other half
have the combination tt and will be short.

These examples are single gene combinations, but remember that most phenotypes are
controlled by multiple genes.

How to construct Punnett squares

1. Determine the parental genotypes. You can use any letter you like but select one that
has a clearly different lower case, for example: Aa, Bb, Dd.
2. Split the alleles for each parent and add them into your Punnett square around the
edges.
3. Work out the new possible genetic combinations inside the Punnett square.
You may be asked to comment on the proportion of different allele combinations in the
offspring, calculate a probability, ratio or just determine the phenotypes of the offspring.

Worked example

The inheritance of fur colour in mice is controlled by a single gene. White fur is recessive.
Grey fur is dominant. Two mice that are heterozygous for the fur colour gene mate.
Determine the probability that the offspring will have grey fur.

Step 1

Parent 1 – Aa and Parent 2 – Aa, since both parents are heterozygous.

Step 2

In this Punnett square the top row shows the alleles of parent 1 and the left-hand column
shows the alleles of parent 2.

Parent 1

A a

A AA Aa
Parent

a Aa aa
2

The genotypes AA and Aa both result in the grey fur phenotype. The genotype aa results in
the phenotype white. The grey and the white are known as 'offspring phenotypes'.

There is a 75% probability that the offspring will have grey fur.

We also write this as a ratio:

The ratio of grey to white fur is 3:1

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Try this

Coat type in dogs is determined by a single gene with two alleles. The straight coat allele is
dominant (D) and the curly coat allele is recessive (d). Two dogs with the alleles Dd breed.

Complete this Punnett square to show the allele combinations of the possible offspring
produced.

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Family trees

Pedigree analysis

Doctors can use a pedigree analysis chart to show how genetic disorders are inherited in a
family. They can use this to work out the probability that someone in a family will inherit a
condition. A pedigree analysis is usually undertaken if families are referred to a genetic
counsellor following the birth of an affected child.

A pedigree analysis below for example, shows the offspring of an affected male and
unaffected female.

The pedigree analysis chart is used to show the relationship within an extended family. Males
are indicated by the square shape and females are represented by circles. Affected
individuals are red and unaffected are blue. Horizontal lines between males and females show
that they have produced children.

This analysis shows both male and female are affected, and every generation has affected
individuals. There is one family group that has no affected parents or children, but the
remaining two families have one affected parent and affected children too.

Calculations - Using probability, direct proportion and simple ratios

You can express the outcome of a genetic cross using probability (percentages), direct
proportion or ratios. It is important to remember during the process of fertilisation, the allele
combinations created are a random process, and that is why probability is used, as nothing is
guaranteed. Each of the four possible offspring combinations is as likely to happen during
every fertilisation event.

In this Punnett square the top row shows the female alleles and the left-hand column shows
the male alleles.

Parent 1

a a

A Aa Aa
Parent

a aa aa
2

Direct proportion

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Half the offspring have the combination Aa and half have aa. Or out of 4 offspring 2 have the
combination Aa and 2 have aa.

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Probability

The probability of the offspring being Aa is 50%. The probability of the offspring being aa is
50%.

Ratio

The ratio of Aa to aa is 1:1.

Complete the Punnett Square below to show the four possible outcomes. Give your answer as
a proportion, probability and ratio.

In this Punnett square the top row shows the female alleles and the left-hand column shows
the male alleles.

Parent 1

B b

B
Parent

B
2

Codominance and Inheritance of blood groups

Some alleles are both expressed in the same phenotype, this is called codominance.

Both codominant alleles are shown with upper case letters in genetic diagrams, but the letters
used are different. For example, feather colour in hens may be white, black or speckled (it has
both white feathers and black feathers).

The alleles can be shown as W for white and B for black.

There are three possible genotypes: WW, BB and BW.

There are also three possible phenotypes: WW = white, BB = black, and BW = speckled.

Blood groups

The gene controlling human ABO blood groups has three alleles, not just two:

 IA and IB are not dominant over one another

 both are dominant over IO
This table shows the possible genotypes (alleles present) and phenotypes (blood group):

Genotype Phenotype (blood group)

IA IA or IA IO A

IB IB or IB IO B

IA IB AB

IO IO O

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So to inherit blood group A you must receive an IA allele from one parent and either an IA or an
IO allele from the other. To inherit blood group B you must receive an I B allele from one parent
and either an IB or an IO allele from the other. To inherit blood group AB you must receive an
IA allele from one parent and an IB allele from the other. To inherit blood group O you must
receive an Io from both parents.

Sex determination and the Inheritance of biological sex

Diploid human body cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus. Twenty two pairs are
known as autosomes, and control characteristics, but the 23rd pair carries genes that
determine sex and are known as the sex chromosomes or heterosomes.

 Males have two different sex chromosomes, X Y

 Females have two X chromosomes, XX.
Genetic diagrams

A genetic diagram, like a Punnett square, shows how alleles may combine in zygote. The
diagram below shows how sex is inherited.

MOTHER

X X

X XX XX
FATHE

Y XY XY
R

The female alleles are XX and the male alleles are XY

The two possible combinations are:

 An X chromosome from the mother and an X chromosome from the father - producing
a girl (female phenotype from the XX genotype)
 An X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the father - producing a
boy (male phenotype from the XY phenotype).
All ova have an X chromosome. Half of sperm have an X chromosome and half have a Y.

Because of this the ratio of female to male offspring is 1:1. On average, half of the offspring
will be girls and half will be boys. This can also be converted into a probability of 50% (XX)
and 50% (XY).

The Human Genome Project

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The genome of an organism is the entire genetic material of that organism. Each of your
diploid body cells (not sperm, eggs or red blood cells) has one copy of your entire genome.

The Human Genome Project started in 1990 and was completed in 2003. Hundreds of
scientists from different universities all over the world collaborated together to determine the
sequence of base pairs that made up the genome of a random man and woman. There are
more than three billion of these! This was a huge moment in the history of biology, and one
that showed the importance of working together and sharing scientific information.

The mapping of the whole human genome has great importance for medicine. In order to
exploit its secrets, it is vital that the human genome is fully understood. It enables us to:

 search for genes linked to different types of disease

 understand inherited disorders and their treatment
 trace human migration patterns from the past
Scientists are now searching for disease associated genes within the human genome. Two
examples of these are genes that can contribute to breast cancer, which are known
as BRCA1 and BRCA2. Mutations in these genes account for approximately 10% of all
inherited breast cancer cases detected.

Scientists detected BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes by studying families where breast cancer was
known to have been inherited between individuals. They were able to create a pedigree
analysis, which is similar to a family tree diagram that showed the close relationship of those
affected and unaffected within the family.

The pedigree analysis illustrates the inheritance pattern of the disease to be determined. This
enabled scientists to test DNA from the affected and unaffected individuals to identify
differences. It is now possible to detect the presence of the genes by having a simple blood
test.

ECOLOGY
Ecology is the study of organisms in relation to their environment. The basic unit in the study
of ecology is the ecosystem.
An ecosystem or ecological system includes living and non-living things in the
environment. The living and non-living things interact together and they depend on each
other directly or indirectly.
The living things in an ecosystem are also called the biotic components of the ecosystem or
living components of the ecosystem.
The non-living environment in an ecosystem is also called the abiotic component. This
abiotic component are the physical and chemical factors. The most important of these are
climate and soil. These affect living organisms in many ways.
An ecosystem can be as small as a pond or a tree. The main concept is that within an
ecosystem organisms relate to each other (e.g. as producers, consumers and
decomposers), and also to the non-living physical environment.

Definition of terms
 Biosphere: This is the part of the earth that is inhabited by organisms.
 Habitat: The “home” of an organism.
 Niche: This is the exact place that an organism occupies and its role in the habitat.
The niche is a functional unit of a habitat or even an ecosystem.
 Autecology: Is the study of the ecology of a single species e.g. if one studies the
ecology of the zebra in the national Park. That study is autecological in nature.
 Synecology: Is the ecological study of all the species in the ecosystem.
 Population: this is the total number of organisms of the same species living in the
same environment at a specified period of time
 Community: This is the term used to describe all the organisms living together in
an area. A community comprises of organisms of different species living on the same
area at the same time.
 The Ecosystem: It is the community and the abiotic or non-living environment. In
this system energy flow is clearly defined from producers to consumers and
nutrient cycling takes place in paths that link all the organisms and non-living
environment. This interrelationship is what comprises the study of ecology.

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 Biomes: The biosphere consists of large, clearly recognizable community units, each
with particular climatic factors and characteristic organisms. These are the major
world climate regions. They are usually named according to the dominant vegetation
type e.g. coniferous forest, deciduous temperate forests, tropical glass land tundra
and desert. There are many ecosystems within each biome.
 Biomass: Is the weight of all the organisms in a given area.
 Primary productivity: Is the rate of food production by autotrophs. It is the rate at
which organic matter is produced and stored in autotrophs.
 Gross or Total Primary Productivity: Is the total amount of food synthesized by
autotrophs.
 Net Productivity: It is the amount of organic matter stored after the autotrophs
have used some for respiration. Productivity is measured in Kilocalories per square
meter per unit time i.e. Kcal/m2/ year.
 Carrying capacity: This is the number of herbivores a given area can support
without overgrazing. It is the maximum sustained production of a given area.

Components of an ecosystem
An ecosystem consists of two major components namely the biotic and the abiotic
components.
 Biotic or living component: This is the living component of the ecosystem,
including the large or macroscopic organisms (earthworms, plants, fungi) and the
microscopic ones (bacteria, some algae and some fungi).
 Abiotic or non-living component: These are the physical and chemical factors.
The most important ones are climate and soil.

Abiotic factors
1. Climate factors
 Light Intensity: Light is required mainly for photosynthesis. Animal’s behavior is
also affected by intensity of light.
How does light affect organisms in ecosystems and why?
Light of low intensity will stimulate only low levels of photosynthesis.
The higher the light intensity, the higher the rate of transpiration and vice-versa.
Thus plants in different environments are distributed such that those which cannot
afford to lose too much water are found in areas where light intensity is low for
example mosses and ferns. Plants that can afford to lose a lot of water will be found
in areas where light intensity is high. This is because such plants may have deep
root systems so they can easily replace lost water by absorbing more etc.
Some animals such as earthworms, larvae of houseflies and others will only live in
dark areas where they are most active. Others such as most birds and mammals will
be active in bright light. This is because they will easily look for food etc.
 Temperature: Most organisms are found in areas where temperature is moderate.
However, certain organisms have adaptations that enable them to live in areas
where temperature are in the extremes e.g. hot deserts and the cold Polar Regions.
Temperature influences distribution of organisms and also determines the activities
and rate of activity in organisms. For example grasshoppers are more active on a hot
day than on a cold day because they are cold-blooded. A low temperature means
that the enzymes in the body act slowly and therefore the rate at which reactions
take place is low. Thus they will not be able to fly to great distances etc. A higher
temperature especially the optimum will increase their activity because the enzymes
in the body are acting quickly.
A high temperature usually accelerates the rates of photosynthesis, transpiration,
evaporation and the decomposition and recycling of organic matter in the
ecosystem.
 Water The bodies of all living organisms is mostly composed of water, water has a
great influence on the lives of all organisms. It affects organisms in different ways for
example, it affects their distribution in the environment e.g. some plants will only do
well in soils that are water logged while others will only do well in soils that have
moderate amounts of water like the loams, yet others can still do well in a soil which
is very poor in water content. In all these three cases, plants have adaptation/
modifications that enable them to live in such environment. Depending on
adaptability to problems associated with water availability plants can be categorized
in three groups namely;
a) Hydrophytes
b) Mesophytes
c) Xerophytes

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Hydrophytes are those pants that do well in soil where there is a lot of water and
they have adaptations that enable them to live there.
Mesophytes are those plants that will only do well in soils with moderate amount of
water and they also have an adaptation to live in such soils.
Xerophytes live in soils which are very poor in water. E.g. in arid and semi-arid
areas

Animals and many other organisms can be adapted to living in different

environments depending on water content. For example some like fish live in fresh
water bodies; others will live on land but where they can easily find water. Other will
live in hot desert environment or in environment which are generally poor in water.
In all these three have adaptation that enables them to leave in such environment
 Wind
Wind has an effect for example,
i. It influences the dispersion of certain plants and fungi by affecting the
dispersal of their spores, seeds and fruits. Plants whose seeds or fruits or
pollen are dispersed by weed are mostly found and are in greater quantities
in areas where wind has free sweep e.g. in flat areas.
ii. The humidity of the air is abused by moving air and so this increases the rate
of transpiration and also evaporation of water from the soil.
iii. Strong winds will cause soil erosion, bend or break tree branches and even
uproot some plants and therefore may destroy the shelters of some animals.

