bio ch 1

Question 1

Theme 1 | The hierarchy of life (pg 1)

Answer 1

Theme 1: New Properties Emerge at Successive Levels of Biological Organization

The hierarchy of life on earth is unfolded as follows: biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, organism, organ system, organ, tissue, cell, organelle, molecule and atom. With each set up, new properties emerge (emergent properties) because of interactions among components at the lower levels.

Question 2

Theme 4 | Organisms interact (pg 3)

Answer 2

Theme 4: Molecules to Ecosystems, Interactions in Biological Systems

Organisms interact continuously with physical factors. Plants take up nutrients from the soil and chemicals from the air and use energy from the sun. Interactions among plants, animals, and other organisms affect the participants in varying ways.
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In feedback regulation, a process is regulated by its output or product. …

Question 3

Biologists classify species (pg 3)

Answer 3

Biologists classify species according to a system of broader and broader groups. Domain Bacteria and Archaea consist of prokaryotes. Domain Eukarya includes various groups of protists as well as fungi, plants, and animals.

Question 4

Darwin (1809-1882) (pg 5)

Answer 4

Darwin (1809-1882) proposed natural selection as the mechanism for evolutionary adaptation of populations to their environments. Natural selection is thus defined as the evolutionary process that occurs when a population is exposed to environmental factors that consistently cause individuals with certain heritable traits to have greater reproductive success than do individuals with other heritable traits.

Question 5

The food that we consume is (pg 5)

Answer 5

The food that we consume is the results of agriculture. Humans and animals depend on the agricultural products for sustaining themselves. Fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, oils, sugar, tea, coffee, and other foods are obtained from the plants.

Question 6

Agriculture is defined (pg 5)

Answer 6

Agriculture is defined to produce commodities which maintain life, including foods, fibers, forest products, agricultural crops, horticultural crops, and their related services. Agricultural crops mean food or fiber commodities grown for resale or commercial or economic purposes that provide foods, clothing, or animal feeds, and include nursery products and florist items while in the hands of a nursery grower. The global major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials (such as rubber). Myanmar’s agricultural exports include rice, maize, blackgram, greengram, pigeonpea, chickpea, sesame, onion, tamarind, raw rubber, vegetables, and fruits. Commercially cultivating agricultural crops in Myanmar are mainly cereals, pulses and oilseed crops. Myanmar’s farms are well diversified, with most farms producing rice paddy during the monsoon season and other crops such as beans, pulses, oilseeds and maize, during the cool and dry seasons.

Question 7

Rice (Oryza sativa) (pg 5)

Answer 7

Rice (Oryza sativa) production is based on its environment, resulting in rain fed lowland rice, winter rice, deep-water rice, upland rice and irrigated rice. Out of the three distinct seasons, the monsoon season is the main rice production season as rice paddies rely on copious amounts of water. There are two dominant rice production systems: rain fed lowland and irrigated lowland. The traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. This simple method requires sound irrigation planning but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state and deters vermin. While flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil.

Question 8

The economic value of livestock (pg 11)

Answer 8

The economic value of livestock

Meat: Livestock can be raised for the production of a useful form of dietary protein and energy.

Dairy products: Livestock can be used as a source of milk, other dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese, butter.

Fibre: Livestock produce a range of fibre or textiles. For example, sheep and goats produce wool and mohair.

Fertilizer: Manure can be spread on fields to increase crop yields. Manure is also used to make plaster for walls and floors and can be used as a fuel for fires. The blood and bone of animals are also used as fertilizer.

Labour: Animals such as horses, donkey, and yaks can be used for mechanical energy. They are non-human labor and still using in plowing fields, transporting goods, and military functions.

Land management: The grazing of livestock is sometimes used as a way to control weeds and undergrowth.

Breeding: Livestock may be kept for the commercial value of breeding the animals, such as in horse breeding.

Sports: Livestock may be raised for sports purposes, such as raising horses for horse racing or polo.

Pets industry: Livestock may be raised to be sold commercially as pets.

Question 9

Horticulture is a branch of (pg 6)

Answer 9

Horticulture is a branch of agriculture. It is defined as the applied science of cultivating and growing plants used for both consumption and aesthetic or ornamental purposes. Horticulture involves plant propagation and cultivation to improve the plant growths, yields, quality, nutritional values, and resistance to insects, diseases, and environmental stresses. It also includes plant conservations, landscape restoration, soil management, landscape and garden designs, construction and maintenance, and arboriculture. The word “horticulture” is derived from the Latin words ‘hortus’ and ‘cultura’, which mean ‘garden’ and ‘cultivation’.

