Unit 1

Characteristics and classification of living organisms

1.1 Characteristics of living organisms (Mrs Gren)
Biology is the study of living things or living organisms, which are classified
into five major groups called Kingdoms.

They are animals, plants, fungi, protoctists and prokaryotes (bacteria)

kindoms.

1. Animal 2. Plants 3.Fungi 4.Protoctists 5.Prokaryotes

Movement - organisms move themselves or move parts of themselves into

new areas or to change position.
(Plants move slowly when they grow. The roots move down into the soil and
their leaves and stems move up towards the light.)
Most animals are able to move their whole bodies. Some animals remain fixed
to one place throughout their lives, but they are able to move parts, such as
the tentacles on a sea anemone)

Sea anemone

Respiration involves chemical reactions that occur in cells to break down

nutrients such as glucose, to release energy.
(Breathing is air in and out to the lungs through the nose and mouth.)

1
Sensitivity is being able to detect changes in their internal and external
environments. A change like this is stimuli and respond to them.
Growth is a permanent increase in size and mass of an organism.
Development – an increase in complexity as an embryo grows and gains new
tissues, organ and organ systems.
Reproduction - organisms reproduce to make new individuals.
Asexual reproduction involves only one parent producing offspring they are identical to each
other and to the parent. Sexual reproduction involves two parents’ organisms producing
gametes (sex cells) which fuse to produce to the next generation. The offspring show
variation. They are not identical to each other or to their parents.

Excretion is the removal of chemical wastes (urea and carbon dioxide) made
in the cells during metabolism.
(Egestion – the passing out of food that has not been digested or absorbed, as faeces,
through the anus)
Nutrition is the obtaining of food to provide energy and substances needed
for growth, development and tissue repair.
Nutrition in green plants involves photosynthesis in which energy from sunlight is absorbed
and used to make carbon dioxide and water into glucose (simple sugar). Therefore, plants
are autotrophs (make their own food). Animals are heterotrophs (depend on plants and
other animals).

1.2 Classification
We classify organisms into groups. The largest grouping is the kingdom and
the smallest is species. Classification of human-
Kingdom – Animalia
Phylum – Chordata
Class – Mammalia
Order – Primates
Family – Hominidae
Genus – Homo
Species – H. sapiens (Human)
(King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti)
The binomial system – Each species is given two names, the first name is
genus, and second name is the species. Scientific name of human = Homo
sapiens.
Homo is genus, and sapiens is species.

2
Species is a group of organisms with similar characteristics, they can breed
together and producing fertile offspring.

Common name Scientific name

Meerkat Suricata suricata
Baobab tree Adansonia digitata
Malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum
Cholera bacterium Vibrio cholerae
Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus

Morphology is outward appearance of an organism, anatomy is the internal

structure.
Similarities between organisms - the limb bones of mammals are pentadactyl
limb (five fingered).

Fig.1.1 Homology: the pentadactyl limb (Forelimb in chordates)

Classification using biochemistry

New techniques in biochemistry have helped determine how closely one
species is related to another. Large biological molecules such as nucleic acids
and proteins are found in all living cells, but they are no identical in all
organisms.
These differences can be used to reflect their evolutionary relationships.

Classification using DNA and amino acids

DNA is a nucleic acid found in all living organisms. New techniques enable
molecular scientists to extract DNA.

3
This makes it possible to compare the base sequences of DNA from different
organisms to see how similar or different they are. The more similar the base
sequence, the more closely related the species.
DNA base sequences code for the amino acid sequences of proteins. A similar
technique is used to work out the amino acid sequences of proteins.
Haemoglobin is a protein that transports oxygen in animals. Human
haemoglobin has 574 amino acids. Each amino acid is coded by three bases, so
there are at lest 1772 bases in the DNA that codes for haemoglobin.
The DNA sequences are compared with sequences for the same protein in
different animals. The more similarities there are between amino acid
sequences for any two animals, the more closely related they are likely to be.
For example, haemoglobin in a gorilla has 572 amino acids in common with
the 574 amino acids in haemoglobin in common with humans. A horse has
only 557 of its amino acids in haemoglobin in common with humans.
So, the evolutionary relationship between a gorilla and a human is closer than
that between a human and a horse.
Key points
Classification is important in the study of evolution.
The sequence of bases in DNA is used as a more accurate means of
classification.
Unit 1.3 Features of organisms
The cells of all living organisms are made up of a cell membrane, cytoplasm and
DNA. In the cytoplasm have small structures called ribosomes that carry out protein
synthesis and enzymes that are involved in respiration.

There are two main types of cell.

Prokaryotic cells (bacteria) do not have a nucleus. Eukaryotic cells have
nuclei.
Biologists use the features that organisms share to classify them into five large
groups known as kingdoms.
Five kingdoms:
1. Plant kingdom - multicellular organisms, stems, leaves to absorb light;
roots spread out through the soil; growth occurs in tip of roots and stem;
plant cells have chlorophyll and carry out photosynthesis using light to
make their own food. They have cellulose cell walls and large sap-filled
vacuole.

4
 2. Animal kingdom (Animalia)- multicellular organisms; growth occurs
throughout the body; no chloroplast, cell walls and large vacuole. The
animals have nervous system that coordinate their responses to stimuli
and their movement. They cannot their own food and they depend on
other plants and animals.

3. Prokaryote kingdom (Bacteria) - single-celled organisms; have cell wall

and cell membrane and a loop of DNA within the cytoplasm. No true
nucleus, and organelles. Some have additional loop of DNA called
plasmids. Some have flagellum for movement. They multiply by binary
fission.

4. Protista (the single-celled eukaryotes) - single-celled eukaryotes; have

nuclei and organelles; some multicellular; may or may not have cell
wall and chloroplast. It includes Plasmodium which is parasitic
organism
that causes malaria. Algae are protoctists and they vary in size from
tiny
unicellular organisms which are giant seaweeds that form
underwater.
(e.g Amoeba, Euglena, Paramecium)

Euglena
Amoeba
5. Fungi kingdom – Fungi are visible under a light microscope. Most are
multicellular but yeasts are single-celled. Each cell has nucleus and cell wall
but not cellulose as in plants. Do not have chlorophyll and cannot carry out
photosynthesis. The main fungi body is called mycelium.

5
 Feeding in fungi
The fungi consist of a branching network of threads or hyphae which grow
over the surface of its food source, releasing enzymes, which digest the
food outside the fungus (Extracellular digestion).

Reproduction in fungi
Single-celled yeasts reproduce asexually by binary fission but all other
fungi reproduce by the production of spores.
The importance of fungi
Mushroom is the source of food.
Fungi are used in biotechnology- the brewing and baking industries.
Most fungi are saprotrophs, they feed on dead or decaying matter.
They are decomposers, and decompose dead organic matter.

Fig. Spore formation in the pin mould

Yeast (single-celled fungi) structure

Food storage granule

Vacuole
Nucleus

Cell membrane Cytoplasm

Fig. Yeast

6
 Viruses’ structure
- are not cells. They are particles made up of genetic material (DNA or RNA)
surrounded by protein coat; no call wall, cytoplasm and other organelles.
- they enter the cells of another organism (the host) in order to multiply.

1.4 Vertebrates
The two main groups
Two main groups in the animal kingdom. The vertebrates (chordates) and the
invertebrate. Animals that have a vertebral column or backbone are called
vertebrates. They have an internal skeleton make of either bone or cartilage.

(1) Characteristics of fish (cold-blooded)

Fish are streamlined body and have fins for swimming and for balanced. Skin is covered
with scales. They have eyes and lateral line for detecting pressure changing in water.
They breathe using by gills. (Examples: herring, shark, tuna, snakehead fish, cod,
catfish)

7
(2) Characteristics of Amphibians (cold-blooded)

Have smooth moist skin. Four limbs, two eyes, two nostrils and wide mouth.
Although most amphibians live on land, they return to water to breed. Fertilization
external because sperm and eggs are released into the water. (Example: frogs, toads
and salamanders)

(3) Characteristics of Reptiles (cold-blooded or poikilothermic)

Have dry scaly skin to cut down water loss. Tail can use for swimming as in
crocodiles. Mouth has teeth or bony ridges to aid feeding. Four limbs efficient for
crawling and climbing. (Examples: crocodile, snake, lizards, turtle, tortoise)

(4) Characteristics of Birds (warm-blooded or homeothermic or

endothermic vertebrate)

Forelimbs are modified as wings. Nostril, leading to lungs which are the organs of
gas exchange. Beak: very light since no bone or teeth. Body covered with feathers
for flight and for endothermy (keeping a constant body temperature). Scales on legs
for perching. (Examples: hawks, eagle, sparrow, parrots)

(5) Characteristics of Mammals (warm-blooded or homoeothermic)

Body covered with hair or fur which allows keeping a constant body temperature.
Pinna or ear, two eyes, mouth contains teeth, four limbs, and some mammals have
tails and mammary glands. (Examples: human, tiger, rat, whales and dolphins).
Human adaptation has allowed advanced development of the brain.

1.5 Invertebrates

Animals without a backbone are called invertebrates.

The invertebrates consist of nematodes, annelids, mollusks and arthropods

8
 Key features of Annelids:
- Many segments on long body
- Body covered with mucus to conserve
water
- Mouth and anus present
- Bristle (stiff hair) usually present for
movement

Key features of nematodes:

- No segments
- Long cylindrical body
- Body pointed at both ends

Key features of molluscs:

- Soft, unsegmented body
- Muscular foot for movement
- Most have a shell made of calcium
carbonate (protection from
predators/drying out)
- Often have eyes on retractable
tentacles

Arthropods – Jointed legs organisms, exoskeleton, and segmented bodies. Phylum

Arthropoda belongs to the four classes, they are (i) Crustacea (ii) Myriapods (iii)
Insecta (iv) Arachnida

9
 (1) Crustacea (2)Myriapods (2) Insects (3) Arachnids
Two body parts Body has many Three body parts Two body parts
(Cephalothorax, segments (Head, thorax, (Cephalothorax,
abdomen) abdomen) abdomen)

Two pairs of One pairs of One pairs of No antennae

antennae antennae antennae
Compound eyes Most have simple Compound eyes Several pairs of simple
present eyes present eyes not compound
eyes
Five to twenty pairs Many legs Three pairs of legs Four pairs of legs
of legs
Crab, shrimp, Centipedes, Beetles, flies, bees, Spider, mites, ticks,
lobsters, etc. millipedes locust scorpion

Myriapods–Centipedes have one pair of legs on each segment; millipedes have two
pairs of legs on each body segment. Centipedes are fast-moving carnivores and
have powerful jaws and can paralyze their prey. Millipedes are slow-moving
herbivores. (e.g . centipedes and millipedes)

1.6 Ferns (non-flowering plants) and flowering plants

Plant Kingdom may be divided into four main groups (phyla);
(1) ferns, (2) algae, (3) mosses and (4) seed plants.

Ferns - multicellular, their cells contain chloroplasts; have roots, stems,

complex leaves and vascular tissues; reproduce by making spores

10
Seed plants - divided into conifers and angiosperms.
Angiosperms - divided into two groups Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons.

Fern Algae

Difference between dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants

Monocotyledonous Dicotyledonous

Narrow leaf Broad leaf

Parallel veins Branching veins

Have petals in multiples of 3 Have 4 or 5 petals

Roots are fibrous Tap roots

One seed leaf (cotyledon) Two seed leaves

Stem vascular bundles Stem vascular bundles in a ring

scattered

11
Shoots (Aerial shoots system) - above
ground; made up of a stem, leaves buds and
flowers; apical bud where the stem grows
new leaves.

Roots (Underground roots system) - below

ground, no chlorophyll.

Functions of the roots - Roots anchor the

plant firmly in the ground to prevent it from
being blown over by the wind and absorb
water and mineral ions from the soil.

12
 1.7 Dichotomous keys
Scientists use dichotomous keys to identify the name of a plant or animal.
Dichotomous means dividing into two.
(1) Branching key and (2) Numbered key
Example (1) Make a numbered dichotomous key to identify housefly,
earthworm, cockroach, millipedes, and scorpion.

Snail Housefly Earthworm Spider Wasp

Numbered key
1. Has legs…………………….Go to 2
Has no legs ………………Go to 4
2. Has 6 legs …………………Go to 3
Has 8 legs ………………… Spider
3. Has 1 pair of wings …..Housefly
Has 2 pair of wings ….. Wasp
4. Has a shell ……………….. Snail
Has no shell ………………Earthworm

Example (2) Make a branching dichotomous key to identify snake, duck, hen,
and lizard.

13
 Unit 2
2.1 Structure of cells
Cells are the small building blocks that make up all living organisms.
Tissue is a group of similar cells that are specialized for the same function.
Organ is different type of tissue work together to form an organ.
System is a group of organs working together to perform a specific function.
Organism is different types of organ systems to form as living things.

Differences between plant cell and animal cell

14
 Functions of cell structures

Organelles Functions

Nucleus Controls all activities in the cell and cells develop

Cell membrane Form a barrier between the cell and its surroundings.
Keep contents of cell inside
Allows substances to enter and leave the cell e.g. oxygen,
carbon dioxide and water
Cytoplasm (Jelly-like Chemical reactions take place in. e.g. respiration and
substance) making proteins for the cell
Cell wall (plant cell Stops cell from bursting when they fill with water; Gives
only) shape to cells.
Allows water and dissolved substances to pass through
freely
Sap vacuole Full of water to maintain shape and firmness of cell.
Stores salts and sugars
Chloroplast (plant cells Photosynthesis; Stores starch
only)
Mitochondria Released of energy from food substances during cell
respiration
Ribosomes Make protein for the cell

15
 2.2 Cell organelles
Rough endoplasmic reticulum- is a complex system of double membranes. They
contain fluid-filled spaces between the membranes which allow materials to be
transported throughout the cells. Ribosomes are present on their outer surface; the
membranes are called rough ER.