2. SOIL FACTORS
These are also called edaphic factors. The soil is the substratum. The following
are the components of these soil and they affect the organisms.
(a) Rock particles.
These are inorganic particles such as sand, clay or silt. There relative amounts in the
soil will affect the different aspects of properties.
Those properties will affect the distribution of organisms in the environment
(b) Mineral salts
Those affect growth and distribution of plants e.g. some plants will never do well in
soils lacking nitrates yet legumes can grow well in such soils because they can form
an association with nitrogen fixing bacteria. Since mineral salts affect the plants in
this way it also affects animals and other organisms that depend on those plants.
(c) Soil air
It is found in places between soil particles. Different organisms have adaptations that
enable them to survive in different soil depending on the amount of air in the soil.

(d) Humus
It is dead organic matter. It varies in different soils. It affects the properties of the
soil (how?) and determines the effectiveness of a soil in supporting life.
Different plants have adaptations that enable them to survive in the different soils
depending on the amount of humus in the soil for example some plants feed on
plants directly to obtain the nitrate which is lacking in a soil poor in humus.
(e) Soil texture
It is determined by the soil of soil particles and the amount of humus. A soil rich in
humus has good crumb structure and contains a good amount of air and thus it is of
good drainage (water passes through easily).
(f) Soil pH
This determines the distribution of organisms living in or growing on the soil. For
example some plants live acidic soils like those of swamps and will be found in such
areas. Since animals depend on plants, their distribution will also be determined by
the pH.
The biotic component
This refers to the living organisms in the ecosystem. These organism influence others and
they are interrelated. Some produce food from simple inorganic substances i.e. they are the
producers, others feed on that already made food [Link].
Some provide support for others for example upright plants like trees will provide support for
climbing plants which will be able to obtain optimum sunlight.
Some such as tall plants provide breeding places for others e.g. birds to build nests and even
certain insects.
Some organisms provide areas where those can hind to void extreme high temperature or
hiding places from where hurting attacks can be lunched.
Organisms in a particular habitat have different feeding levels. A feeding level is also called a
trophic level.

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The following groups exist in an ecosystem and also there feeding levels.
(a) Producers
These are organisms that occupy the first trophic level. They are
producers because they manufacture their own food from simple
inorganic substance s mainly H2O and CO2 - they are autotrophs.
(b) Consumers
These are organisms that feed on the organic matter in the body structures of
autotrophs. They occupy different trophic levels as follows.
(i) Herbivores: These are primary consumers because they are the only ones
that can only depend on autotrophs alone.
(ii) Carnivores: These are secondary consumers because they feed on
mainly herbivores by eating their flesh. First order carnivores feed on
herbivores but second order carnivores can feed on other carnivores in addition to
herbivores.
(iii) Omnivores: These feed on both plants and animals materials.
(iv) Detritivores: These are organisms that feed on organic wastes and dead
matter that comes from grazers and other organisms.
The detritivores include fungi, protists, insects, mites, annelids and
nematodes. Detritus is organic waste and it is also dead matter e.g. death
leaves etc.
(v) Decomposers: These feed on dead organic matter by producing special
enzymes to digest the material to simple substances thereby causing
decomposition and decay. The simple materials produced during decay are
important in that they are nutrients to plants. These nutrients are mainly mineral
salts. Thus decomposers are very important in that they form a link between biotic
and abiotic components of an ecosystem
It should be noted that biotic factors are biological and many (but not all) involve
feeding relationships. Thus, they may include; availability of food and competition for
resources, predation, parasitism, diseases, presence of pollinating agents and
availability of nest sites among others.
FOOD CHAIN
A food chain is a linear feeding relationship between producers and consumers.
It represents the transfer of food and energy from one type of stage through
repeated stages of acting and being eaten.
A food chain usually starts with a photosynthetic plant, which gains its energy
from the Sun. The arrows used to link each organism to the next represent the
direction of energy flow. They always points towards the ‘eater’, and away from the
plant. The feeding level is known as the trophic level. Plant are producers (they
make/produce food for other organisms). Animals that eat plants are primary
consumers (a consumer is an ‘eater’). They are also called carnivores.

Types of food chains

(i) Grazing food chain; it starts with plants or algae. For example,
Green plants → aphid → ladybird beetle.
In this food chain, the green plant is the primary producer, aphid being the primary
consumer and the lady bird beetle is the secondary consumer. So this food chain has
three trophic level.
Fresh water food chain, an extra link called the tertiary consumer eg salmon in this
food chain.
Filamentous algae → mayfly nymph → caddis fly larvae → salmon
In marine (sea) food chain, the fifth link makes the polar bear for example a
quaternary consumer. And because nothing else eats the polar bear, it is also
called a top carnivore.
Other examples of grazing food chains
Green plants → aphid → ladybird beetle
Green plants → antelope → Lion
Plants → Small fish → Kingfisher bird
Maize → locust → lizard → snake

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(ii) Detritus food chain; it starts with dead organic material called detritus.
An example of a detritus food chain is;
Plant debris → bacteria → protozoa → larva of mosquito
Consider a grass land area with plants, caterpillars, mouse, zebra, antelopes, rat, lion,
leopard, snake, hawk and lizard.
Plants → caterpillar → rat → snake
These food chains can be linked together to form a food web
In a food web, a given member may have several sources of food for
example, a lion may feed on antelopes, zebras; a hawk also has many
sources of food.
Also in a food web a given organism may be feed upon by several other
organisms.
For example,

ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS
These are diagrams that represent the relative amounts of organisms at each trophic
level in the food chain. They are two main types;
1. Pyramids of numbers
2. Pyramids of biomass.

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Pyramid of numbers
This is a graphic representation of number of organism at each feeding level (tropic
level) irrespective of their mass. It is a pyramid because at each successful level the
numbers go one decreasing resulting in a shape at pyramid in a grass land
ecosystem.

In a grassland ecosystem we can have a pyramid formed.

The main disadvantage of using pyramids of numbers is that in some

ecosystems, we may have abnormal (or inverted) pyramids of numbers.
For example one tree may be inhabited by several animals that depend
upon it for food directly.

For instance
many
caterpillar
larvae feeding
on a sing tree.
Some birds
may be
feeding on
these larvae.
Then there
may be
predators that
feed on those
birds etc.
In this case
there is only
one producer,
many primary
consumers
and a few
secondary
consumers so
that the
pyramid of numbers is as shown.

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PYRAMID OF BIOMASS
Biomass is the total mass of the living organisms in a particular ecosystem or habitat
irrespective of their numbers.
It is shown that the mass of producers should be greater than that of primary
consumers which should also be greater than that of secondary consumers. In other
words at each successive feeding level the biomass goes on reducing resulting in a
pyramid shape. This also has the same disadvantage as the pyramid of numbers;
they lead to inverted pyramids.

Why feeding levels are having a pyramid shape? Or, why there is
decreasing mass from the primary producer to other trophic levels.

There is decrease in mass along the food chain because not all materials are
transferred from one feeding level to another. For example, when a rabbit eats
grass, some parts of the grass are not eaten such as the roots.
Some parts which are eaten are not digested and so are not absorbed even though
rabbits have a very efficient digestive system.
Some the materials absorbed form excretory products, and many of the materials
are respired to release energy with the loss of carbon dioxide and energy. So
because of the much loss of energy in biological molecules, less energy is available
for growth and development. This makes organisms in the successive trophic levels
to have smaller mass and be in less numbers.

Pyramid of energy shows amount of energy trapped per unit time and area
at each stage of a food chain.

A normal-shaped pyramid is always produced because there is a reduced

amount of energy at each successive level.
The advantages of the pyramid of energy (productivity) as a representation:

 It takes account of the rate of production over a period of time.

 Two species of comparable biomass may have very different life spans. Thus a direct
comparison of their total biomasses is misleading, but their productivity is directly
comparable.
 The relative energy chain within an ecosystem can be compared using pyramids of
energy; also different ecosystems can be compared.
 There are no inverted pyramids.
 The input of solar energy can be added.
The disadvantages of the pyramid of productivity as a representation:

 The rate of biomass production of an organism is required, which involves measuring

growth and reproduction through time.

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 There is still the difficulty of assigning the organisms to a specific trophic level. As well
as the organisms in the food chains there is the problem of assigning
the decomposers and detritivores to a particular trophic level.

Why food chains usually have fewer than 5 trophic levels?

As the energy is passed along the chain, each organism uses some of it. So the
further along the chain you go, the less energy there is. The loose of energy along the
food chain limits the length of it. There rarely more than 5 links in a chain, because
there is not enough energy left to supply the next link. Many food chains only have 3
links.
Energy flow in an ecosystem
Most of the energy used in an ecosystem is from the sun it is used by plants to
manufacture food. This energy will flow through the different the different trophic
levels.
At each level energy is lost as heat, through reflection, through respiration, through
transpiration (in case of plants) etc.
The amount of energy passed on as food from one trophic level to another decreases
progressively because it is being lost as mentioned above in those process.
For example consider a food chain starting with plants; assuming the sun provides
1000 joules of energy to the plants for example, not all this energy will be used in
photosynthesis. Some of it will be reflected away be leaves, some will be used for
respiration by cells or will be lost when water is being lost by the plants during
transpiration. Thus only a little like 600kJ will be passed to the antelopes (primary
consumers) inform of food.
The antelopes will also use part of during respiration, loss of heat to the air etc. so
that only 100kJ is passed to the lions (secondary consumers) in form of food.
The following implications arise out of these;
(i) Each successful level has fewer members and thus smaller biomass.
(ii) The length of the food chain comes to be limited to a short one since there will be no
energy available for other members in a longer food chain.
(iii) The energy in animals is recycled back to plants through nutrient and material cycles.

Energy available in producers

Not all of the biomass is passed from the maize plants to the locusts. In fact, only about
10% of the biomass is transferred from each trophic levels to the next. The remaining
90% is used by the organism to complete life processes. Biomass can be lost between
stages because not all of the matter eaten by an organism is digested. Some of it is
excreted as waste such as solid faeces, carbon dioxide and water in respiration and water
and urea in urine.

Because only around 10% of the biomass at each trophic level is passed to the next, the total
amount becomes very small after only a few levels. So food chains are rarely longer than six
trophic levels.

