Section 9 - Use of Biological Resources P1 Flashcards

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1
Q

What affects a plants rate of photosynthesis?

A
  • intensity of light
  • concentration of carbon dioxide
  • the temperature
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2
Q

How can you maximise crop yield?

A

By carefully controlling the conditions which plants are grown in since they make food for themselves
-increasing the temperature, carbon dioxide concentration and light intensity

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3
Q

What buildings do we use to grow crops to artificially create ideal conditions for photosynthesis?

A

-glasshouses or polytunnels (big tube-like structures made from polythene

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4
Q

Why is it easier to enclose plants in structures than letting them grow in a natural environment?

A
  • keeping the plants enclosed in a glasshouse makes it easier to keep them free from pests and disease
  • helps farmers control the water supplied to their crops
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5
Q

What do commercial farmers often do about the crops access to light?

A

-often supply artificial light after the sun goes down to give the plants more time to photosynthesise

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6
Q

What do commercial farmers often do about the crops growing environment’s temperature?

A
  • glasshouses trap the sun’s heat to keep the plants warm

- in winter, a farmer might use a heater to keep the temperature at an ideal level

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7
Q

What do commercial farmers often do about the crops access to carbon dioxide?

A

-farmers can increase the level of carbon dioxide in glasshouses (e.g. by using a paraffin heater to heat the place, as it burns it create carbon dioxide as a by-product)

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8
Q

What minerals do plants need?

A

nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium

-so they can make important compounds

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9
Q

What happens if a plant doesn’t get enough of the mineral ions it needs?

A

Their growth and life processes can be affected

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10
Q

What can cause the soil to not have enough of the minerals needed by plants?

A

-a previous crop could have used them up

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11
Q

How and why do farmers increase the levels of mineral ions in the soil?

A
  • use fertilisers to replace the missing mineral ions or provide more of them
  • helps to increase crop yield
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12
Q

What are pests?

A

Pests include microorganisms, insects and mammals.

Pests are organisms that do unhelpful things, such as feeding on crops?

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13
Q

What do farmers do about pests?

A

Pests that feed on crops are killed using methods of pest control.

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14
Q

Why do farmers want to control pests?

A

If pests are killed, then fewer plants are damaged or destroyed, increasing crop yield

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15
Q

What methods of pest control do farmers use?

A

pesticides

biological control

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16
Q

What are pesticides?

A

Pesticides are a form of chemical pest control

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17
Q

What are the dangers of using pesticides?

A
  • often poisonous to humans (must be used carefully to keep the level of pesticide in food below a safe level)
  • some pesticides can harm other wildlife
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18
Q

What is biological control?

A

Biological control means using other organisms to reduce the numbers of pests, either by encouraging wild organisms or adding new ones

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19
Q

What types of organisms can be used for biological control?

A
  • predators(ladybirds eat aphids)
  • parasites(some flies lay their eggs on slugs, eventually killing them)
  • disease-causing(bacteria that affect caterpillars)
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20
Q

What are the advantages of using biological control?

A
  • can have a longer-lasting effect than spraying pesticides

- can be less harmful to wildlife

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21
Q

What are the disadvantages of using biological control?

A

-they can upset a balance, or the new organism introduced can become a pest itself (e.g. cane toads were introduced to Australia to eat beetles, now they are a major pest because they poison the native species that eat them)

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22
Q

What is fermentation?

A

Fermentation is when microorganisms break sugars down to release energy - usually by anaerobic respiration.

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23
Q

What is fermented milk?

A

Yogurt

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24
Q

Why is the equipment used to ferment the milk sterilised?

A

To kill of any unwanted microorganisms

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25
Q

Describe the process by which milk is turned into yogurt:

A
  • the equipment is sterilised
  • the milk is pasteurised, then cooled
  • lactobactillus bacteria are added, the mixture is incubated (around 40°C) in a fermenter vessel
  • the bacteria ferment the lactose into lactic acid
  • lactic acid causes the milk to clot & solidify into yogurt
  • flavours and colours are sometimes added to the yogurt and it is packaged
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26
Q

What does the pasteurising process involve?

A

heating milk up to 72°C for 15 seconds

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27
Q

Why is milk pasteurised in the process for making yogurt?

A

To kill any harmful, unwanted microorganisms

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28
Q

What do the bacteria do to the milk during fermentation?

