Biology note for grade 11th 2015

BIOLOGY GRADE 11TH NOTE

CONTENTS

UNIT 1 THE SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY

1.1 The methods of science

1.2 The tools of a biologist
1.3 The relevance and promise of biological science
1.4 Biology and HIV/AIDS

UNIT 2 BIOCHEMICAL MOLECULES

2.1 Inorganic and organic molecules

2.2 Inorganic molecules
2.3 Organic molecules

UNIT 3 ENZYMES

3.1 Nature of enzymes

3.2 Functions of enzymes
3.3 Factors affecting the functions of enzymes

UNIT 4 CELL BIOLOGY

4.1 Cell theory

4.2 Types of cells
4.3 Parts of the cells and their function

UNIT 5 ENERGY TRANSFORMATION

5.1 Respiration
5.2 How do plants harness light energy in photosynthesis

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 Biology note for grade 11th 2015

Unit 1: The science of biology

1.1 The method of science
By the end of this section the students should be able to:
 Define science as a way of knowledge.
 Explain science as a way of looking at and thinking about natural events.
 Demonstrate scientific methods by narrating how Louis Pasteur and Alexander Fleming used
the scientific method to solve problem.
 Plan and conduct an experiment to investigate a particular observation.
 Write a report for a scientific experiment.
What is the science of biology?
 Biology is derived from two Greek words: Bios meaning ‘life’ and Logos meaning ‘study’.
 Biology is the science of life and living organisms.
 An organism is a living being made from one cell ( Eg. bacteria, unicellular algae) or many
cells (animals, plants & most fungi).
Areas of Biological Study
Biologists study the structure, composition, growth, metabolism, origin, geographical distribution,
and evolution of living organisms.
Three main division of biology under the umbrella of w/c many branches and sub- branches come.
Microbiology, botany and zoology
Astrobiologists
 These biologists engage in all kinds of research to try to find evidence of life on other planets
in our solar system and in galaxies elsewhere in the universe.
Biomedical Research
These biologists help in:
 Development of new drugs and vaccines.
 Study the ways in which diseases develop to gain a better understanding of them so that cures
can be found.
Microbiologist
 Study how micro-organisms of all kinds function.
 Some micro-organisms cause disease, and understanding how they work makes a treatment
more likely.
 Many microbiologists are studying the HIV to get better understanding of how AIDS develops
and how it can be treated.
Paleobiologists
 Find out more about the way in which life began on earth.
 How life evolved from simple life forms in to more complex ones.
 They use evidence from fossil and from studies of the chemistry of ancient rocks.

Human Genome project

 Many different biologists are involved in this project that produced the first ever map of the 46
chromosomes found in human cells.
Beside these biologists there are others who are perhaps more recognizable.
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 Biology note for grade 11th 2015
Doctors
 Who maintain or restores human health through the practice of medicine.
Dentists
 Physician whose practice is in the field of dentistry. Involves mouth, teeth, and gums.
Veterinary
 Deal with prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury in animals.
Surgeons
 Physician who performs surgical operation.
Biochemists
 Scientists that are trained in biochemistry.
Ecologist
 Study the interrelationship b/n organisms and their environment.
Ethologists
 Scientists those study animal behavior under natural condition.
Geneticists
 Who study about genetics (science of genes, heredity and variation of organisms).
Oncologists
 Who treats cancer and tumor provides medical care for a person diagnosed with cancer.
Neurobiologists
 Concerned with the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system.
Parasitologists
 Who Study the lifecycle of parasite and their hosts.
Physiotherapists
 a healthcare professional that helps patients achieve maximum range of movements and
physical ability.

What is science?
 The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, which means ‘knowledge’:
 But science is not just about having knowledge: science is a unique system of acquiring
knowledge based on scientific method
 Science is an ongoing effort to find new information and principles which can increase human
knowledge and understanding.
 In their research, scientists collect evidence that supports or disproves a particular suggested
explanation of a natural phenomenon.
 One important idea in science is that any suggested explanation of a phenomenon should be
capable of being proved wrong.
 If there is no way of proving it wrong, how can other people accept that it is correct?
This is what distinguishes science from religious beliefs.
 This science is sometimes called experimental science because it depends very heavily on
experimentation to obtain the information.
 Applied science the use of scientific research to meet certain human needs.

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 Biology note for grade 11th 2015
What is the scientific method?

 The process by which biologists and all other scientists approach their work.

For centuries, people based their explanations of what they saw going on in the world around them on
observation, without testing their ideas to see if they were true. One ancient belief was that simple living
organisms could come into being by spontaneous generation. This idea suggests that non-living objects can
give rise to living organisms).

Examples

Muddy soil gives rise to frogs.

Meat had turned into flies.

What are the main steps of the scientific method?

Ask question

Do background research

Construct Hyphothesis Think try again

Test with an experiment

Analyse result and draw

conclusion

Hypothesis is true Hyphothesis is false at

possibly true

Report result

To help you understand what is happening at each stage of the scientific method, an example using the growth
of a tomato seed is detailed below.

1. Ask question
 Something catches our imagination.

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