Question 10

In contrast to agriculture (pg 7)

Answer 10

In contrast to agriculture, horticulture does not include the intensive crop farming and large-scale crop production or animal husbandry. Additionally, horticulture focuses on the use of small plots with a wide variety of mixed crops while agriculture focuses on one large primary crop at a time. The major types of horticulture include olericulture, pomology, viticulture, floriculture, turf management, arboriculture, landscape horticulture, and postharvest physiology. Olericulture is the vegetable growing, dealing with the culture of non-woody (herbaceous) plants for foods. Pomology or Fruticulture is the production of fruits and nuts. Viticulture is the production of grapes (largely intended for winemaking). Floriculture is the growing and marketing of flowers and ornamental plants for floristry. Turf Management is the production and upkeep of turf, artificial and live, for use in recreation. Sports stadiums, civilian landscaping, and leisure are among the largest users of turf management services. Arboriculture is the cultivation and care of individual trees, shrubs, vines, and other perennial woody plants, primarily to maintain individual woody plants and trees for long-term landscape and amenity purposes. Landscape Horticulture is the selection, production and care of plants used in landscape architecture. Postharvest Physiology is the management of harvested horticultural crops to determine the best storage and transportation conditions to optimize shelf life after harvest.

Question 11

Hydroponics is a method (pg 8)

Answer 11

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without soil. Hydroponics uses less water than traditional soil-based systems. Hydroponic growing allows for faster growth and higher yields than traditional soil-based growing systems. Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants, usually crops, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions in aqueous solvents. Terrestrial or aquatic plants may grow with their roots exposed to the nutritious liquid. In addition, the roots may be physically supported by an inert medium such as perlite, gravel, or other substrates. Despite inert media, roots can cause changes of the rhizosphere pH and root exudates can affect rhizosphere biology and physiological balance of the nutrient solution by secondary metabolites.

Question 12

The nutrients used in hydroponic systems (pg 9)

Answer 12

The nutrients used in hydroponic systems can come from many different sources, including fish excrement, duck manure, purchased chemical fertilizers, or artificial nutrient solutions. Plants are commonly grown hydroponically in a greenhouse, on inert media, include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, lettuces, and cannabis, usually for commercial use, and Arabidopsis, which serves as a model organism in plant science and genetics. Hydroponics offers many advantages, notably a decrease in water usage in agriculture. Since hydroponics takes much less water to grow and produce, it could be possible in the future for people in harsh environments with little accessible water to grow their own food.

Question 13

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming (pg 9)

Answer 13

Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs, algae and other aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater, brackish water and saltwater populations under controlled or semi-natural conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the harvesting of wild fish. Farming implies some sort of intervention in the rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc.

Question 14

Fish farming or pisciculture (pg 9)

Answer 14

Fish farming or pisciculture involves commercial breeding of fish, usually for food, in fish tanks or artificial enclosures such as fish ponds. It is a particular type of aquaculture, which is the controlled cultivation and harvesting of aquatic animals such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and so on. Worldwide, the most important fish species used in fish farming are, in order, carp, salmon, tilapia and catfish.

Question 15

Mariculture or marine farming is a (pg 10)

Answer 15

Mariculture or marine farming is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other animal products in enclosed sections of the open ocean (offshore mariculture), or in fish farms built on littoral waters (inshore mariculture), or in artificial tanks, ponds, raceways which are filled with seawater (onshore mariculture).

Question 16

Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business| Oyster farming | Algaculture (pg 10)

Answer 16

Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business that exists in either a marine or freshwater environment, producing shrimp or prawns for human consumption.

Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten.

Algaculture is the farming of algae species including microalgae and macroalgae. The majority of algae that are intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae. Macroalgae, commonly known as seaweed, also have many commercial and industrial uses.

Question 17

Integrated fish farming (pg 10)

Answer 17

Integrated fish farming is a system of producing fish in combination with other agricultural or livestock farming operations centered on the fish pond. The farming sub-systems eg., fish, crop and livestock are linked to each other in such a way that the byproducts or wastes from one sub-system become the valuable inputs to another sub-system.

Question 18

Uses of aquaculture

Aquaculture serves different purposes (pg 10)

Answer 18

Uses of aquaculture

Aquaculture serves different purposes such as food production, restoration of threatened and endangered species populations, wild stock population enhancement, the building of aquariums, and fish cultures, and habitat restoration.

Question 19

The term “Livestock” refers to (pg 10)

Answer 19

The term “Livestock” refers to any domesticated, land-living animal that is raised to provide resources like meat, milk, eggs, and feathers, or to provide services like transportation or cultivation assistance. The most common livestock animals are cattle, sheep, goat, pig, horse, chicken, and duck.

Question 20

Importance of livestock (pg 12)

Answer 20

Importance of livestock

The global demand and production of livestock products are increasing rapidly, due to the population growth, rising income, and changes in lifestyle and diets. Livestock are key drivers for sustainable development in agriculture. They contribute to food security, nutrition, poverty alleviation, and economic growth.

