Preliminary Biology Study Notes

Module 1 - Cells as a Basis of Life

Investigate different cellular structures, including but not limited to:
a. Examining a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Differences Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes Eukaryotes

DNA DNA is naked DNA bound to protein

DNA is circular DNA is linear
Usually no introns Usually has introns

Organelles No nucleus Has a nucleus

No membrane-bound Membrane-bound
70S ribosomes 80S ribosomes

Reproduction Binary fission Mitosis and meiosis

Single chromosome (haploid) Chromosomes paired (diploid or more)

Average size Smaller (1-5 micrometres) Larger (10-100 micrometres)

Cell Type Differences Similarities

Prokaryotic Some have cell wall DNA

More simple Ribosomes (makes proteins)
Smaller Cytoplasm (jelly-like fluid)
No membrane-bound organelles Cell membrane (plasma membrane)
No nucleus

Eukaryotic Most have cell wall DNA

More complex Ribosomes (makes proteins)
Larger Cytoplasm (jelly-like fluid)
Membrane-bound organelles Cell membrane (plasma membrane
Nucleus with DNA
Types of Cells
Prokaryotic Eukaryotic

● Range from 0.1 to 5.0 micrometres ● Range from 10 to 100 micrometres

● Has a cell membrane, cytoplasm, ● Characterised by having membrane-
ribosomes and genetic material bound organelles
● Does not have any membrane- ○ Each organelle has a specific
bound organelles function
○ No nucleus ○ Organelles together carry out
○ Free-floating circular DNA (i.e. biochemical processes and
Large loop called the bacterial reactions (e.g. Respiration and
chromosome and smaller rings photosynthesis)
called plasmids) ● Either unicellular or multicellular
● Structures present: ● Examples:
○ Cell wall - protects the cell and ○ Animals
provides structural support ○ Plants
○ Pili - hair-like structures on the ○ Fungi
surface that allows the cell to ○ Protists
adhere to nearby substances
○ Flagella - whip-like tails that
provide the cell with locomotion
○ Capsule - a layer composed of
complex carbohydrates outside
the cell wall and protects the cell
● Examples:
○ Bacteria
○ Archaea
Three Premises of the Modern Cell Theory
1. The cell is the smallest living unit in all organisms
2. All living things are made of cells
3. All cells come from other pre-existing cells

b. Describe a range of technologies that are used to determine a cell’s structure and
function

Technologies Used to Determine Cell Structure

Type Description

Light microscope ● Use:

○ Light source passes through condenser lens through
the specimen
○ Light then travels through convex objective lens
○ Image is magnified and viewed through ocular lens
● Magnification of 1000X
● Resolution of >200 nm - two separate structures can only be
distinguished if they are 200nm apart or more
● Can be used to view living and non-living specimens
Fluorescence ● Similar to light microscope, except use a fluorescent
microscope substance
○ This substance is attached to specific structures that
want to be observed
● Use:
○ The sample is illuminated with a high-intensity source
of light that causes the fluorescent substance to emit
light
○ Fluorescent light is directed through filters that
separate it from surrounding light
○ Viewer can only see areas of the sample that are
glowing
Electron ● Electron microscopes use an electron beam, which gives
microscope greater magnification
● Electron microscopes have a higher resolving power as
electrons have shorter wavelengths compared to light
● The microscope reveals structures not only at the cellular
level, but also subcellular level
● Advantages:
○ Unseen structures could be seen
○ Previously seen structures could be seen in greater
detail
● Two main types of electron microscopes:
○ Scanning electron microscope (SEM) - bombards
solid specimens with a beam of electrons, causing
secondary electrons to be emitted from the surface
layers. Can produce 3D images of cell structures.
■ Magnification - 100,000X
■ Resolution - 10nm
■ Colour - black and white
■ Specimen preparation - easy
■ Live specimen - no
■ Cost - $1,000,000
○ Transmission electron microscope (TEM) -
transmits (i.e. Passes through) electrons through the
specimen.
■ Magnification - 5,000,000X
■ Resolution - 0.2nm
■ Colour - black and white
■ Specimen preparation - difficult
■ Live specimen - no
■ Cost - $100,000
 Structures Visible Using Microscopes
School Light Microscope Advanced Light Electron Microscope (60-
(10-400X) Microscope (800-2000X) 1,500,000X)

● Cell wall ● All structures in ● All structures in

● Nucleus and previous column previous two columns
nuclear membrane ● Cell membrane ● Endoplasmic
● Chloroplast ● Golgi body reticulum
● Vacuole - tonoplast ● Mitochondria ● Ribosomes
and cell sap ● Nucleolus ● Lysosomes
● Cytoplasm All require special straining ● Centrosome
● Cytoskeleton (special
straining)

c. Drawing scaled diagrams of a variety of cells

Drawing Scaled Diagrams

1. Determine the actual length of the object to be drawn
2. Divide the actual length of the object by the length of the proposed drawing
● E.g.
○ Length of cell = 8 micrometres
○ Length of drawing = 4cm

Therefore, a scale of 1cm in length would represent 2 micrometres

d. Comparing and contrasting different cell organelles and arrangements

Organelles in Cells
Organelle Size Function Diagram
Mitochondria 1-10 ● Converts sugars to ATP
micrometres (adenosine triphosphate)
● For cellular respiration

Chloroplast 1-2 thick, 5-7 ● Absorb sunlight to

wide produce food
micrometres ● Used for photosynthesis

Nucleus 6 diameter ● Contains genetic material

micrometres (DNA)
● Controls the activities of
the cell by determining
which proteins are made
Rough ER 30-50 ● Transports proteins after
micrometres production
● Covered by ribosomes
that produce proteins

Smooth ER 2.5 ● Make cellular products

micrometres (e.g. Hormones and lipids)
Releases calcium ions
and processes toxins

Golgi body 2.5 ● Transports, modifies and

micrometres packages proteins and
lipids into vesicles
Lysosome 0.1-1.2 ● Digestion of waste
micrometres products
● Digest broken and
damaged cellular
materials and wastes

Vacuole 1-10 ● Fluid filled structures

micrometres ● Holds nutrients or waste
products
● Holds water in plants

e. Modelling the structure and function of the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane

Fluid Mosaic Model

● The cell membrane is selectively permeable - only certain molecules or ions are
allowed into or out of the cell

● The current cell membrane model is known as the fluid mosaic model:

○ Fluid mosaic model proposing a 'lipid sea' with 'many and various proteins
floating on and in it'
○ Specialised proteins are embedded in the lipid in various patterns like a
mosaic
○ Some proteins can move sideways, but others are fixed
● The cell membrane has:

○ Phospholipid bilayer - two layers of phospholipids, which are

AMPHIPATHIC, meaning that they have both hydrophilic and hydophobic
regions.
■ Hydrophilic phosphate containing head - the end of the cell
membrane, which is able to absorb water or dissolve in water
■ Hydrophobic fatty acid tails - the inside of the cell membrane, which
avoids water or unable to dissolve in water

○ Cholesterol (in animals) and phytosterol (in plants) - a lipid interspersed

among the phospholipid molecules, making the membrane more flexible
○ Membrane proteins - may extend partway into the plasma membrane
integral membrane protein), cross the membrane entirely (transmembrane
proteins), or be loosely attached to its inside or outside face (peripheral
membrane protein) on phospholipids or integral proteins
○ Carbohydrate groups - present only on the outer surface of the plasma
membrane, and are attached to proteins (glycoproteins) or lipids
(glycolipids). They consist of straight or branching carbohydrate chains with
2-60 monosaccharide (simple sugar) units
 ○ The bilayer has the heads on the outside while the tails are pointing inside
facing each other
● Cell membranes are able to grow, break and resemble themselves during cell
division

Membrane Proteins

● Protein molecules are scattered throughout the cell membrane

● They are described as 'floating' in the lipid bilayer 'like icebergs in a lipid sea', giving
a mosaic effect
● Functions:
○ Pores
○ Active carrier systems
○ Channels for transport
○ Attachment of carbohydrates for cell recognition
● Types:
○ Adhesion proteins (in animal cells) - links cells together and maintains
organism's 3D structure
○ Transport proteins - passageways allowing specific substances to move
across the membrane
○ Receptor proteins - causes cells to respond only to certain signals from
substances like hormones that bind to them, giving them specific functions
○ Recognition proteins (glycoprotein) - known as antigens, or marker
molecules. They identify the cell, allowing immune system to distinguish
between foreign particles and self particles

Investigate the way in which materials can move into and out of cells, including but not
limited to:
a. Conducting a practical investigation modelling diffusion and osmosis

Movement of Materials in and Out of Cells

● Substances moving in cells:

○ Gases:
■ Oxygen
■ Carbon dioxide
○ Nutrients:
 ■ Amino acids
■ Sugars
■ Glycerol
■ Fatty acids
○ Water
○ Soluble mineral salts
● Substances moving out cells:
○ Wastes:
■ Urea
■ Uric acid
■ Excess carbon dioxide
○ Products secreted by cells

Movement of Molecules Across Cell Membranes

● Permeability of cell membrane to a molecule depends on molecule's:

○ Size
○ Electrical charge
○ Lipid solubility
● Features that make it more likely for a particle to cross the cell membrane:
○ Hydrophobic (lipid-soluble) - the fatty acid tails (hydrophilic) repel
hydrophilic molecules, making it harder to cross
○ Small - are able to move across quicker
○ Uncharged - uncharged molecules are better at dissolving lipids than
electrically charged molecules, therefore uncharged molecules have a higher
membrane permeability
■ Membranes with low permeability rely on carrier proteins to transport
them across
○ Membranes with pores - makes molecules highly permeable, such as water.
Although water is a polar molecule and not lipid-soluble, they have pores.

Diffusion

● Passive movement requires no energy; active movement requires energy in the form
of ATP
● Diffusion is the net movement of any molecules from a region of high
concentration to a region of low concentration until equilibrium has been
reached
○ Equilibrium is reached when there is no net movement of molecules in either
direction; the molecules move equally in each direction
● Movement from high concentration to low concentration is known as movement
ALONG the concentration gradient
● Greater difference in concentration levels from two different regions will increase the
diffusion rate
● Increased heat or temperature will also increase the diffusion rate due to kinetic
energy of particles increasing

Diffusion Across a Cell Membrane

Facilitated Diffusion

● Relatively large molecules (e.g. Glucose and amino acids) and charged particles
(e.g. Sodium and chloride ions) require carrier proteins and protein channels to assist
them in diffusing into the cell
● CARRIER PROTEINS:
1. Carrier proteins binds the molecules on one side of the membrane
2. Protein changes shape
3. Released protein on other side
● PROTEIN CHANNELS:
1. Channel protein opens
2. Molecules such as sodium ions pass through rapidly
3. Channel protein closes

Osmosis

● Osmosis is the net movement of solvent/water molecules from a region of high

solvent concentration to a region of high solvent concentration through a
semipermeable membrane
● A passive form of movement requiring no energy

● A concentrated solution contains a large amount of solute in relation to

the amount of water → water is in low concentration
● A dilute solution contains a small amount of solute in relation to the
amount of water → water is in high concentration
● Water does not move directly through the lipid bilayer; it passes through tiny protein
channels called aquaporins ('water pores')
● Osmotic pressure - pressure created by water moving across a semi-permeable
membrane due to osmosis
○ The more water that moves across, the greater the osmotic pressure
● Solutions:
○ Isotonic - (iso = same) the solution has the same solute concentration as
another solution across a semi-permeable membrane
○ Hypotonic - (hypo = lower) cells surrounded by solution with lower solute
concentration than their cytoplasm
○ Hypertonic - (hyper = higher) cells surrounded by solution with higher solute
concentration than their cytoplasm
 b. Relating the exchange of materials across membranes to the surface-area-to-volume
ratio, concentration gradients and characteristics of the materials being exchanged

Surface Area to Volume Ratio

● Size of cell important when relating to exchange of materials across membrane

● Cells generally need to be small because they rely mainly on diffusion to obtain
needed materials and expel unwanted materials.
● As cell becomes larger, it becomes harder for material to reach centre of cell, which
renders diffusion less efficient as mode of transport.
○ Because of this, larger cells often divide into two smaller cells to produce cells
with larger surface area to volume ratio OR will have more/larger internal
transport systems like the endoplasmic reticulum or Golgi apparatus

Concentration Gradient

● Passive transport:
○ Energy is not required to pass through membrane
○ The exchange of materials across the membrane going DOWN the
concentration gradient (i.e. substances moving from places of high
concentration to low concentration).
○ Diffusion - moves substances down concentration gradient
■ Continues until equal concentration on both sides of membrane
reached.
○ Facilitated diffusion - moves substances down concentration gradient.
■ Allows charged and large molecules to pass through membrane
through specific channel proteins, where specificity applies to size,
charge and shape of molecule. Like enzymes, only allow one type or
type of closely related molecules to pass through. Example: glucose
and amino acids.
 ○ Osmosis - moves water across membrane from places of high concentration
to low concentration (i.e. moves down water potential gradient).
■ Pass passively across membrane without need for carrier/transport
protein.
● Active transport:
○ Energy is required to cross membrane in form of ATP (adenosine
triphosphate) which is produced during respiration
○ Moves from place of low concentration to high concentration.
○ Uses carrier proteins and energy (ATP) to transport substances from
one side of cell to the other
○ Examples:
■ Reabsorption of glucose
■ Salts and amino acids from nephrons in the kidney when blood is
filtered
■ Sodium/potassium pumps in the cell membrane
○ Endocytosis transports substances inside cell
■ e.g. phagocytosis and pinocytosis.
○ Exocytosis transports substances outside cell via vesicles
■ e.g. enzymes and antibodies transported outside cell.

Characteristics of Materials Being Exchanged

● Passive transport (Diffusion, Facilitated diffusion, Osmosis)

○ Diffusion/Facilitated diffusion - materials small, non-polar
○ Osmosis - solvent particles; water only (in biology)
● Active transport (Endocytosis, Exocytosis)
○ Carrier proteins allow substances to enter/leave cell that are: large, charged
○ Endocytosis - (phagocytosis, pinocytosis) materials large or contained in
fluid; enters cell (cell membrane engulfs and draws them in)
○ Exocytosis - waste products and unneeded materials; expelled from cell
(vesicles transport them to cell membrane before fusing with it and expelling
the contents out of the cell)

Investigate cell requirements, including but not limited to:

 a. Suitable forms of energy, including light energy and chemical energy in complex
molecules

Energy Sources

● Phototrophs use light energy as their energy source, while chemotrophs use
chemical energy as their energy source.
● Chemotrophs can get their energy from organic compounds (carbohydrates, proteins
and lipids e.g heterotrophs) or inorganic compounds (hydrogen sulfide, elemental
sulfur, ferrous iron, molecular hydrogen and ammonia)
● Chemotrophs that obtain their energy from inorganic substances are called
chemoautotrophs and are usually extremophilic (live in extreme environments)

b. Matter, including gases, simple nutrients and ions

Cell Requirements

c. Nutrients (minerals, vitamins, proteins, water)

d. Ions (e.g. potassium, sodium, Mg, Ca, Zn)
e. Oxygen (animal cells) or carbon dioxide (plant cells) for cellular
respiration/photosynthesis.