The main functions of rough ER – is to package and transport proteins made

by the ribosomes.

Ribosomes- are small organelles that are found in huge numbers in all cells. They are
also 20 nanometers (nm) in diameter in eukaryotic cells but smaller in prokaryotic
cell where they are found free in the cytoplasm. Nucleolus is to synthesize ribosomes.

The main function of ribosomes-is to synthesize proteins, such as those

enzymes involved in respiration.

Mitochondria – are large organelles found in all eukaryotic cells. They are often
visible under the electron microscope as sausage shaped or rod-shaped structure
about 1µm wide and 5 µm long. Each mitochondrion has a double membrane, the
outer one of which controls the entry and exit of materials. The inner membrane
forms many folds on which some of the chemical reactions of aerobic respiration
take place.

The main function of Mitochondria – The most prominent roles of

mitochondria are to produce the energy currency of the cell, ATP, through
respiration, and to regulate cellular metabolism.

16
 Size of cells and specimens
Magnification
The cells are 1000 times larger than in real life.
This means that they have been magnified 1000 times.
To work out the actual size of a cell:
Let’s say 13mm is the image size of cheek cell.

Actual size = Image size 1 mm = 1000µm I

Magnification 1 µm =1000 nm A M

X 1000

Human check cells

17
So the actual size of our cell = 13mm = 0.013mm x1000
1000
There are 1000 micrometers (µm) in a millimeter. We can convert the answer
to micrometers by multiplying by 1000 to give 13 µm.

When measuring biological specimens or photographs of specimens, always

measure in millimeters, never in centimeters.

Magnification problems

The formula of magnification = Image size

actual size

Fig. 1.1 shows human egg, as seen with the aid of an electron microscope.
This egg has been magnified 1000 times.

Fig. 1.1

Calculate the actual size of this egg.

Show your working.
Actual size = Image size
Magnification

Actual size = ……….. mm

18
Fig. 1.2 shows the actual size of the white blood cell is 0.012mm. Calculate the
magnification of the white blood cell.

Fig. 1.2
Show your working.

Magnification = ×………..……………….

19
 2.3
Different types of cell
Specialized cells – Different types of cell have particular structures designed
to help them carry out different functions, they have become specialized.
Some specialized cells and their functions are shown in the following:
Cell type Appearance Functions and adaptations
Red blood cells -Transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues
where aerobic respiration occurs.
- contain the protein hemoglobin; have a cytoplasm
but not a nucleus;
- Red blood cells are flattened discs shape,
biconcave.
Sperm cell Tail for swimming, head contains genes from the
father.

Ciliated cells Ciliated cells – are found in the air passages in the
lungs (trachea and bronchi) and in the oviducts in
the female reproductive system.
Ciliated cells
Functions- In the airways, cilia move the mucus up
Goblet cell to the nose and throat.

Motor nerve cell Nerve cells-are highly specialized cells. They have
thin extensions of cytoplasm like wires. Function-
They are able to transmit information in the form
of nerve impulses around the body.

Root hair cells Root hair cells – have long extensions that give
them a large surface area.
Function - to absorb water and ions from the soil.
Xylem vessel Xylem vessels from plant stem-dead, hollow cell
Spiral of lignin with strengthening rings. They are arranged into
within hollow
columns like pipes. They do not contain cytoplasm.
Carry water and mineral ions from the soil to all
parts of the plants.

20
 2.4
Levels of organization
Tissues and organs
A group of similar cells is called a tissue. Muscle tissue is made up of identical
muscle cells. These cells work together and so the muscle tissue contracts.

Cells: Tissue: Organ: System:

Organ – An organ is made up of a group of different tissues that work
together to perform specific functions.
Organ system – Different organs work together as part of an organ system.
- The digestive system is made up of the gullet, stomach, pancreas, liver
and intestine.
- The excretory system is made up of kidneys, ureters, bladder and
urethra.
- The reproductive system in females is the ovaries, oviducts, ureter and
Vagina; in male it is the testes, sperm ducts, prostate gland and penis.

Fig. Structure of the leaf cell

Organ Organism:
Cell Tissue

21
 Unit 3
Movement in and out of cells
Diffusion Osmosis Active transport
Movement of liquid and Movement of water Movement of mineral ions
gas molecule molecule only
Down concentration Down concentration Against concentration
gradient gradient gradient
No need partially need partially Through the cell
permeable membrane permeable membrane membrane
No need energy No need energy need energy from
respiration

Movement of substances
Passive transport – Diffusion + Osmosis (No energy requirement)
Active transport – Energy require

Diffusion - is the movement of gas or liquid molecules from a high

concentration to low concentration. (down a concentration gradient)
Diffusion and life processes
Diffusion is the main process by which substances move over short distance in living
organisms. It has certain adaptations to speed up diffusion.
Diffusion distance is short. -Lungs ‘membrane is thin so O2and CO2 can diffuse
between blood and the lung air spaces.
Concentration gradient is maintained –glucose molecules that cross from the
gut into the blood are quickly removed by the circulating blood.
Diffusion surfaces are large – the surface of placenta is highly folded to
increase the surface area for the diffusion of molecules between a pregnant
female and the developing fetus in her uterus.

After diffusion

22
What factors affect diffusion? (Limiting factors of diffusion)
Factors that affect diffusion are: size of molecule, distance, surface
area. temperature and steepness of the concentration gradient.

 Surface area: The effects of surface area is investigated by cutting three

cubes of agar containing the pH indicator cresol red. The agar is cut to make
one cube 10 x 10 x 10 mm and two cubes that are both 5 x 5 x 5 mm. The
larger cube is placed in a test-tube containing dilute hydrochloride acid.
The two small tubes are placed in another test-tube containing the same
volume of dilute hydrochloric acid.
The smaller cubes take less than half the time for the acid to diffuse into the
agar and change the colour of the indicator from red to yellow.
The smaller cubes have a larger surface area for the acid to diffuse through.
 Temperature: The effect of temperature on diffusion can be investigated by
having two test tubes of dilute hydrochloric acid with the same size cubes of
agar (e.g. 10 x 10 x 10 mm). One test tube is put in a water bath at 20°C and
the other in a water bath at 30°C. The cube of agar at 30°C change colour
from red to yellow more quickly than the cube at 20°C.
 Concentration: The effect of concentration can be investigated by using two
different concentration of hydrochloric acid. The cube of agar in the higher
concentration of acid changes colour from red to yellow more quickly than
the cube in the lower concentration as there is a steeper concentration
gradient.

Gas versus liquid

In mammals, the gas exchanges surface is formed of the alveoli in the lungs.
Blood transports these two gases between the lungs and all the cells in the
body. In the alveoli, oxygen diffuses across a very thin layer of cells into the
blood. Carbon dioxide diffuses in the opposite direction. Breathing constantly
refreshes the air in the alveoli and blood constantly removes oxygen and
brings carbon dioxide, so the concentration gradients are always steep. There
are many alveoli to give a very large surface area for gas exchange.
In plants, gas exchange occurs inside the leaves. The spongy mesophyll cells
provide a large surface area for the exchange of gases. There are air spaces
23
between the cells in a plant and each cell exchanges gases with this air. This is
efficient because diffusion through the air is 300,000 times faster than
through water.
3.2 Osmosis
Water as a solvent
A solution is made up of two parts, the solute and the solvent.
The solute dissolves in the solvent.
If you dissolve sugar in water you make a sugar solution. The sugar is solute
and the water is the solvent.
The solute is not always a solid sugar. Liquids and gases can be solutes as
they can dissolve in solvents too.
Something that dissolves in a solvent is described as being soluble.
Water is the universal solvent. About 75%of cytoplasm is water and it is the
main component of transport fluids like blood, and xylem sap and phloem
sap in plants.
Everything transported in plants and animals has to dissolve in water and
most of the chemical reactions that occur in cells happen in water.
Also, water is needed for digestion and excretion to take place.
The partially permeable membrane allows the movement of small molecules
such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and water can pass through easily, but not
larger molecules.

Osmosis
Osmosis - is the movement of water molecules only from a higher
concentration to a lower concentration through a partially permeable
membrane.

24
 Water molecules diffuse from a high-water
concentration to a lower water concentration

Dilute solution Concentrated solution

i
Question: Using the term water potential, how does root hair cells absorb
the water from the soil.
Water from the soil which has high water potential move into the root hair
cells which has low water potential through partially permeable membrane by
osmosis.
Experiment of osmosis
Procedure
1. Cut two pieces of dialysis tubing, each 12 cm long. Tie one end of each with
cotton.
2. Fill one each model with a dilute sugar solution (cell A). Fill the other model
(cell (B) with water.
3. Tie the other end of both model cells and weigh them on a balance. Put cell A
into the beaker of water and put cell B into a beaker containing a
concentrated solution of sugar. After 30 minutes take out the model cells and
weight them again.
Results
Model cell A increases in mass because water has diffused into the cell by osmosis.
Model cell B decreases in mass because water has diffused out the cell by osmosis.

25
 Figure 3.2. A simple osmometer

An osmometer- You can see the effects of osmosis if you set up apparatus in
Figure 3.2.3. Fill the partially permeable membrane with a very concentrated
solution of sugar.
Tie it to a capillary tube and stand it in water. Very quickly you will see the
liquid moving up the tube. You can measure how fast it is moving using a ruler
and a stopwatch. Use your ideas about osmosis to explain why the liquid rises
in the tube.
Osmometer - An osmometer is a device for measuring the osmotic strength
(pressure) of a solution, colloid, or compound. Osmometers are useful
for determining the total concentration of dissolved salts and sugars in blood
or urine samples.

3.3 Osmosis in plant cells

Osmosis in plant and animal cells
distilled water dilute solution concentrated sol:

Swelling up No change Shrunken

26
Osmosis in potato cells - Cut nine cores from a potato so that they are exactly
the same length. Record this length. Set up the following test-tubes:
Test- tube A – distilled water
Test- tube B – dilute sugar solution
Test- tube C – concentrated sugar solution
Place three cores of potato into each test-tube and leave them for 60 minutes.
Remove the cores and measure their lengths.
Calculate the average length of the cores in each test- tube.
Results:
A – Cores will be longer than at the start.
B – Cores will be about the same length as at the start.
C –Cores will be shorter and softer than at the start.

Explanation: Test-tube A
The cores of potato are placed in distilled water (test-tube A), the water
enters the cells because there is a water concentration gradient so that water
molecules diffuse into the cells by osmosis. As water enters it makes the cell
swell up. The strong cell wall stops the cell bursting. That the cell is turgid.

Test-tube B
The cores in B did not change in length because the water concentration of
the sugar solution was about the same as the water concentration of the
potato cells.

Test-tube C
The cores in C will be shorter and softer than at the start because water
passes out of the cells by osmosis in the test-tube C. As water passes out, the
sap vacuole starts to shrink. These cells are no longer firm, and become
flaccid.
As more leaves the cells the cytoplasm starts to move away from the cell wall. These
cells are now plasmolysed.

27
Turgidity–Water passes into plant cells by osmosis. A plant cell that is full of
water is turgid. Turgid cells provide support for leaves and young stem.
Turgor pressure –As water enters the leaf makes the cell swell up. The water
pushes against the cell wall developing a turgor pressure.

Flaccid – If plant cells are placed into a concentrated sugar solution, water
passes out by osmosis. These cells are no longer firm, they are flaccid.

Plasmolysis – As the vacuole shrinks, the cell membrane moves away from the
cell wall the cell is now plasmolysed.

Importance of water potential and osmosis

The water potential and osmosis are supporting herbaceous stems by

maintaining turgor in the cells.

Amoeba is a single-celled organism that lives in fresh water. Water is

continually entering the cell from the area of high-water potential into the
area of low water potential. Amoeba has an organelle called a contractile
vacuole. Water gradually accumulates inside the vacuole, the water is
released to the outside.

3.4
Active transport

Root hair cells absorb ions by active transport

28
The concentration of magnesium ions is far greater inside the vacuole of the
root hair cell than in the soil water. Therefore, magnesium ions move into the
root hair cells from the soil water by against concentration gradient using
energy from respiration by active transport.

Active transport – is the movement of ions or molecules across the cell

membrane, against a concentration gradient, using energy from respiration.

Active transport needs energy - The cell membrane contains carrier proteins.
First the ions or molecules combine with the carrier protein. Energy from
respiration enables the carrier protein to change its shape to carry the ion or
molecule through the membrane. The ion is released to the other side of the
membrane and the carrier protein returns to its original shape.

Example of active transport- Epithelial cells lining, the villi in the small
intestine
Root hairs cells and epithelial cells of villi in the kidney tubules.

29
 Unit 4.1
Biological molecules
Biological molecules– are complex chemicals like carbohydrates, lipids and
proteins. They are useful chemicals that are needed by living organisms for
metabolism.
1. Carbohydrates- contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O)
(CHO).
Carbohydrates include sugars and starches.
Glucose is a simple sugar which is made in photosynthesis, used in respiration
and transport in the blood.

Glycogen (called animal starch) is another complex carbohydrate made from

glucose by animals as a store of energy. It is stored in the liver and muscles.

Cellulose is a complex structural carbohydrate made up of thousands of

glucose units.

2. Proteins-Proteins are complex molecules made up of carbon, hydrogen

and oxygen, they also contain nitrogen (N) and many have sulfur (S).
(CHONS)

Proteins are long-chain made up of smaller molecules called amino acids.

Peptide bond

There are about 20 different types of amino acid. Each individual amino acid
joins by a peptide bond.

30
 Antibodies are protein that has binding sites on its surface. This enables to
bind with antigens on the surface of pathogens and make the pathogens stick
together.

