What is an organism?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

A living thing made up of one or more cells and able to carry on the activities of life.

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 What are the life processes of an organism?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

- Movement
- Respiration
- Senses
- Growth
- Reproduction
- Excretion
- Nutrition

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 Is a virus a living organism?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

No, it is not a cell. It cannot carry out the MRS GREN life processes.
To reproduce, it depends on the host.
E.g. Coronavirus only survives if it can enter a host (e.g. human) cell, which
then makes lots of copies of the virus.

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 Explain the organisational hierarchy of multicellular organisms

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Multicellular organisms consist of

organelles → cells → tissues → organs → organ systems → organism.

The complexity increases:

- Multiple organelles make a cell

- Multiple cells make a tissue

- Multiple tissues make an organ

- etc…

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 Define a cell, tissue, organ and organism

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Structure Description Example

Cell structure that has a -Mitochondrion
Organelle
specific function in the cell -Nucleus
• Basic structural unit of a -Red blood cell
living organism. -Epithelial cell
• Different cell types have
different functions
Cell
(“specialized”): during
development, cells
“differentiate” to become
specialized.
Group of cells with similar -Muscular tissue
Tissue structures, working together to -Glandular tissue
perform a shared function
Structure made up of different -Heart
Organ tissues, which work together to -Stomach
perform specific functions
-Digestive system

Group of organs with related

Organ system functions, working together to
perform body functions

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 The bladder is an organ. What does this mean?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

That it is made up of multiple tissues, which work together to perform its

function (to store urine)

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 What is the digestive system?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

It is an organ system, which means multiple organs work together to perform a body
function. The function of the digestive system is to digest and absorb food.

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 Label the key parts of the digestive system

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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 What are the functions of the different organs in the digestive system?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Structure Function

Mouth Where food enters the alimentary canal and digestion begins

Salivary glands Produce saliva containing amylase

Oesophagus Muscular tube which moves ingested food to the stomach

Muscular organ where digestion continues; produces hydrochloric acid (HCl) which (a) kills
Stomach
bacteria and (b) creates optimal pH = 2 for pepsin (protease)

Pancreas Produces digestive enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase)

Liver Produces bile

Gall bladder Stores bile before releasing it into the small intestine

1. food is mixed with digestive enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase) and bile
Small intestine
2. digested food is absorbed into the blood and lymph

Large intestine Where excess water is reabsorbed from the food

Rectum Where faeces (indigestible food) are stored

Anus Excretion of faeces

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 Define metabolism

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Metabolism is the term used for all the chemical reactions that go on inside an organism's
body.
These reactions build up molecules, and break them down.
They are controlled by enzymes.

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 What are enzymes?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Enzymes are catalysts: they catalyse (speed up) the chemical reactions in the body.
A catalyst is a substance which increases the speed of a reaction without being
changed or used up in the reaction.

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 How do enzymes work?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Enzymes are large proteins. All proteins are made up of chains of amino acids (which are
made up of atoms).
The chains form unique shapes, so each enzyme has a unique form with a unique active
site where only a specific substrate fits. → Each enzyme catalyses only a specific
reaction:

Enzyme and substrate fit together like “lock and key” (see enzyme-substrate complex)
After the reaction, the enzyme is unchanged and can ‘receive’ the next substrate.

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 Which factors affect enzyme activity?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Temperature: Enzymes work best at a particular “optimal” temperature:

Low temperature → Slow reaction

Why? Molecular movement is lower, and enzymes and
substrates don’t ‘meet’ often (they don’t collide often and rarely
bind).

High temperature → Slow reaction

Why: the active site of the enzyme gets out of shape (“protein
denaturation”) and enzymes don’t work.

In humans, the optimal temp for our enzymes is 37°C

(homeostasis = control of constant temperature for body to
function!)

pH: Enzymes work best at a particular pH.

The pH of the surroundings influence the shape of the active site

of an enzyme. (The charge of the amino acids is affected)

If the pH is ‘wrong’ the enzyme can’t bind the substrate.

E.g. different parts of the digestive system produce different

enzymes with different optimum pHs.
Stomach protease (pepsin) works best at a pH 15.-2.0. The
optimum pH in the stomach is produced by the secretion of hydrochloric acid.