Cell Requirements
● Nutrients (minerals, vitamins, proteins, water)
● Ions (e.g. potassium, sodium, Mg, Ca, Zn)
● Oxygen (animal cells) or carbon dioxide (plant cells) for cellular
respiration/photosynthesis.

Feature Autotroph Heterotroph

Definition An organism that is able to form An organism that cannot produce

nutritional organic substances its own food, instead taking nutrition
from simple inorganic substances from other sources of organic
such as carbon dioxide carbon, mainly plant or animal
matter

Energy source Sunlight (i.e. Sunlight) Other organisms

Carbon source Carbon dioxide Other organisms

Production of Photosynthesis followed by Ingestion and digestion followed by

ATP cellular respiration cellular respiration

Other Minerals from soil, including Vitamins and minerals including

requirements calcium, iron, nitrates, phosphates calcium, iron

Ions
Phosphorus Key component of all phospholipids and ATP

Sulfur Form disulfide bonds in proteins to maintain their

shape

Sodium, potassium, chlorine Necessary for nerve function

Calcium Nerve cell function and bone cell structure

Iron Necessary for oxygen transportation in red blood cells

f. Removal of wastes

Removal of Wastes
Waste By product of

Carbon dioxide Cellular respiration

Urea (i.e. Nitrogenous waste) Digestion of proteins

Lactic acid Anaerobic respiration (lactic acid

fermentation)

Hydrogen peroxide Many metabolic processes

Ethanol (Alcohol) Fermentation in yeast and plants

Hydrogen sulfide Anaerobic cellular respiration (in prokaryotes)

Investigate the biochemical processes of photosynthesis, cell respiration and the removal of
cellular products and wastes in eukaryotic cells

Photosynthesis Respiration
● Photosynthesis
○ Carbon dioxide + water → oxygen + glucose + energy (ATP)
○ Food-making chemical process in plants that uses carbon dioxide, water and
the energy of light in the presence of chlorophyll, to manufacture organic
molecules (mainly sugars) with oxygen as a by-product
○ Glucose is stored away as it is used to grow and produce flowers and fruit.
 ○ Oxygen is not needed (WASTE PRODUCT OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS) and is
released through the same pores through which they take in carbon dioxide

Reactions in the Chloroplast

Feature Light-dependent reaction Light-independent reaction

Location Grana Stroma

Description Chlorophyll absorbs light energy Carbon dioxide, hydrogen ions and
and water is split into oxygen gas energy from the first stage are used
and hydrogen ions and energy to produce glucose
are formed

● Respiration
○ Oxygen + glucose → carbon dioxide + water + energy (ATP)
○ Chemical reaction in the mitochondria of cells, whereby energy is released
from organic compounds (especially carbohydrates)
○ Carbon dioxide is toxic to cells in high levels (WASTE PRODUCT), and is
thus removed through exhalation of the lungs. Water is also exhaled as a
waste product, but some is kept and used.
● Removal of Cellular Products
○ Egestion - elimination of undigested food (faeces) from an organism via the
anus
○ Excretion - elimination of wastes such as nitrogenous wastes and carbon
dioxide, that are produced during metabolism (that is, they once formed part
of the body of the organism)
○ Metabolism - the total of all chemical reactions in a living organism
○ Nitrogenous wastes excreted in urination (toxic product)
○ Water removed via sweating and urination (could lyse cells, high blood
pressure, etc.)
○ Carbon dioxide removed via exhalation (when mixed with water makes
carbonic acid, which changes pH of blood and denatures enzymes)

Experiment: Investigating Photosynthesis

Aim: to examine the effects of (1) pressure/absence of chlorophyll and (2)
presence/absence of light on location where starch is produced in a leaf
● Leaves convert excess glucose produced by photosynthesis into starch, which is a
method of storing chemical energy
○ The presence of starch in regions of a leaf indicates that photosynthesis has
recently taken place in cells in those regions
○ When plants lack sunlight, they covert the starch back into glucose
○ Iodine solution can be used to determine the presence of starch
■ Present - turn blue/black colour
■ Absent - no changes
Leaf source Plant A Plant B

Condition Variegated leaf exposed to 24 Small strip of leaf covered by foil

hours of sunlight and exposed to 24 hours of
sunlight

Locations starch Starch was present in areas that Starch was present in the areas of
was present were green compared to areas the leaf that were not covered by
that were white the foil

Conduct a practical investigation to model the action of enzymes in cells

h ydrogen peroxide (g) catalase → oxygen(g) + water(l)

Catalase is an ubiquitous enzyme – meaning it is found in all areas of the body’s cell – which
breaks down hydrogen peroxide – which is toxic for life – into safe molecules of oxygen and
water, both essential for survival.
Aim: to determine the effect of changes in pH on the amount of foam (oxygen bubbles)
produced by the catalase enzyme when placed in a solution of hydrogen peroxide.
Hypothesis: the higher the acidity of hydrogen peroxide, the less foam of oxygen bubbles
will be produced by the enzyme catalase.
Equipment:
- Mortar and pestle
- Measuring cylinder
- Beakers
- Test tubes
- Pipette
- Hydrochloric acid
- Acetic acid
- Ammonia
- Sodium hydroxide
- Water
- Catalase solution
Method:
1. Crush a spinach leaf using a pinch of sand in a mortar and pestle
2. Add 50 mL of water and mix thoroughly to form a slurry
3. Strain fluid from the slurry into a small beaker. This fluid will contain catalase
4. Collect 5 test tubes and label them A, B, C, D and E
5. Add 5 mL of hydrogen peroxide to each test tube
6. Alter the pH of each test tube by adding an acid, base or water (listed in equipment)
7. Add 5 mL of catalase solution to each test tube
8. Record observations of foaming in each test tube
9. Use a ruler to measure the height of foaming in each test tube and record

milk (l ) rennin → curds( s) +w h ey (l)

Aim: to identify the effect of temperature on the time it takes for milk to coagulate.
Hypothesis: the speed at which the milk will coagulate will decrease as temperatures
increase, until a temperature too high is reached that denatures the rennin protein; the milk
will not coagulate.
Equipment:
- Stopwatch
- Junket
- 9 x test tube
- 3 x beaker
- Pipette
- Mortar and pestle
- Water
- Milk
Method:
1. Prepare six water baths at the following temperatures – 0 degrees, 15 degrees, room
temperature, 35 degrees, 50 degrees and 75 degrees
2. Label 8 test tubes A and 6 test tubes B
3. Add 3 mL of milk to each test tube using a pipette
4. Place two test tubes labelled A and one test tube labelled B in each water bath.
Leave the test tubes for 10 minutes to allow the milk inside them to come to the
temperature of the water bath
5. Measure and record the temperature of each water bath
6. Add 10 drops of the rennin enzyme solution to the test tubes labelled A and start a
timer. Gently shake each test tube once, before returning to the water baths
7. Examine the test tubes every minute for 15 minutes by gently tilting the test tube.
Record the time it takes for the milk to clot. If the milk has not clotted after 15
minutes, record as a dash (-).

Investigate the effects of the environment on enzyme activity through the collection of
primary or secondary data
Enzymes are protein molecules that control all metabolic reactions within a cell, and are
present in the cytoplasm of a cell, produced by ribosomes. They ensure all chemical
reactions in a cell occur quickly enough to sustain life – without enzymes, human reactions
will be too slow.
They are composed of protein molecules that are often highly folded to create a particular
shape. The surface of the enzymes with a specific shape is called the active site which is
where the reactants/substrates bind to.
● Biological catalysts that speed up the rate of chemical reactions by decreasing the
activation energy required for a reaction to occur
Each enzyme has an optimum range (best performing condition) and tolerance range
(conditions in which it can function).
● For example, enzymes in the stomach have a lower optimum pH than enzymes in the
mouth, due to the stomach’s acidic environment
There are two different reactions: anabolic and catabolic
1. Anabolic reaction is the combining of two simpler substances to form more complex
substances
2. Catabolic reaction is the breakdown of large, complex substances into smaller,
simpler ones

There are two types of models to describe how enzymes work: lock and key, and induced fit
1. Lock and key model demonstrate enzyme specificity, where only the correct
substrate molecule can bind with the active site. Substrates that do not have the
same shape as the active site are not able to bind.
2. Induced fit model demonstrates the surface of the enzyme is not rigid, but flexible
and able to ‘induce’ or change its shape slightly to complement the substrate. When
the products are released, the enzyme returns to its usual form.
There are several factors affecting enzyme activity:
● Temperature: enzymes have an optimal temperature. This means at this
temperature they will work at their fastest. As the temperature increases, the
enzymes work faster due to higher kinetic energy, thus increasing the rate of the
chemical reaction. As the temperature decreases, the enzymes become slower, and
so too does the rate of reaction. However, when enzymes become too hot or too
cold, they slow down and eventually stop working – a process known as
denaturation, where the active site of the enzyme changes shape so the substrate
can no longer bind.
● pH: the optimal pH is different for different types of enzymes depending on their
environment. Enzymes inside our bodies usually have an optimal pH of between 6-8.
Enzyme activity will decrease the further away they get from their optimum pH. The
pH affects the enzyme by causing changes to the bonds that give the enzyme its 3D
tertiary structure. These are bonds such as ionic, disulphide and hydrogen bonds. As
the pH becomes more acidic or more basic, the bonds become disrupted and the
shape of the enzyme changes.
● Substrate concentration: the number of reactions is limited to the number of
available enzymes. When the substrate concentration increases, the chemical
reaction will increase due to more substrates becoming occupied by free enzymes.
However, when the concentration of substrates is higher than the concentration of
enzymes, the rate of reaction will not further increase – this is known as the point of
saturation. Adding more substrates will have no effect if all active sites are occupied.
The equation of a chemical reaction involving an enzyme is generally written like:
 reactant ( s ) enzyme → product (s)
● Depends whether the reaction is anabolic or catabolic
Inhibitors can bind to enzymes and stop them from functioning correctly. There are two types
of inhibitors:
1. Non-competitive inhibitor binds the enzyme, resulting in a shape change at the
active site.
2. Competitive inhibitor blocks the substrate from binding to the active site of the
enzyme
Cofactors and coenzymes may be required for enzymes to function. Some enzymes cannot
function without being bound to a specific cofactor or coenzyme, while other enzymes have
enhanced function when bound.
Cofactors are inorganic substances, such as magnesium and iron. Cofactor binding can
stabilise the enzyme or substrate or can directly assist in the reaction occurring.
Coenzymes are organic substances, such as vitamins. Unlike enzymes, coenzymes are not
proteins. Coenzyme molecules bind to enzyme active sites when the substrate molecules
bind, and assist in catalysing the reaction occurring.

Module 2 - Organisation of Living Things

Compare the differences between unicellular, colonial and multicellular organisms by:
a. Investigating the structures at the level of the cell and organelle
Multicellular

● Complex, many cell types

● Eukaryotic
● E.g. plants, animals, fungi

Colonial

● Special form of life (i.e. unicellular or multicellular)

● Many organisms living together
● Generally same form of organisation
● Single cells in close proximity
● Can live independently (e.g. several hundreds to thousands of amoebas combining
into one slug)
● Unicellular colonial (e.g. volvox)

Unicellular

● Comprised of a single cell that can survive independently

● Internal bound organelles
● E.g. diatom or E. Coli

b. Relating the structure of cells and cell specialisation to function

Zygote → (mitosis) blastula/blastocyst (differentiation) → (once specialisation

begins) embryo)

● Embryonic stem cells differentiate into mesoderm cells, endoderm cells and
ectoderm cells
○ Mesoderm cells: cardiac cells, smooth muscle cells, red blood cells, skeletal
muscle cells, kidney tubules
○ Endoderm cells: lung cells, thyroid cells, pancreatic cells
○ Ectoderm cells: epidermis, neuron cells, pigment cells
● Stem cells are undifferentiated (meristem cells in plants)
○ Therefore, they are in abundance during early life (development)

Differentiation

During organism development, stem cells are instructed by specific gene expression. This
causes them to differentiate into a particular type of cell (e.g. skin, bone, liver cells, etc)

● Examples:
○ Nerve cell: develop layer of fat for insulation and long branches for fast
signally and conductivity
○ Muscle cells: long with lots of mitochondria to contract

Specialisation

After cell differentiation, the cell develops a specific function

● Differentiation drastically changes the shape, size, response to signals, etc

● Plant cells don't lose ability to differentiate after specialisation
● There are 220 types of human cells
Investigate the structure and function of tissues, organs and systems, and relate those
functions to cell differentiation and specialisation

Tissue Cell type Cell structure Cell role

Skeletal Muscle
Skeletal muscle consists of
several long fine fibres, with
striations (light and dark
areas – caused by actin and
myosin). These are attached
to bones to help bodily
movement.

Cardiac Muscle Muscle tissues are attached

Cardiac muscles are present by tendons onto bones that
in the heart and also have are highly specialised for
Skeletal striations. These muscles elongation and contraction.
Muscle, Muscle have connected junctions
Heart, (myocyte) that are necessary for the The contractions help pump
Intestine coordinated beating of the blood throughout the body
heart. (cardiac), and powers
breathing, movement and
Smooth Muscle posture (skeletal).
Smooth muscle fibres do not
have striations, unlike the
other two types of muscle.
They are found in the
gastrointestinal tract, where
muscle contractions help
push substances through
intestines, blood vessels and
the urethra.
Blood Endothelia Endothelial cells make up Endothelial cells’ main role is
vessels l the endothelium and line the to serve as a barrier between
interior surface of blood the blood and body tissues.
vessels and lymphatic The blood must be contained
vessels. These cells form a inside the transporting vessels

continuous layer in a
polygonal shape
Epithelial tissues are
densely packed, occurring in
single sheets or layers. The
cells in these tissues are
Lungs Epithelial
closely organised to each
other, aiding their role as
barriers to injury and
infection.
and need to move in and out
in a controlled manner. The
endothelial cells act as a
selectively permeable
membrane in which chemicals
and white blood cells pass
through.
Epithelial tissues are found in
all areas of the body, covering
the surface of organs for
protection, and also forms
glands.
Some epithelial cells may also
be specialised for absorption
or secretion. For example,
epithelial cells that lines the
larynx secretes mucus to keep
the surface moist.

