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IGCSE Biology Edexcel
CONTENTS
Characteristics of Living Organisms
1.1 Characteristics of Living Organisms
1.2 Common Features: Eukaryotic Organisms
1.3 Common Features: Prokaryotic Organisms
1.4 Pathogens
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Autotrophs make their own food whereas heterotrophs obtain it from a range of food
sources.
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Respiration
Respiration is a chemical reaction carried out in all living organisms
Energy is released from glucose either in the presence of oxygen (aerobic respiration) or
the absence of oxygen (anaerobic respiration)
The reactions ultimately result in the production of carbon dioxide and water as waste
products
Energy is transferred in the form of ATP
Exam Tip
Make sure not to confuse respiration with gas exchange. Gas exchange involves
getting oxygen into the cells and carbon dioxide out. Respiration uses the oxygen
supplied from gas exchange to release energy in the form of ATP.
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YOUR NOTES
Excretion in plants, the waste products and the difference between day and night.
Exam Tip
Excretion is often confused with egestion. Remember that the waste products
removed through excretion have originated from chemical reactions in the cells.
However, the waste products produced in egestion are in the form of faeces and
originate from the remains of the substances not absorbed during digestion.
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The nervous system and endocrine system allow humans to respond to their environment.
Sensitivity responses in plants
In plants, responses are controlled by chemicals and are usually much slower
Geotropism describes a plants response to gravity which causes the roots to grow
down into the soil
Phototropism describes a plant's response to light which causes shoots to grow
towards sunlight
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Movement
Movement is an action by an organism causing a change of position or place
The movement of an organism from place to place is called locomotion
Plants cannot move from place to place but can change their orientation
For example, sunflowers track the sun and so change their orientation throughout the
day
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Sexual reproduction involves the fusing of two gametes to form a zygote that contains DNA
from both parents.
Asexual reproduction
Cells or whole organisms can also reproduce using asexual reproduction
Mitosis is an example of asexual reproduction
There is only one parent involved so an exact clone is produced
The DNA of offspring is identical to parental DNA
Plants can reproduce asexually through tubers, budding or runners
Single-celled organisms such as bacteria or amoeba reproduce asexually
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Asexual reproduction in bacteria involves creating exact copies of the parent cell.
Growth
Growth is defined as a permanent increase in size
In animals, an individual grows larger between the zygote and adult stage with changes in
proportion or shape
In plants, an individual grows larger throughout their whole life with new shoots, leaves,
branches etc forming year after year
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An animal cell (left) and plant cell (right) as seen under a light microscope. They are both YOUR NOTES
eukaryotic cells as they both have a distinct membrane-bound nucleus.
Prokaryotic organisms (also known as prokaryotes) are in a separate kingdom and are
different from eukaryotes as they are always single-celled and do not contain a nucleus
(instead, the nuclear material of prokaryotic cells is found in the cytoplasm)
Bacteria are prokaryotic organisms
Prokaryotic cells are substantially smaller than eukaryotic cells
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Cell Structures Found in Both Animal and Plant Cells Table YOUR NOTES
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Exam Tip
You need to be able to recognise, draw and interpret images of cells, so practice
drawing and labelling animal and plant cells as part of your revision.
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Exam Tip
You need to be able to recognise, draw and interpret images of cells, so practice
drawing and labelling fungal cells and protoctist cells as part of your revision.
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The protist destroys potato and tomato crops leaving them completely inedible YOUR NOTES
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HIV
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a virus that can eventually lead to Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
HIV Table
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Influenza virus
Three different influenza viruses infect humans to cause the flu
Influenza A, influenza B and influenza C infect the cells that line the airways
They cause a high temperature, body aches and fatigue
Influenza A is the virus that causes the most cases of flu globally
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