A

The bacteria ferment the lactose sugar in the milk to form lactic acid

29
Q

What useful things can microorganisms be used to make?

A

penicillin or insulin

30
Q

How are microorganisms grown in industry?

A

Grown in large containers called fermenters

31
Q

What does a fermenter contain?

A
  • liquid ‘culture medium’ in which microorganisms can grow and reproduce
  • conditions are kept at optimum levels for growth (the yield of the products from the microorganism is maximised as much as possible)
32
Q

In a fermenter, how are nutrients needed for the microorganisms growth provided?

A

they are provided in the liquid culture medium

33
Q

In a fermenter, what conditions are maintained?

A
  • pH monitored
  • nutrients needed for growth of microorganisms
  • the temperature
  • oxygen for respiration
  • paddles to circulate the medium
  • vessels are sterilised
34
Q

In a fermenter, why is the pH monitored?

A

To keep it at an optimum level for the microorganisms enzymes to work efficiently
-keeps the rate of reaction and product yield as high as possible

35
Q

In a fermenter, why is temperature monitored?

A

Temperature is monitored and kept at an optimum level

36
Q

In a fermenter, how is temperature controlled in a fermenter?

A

a water-cooled jacket makes sure it doesn’t get so hot that the enzymes denature (since heat is produced from the respiration)

37
Q

In a fermenter, why do they have paddles?

A

Microorganisms are kept in contact with fresh medium by paddles that circulate (or agitate) the medium around the vessel
-this increases the product yield because microorganisms can always access the nutrients needed for growth

38
Q

In a fermenter, why is oxygen provided?

A

Microorganisms need oxygen for respiration, it is added by pumping in sterile air
-increases the product yield because microorganisms can always respire to provide the energy for growth

39
Q

In a fermenter why are vessels sterilised between uses?

A

Sterilised with a superheated steam that kills unwanted microbes
-aseptic conditions increases the product yield because microorganisms aren’t competing with each other and the product doesn’t get contaminated

40
Q

What is bread dough made up of?

A

yeast
flour
water
a bit of sugar

41
Q

Describe how yeast is used to make bread:

A
  • the dough is made and left in a warm place to rise
  • the yeast respires aerobically until oxygen runs out, it then respires anaerobically (this is fermentation, and produces CO₂ and ethanol)
  • CO₂ produced is trapped in bubbles in the dough
  • these pockets of gas expand and the dough rises
  • the dough is baked in the oven, the yeast continues to ferment until the temperature kills the yeast
  • alcohol produced is boiled away
  • when the yeast dies, the bread stops rising but the pockets are left where CO₂ was trapped
42
Q

How does yeast cause bread dough to rise?

A
  • enzymes break down carbohydrates in the flour into sugars which the yeast uses for respiring in aerobic respiration and producing CO₂
  • the yeast respires aerobically until the oxygen runs out, then it respires anaerobically (this is fermentation, and produces CO₂ and ethanol)
  • CO₂ produced is trapped in bubbles in the dough
  • these pockets of gas expand and the dough rises
43
Q

How can you experiment the rate of CO₂ production by yeast during anaerobic respiration changes under different conditions?

A
  • Mix yeast, sugar and distilled water
  • place it in a test tube with a bung and delivery tube on which is connected to another test tube with water in, which you can count the number of bubbles produced
44
Q

Describe a practical for how different conditions affect respiration rate of yeast:

A

THIS IS FOR CHANGING TEMPERATURE, COULD ADAPT IT FOR OTHER CONDITIONS

  • mix sugar, yeast, distilled water, add to a test tube
  • attach a bung with a delivery tube to another test tube with water in
  • place the tube containing the yeast in a water bath
  • let the tube acclimatise for 5 mins, then count how many bubbles that are produced in 5 mins
  • calculate the rate of CO₂ production by dividing the number of bubbles by the time taken(in secs) - this gives an indication of the respiration rate
  • repeat the experiment with different water bath temperatures
45
Q

For a practical of how different conditions affect respiration rate of yeast, why would you seal the test tubes with bungs?

A

To stop oxygen getting in, so the yeast will have to respire anaerobically

46
Q

What is respiration controlled by?

A

Respiration is controlled by enzymes, so as temperature increases, so should the rate of respiration up to the optimum temperature

47
Q

How can you measure gas produced in an experiment more accurately than counting bubbles?