● Cell structure is related to the particular function of the specialised cell

● Cells whose functions involve exchanging substances with the external
environment will generally be flat and long to increase SA:V ratio or have
many folds to increase surface area (e.g. root hair cells and cells lining
small intestine)
● The relationship between structure of cells and their function in red blood
cells are very small and have a particular shape to increase SA:V ratio for
the exchange of oxygen. They lack a nucleus and organelles
Justify the hierarchical structural organisation of organelles, cells, tissues, organs, systems
and organisms

Hierarchy of Life

1. Organelles (membrane-bound structures that have specific roles in the cell)

2. Cells (basic structural and functional unit of living organisms)
3. Tissues (cells that perform similar functions)
4. Organs (different tissues grouped together to perform a specific function)
5. Organ system (organs grouped together to carry out particular function)
6. Organism (a living thing made up of many interrelated components that work
together)
● Examples
○ Multiple mitochondria → cardiac muscle → ventricular muscle →
heart → circulatory system → human
○ Axon → motor neuron → motor nerve → sympathetic nervous system
→ nervous system → frog
○ Chloroplast → spongy cell → spongy mesophyll → leaf → foliage →
tree
○ Beta cell → pancreatic tissue → pancreas → endocrine system →
organism
Investigate the structure of autotrophs through the examination of a variety of materials, for
example:
a. Dissected plant materials

Structure Findings Image

● The stomata are found on the underside of the
leaves of a plant
● Each stoma is regulated by guard cells which
enable the stoma to open and close under
different environmental circumstances
○ When water is scarce, the stomata will
close to reduce the amount of water lost
Stomata through transpiration. However, the plant
will not be able to obtain carbon dioxide
or remove oxygen wastes.
○ When water is abundant, the stomata
will open to maximise carbon dioxide
intake and oxygen outtake. However, the
plant will lose water from transpiration.

● Xylem is a type of transport tissue found in

plants.
● They transport water and nutrients absorbed
from the roots up to the leaves of the plant,
where water is required for complete
photosynthesis to occur.
Xylem ● The xylem only carries water and nutrients in a
unidirectional way, meaning it can only carry
them up the plant.
● When looking at a horizontal cross-section of a
plant stem, xylem are found on the inside of the
stem, with a shape similar to a star or cross.

Phloem ● Phloem is a type of transport tissue found in

plants similar to xylem.
● They transport sugars - the form of glucose – as
a result of photosynthesis, from the leaves to the
rest of the plant.
● The phloem can carry photosynthesis products
in a bidirectional way, meaning it can transport
them both up and down the plant.
● When looking at a horizontal cross-section of a
plant stem, phloem are found on the outside of
the stem, with the shape of small circles.
● Comparison between xylem and phloem:
○ Xylem are a cross shape, and between
the gaps are phloem vessels.
○ Xylem vessels are larger compared to
phloem, because they need to
transport large amounts of water
 b. Microscopic structures

Structure Findings Image

● The main function of the root systems is to
anchor the plant and to absorb water and
inorganic nutrients
● Root systems have a large surface area to
maximise the amount of water and minerals
intake from the soil
○ Extensive branching increases
surface area
○ Root hairs (by protruding epithelial
cells
○ Water absorbed by entire surface of
Root
epithelial cells
Systems
● The roots are covered with an epidermis –
specialised epithelial enable the process of
absorption to occur
● Water moves into the roots by osmosis;
minerals move by diffusion
○ Facilitated diffusion and active
transport may be involved
● Carbon dioxide and oxygen can diffuse in
and out respectively through air pockets in
the root system

Leaf ● Main function of the leaf is to absorb sunlight

and carbon dioxide
● As transpiration evaporates water from the
leaves, the transport of water from the roots
to the leaves via the xylem is important for
the survival and reproduction of the plant.
● The epidermis of the leaf is transparent,
which allows for the sun to penetrate into the
photosynthetic cells beneath it
● The mesophyll is responsible for
photosynthesis, and is made up of palisade
cells and spongy cells
○ Palisade cells: adapted to contain
many chloroplasts for photosynthesis
○ Spongy mesophyll: contains air
spaces to allow gas exchange
● Stomata are regulated by guard cells to
 balance gas exchange with water loss
● Contains dermal tissue, vascular tissue and
ground tissue
○ Dermal tissue: outer layer of stem
that provides a waterproof layer and
controls gas exchange
○ Vascular tissue: consists of xylem
and phloem tissues, called vascular
bundles, which absorbs nutrients
Stem
and water
○ Ground tissue: fills in around the
vascular tissue
● Thickened with lignin (complex, organic
polymers that make plants rigid) to provide
support to leaves
● Cambium cells can differentiate into phloem
or xylem

● Allows sexual reproduction to increase

genetic diversity within the plant species
Flower
● Often contains nectar and fragrance to
attract insect and animal pollinators

c. Using a range of imaging technologies to determine plant structure

● MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) - radio waves and a magnetic field takes a
series of images of plant structures and creates a computer-generated 3D image
● PET (positron emission tomography) - provides greater detail and functional
information about transport and processes
○ Both MRI and PET involve the use of radioactive substances to produce the
image
● X-ray computed microtomography - a sample positioned in an x-ray beam is
rotated and hundreds of images from different angles are recorded, which is then
reconstructed into a 3D image
Investigate the function of structures in a plant, including but not limited to:
a. Tracing the development and movement of the products of photosynthesis

Requirements Structures Method of acquiring

(Reactants) for involved in
Photosynthesis acquiring
reactants

Carbon Dioxide Stomata, Stomata opens to allow the exchange of gases in

spongy and out of the leaf. Carbon Dioxide diffuses
mesophyll passively into the spongy mesophyll through the
stomata, while oxygen diffuses out of the plant
 through the stomata

Water Roots, root Diffuses into the root hairs via osmosis. Root
hairs, xylem hairs have a high surface area to volume ratio to
enable efficient diffusion of water. Water is then
transported up to the leaves via transpiration
pull and adhesive and cohesive forces, where
it is used in photosynthesis. 

Plants use the carbon dioxide (acquired via the stomata) and the water (acquired from the
roots) to synthesise sugars in chloroplasts, mostly in the mesophyll layer of the leaf.
Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll, which traps the light energy from the sun to use in the
generation of sugars.

Once the sugar (glucose) is made, it is transported around the plant (usually after being
converted to sucrose) from ‘sources’ (areas that produce or store sugars, like leaves and
bulbs in root vegetables) to ‘sinks’ (areas of the plant that are growing or have increased
energy needs)

It is transported throughout the plant in the phloem (called translocation).

PRESSURE FLOW (SOURCE TO SINK THEORY)

Source Location of source How is high pressure achieved?
Leaves and Sugar is actively transported from the leaves to areas
sometimes bulbs of high sugar conc. (the phloem). High conc. Of sugar
in the phloem near the source creates low solute
potential, which draws in water from the xylem to
dilute it. This creates high pressure potential or high
turgor pressure, which drives the movement of phloem
sap from source to sink (in either direction). 

Location of sink How is low pressure achieved?

Sink Areas of active Sinks are areas of low sugar conc. And low water
growth e.g. pressure. This is because sugars at the sink are being
developing leaves, actively transported from the phloem to areas that
flowers, seeds, they are needed, and since water flows osmotically,
fruits, shoots, root the excess water now present in the phloem then
tips returns to the xylem, creating areas of high water
potential and low turgor pressure, effectively driving
the pressure flow process.

Direction Flows from source to sink simultaneously both up and down the plant,
of Flow however not simultaneously in the same phloem. Flows from areas of high to
low turgor pressure and sugar concentration.

Investigate the gas exchange structures in animals and plants through the collection of
primary and secondary data and information, for example:
a. Microscopic structures: alveoli in mammals and leaf structure in plants
b. Macroscopic structures: respiratory systems in a range of animals
Efficient Gas Exchange Requirements
 ● Large surface area
● Short diffusion distance
● High concentration gradient
● Moist membranes

Feature Animals Plants

Which gases are Oxygen and carbon dioxide Oxygen and carbon dioxide
exchanged?

Gas exchange Lungs, skin, gills, spiracles Leaves, stomata

organs

Microscopic - Alveoli are air filled sacs - Chloroplasts

structures  surrounded by capillaries - Palisade mesophyll
- Insects use spiracles - Spongy mesophyll
- Fish use lamellae which are
gill filaments

How do gases enter - Diffusion - Diffusion: moves with the

the structure - Diaphragm in humans concentration gradient (passive)
- In insects and leaves gas
enters through these tiny
holes

How do gases - Ventilate by passing fresh - Through the stomata

reach the cell air through the respiratory - Spongy mesophyll in the empty
system spaces (diffusion)

Interpret a range of secondary-sourced information to evaluate processes, claims and

conclusions that have led scientists to develop hypotheses, theories and models about the
structure and function of plants, including but not limited to:
a. Photosynthesis

Feature Where is oxygen obtained? Where is carbon dioxide

obtained?

Radioisotope Oxygen-18 Carbon-14

Introduction of Oxygen-18 radioisotope is Carbon atoms in carbon dioxide

radioisotope present in water molecules are labelled, making the carbon
dioxide radioactive

How the radioisotope The water molecules absorbed The plant uses carbon dioxide
was used by the plant by the plant were split to to produce sugars and starch,
release oxygen which are stored in plant

Where the Oxygen gas was investigated By using a Geiger counter or

radioisotope was from the plant, and using a photographic paper (similar to
detected mass spectrometer, was found x-ray), carbon-14 can be easily
 that the radioisotope oxygen-18 detected in the leaves and
was detected tissues of the plant

Conclusions from the Oxygen molecules produced as
investigation a product of photosynthesis are
derived from water, instead of
carbon dioxide
Carbon atoms from carbon
dioxide provide the building
blocks for chemical energy
which Is produced by
photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide is required in
order for sugars to be produced
by photoautotrophs

Early Contributions
Helmont
● Ancient Greeks thought that plants gained mass by taking in nutrients from the soil.
● Helmont showed this theory was incorrect - soil mass did not change (even over 5
years!)
● Helmont proposed trees used water for nutrition (which was also incorrect but better)

Priestly
● Experimented using candles. mice and plants in sealed bell jars
● Showed candles burned out when in a jar alone but kept burning in the presence of
plant
● Showed mice died when in a jar alone but survived in presence of plant
● Plant alone in a jar died
● Proposed that plants ‘restored’ the air and needed gas from candle/mouse to survive

Discovery of Photosynthesis
● Photosynthesis was partially discovered in the 1600’s by Jan Baptista van Helmont. It
was thought that nutrients were obtained from soil. Helmont suggested that nutrients
were obtained from water. Both theories were incorrect but Helmont was closer to the
truth.
● Joseph Priestly also contributed to understanding via his experiments in bell jars late
1700s. He knew little about oxygen or carbon dioxide at the time but found that air
could be ‘injured’ (by CO2) and ‘refreshed’ (with O2) and that the ‘refreshed air’ was
required for life.
● Oxygen was discovered in 1772 and named by Lavoisier in 1777. Carbon dioxide
was named in the 1750s by Joseph Black and found to produce “fixed air”.
● Ingenhousz showed in the late 1700s that plants produced oxygen bubbles in the
presence of light, but not in the dark.
● the concept of plants converting light energy to chemical energy was proposed in the
1840s and the general equation for photosynthesis was determined in the 1860s.
● modern research into photosynthesis is seeking to understand ways in which we can
utilise the process to generate energy in more sustainable ways.

b. Transpiration-cohesion-tension theory
Water is absorbed into a plant via the root hairs, which consist of specialised cells with long,
thin projections to increase the surface area available for absorption. The root hairs make
the process of water absorption more efficient.

Water moves into the root hair cells via osmosis down their concentration gradient from the
soil to the root. The water then enters the xylem vessels. Within the xylem, water molecules
are moved up toward the leaves via transpiration pull - this is caused by the evaporation of
water from the leaves.

Two forces are involved in the movement of water molecules through the xylem:

● Cohesion which attracts water molecules to each other so they are drawn up in a
chain
● Adhesion which allows water molecules to be attracted to the sides of xylem vessels
which help overcome the force of gravity pulling the water downwards

Example: these properties can be demonstrated easily by dipping the corner of a tissue into
a glass of water. The molecules slowly climb up the tissue (symbolising the plant vascular
system) and carry with them other water molecules

In plants, the initial movement of water occurs as a result of the evaporation of water from
the leaf, and also transpiration pull

Trace the digestion of foods in a mammalian digestive system, including:

a. Physical digestion
b. Chemical digestion

Organ Enzymes Chemical Digestion Physical digestion

released

Mouth  amylase Saliva contains water, Teeth cut, tear and grind
mucus and amylase. The food apart into smaller
 amylase in saliva begins to
break down starch in the
mouth into simple sugars
Oesophagus  N/A Chemical digestion from
mouth continues
Stomach  pepsin Hydrochloric acid is
secreted into the stomach
(kills bacteria and lowers
pH of the stomach so
pepsin works to maximum
efficiency). Pepsin works
to break down proteins
Duodenum  Bile salts, Bile salts- emulsify fat,
pancreatic allowing it to be broken
amylase, trypsin, down by lipase
chymotrypsin, Pancreatic amylase-
lipase breaks down
carbohydrates into glucose
Trypsin- breaks down
proteins into amino acid
and peptide chains
Lipase- breaks down
emulsified fats into fatty
acids and glycerol.
Small Trypsin, Perform final
intestine chymotrypsin, deconstruction of fats into
lipase and fatty acids and glycerol,
amylase proteins into amino acids
and carbs into glucose
Large (not enzymes) Bacteria break down
intestine bacteria substances in chyme
indigestible by human
body, producing valuable
vitamins in the process
(such as vitamins B12 and
K), which the body
absorbs
c. Absorption of nutrients, minerals and water
Minerals and vitamins are known as micronutrients, whereas carbohydrates, proteins and
fats are known as macronutrients. Micronutrients include iron, calcium and other
minerals (inorganic, hold chemical structure) and vitamins A, B, C, K and other vitamins.
Vitamins are released by bacteria in the large intestine, which is absorbed by the large
pieces to increase the
surface area available
and to ensure the
organism doesn’t choke
Food (bolus) is pushed
down into the stomach
via peristalsis
Stomach walls contract
and churn up the
contents of the stomach,
grinding the bolus into
frothy liquid called chyme
Small regional
contractions in
duodenum mix chyme w/
digestive secretions,
increasing rate of
digestion, as it is pushed
from the duodenum to
the jejunum
Villi and microvilli on
walls of small intestine
have high conc. Of
capillaries, which allow
nutrients to be diffused
and sometimes actively
transported efficiently into
the bloodstream
Water and vitamins
absorbed, after the
bacteria release it.
Eliminate faeces.
intestine. Water is also reclaimed (absorbed) in the large intestine. The vast bulk of mineral
absorption occurs in the small intestine.