Livestock contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and genetic resources for food and agriculture. If managed sustainably, livestock can contribute to important ecosystem functions, nutrient cycling, soil organic carbon sequestration and maintaining agricultural landscapes.

Question 21

Food is one of the major requirements| Food maybe classified| It is evident that (pg 12)

Answer 21

Food is one of the major requirements of life. All forms of living matter required food in one form or the other as the source of life-sustaining energy. However, plant only is able to manufacture food through the process of photosynthesis.

Food may be classified into the following groups:
- heat or energy producing food such as carbohydrates and fats;
- body-building food such as protein;
- protective food such as vitamins and some minerals; and
- luxury food such as confectioneries, etc.

It is evident that food must contain sufficiently carbohydrate, protein and fats or oil together with vitamins and essential minerals.

Question 22

Without food, the viability of life is not (pg 12)

Answer 22

Without food, the viability of life is not feasible. Our food items come from plants and animals. Microbes aid in the formation of dairy products like curd, cheese, and yoghurt. The bacterium Lactobacillus helps in the formation of curd from milk. Similarly, yeast, one of the simplest eukaryotes, is used in the process of fermentation. Wine is obtained from grapes through a similar process. Furthermore, there are certain microbes and other biological processes that indirectly help in the production of food. The microorganisms present in the soil act as a decomposing agent, which assist in the production of the compost from dead and decaying organic matter. This compost acts as an effective fertilizer for the growing plants.

Question 23

Pharmacognosy is a name (pg 13)

Answer 23

Pharmacognosy is a name derived from Greek words, which mean drug and knowledge. In this field of science, researcher deals with the secondary metabolites found in many plants, animals, and microbial natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) defines it as “the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from different natural sources”. Most of the countries in South-East Asia Region have a heritage of traditional medicine system. According to the recent WHO report, about 80% of world population is still using natural product for their primary healthcare needs. Pharmacognosy can provide safe and effective drugs in combination with modern medical system.

Question 24

Like the first medicines (pg 13)

Answer 24

Like the first medicines, many of today’s medicines are made from plants. The chief ingredient of aspirin, salicylic acid, was originally obtained from the bark of willow tree. The willow is in the genus Salix, hence the same name salicylic acid. The bark of cinchona tree, Cinchona sp., contains quinine a drug used to treat malaria. Digitalis, which is used in treatment of heart disease, is obtained from the leaves of foxglove plant, Digitalis purpurea. Periwinkle, Catharanthus sp. is the source of two drugs that are effective against Hodgkin disease and some leukemia. Two powerful pain relieved compounds, morphine and codeine are extracted from opium poppy, Papaver somniferum.

Question 25

Medicinal animals are important resources (pg 13)

Answer 25

Medicinal animals are important resources linking people to the environment and their use promotes the traditional knowledge related to them. Over 50% of commercially available drugs are based on bioactive compounds extracted from non-human species. Almost every class of drug includes a model structure derived from nature, exhibiting the classical effects of the specific pharmacological category. A great number of these natural products have come to human society from the scientific study of remedies traditionally employed by various cultures.

Question 26

In addition to plants and microbes | Leeches are slimy bloodsuckers | A molecule called bradykinin | Maggots are small, voracious eaters (pg 14)

Answer 26

In addition to plants and microbes, there has been increasing attention paid to animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates, as sources for new medicines. The healing of human minor illness by using therapies based on medicines obtained from animals or ultimately derived from them is known as zootherapy. Animals have been methodically tested by pharmaceutical companies as sources of drugs for modern medical science, and the current percentage of animal sources for producing essential medicines is quite significant. Some examples of the animal-based medicines are:

Leeches are slimy bloodsuckers that can eat ten times, its own body weight of blood. Today, medicinal leeches are used after severe trauma to help reattach digits, close wounds and help mend skin after plastic surgery. The leech, Hirudo medicinalis, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medical use. While the leech feeding on the surface of the skin, they also secrete anti-coagulants which helps to keep the blood flowing. The blood pools in the reattached thumb can be sucked out by the leech until the veins redevelop.

A molecule called bradykinin from the viper venom is found to be related to a class of molecules that stop Angiotensis-Converting Enzymes (ACE) from blocking bradykinins, a protein that causes blood vessels to dilate and lower blood pressure. Bradykinins were eventually developed into the drug captopril, used to treat hypertension, cardiac conditions and to preserve kidney functions in diabetics.

Maggots are small, voracious eaters that feed on diseased and dying flesh. Their feeding habit is a life-saving asset for those suffering from chronic wounds and infections. Maggots can turn a chronic wound into an acute wound in a matter of days by eating the chronic tissue and bacteria. From there the wound becomes treatable and can finally heal. These hungry insect larvae are sterile, work quickly and also cost less than traditional treatments.