Antibodies - binding site

DNA – base order

Enzyme – active site

3. Fats- Fats and oils are made up of the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
(CHO). Each fat molecule is made by combining three fatty acid molecules
with a molecule of glycerol.

The role of fats –

- energy storage
- thermal insulation in the body
- protect the organ
- supports cell growth
- keeps cholesterol
- blood pressure under control
- helps your body absorb vital nutrients.

31
 Chemical tests for biological molecules
Testing Using Colour of solution Results
Starch Iodine solution Yellow or light brown Blue-black
Reducing sugar Benedict’s solution Bright blue Red or orange
Protein Biuret solution Blue Purple or lilac
Fat Ethanol colourless Cloudy white emulsion
Vitamin C DCPIP solution Blue liquid Colour of DCPIP
disappears the test is
positive
(DCPIP = Dichlorophenolindophenol)
Safety: wear eye protection, wear lab coat, gloves, and tied hair back

1. Testing for starch

Half fill a test-tube with the food extract. Add two or three drops of iodine solution
(Iodine solution usually looks yellow or light brown. A positive result for starch is if
the iodine solution turns blue-black. If the extract remains yellow or light brown
colour it does not contain starch.
2. Testing for reducing sugars

Put a known volume of the extract in a test tube. Place a beaker with water on a
heat-proof mat. Add the same volume of Benetict’ solution to the test-tube
containing the food extract and put it into the hot water. A positive result for simple
sugars is when Benetict’ solution turns into brick red. or orange. If the colour
changes to green, the extract contains only a little of the reducing sugar. If it turns a
deep orange colour then it contains a lot of reducing sugars.
(All monosaccharides are reducing sugars. This includes galactose, glucose, fructose,
ribose, and xylose).
3. Testing for protein
Half fill a test-tube with the extract. Add five to six drops of biuret solutions
Safety: take care as sodium hydroxide solution is corrosive. A positive test for protein
is if the biuret solution turns purple, violet or lilac. If the colour remains blue, then
the extract does not contain protein.

4. Testing for fats

Fat will not dissolve in water but they will dissolve in ethanol.
If a solution of fat in ethanol is added to water a cloudy white emulsion is formed.
Chop up or Grind a small amount of material to test for fats.

32
Put the extract into a test-tube and add enough ethanol to cover it.
Add some distilled water to make the test-tube half fill and then shake.
Shake the contents of the test-tube once more.
A white emulsion that looks cloudy white or a milky colour is a positive test for fats.

5. Testing for vitamin C

Vitamin C is in juice (freshly – squeezed lemon juice). Put a known volume of DCPIP
(Dichlorophenol indophenol –blue) solution in a test tube. Fill a syringe or dropping
pipette with a solution of vitamin C or with an orange juice. Add the liquid one drop
at a time. If the colour of DCPIP disappears the test is positive for vitamin C. If the
blue colour persists then the test is negative.

4.3 DNA

Chromatids

Centromere

33
 Structure of DNA
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) is made up of a long chain of four types of
nucleotides that contain genetic information. Each nucleotide has three parts.

- a phosphate group
Phosphate group Nitrogen-containing base
- a deoxyribose sugar
- a nitrogen-containing base.

Deoxyribose sugar

The DNA molecule consists of two strands coiled together to form a double
helix. Each strand contains chemical bases A, T, C, and G, which bond together
A always pairs with T, C pairs with G.

Weak bond

Phosphate

sugar

Fig.4.3.3 How the bases pair up in DNA

34
 Unit 5
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins, produced by organisms that speed up chemical
reactions and remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. They are known
as biological catalysts.
The reactions that enzyme catalyse can be divided into three types.
1. Breaking large molecules into small ones (nutrition or digestion)
2. Building up large molecules from small ones. (glucose, are joined
together to make starch and cellulose)
3. Converting one small molecule into another. e.g. (remove hydrogen from
compounds during respiration)
All enzymes have five important properties:
Enzymes are made of protein.
Each enzyme catalyse has one reaction.
They can be used again and again.
They are influenced by temperature and pH.
Products released
2
Substrate 1

Active site 4

Enzyme 3

Fig.1.3 Enzyme calalyse reaction

The shape of the active site makes each enzyme specific to one reaction.

An enzyme can only control one particular reaction so we say that an enzyme
is specific to that reaction.
The enzyme and substrate combine like a key entering a lock to form an
enzyme-substrate complex.

35
Lock and key model-
Enzymes work on substances called substrates. The reaction takes place on a
surface of the enzyme called the active site.

“Only a substrate molecule with a shape that fits into the active site will take
part in the reaction catalysed by enzyme is called “lock and key model”.

Factors affecting enzyme action (Limiting factors)

Effect of temperature on enzymes

Y axis
(Dependent)

37°C

X axis (Independent)
Fig. 3.1 Effect of temperature.
The temperature at which the maximum rate of reaction occurs is called
optimum temperature.

At higher temperature, the enzyme molecule starts to break down. This

changes the shape of the active site, so the substrate no longer fits. In this
condition, the enzyme has been denatured and it can no longer catalyze the
reaction.

Enzymes and pH

36
 Fig. 5.3.1 Effect of pH
When the rate of enzyme reaction is zero the shape of the active site has
changed and the substrate molecules no longer fit. At these values of pH
enzymes are denatured.

Supplement:

An enzyme can only control one particular reaction so we say that an enzyme
is specific to that reaction. The enzyme and substrate combine like a key
entering a lock to form an enzyme – substrate complex.

Unit 6.1 Plant nutrition

Photosynthesis – is the process by which green plants make glucose from raw
materials such as carbon dioxide and water using energy from sunlight.
The word equation for photosynthesis –

Light and chlorophyll

Carbon dioxide + water Glucose + Oxygen

The chemical equation for photosynthesis –

Light and chlorophyll

6CO2 + 6H2O C6H12O6 + 6O2

Carbon dioxide and water are the raw materials for photosynthesis.
Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis.

Testing a leaf for starch

Testing leaves for starch
1. Submerge a leaf in boiling water for one minute. Turn off Bunsen burners
2. Put the leaf into the test-tube of ethanol (Chlorophyll is extracted by
dissolving into the ethanol).
3. Stand the test-tube in a beaker of hot water for about 10 minutes.

37
4. Wash the leaf in cold water (removes the ethanol and rehydrates the leaf
which softens and makes it easy to spread out.
6. Spread the leaf out flat on a white surface and put some drops of iodine
solution on it.
Safety - Ethanol is flammable, so wear eye protection; be careful not to burn
yourself.

Figure Testing a leaf for starch

6.2 What is needed for photosynthesis?
The requirements for photosynthesis
Light – which provides energy for the process
Chlorophyll – a green pigment that absorbs the energy from light. Chlorophyll
is in the chloroplasts of the leaf
Carbon dioxide – which moves into the leaves from the air through the
stomata by diffusion.
Water – which is absorbed by the plant’s roots from the soil by osmosis
through partially permeable membrane.

De-starching
It is the process of eliminating starch reserves in a plant for experiments
concerning photosynthesis.
Controlled experiment
One of the most common types of experiment is control experiment.

38
Practical: Showing that chlorophyll is needed for photosynthesis
1. Take a de-starched, variegated plant (geranium)
(Variegated means some parts of the leaves are white because there is no
chlorophyll there)
2. Place the plant in sunlight for about 6 hours.
3. Draw one leaf to show the white and green parts.
4. Now test this variegated leaf for starch using the starch test.
5. The white parts contain no chlorophyll, so no photosynthesis occurs here.
Safety: wear eye protection

Fig. 6.2.3 Showing light is needed for photosynthesis

Practical: Showing carbon dioxide is needed for photosynthesis

A plant needs carbon dioxide to make its own food.
1. Take a de-starched plant. Enclose with plastic bag with a chemical that
absorbs carbon dioxide (soda lime absorbs carbon dioxide).
2. Leave the plant in the light for a few hours. Test a leaf for starch.
3. The leaf should show a negative result for the starch test.
4. Deprived of carbon dioxide the leaf is unable to photosynthesis and make
starch
5. A control experiment should be set up in exactly the same way but without
the soda lime.
6. The plant in the control experiment does not have carbon dioxide removed.
7. Then it was the absence of carbon dioxide that caused the lack of starch.

39
 Fig. 6.2.3 Showing carbon dioxide needed for photosynthesis

Practical: Showing that light is needed for photosynthesis

1. Take a de-starched plant.
2. Cover part of the leaf with some aluminium foil to prevent light getting th
rough.
3. Leave the plant in the light for a few hours.
4. Test the leaf for starch. Only the parts of the test leaf that were left
uncovered go blue-black.
5. The parts of the leaf that were covered did not receive light and could not
carry out photosynthesis and so could not make starch.

Fig. 6.2.3 Showing light is needed for photosynthesis

6.3 Products of photosynthesis

Oxygen produced in photosynthesis
The products of photosynthesis are simple sugar such as glucose and oxygen.
Most of the sugar that a plant needs for food are made in the leaves.

40
  Some of glucose is used for respiration in the leaf
 Some is changed into starch and store in the leaves for use in the
future, e.g. at night.
 Some is used to make cellulose, which is needed to make cell walls.
 Glucose is converted to sucrose and transported to other parts of the
plant in the phloem.

Glucose can also be converted to other substances:

 Plants get nitrogen by absorbing nitrate ions from the soil.
 Glucose and nitrate are used to form amino acids, which are built up
into proteins.
 Plants need proteins for growth and cell repair and for making enzymes
and hormones.
 Sugars are converted to oils, which are an efficient way to store energy
in seeds.
The importance of Photosynthesis
Plants make their own food and pass their energy down to humans when we
consume the nutrients from the plants. Products like cooking oil and
margarine are made from plants. Photosynthesis creates clean air for humans
to breathe. It also allows to grow plants, which feeds humans. It also produces
oxygen which is the gas we need to survive.
Oxygen is by product of photosynthesis
Oxygen is by product of photosynthesis. It is not main product. Some are used
by plant’s respiration, but usually there is more than is needed so most diffuse
out of the leaves into the atmosphere. That is why the oxygen is called a by
product.
Practical: Oxygen produced in photosynthesis

Fig.6.3.3 Showing that photosynthesis

41 produces oxygen
 Set up the apparatus to collect bubbles of gas given off by the Canadian
pondweed (Elodea canadensis). A lamp provides the light energy that the
plant needs. Carbon dioxide is dissolved in water. Add some sodium hydrogen
carbonate powder to the water and stir to dissolve because to make sure that
there is always enough carbon dioxide in the water. Place the apparatus in the
light and allows a few hours for the gas to collect. Test the gas for oxygen with
glowing splint. Test the gas for oxygen with glowing splint.

A water plant is used because it is easy to collect the gas by downward

displacement of water.

6.4 Rate of photosynthesis

Rate of photosynthesis

The rate of photosynthesis can be done by counting bubbles or by measuring

the volume of oxygen produced. It can also be measured by how much starch
is made. This may be done by measuring the change in dry mass in a given
time.

Practical: Photosynthesis and light intensity

The number of bubbles decreases as the distance between the lamp and the
plant increases. When the lamp is closed to the plant the light intensity is
high. As the lamp is moved further away the light intensity decreases, there is
less energy for the plant and the rate of photosynthesis decreases.

Fig. 6.4.1 Apparatus for showing the effects of light intensity on photosynthesis

42
 6.5 Limiting factors

Limiting factors of photosynthesis

Limiting factors – A limiting factor is something present in the environment in
such short supply that it restricts life processes.
 Light intensity – influences the rate of photosynthesis. If the plant has
lots of carbon dioxide, water and warm temperature but the light
intensity is low, the rate of photosynthesis cannot be high because the
shortage of energy for photosynthesis.
 Carbon dioxide concentration – During dry conditions, plants reduce
the water to the atmosphere by closing their stomata. When stomata
are closed no carbon dioxide can diffuse into the leaf which slows down
the rate of photosynthesis.
 Temperature – the rate of photosynthesis increases until a certain
temperature when the rate reaches a maximum and then decreases.
The rate decreases because the kinetic energy of the substrates and
enzymes in the chloroplast increase and they collide more often. The
rate of photosynthesis decreases at higher temperatures because the
enzymes in chloroplasts are denatured.

Glasshouse production
Growers try to improve the yield of their crops by giving them the best
possible environmental conditions for photosynthesis. The higher the carbon
dioxide concentration, the faster the rate of photosynthesis and the greater
the crop yields.
Conditions inside a glasshouse allow plants to:
 Grow earlier in the year
 Grow in places where they would not normally growth well.

The following conditions inside glasshouses are controlled.

 Temperature -Sunlight heats up the inside of the glasshouse. The glass
stops a lot of heat from escaping. Electric heaters are used in cold
weather. Ventilator flaps are opened to cool the glasshouse on hot
days.
 Light – The glass lets in sunlight. Artificial lighting can be used to grow
plants when light intensity gets too low.

43
  Carbon dioxide – Growers can pump carbon dioxide into glasshouses to
increase carbon dioxide concentration. They can also burn butane or
natural gas, which provides carbon dioxide and also heat to raise the
temperature of glasshouses in cold weather.
 Water – Many glasshouses have automatic watering systems using
sprinklers and humidifiers, which ensure plants always get enough
water.

6.6 Leaves
Adaptation of leaf
1. A large surface area – to absorb light rays
2. A thin shape – gases can diffuse in and out easily
3. Many chloroplasts – to absorb light for photosynthesis
4. Veins – to support the leaf surface and to carry water and ions to the leaf
cells, and to take sucrose and amino acids away from the leaf to all other parts
of a plants.
Leaves have:

1. Cuticle – waterproof layer that also cuts down the water lost by
evaporation

2. Upper epidermis – single layer, no chloroplasts. Light goes straight through.

3. Palisade mesophyll cells – contain lots of chloroplasts. Most photosynthesis

occurs here.