d. Elimination of solid waste

Wastes are eliminated as faeces. It is stored in the large intestine in the rectum. One piece
of faeces is often called a stool. The main components of the average human stool are:
● 25% solid
● 75% water
● 9% live bacteria, dead cells, salts, mucus, fats and proteins
● 8% indigestible fibres
● 8% dead bacteria 
 In just one gram of faeces, there are billions of bacteria, millions of viruses, archaea and
unicellular fungi

Compare the nutrient and gas requirements of autotrophs and heterotrophs

Autotroph Heterotroph

Definition  Organisms which can produce own Organisms which cannot

food using light, water, carbon manufacture own food and
dioxide or other chemicals therefore derives its intake of
nutrition from other sources of
organic matter

Gas Carbon dioxide (photosynthesis, Oxygen (respiration)

requirements carbon source) + oxygen

Macronutrient C, H, O, N Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins

requirements

Micronutrient Phosphorus, potassium, calcium, Small ions (e.g. sodium and iron),
requirements magnesium and sulfur organic vitamins (e.g. vitamin B)
and inorganic minerals

Investigate transport systems in animals and plants by comparing structures and

components using physical and digital models, including but not limited to:
a. Macroscopic structures in plants and animals
Diffusion alone is insufficient to deliver the required gases and nutrients to all of the millions
of cells present in multicellular organisms. In order to address this issue, plants and animals
have evolved transport systems that allow a medium to carry and deliver the substance that
are required to the cells that need them. Transport systems are also important for removing
waste products that can be toxic to cells if they accumulate.

Transport Differences Similarities

System
Plant - Separate transport system for - Network of vessels
sugars and water - Specialised vessels with
- Some vessels made from dead different structural features (e.g.
tissues (xylem) sieve plates in plants, valves in
- Some transport is bidirectional veins)
(phloem) - Transport fluids including
nutrients, sugars, water

Animal - Sugars and water are

transported together
- All vessels made from living
tissues
- Transport is usually
unidirectional (not all animals
have a closed system)

b. Microscopic samples of blood, the cardiovascular system and plant vascular systems

Arteries Capillaries Veins

Function Takes blood away Allows material to Takes deoxygenated

from hart to rest of exchange between blood blood towards the heart
body and tissues

Diameter of く 18mm 5μm く 30mm

Vessel

Thickness Thick Single layer of cell Thin

Tissues for - Epithelial - Epithelial - Epithelial

walls - Connective - Connective
- Muscle - Muscle
- Elastic fibres - Elastic fibres

Are there No No Yes

valves

Is blood Yes Both No

oxygenated

What causes Blood pressure Blood pressure + Thinner walls and

movement skeletal muscles  valves to prevent
backflow
 Blood component Description

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) 6-9 micrometres, biconcave cell with no nucleus and
many haemoglobin molecules. Red blood cells carry
oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body

White blood cells (leukocytes) 10-14 micrometres, spherical and slightly bigger than
red blood cells. They fight bacteria and viruses by
engulfing and destroying harmful organisms inside the
body

Platelets Small, flat fragments of cells that is responsible for

clotting cuts to capillaries. Platelets clump together,
covering the cut and preventing blood leaking through
the cut.

Plasma - Yellow liquid that consists of other components of the

blood (i.e. antibody proteins, electrolytes,
immunoglobins.
- Mostly water, and also contains dissolved nutrients
and proteins (i.e. clotting).
- Involved in blood pressure, provides most of the
blood’s volume

Transport Systems in plants:

Xylem
● carry water and mineral ions in one direction from the roots to the leaves 
● Composed of xylem vessels and xylem tracheids
● Vessels are long and thin, continuous tubes composed of dead tissue with lignin
strengthened walls
● Transpiration-cohesion-tension theory explains the pull of water from veins then up
the xylem vessel
● Cohesion between the walls of the xylem maintain the column of water. When
molecules of water are pulled up, other molecules follow
● A small amount of root pressure forces the water already present in the xylem vessel
upwards
Phloem 
● Composed of sieve tube cells and companion cells
● Sieve tube cells are lined up one under the other and have sieve plates at each end.
The products of photosynthesis move through these tubes in a process called
translocation
● Companion cells assist the sieve tube cells
● The movement of the products of photosynthesis in any direction is explained by the
source sink theory
● Sugars are actively loaded at the source of production; water diffuses in from xylem
by osmosis, creating a high-pressure region
● Sugars are actively unloaded where required at the rink; water diffuses in form xylem
by osmosis, creating a high-pressure region
● Sugars are actively unloaded where required at the sink; water diffuses out by
osmosis, creating a low-pressure region
● Materials in the phloem move from a high-pressure region to a low-pressure region

Investigate the exchange of gases between the internal and external environments of plants
and animals

Internal environment External environment

Plants - Carbon dioxide diffuses out of root
cells
- Oxygen diffuses into root cells
- Oxygen required for cellular
respiration comes from the oxygen
produced as a by-product of
photosynthesis
- Within the epidermis there are
specialised cells called guard cells
that control both the exchange of
gases such as carbon dioxide and
oxygen and the loss of water (as
vapour) through leaves
Guard cells are cells that surround the
stomata
- Carbon dioxide released as a result
of cellular respiration during the day is
used as a reactant in photosynthesis.
When the rate of photosynthesis is
high, plants sometimes absorb more
carbon dioxide from the air through
the stomata
- Lenticels allow gas exchange in the
woody parts of plants. The diffusion of
oxygen, carbon dioxide and water
vapour through lenticels is relatively
slow.

Animals Occurs in the tissues: perfusion is External respiration refers to the

when the body delivers blood through
the capillary bed into the biological
tissue (particularly through the
circulatory or lymphatic system to an
organ or tissue).
Oxyhaemolglobin gives up oxygen
which diffuses out of the blood and
into the tissues because the partial
pressure of oxygen tissues fluid is
process of exchanging oxygen and
carbon dioxide in the lungs, gills or
other tissues exposed to the external
environment. Occurs in the alveoli of
the lungs:
- Oxygen molecules diffuse through a
single cell in an alveolus and then a
single cell in a capillary to enter the
bloodstream. In particular, ventilation
 lower than that of the blood. is the exchange of air between the
atmosphere and the lungs - achieved
by the physical act of breathing.

Compare the structures and function of transport systems in animals and plants, including
but not limited to:
a. Vascular systems in plants and animals

Function Animal Features Plant structure Features

structure

Gas Alveoli Moist, thin Stomata & spongy Stomata open and
exchange membrane with mesophyll close to regulate
(microsco close proximity gas exchange. Air
pic) to capillaries to spaces in spongy
allow efficient mesophyll allow
gas exchange. gas to diffuse
directly into cells.

Similarities: Similarities:
- air space - air space inside
inside alveoli spongy mesophyll

Differences: Differences:
- gas diffuses - gas diffuses
into capillaries directly to cells
to be delivered from the mesophyll
to cells

Gas Lungs Lungs contain Leaf Stomata in leaves

exchange many alveoli allow diffusion of
(macrosco and are inflated gases down their
pic) via the concentration
contraction of gradient.
the diaphragm.
Similarities:
Similarities: - multiple air
- multiple spaced for gas
alveoli (air diffusion
spaces) for gas
diffusion Differences:
- gas enters leaf via
Differences: passive diffusion
- diaphragm
inflates lungs
by creating
negative
pressure

Nutrient Circulatory Heart pumps Vascular bundles Vascular bundles

transport system blood around a consisting of
series of blood phloem and xylem
 vessels in a transport nutrients,
closed water and minerals
circulatory
system. Similarities:
- fluids are
Similarities: contained within
- fluids are closed vessels
contained
within closed Differences:
vessels - water and sugars
are transported in
Differences: separate vessels.
- All nutrients,
water and
minerals are
transported
together

b. Open and closed transport systems in animals

Feature Open circulatory system Closed circulatory system

Description A system where blood and A system where blood circulates

interstitial fluid (haemolymph) are unidirectionally from the heart, around
allowed to mix in an organism. the body, and back to the heart within
enclosed blood vessels.

Example Invertebrates e.g. spiders, snails Vertebrates e.g. humans, dogs

Benefits - More energy efficient since heart - Higher blood pressure ensures that
does not need to maintain high oxygen and nutrients reach all cells of
pressure around the organism the organism (nutrient delivery more
efficient)
Compare the changes in the composition of the transport medium as it moves around an
organism

Organ Changes in blood composition

Lungs - Oxygen concentration ⬆, CO2 ⬇ (gas exchange)

Brain - CO2 ⬆, O2 ⬇ (due to cellular respiration)

- Glucose concentration ⬇ (due to cellular respiration)

Kidney - ⬇ Nitrogenous wastes (e.g. urea) due to excretion

Heart - High CO2 low O2 as blood enters right atria and ventricle
- Low CO2 high O2 as blood returns from the lungs to the left side

Muscle - CO2 ⬆, O2 ⬇ (due to cellular respiration)

- Glucose concentration ⬇ (due to cellular respiration)

Large intestine - Water concentration ⬆

Small intestine - ⬆ Glucose and amino acid concentration (absorption)

Module 3 - Biological Diversity

Predict the effects of selection pressures on organisms in ecosystems, including:
a. Biotic factors

The Effects of Selection Pressures on Organisms in Ecosystems

● They are independently developed tools that affect an organism's ability to survive
and reproduce in an environment
● There are biotic and abiotic selection pressures
○ Negative pressures
○ Positive pressures
○ Resource availability
 ○ Environmental conditions
○ Biological factors
○ Selection pressures drive evolution
● The carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals that can survive in an
ecosystem
● Abiotic and biotic factors (selection pressures) influence the distribution and
abundance of populations
● Examples of selection pressures:
i. Predators
ii. Availability of resources
iii. Nutrient supply
iv. Disease
v. Accumulation of wastes
vi. Phenomena
vii. Abiotic factors
viii. Weather conditions

b. Abiotic factors
Effect of selection pressures in terrestrial and aquatic environments
● Abiotic factors and how it acts as a selection pressure:
○ Light availability
■ Plants and algae need light to photosynthesise
■ Influences growth, migration, reproduction and circadian rhythms in
animals
■ Adaptations include:
■ Bigger leaves
■ More chlorophyll
■ Deeper into the ocean, less plants
○ Temperature
■ Regulates hibernation and plant dormancy (plants stop producing
seeds)
○ Water availability
■ Deserts, grasslands and shrub environments have little water
■ Determined by rainfall patterns
○ Gas availability (oxygen & carbon dioxide)
■ Oxygen --> ATP (energy) --> cellular respiration
○ Topography
■ Shape of the surface of land
■ Steep hills cause plants on the sides harder to collect water
■ Not many plants live high on hills/mountains due to oxygen depletion
○ Salinity
■ Not many animals can survive in salty conditions
■ Adaptations allow some species to survive e.g. Mangroves, pigface,
spinifex
○ pH
■ Extreme levels of pH cause denaturation (modifying the molecular
structure; breaking bonds) of proteins
○ Water turbidity/clarity
■ Influences light availability
 ○ Chemicals (e.g. Pesticides)
■ Pesticides act as selection pressure
■ May kill not only the undesired species but others as well
● Optimal survival factors:
○ Sufficient space
○ Absence of predators
○ Absence of disease
○ Limited competition

Investigate changes in a population of organisms due to selection pressures over time, for
example:
Changes include fluctuations in:
● Climate conditions
● Diseases
● Predators
● Competition for resources

Four Stages of Growth in Natural Populations

Name of stage Description of stage

Equilibrium ● Carrying capacity reached

● Birth rate = death rate
● Condition will continue until there is a change in environmental
resistance

Positive ● Full reproductive potential reached

acceleration ● Maximum growth
● No environmental resistance

Negative ● As numbers increase, so does environmental resistance,

acceleration causing wither increased death rate, decreased birth rate or
both

Exponential ● Growth increases as reproduction starts

● Growth is slow at first
● No environmental resistance

a. Cane toads in Australia

When and why introduced
● Introduced from South/Central America in 1935
● Control greyback cane beetles in sugar cane plantations
Changes in distribution and abundance over time
● Spread quickly from northern Queensland to Northern Territory and northern New
South Wales
● 'Frontline' travelling at 60km/year compared to 1935 10-15km/year
● From 102 toads when first introduced to now 200 million
Impact on other species
● Bufotoxin kill native animals
 ● Affects heart and central nervous system --> rapid heartbeat, hypersalivation,
convulsions and paralysis
● Cane toads act as selection pressure on Australian animals
○ Predators with vulnerability to bufotoxin and those with increased preference
to eat toads are removed from the population
Successfulness of control methods
● Currently, capture and kill methods are not successful
● Research of fast hopping toads have weakness of increased spine
pressure → weak immune system
○ May lead to future control programs (e.g. Lungworm parasites)

b. Prickly pear distribution in Australia

c. When and why introduced
i. Introduced by Americas in 1800s
ii. Start a clothing dye industry
iii. Belief of serving a strong hedge plant and food alternative
d. Changes in distribution and abundance over time
i. Spine covered fleshy growths and scaly leaves allowed it to protect itself from
predators
ii. Easily detachable limbs sprouted where it fell --> fast reproduction
iii. Over 20 years, the plant occupied from 4 million ha to 24 million ha
e. Impact on other species
i. Negatively impacted on domestic species (e.g. cattle and horse)
ii. Encroachment led to reducing grazing land --> affects food source
iii. Horses used for herding cattle were injured from the spikes
1. Wound easily became septic and inflamed
f. Successfulness of control methods
i. Initial methods of burning, crushing and herbicides were useless
ii. Introduction of native Indigenous species - cochineal beetle and cactoblastis
moth - from origin country served as biological control and was effective
iii. Lack of selection pressure --> lack of diversity --> quickly and efficiently
controlled