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 What is enzyme denaturation?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Enzymes are large proteins. All proteins are made up of chains of amino acids that fold into a
particular shape.

If enzymes are exposed to extremes of pH or high temperatures they “denaturate”:

the shape of their active site changes and the substrate no longer fits into the enzyme (the
key will no longer fit the lock)

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 What is digestion?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Digestion is the breakdown of large, insoluble food molecules into small, water-soluble
molecules using mechanical and chemical processes.

Mechanical digestion includes:

chewing in the mouth
churning in the stomach

Chemical digestion involves enzymes.

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 What is the function of digestive enzymes?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Starch, proteins and lipids are big molecules. They can’t pass through the walls of the digestive organs.

So, so digesting enzymes can break down nutrients in the food into small, soluble molecules that can
be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Enzyme Substrate End-products Where produced

(large molecules) (small, soluble
molecules)
Salivary glands in the
Carbohydrase Starch (a Maltose (smaller
mouth;
(e.g. “amylase”) carbohydrate) sugar)
pancreas, small intestine

Protease
Stomach; pancreas; small
(e.g. “pepsin” in Protein Amino acids
intestine
stomach)

Fatty acids and

Lipase Lipids (fats and oils) Pancreas; small intestine
glycerol

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 What are the products of digestion used for?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

- to make new carbohydrates (from smaller sugars), proteins (from amino acids), lipids (from fatty acids
and glycerol)

- some of the glucose (a sugar) is used in respiration [glucose + O2 = H2O and CO2 + energy]

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 Where is bile made and what is its function?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Bile is produced in the liver and then stored in the gall bladder before it’s released into the small
intestine.

Function: Bile makes the optimal the conditions for the lipase enzymes in the small intestine, so the
rate of fat breakdown increases. Bile does this in 2 ways:

1. The enzymes in the stomach need a very low, acidic pH (hydrochloric acid), but the enzymes in the
small intestine work best at an alkaline pH.
Bile is alkaline and neutralizes the acid in the small intestine.

2. Bile emulsifies fat – it breaks fat into tiny droplets, so there is more surface area for the lipase enzyme
to work on.

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Label the key parts of the respiratory system

The thorax is the top part of the body.

It’s separated from the lower part by the diaphragm.
The lungs are protected by the rib cage.
Pleural membranes surround each lung.

The air goes through the trachea; cartilage rings in

the walls of the trachea help to keep it open.
The trachea branches into two bronchi (one going to
each lung).
The bronchi split into smaller and smaller tubes
called bronchioles.
These end in microscopic air sacs called alveoli
where the gas exchange takes place.

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 How are the lungs adapted for gas exchange?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Gas exchange in the lungs happens in the alveoli. Some of the features of alveoli include:

• thin walls (just one layer of cells thick)

• large surface area
• moist surface
• surrounded by many blood capillaries
1. Deoxygenated blood comes back from the body
(where the O2 was used; now it’s full of CO2)

2. Gas exchange in the lungs:

O2: The alveoli have a high concentration of O2 and this
diffuses into the blood capillaries (where blood has low
concentration of O2).
CO2: The blood has a high concentration of CO2 and
this diffuses into the alveoli (which has low
concentration of CO2).

3. The blood is now oxygenated and delivers the O2

to the rest of the body

4. Gas exchange in the body:

Oxygen diffuses from the red blood cells to the body
cells. Carbon dioxide diffuses from body cells into the
blood.

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 What are the main parts of the circulatory system?
What is its main function?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The circulatory system consists of:

Heart: pumping organ
Blood vessels
Blood

Its main function is:

1. Carry digested food (small, soluble molecules) and oxygen to every cell of the body, so the
cells have the building blocks (amino acids, sugars etc) to perform their functions
2. Carry waste products from the cells, so they can be removed.

2 circuits joined together:

1. Pulmonary circulation takes place between the heart and the lungs (for gas exchange in
alveoli):
deoxygenated blood goes from heart (right ventricle) to the lungs
oxygenated blood goes from lungs to the heart

2. Systemic circulation takes place between the heart and other organs (to deliver O2 to the body):
oxygenated blood goes from heart (left ventricle) to the rest of the body
deoxygenated blood goes from body to the heart

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 Describe the key parts of the heart

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The right side pumps blood through the pulmonary circuit, while the left side pumps blood through
the systemic circuit.

