By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj

(2017) 

The eye 
 
Qns: Describe changes in eye to focus on near object 
Ans: The ciliary muscles in the eye contract causing the suspensory   
ligaments to slacken. This makes the lens thicker and more convex to  
refract light from the near object onto the retina. 
 
Qns: Describe changes in eye to focus on far object 
Ans: The ciliary muscles in the eye relax causing the suspensory 
ligaments to tighten. This makes the lens thinner and less convex to 
refract light from the far object onto the retina. 
 
Qns: Describe change in eye to focus from dim to bright object. 
Ans: Circular muscles contract, radial muscles relax, causing pupil to 
decrease in size to reduce amount of light entering the retina.  
 
Qns: Describe change in eye to focus from bright to dim object. 
Ans: Circular muscles relax, radial muscles contract, causing pupil to 
increase in size to increase the amount of light entering the retina.  
 
Qns: Which part of eye helps refract light into retina? 
Ans: Cornea, vitreous humour, aqueous humour  
 
 
   
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Plant nutrition  
 
Qns: Increasing concentration of CO​2 
Ans: As carbon dioxide increases, more of the chloroplasts will receive 
enough of the gas to carry out photosynthesis and the rate increases. As 
the level of CO​2​ is further increased, there will come a time when some 
other factor becomes limiting. 
 

Reproduction in Plants 
 
Vegetative Propagation  Self-pollination   Cross-pollination 
One parent   One parent   2 parents, inherit beneficial 
qualities from both parents  

Offspring genetically  Beneficial qualities likely  Greater genetic variation, 

identical, but no genetical  inherited, but offspring have  better adapted to changes in 
variation, so offspring is  less genetic variation, so  environment  
prone to disease that can  offspring less adapted to 
wipe out the whole species  environment changes. Can 
lead to Weaker, Smaller, less 
Resistant offspring 

Faster than sexual  Does not depend on  Depends on external factor 
reproduction  external factors   (wind, insects)  

No need for pollination and  Less pollen, less energy  More pollen and energy 
fertilisation   wasted  needed to improve chance 
of pollination 

Can tide over unfavourable  ?   More viable seeds, longer 

conditions with perennating  dormancy possible  
organs 
 
 
 
 
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Asexual Reproduction  Sexual Reproduction 

One parent involved, no fertilisation  Two parent involved; fertilisation of egg and 
sperm 

Daughter cell has identical genetic makeup to  Daughter cell has different genetic makeup as 
parent  parent  

Mitosis  Meiosis 

Allows plant to pass on all genetic materials to  Plant passes only ½ of its alleles down 
progeny 

Offsprings genetically well-adapted to same  Generates genetic variation 

environmental conditions as parent 

e.g. hydra (budding), planarians (fragmentation)  e.g. humans, most animals 

 
Steps for Pollination: 
1. Pollen grain lands on stigma  
2. Pollen grain germinates, forms a pollen tube in response to sugary fluids 
secreted by stigma  
3. Tube cell nucleus moves in front, secretes enzymes which digest tissue of 
stigma and style to allow development of pollen tube  
4. Generative cell nucleus divides by mitosis to form 2 male gametes 
5. Tip of pollen tube grows towards micropyle in response to chemicals 
secreted by ovary  
6. At micropyle, tip of pollen tube absorbs sap and bursts, releasing 2 male 
gametes 
7. One male gamete fuses with ovum to form a zygote, which develops into 
embryo and new plant  
8. Other male gamete fuses with endosperm nucleus (2n) to form 
endosperm nucleus (3n) which provides nutrients for growing embryo 
 
 
Qn: Define Pollination 
Ans: Transfer of pollen grains from anther of stamen to stigma of carpel. 
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Qns: Suggest how insect pollination takes place. 

Ans: Insect such as bee lands on the lower petal and moves towards the nectary 
to collect nectar; in doing so the pollen on its back are picked up by the stigma; 
as the bee moves out, it will pick up pollen from the anther on its hairy back and 
pollinate another flower. 
 