Conduct practical investigations, individually or in teams, or use secondary sources to

examine the adaptations of organisms that increase their ability to survive in their
environment, including:
a. Structural adaptations
b. Physiological adaptations
c. Behavioural adaptations
What Are Adaptations and How Do They Assist the Survival of a Species?
Adaptations are characteristics that help an organism to survive and reproduce

Structural
How an organism is built; PHYSICAL features of an organism that assist with survival and/or
reproduction
E.g. Thick fur to stay warm

Physiological
 ● How an organism functions; FUNCTIONS of an organism that are usually NOT
CONSCIOUSLY REGULATED to assist survival and/or reproduction
● E.g. Shivering to stay warm

Behavioural
● How an organism acts or behaves; BEHAVIOURS of an organism that assist with
survival and/or reproduction
● E.g. Laying in shade to cool down

Adaptations of Australian Plants and Animals

Organism Structural Physiological Behavioural
Eucalyptus ● Thick waxy ● Forest red gum ● Release seeds
coating on leaves eucalypt releases following a
and few stomata saponins that act bushfire to
to conserve water as a wetting provide a better
(CUTICLE) and agent in the soil chance of
provide insulation to increase water survival in the
--> reduce absorption nutrient rich soil
evaporation ● Close stomata to ● Can turn leaves
● Buds protected conserve water away from light
under bark of to reduce
trunk that sprout heating and
following water loss
bushfires

Pigface ● Thick waxy ● Increases water ● Swells up to

coating around its uptake to dilute retain moisture
leaves (CUTICLE) salt
● Thick small leaves ● Stores excess
reduce water loss salt away from
due to small sensitive cells
surface-area-to-
volume-ratio
● Produces flowers
with modified
stomata; real
stomata at base
of the flower
Thorny ● Spikes/thorns on ● Sticky tongue ● If threatened,
devil body protect from (due to the thorny devil
predators and chemicals) allows will tuck its
make it appear devil to eat ants head between
difficult to swallow without moving front legs,
● Scales draw its head exposing the
collected water on ● Turns excess 'false head',
back towards the food into fat and causing
mouth stores it in the predators to
● Gold brown colour horns on its head attack the lump,
allows the thorny for later use if giving the
devil to blend into there is food thorny devil a
its surroundings shortage survival
● Use of chemicals advantage
in body allows it
to change colour
according to its
surroundings

Wombat ● Rear-opening ● Able to endure ● Large furry

pouch protects long periods of back faces
joey during time without entrance of the
burrowing, water due to the burrow while
resulting in a humidity of their resting to
higher chance of burrow protect its face
survival for the from potential
baby, as it threats
eliminates dirt,
sticks and roots
● Continuously
replacing teeth
when worn down
by tough, fibrous
plants

What Adaptations do Organisms Possess to Survive in Harsh Conditions?

● Variation of populations and adaptations result in some organisms surviving better
than others due to favourable conditions
 ● Adaptations increase populations over extended periods of time due to natural
selection

Selection Adaptations in plants and/or animals (identify type in brackets)

pressure

Low temperature ● Plants produce organic compounds that 'anti-freeze', reducing

the temperature at which the plant freezes
● Deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter and go into
dormancy. The decreased period of light exposure leads to the
forming of a water-proof layer
● Flowers only bloom after being exposed to cold for long
periods of time (6 weeks - 3 months)

High ● Aestivation is the reduction in metabolic rate --> body

temperature temperatures lowers to that of environment
○ Snails seal their shells with mucus
○ Cane toads burry underground and seals itself in a
water-tight mucus cocoon

High salinity ● Adapted plants to salinity are called halophytes

○ Either salt tolerance or salt avoidance techniques
● Salt tolerance → increases water content in large
vacuoles
● Salt avoidance → stops salt from entering from roots
● Bladder cells reaching full capacity of salt burst (saltbush)
● Salt glands; losing of leaves containing salt; special tissues in
roots restrict salt intake (mangroves)

Avoiding ● Production of pungent aroma from scent glands, chest and

predators genetalia opening attracts and unites members of group in the
dark (sugar gliders)
Water ● Excretion of high concentration urine (spinifex hopping mouse)
scarcity/low ○ Uses water as a by-product of cellular respiration
humidity ● Succulent plants (e.g. Pigface and eucalyptus) have a thick
waxy coating on leaves known as cuticle to conserve water
and provide insulation
● Roll leaves during hottest parts of the day so stomata are on
the inside and not exposed to the dry atmosphere --> creates
humid microclimate inside rolled leaf and reduces transpiration
(porcupine grasses)
● Epidermal hairs on surface of leaves trap a moist layer of air --
> results in a smaller difference between the concentration of
water in the leaf tissue and the water vapour in the layer of air
trapped by the hairs (e.g. Coastal banksia)
● Production of woody fruits rather than fleshy fruits as an
adaptation to a water-restricted climate (e.g. Hakea)
● Vertical flattened leaflets orientated downwards reduces the
amount of light absorbed and consequent water loss (e.g.
Desert acacias)
● Deep root systems access to water supplies deep
underground; shallow rot systems enables rapid uptake of
water after rainfall

Obtaining ● Plants grow closer to the ground in clumps

nutrients (e.g. ● Chemicals on tongue make it easier for the thorny devil to eat
Prey) ants on the ground

Investigate, through secondary sources, the observations and collection of data that were
obtained by Charles Darwin to support the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, for
example:
a. Finches of the Galapagos Islands
Contributions of Darwin to the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
● The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands that span the equator
● Darwin collected specimens of the finches that were living on each of the islands
● On his arrival back in England, he presented these specimens to the Royal Society
and then to John Gould, a famous English ornithologist, who classified them as 14
different species, 12 of which were new.
● Depending on which island the finches lived on, and the conditions they found
themselves in, some birds thrived and reproduced. Those finches that were not
adapted to the conditions on the island died out.
● This classification was highly significant for Darwin because it led him to the
realisation that species on separate islands were related to species on the South
American mainland.
3.2.2. How Did the Galapagos Finches Adapt to their Environment?
● In order for a new species to form, a presence of variation within a population and a
NEW selection pressure must exist
● This causes the proportion of different adaptations with a population to change over
time --> better adapted characteristics are selected while others die out
● Darwin's theory of SURIVAL OF THE FITTEST (requirements for natural selection)
are:
○ Variation exists within populations
○ More offspring are produced than can survive
○ A change occurs in the environment (selection pressure)
○ Organisms with favourable characteristics survive and pass on traits (allele -
type of gene) to next generation
○ Population changes over time to one with greater prevalence of favourable
traits

b. Australian flora and fauna

What Other Evidence Did Darwin Use to Support Natural Selection?
● Darwin sailed to Sydney Harbour, Australia in 1836
● He was the first British scientist to observe a rat-kangaroo and a platypus in their
natural environments near Wallerawang
● The platypus was similar to the water rat in England, and the rat-kangaroo was
similar to the rabbit, in both behaviour and appearance

Darwin's Observations How Darwin's observation

related to his theory of evolution
by natural selection
● Magpies and crows are similar to the ● Darwin's observations of
jackdaws in England, but obviously belong to Australian birds, marsupials
a different species and monotreme mammals
● The potoroo is a miniature kangaroo the size reveals similarities with
of an European rabbit, behaving somewhat European mammals that
like a rabbit, darting about in the lived in similar
undergrowth environments
● The platypus is similar to water rats: 'I...had ● Led to the idea of
the good fortune to see several of the convergent evolution -
famous platypus. They were diving and organisms can evolve to
playing in the water; but very little of their become similar
bodies were visible, so that they only ● If organisms could live in
appeared like so many water rats.' similar habitats, similar
variations that they
possess would be favoured
by natural selection to
enable them to survive and
breed in those conditions
● Favourable variations
passed down to next
generation

● Ant lions (same genus but different ● Organisms evolve to

species?) to that of England: I observed a become new species
conical pitfall of a Lion-Ant: a fly fell in and (speciation)
immediately disappeared;...without doubt
this predacious lava [sic] belongs to the
same genus, but to a different species from
the European one... Now what would the
Disbeliever say to this? Would any two
workmen ever hit on so beautiful, so simple
and yet so artificial a contrivance? I cannot
think so. The one hand has worked over the
whole world.

● Vegetation: Darwin described the eucalypts: ● Darwin links between the

'the nearly level country is covered with thin harsh environment and the
scrubby trees, bespeaking the curse of adaptations observed in the
sterility'. vegetation
● He also mentions 'the leaves are not shed ● Mentions trees in Australia
periodically'. and other southern
continents are evergreen
as opposed to those in the
north hemisphere
Explain biological diversity in terms of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by
examining the changes in and diversification of life since it first appeared on the Earth
Biological Diversity has Evolved via Natural Selection
● Evolution is the process of genetic change over many generations to form new
populations that are better adapted to their environment
● Without changes in the environment, there would be no need for evolution
● Diversity --> adapts to changes in environment
● Three levels of biodiversity:
○ Genetic diversity
■ Total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic make-up of a
species
○ Species diversity
■ Measure of the diversity of different species in an ecological
community
○ Ecosystem diversity
■ Variation of different ecosystems found in a region
● The idea of evolution being a slow process has been given further research evidence
that due to strong environmental changes (e.g. Climate change) evolutionary
changes are happening faster <-- strong selection pressures

Explaining the Origin and Diversification of Life

● Evidence can be examined through the fossil record; however doesn't necessarily
show an uniform pattern of change
● The fossil record shows that after a major extinction event (widespread and rapid
decrease in biodiversity), new life form flourish
○ New niches were left open as previous inhabitants become reduced in
numbers or extinct
○ After the extinction of dinosaurs, mammals and reptiles increased

The Origin of Life on Earth

● Early Earth provided conditions for inorganic molecules --> organic molecules -->
formation of membranes turned into prokaryotic cells --> larger cells ingesting smaller
cells --> membrane-bound organelles (eukaryotic cells)
● Cells were able to photosynthesis and produce oxygen, thus resulting in increasing
diversity, complexity and size of organism

Diversification of Life on Earth

● Unicellular to multicellular organisms began when these cells clustered together
(colonial organisms)
● Colonial organisms had advantage over unicells
● Cells within the group began to specialise in functions, leading to higher organisation
--> selection of multicellular organisms
● Extinction events were caused by enormous changes to the environment:
○ Human impact (e.g. Over-hunting, climate change, spread of disease)
○ Ice age
● Some of the changes that occurred over very long periods were the result of changes
in selection pressures in the environment, leading to the extinction of some species
and the survival of others, giving the diversity of life as we know it today
● Organisms that appear to have changed very little are due to their environment
changing very little, therefore little selection pressures have influenced their evolution
 ● In terms of evolution, those organisms that are able to adapt to a variety of
environments (have high genetic diversity) are able to survive and out-compete
others with less genetic diversity

Analyse how an accumulation of microevolutionary changes can drive evolutionary changes

and speciation over time, for example:
What is the Significance of Microevolutionary Change?
● Evolution is a change in gene pool over time
● Microevolution is a genetic change in the allelic frequency of a population over time
● Macroevolution → new species
● Microevolution → small changes within a species
● Microevolution can occur through:
○ Small population
1. Small populations are affected more seriously than large populations
2. Because of this, a gene pool in a population changes a little amount
due to chance, known as genetic drift
○ Non-random mating
1. E.g. Blue eye colour is rare but attractive, so people choose partners
with blue eyes. The allele frequency of blue eye genes will increase in
a population.
2. E.g2. the Ancestry of King Charles II of Spain. This developed the
Hamburg Chin due to inbreeding and the increase of the Hamburg
chin allele frequency.
○ Mutations
1. Mutations introduce new alleles into the gene pool, changing the allele
frequency
2. E.g. Sickle cell disease
○ Gene flow
1. Moving genes from one area to another
2. Impacts on allele frequency as it introduces new alleles into a
population
3. Creates new alleles that are adapted to their environment
4. E.g. Human evolution
○ Natural selection
● Sex is a shuffling of the gene pool
● Macroevolution takes place over millions of years, measured as geological time, and
results in new species arising
● Microevolution takes place over shorter periods and results in changes within
populations, but it generally does not produce new species (e.g. Breeds of dogs)
○ However, small changes within a population (microevolution) can lead to
speciation (e.g. Small changes in a dog-sized ancestor led to the evolution of
the modern horse)
○ The slow progressive ACCUMULATION of small changes over a long period
led to the dramatic difference between the modern horse and its ancestor

a. Evolution of the horse

● The evolution of the horse has a complete fossil record
● The evolution of the horse is significant because it shows that, rather than a linear
evolution with one body type replacing another where transitional fossils would exist,
 horse evolution has a branching nature, demonstrated in an extensive fossil record
with many changes
● Fossils of horses have shown changes in body size, number of toes and dentition,
with the development of grinding surfaces

● The first horse, Hyracotherium, resembled a small dog rather than a horse. It had a
long tail, short legs, snout and back, and ate a diet of fruit and soft plant materials
● Their environment began changing - the continents were moving and the horse
environment increased in temperature.
○ The climate got drier, forests starting shrinking and grasses became more
prevalent.
● There was a significant selection pressure to be larger in size, have fewer toes and
have teeth with grinding surfaces.
○ This is because they needed to become adapted to eating tougher plant
materials, and increase in size to run faster through the grasslands

b. Evolution of the platypus

● The fossil record is poor
● The platypus shows features in its anatomy similar to birds (a bill and webbed feet,
similar to a duck), reptiles (venom glands, egg-laying) and mammals (hair on the
body, suckle their young)
● Genetic evidence suggests that monotremes split off first from the reptiles, followed
by marsupials and placental mammals
● Biologists use branching diagrams called cladograms to depict the evolutionary
relatedness of organisms
○ Each point where the lines branch indicates a split from a common ancestor
 ● Studies of the genomes of the platypus and reptiles show that venom probably arose
independently (convergent evolution) because they are the result of mutations of the
same gene
● The evolution of the platypus is considered typical of macroevolution, having taken
place over a very long period and resulting in the evolution of new species
○ This suggests that macroevolution may be a result of an accumulation of
microevolutionary changes over a long period