We do not put the Sun at the bottom of a food chain even though the producing
plants or algae transfer energy from the Sun during. This is because the Sun is not
a living organism.
In fact, only about 1% of the energy from the Sun that reaches the plant's leaves is used by
the plant during photosynthesis. This sounds small but is still enough to power almost all food
chains on the planet.

Calculating efficiency of biomass transfers

The efficiency of biomass transfer is a measure of the proportion of biomass transferred from
a lower trophic level to a higher one. Usually around 10% of biomass is transferred between
trophic levels in a healthy ecosystem and the remaining 90% is used by the organisms
during life processes.

For instance,
This is an example of a food chain:
Phytoplankton → zooplankton → herring → sea lion

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The total biomass within the phytoplankton is 14.6 kg. The total biomass within the
zooplankton is 1.3 kg. What is the efficiency of this transfer?

To complete this calculation, divide the amount from the higher trophic level by the amount
from the lower trophic level and multiply by one hundred. That is, divide the smaller number
by the bigger one (and multiply by one hundred).

Another example,
A bullock has eaten 10 kg of biomass in the form of grass, and excreted 6.3 kg in the
form of faeces, urine and gas. The increase in its body tissues is 0.4 kg. How much
biomass has been used up in respiration?

The biomass used in respiration = 10 – 6.3 – 0.4 = 3.3 kg

Only 0.4 kg of the original biomass available to the bullock is available to the next stage,
which might be humans. The efficiency of this transfer is:

Efficiency = ( ) × 100 = 4%

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Try this.

The amount of biomass contained within each trophic level is shown in the table below.

Calculate the efficiency of the transfer of energy between each trophic level by completing
the table:

Trophic level Organism Total biomass (kg) Percentage biomass transferred

1 Phytoplankton 14.6 No transfer

2 Zooplankton 1.3 8.9

3 Herring fish 0.15

4 Sea lions 0.017

Biodiversity

Areas like tropical rainforests have millions of different species and are very biodiverse. Other
areas like the Polar Regions have far fewer species and are less biodiverse.

Biodiversity is specifically the number of different species. An area with large populations of
few species is not biodiverse.

If the numbers of one species are affected, there are almost always knock-on consequences.
A simple food chain is:

Algae → zooplankton → sand eel → puffin → arctic skua

If the numbers of zooplankton are reduced by pollution, such as plastic waste, then more
algae will grow and the population of other consumers will fall.

Ecosystems with higher biodiversity have fewer species that depend on just one other for
food, shelter and maintaining their environment. With the example above, puffins could also
eat molluscs and worms. Ecosystems with higher biodiversity are more stable as they can
easily adjust to changes.

We are slowly realising that the future of our species on Earth depends on maintaining high
biodiversity. There are a number of reasons for this:

 Maintaining important biological resources such as food and medicines - we rely on many
different species as food or sources of medicine so it is important to the health of future
generations that organisms that supply us with these resources are not lost. This is an
example of the importance of biodiversity on a global scale.
 For recreation and tourism - for example, forests with a high biodiversity are attractive
places to visit. They benefit local people who use the ecosystem for recreation. It also
provides an income to many by attracting other people to the area. This shows why local
biodiversity is important.

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 Activities that create air and water pollution, are reducing biodiversity in many ecosystems
- conservation of species and habitats by charities, governments and individuals helps to
maintain the range of biodiversity.

Maintaining biodiversity - Positive human impacts on biodiversity

Areas like tropical rainforests have millions of different species and are very biodiverse. Other
areas like the Polar Regions have far fewer species and are less biodiverse.

The increase in the human population and waste it produces, deforestation, peat
bog destruction and global warming are all reducing biodiversity. Conservation helps reverse
this. Conservation is the preservation of ecosystems and the organisms that live within
them.

Scientists and concerned members of the public help maintain biodiversity by:

 Breeding programs to help preserve endangered species, like the panda.

 Protection and development of new endangered habitats, often by making National
Parks.
 Replanting hedgerows because there is higher biodiversity in them than the fields they
surround.
 Reducing deforestation and the release of greenhouse gases.
 Reforestation planting trees to replace those cut down.
 Recycling rather than dumping waste in landfill sites.
Negative human impacts on biodiversity

Human interactions within the ecosystem may have a positive impact on biodiversity such as
conservation or a negative affect such as eutrophication. Negative effects include reduced
populations, reduced biodiversity or extinction.

 Overuse of fertilisers can cause eutrophication and reduce

biodiversity

As the human population increases, we need more food and increased use of fertilisers has
impacted on the biodiversity of aquatic environments through eutrophication. Nitrates in
the fertilisers run off from fields into rivers and lakes causing the overgrowth of algae. The
light is blocked so plants cannot photosynthesize so they die. This causes bacteria to
decompose the plants and use up most of the oxygen in the water. Without oxygen,
animals such as fish will die. This is a negative impact as the biodiversity of the river or lake
will decrease.

 Fish farming can reduce biodiversity

Fish are farmed in large nets or tanks within lakes or in the sea.

Farm waste, chemicals, pathogens and parasites are released into the surrounding water,
harming other marine life.

Carnivorous species of farmed fish, such as salmon, need high amounts of protein in their
diet. They are often fed on wild fish, reducing their populations.

Sometimes fish can escape and compete with indigenous wild species and compete for
resources, resulting in reduced biodiversity. Predators of the fish such as sea lions can
become trapped in the nets and die.

 Introduction of non-indigenous species can reduce biodiversity

A non-indigenous species does not live in an area and may be introduced by humans for a
particular purpose such as removal of pest species or for hunting. However, the new species
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may out-compete or kill indigenous or naturally occurring species. These may be reduced in
number, resulting in reduced biodiversity or maybe extinction.

One example is the introduction of cane toads to Australia. Cane toads are native to South
and Middle America but were introduced into Australia in the 1930s to control pests that ate
sugar cane, an important crop.

Since their release, the toad population has grown to over 200 million and spread across the
country. They have several impacts on biodiversity:

 the cane toads are poisonous to animals that eat it, reducing the number of predators
 the toad eat insects, reducing their population
 it competes with native species for food.

Associations between organisms

Symbiosis
It is an association between different species in which both benefit. For example a
bird called oxpecker foods on ticks, on the back of cattle. In this case the bird gains
food in this association and the mammal gains by having the parasites (the ticks)
being removed from its skin.
The bird also serves as an ‘early warning system’ for the cattle in that they will be the
first ones to see the predators and when they fly away the cattle will realize that
danger is nearby and will also run in the same direction. This will increase their
chances of surviving in the wild.
Parasitism
It is an association between members usually of different species in which one is hurt
and other benefits in the feeding relationship.
Different parasites have adaptations that enable them to live a parasitic way of life.
Predation
It is a feeding relationship where one individual called the predator kills and eats the
other called the prey. Those two affect each other in that when numbers are
considered, those of the predators are usually lower than those of the prey at any one
time.
When numbers of predators increase, they will cause the numbers of prey to
decrease. This in turn will cause that of predator to also decrease.

Competition

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Competition takes place when a resource in the environment is not enough.

Competition is of two types; Intra specific competition and Inter specific
competition.
Intra specific competition is that competition between organisms of the same species
e.g. plants of the same type like maize plants in a garden may compete for nutrients,
space etc. cattle may compete for grass, for mates, space etc.
Inter specific competition is that competition between organism of different species
e.g. lions and leopards may compete for antelopes as food. Goats and sheep may
compete for grass or water etc. if they are on the same farm.

RECYCLING OF NUTRIENTS THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM.

1. The water cycle

The water cycle (Figure 19.18) is somewhat different from other cycles because only a
tiny proportion of the water that is recycled passes through living organisms.
Animals lose water by evaporation (Chapter 14), defecation (Chapter 7), urination
(Chapter 13) and exhalation (Chapter 11). They gain water from their food and drink.
Plants take up water from the soil and lose it by transpiration (Chapter 8). Millions of
tonnes of water are transpired, but only a tiny fraction of this has taken part in the
reactions of respiration (Chapter 12) or photosynthesis (Chapter 6).
The great proportion of water is recycled without the intervention of animals or plants.
The Sun shining and the wind blowing over the oceans evaporate water from their vast,
exposed surfaces.
The water vapour produced in this way enters the atmosphere and eventually
condenses to form clouds. The clouds release their water in the form of rain or snow
(precipitation). The rain collects in streams, rivers and lakes as runoffs and ultimately
finds its way back to the oceans. The human population diverts some of this water for
drinking, washing, cooking, irrigation, hydroelectric schemes and other industrial
purposes, before allowing it to return to the sea.

2. The carbon cycle

Carbon is a component of the major biological molecules. Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins,
DNA, vitamins and many other molecules contain carbon.
The following processes are important in cycling carbon through ecosystems.
 Photosynthesis fixes carbon atoms form carbon dioxide in to organic compounds
 Feeding and assimilation pass carbon atoms already in organic compounds along the
food chains.
 Respiration produces inorganic carbon dioxide from organic compounds (mainly
carbohydrates) as they are broken down to release energy.
 Fossilization in which living things decay fully when they die due to the conditions in the
soil (decay is prevented if the soil is too acidic) and fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, natural
gas and peat) are formed.
 Combustion releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned.
Removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
Photosynthesis
Green plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as a result of their
photosynthesis. The carbon from the carbon dioxide is built first into a
carbohydrate such as sugar. Some of this is changed into starch or the cellulose of cell
walls, and the proteins, pigments and other compounds of a plant. When the

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plants are eaten by animals, the organic plant material is digested, absorbed and built
into the compounds making up the animals’ tissues. Thus the carbon atoms
from the plant become part of the animal.

Fossilization
Any environment that prevents rapid decay may produce fossils. The carbon in the
dead organisms becomes trapped and compressed and can remain there for millions of
years. The carbon may form fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Some animals
make shells or exoskeletons containing carbon and these can become fossils.

Addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere

Respiration
Plants and animals obtain energy by oxidizing carbohydrates in their cells to carbon
dioxide and water. The carbon dioxide and water are excreted so the carbon dioxide
returns once again to the atmosphere.
Decomposition
A crucial factor in carbon recycling is the process of decomposition, or decay. If it were
not for decay, essential materials would not be released from dead organisms. When an
organism dies, the enzymes in its cells, freed from normal controls, start to digest its
own tissues (auto-digestion). Soon, scavengers appear on the scene and eat much of the
remains; blowfly larvae devour carcasses, earthworms consume
dead leaves.
Finally the decomposers, fungi and bacteria (collectively called micro-organisms),
arrive and invade the remaining tissues. These saprophytes secrete extracellular
enzymes into the tissues and reabsorb the liquid products of digestion. When the micro-
organisms themselves die, auto-digestion takes place, releasing the products
such as nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, etc. into the soil or the surrounding water to be
taken up again by the producers in the ecosystem.

The speed of decay depends on the abundance of micro-organisms, temperature, and

the presence of water and, in many cases, oxygen. High temperature speed
up decay because they speed up respiration of the micro-organisms. Water is necessary
for all living processes and oxygen is needed for aerobic respiration
of the bacteria and fungi. Decay can take place in anaerobic conditions but it is slow and
incomplete, as in the waterlogged conditions of peat bogs.