4. Spongy mesophyll – more rounded cells with lots of air spaces between
them

44
5. Lower epidermis – no thick cuticle; has tiny stomata that allow gases to
diffuse in and out.

6. Guard cell and stomata – Stomata are small pores between two guard cells.
Stomata are usually in the lower epidermis but some water lilies have in the
upper epidermis.

Vascular bundle

Spongy mesophyll

Lower
epidermis

Figure: Inner structure of the leaf

Stomata
Stomata are small pores in the epidermis that allows gases to diffuse into and
out of the leaf. Stomata are usually in the lower epidermis, but some plants
like water lilies have them in the upper epidermis.
Opening and closing of stomata
Stomata are opened and closed by guard cells. Stomata usually open during the day.

45
Water passes into the guard cells by osmosis from the surrounding cells.
This makes guard cells bend so the stoma opens. At night, the stomata close.
Water passes out of the guard cells by osmosis to the surrounding cells and they
straighten and move closer together so closing the stomata pores. The stomata also
closed in hot, dry weather to prevent water lost from the leaf and the plant wilting.
Question: How does stomata open and close during day and night.

Figure 6.6.4 Stomata open and close during day and night

6.7 Mineral requirements

Plants need more than light, carbon dioxide and water and also need mineral salts
(plant nutrient) for healthy growth. Nutrients are absorbed from the soil in small
quantities as ions by active transport in the roots.
Plant nutrients –
Nitrogen Magnesium
-Needed for protein synthesis -Needed for chlorophyll synthesis
- Deficiency: small plant, slow growth, - Deficiency: plants lack chlorophyll,
top leaves pale, bottom leaves dead leaves yellow, a condition known
and roots slightly affected as chlorosis.

Fertilizers – are chemicals that provide plant nutrients and are put on the land to
increase the growth of a crop and produce the higher yield.
Nitrogen fertilizers: provide nitrogen in the form of nitrate ions, nitrite ions or
ammonium ions. But using fertilizers can lead to eutrophication, which is when the
fertilizer is transported by rain and leaches into stagnant water e.g. pond or river.

Practical: The effect of nutrients on growth

46
 Seedling Cotton
wool

Normal
culture
solution

1 2 3 4
Black paper to keep no magnesium no nitrates distilled water
out light

Figure 6.7.2 The effect of nutrients on growth.

Some maize plants were grown in water culture to investigate the need for-
nitrate ions and magnesium ions in plant growth.
Four test-tube were set up as shown in Figure 6.7.2. Each test tube was
covered in black paper.
Test tube 1 - had both nitrate and magnesium ions
Test tube 2 – no magnesium
Test tube 3 – no nitrate
Test tube 4 – distilled water. The apparatus was then kept in good light for 6
weeks, after which the plants were examined for:
 colour and size of leaves
 length and stem of roots.
1. How would you measure these changes?
2. Describe the results in:
(a) test tube 2 (no magnesium)
(b) test tube 3 (no nitrate)
(c) test tube 4 (distilled water).
3. How did you think the test tube were covered in black paper? What
other plants might have grown in the water?

Gas exchange in plants

47
All living organisms, including plants, carry out respiration all the time. Plants
are no different from other organisms. To carry out respiration they need a
supply of oxygen and they produce carbon dioxide as a waste. At night, plants
exchange these gases with their surroundings. During the day, plants carry out
photosynthesis, as well as respiration. In bright light, when there is a high rate
of photosynthesis, some of the oxygen produced in their chloroplasts is used
by mitochondria for aerobic respiration. The rest of the oxygen is not required
so diffuses out of the plant. The carbon dioxide produced by mitochondria in
respiration is used by chloroplasts for photosynthesis. However, this is not
enough so carbon dioxide diffuses in from the surroundings.
Gas exchange in aquatic plants is investigated with hydrogencarbonate
indicator solution. This solution contains hydrogencarbonate to provide
carbon dioxide and two pH indicators. Carbon dioxide is an acidic gas. When it
dissolves in water it forms carbonic acid, which is a weak acid.
Hydrogencarbonate indicator solution is prepared by bubbling atmosphere air
through it. This gives the indicator a red colour.

Practical: Photosynthesis and respiration in plants

1. Set up three test tubes as shown in Figure 6.7.3.
2. Add hydrogencarbonate indicator solution to each test tube.
3. Cut two pieces of pondweed to 10cm in length and place one in each of
test tubes 1 and 2.
4. Put test tube 1 in darkness by covering it in foil.
5. Leave a test tubes near a light for 2-3 hours.
If carbon dioxide is added to the water by the plant, the
hydrogencarbonate indicator solution will turn from red to yellow.
If carbon dioxide is taken up from the water by the plant, the hydrogen
carbonate indicator solution will turn from red to purple.

48
  In test tube 1, the indicator turned yellow because carbon dioxide was
released by the pondweed during respiration.
 In test tube 2, the indicator turned purple because carbon dioxide was
taken up by the pondweed for photosynthesis.
 The purpose of test tube 3 was to act as a control.
The indicator solution only responds to changes in carbon dioxide.
The colour changes are nothing to do with the oxygen released by the
plant in the light or absorbed by the plant in the dark. When oxygen
dissolves in water it does not change the pH. If you wanted to monitor
the changes in oxygen concentration you would have to use an oxygen
probe and a data logger.
If pondweed is kept in a test tube of hydrogencarbonate indicator
solution at low light intensity, the colour of the solution usually remains
red as the rates of photosynthesis and respiration are the same.

Unit 7.1
A balanced diet
Nutrients can be divided into macronutrients, which you eat in relatively
large amount, e.g., fat, protein and carbohydrate, and micronutrients, which
you eat in small quantities, e.g., vitamins and minerals.
A balanced diet- A balanced diet provides all the nutrients (proteins,
carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, water and fibre), in the correct
amounts, needed to carry out the life processes.
A balanced diet relates to your needs and must include:
 enough energy – provided by carbohydrates, fats and proteins
 essential amino acids from proteins
 essential fatty acids from fats
 micronutrients – vitamins and minerals
 water to replace the water lost in your urine, sweat, breath and faeces
 fibre for moving food from the mouth to the anus along the gut
 If eating in the correct proportions, these components make up a
balanced diet which a healthy diet.

49
Portion sizes
For healthy adults, the range of different foods we need is pretty much the
same for all of us. But the amount that we need changes from person to
person. Portion sizes are given as average for healthy adults based on an
energy allowance of 8300 kj. However, if you are tall or very active you may
need larger portions. If you are a small person or trying to lose weight, you
may need smaller portions.
Suggested portions:
 Fruit and vegetable: 5 portions per day.
 Starchy carbohydrates: 3-4 portions per day.
 Beans, pulses, fish, egg, meat, and other proteins: 3-4 portions per day.
 Dairy and alternatives 2-3 portions per day.

Nutrients functions
Each type of nutrient carries out one or more of three basic functions .
1. To provide energy –carbohydrates and fats and proteins.
2. To allow growth and repair of body cells and tissues - Proteins
in the diet provide a source of amino acids for cells to make
their new proteins.
3. To regulate the body’s metabolism –vitamins and minerals that
are needed in very small quantities in the diet.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) – The energy required for the body functions is
the basal metabolic rate (BMR).
BMR varies from person to person, but an adult requires about 7000kj per
day.
Diet depends on age, sex and activity.
Children below 12: require more calcium

Adults: Balanced meal with less calories

Pregnant woman: more iron, calcium and folic acid

Males: Generally, require more energy.

Women need extra nutrients when they are pregnant and breast feeding.

50
 7.2 Sources of nutrients

1. Carbohydrates (Elements-C,H,O) are simple sugars (e.g. glucose), complex

sugars (sucrose).Complex carbohydrates are starch and glycogen, cellulose.
Good source of carbohydrates are rice, potatoes, bread, yams, sugar and
honey.
Glycogen (animal starch) is complex carbohydrate made from glucose by
animals as a store of energy. It is stored in the liver and muscles. Starch and
glycogen are insoluble and do not taste sweet.

2. Proteins are made up of the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen

and sulfur (C,H,O,N,S).
The functions of proteins are vital for growth and repair of cells and tissues
as they form important components of cell membranes.
Soluble proteins - hemoglobin, enzymes, antibodies, and some hormones, insulin).
Insoluble proteins - fibres in the body.
Good source of proteins are meat, fish, milk and nuts.
3. A fat (C,H,O) is made by three fatty acid molecules and one glycerol. Fats
are used for energy storage and thermal insulation in the body.
Good sources are butter, cheese fat in meat and fish, nuts.

4. Water – makes up two-thirds of your body mass. Water is needed for

chemical reactions. The blood transports substances dissolved in water.
Waste chemicals are passed out of our bodies in the urine, and water in our sweat cools
us down.
5. Vitamins and minerals - We need small, regular amounts of vitamins and
minerals. If these are lacking in the diet we can develop symptoms of deficiency
diseases.

6. Fibre – Although it cannot be digested, it is an important part of the diet

and comes from plants made up of mainly cellulose from plant cell walls.
High-fibre foods are bran cereals, cabbage, sweet corn and celery.

Advantages of fibre
- Fibre helps the movement of food in the alimentary canal by peristalsis
so preventing constipation.
- Fibre absorbs poisonous wastes from bacteria in our gut.
- Many doctors believe that a high-fibre diet lowers the concentration of
cholesterol in the blood and reduces the risk of heart disease and
bowel cancer.

51
 7.3 Nutrient deficiency
Vitamins and minerals deficiency
Deficiency symptoms
Name Rich food source Use in body (deficiency disease)

Vitamin C Oranges, lemons, other Tissue repair, resistance to Bleeding gums (scurvy)
citrus fruits disease
Vitamin D Fish oil, milk, butter Strengthens bones and Soft bones, legs bow
(also made by skin in teeth outwards (rickets), in
the Sun) adult, osteomalacia
Iron Liver, meat, cocoa, eggs Used in formation of Tiredness, lack of
hemoglobin in red blood energy (anemia)
cells for transport of oxygen
Calcium Milk, fish, green Strengthens bones and Weak, brittle bones
vegetables teeth and teeth (rickets),
muscle weakness and
cramps.

Figure 7.3.1 The mouth of a person who has scurvy. Figure 7.3.2 An X-ray showing the
The gums are inflamed and the teeth have fallen out weakened bones and bowed legs a child
as a result of not enough vitamin C in the diet. with rickets

7.4 Digestion

Digestive system = digestive tract (alimentary canal) + associated glands

(liver and pancreas)
Mouth oesophagus stomach duodenum (first part of small
intestine) Ileum (last part of small intestine) Colon (first part of
large intestine) rectum (last part of large intestine) Anus
Overall, the length of digestive canal is about 8 meter in adult.

52
 Protease enzyme
Protein molecule is made up Amino acids
break down
of many different amino
protein molecule
acids

Starch is made up of
many glucose molecules

Maltose
Maltose

Amylase enzyme break

down starch into maltose
(a reducing sugar)

Fatty acids
Glycerol Fatty acid
Lipase enzyme break
down fat molecule glycerol
Fat molecule is made up of 3
fatty acid and one glycerol

Figure 7.4.2 Amylase is the carbohydrase enzyme that breaks down starch into
maltose. Another carbohydrase breaks down maltose to glucose

53

Salivary gland
produces
Figure Some of the enzyme that secrete in the human gut

54
 Mouth secretes: Salivary consists
of
• Amylase enzyme (breakdown Protein
starch into maltose)
• Mucus (to moisten food)

Peptide
Stomach secretes: (pH=2)
1.Protease pepsin (breakdown
Bile makes in liver protein into peptide]
2.Hydrochloric acid (kill bacteria)
store in Gallbladder,
Bile juice drains into
duodenum

Intestinal wall secretes three enzymes:

1.Peptidase enzyme (peptide to amino
acids) Pancreas secretes:
2.Maltase enzyme (maltose into glucose 1.Amylase
or simple sugar) 2.Lipase
3.Surcease enzyme (sucrose to glucose 3.Protease Trypsin (pH=8)
and fructose). Drain into duodenum

Basis unit
Starch/glycogen/cellulose Glucose (simple sugar)
Protein Basis unit Amino acid

Basis unit
Lipid/fat/oil 3 fatty acids + 1 glycerol

The three main classes of food are broken down by three classes of enzymes.

55
Table: Some of the enzyme that food digest in the human gut

Where and how to start digest starch?

In the mouth, starch is digested by mechanical digestion and amylase enzyme
that secreted by the salivary gland digests starch into maltose sugar. The
maltose breakdown by the maltase enzyme that secretes from the intestinal
wall maltose into glucose.
Where and how to start digest protein?
After mechanical digestion, in the stomach, protein digest by the protease
pepsin (pH 2) that secretes by the stomach wall into peptide. In the small
intestine, peptidase enzymes that secretes by the intestinal wall breakdowns
peptide into amino acids.
Where and how to start digest fat?
The bile duct enters the duodenum. In the small intestine, bile emulsifies fat
by breaking down large lipid globules into tiny droplets for fat digestion. So,
lipase enzymes can break down it more easily fat into fatty acids and glycerol.
Bile is alkaline and also neutralizes the acid the food in the stomach. This gives
the best pH for enzyme in the small intestine to work.