Question 27

Spider silk | salmon | horseshoe crab

Answer 27

Spider silk is referred to by many scientists as bio-steel. Much like in the Spider-Man movies, spider silk has super tensile strength. Spider silk can also be used to make artificial ligaments and tendons that support tissue, bone and nerve cells, holding them steady while they grow. These artificial silk parts then fall apart gradually, after the cells have been given enough time to grow. The spider silk gene for the silk protein is connected to DNA in the mammary gland of goat. The cell of the mammary gland is then combined with an egg to ultimately produce an embryo that has the gene incorporated into its DNA. The silk protein is then made when the female starts lactating.

Salmon belongs on a dinner plate, but it can also be found at the pharmacy, too. They do produce calcitonin hormones to regulate their own calcium levels from an endocrine gland in their neck. Humans make calcitonin, a hormone that inhibits bone loss, in the thyroid gland. But in postmenopausal women and people with Paget’s disease, the rate of bone loss increases. The synthetic version of this calcitonin from the coho salmon, the calcitonin- salmon, can be used to treat people with calcium regulation disorders.

Over millions of years the horseshoe crab has been exposed to an awful lot of microbes making them immune to a wider range of threats than any other animal. Every person in the world today, who receives vaccines, antibiotics, or implanted medical devices such as pacemakers, has had their safety ensured by the blue blood of the horseshoe crab. A protein in the blood called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) reacts to all kinds of microorganisms and can easily detect dangerous endotoxins that cause fever and can be fatal. Scientists observed that the blood react to any contamination.

Question 28

Jute, Corchorus spp., (pg 16)

Answer 28

Jute, Corchorus spp., is a very valuable best fibre. Jute is a tropical plant that grows best in hot and humid climate, under condition of plenty of rain and flooding at a later stage. Jute fibre is the world’s chief material for manufacturing textiles in making roofing materials, curtains and gunny bags.

Question 29

Sericulture is an agro-based industry (pg 16)

Answer 29

Sericulture is an agro-based industry. It involves rearing of silkworm moths, Bombyx mori for the production of raw silk, which is the yarn obtained out of cocoons. Sericulnare plays a major role in rural employment, poverty alleviation and earning foreign exchange.

Question 30

Sericulture has become one of the most important cottage industries (pg 17)

Answer 30

Sericulture has become one of the most important cottage industries in a number of countries like China, Japan, India, Korea, Brazil, Russia, Italy and France. Today, China and India are the two main producers, together manufacturing more than 90 % of the world production each year. In Myanmar, it is cultured in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region and certain areas of Chin State.

Question 31

Wool is one of the most widely used animal fibres (pg 17)

Answer 31

Wool is one of the most widely used animal fibres and mainly harvested by shearing. Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. As an animal fibre, wool consists of protein together with a small percentage of lipids. This makes it chemically quite distinct from cotton and other plant fibres, which are mainly cellulose. The quality of wool is determined by its fibre diameter, crimp, yield, color, and staple strength. Fibre diameter is the most important wool characteristic determining quality and price.

Question 32

In addition to clothing, wool has been used for (pg 17)

Answer 32

In addition to clothing, wool has been used for blankets, horse rags, saddle cloths, carpeting, insulation and upholstery. Wool as well as cotton has also been traditionally used for cloth diapers. Wool is an essential fibre for winter clothing, saiting, floor coverings and certain industrial applications.

Question 33

Wood is an important plant product (pg 18)

Answer 33

Wood is an important plant product, which has been in the service of humankind since the dawn of civilization and has contributed much to its advancement. The primitive man used wood to construct his crude shelter as well as to design various implements, utensil and rough boats for his use. Today wood ranks next to food and fibres, as the most widely used plant product. In spite of the use of various metals, wood seems to be indispensable and has no satisfactory substitute, for the single fact that its supply can be renewed.

Question 34

The unprocessed wood may be used (pg 18)

Answer 34

The unprocessed wood may be used in the form of lumber ie. wood intended for heavy construction. Since the very beginning of civilization, wood has been the cheapest and most widely used construction material. Its significant qualities of high strength, lightweight, easy availability, continuous supply, high resistance to electrical and chemical stimuli, favour it for constructional work.

Question 35

The major portion of the timber is used for structural purpose (pg 18)

Answer 35

The major portion of the timber is used for structural purpose. The essential requirements of good structural timbers are strength durability toughness, resistance to stress and easy workability. Structural timbers are obtained mainly from the softwoods and from the heart of the tree. Teak, Tectona grandis, Pyinkado, Xylia dolabriformis are the most valuable of timber yielding plants of Myanmar and the most important commercial timbers.