Lesson A-1:

 Characteristics of living things;

 Cells;
 Movement of substances by diffusion, osmosis
and active transport;
 Photosynthesis.
Objectives:
 describe the characteristics of living organism;
 compare the structures of an unspecialized plant and animal
cell and selected microbes;
 state the functions of cell structures;
 identify selected cells which make up the human body;
 explain the importance of cell specialization in humans;
 distinguish between osmosis, diffusion and active transport;
 explain the importance of osmosis, diffusion and active
transport in living systems;
 explain the process of photosynthesis;
 investigate the effect of light and chlorophyll on the
production of starch;
Characteristics of living organisms(GRIMNER)
Growth - increase in size and development.
Respiration –process whereby living organisms obtain energy from food.
Irritability (Sensitivity) – ability to detect and respond to stimuli from the
surroundings.
Movement – moving parts of the body or moving from place to place
(locomotion).
Nutrition – making own food (plants) or consuming available food
(animals).
Excretion - getting rid of waste produced in cells.
Reproduction – producing offspring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMoc3IjxEks&t=905s
Unspecialized plant and animal cells:
➢ All living organisms are made up of cells.
➢ Organisms can be unicellular (made up of a single cell) or
multicellular (made up of many cells)
➢ Both plant and animal cells have certain common structures such
as: a nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, mitochondria and
ribosomes.
➢ A plant cell also has: a cell wall, chloroplasts and a large vacuole.
Cell organelles:
Unicellular organisms:
Cell specialization:
Multicellular organisms contain a large number of cells, which have
different shapes, different number of organelles and perform
different functions. This is called cell specialization.
Specialised cells in the human body:
Specialised
plant cells
 Cell differentiation:
 In order for a cell to become
specialised, a process called
differentiation occurs, where
unspecialised cells (called stem
cells) produce cells with
specialised structures.
 All multicellular organisms
contain some form of stem
cells. These are mostly the cells
that divide to replace
damaged or old tissue, or new
cells for growth.
 Levels of organisation:
CELLS → TISSUES → ORGANS → ORGAN SYSTEMS → ORGANISM

 Cells: the smallest units that can carry on all the

processes of life.
Tissue: a group of cells with similar structures,
working together to perform a shared function.
 Organ: a structure made up of a group of
tissues, working together to perform specific
functions.
 Organ system: a group of organs with related
functions, working together to perform body
functions
The four basic types of animal tissue:
Epithelial tissue: forms the skin and the outer
and inner lining of organs. .

Connective tissue: consists of collagen fibers,

ground substance and cells which connect,
support and bind other tissues.

Muscle tissue: muscle cells connect together

in sheets and fibers which contain contractile
proteins that contract to produce movement.

Nervous tissue: forms the nervous system. It

consists of neurons and supporting cells called
neuroglia and is responsible for coordinating
and controlling body functions.
Organ systems in the human body:
Movement of substances in/out of cells:
 Diffusion is the net movement of molecules and ions from a
region of higher concentration to a region of lower
concentration , as a result of their random movement.
Diffusion in the human body:
Osmosis:
 Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules through a
selectively permeable membrane from a higher water
potential (less concentrated solution) into a lower water
potential (more concentrated) solution.
Osmosis:
 Effects of osmosis on animal and plant cells:
✓ Hypotonic solution:
less concentrated
than inside cells;
✓ Hypertonic solution:
more concentrated
than inside cells;
✓ Isotonic solution:
same concentration
as inside cells.
 Active transport:
 Active transport is the movement of ions or molecules across a
cell membrane from a region of low concentration to a higher
concentration region. This requires energy (stored in ATP
molecules) and is assisted by a carrier membrane proteins and
enzymes.
 Examples of active transport in humans
and plants:
 The sodium/potassium pump of cells: Pumps Na+ ions from the cytoplasm
(lower Na+ concentration) to the extracellular space (higher Na+
concentration). At the same time, K+ ions are pumped in the opposite
direction also against their concentration gradient.
 Intestinal absorption of glucose and aminoacids: glucose and aminoacids
are transported from the intestinal lumen (lower concentration) into epithelial
cells of the villi (higher concentration) by an active transport mechanism
called co-transport, whereby membrane proteins carry them at the same
time they transport Na+ ions into the epithelium.
 Selective reabsorption of nutrients in the kidneys: glucose, aminoacids,
vitamins, etc, move from the renal tubules of the nephrons (lower
concentration) into the surrounding blood capillaries (higher concentration).
 Intake of dissolved mineral ions by root hair cells in plants.
 Importance of diffusion, osmosis and active
transport:
 Diffusion allows for the gaseous exchange required for respiration and
photosynthesis to take place. It is the way most nutrients enter the cells and
waste products are removed.
 Osmosis facilitates the distribution of essential nutrients in the body and the
excretion of metabolic waste products. It also regulates the solute
concentration within cells and balances the pressure of intra and
extracellular fluids. It is by osmosis that plants uptake water from
underground which is needed for photosynthesis, translocation of nutrients
and transpiration.
 Active transport is required for carrying molecules and ions across cellular
membranes against their concentration gradient. It is involved in essential
vital processes such as the intestinal absorption of nutrients, the
reabsorption of nutrients in the kidneys and the uptake of mineral ions by
plants.
 Photosynthesis:
Photosynthesis is the process by which plants manufacture
carbohydrates from raw materials (carbon dioxide and water) using
sunlight energy.

Photosynthesis takes place in the

chloroplasts, which contain a green
pigment called chlorophyll that traps
sunlight energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFaBpVoQD4E
Stages of photosynthesis:
 The process of photosynthesis takes place in two stages.
 1st stage (light reaction): The chlorophyll traps sunlight
energy which is required to break down water molecules
into hydrogen ions (H+) and oxygen gas (O2) that
diffuses out of the leaves.

 2do stage (dark reaction) : This stage does not require

sunlight energy. Here the hydrogen ions (H+) produced
in the 1st stage, combine chemically with carbon dioxide
molecules to form glucose molecules.
Fate of products of photosynthesis:
 The products of photosynthesis are glucose and oxygen and this is
what plants use them for:
 Glucose:
1. used directly by cells for respiration;
2. converted into sucrose and stored in roots, stem, fruits and flowers;
3. converted into proteins for plant growth;
4. converted into lipids for energy storage in fruits and seeds and to
make cell membranes;
5. converted and stored as starch in fruits, stem and roots;
6. converted to cellulose for cell walls.
 Oxygen:
1. used directly by cells for respiration;
2. released into the air through the stomata.
How leaves are adapted for photosynthesis:
1. Most leaves are broad and flat with a
large surface area to capture sunlight;
2. Green leaves have chloroplasts with
chlorophyll which traps sunlight energy;
3. The veins in the leaves have fine tubes that
transport water to the leave (xylem vessels)
and carry dissolved carbohydrates away
to rest of the plant (phloem tubes);
4. On the lower part of the leaves there are
tiny holes called stomata, which allow for
gaseous exchange (CO2 goes in, while
oxygen and water vapour come out).
Cross section of a leaf:
Experiments on Photosynthesis:
Experiments on Photosynthesis: