extra flashcards unit 1 + unit 2
give one advantage and one disadvantage of the tracheal system for gas exchange in insects [2]
- adv =
• reduces water loss / allows them to live in arid conditions
• no (blood/circulatory system/pigment) required
• oxygen supplied directly to the cells/muscles
• tracheoles go directly to cells/tissues - disadv =
• size/shape limitation
state how mammals maintain the concentration gradient at their gas exchange surface [2]
- ventilation (movement/system) / description of replacing oxygen in alveoli
- (blood/transport system) (takes oxygen away from respiratory surface) / ORA for carbon dioxiee
state why cellular demand for oxygen is lower in a fish compared to a dog of the same size [2]
- low body temperature
- metabolic rate low
- less energy required for support / fish are bouyant
reject : dogs move more than fish/dogs are more active than fish/ more oxygen needed for respiration
what does no nucleus mean for red blood cells?
can carry more haemoglobin (so increased O2 transport)
how does the thin centres on a red blood cells aid its function?
has short diffusion distance (so faster diffusion)
how does being small give an advantage to mammalian red blood cells?
- have a higher sa:vol ratio
- so more in total / total surface area large
what is the dependent variable?
the variable that is being measured/tested in the experiment
what is the independent variable?
the variable that you change during an experiment
identify one possible source of error when investigating the biodiversity of animals [1]
- some easier to catch than others / misidentification / recounting / they move around / camoflauged
one student calculated the diversity index in one section of a stream to be 10.24. explain what can be concluded from this result [2]
- there has been a mathematical error
- highest possible diversity index is 1
the banded snail is found in a variety of habitats, such as grassland, heathland, sand dunes and the base of hedges. the shell colour can vary : yellow which looks green with the animal inside, brown, pink and white. the shell can be banded or have up to 5 bands
- these morphologically different snails are all the same species. explain why this is an example of ‘genetic polymorphism’ [2]
any two from:
- the existence of a number of distinct (inherited) varieties (coexisting in the same population in a single species)
- snails (are different colours/have different bands)
- different morphology
- different phenotypes
- at frequencies too great to be explained by recurrent mutations
- multiple alleles for the same gene
questions related to ‘breathing in/inspiration’
- the DIAPHRAGM muscle CONTRACTS which cause it to FLATTEN
- this INCREASES THE VOLUME of the chest cavity and therefore the lungs
- at the same time the INTERCOSTAL MUSCLES between the ribs CONTRACT which causes the RIB CAGE TO MOVE UP AND OUT
- this increases the VOLUME of the chest cavity and therefore the lungs
- increasing the volume of the lungs REDUCES THE PRESSURE in the lungs, ad the pressure within the lungs is now LOWER THAN THE PRESSURE OUTSIDE the body AIR RUSHES INTO the lungs via the trachea, bronchi and bronchioles
questions related to ‘breathing out/expiration’
- the diaphragm muscle relaxes which causes it to dome upwards
- this decreases the volume of the chest cavity and therefore the lungs
- at the same time the intercoastal muscles between the ribs relax which causes the rib cage to move down and in
- this decreases the volume of the chest cavity and therefore the lungs
- decreasing the volume of the lungs increases the pressure in the lungs, as the pressure within the lungs is now higher than the pressure outside the body air rushes out of the lungs via the bronchioles, bronchi and trachea
questions related to ‘adaptation to gas exchange’
- the structure (lungs, gills etc) will have a large surface area which increases the rate of diffusion
- as the tissue is thin there is a short diffusion pathway which aids rapid diffusion
- the tissue is also permeable to the gases involved so diffusion is possible
- finally there is a good blood supply which means that a concentration gradient is maintained so that diffusion happens rapidly
- terrestrial organisms also have a moist gas exchange surface to allow gases to dissolve into the liquid to aid movement of the gases across membranes either into or out of cells
questions related to ‘adaptations of xerophytes’
- xerophytes are adapted to reduce loss of water
- they have a reduced surface area to volume ratio so that there us less area over which water can be lost
- xerophytes also have a thick waxy cuticle which acts as a waterproofing layer
- and also possess fewer stomata per unit area which again reduces the volume of water lost
- often stomata are sunken and/or leaves are curled; in both cases this traps a layer of moist air above the stomata which reduces the concentration gradient of water and therefore water loss by diffusion
explain why atp is sometimes referred to as the universal energy currency. include reference to the structure of the molecule in your answer [3]
- found in (all cells, of) all organisms
- (common) source of energy (in reactions)
- high energy BONDS / energy stored in BONDS between phosphate ions
- released when (bonds between phosphate break/hydrolysed) / exergonic
explain why the substance used to immobilise enzymes must be inert [1]
- substance used for immobilisation must not affect the shape of the active site / does not react with enzyme or substrate
it was originally proposed that one gene carried the code for one enzyme. this was revised to become the one gene-one protein hypothesis. it is now known as, the one gene-one polypeptide hypothesis.
using your knowledge of protein structure and function explain why the two previous versions of this hypothesis are no longer accepted [2]
- some proteins are made of more than one polypeptide/some genes code for more than one polypeptide
- not all proteins are enzymes
there has been some debate as to whether the pseudo-thumb in red pandas and giant pandas are examples of analogous or homologous structures. distinguish between analogous and homologous structures. explain why analogous features are not considered evidence of common ancestry [3]
- analogous structures (evolve separately) are different structures to perform a similar function
- homologous structures (evolve from common ancestor) similar structure performing different function
- analogous structures arise through convergent evolution
give an example of a disease caused by an organism in the kingdom:
a) prokaryotae
b) protoctista
c) fungi
a) any of the bacterial diseases
b) malaria etc
c) athletes food, ringworm, thrush etc
identify two habitats where you would expect to find a high number of species [2]
- (tropical) rain forest
- coral reef
questions related to ‘sexual and asexual reproduction’
- asexual reproduction produces offspring that are genetically identical
- cells divide by mitosis during asexual reproduction and as this process is rapid the species can reproduce rapidly is the environmental conditions are right
- however, organisms that carry ou t asexual reproduction are at a disadvantage as if the environmental conditions change e.g temperature changes markedly then the species will not be able to adapt
- if one died they all would
- sexual reproduction produces offspring that are genetically different
- gametes (sex cells) are produced by meiosis during sexual reproduction and as a partner is required sexual reproduction is slower than asexual reproduction
- however, organisms that carry out sexual reproduction are at an advantage as if the environmental conditions change e.g temperature changes markedly then the species will be able to adapt
- at least some of the species would be able to survive
questions of ‘define counter-current flow as seen in the gills of bony fish, and explain why counter current flow makes gas exchange more efficient’ [3]
- counter current flow is when blood flows in the opposite direction to the water
- this happens in the gills of bony fish
- the concentration gradient is maintained across the entire surface of the gill as the blood in the capillaries is always next to water with a higher concentration of oxygen
- this means that more oxygen can be diffused into the blood from the water surrounding the gill
questions related to ‘transpiration from leaves’
- transpiration is the loss of water from the leaves of plants
- this happens as water diffuses out of the leaves through the stomata as there is a water potential gradient between inside the leaf and the outside
- if the temperature is increased transpiration happens more rapidly as the water molecules in the air outside the stomata have more kinetic energy and therefore move away more quickly so that a steep water potential gradient is maintained
- if humidity is high this will reduce transpiration as the air outside will have many water molecules in it
- this would mean that there was less of a water potential gradient
- if light intensity was high this would increase transpiration because of the increase in stomatal opening which leads to a larger surface area for the water molecules to diffuse through
questions related to ‘the Bohr effect’
- when cells (e.g muscle cells) are aerobically respiring they release carbon dioxide as a waste product
- this means that when this gas is released as a waste product into the blood the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood increases
- the increased partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood causes the pH to reduce as carbonic acid is formed
- the lower pH reduces haemoglobin’s affinity for oxygen so that more oxygen is released
- this means that more oxygen is released from haemoglobin in those areas where it required most i.e adjacent to cells respiring aerobically
questions related to ‘tape worm transmission from human to human’
- tapeworm eggs present in human faeces are consumed by the pig
- the tapeworm eggs pass into the digestive system and eventually move into muscles
- if the meat/muscle containing the tapeworm eggs is undercooked or eaten raw by the human then the human is infected
questions related to ‘tape worms’
- tape works attach themselves to the wall of the intestine using hooks and suckers
