THE LIVING WORLD

1. Ernst Mayr Born on 5 July 1904

2.Mayr was awarded the three prizes widely regarded as the triple crown of
biology: the Balzan Prize in 1983, the International Prize for Biology in 1994, and
the Crafoord Prize in 1999

3.The number of species that are known and described range between 1.7-1.8
million

4. herbarium sheets.
 Biological Classification

1. R.H. Whittaker (1969) proposed a Five Kingdom Classification

2. Bacteria are grouped under four categories based on their shape
3. Most of Dinoflagellates have two flagella
4. Euglenoids have two flagella
5. There are four major groups of protozoans
6. The sexual cycle of fungi involves the three steps
7. A zygospore is formed by fusion of two gametes
8. Karyogamy and meiosis take place in the basidium producing four
basidiospores
9. The name virus that means venom or poisonous fluid was given by
Dmitri Ivanowsky (1892)
10. M.W. Beijerinek (1898) demonstrated that the extract of the infected
plants of tobacco could cause infection in healthy plants and called the fluid
as Contagium vivum fluidum (infectious living fluid)
11. W.M. Stanley (1935) showed that viruses could be crystallised and crystals
consist largely of proteins.
12. In 1971, T.O. Diener discovered a new infectious agent that was smaller
than viruses and caused potato spindle tuber disease
 PLANT KINGDOM

1. At least a half of the total carbon dioxide fixation on earth is carried out by algae through
photosynthesis
2. Many species of Porphyra, Laminaria and Sargassum are among the 70 species of marine
algae used as food
3. kelps, which may reach a height of 100 metres
4. Members of Chlorophyceae have 2-8, equal, apical flagella
5. Members of Phaeophyceae have 2, unequal flagella
6. The predominant stage of the life cycle of a moss is the gametophyte which consists of two
stages
7. The pteridophytes are further classified into four classes
8. In Gymnosperms One of the megaspores enclosed within the megasporangium develops into
a multicellular female gametophyte that bears two or more archegonia or female sex organs
 1. tall trees of Eucalyptus (over 100 metres)
2. Angiosperms are divided into two classes
3. The dicotyledons are characterised by tetramerous or pentamerous flowers
4. The monocotyledons on the other hand are characterised by trimerous flowers having
three members in each floral whorls.
5. Each embryo-sac has a three-celled egg apparatus – one egg cell and two synergids, three
antipodal cells and two polar nuclei
 ANIMAL KINGDOM

1. The body bears eight external rows of

ciliated comb plates
2. Over two-thirds of all named species on
earth are arthropods
3. Phylum Chordata is divided into three
subphyla
4. Cyclostomata have 6-15 pairs of gill slits for
respiration.
5. Osteichthyes have four pairs of gills which
are covered by an operculum on each side
 STRUCTURAL ORGANISATION IN PLANTS AND ANIMALS

1. In pea and bean flowers, there are five petals, the largest (standard) overlaps the two
lateral petals (wings) which in turn overlap the two smallest anterior petals (keel)
2. Dicotyledonous Seedseed coat has two layers,.
3. In family Fabaceae
sepals five
petals five
stamens five
Carpel mono
4. In family Solanaceae

sepals five
petals five
stamens five
Gynoecium: bicarpellary
5. In family Liliaceae
sepals
petals
tepal six (3+3)
stamen six, 3+3
Gynoecium: tricarpellary
 ANATOMY OF FLOWERING PLANTS

1. Xylem is composed of four different kinds of elements

2. Primary xylem is of two types
3. In Dicot Root,there are usually two to four xylem and phloem patches
4. There are usually more than six (polyarch) xylem bundles in the monocot root
STRUCTURAL ORGANISATION IN ANIMALS