Class of Examples Digestive action Source of Where it acts i

enzyme enzyme the gut
Carbohydrase Amylase starch maltose Salivary gland Mouth
s
Amylase starch maltose Pancreas small intestine
Surceases Sucrose glucose Wall of small small intestine
+fructose intestine
maltose glucose Wall of small small intestine
Maltase
intestine
Proteases Pepsin proteins peptides Stomach wall Stomach
Trypsin proteins peptides Pancreas small intestine
Peptidases peptides amino Wall of small small intestine
acids intestine

Lipases Lipase Lipid fatty acids Pancreas small intestine

+glycerol

56
 Unit 7.6 Teeth
There are two sets of teeth. (1) The first set or milk teeth are small teeth and
only 8 molars due to jaws are small. The ages of 6 and 12 teeth gradually fall
out, replaced by permanent teeth.
(2) Permanent teeth- Adult humans have 32 teeth.
8 Incisors are chisel shaped for biting and cutting.
4 canines are pointed for piercing and tearing.
8 premolars have uneven cusps for grinding and chewing.
12 molars are like premolars and are for chewing up the food.
Back molar teeth are wisdom teeth.
Structure of a tooth

-Enamel forms the hard, outer layer of the

crown of the tooth which is above the gum.
-Inside this is softer dentine, which is more like
bone in structure.
-Beneath the dentine is pulp cavity.
-A layer of cement fixes the root of the tooth
into a bony socket in the jaw.
-The root is the part that is below the gum.
-The pulp cavity is a space in the tooth
containing nerves and blood vessels.

Stages in tooth decay

After a meal, sugary food may be left between your teeth. Bacteria in the
plaque change the sugar into acid because they are respiring anaerobically.
The acid can attack the enamel on the surface of a tooth and this starts off
tooth decay. When the enamel is worn away acid will attack the dentine.
If the cavity reaches the pulp cavity this will be very painful and cause severe
toothache. The acid can also make your gums red and swollen.

57
 Tooth decay
Tooth decay is caused by bacteria in plaque, which changes sugar to acid that
attacks the enamel and dentine of the tooth.
Tooth decay can be avoided by regular brushing with a good toothbrush,
avoiding sugary foods and visiting the dentist regularly.

7.6 Mouth, oesophagus and stomach

Chewing and swallowing
Ingestion is the taking of food and drink into the body through the mouth into
the body.
When food enters the mouth, the incisor and canine teeth bite it into chunks.
The premolar and molar teeth grind these chunks of food into much smaller
pieces. The tongue mixes the food with saliva and the moistened food is
chewed by the teeth. The food is then rolled into a ball or bolus.
Digestion- is the breakdown of large insoluble food molecules into small,
soluble food molecules so that they can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Digestion can be divided into two; mechanical digestion and chemical
digestion.
Mechanical digestion – is the breakdown of large pieces of food into smaller
pieces of food without changing the food molecules. This starts in the mouth
where chewing breaks down food into smaller pieces that can be swallowed.
Chemical digestion - is the breakdown of the large insoluble food molecules
into smaller soluble molecules by the action of enzymes. This occurs in the
mouth, stomach and small intestine.
Peristalsis – Food passes down the oesophagus from the mouth to the
stomach by a wave of muscular contraction called peristalsis.
The stomach – The walls of the stomach make a digestive juice known as
gastric juice. This contains protease pepsin and Hydrochloric acid (pH 1.5.to
2).
Protease pepsin, which digests the proteins to polypeptides/ peptide.
Hydrochloric acid, which kills any bacteria in the food.

58
The mixture of food, gastric juice and hydrochloric acid is called chyme. After
2 to 3 hours of churning, the contents of the stomach are like a running liquid.
A ring of muscle called the pyloric sphincter, opens to let the food pass a little
at a time into the duodenum which is the first part of the small intestine.

7.7 Small intestine and absorption

The small intestine – it is about 6 meters long; its diameter is less than that of
the large intestine. The first part, after the stomach, is the duodenum that
leads into the ileum. Pancreatic duct and bile duct enter the duodenum.
Pancreatic juice contains:
Amylase- breaks down starch to maltose
Trypsin – a protease that breaks down proteins and polypeptides to peptides
Lipase – breaks down fats to fatty acids and glycerol.
Villi and microvilli - small intestine has a folded inner lining with millions of
tiny, finger-like projections called villi that have microscopic projections called
microvilli. These vastly increase the absorptive area of the small intestine.
Hepatic portal vein - Digested food molecules in the lumen are absorbed and
transported to the liver by the hepatic portal vein.
Lacteal - Fatty acids and glycerol are absorbed and transported by the lymph
capillary (lacteal) is in the middle of the villus.
Absorption – is the movement of digested food molecules through the wall of
the intestine into the blood or the lymph by diffusion or by active transport.

59
Assimilation – the movement of digested food molecules into the cells of the
body where they are used, becoming part of the cells or respire to release
energy.
Egestion – passing out of food that has not been digested or absorbed as
faeces through the anus.

Supplement
Bile enters the duodenum along a tube called the bile duct. Bile is a yellow-
green fluid made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Bile is alkaline and
also neutralizes the acid which was added to the food in the stomach. This
gives the best p H for enzymes in the small intestine to work. Bile emulsifies
fats by breaking down large globules of fats into smaller globules for fat
digestion. Enzyme lipase can act to break down molecules of fat into fatty
acids and glycerol.
Cells lining the ileum make enzymes that complete the digestion of food.
Proteases which break down peptides to amino acids.
Sucrase which break down sucrose to glucose and fructose.
Maltose is broken down by maltase to glucose on the membranes of the
epithelium lining the small intestine.
The large intestine is about 1.5 meters long and can be divided into the
caecum, the appendix, the colon and the rectum. The solid waste, or faeces, is
stored in the rectum. Eventually the faeces are egested through the anus.

60
 Hepatic vein
Liver
Cystic vein spleen

Hepatic portal vein

Gallbladder

Inferior vena cava

Colon

Ileum

Rectum

Figure Position of hepatic portal vein

Microvilli

Villi
Lacteal

61
 Unit 8
Transport in plant
8.1 Transport system
Mass flow – Fluids which contain food and water move in the same direction
within each tube is called mass flow.
The transport functions are carried out by two specialized plant tissues the
xylem and phloem.

Xylem tissues Phloem tissues

- transports water and mineral ions by
-Transports sucrose, amino acids and
osmosis and active transport.
hormones from leaves to all parts of the
- elongated shape for more surface plant.
area for absorption.
- No nucleus, cytoplasm - Sucrose converts into starch stores in
storage organs.
- Transport is one direction (travels
upwards) only. - Transport is two directions,
downwards (leaf to roots), upwards
from leave to flowers, fruits and buds.

Figure 8.1.4 The internal structure of a root.

Figure 8.1.6 The internal structure of a stem

62
Functions of the inside the root and stem
1. Vascular bundle – is made up of phloem, cambium and xylem
2. Cambium – cambium cells make new xylem and phloem as the plant grows
3. Phloem – transports sucrose and amino acids down to the roots and up to the
flowers and fruits.
4. Xylem – transports water and mineral ions up to the leaves.
5. Epidermis – is the single layer which protects the stem and reduces water loss.
6. Root hairs – absorb water and minerals, root tip grows as the cell divide and
root cap protects the root tip.
8.2 Water uptake
Water uptake by roots
The main functions of roots
- To anchor the plant firmly in the soil.
- To absorb water and mineral ions.

Adaptive features of the root hair cell

Root hairs have thin, permeable cell walls, partially permeable cell membrane
and provide a large surface area to absorb water and many mitochondria for
respiration.
Water enters root hair cell from soil by osmosis because water potential is higher
in the soil.
Soil water is containing nitrate, magnesium and potassium that enter the root
hair cell by active transport.

Figure 8.2.1 Absorption of water by a root

Cells of cortex

63
Supplement
We describe the movement of water into a root hair, across the cortex and
into a xylem vessel in terms of water potential. Water passes down a water
potential gradient, from a high potential in the solution in the soil to a lower
water potential in the root hair cell. Water in turn, passes from the root hair
cell to a lower water potential in the cells of the cortex and eventually to an
even lower water potential in the xylem vessel.

Cortex of root Movement of water

Root hair cell

Soil water

Root
epidermis
Xylem
Phloem

Figure Water is taken up by root hairs of the plant epidermis and carried across
the root cortex by the water potential gradient. It then enters the xylem and is
transported to all parts of the plant.

Explain how transpiration is responsible for the movement of water in the

xylem.
The xylem vessel, cortex, and root hair cells have low water potential than soil
water due to the loss of water vapour through the stomata in leaves by
transpiration.
So, water moves from the soil into the root hair cells by osmosis. And then
water passes across the cortex of the root eventually reaches the xylem.
In the xylem, transpiration pull creates and water molecules are stick
together by cohesion. In this way, the water from the soil moves into the
xylem tissues and to all parts of the plant.
Question 1. Explain the process which is responsible for the movement of
water in the xylem.
Question 2. Explain the term water potential, how water passes into root hair
cells, across the cells of the cortex, into xylem.

64
 8.3 Transpiration

Transpiration is the evaporation of water from the leaves to the atmosphere

through the stomata. (Transpiration is greatest on hot, dry and windy days).

Wilting – The stomata close up to reduce transpiration. If the plant still does not
get enough water. Its cells have lost so much water that they are no longer
turgid or full of water.
Turgid cells are firm and give the plant support. If the cells become flaccid
then the plant becomes soft. The stem is no longer upright and the leaves
droop.
The leaves more downwards so are out of the direct rays of the Sun so do not
get as hot. When the temperature decreases and the plant can absorb more
water than is lost by transpiration the leaves will recover.
Structure and function of Xylem
Xylem is composed of long, continuous columns of cells.
Xylem vessels form when a column of simple cells lose their end walls. The walls
of these tubes become strengthened by the addition of a woody material
called lignin.
Transpiration stream is a continuous flow of water up the xylem from the roots
to the leaves.
Transpiration pull – Water is pulled up the xylem from the roots to the leaves by
transpiration pull.
The mass flow of water up the xylem relies on two properties of water.
- Cohesion- The water molecules tend to attract each other, sticking
together.
- Adhesion (stick) - The water molecules tend to stick to the inside of the
xylem vessel so reducing the chance that the columns of water will be
broken.

8.4 Measuring transpiration

Figure 8.3.6 Rings of lignin are visible in this image by xylem vessels.
65
- It is not easy to measure the rate of transpiration but you can use a potometer
to measure the rate of water uptake.
- The water potential in the root hair cell is less than in the soil due to the water
is used up in photosynthesis, transpiration and in keeping cells turgid.

Practical: Measuring the rate of water uptake

- 1. The potometer is filled by submerging it in water.
- 2. It is set up as shown, making sure the stem in the stopper is air-tight.
- 3. An air bubble is allowed to form in the capillary tube.
- 4. The distance move by the bubble is a measure of the rate of water
uptake.

Unit 8.4

Factors affecting transpiration (Limiting factors)

1. Light intensity – Increasing the rate of transpiration increases.
2. Warm temperature– In warm temperature increase the rate of
transpiration.
3. Wind speed – It increases the rate of transpiration increases.
4. Humidity – Humid conditions decrease the rate of transpiration.

66
 8.5
Translocation
Glucose is made in the leaves by photosynthesis. The soluble products include
of sucrose, amino acids and fatty acids carried to all parts of the plant in
solution in the phloem. This transport is called translocation.

“Source” and “Sink”

In plant transport, the part of the plant where a substance begins its
journey is called ‘source”. The part where it ends its journey is a “sink”.
- Water and mineral ions are absorbed by roots (the source) and travel to
leaves, flowers and fruits (the sink).
- Translocation is an active transport which occurs in phloem.

Figure 8.5.2 Aphids are crop pest. They feed on phloem

sap by using their piercing mouthparts called stylets.

Sucrose is taken into cells in the sinks where it is broken down by an enzyme
to form glucose. Glucose is :
 broken down in respiration to provide energy
 built up into starch for storage in roots and in seeds
 built up into cellulose for new cell walls at growing root tips and
shoot tips

Sucrose is also stored in the stems of some plants such as sugar cane and in
some fruit to make them sweet to attract animals. Sucrose is also used to
make nectar to attract pollinators.
Storage organs, such as potato tubers are sinks when the potato plants are
growing. This is the time when they are filling with starch. The potato plant
dies down at the end of the growing season leaving tubers in the soil to
survive the harsh conditions of winter. At the beginning of the next growing

67
season the tuber is a source of sucrose and amino acids that travel in the
phloem, into the new shoot and roots.
Translocation is an active process that occurs in phloem. Phloem tubes are
cells that contain some cytoplasm. Movement in the phloem requires active
transport of sucrose at the source.
Translocation is most active on sunny, warm days when have high rates of
photosynthesis.

Aphids and phloem transport

Aphids are small insects that feed on the sap in the phloem of plants. They
have piercing mouthparts called stylets, which can be inserted through the
surface of the stem into a single phloem tube.
The pressure of the sap inside the phloem tube causes it to pass along the
stylet and so provide the aphid with food.
Aphids can be used to study the transport of sugars in the phloem. If the stylet
of a feeding aphid is cut, the sugar sap will pass out of the stylet for some
time.
Sucrose that has been labelled with a radioactive isotope can be injected into
the leaf and samples collected from aphid stylets that have been inserted into
the stem above and below the leaf. The contents of the sap can be analysed
for the isotope and the passage of the sucrose traced.

Maple syrup and phloem

Maple syrup is prepared from phloem sap of maple trees. Farmers drill holes
into the tree and insert tubes through which the sap flows and collect in
buckets.

68
 Unit 9.1
Transport in humans
Circulatory system- The blood, heart and blood vessels make up the
circulatory system.
Blood circulation - allows a one-way flow of blood around the body. Valves in
veins make blood does not flow backwards away from the heart.
(Heart to lungs)
The deoxygenated blood from the lower parts of body flows back to the right
atrium by inferior vena cava. The blood flows through the tricuspid valve into
the right ventricle and then pulmonary artery brings the deoxygenated blood
from right ventricle through the pulmonary valve to the lungs for gas
exchange.
Gas exchange occurs as blood flows through the capillaries in the alveolus of
the lungs; oxygen diffuses into the blood and releases the carbon dioxide into
the alveolus.
(Lungs to heart and all parts of body)
Oxygenated blood from the lung carries by the pulmonary vein into the left
atrium. The oxygenated blood through bicuspid valve into the left ventricle,
oxygenated blood through the aortic valve carries by the aorta to all parts of
the body.

Circulatory systems of different animals:

(1) Single circulatory system - the blood is pumped from the heart to the gas
exchange organ and then directly to the rest of the body (e.g. fish)
(2) Double circulatory system – the blood passes through the heart twice in one
complete circuit in the body. (e.g. human)
There are two parts of double circulatory system.
(a) The pulmonary circulation – Deoxygenated blood from the heart through
pulmonary arteries to the lungs, where it becomes oxygenated blood which
returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins.
(b) The systemic circulatory system - Oxygenated blood carries by the aorta
through the aortic valve to all parts of the body.

69
 Advantages of double blood circulation
- is more efficient than a single circulatory system.
- The heart pumps the blood twice, so higher pressure can be maintained.
- The blood travels more quickly to organs.
- To prevent the mixture of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood.
Heart action
- Systole is when the heart muscles contract.
- Diastole is when the heart muscles are relaxed.

Single circulation Double circulation

Arteriole
Venule

Pulmonary vein
Pulmonary
artery

9.2 The heart

The structure of the heart
- is cardiac muscle, lies in the thoracic cavity.
- Right halve deals with deoxygenated blood
- Left halve deals with oxygenated blood
- consists of four chambers, right and left atrium and right and left ventricle.
- four valves; tricuspid valve, bicuspid valve, semilunar valve (aortic valve)
is semilunar valve (pulmonary valve)
- Septum – is muscular sheet which lies between right halve and left halve
of the heart. The function is to prevent the mixture of deoxygenated blood
and oxygenated blood.

70
 - The left ventricle has a more muscular wall than the right because it has to
pump blood by high pressure around the body and has more resistance to
flow.

Atrioventricular valve = Tricuspid valve;

Mitral valve = Bicuspid valve
(Atrioventricular valve);
Aortic valve = Semilunar valve
Pulmonary valve = Semilunar valve

(Bicuspid)

(atrioventricular)

septum

arteriole

venules

capillary

71
 Heart action
The heart pumps blood when its muscles contract. When the muscles
contract, the chamber gets smaller and squeezes the blood out. After each
chamber contracts it relaxes so it fills up with blood again.
The two sides of the heart work together. The atria contract and relax at the
same time. The ventricles contract and relax at the same time. During the
relaxation phase, blood flows into the atria from the veins. During the
contraction phase:
 The atria contract and force blood into the ventricles. The
atrioventricular valves between the atria and ventricles open due to
the pressure of blood against them.
 Then the ventricles contract to force blood out into the arteries. The
atrioventricular valves close to prevent blood flowing back into the
atria.

The semi-lunar valves are at the base of the aorta and pulmonary arteries.
During the relaxation phase they shut, preventing back flow of blood into
the ventricles. During the contraction phase open allowing blood to leave
to the lungs and the body.

Diastole
Diastole

Ventricular systole Atrial systole

Figure 9.2.2 The cardiac cycle -the changes that occur in the heart during one heartbeat.

Heart action
- Systole is when the heart muscles contract.
- Diastole is when the heart muscles are relaxed.

72
 9.3 Heart and exercise
The electrocardiogram (ECG)
The control of the heartbeat depends upon electrical activity.
The ECG is a useful diagnostic tool that can detect pulse rate and listening to
the sounds of the heart valves closing.

Fig. 9.3.1 A normal ECG trace

The P wave shows the atria contracting, QRS is “spike” the contraction of the
ventricles and T wave represents ventricle relaxing.
The heart and exercise
During exercise, muscles need more to contract.
So heart beats faster and arteries supplying muscles dilate (widen).
These changes increase the blood flow to muscles and result in:
- an increase in supply of oxygen and glucose
- an increase in removal of carbon dioxide

The number of pulses per minute is your pulse rate (heart rate).
Pulse rate increases with activity and then decreases to resting pulse rate.

73
 9.4
Blood vessels
Arteries
- have thick muscular and elastic walls to withstand high blood pressure.
- have a narrow space (lumen) in the center
- Blood pressure in artery is high.

Veins
- much less muscle and elastic tissue and has thin walls
- Blood pressure in veins is low
- wider space (lumen) for blood to flow.
- semilunar-valves that maintain a one-way flow of blood.

Capillaries
- smallest branches of the arteriole. –
- one cell wall so substances can pass easily
- are very narrow; a red blood cell can only just squeeze through it.
- Blood flows through capillaries very slowly (about 1mm per second).

Arterioles –
- are small subdivisions of arteries
- that carry blood to capillary networks.
- muscle in their walls.
- important in regulating blood pressure.
venules –
- small subdivisions of vein
- function is to collect blood from the capillary beds.
- thin-walled vessels then unite to form veins
- transport oxygenated blood back to the heart. (Pulmonary vein)

Shunt vessels –
- that links an artery directly to a vein,
- allowing the blood to bypass the capillaries in certain areas.

74
- can control blood flow by constriction and dilation.
Pulmonary artery Arterioles Capillaries

Pulmonary vein Venules Capillaries

capillary

arteriole

Shunt vessel

9.5
Coronary heart disease (CHD)
Coronary arteries- transported glucose and oxygen to the heart muscle to
contract
1. Heart attack – If coronary arteries get blocked then heart muscle could
become starved of oxygen and die.
2. Atherosclerosis (the narrow of blood vessel caused by accumulation of
fatty deposits, cholesterol)
3. Thrombosis- The artery walls can become rough, which can cause the
blood to clot and block the vessel. Thrombosis can cause a heart
attack.

75
 4. Angina - Angina is caused by not enough oxygen getting to the heart
muscle.
5. Cardiac arrest - The heart of damaged due to the supply of oxygen is
cut off.

Atherosclerosis

Blood flow Atherosclerosis plaque

Risk factors for coronary heart disease

These factors are to increase the chances of getting CHD:
1. Eating a diet with too much saturated (animal) fat
2. Being over-weight
3. Smoking
4. Taking little or no exercise
5. Stress
Other risk factors cannot be avoided are:
1. genes - inherited from parents
2. age - the chances of getting CHD increase with age.
3. sex – men are more likely to get CHD than women.
How to avoid the CHD?
1. Take care of your diet.
- Eat more poultry and fish, fresh fruit and vegetables.
- less red meat, cut down on fried foods.
2. Take some regular exercise
3. Do not smoke.

76
Treatment of CHD
[If the coronary artery gets blockage or narrowing, then a coronary
angioplasty may be carried out. This is a less complex operation and involves
inflating a small balloon inside the artery to widen it.
A small metal tube (stent) is then inserted to help keep the artery open.
Antiplatelet medicines, like Aspirin, prevent blood clots forming in the
arteries].
9.6
Blood
- You have about 5 litres of blood
- is made of cells and cell fragments (platelets) suspended in yellow liquid
plasma.
- red colour of blood is due to the pigment haemoglobin.
When blood is spun in a centrifuge it separates into three layers
- Plasma-liquid part of blood (55%) of blood volume
- White blood cells and platelets (< 1%)
- Red blood cells (45%)
Plasma contains of water with chemicals dissolved in it.
-nutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, lipids, vitamins and mineral ions
(sodium and chloride ions)
-wastes, such as urea and carbon dioxide
-blood protein, such as albumen and antibodies
-Hormones, such as insulin, glucagon and adrenaline

77
Red blood cells (RBCs)
- 5 million red blood cells in every cubic millimetre (mm3) of
blood.
- made in the bone marrow, cytoplasm is full of haemoglobin
- function is to carry oxygen.
- are disc-shaped with middle pushed in. (biconcave)
- special type of protein that contains iron, no nuclei
9.7
Blood in defence
- White blood cells are far fewer than red blood cells.
- are not disc-shaped, do not have hemoglobin, have nuclei.
- are made in the bone marrow.
- function is to protect the body from any pathogens that enter the body.

The two groups of WBCs are lymphocyte and phagocyte.

Phagocytes-
- ingest pathogens and take them into food vacuoles.
- they digest and kills them by using enzymes
- This process is called Phygocytosis.
Lymphocytes-
- Lymphocytes produce antibodies.
- When a pathogen enters the body, the lymphocytes recognize that it is
“foreign”
- Antibodies bind with antigen on the surface of pathogen.
- It prevents spreading of pathogens.

Lymphocyte

78
 Antibodies attack the pathogens in a number of ways:
1. Antibodies make them stick together.
2. They dissolve their cell membrane.
3. They neutralize the toxins that pathogens produce.

Fig. Phagocyte ingesting the pathogen

Immunity
After you have had a disease (measles), lymphocytes are released to
appropriate antibodies if pathogen enter the body again. This make you’re
immune to that particular disease. This is called immunity.
The role of platelets in the clotting of blood
- Without clotting, blood would be lost and pathogen would enter.
-This is another way that the blood defends against disease.
Blood clotting
- If the skin is cut, exposure to the air stimulates the platelets start to change of
the prothrombin in the plasma to thrombin which causes a soluble fibrinogen
to insoluble fibrin which forms a meshwork of fibre around the wound. Red
blood cells get trapped in these fibres to make a clot which prevent further
loss of blood and stop the pathogens entering the body. The clot hardens to
make a scab. Eventually, the scab dried and falls off.

Question: Explain, in detail, the role of platelets in the clotting of blood.

79
 Unit 10
Diseases and immunity
10.1 Disease
Pathogens – is a disease-causing organism.
Host – an organism in which a pathogen lives and reproduces
Transmissible diseases – A disease in which the pathogens can be passed
from one host to another.
Classification of diseases – There are two main types of disease (1) infectious
(transmissible disease) and (2) non-infectious disease.

(1) Infectious diseases – caused by microorganisms, can transmit from

person to another person. (e.g. Tuberculosis (TB), Cholera, Meningitis,
Gonorrhea, Amoebiasis, Hepatitis).

Infectious diseases
- Tuberculosis caused by mycobacterium mainly infecting the lungs.
- Cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae bacterium and can cause diarrhea, abdominal
cramps, vomiting, and dehydration.
- Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges characterized by headache, neck
stiffness and fever, chills, vomiting.
- Gonorrhea – STD caused by bacteria (gonococcus) that affects the mucous
membrane of the genital and urinary tracts.
- Amoebiasis is caused by parasitic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica; amoebic
dysentery.
- Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver.

(2) Non-infectious diseases – cannot be transmitted, can be genetic and

lifestyle related. E.g. Diabetes, Migraine, Osteoporosis, Dementia,
cancer.
- Diabetes is the high blood glucose concentration in the blood;
- Migraine is severe, headache, usually affecting only one side of the head;
-Osteoporosis is bone become porous and are subject to fracture;
- Dementia is the disease in the brain
Table 10.1.1 Methods of transmitting, descriptions and example of some
diseases
80
 Method of Description Examples of diseases
transmission

Through the air Pathogens are in tiny droplets of liquid from the Influenza, tuberculosis,
airways and lungs of infected people common cold

Contaminated food Preparing food do not wash their hands; food Cholera, typhoid
and drink are not cooked properly; human faeces
contaminate water supplies; flies transfer
pathogens

Direct contact Uninfected person touches infected person, Athlete’s foot

Insect vectors e.g mosquitoes, feed on the blood of an infected Malaria, dengue fever
person and then feed on an uninfected person

Body fluids Blood from infected person enters the blood of HIV / AIDS, hepatitis
an uninfected person, e.g. in an unsterilized
needle shared between drug addicts

Sexual activity Pathogens pass from infected person to sexual HIV / AIDS, non-specific
partner in blood, semen or vaginal fluid urethritis, chlamydia

Defences against disease

-The first line prevents pathogens entering the body.
-The second line destroys any pathogens that break through the first
line and enter the blood.
-The third line produces antibodies that defend us against specific
pathogens.

Blood defences

81
 Phagocytes engulf pathogens into vacuoles where they are digested and
destroyed by the action of enzymes. This process is called phagocytosis.

Lymphocytes which produce antibodies. During an infection they produce

antibodies. Antibodies stop pathogen moving through the body and making it
easier for phagocytes to engulf them.

10.2
Defence against disease
Antigens
• Antigens are on the surface of pathogens which are made up of
protein.
• When you catch a disease, your lymphocytes produced antibodies
which can bind to the antigens on the surface of pathogen.
• Each pathogen has own antigens which have specific shapes. The
antibody has a specific shape that is complementary to the antigen.

There are several ways in which antibody molecules attack pathogens.

• They cause bacteria to stick together in a group so phagocytes easier to engulf.
• They can attach to flagellum and stop them moving.
• Some bacteria (tetanus and diphtheria) release toxins into the blood.
Antitoxins are a special group of antibodies that combine with the toxins so
neutralizing them.
• Some antibodies kill bacteria directly by ‘punching’ holes through their cell’s
walls.
(diphtheria = disease of the upper respiratory tract) (tetanus = fatal disease caused by Clostridium tetani found in
the soil, intestine and faeces)

Definitions of active immunity, Immune respond and memory cells

82
 • Active immunity is long-term defence against a pathogen by antibody
production in the body. Active immunity is gained after an infection by
a pathogen or by vaccination.
• Immune respond - Lymphocytes respond to pathogens, by producing
antibodies, is called immune respond.

• Memory cells - During an immune response, many lymphocytes make

clones itself and produced many lymphocyte cells. Not all of the cells
make antibodies. Some of them remain in the blood, lymphatic system
and other parts of the body, living for a very long time. They are called
memory cells, which respond whenever there is another invasion by
the same pathogen with the same antigens.
Different bacteria have different shaped antigens.

