.

Cell structure and function

General cell components (membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria); plant cell

components (cellulose wall, chloroplasts, vacuole); life processes (movement,
reproduction, sensitivity, growth, respiration, excretion and nutrition);

Movement of substances in and out of cells by diffusion across a partially-permeable

membrane, osmosis down a water concentration gradient (leading to turgidity/flaccidity
in plant cells), and active transport against a concentration gradient.

2. Digestion

Parts of the human digestive system (mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small and large
intestines, liver, pancreas); roles of enzymes (amylase, protease and lipase) and their
production in glands; roles of stomach acid and bile; absorption of food in small intestine
aided by large surface area with villi.

3. Respiration

Providing energy for all life processes (in plants and in animals); aerobic respiration
(C6H12O6 + 6O2 -->6CO2 + 6H2O), requiring oxygen, similar in some ways to burning;
energy content of foods; calorimetry;

Anaerobic respiration in humans (glucose --> lactic acid + energy), releasing less energy
than aerobic respiration and leading to an oxygen debt, lactic acid accumulation, and
muscle fatigue; anaerobic respiration (fermentation) in plants and yeast (glucose -->
carbon dioxide + ethanol + energy).

4. Breathing

Parts of respiratory system (ribs, external intercostal muscles, lungs, diaphragm, trachea,
bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli) and how their structure relates to their function;
mechanism of ventilation; composition of inhaled and exhaled air; how mucus-secreting
cells and cilia keep lungs clean; links between smoking and respiratory disease (excess
mucus production and destruction of cilia leading to bronchitis, destruction of alveoli
causing emphysema, chemicals in tar causing lung cancer).

5. Photosynthesis

Equation (carbon dioxide + water + light energy absorbed by chlorophyll --> glucose +
oxygen) with symbols; structures of a leaf (cuticle, epidermis, palisade and spongy layers,
stomata, veins, xylem and phloem) and how this relates to its function; factors affecting
and limiting the rate of photosynthesis (light intensity, temperature, carbon dioxide
concentration); fate of glucose (storage, respiration, use to make
cellulose/protein/chlorophyll); need for minerals to produce important compounds
(nitrogen for amino acids, phosphorus for DNA and membranes, magnesium for
chlorophyll); mineral deficiencies producing poor growth.

6. Transport

Circulation: arteries, veins and capillaries and how vessel structure relates to function;
contribution of William Harvey; double circulatory system; parts of heart (valves, atria
and ventricles) and associated vessels (aorta, vena cava, pulmonary artery/ vein); valves
in heart and veins; formation of tissue fluid;

Blood: composition (red/white cells, platelets and plasma); red blood cells (with
haemoglobin, high surface area and no nuclei) carry oxygen; skin (as barrier) and white
blood cells (engulfing microbes or producing antibodies) protect against infection;
platelets help in blood clotting;

In plants: water enters root cells by osmosis aided by root hairs; water and minerals
transported up xylem vessels (dead cells with no cytoplasm) in vascular bundles;
transpiration (evaporation from inside leaves) pulls water up; stomata on underside of
leaves can open and close due to guard cells; waxy cuticle reduces water loss; factors
affecting transpiration (light, temperature, air movement, humidity); living phloem tissue
transports sugars.

7. Ecology

Organisms and habitats: concept of habitats, populations and communities; organisms

restricted to certain habitats; predators influence prey numbers; competition (between
animals for food and between plants for light and water) influences distribution;
mutualism; adaptations to habitats in camels and polar bears;

Food chains and energy flow: pyramids of numbers and biomass and the reason for their
shape and limited number of levels; energy transfer (input from sunlight, transfer up food
chain, loss as heat and waste products); efficiency of food production (vegetarianism,
factory farming); carbon cycle (decomposers, respiration, fossil fuels); nitrogen cycle
(decomposers, nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria, nitrogen fixation, nitrate uptake by
plants);

Human impacts on the environment: impact of increasing human populations (demand

for food production, waste disposal and energy); impact of biological and chemical pest
control; acid rain and greenhouse effect; importance of limiting population increase,
waste production and food and energy demands to sustainable levels; conservation of
endangered species.

8. Response to stimuli
All organisms respond their surroundings (stimulus --> receptor --> co-ordination -->
effector --> response);

In animals: receptors detect stimuli (light, sound, pressure, temperature and chemicals)
and form nerve impulses;

Parts of the eye (cornea, iris, pupil, lens, fovea, retina, optic nerve, ciliary muscles and
blind spot); iris, pupil and retina control amount of light entering the eye; cornea and lens
focus image; retina with rods and cones detects light;

Structure and function of sensory and motor neurones; information from receptors sent to
central nervous system which may bring about reflex or voluntary action; reflex arcs
bring about rapid, unconscious responses to help protect the body from damage;
information transmitted chemically across synapses, which can be disrupted by drugs
(e.g. alcohol, solvents);

Hormones (chemical messengers secreted by glands) bring about a slow but often long-
lasting response; insulin produced by pancreas; ADH produced by pituitary gland;
oestrogen/progesterone produced by ovaries involved in puberty and menstrual cycle;
testosterone produced by testes; use of hormones to control fertility and illegally improve
sporting performance;

In plants: bending growth movements in response to light and gravity benefit plants;
plants have hormones; auxins promote growth in shoots (especially on shaded side);
commercial uses of plant hormones (rooting powder, seedless fruits, herbicides).