• 1. The Animal tissues are broadly classified into four types

• 2. On the basis of structural modification of the cells, simple epithelium is further divided into three types
• 3. On the basis of the mode of pouring of their secretions, glands are divided into two categories
• 4. Connective tissues are classified into three types:
• 5. Muscles are of three types
• 6. our heart consists of all the four types of tissues
• 7. Earthworms body is divided into more than hundred short segments which are similar
• size of Cockroaches ranges from ¼ inches to 3 inches (0.6-7.6 cm)
• Periplaneta americana are about 34-53 mm long
• The body of the cockroach is segmented and divisible into three distinct regions
• Head of Cockroaches is formed by the fusion of six segments
• The abdomen in both males and females Cockroaches consists of 10 segments
• In female cockroach the 7th sternum is boat shaped and together with the 8th and 9th sterna forms a
brood or genital pouch
1. In males, genital pouch or chamber lies at the hind end of abdomen bounded dorsally by 9th
and 10th terga and ventrally by the 9th sternum.
2. In both sexes, the 10th segment bears a pair of jointed filamentous structures called anal
cerci.
3. . It has an outer layer of thick circular muscles and thick inner cuticle forming six highly
chitinous plate called teeth
4. A ring of 6-8 blind tubules called hepatic or gastric caeca is present at the junction of foregut
and midgut
5. At the junction of midgut and hindgut is present another ring of 100-150 yellow coloured
thin filamentous Malpighian tubules
6. 10 pairs of small holes called spiracles present on the lateral side of the body
7. The nervous system of cockroach consists of a series of fused, segmentally arranged ganglia
Three ganglia lie in the thorax, and six in the abdomen
8. Each eye consists of about 2000 hexagonal ommatidia
10.Male reproductive system consists of a pair of testes one lying on each lateral side in the
4th -6th abdominal segments.

11. mushroomshaped gland is present in the 6th-7th abdominal segments

12. The female reproductive sysytem consists of two large ovaries, lying laterally in the 2nd –
6th abdominal segments.
13. Each ovary is formed of a group of eight ovarian tubules or ovarioles
14. A pair of spermatheca is present in the 6th segment which opens into the genital chamber
15. Ootheca is a dark reddish to blackish brown capsule, about 3/8" (8 mm) lon

16. On an average, females produce 9-10 oothecae, each containing 14-16 eggs
17. The nymph grows by moulting about 13 times to reach the adult form
 CELL: STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS
1. In 1838, Matthias Schleiden, a German botanist, examined a large number of plants and
observed that all plants are composed of different kinds of cells which form the tissues of
the plant
2. Schwann (1839), a British Zoologist, studied different types of animal cells and reported that
cells had a thin outer layer which is today known as the ‘plasma membrane’
3. Rudolf Virchow (1855) first explained that cells divided and new cells are formed from pre-
existing cells
4. Mycoplasmas, the smallest cells, are only 0.3 µm in length
5. bacteria could be 3 to 5 µm
6. human red blood cells are about 7.0 µm in diameter.
7. PPLO (about 0.1 m)
8. Viruses (0.02-0.2 m)
9. The cell envelope of Bacteria is consists of a tightly bound three layered structure
10. In prokaryotes, ribosomes are about 15 nm by 20 nm in size
11. . In human beings, the membrane of the erythrocyte has approximately 52 per cent protein
and 40 per cent lipids
12. cell membrane was proposed by Singer and Nicolson (1972) widely accepted as fluid mosaic
model
13. Golgi bodies is consist of many flat, disc-shaped sacs or cisternae of 0.5µm to 1.0µm
diameter
14. In plant cells the vacuoles can occupy up to 90 per cent of the volume of the cell
15. Typically mitochondria is sausage-shaped or cylindrical having a diameter of 0.2-1.0µm
(average 0.5µm) and length 1.0-4.1µm
16. variable length (5-10µm) and width (2-4µm)
17. Their number varies from 1 per cell of the Chlamydomonas, a green alga to 20-40 per cell
in the mesophyll.
18. axonemal microtubules is referred to as the 9+2 array
19. space between (10 to 50 nm) called the perinuclear space
 BIOMOLECULES

Element % Weight of
Earth’s crust Human body
Hydrogen (H) 0.14 0.5
Carbon (C) 0.03 18.5
Oxygen (O) 46.6 65.0
Nitrogen (N) very little 3.3
Sulphur (S) 0.03 0.3
Sodium (Na) 2.8 0.2
Calcium (Ca) 3.6 1.5
Magnesium (Mg) 2.1 0.1
Silicon (Si) 27.7 negligible
1. palmitic acid has 16 carbons including carboxyl carbon.
2. Arachidonic acid has 20 carbon atoms including the carboxyl carbon

Component % of the total cellular

mass
Water 70-90
Proteins 10-15
Carbohydrates 3
Lipids 2
Nucleic acids 5- 7
Ions 1
3. At each step of ascent, the strand turns 36°.
4. The pitch would be 34Å
5. The rise per base pair would be 3.4Å
6. , the blood concentration of glucose in a normal healthy individual is 4.2 mmol/L–6.1 mmol/L
7. In the absence of any enzyme this reaction is very slow, with about 200 molecules of H2CO3
being formed in an hour
8. In the presence of carbonic anhydrase the reaction speeds dramatically with about 600,000
molecules being formed every second.
9. Enzymes are divided into 6 classes each with 4-13 subclasses and named accordingly by a
four-digit number
 CELL CYCLE AND CELL DIVISION