Figure 10.2.1 Active immunity – the body responds to the viral infection

10.3 Vaccination
Vaccination is a way to make lymphocytes produce antibodies and give long
term protection against certain diseases.

The role of vaccination

• Vaccination is possible to promote active immunity without having to
be ill.
• This is done by injecting a vaccine that contains live pathogens, dead
pathogens or antigens taken from the surface of pathogens.
• Each vaccine stimulates immunity to a specific disease, such as
measles, rubella and mumps.
• Vaccination is an artificial way to gain active immunity.

83
 (Rubella is caused by the rubella virus infecting the respiratory tract and
characterized by a rash of pink dots fever and swollen lymph nodes.
Mumps = to mumble, speak unclearly) (inaudibly)
• Vaccine is a harmless preparation of weakened pathogens or dead or
antigens of the pathogens are introduced into the body. They are
recognized by the lymphocytes that can make antibodies that have a
complementary shape to their antigens.

Question 1. Explain why vaccination is a form of active immunity.

Vaccination is an example of active immunity because the body’s immune
system responds to an antigen by producing lymphocytes that release
antibodies.
10.4
Aspects of immunity

Passive immunity – is the short-term defence against pathogens using

antibodies from another individual. It is provided by antibodies from outside
the body. No memory cells are produced in passive immunity.
Passive immunity is used when people are involved in nasty accidents and are
at risk of tetanus bacteria entering the body through open wounds.

Example – Antibodies pass across the placenta and are present in breast milk,
so giving a baby protection against diseases.

Malfunction of the immune system

Sometimes the immune system does not work perfectly. When this happen, it
detects our own antigens as something foreign and this prompts an immune
response. As a result, the immune system attacks and destroys healthy tissues
by mistake.
Malfunctions of the immune system cause a variety of diseases that are
collectively known as autoimmune diseases.
There are many of these diseases: examples are rheumatoid arthritis, multiple
sclerosis and Type 1 diabetes.

State the symptoms of diabetes type 1. Difference between Diabetes

84
 Type 1 and type 2

Sr. Diabetes type 1 Diabetes type 2

1 Pancreatic cells cannot make Pancreatic cells are unable to make
any insulin. (Type 1 is caused enough insulin. Body is resistant to
by immune system destroying insulin.
cells in the pancreas that make
insulin to control blood
glucose.)

2 This usually happens rapidly Tend to happen rapid in middle age

and often before the age of 20. of older people.

3 Symptoms appear more Symptoms appear more slowly.

quickly.

4 Weight loss, thirst, tiredness, Weight loss, thirst, tiredness,

frequent urination, blurred frequent urination, blurred vision,
vision, mood swings, fatigue, mood swings, fatigue, emotional
and emotional impact. impact and slow healing of wounds.

Weight loss – cells use protein and fat instead of glucose as sources of energy.
Thirst – due to the increased concentration of glucose in the blood.
Tiredness – due to lack of glycogen that can be converted to glucose to
provide energy between meals.
10.5
Controlling the spread of disease
Preventing infection
Personal hygiene is important in preventing the spread of some infectious
diseases.
- People should wash their hands after going to the toilet and before
eating food.
- Hair should be washed with shampoos to prevent dandruff and head
lice.
- Dental hygiene is most important in fighting dental caries.
- Cuts and bruises should be washed with an antiseptic and plasters
applied to open wounds.
Hygiene food preparation

85
 - Food should be covered to keep flies away.
- Kitchen surfaces should be cleaned with disinfectants to kill bacteria.
- Food should be cooked thoroughly to make sure any bacteria.
- Cooked food should be kept separate from raw food, especially meat.
- Water used for cooking and /or drinking should be boiled or sterilized.
Proper waste disposal
- Household waste should be put into covered bins and collected at
regular intervals.
- Garbage collected from houses and businesses should be disposed
correctly.
- It should be recycled, incinerated or buried in properly regulated
landfill sites.
- The effluent from rubbish tip may also contain harmful chemicals that
cause pollution.
Sewage treatment
- Toilet waste is a serious health hazard if it is not disposed properly
through drainage pipes to a sewage treatment works.
- Human wastes are broken down by microorganisms in sewage
treatment works.
- The pathogens that cause typhoid and cholera are transmitted through
faeces.
- Thorough sewage treatment breaks the transmission of typhoid and
cholera.
Drinking water treatment
- Water from the source, e.g., reservoir, is passed through screens to
remove any large floating matter
- It is then pumped to tanks where insoluble particles settle out, before
filtration to remove fine particles, organic matter and bacteria.
- Remaining organic matter and most of the bacteria in the water are
now digested by useful.
- Chlorination kills any harmful bacteria that cause cholerae, typhoid,
dysentery and food poisoning.
- In emergencies or if clean water is not available, any water to be used
for drinking or cooking should either be boiled or treated with chlorine
tablets to kill any harmful microorganisms.

10.6 Drugs

86
What are drugs?
A drug is a substance taken into the body that alters or influences chemical
reactions in the body.
There are several different types of drug. Some are the active ingredients of
medicines and are used to treat and cure people of disease.
Others are mood-enhancing substances that alter sensory perception.

Medicinal drugs
Aspirin, paracetamol and morphine are examples of drugs that are used
to suppress pain. Antibiotics are used to cure diseases that are caused by
pathogenic bacteria.

Non-medicinal drugs
Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are examples of mood-enhancing drugs that are
considered socially acceptable in many countries.
These are drugs that people take for their pleasurable effects, to help them to
relax or to concentrate
Heroin, cocaine and amphetamines are drugs that are not socially acceptable
and are illegal in many countries.

Drugs act upon the human body in various ways.

- Some drugs, such as nicotine and heroin, interfere with the way that
the nervous system works and these are often abused by people
- Many of the mood-enhancing drugs, such as heroin and nicotine, act at
synapses in the nervous system and change the way in which neurones
send impulses.
- They do this by combining with protein molecules on the cell
membrane of the neurones.

Antibiotics
Antibiotics are a group of chemicals that are made by microorganisms
(bacteria and fungi) or were originally derived from microorganisms but are
now made artificially.

Antibiotics are prescribed by doctors and vets to treat and cure human and
animal diseases caused by bacteria and fungi
Antibiotics can be injected, applied to the skin or taken by mouth.
Antibiotics either kill bacteria directly or stop them reproducing so that the
body’s defence system can kill and destroy them.

Penicillin was the first antibiotic to be discovered and mass produced.

Penicillin acts on bacteria by preventing the formation of cell walls. This leads
to a breakdown of the cell wall and the leakage of cell contents. Some

87
antibiotics stop substances crossing cell membranes and others prevent
enzymes catalyzing important reactions, such as making proteins.
People are prescribed a course of antibiotics that has to be taken over a
certain period of time. Tuberculosis is caused by a very slow- growing
bacterium. The treatment of tuberculosis involves taking four drugs, including
two antibiotics for a period of about six months. One of the antibiotics
(ethambutol) prevents cell wall growth and the other (rifampicin) prevents the
synthesis of mRNA so that the bacteria cannot make proteins.

Antibiotics do not affect viruses

Antibiotics have no effect on viruses so there is no point in taking antibiotics
to treat viral diseases. Viruses are not cells and they do not carry out their
own metabolism, but rely entirely on the cells of their host. We cannot use
antibiotics to prevent processes that occur in our own cells, so the drugs used
to control viruses work in different ways. An example is the anti-viral dug AZT,
which is used to treat HIV/AIDS. AZT is very similar in structure to one of the
bases in DNA and prevents the duplication of viral DNA so stopping the virus
producing copies of itself.

Unit 11 Gas exchange in humans

11.1 The gas exchange system

Structure of the gas exchange system (Lung)

88
 • The lungs are spongy organs found inside the chest (thorax) are
protected by ribs and sternum (breastbone).
• Surrounding the lungs are two pleural membranes with pleural fluid
between them.
• The intercostal muscles between the ribs move the ribs during
breathing.

The diaphragm

• The diaphragm is a sheet of fibrous tissue and muscle that separates

thorax from the abdomen
• Its movement up and down changes the volume of the lungs to move
air when you breathe out and in.

The route taken by air in and out to the alveoli in the lungs

• Air enters the mouth or nose and passes through the throat to the
larynx (voice box).
• It then enters the trachea (windpipe) which connects the throat to the
lungs.
• It branches to form two bronchi which enter each lung.
• These continue to divide to form many small bronchioles which end in
tiny air sacs called alveoli.
(Inspiration)(Inhale, breathe in)
Nose larynx trachea bronchi bronchioles
alveoli

(Expiration) (Exhale, breathe out)

Nose larynx trachea bronchi bronchioles

alveoli

Make sounds

89
 • The larynx contains the vocal cord.
• When air passes over these you make sounds.
• You cannot breathe and swallow at the same time.

larynx
Trachea

Ribs Bronchiole

Alveolus Bronchus

Intercostal
muscle

Diaphragm

11.2 Gas exchange

Breathing out carbon dioxide
• Breathing is entrance and exit of air into (inspires air) and out (expired
air) of the lungs. Breathing is one part of respiration.
• Carbon dioxide is a waste gas made in respiration.
• It can become toxic if it builds up in cells.

90
 We breathe out in order to get rid of the carbon dioxide.

Composition (%)
gas inspired air expired air
(breathing in)% (breathing out)%

oxygen 21 16
carbon dioxide 0.04 4
nitrogen 78 78
water vapour variable saturated

Gas exchange surfaces

• Alveoli (air sacs) in a human
• They have features in common that adapt them for efficient exchange
of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
1. a very large surface area for the diffusion of gases.
2. moist surface so that gases can dissolve before diffusion
3. thin walls (only one cell thick in each alveolus) so the gas does not
have to diffuse very far
4. a great blood supply so that lots of carbon dioxide is removed
quickly and lots of oxygen is supplied quickly.

Gas exchange at the alveolus

• When inspired air reaches the alveoli it contains a lot of oxygen.
• Oxygen dissolves in the moist lining of each alveolus.
• It then diffuses through the wall of the alveolus and through the
capillary wall into the blood.

91
 • Oxygen molecules from the alveolus diffuse into the red blood cells and
combine with hemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin then transport this
oxygen to the body tissues.
• There is a lot of carbon dioxide in the capillary carried from the
respiring tissues in the blood plasma.
• It diffuses in the opposite direction, it is breathed out.

Expired air

The wall of the

alveolus is very thin

Gas exchange at an alveolus

Unit 11.3 Breathing

Inspiration (Breathing in) (Inhale)

• The external intercostal muscles contract and raising the ribs upwards
and outwards.
• At the same time, the diaphragm contracts and flattens.
• The internal intercostal muscles relax, volume inside the thorax is
increased
causing the pressure inside the thorax is decreased.
• Since atmospheric pressure is greater, air moves into the lungs and
they inflate.
Expiration (Breathing out) (Exhale)

92
 • The internal intercostal muscles contract and the external intercostal
muscles relax.
• This lowers the ribs downwards and inwards.
• The muscle in the diaphragm relaxes and it bulges up due to pressure
from the organ below (for example the liver and stomach, and
contraction of the abdominal muscles).
• Both of these actions decrease the volume inside the thorax, causing
the pressure inside the thorax to increase.
• Since pressure in the lungs is greater than the atmospheric air, air
moves from the lungs to the atmosphere.

Cleaning the air

• Hairs inside the nose filter the air, removing particles and some
pathogens.
• The trachea, bronchi and bronchioles are lined with ciliated epithelial
cells and mucus secreting cells (goblet cells).
• Dust particles and pathogens become trapped in the slimy mucus.
• The cilia beat to carry the mucus up to your nose and throat, removing
the particles and pathogens which you then swallow.

93
 Unit 11.4
Rate and depth of breathing
Breathing and exercise
At rest you probably take between 12 and 16 breaths per minute. When you
exercise this breathing rate changes.
When they are working hard, muscles need more oxygen for respiration. They
also produce more carbon dioxide in respiration.
Increasing the rate and depth of breathing gets more oxygen into the blood
and get rids of more carbon dioxide from the blood.
Muscles continue to respire quite fast after exercise finishes. They still need a
good supply of oxygen and they still have carbon dioxide to be removed.
Your pulse rate remains high after exercise because your heart is beating fast
to deliver plenty of blood to your muscles so they gain this extra oxygen and
have their carbon dioxide removed.
Depth of breathing
An adult can take in about 5 liters of air in their deepest breath. This is air vital
capacity- the maximum volume of air for adult.
At rest, about half a litre of air is breathed in and out. During exercise four and
a half litres of extra air can be taken in during a deep breath.
Control of breathing
What you make you breathe faster and deeper when you exercise?
The brain has a special part for controlling breathing. When you exercise the
tissues respire more quickly and make more carbon dioxide which lowers the
pH in the tissues and the blood. They may also make lactic acid.
Your brain detects this rise in carbon dioxide and lowering of the pH of blood
reaching it. The brain sends nerve impulses to the diaphragm and to the
intercostal muscles so they contract faster and further to increase the rate of
depth of breathing.

94
By breathing deeper and more quickly, lower the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the blood and raises the blood pH back to normal. This is an
example of negative feedback in homeostasis.
Question: 1. Explain how the brain monitors and controls the rate of
breathing when
you exercise.
2. Explain what happens breathing rate and heart rate when you
exercise.

Unit 12 Respiration
12.1 Aerobic respiration
Respiration involves chemical reaction that occur in cells to breakdown
nutrients, such as glucose, to release energy.

Aerobic respiration
Respiration
Anaerobic respiration

Aerobic respiration
In aerobic respiration, oxygen is used in the breakdown of glucose and
released
energy.
glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water + energy released
C6H12O6 +6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy released
Using energy - Energy is used in the following processes:
- muscle contraction
- absorption of nutrients in the gut by active transport
- sending impulses along nerves
- keeping the body temperature constant cell division
- making new cell membranes and nucleus during growth
- In aerobic respiration, energy is released in mitochondria.