A septum separates the right and left sides. The left side has thicker walls because it needs to put the
blood under higher pressure than the right side.

Valves: prevent the blood flowing backwards

In general,
1. blood flows into the heart from a vein (vena cava and pulmonary vein),
2. goes into an atrium,
3. then a ventricle, and
4. out through an artery (aorta and pulmonary artery)
5. to the organs in the body
6. finally returns through the veins

The heart needs its own oxygen supply:

Coronary arteries branch off the aorta and surround the heart to supply it with O2.

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 What are natural and artificial pacemakers?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Natural pacemaker cells in the right atrium control your resting heart rate:
They produce a small electric impulse, which spreads to the surrounding muscle cells, so they
contract.

Artificial pacemaker: patients with irregular heart beat get a tiny electric device implanted with
a wire going to the heart. This produces the electric current to make the heart muscle cells
contract

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 What are the major types of blood vessels?
How does the structure of these vessels relate to their functions?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Narrow lumen (inside) Wide lumen allows for good

flow despite low pressure
Thin: single layer of cells
Capillaries are very small
Examples: capillaries around
the alveoli

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 1464ml of blood passes through an artery in 4.5 minutes.
Calculate the rate of blood flow through the artery in ml/min

_____________________________________________________________________________________

𝑉𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑
Rate of blood flow = 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠

1464 𝑚𝑙
= 325 ml/min
4.5 𝑚𝑖𝑛

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 What are the components of blood?
How are they are adapted to their function?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

No nucleus

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 What is coronary heart disease?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cardiovascular disease = diseases of the heart or blood vessels

Coronary Heart Disease is an example of a cardiovascular disease.

This is when the coronary arteries, which supply the heart muscle with oxygen, get blocked by layers if fat
deposits.
The arteries become narrow, blood flow is restricted and not enough O2 gets to the heart muscle
This can result in heart attack.

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 What are the treatments for Cardiovascular Disease?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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 What is health?
What the 2 types of diseases?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Health = the state of physical and mental wellbeing

Communicable disease = a disease that can spread from person to person or

between animals and people
Non-Communicable disease = a disease that cannot spread from person to person
or between animals and people

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 Give some examples how diseases can interact

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Disorder affecting the immune system → makes it more likely that patient also gets a
communicable disease
e.g. low immune system can’t fight flu or COVID infection

2. Infection by certain viruses → increases risk for some cancers

e.g.human papilloma virus can cause cervical cancer in women (HPV vaccine 😊 )

3. Immune system reacts to pathogen infection → can cause allergic reaction like rash, or make
asthma worse

4. Severe physical health → can cause mental issues (e.g. depression)

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 How can lifestyle affect some non-communicable diseases?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Many non-communicable diseases are caused by several risk factors interacting.

e.g. lack of exercise and high fat diet correlate with cardiovascular disease, but they are not the direct cause:
lack of exercise might cause a high blood pressure; poor diet might cause cholesterol.
High blood pressure and cholesterol cause disease.

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 How do tumours develop from uncontrolled cell division?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Cancer = malign (bad) tumour

Risk factors:
Various types of cancer are associated with smoking, obesity, common viruses and UV exposure.
There are also genetic risk factors: some faulty genes make people more susceptible (more likely) to get a
specific cancer. E.g. BRCA genes increase risk of breast cancer

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 What are the costs of non-communicable diseases?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Human cost:
Tens of millions of people die from non-communicable diseases like cancer or obesity each year

Financial cost:
Research and treatment of diseases costs loads of money (e.g. costs of NHS)
People not being able to work can affect their personal finances and costs the country’s economy

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 Explain the organisational hierarchy of plants

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Plants are also made of organelles → plant cell → tissue → organ → organ system

Organelles: chloroplasts are plant specific organelles

Plant cells: are also specialized for specific functions, e.g. root hair cells
Tissues: e.g. meristem tissue
Organs: stem, roots, leaves
Organ systems: e.g. transport system

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 Describe the 6 main plant tissues

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Plant tissue Description and function

Epidermal tissue covered with a waxy cuticle in the leaf to reduce

water loss. Cells in the upper layer are
transparent to let light through

Palisade mesophyll tissue lots of chloroplasts; site of photosynthesis

Spongy mesophyll tissue has air spaces to allow gases to diffuse in and out
of cells

Xylem transports water and minerals

Phloem transports food

Meristem tissue is found at the tips of roots and shoots. Here,

unspecialised stem cells undergo mitosis (cell
division) and differentiate into different cell types.