1. human cells in culture divide once in approximately every 24 hours

2. Yeast for example, can progress through the cell cycle in only about 90 minutes.
3. The interphase lasts more than 95% of the duration of cell cycle
4. The interphase is divided into three further phases
5. Karyokinesis involves following four stages
6. Prophase I has been further subdivided into the five phases based on chromosomal
behaviour
 TRANSPORT IN PLANTS

1. water channels – made up of eight different types of aquaporins.

2. A watermelon has over 92 per cent water
3. most herbaceous plants have only about 10 to 15 per cent of its fresh weight as dry matter
4. A mature corn plant absorbs almost three litres of water in a day
5. a mustard plant absorbs water equal to its own weight in about 5 hours.
6. the movement of a molecule across a typical plant cell (about 50 µm) takes approximately
2.5 s.
7. upward flow of water through the xylem in plants can achieve fairly high rates, up to 15
metres per hour
8. Transpiration cools leaf surfaces, sometimes 10 to 15 degrees, by evaporative cooling
9. C4 plants are twice as efficient as C3 plants in terms of fixing carbon dioxide (making sugar).
 MINERAL NUTRITION

1. In 1860, Julius von Sachs, a prominent German botanist, demonstrated, for the first time
2. In fact, more than sixty elements of the 105 discovered so far are found in different plants.
3. There are techniques that are able to detect the minerals even at a very low concentration
(10-8 g/ mL).
4. Macronutrients are generally present in plant tissues in large amounts (in excess of 10
mmole Kg –1 of dry matter).
5. Any mineral ion concentration in tissues that reduces the dry weight of tissues by about 10
per cent is considered toxic.
6. ammonia synthesis by nitrogenease requires a very high input of energy (8 ATP for each
NH3 produced).
 PHOTOSYNTHESIS IN HIGHER PLANTS

1. Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) in 1770 performed a series of experiments that revealed the
essential role of air in the growth of green plants.
2. Priestley, you may recall, discovered oxygen in 1774.
3. Jan Ingenhousz (1730-1799) showed that sunlight is essential to the plant process that
somehow purifies the air fouled by burning candles or breathing animals.
4. 1854 that Julius von Sachs provided evidence for production of glucose when plants grow
5. T.W Engelmann (1843 – 1909). Using a prism he split light into its spectral components and
then illuminated a green alga, Cladophora,
6. Cornelius van Niel (1897-1985), who, based on his studies of purple and green bacteria
7. In photosystem II the reaction centre chlorophyll a absorbs 680 nm wavelength of red light
8. In photosystem II the reaction centre chlorophyll a absorbs 680 nm wavelength of red light
9. Reduction steps involve utilisation of 2 molecules of ATP for phosphorylation
10. two of NADPH for reduction per CO2 molecule fixed.
11. The fixation of six molecules of CO2 and 6 turns of the cycle are required for the formation
of one molecule of glucose from the pathway.
12. The regeneration steps require one ATP for phosphorylation to form RuBP.

13. every CO2 molecule entering the Calvin cycle, 3 molecules of ATP and 2 of NADPH are
required
14. RuBP binds with O2 to form one molecule of phosphoglycerate and phosphoglycolate (2
Carbon) in a pathway called photorespiration
15. light saturation occurs at 10 per cent of the full sunlight
16. The concentration of CO2 is very low in the atmosphere (between 0.03 and 0.04 per cent
17. Increase in concentration upto 0.05 per cent can cause an increase in CO2 fixation rates
18. C4 plants show saturation at about 360 µlL-1
19. C3 responds to increased CO2 concentration and saturation is seen only beyond 450 µlL-1
 RESPIRATION IN PLANTS