Unit 12.2 Anaerobic respiration

95
 Anaerobic respiration is the chemical reaction in cells that break
down glucose to release energy without using oxygen.
• During strenuous exercise not enough oxygen may reach the
body muscles for aerobic respiration to supply all the energy the
muscles need
• Muscle tissue respires anaerobically to release energy.
• As a result, the glucose is not broken down to carbon dioxide
and water, but to lactic acid instead.
glucose lactic acid + energy released
C6H12O6 2 C3H6O3 + energy released
• Cardiac muscle in the heart do not normally respire anaerobically
as this would not release enough energy to keep the heart beating
properly.
• Some bacteria also respire anaerobically to make lactic acid.
• Other microorganisms, such as yeast, respire anaerobically when
oxygen is absent in their surroundings, to make alcohol and
carbon dioxide.
glucose alcohol + carbon dioxide + energy released
C6H12O6 2C2H5OH+2CO2 + energy released
• Plant roots respire anaerobically when land is flooded and
soils become saturated with water so little or no oxygen is
available.
Energy released (kj/g-1 glucose)
Aerobic respiration 16.1
Fermentation by yeast 1.2
Anaerobic respiration in 0.8
muscle

Lactic acid

96
 Lactic acid can slowly poison in muscle and cause cramps, so it must be
removed from the body.
The buildup of lactic acid in the muscles and blood, during vigorous
exercise, causes the oxygen debt.
Our oxygen builds up after we exercise hard, and it has to be paid back
straight away. We carry on breathing faster and deeper after vigorous
exercise in order to supply more oxygen for aerobic respiration to
break down lactic acid.
The oxygen debt is removed during recovery by aerobic respiration of
lactic acid in the liver.
Unit 13
Excretion
13.1 Excretion – is the removal of metabolic wastes, toxic materials and
substances in excess of requirements from the body. The excretory organs are
the lungs, liver and kidneys. Excretory products are carbon dioxide and urea.
Excretory products – Human have two main excretory products.
1. Carbon dioxide is made in body tissues during respiration. It is
transported to the lungs in the blood plasma. Here, it diffuses out of
the blood into the alveoli and breathed out.
2. Urea is made in the liver from excess amino acids. It is carried to the
kidneys in the plasma where it is filtered out and leaves the body
dissolved in the form of urine.
Excreted – Substances that are excreted by body cells in metabolism.
Egested – Substances that are egested have been eaten and have passed
through the alimentary canal without being digested and absorbed into the
bloodstream.
The liver carries out of a number of important functions as part of
assimilation.
- Stores glucose by removing it from the blood and storing it as glycogen.
- The liver helps to regulate the concentration of glucose in the blood.
- The liver uses amino acids to make proteins such as plasma proteins
and fibrinogen involved with blood clotting.
- Breaks down excess amino acids to urea.

97
 - Converts fat molecule into fatty acids and glycerol which is stored
around the body, e.g. under the skin.
- Produces cholesterol from fats.

Roles of the liver

The liver carries out over 200 different roles in the body.
- The liver makes urea from excess amino acids. The kidneys excreted
urea in urine.
- Define the term deamination.
[Excess amino acids break down into two parts by the process of
deamination in the liver.
One molecule is converted to carbohydrate or fat and used as a source
of energy.
The other molecule is ammonia (NH3) which combines with carbon
dioxide to form urea.]

- The liver makes bile and stores in the gallbladder, which neutralizes
acid as it enters the small intestine and emulsifies fat.
- The liver breaks down the hormone, toxins such as alcohol and drugs.

Fig. 1 The excretory organs

Hepatic portal vein

98
 Unit 13.2
Kidney structure
The urinary system consists of kidney, ureters, bladder and urethra.
The kidneys – they are responsible for the excretion of urea and excess salts
from the body. They also control the water and ion content of the blood.
Location of kidneys – Kidneys are at the top of the abdominal cavity just
underneath the diaphragm. They are protected by the backbone, lower
ribscage and the fat that surrounds them.
- The blood with waste chemicals and urea enters the kidneys through
the renal arteries.
- Inside each kidney, is a complex network of filtering unit called kidney
tubules (nephrons).
- As the blood flows through these units’ small molecules such as
glucose, salts, water and urea, are forced out of the blood plasma to
form a fluid known as “filtrate”.

- As a filtrate passes along the tubule the useful substances glucose and
salts are reabsorbed into the blood.
- If you have been sweating a lot during exercise or it is very hot, then
the kidneys will take back as much as they can so you produce
concentrated urine.
- If you have taken a lot of water or it is a cold day and you have not
been sweating, the kidneys reabsorb less water and you will produce
dilute urine.

The roles of ureter, bladder, urethra and renal vein

- At the end of each tubule the urine is released and flows into the
ureter and to the bladder where it is stored.
- From here it leaves the body, at intervals, through a shorter tube called
urethra.
- Renal vein carries blood with a low concentration of waste chemicals
away from the kidney.

99
 Fig.3 Human excretory system
Inside the kidneys – If you cut open the kidney lengthways, three areas are (1)
the cortex- a brown outer area, (2) medulla – a reddish inner areas, and (3)
pelvis – a white area.

Renal capsule

Fig. 4 Inside the kidney

- Inside each kidney are thousands of tiny kidney tubules.
- The function is to filter the blood and remove waste chemicals.
- The filtering is carried out in the cortex.
- The waste chemicals and excess water are removed from the body in
the urine which flows from the kidneys down the ureter and is stored in
the bladder.

Useful substances
reabsorbed into the blood
100
 Fig.5 Filtration and reabsorption

Unit 13.3
Structure of a kidney tubule (Nephron)
- Blood containing waste chemicals flows into the kidney in the renal
artery.
- Inside the kidney, renal artery branches many arterioles that supply
blood to the closely packed group of capillaries called a glomerulus.
- The kidney tubule consists of a Bowman’s capsule at one end, proximal
tubule, loop of Henle, and distal tubule. The glomerulus is found inside
the Bowman’s capsule.
- Bowman’s capsule, glomerulus, proximal tubule and distal tubule are in
the cortex.
- Loop of Henle and collecting ducts are in the medulla.
- The end of the kidney tubule (distal tubule) drains into a collecting duct
which goes through the medulla and empties urine in the pelvis. It
connects with the ureter carrying the urine to the bladder.

101
 Fig.6 A kidney tubule (Nephron)

Filtration and reabsorption

- The kidney is closed to the heart so the blood pressure in the renal
artery is high.
- The blood vessel entering the glomerulus is wider than the one leaving
it. So, more blood entering the glomerulus than there is leaving it.
- This causes pressure to increase inside the glomerulus and this
pressure that causes the blood to be filtered.
- Small molecules like urea, glucose, salts and water pass out of the
glomerulus through the lining of capillaries and into the Bowman’s
capsule.
- Large molecules like blood protein, are too big to pass through the
capillary lining and so they stay in the blood.
- In glomerulus and in Bowman’s capsule, the filter separates different
sized of molecules under pressure, is called ultrafiltration.

[Blood in the glomerulus and the space in Bowman’s capsule are

separated by the two layers, capillary wall and wall of the capsule.
Between the two layers of cells is a third layer called the basement
membrane which is not made of cells.
These layer acts like a filter, allowing water, ions, and small molecules
like glucose, and urea to pass through.
The fluid that enters the capsule space is called glomerular filtrate.
This process, where the filter separates different sized of molecules
under pressure, is called ultrafiltration.]

Reabsorption
- All of the glucose, some salts and much of the water are needed by the
body.
- They are reabsorbed back into the blood from the kidney tubule by
active transport.
102
 - Microvilli provide a large surface area for absorption.
- Numerous mitochondria provide energy for active transport.
- After the process of reabsorption, urea, excess salts and dissolved in
the water are left in the urine.
- This fluid that enters the collecting ducts is urine.
- It flows down the collecting ducts and then to the ureter and bladder.
- Urine collects and is stored in the bladder.
- From here, it is expelled through the urethra at intervals.
- Renal vein has a much lower concentration of waste chemicals (urea).

Control of the body’s water content

- If the blood become too concentrated, the kidneys produce a smaller
volume of urine.
- A change in condition in the body is detected by the receptor cells of
the hypothalamus in the brain.
- These cells are sensitive to the concentration of blood, and cause the
pituitary gland
to release more antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
- The ADH travels in the bloodstream to the kidney.
- At the kidney tubules it causes the collecting ducts to become more
permeable to water, so that more water is reabsorbed back into the
blood.
- This makes the urine more concentrated, so that the body loses less
water and blood becomes more dilute.
- This action of ADH is the example of the negative feedback.

Unit 13.4
Kidney dialysis

Kidney dialysis - is a process for removing waste urea and excess water from
the blood and is used as an artificial replacement (Kidney dialysis machine) for
lost kidney function in people.
Dialysis membrane - has tiny pores in it which allows small molecules to pass
through pores but prevent large molecules from diffusing through.

103
The kidney dialysis machine- A person can survive on one kidney.
- But both kidneys become diseased or damaged, it can be fatal unless a
medical procedure (kidney dialysis) is available.
- A common indicator that the kidney is damaged is the presence of
protein in the urine.
- This happens when the renal capsules are damaged so that large
molecules of protein pass out of blood plasma into the filtrate (filtrate
means the fluid that will become urint).

What happens when someone has dialysis treatment?

1. A tube is connected to one of the patient’s vein.
2. The blood flows along the tube and into the machine.
3. Inside the machine the blood is pumped over the surface of a dialysis
membrane, which separates the patient’s blood and the dialysis fluid.
4. Urea diffuses out of the blood, across the dialysis membrane and into the
dialysis fluid.
5. The dialysis fluid already has glucose and salts in it, so there will be no
overall loss of glucose and salts from the blood by diffusion into the fluid.
6. Urea and other waste chemicals leave the machine in the dialysis fluid.
7. The patient’s cleaner blood passes back into the vein.
During kidney dialysis, urea and some salts pass out of the blood into
the dialysis fluid.
There is no diffusion of glucose, since it is in the same concentration in
the blood and the dialysis fluid.

Kidney dialysis treatment

Question 1. Explain why the presence of protein in the urine may indicate
kidney
damage.
The presence of protein in the urine may indicate kidney damage,
that’s because when the renal capsules are damaged so that large
molecules of protein pass out of blood plasma into the filtrate.

104
Question 2. Which condition will you have to treat kidney dialysis is
available?
Loss of kidney function in people you will have to treat kidney dialysis is
available.

Kidney transplants
Kidney Dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the
blood and is used as an artificial replacement (Kidney dialysis machine) for lost
kidney function in people.
Question1: Which condition will you have to treat kidney dialysis is
available?
Kidney transplant is a surgery done to replace a diseased kidney with a
healthy kidney from a donor.
The kidney may come from a deceased organ donor or from a living donor.
A person most often gets just 1 kidney from living donor.
A person may get 2 kidneys from a deceased donor.
A donor may be a close relative or friend or someone who has just died.

105
Question 2: State the functions of kidney are:
The functions of kidney are:
1. Remove urea and liquid waste from the blood in the form of urine.
2. Balance salts, potassium, sodium and other substances in the blood.
3. Regulate blood pressure.
4. Produce erythropoietin, a hormone that aids the formation of red
blood cells.

Some conditions of the kidney they may result in ESRD include:

1. Repeated urinary infections.
2. Kidney failure caused by diabetes or high blood pressure.
3. Congenital disease of the kidneys, may result in the need for kidney
transplant.
Kidney transplants
A person with failed kidneys may have a kidney transplant.
This involves replacing the diseased kidney with a healthy one from a
donor.
Before a kidney transplant is carried out blood type and tissue type of
donor and recipient must be matched.
Blood typing is the same as for blood transfusion
Tissue typing reduces the chances that the recipient’s immune system
will attack the new kidney and reject it.
To reduce the rejection, drugs are given to the patient after the
operation to suppress the immune system.
They are more likely to catch certain infections and to have those
infections for longer.
To prevent rejection, the bone marrow of the patient is treated with
radiation to stop white blood cell production after the operation.
The function of WBC is protecting the any pathogens that enter the
body, so WBC is concerned with the immune system.
After recovering from the operation, the patient is able to lead a
normal life, and does not need to have dialysis treatment.
Kidneys continuously remove urea from the blood.
They also make a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production in
bone marrow.

Question 3: How long can you live with a kidney transplant?

On average, a transplanted kidney from a cadaveric (deceased) donor lasts 15
years. Some transplanted kidneys only last a few weeks, while others function
normally for 20 years or more.

106
Question 4: Which is a transplant kidney placed in the recipient body?
The transplant surgery takes about three hours. The donor kidney will be
placed in the lower abdomen and its blood vessels connected to arteries and
veins in the recipient's body. When this is complete, blood will be allowed to
flow through the kidney again.

Difference between kidney dialysis and kidney transplant

Kidney transplants Kidney dialysis
Advantages -A less expensive - But both kidneys become
procedure than dialysis. diseased or damaged, it can
-It is a relatively be fatal unless a medical
permanent solution. procedure (kidney dialysis) is
-Patient can lead a available.
comparatively normal -Dialysis provides an
life. immediate solution to what
could be a fatal condition.
Disadvantages - Fewer restrictions on -More expensive in the long
diet. run.
-There is a shortage of -The patient needs to undergo
suitable donors. dialysis every 3 days or so.
-Tissue typing reduces - This is inconvenient and
the chances that the takes several hours each time.
recipient’s immune -There is always a risk of
system will attack the infection.
new kidney and reject it.
-Anti-rejection drugs will
always have to be taken.

107