- they absorb the nutrients they require from the host’s intestine
- they have a large surface area compared to their volume which increases the speed of diffusion of the nutrients from the host intestine into the tape worm
- as the tape worm is very thin the diffusion pathway is short which again increases the speed of diffusion
- tape worms do not require a digestive system as their food is digested by the hosts digestive system
- to prevent the digestive enzymes in the host digestive system damaging the tapeworm, it has a thick cuticle
- tapeworms produce large numbers of eggs to increase the change of infecting a new host
questions related to ‘digestion in cows’ [2]
- cows have a four chambered stomach that contains cellulose digesting bacteria [2]
OR
- cows have a four chambered stomach that contains cellulose digesting bacteria
- the long gut allows more time for the cellulose to be broken down
- cows also chew the cud which means they regurgitate some of the contents do that it can be chewed again to aid further digestion
questions related to ‘why does the ventricular pressure fall to zero, whilst the aortic pressure does not fall below 80 mmHg?’ [2]
- as the ventricle goes into diastole the ventricular pressure falls to 0
- however, the semi lunar valves in the aorta prevents the back-flow of blood into the ventricles thus maintaining the pressure at 80mmHg
questions related to ‘stomatal functions’
- stomata allow gas exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen to occur as they allow these gases to enter and leave the leaf
- stomata also control the loss of water from the plant e.g by closing at night which greatly reduces the rate of transpiration
questions related to ‘mechanism of stomatal opening’
- in the presence of light potassium ions are pumped into the guard cells
- the presence of the potassium ions promotes the conversion of starch to malate
- the malate causes the water potential of the guard cell to be lowered
- water therefore flows into the guard cell by osmosis from the surrounding epidermal cells
- the guard cell therefore becomes turgid and as the inner wall of the guard cell is inelastic the guard cells curve away from each other which means the stomata opens
questions related to ‘evolution’
- evolution happens when selection pressure happens to a population in a particular environment
- as there is variation in any population of organisms some of them will have a selective advantage over others, some of the variation in the population may also be caused by mutations
- those members of the population with the selective advantage are more likely to survive to sexual maturity and therefore breed successfully
- they will pass on their beneficial alleles, which will increase the allele frequency of this beneficial allele which will lead over generations to the vast majority of the population of this organism possessing the beneficial allele and therefore the beneficial phenotype
questions related to ‘digesting fat’
- the presence of bile salts causes the emulsification of lipids
- this increases the surface area of the lipids which means that the enzyme lipase can catalyse the breakdown of the lipid more quickly into fatty acids
questions related to ‘oxygen dissociation curves’
- oxygen dissociation curves are normally sigmoid as this is the most efficient way of obtaining oxygen in areas where there is an increasing partial pressure of oxygen such as the lungs and releasing oxygen where there is a decreasing partial pressure of oxygen such as respiring tissues in the body’s organs
- this happens because haemoglobin has a high affinity for oxygen in areas of high partial pressure of oxygen and a low affinity for oxygen in areas of lower partial pressure of oxygen
questions related to ‘effect of wind on transpiration’
- wind removes water vapour from the leaf’s surface
- this causes an increased diffusion gradient between the inside of the leaf (higher) and the outside of the leaf (lower)
- this means that water moves more quickly from the inside of the leaf to the outside
questions related to ‘how water moves up the stem’
- water is lost by transpiration from the leaves which causes tension on the water molecules in the water column in the xylem vessels
- as the water columns water molecules have cohesive forces between them and the other water molecules in the water column also have adhesive forces with the xylem vessel walls the increase in tension on the water at the top of the plant, caused by transpiration, results in the water molecules being pulled up the plant
for the polypeptide structure, should you use polypeptide chains or polypeptide strands?