Combustion (burning)
When carbon-containing fuels such as wood, coal, petroleum and natural gas are burned,
the carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide (C + O2 →CO2). The hydrocarbon fuels, such as
coal and petroleum, come from ancient plants, which have only partly decomposed over
the millions of years since they were buried.
So, an atom of carbon which today is in a molecule of carbon dioxide in the air may
tomorrow be in a molecule of cellulose in the cell wall of a blade of grass. When the
grass is eaten by a cow, the carbon atom may become part of a glucose molecule in the
cow’s bloodstream. When the glucose molecule is used for respiration, the carbon atom
will be breathed out into the air once again as carbon dioxide.
The same kind of cycling applies to nearly all the elements of the Earth. No new matter
is created, but it is repeatedly rearranged. A great proportion of the
atoms of which you are composed will, at one time, have been part of other organisms.
The effects of the combustion of fossil fuels
If you look back at the carbon cycle, you will see that the natural processes of
photosynthesis, respiration and decomposition would be expected to keep the
CO2 concentration at a steady level. However, since the Industrial Revolution, we have
been burning the fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum and releasing
extra CO2 into the atmosphere. As a result, the concentration of CO2 has increased from
0.029% to 0.035% since 1860. It is likely to go on increasing as we burn more and more
fossil fuel.
Although it is not possible to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that production of CO 2
and other ‘greenhouse gases’ is causing a rise in the Earth’s temperature, i.e. global
warming, the majority of scientists and climatologists agree that it is happening now
and will get worse unless we take drastic action to reduce the output of these gases (see
‘Pollution’ in Chapter 21 for further details of the greenhouse effect and global warming).
Deforestation.

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Trees are responsible for removing gaseous CO2 and trapping the carbon in organic
molecules (carbohydrates, proteins and fats – see Chapter 4). When they are cut down
the amount of photosynthesis globally is reduced. Often deforestation is achieved by a
process called ‘slash and burn’, where the felled trees are burned to provide land for
agriculture (see ‘Habitat destruction’ in Chapter 21) and this releases even more
atmospheric CO2
The figure below shows the role of these processes in the carbon cycle.

3. The nitrogen cycle.

Nitrogen is an element that is present in many biological molecules including proteins,
amino acids, most vitamins, DNA and ATP. Like the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle
involves feeding, assimilation, death and decay.
Photosynthesis and respiration are not directly involved in the nitrogen cycle as these
processes fix and release carbon not nitrogen.
The following are important in the recycling of nitrogen through ecosystems.
 Feeding and assimilation pass nitrogen atoms already in organic compounds along the
food chain.
 Decomposition by fungi and bacteria produces ammonia from the nitrogen in
compound like proteins, DNA and vitamins.
 The ammonia is oxidized first to nitrite and then to nitrate by the nitrifying bacteria.
 This overall process is called nitrification.
 Plant roots can absorb the nitrates. They are combined with carbohydrates from
photosynthesis to form amino acids and then proteins as well as other nitrogen-
containing compounds.

Processes that add nitrates to soil

Nitrifying bacteria
These are bacteria living in the soil, which use the ammonia from excretory products and
decaying organisms as a source of energy (as we use glucose in respiration). In the
process of getting energy from ammonia, called nitrification, the bacteria produce
nitrates.
• The ‘nitrite’ bacteria oxidize ammonium compounds to nitrites (NH4→NO2).
• ‘Nitrate’ bacteria oxidize nitrites to nitrates (NO2→NO3).
Although plant roots can take up ammonia in the form of its compounds, they take up
nitrates more readily, so the nitrifying bacteria increase the fertility
of the soil by making nitrates available to the plants.
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria
This is a special group of nitrifying bacteria that can absorb nitrogen as a gas from the
air spaces in the soil, and build it into compounds of ammonia. Nitrogen
gas cannot itself be used by plants. When it has been made into a compound of

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ammonia, however, it can easily be changed to nitrates by other nitrifying

bacteria. The process of building the gas, nitrogen, into compounds of ammonia is called
nitrogen fixation.
Some of the nitrogen-fixing bacteria live freely in the soil. Others live in the roots of
leguminous plants (peas, beans, clover), where they cause swellings called
root nodules (Figure 19.19). These leguminous plants are able to thrive in soils where
nitrates are scarce, because the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their nodules
make compounds of nitrogen available for them.
Leguminous plants are also included in crop rotations to increase the nitrate content of
the soil.
Lightning
The high temperature of lightning discharge causes some of the nitrogen and oxygen in
the air to combine and form oxides of nitrogen. These dissolve
in the rain and are washed into the soil as weak acids, where they form nitrates.
Although several million tonnes of nitrate may reach the Earth’s surface in
this way each year, this forms only a small fraction of the total nitrogen being recycled.

Processes that remove nitrates from the soil

Uptake by plants
Plant roots absorb nitrates from the soil and combine them with carbohydrates to make
amino acids, which are built up into proteins (Chapter 6).
These proteins are then available to animals, which feed on the plants and digest the
proteins in them.
Leaching
Nitrates are very soluble (i.e. dissolve easily in water), and as rainwater passes through
the soil it dissolves the nitrates and carries them away in the run-off or to deeper layers
of the soil. This is called leaching.
Denitrifying bacteria
These are bacteria that obtain their energy by breaking down nitrates to nitrogen gas,
which then escapes from the soil into the atmosphere. All of these processes are
summed up in Figure 19.20

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The activities of humans have severely altered the nitrogen cycle. Some of the
major processes involved in this alteration include:

 The application of nitrogen fertilizers to crops has caused increased rates of

denitrification and leaching of nitrate into groundwater. The additional nitrogen entering
the groundwater system eventually flows into streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. In
these systems, the added nitrogen can lead to eutrophication.
 Increased deposition of nitrogen from atmospheric sources because of fossil fuel
combustion and forest burning. Both of these processes release a variety of solid forms
of nitrogen through combustion.
 Livestock ranching. Livestock release a large amounts of ammonia into the environment
from their wastes. This nitrogen enters the soil system and then the hydrologic system
through leaching, groundwater flow, and runoff.
 Sewage waste and septic tank leaching.

POPULATION
It is group of organisms which belong to the same species living in a given area. These
members of the same population can mate to produce viable off springs i.e. off spring
that can also reproduce.
Characteristics of a population
These are
(i) Density (ii) Dispersion (iii) Natality / Birth Rate (iv) Mortality
Population density
It is the number of individuals of a population in a given area i.e. Number of individuals
Area
Population dispersion
This is the distribution of individuals in the available space.
It might be uniform distribution whereby members are evenly distributed.<space for
diagram 6 lines>
It may be random distribution <space for diagram 6 lines>
It may be clumped distribution where members form or live in groups <space for
diagram 6 lines>
Of each of these types of distribution is due to the factors in the environment. For
example in hot deserts the distribution the plants is such that they are higher numbers
of plants near the oases because this is where water is available and so this brings
about dumped distribution.
If resources e.g. food are equally found in different places in a given habitat animals
that feed on that type of food will also be uniformly distributed.
Birthrate
This is a rate of production of new individuals. Factors that affect natality include
(i) Methods of reproduction
Organisms that reproduce sexually produce faster than those that reproduce by asexual
means.
(ii) Fecundity/ size of litter
This is the number of eggs laid at a time or number of litter produced at each birth.
(iii) Gestation period
It is the period between fertilization and appearance a new individual. For example
because man has a gestation of 9 months, the human female will produce only once a
year but a rabbit can produce or give birth several times a year since it has a much
shorter gestation period. The population of rabbits can grow very fast compared to that
of humans
(iv) Age of which sexual maturity is reached:
Some organisms take a short time to reach the age when they are able to produce than
others e.g. a rat requires 3 weeks for female to be able to reproduce and so the
population of rats can grow to a large size than that of elephants because a female
elephant takes 5 years to be able to reproduce.
(v) Mortality
This is the rate of loss of individuals by death. It is affected by factors e.g. longevity/ life
expectancy which is the age at which an individual dies due to old age.
N.B Natality and mortality may interact to affect the size of the population.
(vi) Sex Ratio
This is the ratio or proportion of male to females for given size of population. If there are
very few females and many males e.g. 10 males for 3 females after sometime the
population of the individuals is likely to be lower than if they are fewer males than
females i.e. 3 males 10 females
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(vii) Age distribution/ Age structure

This is proportion of individuals of different age groups. If the distribution of these age
groups is to be classified as infancy, childhood and adulthood and there are much more
infants than adult after short time the population will have increased only slightly.
Population growth
Increase in a natural population is as a result of natality and mortality. Both of these
depend on factors of the environment a young population will have many reproducing
individuals. These will multiply and the population will grow rapidly. As the numbers
increase, certain environmental factors become inadequate or are not able to support
the increase in population i.e. they become limiting. As a result there are more deaths
and the population begins to reduce or decline.
Factors or limiting or regulating population growth
(a) A biotic factors
These include light intensity, temperature, water and soil factors. These do not depend
on the size or population when they exert pressure on the population i.e. they are
density independent. When they are at extremes, they will cause the population to
decline when they are at optimum. They will cause the population to increase or to
remain high.
(b) Biotic factors
These include food, space, disease, associations like competition, parasitism, and
predation. Those factors are density dependant factors because their intensity depends
on the size of the population.
Food
When food is in inadequate supply, the population increases. As the population density
increases, competition for food increase which causes some individuals to die and the
population declines (reduces).
Space
The space available provides shelter, breeding places for organisms etc. As numbers
increases members begin to compete for space causing some to die or in higher
animals members become reluctant to reproduce so that the population reduces to a
level which the available support. Also when they are many organisms in a small space,
there excretory products increase and become too much and begin to cause organisms
to die. This brings about sharp decrease in population size.
Disease
When organisms become too many in a given area (over crowded) with a high
population density, diseases and parasites spread faster and cause a reduction in
population.
In a sparsely populated area, the population may grow faster mainly because diseases
cannot easily spread amongst individuals.
Predation
As the prey population increase, that of the predators also increases but after sometime
Measurement of size of population
There are different methods can be used to determine the number or to determine size
of the population some methods include
A. Direct counting
This method is used mainly on a slow moving animals e.g. snails or on large mammals
e.g. elephants. The number of individuals is obtained by counting directly.
B. Capture recapture method
This is used for small animals like rats squirrels and birds in this method a given
number of animals are caught marked counted and released after sometime you go to
the same area and you repeat the exercise.
The total number caught in the second catch is also recorded. The number of animals
that were marked in the first catch but have been caught again is also recorded. Thus
the procedures are summarized in order as follows
(i) Let the number caught and marked be “a”
(ii) The total number is the second catch be “b”
(iii) The number marked ones in the second catch be ‘c”
(iv) The total population T of individuals in the area in the area

T = Number caught during the first catch x number caught during the second catch
Number marked catch in second catch

a xb
T=
c
C. Quadrat method
A Quadrat is a one meter square frame made out of either a wood or metal.
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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 233

How do you determine the population of some organism using a quadrat method?
NB it is used mainly on stationary organisms e.g. short plants
Presenting the results of measurement of population
The results are presented in terms of population density frequency, percentage cover
and dominancy
(i) Population density: It is calculated by dividing the number of organisms, by the size
study area.
(ii) Frequency: It is the number of times that species occurs in the area of study.
(iii) Percentage cover: It is the proportion of the area covered by a particular species for
example. If the area of study is 500m 2 and the genus Commelina occupies 20m2 , then
% cover of this plant is
20
x 100 = 4%.
500
(iv) Dominance: It is the term used to describe a species that has most effect on others in
the same area. It is in terms of high frequency or high density

Experimental methods using quadrats and transects

It is important to estimate the number of organisms in a population to better understand the

relationships in a community. This information is useful for monitoring the impact of
conservation projects that aim to conserve endangered species or habitats. It is almost
always impossible to count all of the organisms in a population. So we look at a small section
of a population to draw conclusions about the rest.

This process is called sampling and the area or part of population looked at is called a
sample.

