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• Microscopes


  Normal light microscope can see cells and nucleus, electron microscope can see subcellular structures in more detail
• Calculating cell size


  1. Measure image size

  2. Divide by magnification
• Eukaryotic cells


  Have a nucleus containing DNA
• Prokaryotic cells


  Do not have a nucleus, DNA is in a ring called a plasmid
• Cell structures


  • Cell membrane
  • Cell wall (plant cells and bacteria)
  • Cytoplasm
  • Mitochondria
  • Ribosomes
  • Chloroplasts (plant cells)
• Bacterial binary fission


  1. Number doubles every 10 minutes

  2. Practical: Grow culture on agar plate, use aseptic technique, calculate growth rate
• Diploid cells


  Have 23 pairs of chromosomes
• Haploid cells


  Have 23 unpaired chromosomes
• Mitosis


  1. Genetic material duplicated

  2. Nucleus breaks down

  3. Chromosomes pulled to opposite sides

  4. New nuclei form
• Specialised cell types


  • Nerve
  • Muscle
  • Root hair
  • Xylem
  • Phloem
• Stem cells


  Unspecialised cells that can differentiate into different cell types
• Diffusion


  Movement of molecules/particles from high to low concentration, passive process
• Osmosis


  Diffusion of water across a semi-permeable membrane
• Practical: Osmosis


  1. Cut potato cylinders

  2. Weigh

  3. Place in sugar solutions

  4. Reweigh

  5. Calculate % change in mass

  6. Plot graph to find no change concentration
• Active transport


  Using energy to move substances against a concentration gradient
• Tissues


  • Heart
  • Digestive
• Digestive system processes


  • Acid in stomach
  • Bile and enzymes in small intestine
  • Emulsification of fats
• Enzymes


  Biological catalysts, specific to certain substrates, work on a lock and key principle
• Practical: Enzyme activity


  1. Mix amylase and starch

  2. Test for starch every 10 seconds with iodine

  3. Plot time to complete reaction against temperature or pH

  4. Find optimum conditions
• Food tests


  • Iodine for starch
  • Benedict's solution for sugars
  • Biuret's reagent for proteins
  • Ethanol for lipids
• Respiration


  Provides energy for cells, different to breathing
• Gas exchange


  1. Air enters trachea

  2. Diffuses into blood in alveoli

  3. Oxygen binds to haemoglobin

  4. Carbon dioxide diffuses into lungs and is exhaled
• Circulatory system components


  • Heart
  • Blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries)
  • Blood (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets)
• Blood flow through heart


  1. Deoxygenated blood enters right atrium

  2. Passes through right ventricle to lungs

  3. Oxygenated blood enters left atrium

  4. Passes through left ventricle to body
• Coronary arteries


  Supply blood to heart muscle
• Non-communicable diseases


  Caused by factors within the body, e.g. cardiovascular disease, cancer, autoimmune conditions
• Communicable diseases


  Caused by pathogens that can be transmitted, e.g. infectious diseases
• Coronary artery


  Delivers blood to the heart muscle to supply oxygen
• Coronary heart disease (CHD)


  Occurs when coronary arteries are blocked by fatty deposits, causing a heart attack
• Stents


  Little tubes inserted into blood vessels to keep them open and allow blood flow
• Statins


  Drugs that reduce cholesterol and fatty deposits
• Heart valve replacement


  Artificial heart valves can replace faulty ones to prevent backflow
• Blood components


  • Plasma
  • Red blood cells
  • White blood cells (combat infections)
  • Platelets (clot wounds)
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD)


  Non-communicable disease caused by factors within the body, e.g. obesity, diet, smoking
• Communicable disease


  Caused by a pathogen (virus, bacteria, fungus, or parasite) that enters the body
• Carcinogen


  Anything that increases the risk of cancer, e.g. ionizing radiation
• Benign cancer


  Doesn't spread through the body and is relatively easy to treat
• Malignant cancer


  Cancerous cells spread through the body, much worse
• Plant organs


  • Leaves (photosynthesis)
  • Roots (water and mineral absorption)
  • Meristem (new cell production)
• Xylem


  Long continuous tubes that transport water upwards in plants