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 How is growth in plants different from animals?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Animals stop growing in size when they become animals whereas plants
continue to grow.

Plants have meristem tissue at the tips of roots and shoots.

Here, unspecialised stem cells undergo mitosis (cell division) and differentiate
into specialized cells (leaves, flowers, root cells etc).

Cells produced by mitosis in meristems help plants continue to grow in height

and width throughout their life. Animals do not have meristems and stop growing.

(In all other parts of plants, cells can only become bigger in a process called cell
elongation.)

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 Label the key parts of a leaf

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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 What are the functions of the different tissues in the leaf?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Structure Function
Waxy cuticle Protects leaves and helps reduce water loss
Upper epidermis through evaporation
Cells in the upper layer are transparent to let light through
Palisade mesophyll Lots of chloroplasts; site of photosynthesis

Spongy mesophyll Has air spaces to allow gases to diffuse in and

out of cells

Lower epidermis Has Stomata – little holes – for gas exchange (diffusion of
CO2 into the leaf). The opening and closing is controlled by
guard cells

_____________________________________________________________________________________

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 How are leaves adapted to capture sun light for photosynthesis?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

• Large surface area: Maximises light absorption

• This: Short distance for carbon dioxide to diffuse into leaf cells
• Thin waxy cuticle: protects the leaves without blocking out light
• Thin transparent epidermis: Allows light to reach the palisade cells

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 How are root hair cells are adapted for the efficient uptake of water and mineral ions?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Plants do not have a heart, blood or a circulation system, but they do need a transport
system to move food, water and minerals around.

They use two different systems:

xylem moves water and mineral ions from the roots to the leaves
phloem moves food substances such as sucrose (sugar) and amino acids from leaves to the
rest of the plant.
They are like blood vessels for the plant.

Root hair cells absorb the water and minerals from the soil and pass it into the Xylem:

They are adapted for taking up water and mineral ions by

- large surface area: to increase the rate of absorption
- long and thin so they can penetrate between soil particles,
- lots of mitochondria: provide the energy needed for active transport (aerobic respiration of glucose)

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Describe the structure and function of Xylem

Key function of Xylem: Transpiration stream

= transport of water and minerals from roots to stem and
leaves

Transport goes only up

Dead cells joined up but with no cytoplasm and no wall

between them → hollow tubes

Lignin → woody material that makes tough walls

Xylem vessels impermeable to water

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Describe the structure and function of Phloem

Key function of Phloem: Translocation

= transport of food (mostly dissolved sugars) from leaves to rest
of plant

Transport goes in both directions

Elongated living cells with small pores in the end walls → cell
sap can flow through

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 What is transpiration?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Transpiration is the loss of water from the plant.
It is caused by evaporation and diffusion of water from the plant’s surface (leaves).

Transpiration stream: Water is constantly drawn up from the roots and moved up through the xylem
system to replace the evaporated water.

Transpiration is a side effect of the leaf’s adaptation for photosynthesis: because the stomata are needed
for gas exchange, water can diffuse out of the leaves (high concentration) into the air (low concentration)

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 What affects the transpiration rate?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
4 factors increase the transpiration rate:

Temperature Warmer temp → faster transpiration

Water molecules have higher energy to move around and can

diffuse out of the stomata

Light intensity More light → faster transpiration

Stomata open when it’s light to let CO2 in. Water can diffuse
out of open stomata.

Air flow High air flow → faster transpiration

If air flow is good, the water molecules in the air outside the
stomata are blown away, so the conc of H2O is low outside
and water diffuses out of the leaves

Humidity Dry air → faster transpiration

Same reason: fewer water mols outside increase diffusion

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 What is the role of stomata and guard cells?

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Stomata allow gas exchange and control water loss.
There are more on the lower side of the leaf, which is shaded
and cooler, so less water loss to worry about.

Guard cells on either side are adapted to open and close the
stomata:
Thin outer walls
Thick inner walls
This allows them to become plump and turgid when opening
And flaccid when closing.

Lots of water: Open

Little water: Closed
Dark (i.e. no photosynthesis): Closed to save water

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