Sampling

When sampling a population, the numbers of organisms are counted within a sample site, and
then the results multiplied to estimate the total number in the entire habitat. Large animals
and plants can often simply be counted. However, many smaller animals like insects and
smaller mammals need to be trapped first so they can be counted and then released
afterwards. Pitfall traps are small traps dug into the ground, which often has food inside to
attract small mammals. The sides of these traps are smooth to stop the mammals escaping.

Another method is to use large nets to sweep through grasses or leaves of trees in a process
called sweep netting. To catch aquatic organism nets are often held downstream of an area
of river bed which is then gently disturbed by the person doing the sampling. The small
animals float into the net. This is called kick-sampling.

Pooters are small devices used when sampling to suck up small insects safely without them
going into your mouth.
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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 234

Using quadrats

Quadrats are square frames of wire usually 0.25 m2. These are placed on the ground to look
at the plants or slow-moving animals within them. When looking at plants in a quadrat the
following sampling can be used:

1. Number of an individual species: the total number of individuals of one species (eg
daisies) is recorded.
2. Species richness: the number of different plant or animal species is recorded but not
the number of individuals within a species.
3. Percentage cover: the percentage of the quadrat area that is covered by one species
(eg grass). This is easier to estimate if a quadrat has wires making smaller sections.
Percentage cover rather than number of individuals is used when estimating plant
frequencies if it is difficult to identify individual plants, such as grasses or moss.

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 235

Random or systematic

Random sampling using a quadrat involves the placing of quadrats at random coordinates.
Regardless of whether you are investigating the number of individual species, the species
diversity or the percentage cover in different areas you would use random sampling.

Most sampling is random, but systematic sampling can be used if there is a trend or pattern
across the habitat, such as distance up a beach, or altitude on a hillside. If you are using the
wrong kind of sampling method for your experiment, this can lead to biased results.

What are we sampling for?

Sometimes we want to see if the number of species or percentage cover changes within an
area. This is often as a result of a change in an abiotic factor.

An example of this is an investigation into whether the growth of seaweed depends upon the
distance it is found on the seashore from the tide. As we are looking to link a linear change (in
this case the number of hours the seaweed is covered by the tide) we would use systematic
sampling.

A quadrat could be placed at regular distances, for example every five metres, along an
imaginary line called transect which would run down the shore. Systematic sampling would
be used along transect to link changes in species to abiotic factors, such as immersion by
water, temperature fluctuations, light intensity, all of which are influenced by the tide.

The results from transects can be drawn into kite diagrams. The width of the bar from the
middle at any distance
shows how many individuals
were observed at that point.

Zonation

In the example above, the

distribution of dandelion
plants gradually changes
from 5 m to 20 m along
transect. A change in the
distribution of species across
a habitat is called zonation.
It can happen because of a
change in an abiotic factor.

At what distances were

the most grasses and
dandelions seen?

The most grasses were seen

at 20 metres. The most
dandelions were seen at five
metres.

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 236

Practical: Measure the population size of a common species in a habitat

Method

1. Choose an area on the school field where the grass is often cut. Map the area and then
lay a numbered grid over the map.
2. Use random numbers where to place your first quadrat. You can use a computer
generated random number table to do this.
3. Count the number of different plant species within this quadrat (the species richness).
4. Return to your starting position and repeat steps two and three a further 14 times using
different random numbers.
5. Repeat steps one to four for a part of the school field which the grass is infrequently
cut.
6. Compare your results by calculating a mean for each location.
Example of results obtained

1 1 1 1 1 1
Quadrat number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 1 2 3 4 5

Number of species per

quadrat (on cut area of 1 2 1 2 3 1 3 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 1
the school field)

Number of species per

quadrat (on uncut area 3 2 4 6 1 1 1 4 5 3 6 4 5 3 4
of the school field)

What are the totals and means for the two different locations?

A total of 25 and a mean of 1.7 on cut school field and a total of 52 and a mean of 3.5 on
uncut school fields.

What conclusions can you draw here?

The mean of the number of plant species in the cut school field is lower than on the uncut
school field (1 mark). There is a mean of 1.7 different species per quadrat on the cut grass (1
mark). The number of plant species per quadrat on the uncut field is over twice this at 3.5 (1
mark). Therefore, there is greater species richness on the school field in uncut areas (1 mark).

What limitations might there be in drawing these conclusions?

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 237

The two students only placed 15 quadrats. Completing more would allow them to be more
confident in their conclusions.

Science calculations
There are three different types of average which are all useful in science. They are called
the mean, median and mode.

Mean

The mean is the most common type of average we use. To calculate the mean you add all the
values together and divide by the total number of values.

Two students completed an ecological investigation into the dandelions on the school field.
They randomly placed ten quadrats in shaded and sunny areas, in order to count the
dandelions in each. Their results are below.

Quadrat number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of dandelions per

4 4 6 0 1 4 2 3 6 5
quadrat in shade

Number of dandelions per

6 5 7 8 4 5 8 5 5 3
quadrat in sun

Tota Averag
Quadrat number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 l e

Number of dandelions
4 4 6 0 1 4 2 3 6 5 36 3.6
per quadrat in shade

Number of dandelions
6 5 7 8 4 5 8 5 5 3 57 5.7
per quadrat in sun

The mean can be used to estimate the total number of dandelions.

If the area of the field in the shade is 3 m2 and the quadrat area is 0.25 m2 then the estimate
is calculated by:

(3.5 × 4) = 14. This is the estimate for the number of dandelions in 1 m 2.

14 × 3 = 42 dandelions on the whole field.

Median

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 238

To calculate the median, a set of numbers are placed in increasing order of size. The median
is the middle number in the list. The two students took an even number of readings, and they
calculated the median as the mean of the two middle numbers.

The median for shade is four because both middle numbers are four and the median for sun is
5.5 as it is halfway between five and six.

Number of dandelions per

0 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 6 6
quadrat in shade

Number of dandelions per

3 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 8 8
quadrat in sun

Mode

The mode is the value that appears the most often. In the shade, the mode is four because
there are three values of four. In the sun, it is five because there are three values of five.

1. Why is it unusual for a large number of organisms to be present at the top

of an ecological pyramid?
A. Animals at the top of the pyramid are the largest.
B. Animals at the top have shorter lives.
C. The amount of energy available by the time the top of the pyramid is reached is not
enough to sustain many individuals.
D. Humans are most interested in hunting animals occupying the top level of the
ecological pyramid.
Answer to Question #1
2. The biomass of an ecosystem is:
A. The total energy of living and nonliving components of the ecosystem.
B. The total energy of living organisms in an ecosystem.
C. The total mass of living and nonliving components of the ecosystem.
D. The total mass of living organisms in an ecosystem.
Answer to Question #2

4. If the producers in ecological pyramid have a total of 80000 Kcal of energy,

which of the following would be true?
A. The secondary consumers would have a total of 80 Kcal of energy.
B. The tertiary consumers would have a total of 8 Kcal of energy.
C. The secondary consumers would have a total of 80000 Kcal of energy.
D. The tertiary consumers would have a total of 80 Kcal of energy.
5. Which food chain are more efficient at using the energy from the sun?
A. 1 and 3
B. 2 and 4
C. 2 and 3
D. 3 and 4
1. In the nitrogen cycle, which of the following conversions is carried out by nitrifying
bacteria.
A. Nitrogen gas to nitrates
B. Nitrates to nitrogen gas
C. Ammonia to nitrates
D. Nitrates to ammonia

Short- structured questions

2.
a) explain what is meant by the following terms
(i) Habitat
(ii) Community
(iii) Environment
(iv) Population

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 239

b) What are the roles of plants, animals and decomposers in an ecosystem?

3. A marine food chain is shown below.
Plankton small crustacean krill seal killer whale

a) Which organism is these

i) Producer
ii) Secondary consumer
b) What term best describes the killer whale?
c) Suggest why five trophic levels are possible in this case, when many food chains only
have three or four.
4. Part (a) of the diagram shows a woodland food web. Part (b) shows a pyramid of
numbers and a pyramid of biomass for a small part of the wood.
(a) Write out four food chains (from the food web) containing four organisms, both involving
moths.
(b) Name one organism in the food web which is both a primary consumer and a secondary
consumer.
(c) Suggest how a reduction on the dead leaves may lead to a reduction in the number of
shrews.
(d) In part (b) of the diagram, explain why the level Y is such a different width in the two
pyramids.
5. The diagram shows part of the nitrogen cycle.
(a) What do X,Y and Z represent?
(b) Name the process by which plants absorb nitrates.
(c) What are nitrogen fixing bacteria?
(d) Give two ways, not shown in the diagram, in which animals can return nitrogen to the soil.
6. In a year, 1 m2 of grass produces 21500kJ of energy. The diagram below shows the fate
of the energy transferred to a cow feeding on the grass.

(a) Calculate the energy efficiency of the cow from the following equation.
'
Energy efficiency =
energy that ends up as part of co w s biomass x 100
energy available
(b) State two ways energy is lost from the cow.
(c) Suggest what may happen to the 18 450 kJ of energy in the grass that was eaten by the cow.

7. Read the following description of the ecosystem of a mangrove swamp.

Pieces of dead leaves (detritus) from mangrove plants in the water are fed on a range of
crabs, shrimps and worms. These in turn are fed on by several species of fish including
young butterfly fish, angelfish, tarpon, snappers and barracuda. Mature snappers and
tarpon are caught by fishermen as the fish move out from the swamps to the open seas.
(a) Use the description to construct a food web of the mangrove swamp ecosystem.
(b) Write out two food chains each containing four organisms from this food web. Label each
organism in each food chain as a producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer or
tertiary consumer.
(c) Decomposers make carbon in the detritus available again to mangrove plants.
(i) In what form is this carbon made available to the mangrove plants
(ii) Explain how the decomposers make the carbon available.
Exercise
Below is a table showing results obtained from an experiment to determine the effect of
light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis by counting the oxygen bubbles.

Experimen Distance Light Number of

t between the intensity(W/m3) oxygen
pond weed bubbles given
and the in a minute
source of
light(m)

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 240

1 1.0 7.96 8
2 0.5 31.85 28
3 0.25 127.39 105
4 0.125 510.20 105

(a) What is the relationship between light intensity and the number of oxygen bubbles
produced?
(b) State the effect of changing the distance of the light source to the amount of light
reaching the plant.
(c) In this experiment, a pond weed was used. Give a reason for using a pond weed instead
of a terrestrial plant.
(d) Why do you think the number of bubbles of oxygen remained the same in experiment 3
and 4 even when the light source was brought closer to the plant?
(e) Without using scales, sketch a graph to show the relationship between the rate of
photosynthesis(y - axis) and light intensity(x- axis).
(f) How do you think experiments on photosynthesis are important to the farmer?

Exam questions on ecosystems

8. Which of the following terms is defined as all the organisms living in a particular place
and their interactions with each other and with their environment?
A. Habitat
B. Community
C. Population
D. ecosystem
9. which of the following is a biotic factor?
A. Light intensity
B. Pollution
C. Food supply
D. Temperature
10. The diagram below shows a food web containing four food chains.

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 IGCSE BIOLOGY 241

Human influence on the environment

Humans make increasing demand for the environment for;
(i) Food to sustain and ever-increasing population
(ii) Materials to build homes, schools and industries.
(iii) Fuel to heat homes and power vehicles
(iv) Space in which they build homes, schools and factories as well as leisure facilities.
(v) Space in which to dump waste materials.

Human population growth

The number of people alive now is at a record

level and is increasing. In 2012, the
human population exceeded seven billion for
the first time. Each year about 75 million more
people are born than die. This is known as the
net increase.