A

Using a gas syringe so you’d measure the volume of gas produced

48
Q

Why are organisms selectively bred?

A

To develop the most desired features

-selective breeding is also know as artificial selection

49
Q

What are the desired feature wanted from selective breeding?

A
  • maximum yield of meat, milk, grain…
  • good health and disease resistance
  • in animals qualities such as temperament, speed, fertility, good mothering skills…
  • in plants qualities such as attractive flowers, nice smell…
50
Q

What is the basic process of artificial selection?

A
  • from your existing stock select the ones with the best characteristics
  • breed them with each other
  • select the best of the offspring and breed them together
  • continue this process over several generations, the desirable traits get stronger and stronger (in farming yields will get better and better)
51
Q

How can selective breeding increase the productivity of cows?

A
  • cows can be selectively bred (for meat, milk..)
  • the animals with characteristics that will enhance the characteristics are selected and bred together
  • the offspring with the best characteristics are selected and bred together
  • continued over several generations to improve the desired characteristic
  • cows can be impregnated naturally or by AI
52
Q

What is AI?

A

Artificial insemination can be used because mating cows and bulls can be difficult

  • it is safer for the cow and much quicker and cheaper to transport bull semen than bulls
  • this semen can be used to impregnate multiple cows and can be stored after the bull has died
53
Q

How can selective breeding increase the number of offspring in sheep?

A
  • farmers can selectively breed sheep to increase the number of lambs born
  • ewes who have large numbers of offspring are bred with ram whose mothers had large numbers of offspring
  • characteristics of having large numbers of offspring is passed on to the next generation
54
Q

How can selective breeding increase crop yield?

A
  • selective breeding can be used to combine two desired characteristics
  • tall wheat plants (have good grain yield, but are easily damaged by rain and wind), dwarf wheat plants (resist rain and wind, but have a lower grain yield)
  • the two types were cross bred and their best offspring bred together as well, resulting in a new variety of wheat (dwarf wheat plants which could resist weather and have a high grin yield)
55
Q

What do restriction enzymes do?

A

Restriction enzymes recognise specific sequences of DNA and cut the DNA at these points

56
Q

What do ligase enzymes do?

A

Ligase enzymes are used to join two pieces of DNA together

57
Q

What is recombinant DNA?

A

Two different bits of DNA stuck together

58
Q

What enzymes are involved with DNA being cut up and joined together?

A

Restriction enzymes and ligase enzymes

59
Q

What is a vector?

A

A vector is something that’s used to transfer DNA into a cell

60
Q

What are the two types of vectors?

A

plasmids

viruses

61
Q

What are plasmids?

A

Plasmids are small, circular molecules of DNA that can be transferred between bacteria

62
Q

What do viruses do as a vector?

A

Viruses insert DNA into the organism they infect

63
Q

Describe how genetic engineering works:

A
  • DNA you want to insert(e.g. gene for human insulin) is cut out using a restriction enzyme, the vector DNA is then cut out using the same restriction enzyme
  • the vector DNA mixes with the inserted DNA with ligase enzymes
  • ligase joins them to form recombinant DNA
  • recombinant DNA is inserted into other cells(e.g. Bacteria)
  • these cells now use the gene you inserted to make the protein you want (e.g. Bacteria cells producing human insulin for people with diabetes)
64
Q

What does transgenic mean?

A

Organisms that contain genes transferred from another species
(e.g. bacteria that contain the gene for human insulin)

65
Q

What are some of the ways crops can be genetically modified to increase food production?

A
  • to make them resistant to insects

- to make them resistant to herbicides (chemicals that kill plants)

66
Q

What is the advantage of farmers making insect-resistant plants?

A

-farmers don’t have to spray as many pesticides, so wildlife that doesn’t eat the crop isn’t harmed and it increases crop yield making more food

67
Q

What is the advantage of farmers making herbicide-resistant plants?

A

-farmers can spray their crops to kill weeds, without affecting the crop itself, increasing crop yield

68
Q

What are the concerns about growing genetically modified plants?

A
  • transplanted genes might get out into the environment

- genetically modified crops could adversely affect food chains or even human health

69
Q

Why are some people against genetic engineering altogether?

A

-they worry that changing an organism gene might create unforeseen problems, which could then get passed on to future generations