Explain, using examples, how Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of Evolution by Natural
Selection account for:
a. Convergent evolution
b. Divergent evolution
Convergent vs. Divergent Evolution
● Organisms can be similar through two main mechanisms:
○ They have always possessed the similarity due to a common ancestor
○ They have developed a similarity in order to survive in a similar environment
● Convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related
INDEPENDENTLY evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar
environments or ecological niches through the process of natural selection.
○ E.g. Streamlining in unrelated marine animals --> shark, dolphin, ichthyosaur,
penguin, etc
■ This is to help them swim faster either to avoid predators or catch prey
○ E.g2. Placental mammals in Europe show similarities to marsupials in
Australia --> flying squirrel and sugar glider, wolf and Tasmanian tiger
○ E.g3. venom in reptiles and the platypus <-- due to mutations of the beta-
defensin gene
○ E.g4. Modern example - underground mosquitoes in London and Russia
● Divergent evolution is the process whereby groups from the same common ancestor
evolve and accumulate DIFFERENCES, resulting the formation of new species
○ May occur as a response to changes in abiotic factors (e.g. Change in
environment) or when a new niche becomes available
○ E.g. Evolution of the horse
● The Darwin-Wallace Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection and isolation therefore
can account for both divergent and convergent evolution: the organisms in a changed
or new environment are under pressure to survive.
● Adaptive radiation is a term used to describe the evolutionary variation in species
that evolved from a common ancestor

Explain how punctuated equilibrium is different from the gradual process of natural selection
● Gradualism
○ Proposed by Charles Darwin
○ Populations slowly diverge by accumulating changes in characteristics due to
different selection pressures
○ Transitional fossils should exist (e.g. Archaeopteryx)
○ E.g. trilobites are marine invertebrates which show evidence of gradualism in
their fossil record
○ Darwinists use transitional forms to support their perspective of gradualism
● Punctuated equilibrium
 ○ Evolution occurs in short bursts of rapid change, followed by long periods of
stability within populations
○ This theory was put forward by Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldridge, based
on fossil evidence
■ Many fossilised remains show millions of years going by without any
noticeable evolutionary change to most species
■ E.g. Soft bodied organisms dominated the seas for hundreds of
millions of years and then in a period of few million years, they
disappeared and were replaced by organisms with shells and
skeletons
● Natural selection occurs both in short bursts of rapid change (punctuated equilibrium)
and gradually over a long period (gradualism)

Process of Punctuated Equilibrium

1. Population lives with no change in its environment and little change is observed in
the fossil record
2. Part of the population is isolated by change in environment (e.g. Tectonic activity or
sea level change)
3. Small isolated population experiences STRONG SELECTION PRESSURE
4. Due to small size of population, no fossils represent any transitional forms
5. If environmental conditions change and populations reunite, there may be
competition
6. A larger population and stable environment make evolutionary changes less likely

Comparison of Gradualism and Punctuated Equilibrium

Gradualism Punctuated Equilibrium
 ● Natural selection changes the
features of a species by removing
less fit organisms from the gene
pool
● Happens over a long period
● A single species may evolve
separately as a result of isolation
● Evolutionary change occurs all the
time and does not always result in
a change of species
● Incomplete fossil record is a result
of breaks in the formation of
fossils. Missing links could be
found if the stratigraphic rock
sequences were more complete or
conditions for fossilisation were
better
● Evolutionary change is described
as slow, constant and consistent
● Very little change for long periods,
interspersed with periods of sudden
rapid changes
● Happened rapidly in geological time -
but little change occurs in the time
between speciation events
● Speciation is not linear but branched
with more than one result
● Large widespread species change
slowly
● The fossil record is incomplete
because the speciation event
occurred too quickly for fossil
formation
● Evolutionary change is described as
fast; a new species can appear
suddenly with long periods of no
change

Investigate, using secondary sources, evidence in support of Darwin and Wallace’s Theory
of Evolution by Natural Selection, including but not limited to:
a. Biochemical evidence, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and
biogeography
● Trends and patterns observed in each of these five areas suggest the presence of
recent common ancestors from which closely related species have evolved

Biochemical Evidence
● Biochemical evidence shows that all living organisms share the same
macromolecules (e.g. Proteins, DNA) and biochemical processes such as cellular
respiration
● The biochemistry of all living organisms is fundamentally similar
● The more closely related the organisms are, the more similar their proteins or DNA
will be

Amino Acid Sequencing

● A protein that is found in a wide range of organisms is usually studied to examine
amino acid sequences and evolutionary relatedness
● E.g. Cytochrome-c is a protein involved in the cellular respiration biochemical
pathways of all living things. The number of differences in the amino acid sequence
in this protein taken from different organisms can be used as an indicator of
evolutionary relationships.
● The fewer the differences, the more closely related are the organisms
● Similarity imply that the organisms may have a shared common ancestor, as the
basic chemistry inherited from a common life form has not changed
● Differences imply that the organisms have evolved (changed over time)

Comparative Anatomy
 ● Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the structure
(anatomy) of living organisms
● More similarities in the structure of organisms implies that they must have separated
from a common ancestor more recently

Homologous structures - evidence of DIVERGENT EVOLUTION

● Homologous structures are structures with similar anatomy and shared evolutionary
origins, although they may not function in the same way
● Similarities in structure suggest decent from a common ancestor, whereas
differences in structure represent modifications
● Organs that have the same basic plan to their structure but show modifications
because they are used in different ways are termed homologous
● E.g. Pentadactyl limb

Analogous structures - evidence of CONVERGENT EVOLUTION

● Analogous features are anatomical structures that have evolved independently in
different groups of organisms for the same purpose
● E.g. Wings in birds and butterflies
● These organs are thought to have started off being very different and then to have
evolved independently to become similar, because they were selected to be used for
a similar purpose, such as flight
● This demonstrates convergent evolution, where changes in structure are adaptations
that favour the survival of these unrelated organisms because they face similar
selection pressures
● E.g.
○ The Australian echidna and the European hedgehog have developed
protective spines to discourage predation, but in terms of most other
structures and their reproduction, they are dissimilar
● Analogous structures does not mean organisms with similar organs are evolutionarily
related, but are distantly related and don't share a common recent ancestor

Vestigial structures
● Vestigial structures are thought to be evolutionary remnants of body parts that no
longer serve a useful function within that population
 ● Provides evidence of common ancestry
● E.g.
○ Reduced tail (coccyx) in humans
○ Pelvic bones in snakes and whales
○ Appendix in humans are useless but in koalas they serve a digestive function

Comparative Embryology
b. Comparative embryology is the comparison of the developmental stages of different
species
c. Related species show similarities in their embryonic development --> evolved from
common ancestor
d. Fish, amphibians, birds and mammals have common features:
i. Gill slits
ii. Limb buds
iii. Tail

Biogeography
● Biogeography is the study of the geographical distribution of organisms, both living
and extinct
● Darwin and Wallace proposed that in order for a new species to arise, a group of
individuals must become isolated
● If isolation is a criterion necessary for new species to arise from an original species,
the new species should resemble species with which they shared a habitat. They will
be more similar to:
○ Species that lived close by than to species found far away
○ Species that lived in a common area before it split up
● E.g. The present day distribution of ratites flightless birds (e.g. Emu, ostrich, rhea,
cassowary and kiwi) suggests that these birds originated from a common ancestor on
Gondwana and that the different populations evolved on the isolated southern
continents as they drifted apart
● Provides evidence for adaptive radiation or the diversification in organisms that
evolved from an ancestral species because of migrations into new environments
● Adaptive radiation involves the migrations of organisms into new environments
because they have traits that allow them to exploit resources in the new environment
and survive in new niches

e. Techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced

Palaeontology: Fossils
● Fossils are preserved evidence of past living organisms
 ● May be mineralised remains in rock or the actual remains of the organism preserved
in rock, ice, amber, tar, peat or volcanic ash
● The sequence in which fossils are laid down in rock reflects the order in which they
were formed
○ The oldest fossils in the bottom-most layers of the rock and the more modern
fossils in the rock layers closer to the top (law of superposition)

Transitional forms
● Fossils which have the characteristics of two different groups of organisms are called
transitional fossils
● These organisms show transitions from one group to another ('missing links' between
groups)
● E.g. If amphibians evolved from fish, we would expect to find fossils of organisms
that show features of both the fish ancestors and the amphibian forms to which they
would eventually give rise
● E.g2. ARCHAEOPTERYX - possessed features of both birds and reptiles

Reptile features Bird features

● Teeth ● Furcula (wishbone)

● Long bony tail ● Long forearms (wing-like
● Claws on forelimbs proportion)
● Flight feathers

Techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced

● Fossils include impression fossils, mineralised fossils, trace fossils and mummified
fossils
● Fossils are formed through the exclusive of bacteria and oxygen to prevent or slow
down the process of decomposition

Relative Dating
● Relative dating relies on the assumption that fossils found up higher in the rock strata
are younger than the lower fossils, so fossils are dated relative to one another
● Techniques used to relatively date fossils:
○ Chemical analysis: greater chemical exchange occurs in older fossils
○ Stratigraphy: oldest rocks at the bottom and the youngest on top
○ Biostratigraphy: involves the use of index fossils to define and identify
geological periods
○ Palaeomagnetism: study of Earth's changing magnetic field in rocks,
sediments, or other materials. As many rocks contain iron oxide and this
mineral lined up with the earth's magnetic field when it was deposited,
approximate dates can be determined

Absolute Dating
● Absolute dating enables the actual age of a specimen to be determined using the
radioactive elements that are present
● All living organisms take up carbon from their environment, including a small
proportion of the radioactive isotope carbon-14
● After death, the amount of carbon begins to decay through half-lives
 ● The amount of carbon-14 present and the known rate of the decay and the
equilibrium value gives the length of time elapsed since the death of the organism
● Radiocarbon dating is normally suitable for organic materials less than 50,000 years
old --> amount of carbon-14 will become too small to accurately measure
● Fossils show how much or how little organisms have changed over time
● Limitations of the fossil record is that it contains gaps --> not all organisms fossilise
well and fossils can be destroyed

Explain modern day examples that demonstrate evolutionary change, for example:
a. The cane toad
● Cane toads were introduced to Australia to control the numbers of the cane beetle on
sugar cane crops
● Started as 102 cane toads --> now 200 million
● Characteristics that enabled cane toads to out-compete:
○ Rapid reproduction
○ Produce poison/bufotoxin throughout entire life
○ No natural predators
● The invading front have expanded from 10km/year --> 60km/year
○ Toads at the front have genes that enable them to move faster
○ They produce offspring with fast hopping genes
● Other species living in cane toad areas are showing changes in structural and
behavioural characteristics
○ Red-bellied black snake developed smaller heads to eat smaller toads with
less toxins
○ Smaller headed snakes survived and reproduced small-headed snakes

b. Antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria

● Antibiotics are chemicals that are able to inhibit the growth of bacteria or destroy
them
● Alexandra Fleming discovered the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928
● Infections and diseases that were once considered very serious and fatal could be
treated successfully
● Bacteria, during the normal processes of natural selection, have evolved strains that
are resistant to antibiotics
● Although bacteria normally reproduce by binary fission - producing clones - they can
also reproduce sexually through conjugation - exchange genetic material

Module 4 - Ecosystem Dynamics

Investigate and determine relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem,
including:
a. The impact of abiotic factors
● Abiotic factors are not always evenly distributed throughout an ecosystem
● E.g. Water is a very effective filter for sunlight. Deeper the ocean, the dimmer the
sunlight
○ Top layer of ocean is called the photic zone
○ The main producers of the ocean are photosynthetic phytoplankton, which
provide food for other organisms
 ○ The availability of phytoplankton is therefore affected by the availability of
sunlight
● Each community has its own unique way of thriving within the limits of the abiotic
environment (e.g. Saltwater fish has the behavioural and physiological adaptations
that enable it to deal with high salt load in its environment)

Measuring Abiotic Factors

Abiotic factor Equipment

Temperature (degrees celsius) Thermometer

Humidity (%) Hygrometer (wet and dry bulb

thermometer)

Light availability (lux) Lux meter

Wind speed (km/h, direction) Anemometer

Water pH Digital pH meter

Soil pH Barium sulphate + universal

indicator

Oxygen saturation Dissolved oxygen ampoule

Turbidity Turbidity tube

Salinity Total dissolved solids meter

b. The impact of biotic factors, including predation, competition and symbiotic

relationships
● Living things can affect each other directly by predation and symbiosis, but also
indirectly by competing for resources
● Community interactions:
○ Predation
○ Competition
○ Symbiosis
■ Mutualism
■ Commensalism
■ Parasitism

Predation
● A predator-prey relationship is a type of feeding relationship where the predator
obtains its food by killing and eating another animal (prey)
● E.g.
○ Spider traps flies in its web and eats them
○ Blue tongue lizard kills and eats beetles and snails
○ Killer whale feeds on seabirds, turtles, octopus and fish

Competition
● Competition occurs when two or more organisms use one or more resources in
common (e.g. Food, shelter, mates)
● Usually the resource competed for is limited in supply
 ● All competition involves risk to the competitors and the rewards must outweigh this
inherent risk
● Types of competition:
○ Directly: aggression or physical interaction
○ Indirectly: vocalisation or leaving a scene on an object in their territory
● Organisms may compete with:
○ Members of their own species (intraspecific competition)
○ Members of another species (interspecific competition)
● Intraspecific competition is usually more intense as the organisms have far more
resource needs in common
● Interspecific competition may lead to the evolution of one of the species in response
to the selection pressure exerted by the other species that alters its niche, such as
when introduced and native plants compete for water and nutrients in the soil
● Allelopathy is the production of specific biomolecules by one plant that can be
beneficial or detrimental to another plant
○ Plants require space --> use of allelochemicals --> kills nearby plants
○ E.g. Mangroves, acacia trees, black walnut plants, eucalyptus trees
● Animals compete for:
○ Food
○ Shelter or hiding places to avoid predators
○ Shelter or hiding places in defence of territory or young
○ Shelter for nest sites
● Defence mechanisms:
○ Attacking intruders using teeth, claws, stingers
○ Camouflage
○ Mimicry to resemble dangerous species
○ Bright colours (warning colouration)

Symbiotic Relationships
● Symbiosis is the term used for interactions in which two organisms live together in a
close relationship that is beneficial to at least one of them
● Involves providing protection, food, cleaning or transportation
● A facultative symbiosis relationship occurs when organisms can live independently
but choose to interact for benefit anyways
○ E.g. Aphids and ants are not essential for survival, but when they interact,
ants protect aphids from predation and ants receive a food source from the
aphids (sugary fluid)
● Three types of symbiosis interactions:
○ Mutualism: both benefit (+ / +)
○ Commensalism: one species benefits, other unaffected (+ / 0)
○ Parasitism: one species benefits, other harmed (+ / -)