This increase can be clearly seen in a graph of

human population.

Graphs of this shape are called exponential.

Interestingly, we see the same pattern of
growth in many populations of living organisms
with sufficient resources. There are many
reasons why our population increases:

 better health care so people are living longer

 new medicines are being developed so people don’t die of previously fatal diseases
 farmers are able to produce more food using new breeds and equipment
Scientists are unsure whether this population increase will continue forever. Some think that the
human population will continue to increase and humans will be able to solve any problems that come
their way.

Others think that humans will run out of food, fresh water or other resources and the earth's
population will stop increasing, but remain high. Whereas, other scientists think that the population will
reduce significantly, this is called a crash. In the past, plagues have caused a rapid decline in the
population (note the dips in the graph at 600 CE and 1200 CE), and this could be a possible
explanation for a rapid decline in the population in the future.

As the population grows, the pollution we produce also increases, which may cause significant issues.

Pollution

This is the introduction of foreign materials, poisonous chemical compounds and excess nutrients and
other materials to the environment in harmful quantities. Such substances are termed as pollutants.

(a) Water pollution

Water can be polluted in different ways including
i. Chemical wastes for industries are discharged into water. Toxic chemicals like mercury
compounds when ingested by organisms cause serious health problems.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 242

ii. Pesticides like DDT are used. Weed killers like dioxin when used in plant fields can get
into water used by man and contaminate. In these cases death even in other animals
iii. Oils and detergents accidentally poured on large water bodies will cause death of birds,
fish etc.
iv. Excess nitrates and phosphates from fertilizers used in plant fields may end in lakes and
rivers, those can cause over growth at algae and water plants. When these die and decay,
there will be a shortage of oxygen in the water because bacteria that cause decay use up
oxygen in the water. This will result in death of large numbers of fish, a phenomenon
called fish kill.
This over growth of plants and algae in the water body as a result of excess nutrients in
the water is called eutrophication.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 243

(b) Air pollution

Air pollutants include; methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and oxides of
nitrogen.

Methane

This is a colorless and extremely flammable gas that can explode when mixed with air. It is the
primary component of natural gas. Natural sources of methane include termites, bodies of water,
wildfires, and digestive processes of animals. Methane is released from coal deposits during
underground and surface mining and from decomposition of waste.

Methane is emitted from burning gasoline and fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas, and oil, and
from hydraulic fracturing, landfills, and coal-fired power plants.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

Sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide

Power
stations
give out
sulfur
dioxide

Sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide are two of the gases produced when fossil fuels burn.

Carbon monoxide, CO, is produced when fuels burn in a limited amount of air. It is a colourless,
odourless and tasteless gas. Carbon monoxide passes into the red blood cells after breathing it in. It
binds more strongly to haemoglobin than oxygen does, so the blood will be able to carry less oxygen
than it should. This can cause tiredness, unconsciousness and even death.

Fossil fuels naturally contain sulfur compounds. These produce sulfur dioxide, a gas with a sharp,
choking smell when the fuel is burned. When sulfur dioxide dissolves in water droplets in clouds, it
makes the rain more acidic than normal. This is called acid rain.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 244

Acid rain damages the waxy layer on the leaves of trees. This makes it more difficult for trees to
absorb the minerals they need for healthy growth and they may die. Acid rain also makes rivers and
lakes too acidic for some aquatic life to survive.

Lichens can be used as biological indicators of sulfur dioxide pollution. They grow in exposed
places such as rocks or tree bark, which means they easily absorb water and nutrients to grow there.
Rainwater contains just enough nutrients to keep them alive. Air pollutants dissolved in rainwater,
especially sulfur dioxide, can damage lichens and prevent them from growing. This makes lichens
natural indicators of air pollution. For example:

 bushy lichens need really clean air

 leafy lichens can survive a small amount of air pollution
 crusty lichens can survive in more polluted
air
Lichen growing on the
branch of a tree
In places where no lichens are growing it is
often a sign that the air is heavily polluted with
sulfur dioxide.

Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse

effect

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb

heat energy and prevent it escaping into space. This keeps the Earth warmer than it would be without
these gases. Greenhouse gases are not a bad thing in themselves, but too much of them in the
atmosphere leads to an increase in the greenhouse effect and global warming.

There are many greenhouse gases but these are some of the most important:

 water vapour, H2O

 carbon dioxide, CO2
 methane, CH4
 nitrous oxide, N2O
 CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons)

 Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the
climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth's atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of
clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the
greenhouse effect.

 Carbon dioxide. A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is
released through natural processes such as respiration and volcano eruptions and through human
activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased
atmospheric CO2 concentration by more than a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is
the most important long-lived "forcing" of climate change.

 Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities,
including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially rice cultivation, as
well as ruminant digestion and manure management associated with domestic livestock. On a
molecule-for-molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide,
but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 245

 Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the
use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and
biomass burning.

 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a number

of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the atmosphere by
international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are
also greenhouse gases.

The greenhouse effect

1. Sunlight passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

2. The ground warms up and heat is emitted from the Earth’s surface.
3. Some heat escapes into space but some is absorbed by greenhouse gases. It is re-emitted and
does not escape.
4. The Earth’s atmosphere warms up.

(c) Land pollution

The rubbish we throw out that is not recycled goes into a land fill. These are huge holes in the
ground into which our rubbish is dumped. Some things like batteries cannot be put into landfill
sites because of the toxic chemicals they contain. They must be recycled. Other land pollution
comes when some people dump rubbish in public or other private places, often to avoid paying
for it to be disposed of. This is caused fly tipping and is illegal.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 246

Plastic and other manmade materials are biologically non-degradable - they are not acted upon
by micro-organisms to decompose them to simpler substances. This can result poor soil
productivity because they prevent water from getting down in the soil.
Scrap metal if buried in the soil can damage plant roots; prevent roots from growing deep through
the soil etc.
Slag from mines contains poisonous metal compounds which can destroy crops in the soil
Excessive cutting of trees without replanting in the forest will result in very many negative effects
like soil erosion, lack of habitat of other animals etc.
Radioactive wastes from nuclear power stations will release radioactive particles which can be
taken up by plants and animals. When those are eaten by man they cause cancers among others
serious problems.

Fertilisers and farming

Temperature, light and carbon dioxide levels affect photosynthesis. Farmers use fertilisers, pesticides
and biological control to increase crop yields. Fish farms produce large amounts of food.

Increasing crop yield

When growing crops in an open field, it is difficult for farmers to control the environment except by
providing sufficient water and minerals for the growing plants.

a. Greenhouses

Greenhouses allow farmers to control the conditions in which their crops are growing. The rate of
photosynthesis can be increased using:

 artificial heating
 artificial lighting
 additional carbon dioxide released into the air inside
 regular watering
Artificial lighting also allows photosynthesis to continue after daylight hours.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 247

Tomato plants growing in controlled conditions

The additional cost of providing extra heating, lighting and carbon dioxide has to be weighed against
the increased crop yield and the extra income it will provide. The cost should not exceed the additional
income it generates for the farmer.

In practice, the farmer will need to find the optimum growing conditions for the crop, given the costs of
providing extra lighting, heat and carbon dioxide.

b. Polytunnels

Polythene tunnels (polytunnels) protect crops from the effects of the weather, including wind, rain and
extreme temperatures. They are large enough for people and machines to work inside and can provide
warmer conditions than if the crops were grown outside.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 248

Crops growing inside a polythene tunnel

c. Fertilisers

Fertilisers provide elements needed by plants to grow well, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and
potassium. They can make crops grow faster and bigger so that yields are increased. The compounds
used must be water-soluble so plants can absorb them through their roots.

Ammonium compounds are often used in fertilisers which help plants to grow
The name or formula of a compound often suggests which elements a fertiliser provides. Here are
some examples:

Fertiliser Formula Essential elements

Ammonium nitrate NH4NO3 Nitrogen

Ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4 Nitrogen

Ammonium phosphate (NH4)3PO4 Nitrogen and phosphorus

Potassium nitrate KNO3 Potassium and nitrogen

Urea (NH2)2CO Nitrogen

 IGCSE BIOLOGY 249

Fertiliser Formula Essential elements

Fertiliser problems

The human population is increasing, so more food needs to be produced. Without fertilisers yields of
crops would be lower. However too much fertiliser can pollute water supplies, causing eutrophication.
The extra mineral ions cause algae to overgrow, blocking sunlight and killing other plants. As a result,
there is not enough oxygen dissolved in the water for aquatic organisms to survive.

d. Controlling pests

Crop pests include insects and other animals that eat or damage plants. Pests can be controlled using
pesticides or by introducing other species (biological control).

Use of Pesticides

Pesticides are chemicals used to control pests, including:

 fungicides (which kill fungi)

 herbicides (which kill weeds)
 insecticides (which kill insects)
Pesticides are effective in controlling pests. However, they are expensive and can cause environmental
damage. The pests may become resistant to them, and they may also kill useful plants and animals.

Biological control

Organic food is grown without the use of artificial chemicals

Biological control can happen naturally, for example, ladybirds eat aphids.

Biological control can be very effective if a control species is introduced deliberately. For example:

 parasitic wasps can control whitefly in glasshouse tomato crops

 the myxomatosis virus was deliberately introduced to control the rabbit population in Australia
Biological control reduces the population of the pest but does not completely remove the pest.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 250

Sometimes the control species does something unexpected.

For example, the Hawaiian cane toad was introduced in Australia to control the population of the cane
beetle, a pest that damaged sugar cane crops. However, it has had little effect on the cane beetle
population. Instead, cane toads have reproduced rapidly and spread across the north east of the
country. They are poisonous and they have caused reductions in the populations of native toads.
Consequently cane toads are causing more damage than the pest they were supposed to control.

Predator-prey graph

Fish farming

Fish are an important part of the human diet, accounting for a worldwide average 15% of humans’
protein intake.

Overfishing

Most fish are caught from the wild. If fish are caught at a faster rate than the remaining fish can
reproduce, the populations of fish will decrease.

For example, North Sea cod have been overfished since the 1960s. The size and number of boats
fishing for cod has increased. As a result, the number of breeding fish left has decreased and so has
the cod population as a whole.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 251

Graph showing the changes of North Sea cod stocks since the 1960s
Within fish farms large numbers of fish are kept in freshwater or seawater tanks and enclosures. This
keeps the amount of space needed to a minimum but the fish may fight unless kept in separate tanks:

 Intraspecific competition (competition between individuals of the same species) is reduced by

keeping fish of different ages in separate tanks
 Interspecific competition (competition between individuals of different species) is reduced by
keeping different species of fish in separate tanks
In addition, male and female fish are kept in separate tanks unless the farmer wants them to breed.

Fish farming has some advantages over sea fishing, including:

 controlled water quality

 protection against predators
 other competing species are kept out
 frequent feeding allows for rapid growth
The fish kept in fish farms may be the products of selective breeding, for example to produce fish that
grow faster than wild fish.

There are drawbacks to fish farms:

 IGCSE BIOLOGY 252

 There is a greater risk of disease because the fish may be closely related due to selective
breeding and they live closely together.
 Sterile water, pesticides and antibiotics may be needed to control disease.
 The large amounts of waste produced by the fish must be removed regularly, and this may
cause eutrophication of the surrounding water.
 The fish may be fed using pellets made from other, less valuable fish that may have been
caught from the wild. This has the potential to damage wild fish stocks.