 
Self vs Cross-pollination 
Self 
Advantages: 
- Only one parent plant needed 
- Beneficial qualities likely inherited 
- Does not depend on external factors 
- Less pollen needed 
- Ensures that most ovules develop into seeds 
Disadvantages: 
- Less genetic variation of offspring, less adapted to environmental 
changes 
- Weaker, smaller and less resistant offspring 
 
Cross Pollination 
Advantages: 
- Can inherit good traits from both parents 
- Greater genetic variation, better adapted to change 
- More viable seeds, longer dormancy period. (Dormancy = period when 
growth and development are temporarily stopped 
Disadvantages: 
- 2 parent plants needed 
- Depends on external factors like presence of wind and insects 
- More pollen grains needed to improve chance of pollination (More 
energy wasted) 
 
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Respiration 
Qn: Describe what happens during inspiration: 
Ans: External intercostal muscles contract, internal intercostal muscles relax, causing 
the ribs to swing upwards and outwards and the sternum is moved up and further 
away from backbone. This increases the dorsoventral diameter and the breadth of 
the thorax. The diaphragm contracts and flattens downwards which expands the 
thoracic cavity. When the thoracic cavity expands, lungs expand to fill up the space, 
causing air pressure in lungs to be lower than atmospheric pressure allowing air to fill 
lungs. 
 
Relax Internal, Contract External (RICE) 
Diaphragm = external → both contract/relax at same time  
 
Qn: Describe what happens during expiration 
Ans: The diaphragm relaxes and arches upwards, external intercostal muscles relax, 
internal intercostal muscles contract, ribs are lowered and move inwards, which 
decreases the size of the thoracic cavity. As a result, air pressure in lungs is higher 
than atmospheric pressure, resulting in air being forced out of lungs  
 
 
Qn: Describe how gaseous exchange happens in the alveolus 
Ans: Air entering lungs contains more oxygen and less carbon dioxide, but 
blood entering lungs contains more carbon dioxide and less oxygen, hence 
there is a diffusion gradient present for oxygen and carbon dioxide. The 
membrane separating blood capillaries from alveolar air is permeable to both 
gases. Thus during the short pause between inspiration and expiration, oxygen 
dissolves in moisture lining alveolar walls, and the dissolved oxygen then 
diffuses into blood into the capillaries that surround each alveolus. Carbon 
dioxide diffuses into the alveolar space. 
 
Qn: How is diffusion gradient maintained 
Ans: Continuous flow of blood through blood capillaries and continuous flow of 
air through alveoli, alveolus well supplied by blood capillaries. 
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

 
Differences between respiration and photosynthesis: 
 
Respiration   Photosynthesis  
Energy liberated   Energy stored in glucose  
Oxygen used, carbon dioxide and  Carbon dioxide and water used, 
water released   oxygen released  
Catabolic process, breakdown of  Anabolic process, glucose is formed  
glucose 
Occurs all time time   Only in cells with chlorophyll and 
requires presence of light  
Loss of dry mass   Gain in dry mass  
 
Describe what happens in aerobic respiration in cells:  
Glucose is broken down in presence of oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide, water 
and a lot of energy. 
Or: C​6​H​12​O​6​ + 6O​2 →
​ 6CO​2​ + 6H​2​O + large amount of energy 
 
 
Describe what happens in anaerobic respiration in yeast.  
Glucose is reduced into ethanol, carbon dioxide and a small amount of energy is 
released.  
Or: C​6​H​12​O​6​ → 2C​2​H​5​OH + 2CO​2​ + small amount of energy 
 
Describe what happens in anaerobic respiration in muscles. 
Glucose is reduced into lactic acid and only small amount of energy is released. 
Accumulation of lactic acid causes muscle fatigue  
Or: C​6​H​12​O​6​ → 2C​3​H​6​O​3​ + small amount of energy  
   
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Transport in man  
 
Qns: Describe what happens during a heartbeat. 
Ans: In Diastole, all heart muscles relax, while the atrium and ventricles are 
filling up with blood. At this stage, the semilunar valves are closed while the 
atrioventricular valves are open. Next, atrial systole occurs. Heart muscles of 
the atria contract, causing blood in the atria to be pumped into the ventricles. 
The semilunar valves and atrioventricular valves remain closed and open 
respectively. Finally, ventricular systole occurs. Heart muscles of the ventricles 
contract, and blood is forced out from ventricles into the arteries. To facilitate 
this, semilunar valves open while AV valves close. The heart then returns back 
to diastole and the cycle repeats.  
 