9. Homeostasis

Importance of homeostasis;

Insulin helps control blood glucose levels by promoting storage of glucose as glycogen in
liver and can be used by diabetics;

Control of body temperature (altering blood flow to skin, shivering, sweating,

muscle/liver activity); skin structures involved in temperature control; control of
temperature by brain; variations in body temperature affect enzyme action;

Wastes (urea, excess water/salt) removed by kidneys which filter blood and reabsorb
water (promoted by ADH) and useful substances; water gain/loss must balance; excretion
of carbon dioxide and water through alveoli and capillaries in lungs.

10. Inheritance and evolution

Genes and chromosomes: nucleus containing a characteristic number of chromosomes

(long DNA molecules divided into genes, chemical instructions controlling organisms by
coding for proteins) which are inherited; sex chromosomes;
Variation: may be due to genes or environment or both; Francis Galton's ideas on
intelligence; variation may arise from mutations in genes or chromosomes; likelihood of
mutation increased by radiation and certain chemicals; cystic fibrosis due to a recessive
inherited gene mutation; Down's syndrome due to an extra chromosome;

Sexual reproduction generates variation by random fusion of gametes (containing a half

set of chromosomes) produced in meiosis; asexual reproduction producing identical
clones involves mitosis and is involved in reproduction (by bulbs, tubers and runners)
and artificial propagation of many plants;

Manipulating genes: animal cloning and the issues surrounding it; genetic engineering by
transferring DNA between organisms; selective breeding in animals and plants;

Genetic crosses: outcome of monohybrid cross; dominant and recessive alleles; genotype
and phenotype; homozygous and heterozygous; parental/F1/F2 generations; Mendel's
work; use of crosses to determine genotypes;

Evolution: Darwin's observations (over-reproduction, populations remaining constant,

variation, heritability); natural selection leading to changes within a species (e.g.
peppered moth) or to new species; extinction; fossils as evidence for evolution.

A1. Human physiology

Feeding and digestion: need for fat, protein, carbohydrate, fibre, calcium, iron, and
vitamins A, C and D in diet; importance of balanced diet (especially in vegetarians); diet
causing health problems (tooth decay, heart disease); diet related to body requirements in
childhood, adolescence and pregnancy;

Blood and the circulation: heart rate influenced by blood pressure (related to salt intake),
carbon dioxide (due to exercise); heart rate controlled by nerves and hormones (e.g.
adrenaline); importance of constant blood pressure to prevent kidney failure or stokes;
changes to pulse and blood pressure during exercise;

Hormones: effects of adrenaline (on respiratory and circulatory systems) preparing the
body for action;

Excretion: structure and function of kidney tubule (filter unit, region of selective
reabsorption, region of salt and water regulation); principle of dialysis machine and its
use;

Nervous system: pathway of nervous impulses in a reflex arc (sensory/relay/motor

neurones, dorsal root, grey matter, ventral root); simple and conditioned reflexes; regions
of brain (cerebrum for voluntary actions and conscious thought, cerebellum for balance,
medulla for control of reflex actions); skeletal muscles as effectors, stimulated by motor
neurones.

A2. Diversity and adaptation

Classification: definition of species, natural and artificial systems of classification; work

of John Ray and Carl Linnaeus; use of binomial system; characteristics of animal and
plant kingdoms;

In animals: how reptiles are better suited to land than amphibians; how blowfly larvae
and woodlice respond to light/humidity; how metamorphosis enables blowflies to exploit
different food sources and habitats; gills in fish; how their methods of gas exchange
restricts amphibians and fish to their habitats;

In plants: how a cactus is adapted to arid conditions (reduced surface area/volume ratio,
reduction in transpiration, reduced leaves but need for photosynthesis, storage of water);
how a flower (e.g. deadnettle) is adapted for pollination by bees.

A3. Microbes and food

Microbes causing food poisoning and its prevention by good hygiene; factors influencing
rate of microbe growth; need for sterile conditions when handling microbes; food
preservation (by canning, freezing, drying, ultra heat treatment, high solute
concentrations); issues surrounding irradiation and chemical preservatives;

Use of microbes to produce yoghurt, bread, alcohol, vinegar, single cell protein; value of
mycoprotein as a food source;

Characteristics of enzymes (effect of pH and temperature, ‘lock-and-key' model);

Formation of recombinant DNA (obtaining gene, cloning gene, inserting gene into host,
use of vectors); production of enzymes for food manufacture using genetic engineering;
issues surrounding genetic engineering.

A4. Microbes and disease

Disease causing agents: infectious and non-infectious diseases; parasites and pathogens;
importance of hygiene;

Bacteria (with cell wall and no nucleus, reproducing asexually) causing disease (e.g.
whooping cough, tetanus);

Fungi (with mycelium of hyphae, no chlorophyll, and spores) causing disease (e.g.
athlete's foot);
Viruses (non-living particles invading host cells) causing disease (e.g. common cold);
spread of HIV/AIDS;

How parasites (Toxocara, tapeworm, head lice) infect people and how their spread can be
prevented;

Antibiotics: kill or slow growth of bacteria but not viruses; evolution of resistant
bacteria; discovery of penicillin;

Immunisation: introduction of a mild or dead form of the pathogen resulting in antibody

production; active and passive immunisation; risks and benefits; reason for lack of
success in producing vaccine against the common cold; work of Edward Jenner with
smallpox and Louis Pasteur with rabies;

Plants and disease: infectious diseases of plants and their control by selective breeding,
chemical treatment and crop rotation.