polypeptide CHAINS
higher energy yield PER UNIT MASS
blood may be contaminated WITH A DISEASE
DNA CIRCULAR in prokaryotes
DNA in STRANDS in eukaryotes
two DNA chains CONNECTED or JOINED by base pairs
DNA CODES for proteins or mRNA
in transcription, DNA is used as a template to produce a mRNA MOLECULES
if a vesicle is travelling to the cell membrane to release its content, it is known as a ___?
secretory vesicle
biosensors detect SPECIFIC molecules
what happens when an enzyme becomes denatured? [2]
- the enzyme’s active site changes shape
- and the substrate no longer fits into the enzyme’s active site
- so the enzyme can’t function as no enzyme substrate complexes are formed
- and the reaction is therefore not catalysed
questions related to ‘transcription
- DNA is found in the nucleus of cells
- the DNA’s nitrogenous base sequence contains a code for the sequence of amino acids in a protein
- 3 nitrogenous bases code for 1 amino acid, the three nitrogenous bases are called a DNA triplet
- during transcription an enzyme called DNA helicase linkage to the DNA and unwinds it
- one of these strands called the coding strand acts as a template first the synthesis of mRNA
- the mRNA molecule is built up by complimentary base pairing with the coding strand, if the DNA nitrogenous base is adenine then the mRNA nucleotide would be uracil etc
- once the mRNA molecule is built, it leaves the nucleus through a nuclear pore
how to convert from nanometers to micrometers?
divide by 1000
using a buffer would have been inappropriate in certain experiment in question because:
- colour change/indicator dependent on change in pH
- (hydrolysis produces) fatty acids (that lower the pH/make it acid)
- buffer solution would (stabilise/maintain/control) pH (to alkaline conditions)
test at smaller increments to determine optimum (temperature) accurately
- repeat experiment with a range of intermediate values (/wider range)
suggest why the presence of unsaturated fatty acids in the phospholipid would increase fluidity of the membrane? [4]
- unsaturated contain (double bonds between carbons / C=C)
- produces a kink/bend in side chain
- less packing is possible / increased distance between the chains
- lower intermolecular force
- less energy needed (to break the bonds/overcome the intermolecular forces)
state how a diet high in animal products and cholesterol can lead to a person developing heart disease [2]
- raises level of LDLs / causes LDLs to be made
- increases incidence of atheroma in arteries
describe the role of calcium in plant cells and tissues [1]
(structure of)/ component of cell WALLS in plants
explain why the growth of a plant may be reduced if the roots have little access to oxygen [4]
- anaerobic conditions/lack of oxygen
- (less/no) ATP produced
- active transport (cannot occur/reduced), fewer ions can be transported (against concentration gradient)
- stunted growth because of a lack of ions
how does the cell mass change during a cell cycle of mitosis?
- interphase : mass of cell increases
- as does cell size
- mass of cell continues to increase
- due to replication of DNA / organelles
- and possibly due to formation of spindle fibres
- cell undergoes cytokinesis and mass of cell halves
why can’t insects use their external surface for gas exchange?
as they are covered in an impermeable cuticle to reduce water loss by evaporation
describe the change in fluid level in the tracheoles during flight (insects). suggest how this change benefits gaseous exchange during flight [2]
- less fluid/fluid moves into muscle fibres / fluid level decreases
- more area for gaseous exchange / shorter diffusion pathway
what is the outer pleural membrane attached to?
the ribcage
what is the inner pleural membrane attached to?
the outer surface of the lungs
water is a dense medium with a low oxygen content. explain how bony fish have overcome the problems of oxygen uptake in water [4]
- water forced over the gill by (ventilation mechanisms / pressure differences / continuous swimming)
- unidirectionally / one way flow
- counter-current flow of blood and water
- (diffusion / concentration) gradient is maintained (over entire gill surface)
- high affinity Hb