Qns: How does drug enter heart muscles when injected in leg muscle?  
Ans: The drug enters the blood capillaries via interstitial fluid and then into 
capillaries. The drug is carried around in the blood plasma and when blood 
returns to heart, it goes to the lungs and back into the heart. When it is pumped 
out of the aorta, some blood carrying the drug enters the coronary arteries 
which branches into arterioles and finally the drug enters the heart muscles.  
 
   
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Homeostasis: Blood glucose regulation, 

Thermoregulation, Osmoregulation, kidney 
 
Qns: How does ADH work? 
Ans: Antidiuretic hormone increases the permeability of walls of 
collecting duct allowing more water to be reabsorbed into the blood 
capillaries therefore the urine / liquid contains less water. 
 
Qns: What happens to blood glucose concentration after a meal? 
Ans: Carbohydrates in the meal are broken down into glucose which is 
absorbed into the bloodstream. Beta cells in the islets of langerhans 
detect the rise in blood glucose and secrete insulin which increases the 
permeability of cell membranes to glucose to reduce blood glucose 
concentration. 
 
Qns: Describe negative feedback.  
Ans: Negative feedback occurs when there is a change in stimulus and response 
is initiated to return factor back to normal level.  
 
Qns: How does ultrafiltration work? 
Ans: Blood flows from the afferent arteriole to efferent arteriole. Due to high 
pressure at glomerulus, tiny particles such as water and amino acids are forced 
through the basement membrane into the Bowman’s Capsule. Remaining 
particles too large to pass through will continue out of efferent arteriole.  
- Diameter of afferent arteriole is larger than diameter of efferent arteriole 
- Hydrostatic pressure created forces fluid out from artery to Bowman’s Capsule 
- Small particles are filtered into the Bowman’s capsule 
➢ Mostly plasma containing glucose molecules, amino acid molecules and urea 
- Large molecules (RBC,WBC,proteins) remain in the renal artery  
- Resultant fluid is known as glomerular filtrate 
   
 By Matthew Ho, Sean Ng, Sun Ze Dong, Chen Zheng En, Sanjith Kodeeswaran, Ajitesh Yekkela, Sanjith Raj (2017) 

Selective Absorption 
- Occurs at collecting duct  
- Absorbs water, glucose, amino acids and other mineral salts 
- Nitrogenous waste products (like urea) are allowed to pass into ureter, 
stored in urinary bladder and urethra out of body 
 
Qns: Describe how increased respiration rate allows the animal to keep warm.  
 
 
Qn: How does insulin regulate blood glucose levels? 
Insulin produced in islets of Langerhans and secreted by Beta cells binds to 
receptors on liver which modulates enzymes to increase uptake of glucose into 
cells, convert excess glucose to glycogen for storage in the liver and muscles, 
and inhibits the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in skeletal muscle and liver 
cells, causing blood glucose concentration to decrease back to normal.  
 
Qn: How does glucagon regulate blood glucose levels?  
Glucagon produced in islets of langerhans and secreted by alpha cells bind to 
receptors on liver and tissue cell surface which modulates enzymes to stimulate 
the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver, inhibit the synthesis of 
glycogen from glucose in liver and produce glucose from amino acids, causing 
blood glucose concentration to increase back to normal levels.  
 
Type 1 Diabetes: Cannot produce insulin 
Type 2 Diabetes/Diabetes Mellitus: decreased response to insulin