Global warming is a long-term rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system, an
aspect of climate change shown by temperature measurements and by multiple effects of the
warming.
In the modern context, global warming more specifically relates to worldwide surface temperature
increases
It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming
since the mid-20th century. The largest human influence has been the emission of greenhouse
gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. In view of the dominant role of human
activity in causing it, the phenomenon is sometimes called "anthropogenic global warming" or
"anthropogenic climate change". Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that
during the 21st century, the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to 1.7 °C (0.5 to
3.1 °F) to 2.6 to 4.8 °C (4.7 to 8.6 °F) depending on the rate of greenhouse gas emissions.
Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region.[15]
[16]
Anticipated effects include rising sea levels, changing precipitation, and expansion of deserts in
the subtropics. Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the
Arctic, with the continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. Other likely changes include
more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, heavy rainfall with
floods, and heavy snowfall; ocean acidification; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature
regimes.
Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and
the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels. Because the climate system has a large
"inertia" and greenhouse gases will remain in the atmosphere for a long time, many of these effects
will persist for not only decades or centuries, but tens of thousands of years. [21]
Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction, adaptation to
its effects, building systems resilient to its effects, and possible future climate engineering. Most
countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
[22]
whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change.[23] Parties to the
UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required [24] and that global warming should be
limited to well below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) compared to pre-industrial levels,[b] with efforts made to limit
warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).[26] Some scientists call into question climate adaptation feasibility, with
higher emissions scenarios,[27] or the two degree temperature target.[28]
Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing. A global 2015 Pew
Research Center report showed that a median of 54% of all respondents asked consider it "a very
serious problem". Significant regional differences exist, with Americans and Chinese (whose economies
are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions) among the least concerned.[29]
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 253

Ecosystems maintain themselves by cycling energy and nutrients obtained from external sources. At the first trophic
level, primary producers (plants, algae, and some bacteria) use solar energy to produce organic plant material
through photosynthesis. Herbivores—animals that feed solely on plants—make up the second trophic level.
Predators that eat herbivores comprise the third trophic level; if larger predators are present, they represent still
higher trophic levels. Organisms that feed at several trophic levels (for example, grizzly bears that eat berries and
salmon) are classified at the highest of the trophic levels at which they feed. Decomposers, which include bacteria,
fungi, molds, worms, and insects, break down wastes and dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil.

On average about 10 percent of net energy production at one trophic level is passed on to the next level. Processes
that reduce the energy transferred between trophic levels include respiration, growth and reproduction, defecation,
and nonpredatory death (organisms that die but are not eaten by consumers). The nutritional quality of material that
is consumed also influences how efficiently energy is transferred, because consumers can convert high-quality food
sources into new living tissue more efficiently than low-quality food sources.

The low rate of energy transfer between trophic levels makes decomposers generally more important than producers
in terms of energy flow. Decomposers process large amounts of organic material and return nutrients to the
ecosystem in inorganic form, which are then taken up again by primary producers. Energy is not recycled during
decomposition, but rather is released, mostly as heat (this is what makes compost piles and fresh garden mulch
warm). Figure 6 shows the flow of energy (dark arrows) and nutrients (light arrows) through ecosystems.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 254

Figure 6. Energy and nutrient transfer through ecosystems

See larger image

Source: � Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Nature Connections.

An ecosystem's gross primary productivity (GPP) is the total amount of organic matter that it produces through
photosynthesis. Net primary productivity (NPP) describes the amount of energy that remains available for plant
growth after subtracting the fraction that plants use for respiration. Productivity in land ecosystems generally rises
with temperature up to about 30°C, after which it declines, and is positively correlated with moisture. On land primary
productivity thus is highest in warm, wet zones in the tropics where tropical forest biomes are located. In contrast,
desert scrub ecosystems have the lowest productivity because their climates are extremely hot and dry (Fig. 7).

GUIDE TO PRACTICAL WORK: GRAPH WORK AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

Understanding this section will help to gain 20% of the marks allocated to the questions on
practical work.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 255

Examinations questions generally cover the following areas.

1. Understanding safety precautions

2. Recognizing apparatus and understanding how to use it
3. Recalling tests for certain chemicals
4. Manipulating data
5. Plotting graphs
6. Understanding experimental design
7. Planning experiments
A) safety precautions

You may be asked to comment on the appropriate safety precaution. The most obvious
is the wearing of eye protection. Eye protection must be worn every time chemicals or
Bunsen burner are used. In your comment, you need to give a reason for a particular
precaution. Examples include;

Precaution Reason

1. wash hands after handling To avoid contamination

biological material such as plants,
soil etc.

2. keep flammable liquids such as To avoid ethanol from catching fire

ethanol away from a naked flame

3. take care with fragile glass ware To avoid cutting yourself

such as pipette, microscope,
coverslips etc.

4. do not touch electrical apparatus To avoid getting shock

with wet hands

5. use a water bath to heat a test tube To avoid heating the heated liquid jumping
of water rather than heating it out of the tube
directly in a Bunsen burner flame

Trial question

1. Describe how you would test a leaf for starch. Include the safety precautions you
would take and the results you would expect to see.

B) Recognizing the apparatus and demonstrating understanding of how to use it.

You will be required to recognize a simple laboratory apparatus such as a Bunsen

burner, thermometer, measuring cylinder and a stop watch. You may need to
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 256

recognize a particular biological apparatus such as a quadrat, microscope, and

bench lamp and so on.

Example

(a) What is the name of the above piece of apparatus?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(b) Draw a line on the apparatus to show a volume of 30cm3

Other examples

C) Recalling tests for substances

For example the test for
(a) Starch…… adding drops of Iodine solution
(b) Glucose (or reducing sugar); adding about 1 cm3 of Benedict’s solution and boiling
the solution in a water bath
(c) Carbon dioxide…. Using hydrogen carbonate solution or lime water
(d) Oxygen… using a glowing splint
(e) Water …..using the white anhydrous copper (II) sulphate or the blue cobalt chloride
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 257

You need to know and be able to state the observation incase the substance tested for
is present or absent.

For example;

In (a) the solution turns black or blue-black in case starch is present and turns brown
(the colour of the iodine solution) or yellow if it is absent.

In (b) the solution will turn to green, yellow, orange or brick red depending on the
relative concentration if glucose or reducing sugars are present. If absent, the solution
turns blue (the colour of the Benedict’s solution)

In (c) the orange hydrogen carbonate (also called bicarbonate) solution will turn yellow
if carbon dioxide is detected. If lime water (calcium hydroxide) was used, it turns
cloudy or milky

In (d) if oxygen is present, it relights a glowing splint.

In (e) water will turn the white anhydrous copper (II) sulphate solution blue or the blue
cobalt (II) chloride pink

Examples of exam questions on this

1. John decided to test some milk for glucose.

(a) Describe the test he would do (2 marks)

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………….
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 258

(b) Suggest how he might use the results to say how much glucose was present. (1
marks)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………

D) Manipulating data
You may be provided with some results from an experiment and you are required to
process them in various ways such as;
(a) putting raw data from a notebook into an ordered table
(b) counting numbers of observations
(c) summing totals
(d) calculating an average
(e) identifying anomalous results

For example

(a) Kirsty monitored how her temperature changed during exercise. She took her temperature before
she started the exercise, and every two minutes during the exercise. Here are her results:

Organize Kirsty’s results into a table. (4 marks)

Identify the time when an anomalous temperature reading was taken (1 mark)

- During the formulation of the table of results, the first column consists of independent set
of values and the second has the dependent set of values

- The columns should be titled including their units.

Time (min) Temperature (₀C )

0 36.4

2 36.8

4 37.1

6 37.2

8 36.9

10 37.3
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 259

12 37.6

Anomalous – means that the result doesn’t fit into the pattern of the other results.

The anomalous temperature reading was taken at 8 minutes. This is because the
temperature reading at 8 minutes is lower than expected.

E) Plotting graphs
Graphs involve plotting variables to obtain patterns.

(i) Variables

There are two kinds of variables that are used to plot a graph to show how one variable is related
to the other.

The factor that you change or select is called the independent variable. This variable affects or
cause the other variable (called dependent variable to change)

The factor that is affected (and that you measure when you collect your results) is the dependent
variable.

These variables can be identified from the question given. Below is a table showing some
examples of independent and dependent variable.

Note; you need to determine the measurable quantity which is affected by the independent
variable in the experiment when determining the dependent variable.

Complete the table by writing the appropriate independent and dependent variable.

Investigation/ experiment Independent variable Dependent variable

Experiment to determine the Concentration of the enzyme

effect of changing the amylase
concentration of enzyme
amylase on starch digestion

An experiment to show the Volume of oxygen produced

relationship between light
intensity and the rate of
photosynthesis

Investigation of effect of Temperature

temperature (air movements,
humidity, temperature etc.) on
the rate of transpiration
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 260

Investigating the effect of

immersion in solutions of
different sucrose
concentrations on the change
in length of potato strips

Graphs and other ways of displaying data

When you have collected your data and completed your results table, you will generally want to
display the data so that anyone looking at them can see any patterns.

Line graphs
Line graphs are used when both the independent variable and the dependent variables are continuous.
This is the case for the potato strip data. The graph can help you to decide if there is a relationship
between the independent variable and the dependent variable. This is what a line graph of these data
might look like.
Notice:
• The independent variable goes on the x-axis, and the dependent variable goes on the y-axis,
• Each axis is fully labelled with units. You can just copy the headings from the appropriate columns of
your results table.
• The scales on each axis should start at or just below your lowest reading, and go up to or just above
your highest reading. Think carefully about whether you need to begin at 0 on either of the axes, or if
there is no real reason to do this.
• The scales use as much of the width and height of the graph paper as possible. If you are given a
graph grid on the exam paper, the examiners will have worked out a sensible size for it, so you should
find your scales will fit comfortably. The greater the width and height you use, the easier it is to see
any patterns in your data once you have plotted them.

• The scale on each axis goes up in regular steps. Choose something sensible, such as 1s, 2s, 5s or
10s. If you choose anything else, such as 3s, it is practically
impossible to read off any intermediate values. Imagine trying to decide where
7.1 is on a scale going up in 3s.

• Each point is plotted very carefully with a neat cross. Don't use just a dot, as this may not be visible
once you've drawn the line. You could, though, use a dot with a circle round it.

For example
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 261

Note that for any graph drawn, marks (usually 5 or 6 marks) are awarded in the following
way: (SLAAP)

S: Scale linear and half grid;

L: Line neatly drawn though points;
A1: Axes correct way; ie independent on x-axis, dependent on y-axis
A2: Axes labelled with correct units
P: Points plotted correctly;

Examples

1. A student uses this apparatus to investigate the effect of temperature on

anaerobic respiration in yeast.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 262

The student uses the water bath to control the temperature of the yeast in glucose solution.
He measures the rate of anaerobic respiration by counting the number of gas bubbles produced in one
minute.
The table shows the student’s results.
Temperature of Rate of anaerobic respiration
water bath in ₀C in bubbles per minute
20 3
25 5
30 7
36 10
40 14
45 20
52 3

Plot a graph to show the effect of temperature on the rate of anaerobic respiration.
Use a ruler to join the points with straight lines.

(ii) Explain the role of the liquid paraffin in this investigation. (2)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 263

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

(iii) Explain how the student could modify his method to improve his results.
(2)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

(iv) Explain the results obtained at 20₀C and at 52₀C (4)

20 ₀C
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

52 ₀C
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Yeast releases carbon dioxide when beer is made.

A student uses this apparatus to measure the rate of carbon dioxide production by yeast.

(i) The solution contains yeast cells.

