Learning outcomes:

9Bs.02 Describe the structure of the human excretory (renal) system and its function (limited to
kidneys filtering blood to remove urea, which is excreted in urine).
9Bs.03 Know that chromosomes contain genes, made of DNA, and that genes contribute to the
determination of an organism's characteristics.
9Bp.01 Describe the fusion of gametes to produce a fertilised egg with a new combination of
DNA.
9Bp.02 Describe the inheritance of sex in humans in terms of XX and XY chromosomes.
9Bp.08 Discuss how fetal development is affected by the health of the mother, including the
effect of diet, smoking and drugs.
Key Notes for Human Biology
Gametes are special cells adapted for reproduction. They have half the number of
chromosomes that other cells have.

Egg cells are female gametes. They are large and contain food stores in their cytoplasm.
Sperm cells are male gametes. They are small and have a tail for swimming.
Fertilisation happens when the sperm cell nucleus fuses with the egg cell nucleus. The cell is
now called a zygote.

If an egg cell is fertilised, the zygote divides to produce an embryo. The embryo travels to the
uterus where it sinks into the uterus lining and develops into a foetus.

The placenta is the growing embryo's life support system, allowing it to obtain food from its
mother's blood.

The amnion is a bag surrounding the embryo, containing fluid which supports and protects it.
The embryo's organs have all developed by 11 weeks after fertilisation. It is now called a foetus.

Genes are passed on from parents to offspring.

Genes provide a set of instructions that determine some of the characteristics of an organism.
Some characteristics are caused by an organism's environment.

Genes are found on chromosomes, in the nucleus of a cell. Most genes come in several different
forms. Offspring inherit half of their genes from each of their parents

Growth happens as cells grow and divide repeatedly. It refers to increase in cell number, size or
mass.
Development is - increase in complexity of an organism as it grows. As the number of cells
increases, they become differentiated (specialized)- change in shape to adapt for a specific
function.

Adolescence is the time when a child gradually develops into an adult. Changes take place in the
reproductive organs and the brain.

Diet, drugs and disease affect every stage of a person's life.

Nicotine is an example of a harmful drug. It has damaging effects on conception, growth,
development and health

Learning Outcomes
9Bs.01 Describe the pathway of water and mineral salts from the roots to the leaves in
flowering plants, including absorption in root hair cells, transport through xylem and
transpiration from the surface of leaves.

9Bp.05 Know that plants require minerals to maintain healthy growth and life processes (limited
to magnesium to make chlorophyll and nitrates to make protein).

9Bp.06 Know that photosynthesis occurs in chloroplasts and is the process by which plants
make carbohydrates, using the energy from light.

9Bp.07 Know and use the summary word equation for photosynthesis (carbon dioxide + water -
> glucose + oxygen, in the presence of light and chlorophyll).

Key Notes for Plant biology

Photosynthesis is the production of glucose and oxygen, by reacting water and carbon dioxide,
using energy from light.

Plants often change some of the glucose into starch, for storage. Before testing a leaf for starch,
you need to boil it to break down the cell membranes.

Plants need nitrate to make proteins, which are needed to make new cells for growth.
Plants need magnesium to make chlorophyll.

Plants need water for support, cooling, transport and photosynthesis.

Most of the water taken up by the roots eventually diffuses out of the plant's leaves, as water
vapour
Leaves are adapted to carry out photosynthesis. Leaves are green because they contain the
green pigment chlorophyll, which absorbs energy from light.

Leaves have tiny holes in their lower surfaces, called stomata, which allow carbon dioxide to get
into the leaf from the air.

Roots absorb water and minerals from the spaces between soil particles. Roots anchor a plant in
the ground. Roots can store food for the plant. Roots can sometimes survive harsh conditions
that kill the above-ground parts of the plant.

Water and minerals are transported from a plant's roots to its leaves inside long, hollow tubes
called xylem vessels. The veins in a leaf contain xylem vessels. Wood is made up of xylem
vessels.

Learning Outcomes

9Bp.03 Describe variation within a species and relate this to genetic differences between
individuals.
9Bp.04 Describe the scientific theory of natural selection and how it relates to genetic changes
over time.
9Be.01 Describe what could happen to the population of a species, including extinction, when
there is an environmental change.

Key Notes for Species and Variation

The differences between the individuals in a species are called variation.

Variation is caused by genes and by environment.

Some of the variation between organisms is caused by their genes. Individuals that have
variations that best adapt them to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce.

These individuals pass on their genes to their offspring. The offspring may inherit the genes for
these adaptations. This process is named natural selection.

When antibiotics are used, any bacteria that have a gene that makes them resistant to the
antibiotic survive and reproduce. Natural selection causes populations of resistant bacteria to
be produced. Natural selection caused dark varieties of the peppered moth to become more
common in England during the nineteenth century.

Darwin was the first person to suggest a way in which one species could change into another
species.
Darwin put forward (proposed) the theory of natural selection.
The theory of natural selection states that the individuals that are best adapted to their
environment are the ones that are most likely to pass on their features to the next generation.

Earth in Space

Learning outcomes
9ESc.01 Describe the carbon cycle (limited to photosynthesis, respiration, feeding,
decomposition and combustion).

9ESc.02 Describe the historical and predicted future impacts of climate change, including sea
level change, flooding, drought and extreme weather events.

9ESs.01 Describe the consequences of asteroid collision with the Earth, including climate
change and mass extinctions.

Key Notes

Carbon cycle
Plants take in carbon dioxide via photosynthesis to make carbohydrates, later protein and fat.
Animals get all these carbon containing nutrients by feeding these plants, and decomposers get
them as a result of breakdown of plant & animal waste.

All living organisms respires back the carbon into the atmosphere.

Some of the dead plants and animals are converted into fossils. Thus, by burning the fossil
fuels(combustion) carbon dioxide is released into atmosphere.

Mass extinction

• Extinction is when a species comes to an end or dies out

• Extinction is a natural biological process that happens on planet earth and studies of
fossils and ancient DNA have shown that million of species have gone extinct in the past
• Mass extinction events have also occurred in the past where a very large number of
species went extinct at one time
o The rate of extinction during these periods are very high
• Past mass extinctions were likely caused by major and sudden shifts in the
environment such as an Ice Age or an asteroid hitting the earth
• Scientists have been studying the current rates of extinction in recent years and many
believe that the earth is undergoing a current mass extinction with humans being the
main cause
• Possible reasons for extinction include:
 o Climate change
o Competition
o Introduction of species
o Hunting by Humans
o Degradation and loss of habitats
• At least five mass extinctions have been identified in the fossil record. coming at or
toward the end of the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous Periods.
• The Permian extinction, which took place 245 million years ago, is the largest known
mass extinction in the Earth's history, resulting in the extinction of an estimated 90
percent of marine species. In the Cretaceous extinction, 65 million years ago, an
estimated 75 percent of species, including the dinosaurs, became extinct, possibly as the
result of an asteroid colliding with the Earth.

Impact of climate change

• The large scale burning of fossil fuels by humans in recent years has led to a large
increase in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, creating the greenhouse
effect
• The increased carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has had several knock-
on effects on ecosystems around the world
o There has been an increase in the mean global temperature
o Sea levels are rising
o Ocean temperatures and acidity are rising
o Ice caps are melting
• These knock-on effects have massively changed the habitats of some species, so much
so that some are no longer able to survive in the new environmental conditions
o For example, polar bears are struggling to survive as more of their habitat melts
away earlier each year. The earlier melting of the ice caps means they have to
swim further to reach seal populations that they hunt for food