Mutualism
● E.g. Coral reefs and symbiotic algae
○ Algae live, reproduce and photosynthesis in the coral reefs and use their
waste products
○ Coral uses the oxygen and food produced by the algae during photosynthesis
--> grows, reproduces and forms hard skeleton
○ When corals are stressed, they expel the algae, causing corals to stave
● E.g2. sea anemone and sea anemone fish (clownfish)
 ○ Anemone fish brushes against the anemone's tentacles to cover itself in
mucus to inhibit sting
○ Clownfish is protected from predators by hiding inside anemone unharmed
○ Anemone feeds on food scraps and is cleaned by the fish

Commensalism
● E.g. Barnacles on whale
○ Barnacles attach themselves onto whales
○ Whales transport the barnacles
○ Barnacles are benefitted, whales are unaffected
● E.g2. Strangler fig
○ The fig grows and extends its roots down into the soil
○ Envelops host tree and prevents trunk growth
○ The relationship changes from commensalism to competition for space

Parasitism
● A parasite obtains shelter from the host organism while it feeds upon its tissues or
fluids
● Ectoparasites: lives on surface of host (e.g. Fleas, ticks, lice); endoparasites: lives
internally in the host (e.g. Tapeworm, roundworm, heartworm)
● Macroparasites: visible to naked eye; microparasites: invisible to naked eye - seen
using microscope

c. The ecological niches occupied by species

● A niche refers to all the resources that a species uses, including both biotic and
abiotic factors
● No two species can occupy the same niche - competitive exclusion principle
● E.g. Noisy miner bird hunts for insects among the plants in your garden. It builds a
nest to raise young on acacia tree branches using grass and small sticks. In the
same area, a galah eats seeds mostly from the ground. It nests in the hollow of an
eucalypt tree and lines it with leaves. Both birds occupy the same area, but have
different nesting and food strategies - they occupy different niches within the same
habitat
● Organisms cannot always occupy their fundamental niche due to competition -->
therefore, occupy a realised niche due to restrictions placed on them by other
organisms
● A variety of niches are possible if thee is a diversity of abiotic and biotic factors in an
area (e.g. Australia has a wide range of climactic conditions --> extremely biodiverse)

d. Predicting consequences for populations in ecosystems due to predation,

competition, symbiosis and disease
Consequences of Predation
● Predators affect the distribution and abundance of their prey
● Abundance of predator and prey fluctuate
● Predator numbers copy prey numbers
○ When prey numbers increase, predator population increases
○ As prey are consumed, their numbers drop, leading to food shortage for
predators, whose numbers also decline
 ● Factors affecting size of predator and prey populations:
○ Number of predators competing for same prey
○ Availability of prey's food
○ Reproduction rate, dependent on:
■ Age of reproductive maturity
■ Number of reproductive episodes per lifetime
■ Fertility
■ Fecundity
○ Death rate
○ Ratio of males to females
○ Size of ecosystem for supporting the predator and prey numbers
○ Movement between ecosystems
○ Number of shelter sites available

Consequences of Competition
● Affects reproduction and survival rates
● Population fluctuations can be directly linked to the competing species and their
resource
● Some species may be more successful competitors than others
● Individuals of the less successful species were out-competed for food by individuals
of the species that eventually replaced it
● When two species compete for a resource, the short-term effect is a decrease in
population of one or both species

Consequences of Symbiosis
● Symbiosis contributes to:
○ Increased evolutionary diversification - biodiversity
○ Development of new species from the integration of their genetic material with
each other (symbiogenesis)
○ Sources of new capabilities for organisms, which enhance evolutionary
'fitness'
● Symbiosis allows an increase in biodiversity and therefore more resilient ecosystems
● E.g. Ecosystem diversity: coral reefs are surviving only because of algae. These
coral systems provide an unique environment for marine creatures

Consequences of Disease
● Disease can be defined as any process that adversely affects the normal functioning
of tissues in a living organism
 ● For a disease outbreak to occur, pathogens must be introduced into a new host
population from where the disease spreads through direct or indirect means, or it
must be given a selective advantage by a change in the biotic or abiotic conditions
● A simple change in an environmental factor that causes stress on an organism can
comprise its barriers to invasion by a pathogen
● Emerging disease alters the balance of food webs dramatically
○ Affected species will decline in numbers --> affects numbers of predators and
prey
● E.g. Devil facial tumour disease

e. Measuring populations of organisms using sampling techniques

● Methods to estimate populations:
○ Random quadrats
■ Randomly pick spots within the ecosystem
■ Count the numbers within a small area known as a quadrat (1m x 1m)
○ Transects
■ Samples organisms at regular intervals that fall along a line
■ Commonly used to analyse plant populations, or where organisms are
attached to one spot
■ The organisms that lie along the transect line are record along the
entire length
○ Capture-recapture
■ Used to estimate moving populations
■ Involves capturing, tagging and releasing animals
■ Later time, recapture animals and identify the ones tagged previously
■ Using a formula, calculate the total number of animals

Advantages and Disadvantages of Sampling Methods

Sampling Advantages Disadvantages
method

Total counts ● More accurate data ● Takes time and effort

Random ● Counts large populations in a ● Cannot estimate moving

quadrats large area organisms
● Quick method to investigate ● Not accurate → errors
populations, as counting of all ● Uneven distribution can
organisms are not required result in inaccurate data

Transects ● Able to calculate the diversity ● Cannot estimate moving

and distribution of organisms organisms
● Not accurate
● Not good for calculating
abundance unless used
with quadrats
● One transect may not be
accurate
Capture- ● Calculates the population of a ● May harm or frighten
recapture species animals
● May be biased →
organisms may learn
to be captured or to
avoid

Explain a recent extinction event

● Extinction is the death of all the members of one species
● There are major extinction events where a number of different species have become
extinct at around the same time. This is what happened to the Australian megafauna
● Megafauna examples:
○ Diprotodon (large wombat)
○ Megalania (large goanna)
○ Procoptodon (giant, flat-faced kangaroo)
● Current researches believe it was a combination of climate change and human
impacts that caused the extinctions of animals

Theory 1: Changes in Climate

● The continent dried out due to the ice age
● As the climate dried, rainforests diminished and were replaced by eucalypt forests.
Rainforests store moisture but eucalypts are less efficient at retaining water. The
water levels were continually dropping
● Climate broke out fires since dry vegetation was more susceptible to lightning strikes

Arguments For
● Megafauna would be dependent on an ample supply of water and would have died
out when water became scarce
● They may have died out because they could not manage the sudden change in
temperature; breeding seasons affected and plants became less available

Arguments Against
● Last ice age was probably like previous ones. If so, why would the last ice age have
such an immense effect when there is no evidence previous ice ages had a similar
result?
● Earlier extinctions occurred before the peak of the last ice age
● Climate change today does not select large, slow-moving species

Theory 2: The Arrival of Humans

● Evidence from the Madjedbebe site suggests that humans hunted the megafauna
● Because megafauna were larger animals and large animals are slow, they were the
ones that were killed as they were more desirable (feed more people and were easy
to hunt)
● Smaller, faster animals escaped survival and passed their genes on so these
populations evolved to become smaller
● The introduction of new animal species could decrease diversity
○ E.g. Dingoes drove the thylacine and Tasmanian devil to extinction on the
mainland

Arguments For
 ● Humans were involved in the increase in fires (Aboriginal way of hunting) -->
increased carbon deposits in fossils which are about the same age (40,000 years) as
the oldest archaeological sites beyond Northern Australia

Arguments Against
● No fossil evidence of kill sites
● Little evidence of humans and megafauna co-existing
● Overlap in the size of the smallest extinct species and that of largest present-day
species

Theory 3: Level of Nutrients

● Low level of nutrients in soils may have caused nutrient depletion
throughout the food web → smaller animals surviving

Evidence of Humans and Megafauna Coexisting

● When two species are found at a fossil site near each other, it can be inferred that
they coexisted and possibly interacted with each other
● Cuddie Springs is a fossil site where the bones of megafauna and the stone tools
made by humans have been found in close proximity
● Specific finds include:
○ Kangaroo leg bone with signs of butchering
○ Stone tools
○ Mixtures of megafauna bones
○ Charcoal from campfires
○ A sandstone grinding stone

The 5 Mass Extinction Events

Mass Time Percentage of Suggested cause
Extinction (mya) species lost
Event (%)

Late/end 443 86 Short, severe ice age that lowered sea levels,
Ordovician possibly triggered by the uplift of the
Appalachians mountains in North America.
The newly exposed silicate rock sucked
carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, chilling
the planet

Late/end 354 75 Newly evolved land plants disturbed the soil

Devonian and released nutrients into the ocean.
Possibly triggered algal blooms which sucked
oxygen out of the water, suffocating bottom
dwellers like trilobites

Late/end 248 96 A large volcanic eruption near Siberia

Permian released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Methanogenic bacteria responded by
releasing methane, a greenhouse gas. Global
temperatures increased while oceans
acidified and stagnated
Late/end 206 80 No clear cause has been found
Triassic

Late/end 65 76 Combination of volcanic activity, climate

Cretaceous change and asteroid impact

Analyse palaeontological and geological evidence that can be used to provide evidence for
past changes in ecosystems, including but not limited to:
a. Aboriginal rock paintings
● Aboriginal paintings give scientists clues about when and how people arrived in the
area, the environments at the time, how they lived and adjusted to changes in the
climate and landscape, and the effect of climate change on local flora and fauna
● The Bradshaw paintings are silhouettes of humans with accessories, and also
images that depict extinct megafauna such as the thylacine
● Aboriginal rock art represents a record of human observations of the environment
dating back as far as 40,000 years
● Scientists can place these observations in context with scientific data to form a more
comprehensive picture of past ecosystems and the changes that took place in them

b. Rock structure and formation

● The geological timescale is a scientific model that allows scientists to represent the
course of changes in geological and fossil deposits and link these to evolutionary
changes in ecosystems
○ E.g. A massive deposit of volcanic ash in a rock layer may immediately
precede a rapid decline in the abundance of fossil evidence for certain
species. This infers that a volcanic eruption has changed the environment in
such a way as to make it unfavourable for that species

Banded Iron Formations

● Banded iron formations are a form of geochemical evidence
● Earth's atmosphere has changed from anaerobic (oxygen-poor) to aerobic (oxygen-
containing) around 1.8-2.5 billion years ago
● Banded iron formations are geological formations consisting of alternating bands of
iron-rich and iron-poor sediments
● When oceans first formed, soluble iron in reduced state --> appearance of
photosynthetic prokaryotes (e.g. Cyanobacteria) increased oxygen concentration in
waters --> precipitated insoluble iron oxide --> iron-rich layer of sediment at bottom of
ocean --> built-up oxygen led to large-scale death of cyanobacteria --> iron-rich and
iron-poor sedimentary layers became stone

Palaeontological Evidence - Fossils

● Fossils are the remains of living things or evidence of their past existence
● The appearance of fossils gives us clues to the climate and environment at that time
● Fossils are generally found in sedimentary rock
○ Sedimentary rock forms in water as layer upon layer of sediment is deposited
● Classifications of fossils
○ Mineralised remains such as moulds and casts
○ Organic remains (e.g. Preservation of hard tissues in ice, amber, bogs and
dry caves, as well as carbonised remains)
○ Impressions - the shape of the external organism recorded in sediment
 ○ Trace fossils - remnants of organic molecules

Microfossils and Stromatolithic Fossils

● Precambrian fossils from Marble Bar, WA, provided some of the first evidence of the
nature of past ecosystems on Earth
● Microfossils of single-celled, filamentous anaerobic prokaryotes were found
○ Their features closely resembled modern examples living today around deep-
sea hydrothermal vents and volcanic hot springs
○ From this, it can be inferred that these organisms lived in a hydrothermal
environment
● Chemosynthesis may have been the earliest way that organisms built organic
molecules, event before photosynthesis
● Chemosynthesis is a process whereby organisms use inorganic compounds
available to them from their environment, such as sulfur-containing molecules, to
manufacture their organic molecules.
○ Does not require sunlight and can therefore happen in deep, dark ocean
environments
● Stromatolites found in Bitter Springs, NT, dated back to around 3.5 billion years old
○ They provide valuable information about the structure of early organisms and
the environments in which they lived
● In water, colonies of photosynthetic cyanobacteria trap layers of calcium carbonate
and 'grow' upwards in columns towards the sun
● Stromatolites grow in shallow water with increased light intensity for photosynthesis,
and also warm still water that allows them to grow without disturbance from other
organisms
● As stromatolites became more abundant, the cyanobacteria produced more oxygen,
resulting in the development of oxygenated atmosphere that allowed for the
development of more complex aerobic life forms

c. Ice core drilling

● Antarctic snow forms layers just like sedimentary rocks, with deeper layers
representing ancient deposition events
● This insight allowed scientists to imagine that drilling down through the ice and
extracting gases could be used as a way of reconstructing the climate record, with
the temperature and chemical profiles of the atmosphere dating back hundreds of
thousands of years
● As the snow falls year after year, gases and particles and pollen from the
atmosphere are trapped within it
● Ice core samples are collecting by cutting around a cylinder of ice, allowing the ice to
be drawn up to the surface for investigation
● Ice core samples have allowed us to see 130,000 years into the past
● The bubbles in the ice core samples tell scientists of the concentration of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere at that time
● The deeper the ice, the lower the concentration of carbon dioxide --> increasing
carbon dioxide levels in increasing years (climate change)

Investigate and analyse past and present technologies that have been used to determine
evidence for past changes, for example:
a. Radiometric dating
● Radiometric dating is the process whereby scientists determine the age in years of a
fossil, rock or mineral
 ● Isotopes decay at predictable rates that allow scientists to estimate the age of
mineral and fossil samples

Technologies to Measure Radioactivity in Rocks

● Measured using combination
○ Nuclear reactors
○ Mass spectrometer
○ Laser beams
○ Special microscopes
● SHRIMP (Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe)
● Fission track dating
● Luminescence dating - measure radioactivity inside mineral crystals using heat

b. Gas analysis
● Ice core samples
○ The data in the ice cores can reconstruct atmospheric concentrations of
certain gases, particularly carbon dioxide and oxygen
○ Used to trace back the fossil record
○ The warming or cooling of the atmosphere would have a direct effect on the
types of plants and animals that are suited to survive in such a climate
● Gas analysis helps scientists to infer past global temperatures based on the
proportions of gases as well as ratios of isotopes of certain gases

Analyse evidence that present-day organisms have evolved from organisms in the past by
examining and interpreting a range of secondary sources to evaluate processes, claims and
conclusions relating to the evolution of organisms in Australia, for example:
a. Small mammals