Name two substances in the solution. (2)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 264

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(ii) Every three minutes, the student records the position of the drop of ink using the
scale.
The table shows the student’s results

Time Position of drop

in minutes of ink in mm
0 0
3 39
6 53
9 71

Calculate the difference between the rate of carbon dioxide production in the first three
minutes and the rate in the final three minutes.
Show your working. (2)

Difference in rate = ................................................. mm per minute

(b) The student then investigates the effect of temperature on the rate of carbon dioxide production
by yeast.
He measures the volume of carbon dioxide produced rather than the distance moved by the drop
of ink.
The graph shows his results

(i) Give the optimum temperature for the production of carbon dioxide.

(1)

.........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

(ii) Explain why the rate of carbon dioxide production is slow at low temperature.
(2)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 265

.........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

(iii) Suggest how the student could modify the apparatus to vary the temperature.
(2)

.........................................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................................

3. Chemotherapy is often used to help people with cancer. Chemotherapy kills cancer cells
but may affect haemoglobin production in the body.
A drug called EPO increases haemoglobin production in the body. Scientists investigated
the effect of EPO on patients who had received chemotherapy.
They injected EPO into these patients and blood samples were taken for several
months to measure their haemoglobin levels.
The table shows the results
Time after Average (mean)
EPO injection haemoglobin level
in months in g per 100 cm3
0 5.0
1 7.6
2 8.2
3 9.3
4 9.8
5 10.2

(a) Plot a line graph to show the relationship between time and average haemoglobin level.
Use a ruler to join the points with straight lines. (5)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 266

(c) (i) Name the dependent variable in this investigation (1)

.......................................................................................................

(ii) Explain how the scientists made sure their results were reliable (2)

.............................................................................................................................................................

...................................................

4. Farmers have been growing GM soybean and corn for a number of years.
The table shows data for soybean and corn grown in the USA from 1996 to 2014.
It shows the percentage of each crop that is GM.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 267

corn
Year soybean
1996 7 3
2000 54 7
2004 85 20
2008 92 63
2012 93 73
2014 94 89
(i) Plot a line graph of the data on the grid.
Use a ruler to join the points with straight lines. (6)

An experiment is carried out to examine the effect of the size of stomatal pores on
the rate of transpiration.
The data were collected in still air and in moving air.

rate of transpiration in mg / m2 / s
Size of stomatal
pore in µm moving air
still air
0 0 0
4 22 38
8 46 140
12 48 165
16 50 210
20 50 248
24 50 264

(i) Plot a graph to show the effect of stomatal pore size on transpiration rate in still and moving air. Use
a ruler to join your points with straight lines. (6)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 268

Bar charts
A bar chart is a graph where the independent variable is made up of a number of different, discrete
categories (it is qualitative/ discontinuous- non- measurable) and the dependent variable is continuous.
For example,
The independent variable could be type of fruit juice, and the dependent variable could be the
concentration of glucose in the juice
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 269

Notice

• The x-axis has an overall heading (type of fruit), and then each bar also has its
own heading (orange, apple and so on on).
• They-axis has a normal scale just as you would use on a line graph.
• The bars are all the same width.
• The bars do not touch.

For example
1. The table describes four different geographical regions. It also gives the amount of energy
converted into plant biomass each year in each region.

Energy converted into plant

Region Description of region
biomass in kJ per m2 per year
A woodland in the UK 26 000
B tropical forest in Indonesia 40 000
C grassland in the UK 15 000
D farmed land in the UK 30 00
Plot a bar graph on the grid to show the amount of energy converted into plant biomass each year in
each region. (5 marks)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 270

2. In a survey, people of different ages were asked if they thought that animal cloning isa good idea
or a bad idea.
The table shows the results of the survey
Percentage (%) of age group
Age group
Bad idea
Good idea
under 24 10.6 89.4
25 to 34 14.2 85.8
35 to 44 13.8 86.2
45 to 54 15.0 85.0
over 55 23.5 76.5

(a) Plot a bar graph to show the data in the table. (5)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 271

(b) Describe the relationship between age and what people think about animal cloning.(1) (c) In the 45
to 54 age group, 18 people think that cloning is a good idea.
Calculate the total number of people surveyed in this age group.
Show your working. (2)
total number of people

3. A study was carried out in the USA over a two-year period. The table shows the number of people
who became ill with listeriosis after eating different types of food. It also shows the number of
people who died as a result of becoming ill with listeriosis.
Number of people Number of people
Type of food eaten
who became ill who died
coleslaw 52 11
milk 105 5
cheese 364 80
processed meat 458 98
fresh meat 494 96

(i) Plot a bar graph to show the number of people who became ill and the number of people
who died from listeriosis after eating the different types of food. (5)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 272

(ii) The likelihood of a person dying from listeriosis depends on which food the bacterium came
from.
Use the information in the table to determine which type of food is most like to cause a bacterial
infection that leads to death.
Show your working. (2)
type of food

...............................................................................................

4. A student carries out an experiment to investigate the effect of changing the colour of light
on the rate of photosynthesis in a water plant.
She sets up the apparatus shown.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 273

(a) (i) Name the gas given off during photosynthesis. (1)

...............................................................................................

(ii) Explain how the student should control two variables in her investigation.

(4)

(b) The table shows the results the student obtained from her investigation.

Number of gas bubbles released in one minute

Colour of light
average
trial 1 trial 2 trial 3

Red 23 26 25
Blue 19 18 21 19
Green 12 16 6 14

(i) Complete the table by calculating the average rate of photosynthesis for red light.
(1)

(ii) (ii) Explain whether the results for each colour are reliable. (2)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 274

.......................................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................................

(c) Plot a bar graph to show the effect of the different colours of light on the average rate of
photosynthesis. (5)

(d) Suggest why there is a difference in the average rate of photosynthesis between blue light and
green light. (2)
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 275

Example of exam questions on graph work.

F) Experimental design
(a) The meaning of a fair test and controlled variables
(b) How to improve on accuracy
(c) How to improve reliability

A fair test is an experiment in which only one thing is changed at a time.

For example, imagine that you are carrying out an investigation into the effect of light intensity on
the rate of photosynthesis of a piece of water plant, using this apparatus.

The factor you want to change is the light intensity. You can do this by moving the lamp nearer to
the beaker or further away. But is important that all other factors are kept constant. Eg the
temperature must be the same for all light intensities. You can check that it is by reading the
thermometer. Moving the lamp closer might make the beaker warmer. You would need to check
that this doesn’t happen. If the temperature did increase, the test wouldn’t be fair, because
temperature might affect the rate of photosynthesis too.
Others factors would need to be constant too. Such as:
- Size of the water plant (use the same piece throughout the experiment)
- The wattage of the bulb in the lamp
- The background lighting in the room (turn the lights off so the only light is from the lamp)
These are called controlled variables, because you, the experimenter, are controlling them
(keeping them from changing) so that they can’t affect the results.
Some biological experiments involve the use of a control. This is an experimental set-up where the
key factor is missing. A key factor is that element that causes the measurable quantity (dependent
variable) to take place. For example, if you were investigating the effect of the enzyme amylase on
starch, the experiment would involve mixing amylase with starch to see if the amylase breaks the
starch down. It is possible (but unlikely) that the starch breaks down on its own, so the control
would be a tube with just starch, to check whether this happens. (However, a better control would
be starch with boiled amylase, which is near as possible to the experimental set-up but without the
amylase being able to act as an enzyme.)
It should be noted that it is difficult to control variables in fieldwork investigations, such as when
sampling with quadrats. For example, imagine you were comparing plants on and off a path using
quadrats. Here you can control variables such as season and time of the day when sampling took
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 276

place, and the size of the quadrat used. But because this is not a laboratory investigation, you
have no control over many variables such as soil composition, water content, amount of trampling
etc. All you have to do is to control the ones you can.
Remember to ensure that your results are both accurate and reliable. Don’t confuse these two
terms!

Reliability This is how well you can trust your measurements. Reliable results are ones that are
repeatable. It is measure of how similar the results are if the experiment was carried out several
times. For example if several values were obtained using the same experiment and mean or
average determined. The mean value becomes more reliable.

For example in determining rate of photosynthesis, the bubble rate was measured 8 times with
two different sets of apparatus and obtained these values.

Apparatus 1 Apparatus 2
Bubbles per minute Bubbles per minute
1 26 14
2 25 19
3 27 52
4 22 44
5 28 12
6 25 10
7 26 37
8 26 21
mean 25.6 26.1

Which mean value in the table is a more reliable measure of the bubble rate? You
can tell that the mean for apparatus 1 is more reliable, because the individual readings are
more consistent. The only way you can tell if results are reliable is to carry out repeats.
Accuracy An accurate reading is a true reading. For your readings of volume to be
accurate, then the gas syringe must have been calibrated correctly, so that when it says the
volume of gas is 8.8cm3, then there really is exactly 8.8cm3of gas in there.
Sometimes you will be required to comment on some investigation. Your comments should
be in line to improve accuracy, reliability or validity of the experiment.

Validity This is about whether what you are measuring is what you actually intend to
measure. For example, in an investigation to determine the effect of light intensity on rate of
photosynthesis, does measuring the volume of oxygen produced each minute really tell you about
the rate of photosynthesis? It is a valid method in this instance, because the volume of oxygen
given off per unit time is directly related to the rate at which photosynthesis is taking place.

Examples of questions in this concern

 IGCSE BIOLOGY 277

G) Planning an experiment
You may be required to give a short account of how you would carry out an experiment. This may
be one based on an experiment in the book, or it might involve an unfamiliar situation.
For example:
Describe an investigation you could carry out to find out the effect of changing the concentration
of the enzyme amylase on the rate of starch digestion. (6 marks)
In order to answer such questions, you should ask yourself 4 questions
(i) What are you going to change?
(ii) What are you going to keep constant (control or control variables depending on the nature
of the experiment) during the experiment?
(iii) What are you going to measure?
(iv) How are you going to check that the results are reliable?

Question 1 refers to identifying the independent variable. This can be obtained from the question
statement as seen earlier. You should state clearly how your independent variable is going to be
set up.

Question 2 refers to what other factors may influence the dependent variable and therefore should
be kept constant. These are the controlled variables. However some experiments require setting
up a control experiment. You should clearly describe it.

Question 3 refers to dependent variable. How it is going to be measured accurately stating the
most appropriate instrument or apparatus

Question 4 requires us to state the reliability is going to be obtained.

A really good answer should be:

- Five different concentrations of amylase solution ie 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% are
made using the same enzyme source such as fungal amylase.
- 10 cm3 of each concentration is mixed with 10 cm3 of 1% starch suspension.
- The time taken to digest starch is note using a stop clock. This is done by adding
one drop of iodine to the mixture. The solution starts as blue black when the starch
is present but change to yellow when starch has been digested so time taken for
this change is noted.
- The temperature of each reaction mixture is maintained constant at an optimum
using a water bath maintained at 40 C using a thermometer.
- For each mixture, three sets of values are determined and the mean computed to
ensure reliability and comparison of results

Marks (a maximum of 6) are earned for;

 Using two or more concentrations of amylase
 Using equal volumes of amylase
 Using the same source of amylase or explaining its source
 Using the same concentration or volume of starch
 Keeping the temperature constant
 Using iodine solution to show a colour change
 Repeating tests at each concentration for reliability

Exemplar questions on designing investigation

1. Biological washing powder contains enzymes to remove stains from clothes.

Describe an investigation to find the temperature at which biological washing powder is most
effective at removing stains.
 IGCSE BIOLOGY 278

Your answer should include experimental details and be written in full sentences.
(6)