1. During Glycosis ATP is utilised at two steps

2. During Glycosis there is one step where NADH + H+ is formed from NAD+
3. During Glycosis
4. when 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde (PGAL) is converted to 1, 3-bisphosphoglycerate (BPGA).
Two redox-equivalents are removed (in the form of two hydrogen atoms) from PGAL and
transferred to a molecule of NAD+.
5. In both lactic acid and alcohol fermentation not much energy is released; less than seven per
cent of the energy in glucose is released
6. During fermentation What is the net ATPs that is synthesised
7. Yeasts poison themselves to death when the concentration of alcohol reaches about 13 per
cent.
8. two molecules of NADH are produced from the metabolism of two molecules of pyruvic acid
9. During Krebs cycle two successive steps of decarboxylation takes place
10. During Krebs cycle there are three points in the cycle where NAD+ is reduced to NADH + H+
11. During Krebs cycle there are one point where FAD+ is reduced to FADH2
12. Oxidation of one molecule of NADH gives rise to 3 molecules of ATP,
13. while that of one molecule of FADH2 produces 2 molecules of ATP
14. For each ATP produced, 2H+ passes through F0 from the intermembrane space to the matrix
down the electrochemical proton gradient.
15. RQ of
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
 PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

1. one single maize root apical mersitem can give rise to more than 17,500 new cells per hour
2. cells in a watermelon may increase in size by upto 3,50,000 times.
3. The period of growth is generally divided into three phases
4. The PGRs can be broadly divided into two groups based on their functions in a living plant
body
5. E. Kurosawa (1926) reported the appearance of symptoms of the disease in rice seedlings
when they were treated with sterile filtrates of the fungus
6. Miller et al. (1955), later identified and crystallised the cytokinesis promoting active
substance that they termed kinetin.
7. H.H. Cousins (1910) confirmed the release of a volatile substance from ripened oranges
8. There are more than 100 gibberellins reported from widely different organisms such as fungi
and higher plants
9. gibberellins increases the length of the stem, thus increasing the yield by as much as 20
tonnes per acre
 DIGESTION AND ABSORPTION

1. no. of teeth
incisors (I)
canine (C)
premolars (PM)
and molars (M)
2. How many teeth are only monophyodont
3. The stomach, located in the upper left portion of the abdominal cavity, has four major part
4. The wall of alimentary canal from oesophagus to rectum possesses four layers
5. Saliva is mainly produced by three pairs of salivary glands
6. Liver is the largest gland of the body weighing about 1.2 to 1.5 kg in an adult human
7. About 30 per cent of starch is hydrolysed here by this enzyme (optimum pH 6.8) into a
disaccharide
1. The stomach stores the food for 4-5 hours
2. HCl provides the acidic pH (pH 1.8) optimal for pepsins
3. Gross calorific values of
carbohydrates- 4.1 kcal/g
proteins - 5.65 kcal/g
fats-- 9.45 kcal/g
4. physiologic values
carbohydrates- 4.0 kcal/g
proteins – 4.0 kcal/g
fats-- 9.0 kcal/g
 BREATHING AND EXCHANGE OF GASES

1. Trachea divides at the level of 5th thoracic vertebra into a right and left primary bronchi
2. On an average, a healthy human breathes 12-16 times/minute
3. Tidal Volume (TV): Volume is approx. 500 mL
4. Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV): averages 2500 mL to 3000 mL.
5. Expiratory Reserve Volume (ERV): averages 1000 mL to 1100 mL.
6. Residual Volume (RV): averages 1100 mL to 1200 mL.
Respiratory O2 CO2
Gas

Atmospheric 159 0.3

air

Alveoli 104 40

Blood 40 45
(Deoxygenated )

Blood 95 40
(Oxygenated)

Tissue 40 45
7. the solubility of CO2 is 20-25 times higher than that of O2
8. The diffusion membrane is made up of three major layers
9. About 97 per cent of O2 is transported by RBCs in the blood.
10. The remaining 3 per cent of O2 is carried in a dissolved state through the plasma.
11. Nearly 20-25 per cent of CO2 is transported by RBCs
12. whereas 70 per cent of it is carried as bicarbonate.
13. About 7 per cent of CO2 is carried in a dissolved state through plasma
14. CO2 is carried by haemoglobin as carbamino-haemoglobin (about 20-25 per cent)
15. Every 100 ml of deoxygenated blood delivers approximately 4 ml of CO2 to the alveoli.
 BODY FLUIDS AND CIRCULATION

1. Plasma is a straw coloured, viscous fluid constituting nearly 55 per cent of the blood. 90-92
per cent of plasma is water and proteins contribute 6-8 per cent of it
2. Formed Elements
3. formed elements constitute nearly 45 per cent of the blood.
4. A healthy adult man has, on an average, 5 millions to 5.5 millions of RBCs mm–3 of blood
5. A healthy individual has 12-16 gms of haemoglobin in every 100 ml of blood
6. RBCs have an average life span of 120 days after which they are destroyed in the spleen
7. Leucocytes nucleated and are relatively lesser in number which averages 6000-8000 mm–3
of blood.
8. Neutrophils are the most abundant cells (60-65 per cent) of the total WBCs
9. basophils are the least (0.5-1 per cent) among them.
10. monocytes (6-8 per cent) are phagocytic cells
11. Eosinophils (2-3 per cent) resist infections and are also
12. Blood normally contains 1,500,00-3,500,00 platelets mm–3.
13. Lymphocytes (20-25 per cent)
14. The SAN can generate the maximum number of action potentials, i.e., 70-75 min–1,
15. Our heart normally beats 70-75 times in a minute (average 72 beats min–1).
16. the atrial systole increases the flow of blood into the ventricles by about 30 per cent
17. the duration of a cardiac cycle is 0.8 seconds
18. each ventricle pumps out approximately 70 mL of blood which is called the stroke volume
19. blood pumped out by each ventricle per minute and averages 5000 mL or 5 litres in a
healthy individual
20. each artery and vein consists of three layers
 EXCRETORY PRODUCTS AND THEIR ELIMINATION
1. Each kidney of an adult human measures
10-12 cm in length,
5-7 cm in width,
2-3 cm in thickness
with an average weight of 120--170 g

2. Each kidney has nearly one million complex tubular structures called nephrons
3. On an average, 1100-1200 ml of blood is filtered by the kidneys per minute which constitute
roughly 1/5th of the blood pumped out by each ventricle of the heart in a minute
4. The glomerular capillary blood pressure causes filtration of blood through 3 layers
5. GFR in a healthy individual is approximately 125 ml/minute, i.e., 180 litres per day !
6. A comparison of the volume of the filtrate formed per day (180 litres per day) with that of
the urine released (1.5 litres
7. nearly 99 per cent of the filtrate has to be reabsorbed by the renal tubules. This process is
called reabsorption
8. 70-80 per cent of electrolytes and water are reabsorbed by PCT segment.
9. osmolarity towards the inner medullary interstitium, i.e., from 300 mOsmolL–1 in the cortex
to about 1200 mOsmolL–1 in the inner medulla
10. An adult human excretes, on an average, 1 to 1.5 litres of urine per day.
11. The urine is slightly acidic (pH-6.0) and has a characterestic odour.
12. On an average, 25-30 gm of urea is excreted out per day
13. Our lungs remove large amounts of CO2 (approximately 200mL/ minute
 LOCOMOTION AND MOVEMENT

1. Cells of the human body exhibit three main types of movements

2. About 40-50 per cent of the body weight of a human adult is contributed by muscles
3. Based on their location, three types of muscles are identified
4. Axial skeleton comprises 80 bones
5. cranial and facial, that totals to 22 bones
6. The vertebral column is differentiated into
cervical (7)
thoracic (12)
lumbar (5)
sacral (1-fused)
coccygeal (1-fused)
7. There are 12 pairs of ribs
8. First seven pairs of ribs are called true ribs
9. The 8th, 9th and 10th pairs of ribs called vertebrochondral (false) ribs
10. Last 2 pairs (11th and 12th) of ribs are called floating ribs

Bone Number
carpals (wrist bo
Carpaals 8
metacarpals (pa
Metacarpals 5 phalanges (digit
Phalanges 14 Femur (thigh bo
and fibula, tarsa
Tarsals 7
metatarsals (5 in
Metatarsals 5 (digits – 14 in nu
legs (hind limb)
11. Each clavicle is a long slender bone with two curvatures

12. Pelvic girdle consists of two coxal bones

 NEURAL CONTROL AND COORDINATION
1. Transport of ions by the sodium-potassium pump which transports 3 Na + outwards for 2 K +
into the cell

2. olfactory epithelium that consists of three kinds of cells

3. The wall of the eye ball is composed of three layers

4. The choroid layer is thin over the posterior two-thirds of the eye ball
5. The inner layer is the retina and it contains three layers of neural cells – from inside to outside

6. The fluid-filled inner ear called labyrinth consists of two parts.

 CHEMICAL COORDINATION AND INTEGRATION

1. The hormones produced by hypothalamus are of two types

2. Adenohypophysis consists of two portions, pars distalis and pars intermedia

3. The thyroid gland is composed of two lobes

4. In humans, four parathyroid glands are present on the back side of the thyroid gland,

5. Our body has one pair of adrenal glands.

6. The adrenal cortex can be divided into three laers.

7. There are about 1 to 2 million Islets of Langerhans in a normal human pancreas representing
only 1 to 2 per cent of the pancreatic tissue.

8.