Case Study 1: Marsupials - Why They Dominate Australia

● Changes in abiotic factors and geographical isolation have been major influences on
the evolution of Australia's flora and fauna
● Over 4000 species of placentals world wide; only 140 in Aus
● In contrast of, 330 marsupial species world wide; over 200 endemic to Australia
● Larger placental mammals went extinct due to changes in abiotic factors =
competition removed
 ● Marsupials have lower resting metabolic rate and likely survived using less energy
than their similar-sized placental mammals
● Smaller energy investment in gestation and raising young = better chance of
surviving unpredictable fluctuation in climate

Marsupials - Summary of the Evidence

Claim Evidence

Marsupials dominated Over 4000 placental vs 330 marsupial mammals

Australia due to earlier Introduced placental mammals outcompete marsupials
extinction of larger placental (e.g. Feral cat, rabbit, fox, camels, dingo)
mammals

Marsupials originated in Asia Oldest complete marsupial fossil discovered in China

(125 mya)

Marsupials are better suited
to Australia's arid and
unpredictable environment
Multiple studies show basal metabolic rates of marsupial
mammals are about 30% lower than placental and
monotreme mammals = lower energy consumption.
Lower energy investment in embryonic development due
to short gestation. Also unique reproductive advantages
such as embryonic diapause

Case Study 2: Marsupials - Why the Megafauna Went Extinct

● Kingdom: animalia
● Phylum: chordata
● Subphylum: vertebrata
● Class: mamalia
● Infraclass: placental marsupial monotremes
● Order: diprotodontia (11 families, 125 species)
● Suborders:
○ Vombatiformes (wombats, koalas and extinct relatives
○ Macropodiformes (e.g. Kangaroos, wallabies and extinct relatives)
○ Phalangeriformes (e.g. Possums)

● Natural climate change

○ Large species more susceptible as they required more food and water
 ○ Smaller, more mobile marsupials survived, adapted and radiated
● Aboriginal 'overkill'
○ Archaeological sites indicate there was definite hunting of megafauna
○ E.g. Diprotodon and Zaglossus hacketti

Claim Evidence

Natural climate Cave paintings and archaeological sites dated to tens of thousands of
change years indicate Aboriginal peoples and Megafaun co-existed.
Regularly hunted modern kangaroos have survived both Aboriginal and
commercial hunting.
Large species are more susceptible to changes in climate as they
require more food and water. Smaller, more mobile marsupials
survived, adapted and radiated.
Many megafauna species went extinct before Aboriginal arrival.

Aboriginal Survival of marsupial species in arid central Australia and extinction of

'overkill' megafauna in New Guinea. Common factor = people
Larger animals more obvious target.
Archaeological sites indicate there was definite hunting of megafauna,
including Diprotodon.

Case Study 3: Monotremes - Why So Few and Their Oddities

● Only 5 species of extant monotremes
○ Platypus and short-beaked echidna in Aus
○ 3 species of long-beaked echidna in New Guinea
● Monotremes were widespread in Australia but likely outcompeted by marsupials =
extinction of most
● Platypus and echidna ancestors survived by going aquatic. There are no aquatic
marsupials.
● Echidna lineage re-emerged from water

b. Sclerophyll plants
● Sclerophyll are woody plants characterised by evergreen leaves that are tough and
thick in order to reduce water loss.
● E.g. Eucalyptus, acacia, grevillea, banksia
 ● Australia has 800+ eucalyptus and over 1000 acacia species
● 75% of native forests are dominated by eucalypt forests, 8% acacia forests and only
3% rainforest

The Past
Claim
● Prior to the split from Antarctica (45 mya) Australia had been dominated by
temperate woodlands and rainforests

Evidence
● Fossils of extinct Glossopteris and Gangamopteris genera across all Gondwana
continents
● Fossils of extant rainforest species Ilex arnhemensis from across Australia
● Analysis of pollen and charcoal samples, deposited in a time sequence, supports the
change from rainforest to sclerophyll

Habitat
Claim
● 20mya most sclerophyll originated in Australia after the split from Antarctica

Evidence
● Radiometric dating of ancient Eucalypt fossils (rocks). Fossils found nowhere else in
world
● Eucalypts, banksia and grevillea are endemic to Australia (and Northern Gondwana
neighbours)
● Of over 800+ eucalypt species, only 15 are found in other countries, and less than 10
are not found in Australia

Selective Pressures
● Fire and poor soil quality have been strong selective pressures for vegetation in
Australia, with sclerophyll species being better suited to the arid, unpredictable, fire-
prone environment.
● Sclerophyll species dominated and diversified rapidly, due to a lack of competition
under these conditions

Evidence
● Soil type and drought
● Many sclerophyll species resist fire, and some require it for reproduction and survival
● For 40,000+ years, Aborigines successfully used burning practices to alter natural
vegetation

The Future
Claim
● Since European settlement unprecedented impact on Australian vegetation

Evidence
● Soil erosion
● Soil compaction
● Increased soil salinity
● Soil and water table pollution
● Land clearing and overgrazing
 ● Extinction of multiple endemic species
● Introduced plant and animal species which outcompete or eat the native species
respectively

Investigate the reasons for changes in past ecosystems by:

a. Interpreting a range of secondary sources to develop an understanding of the
changes in biotic and abiotic factors over short and long periods of time
A Secondary-source Investigation into Fossil Sites in Australia
● The Naracoorte caves gives an excellent snapshot of Pleistocene organisms
○ They are the focal point to study the link between climate change and the
evolution of Australian mammals
○ Time from human arrival - develops understanding of the relationship
between the first humans and their environment
● The Riversleigh fossil site represents the Oligo-Miocene period (15-25 mya) to the
Pleistocene epoch
○ They give a picture of mammal evolution for at least 20 million years,
especially marsupial and monotreme evolution
○ Platypus and echidna fossils were most likely found in this fossil site
■ After Australia broke away from Antarctica 85 mya, the changing from
a colder to warmer climate may have promoted the appearance of
platypuses and echidnas
● The evolution of Australian mammals and plants is closely linked to the evolution of
the Australian climate and its tectonic setting as the continent drifts slowly north
● A small ground-dwelling placental mammal called the condylarth tingamarra
porterorrum was found at Murgon, Queensland
○ This was a significant discovery because it was a fossil of the oldest placental
land mammals in Australia
○ It also proved that placental mammals and marsupials once co-existed and
did not live separately
b. Evaluating hypothesis that account for identified trends
Assessing Claims Made by Scientists About Evolution of Australian Species
Time Claim made by scientist Supporting evidence

55 mya Moist climates supported rainforests which Presence of mangrove

formed the dominant vegetation type before palm fossils discovered in
Australia separated from Gondwana. the west coast of
Tasmania
Rainforests had replaced the towering conifer
forests of the previous eras. Fossil records showing
the appearance of
The climate was wet and warm and there was a angiosperms (flowering
large variety of flora and fauna. Animals included plants)
many of the early ancestors of animals we know
today such as koalas, kangaroos, bats, Fossil record of animals
crocodiles and possums. in Murgon, Queensland,
and Lightning Ridge,
NSW
45 mya As Australia separated from Antarctica and Extant Gondawanan
began drifting north, the climate dried out and the rainforests on the coast
Australian rainforests contracted, remaining of NSW and QLD.
mainly in the coastal regions of Australia. The
inland areas which were drying out had more Glossopteris and
open forests and woodlands. Nothofagus fossils
discovered in inland
Animals diversified and varieties developed that Australia.
were more similar to those that we know today.
Kangaroos hopped rather than walking. Large
herds of animals that resembled modern day
wombats and carnivorous predators such as
thylacines and marsupial lions appeared.

8 mya As the climate continued to dry out, gum trees Impression fossils of
and wattles became common in Australia's leaves and fruit of
forests and many wildflowers bloomed. eucalyptus and DNA
sequencing of eucalypts.
Newly developed fauna included salt water
crocodiles and budgerigars. Fossil record from
Riversleigh.
This era formed the link between ancient and
modern vegetation. Conifers and cycads were
decreasing in importance as flowering plants
boomed.

2 mya The climate then went through a period of Presence of pollen in

fluctuation from wet to dry and the pattern of different layers of
forests, grasslands and deserts kept changing. stalagmites and
stalactites in underground
Megafauna abounded, with huge Diptrodons caves in the Nullabor
(giant wombat) and Megalanias (giant goanna) Plain.

Fossil record documents

the presence of a variety
of megafauna in Australia
including Riversleigh,
Mount Gambier and
Buff Downs

60,000 ya Indigenous people arrived and used fire to clear Carbon dated artefacts
vegetation for movement across the land and to (e.g. Ochre, paint, axe
burn off particular areas of bushland heads) up to 80,000
years old in Kakadu
National Park and fossil
record for Naracoorte

About Australia's climate become consistently drier and Geomorphic evidence of

5,000 ya has continued to do so. The dry climate allowed reduced rainfall in
lightning to start many fires, possibly influencing dunefields and lake
the selection of fire-resistant plant species, which deposits in northern
 began to flourish Australia

Present Australia's climate is continuing to warm due to Climate records show

day human-induced climate change increasing number of
days above average
temperature over last few
decades

Investigate changes in past ecosystems that may inform our approach to the management of
future ecosystems including:
a. The role of human-induced selection pressures on the extinction of species
Human Impacts That Have Negative Consequences on Ecosystems
● Human activity can impact an ecosystem in a negative way from:
○ Pollution
○ Waste dumping
○ Hunting
○ Overfishing
○ Chopping down forests
○ Burning fossil fuels- greenhouse gases
● Human activity can impact the ecosystem in a positive way from:
○ Planting trees
○ Clean rivers
○ Recycling (help by not producing as much waste)
● Typically, degraded ecosystems are missing species, groups of species, or even
whole functional groups, such as top-level predators.
○ Repairing and replanting wetlands, creek beds, forestland, and other habitats
○ Planting rain gardens to absorb rainwater running off roofs
○ Monitoring pond and lake habitats and preparing reports on findings to
government authorities
○ Eradicating invasive species

Role of Humans in Extinction of Species

● Habitat loss - the palm oil industry has involved the removal of largescale tropical
forests to plant palm trees for the production of oil. This resulted in habitat loss of
many endangered animals such as Asian rhinos, elephants, tigers and orangutans
● Over-exploitation - the collection of reptile skins have led to the over-exploitation of
reptiles and resulted in serious depletion in populations
● Species introduction - the introduction of cane toads have led to the negative
influence of many native animals. Due to their poison glands of bufotoxin, cane toads
serve as a selection pressure that resulted in the evolution of many animals such as
the red-bellied black snake

b. Models that humans can use to predict future impacts of biodiversity

Degradation of Coorong Wetlands
● The Coorong Wetlands has been degraded to a large extent
● It has reached a point where it risks key elements that make it a wetland and has
become international importance
● Some recommendations to rehabilitate the wetland include increasing waterbird
populations by creating nurseries of aquatic plants and removing algae mechanically
Restoration of Sydney Harbour
● Initiatives aimed at encouraging seaweed and animal species is trying to restore
biodiversity at Sydney Harbour
● A seawall has been installed by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS) and
the City of Sydney
○ They provided local marine life with nooks and crevices to live in and
encouraging more seaweed and animal species to return
● The biodiversity is being increased through restoring microhabitats such as rock
pools and crevices

c. The role of changing climate on ecosystems

Climate Change on the Great Barrier Reef
● Climate change has caused severe damage to the Great Barrier Reef through
extensive coral bleaching
● Coral bleaching occurs due to rising sea temperatures and acidification levels
● The coral reefs serve as the foundation to the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem
○ After the corals died due to the expelling of symbiotic algae, they leave a
white skeleton
○ The reefs no longer provide shelter and food for communities, and thus, the
ecosystem has been damaged
● The Great Barrier Reef Catchment Loads Modelling Program tracks long-term
trends in the water quality of the water entering the Great Barrier Reef
○ The monitoring data is used to validate the catchment water quality models
that track progress towards targets
● Long-term predictions say the Great Barrier Reef is in very conditions caused by
climate change deteriorating the overall health of the reefs
● A report from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) said
climate change is escalating and is the most significant threat to the long-term
survival of the GBR
● Strategies to stop the declining conditions of the reef include curbing greenhouse
emissions, which serve as a main cause to climate change and global warming
○ Strategies that have put in place have a long recovery time for the affects that
have damaged the reef, such as the humpback whale and southern green
turtle populations
● Various interventions are also being undertaken such as:
○ Improving water quality
○ Controlling the crown-of-thorns starfish
○ Prevention of sediment run off into the reef

Investigate practices used to restore damaged ecosystems, country or place, for example:
a. Mining sites
● Australian government is committed to restoring mining sites that are closed down in
order to encourage safe and sustainable exploitation of the land.
● Must complete a report while restoring the land.
● Fill in the land with large rocks and cover it with topsoil, fertiliser, seeds, native plants
and trees, or in other cases farmland.
● High standard of ecological restoration is expected by society, and that is to be
achieved as best as possible.
● Plans are made BEFORE mining to develop a post-mining rehabilitation plan.
● Primary consideration is safety and stability of the mine are during and post mining.
b. Land degradation from agricultural practices
● Restoration of agricultural land is important for sustainability of agriculture and
environment.
○ Land is under immense pressure due to ever increasing population thereby
ensuing growing demand for food, fiber and shelter.
● Agricultural land is being deteriorated due to different anthropogenic and natural
factors.
○ The basic factors causing soil erosion and degradation are wind and water
erosion. Acidification, compaction and salinization are some other causes of
agricultural land degradation.
● The main causes of erosion on agricultural land are intensive cultivation, overgrazing,
poor management of arable soils and deforestation.
○ Sheep are packed into small areas in populations well above the carrying
capacity for such a large herbivore. The sheep and other farm animals have
hard hooves, as opposed to native, soft-footed animals, and so they compact
soil when grazing. This creates opportunities for invasive, shallow-rooted,
introduced plants to grow. Heavy machinery also compacts the soil. Tilling is
used to break up the compacted soil for farming plants, but that destroys the
topsoil structure, causes erosion and decreases the biodiversity in the soil.
● Restoration of eroded agricultural land is achieved through several agronomic and
biological techniques.
○ Crop rotations, agroforestry, planting windbreaks, mineralising the soil,
introducing soil organisms (such as earthworms), reducing tillage, planting
cover crops and using no-till procedures are among these techniques.
○ Restoration of saline agricultural land can be achieved through reconstruction
of saline land through fencing, retaining remnant vegetation, revegetation,
and water table lowering (water table is above layers in the soil saturated with
groundwater)