Biology

MA3 Revision
Topics

Chapter 1: Health and Nutrients- Nutrients, food test, Chapter 3: Adaptation and Inheritance-Competition
unhealthy diet, Digestive system, bacteria & enzymes in adaptation variation, continuous and discontinuous
digestion. variation, inheritance, Natural selection and extinction.
Chapter 1: Health and
Nutrients- Nutrients,
food test, unhealthy
diet, Digestive
system, bacteria &
enzymes in digestion.
Stages of
Digestion
Bacteria in
Digestion
Digestive
enzymes
Chapter 3: Adaptation and
Inheritance-Competition, adaptation
variation, continuous and
discontinuous variation, inheritance,
Natural selection and extinction.
Competition and Adaptation

Competition Adaptation
• Organisms compete with each other for certain
essential needs for survival. Survival of the Fittest!
• Every organism has certain
• Plants compete for: features or characteristics that
light for photosynthesis allow it to live successfully in
water its habitat. These features are
nutrients & minerals called adaptations, and we say
• Animals compete for:
that the organism is adapted to
• food
• water
its habitat. Organisms living in
• mates to reproduce different habitats need
• living space different adaptations.
Adaptation Example: Camel & Polar Bear
• Living things adapt over time to their environment in order to survive
Camel well suited for desert:
• slit-like nostrils, two rows of eyelashes to keep sand out
• wide, flat feet to stop them sinking into sand
• thick fur to keep sun off their skin
Polar Bear well suited for Arctic:
• black skin absorbs heat well
• white fur camouflages against snow and ice
• thick layers of fat and fur for insulation
• wide, hairy soles avoid bear from slipping
 Variation
Variation is all the differences that exist in a population of the same species.
These differences are caused by:
•Genetic variation - these are differences between individuals that are inherited
from parents, such as the colour of your eyes, hair and skin.
•Environmental variation - these are differences between individuals that are
not inherited but caused by the environment that the organism lives in, including
scars and tattoos.
•Genetic and environmental variation - differences between individuals that
are caused by both genetic and environmental factors, such as height and weight.
 Continuous and
Discontinuous Variation
Continuous variation
Surveys of give us results that come in a range. Human height is an example of continuous
variation. It ranges from that of the shortest person in the world to that of the tallest person.
Any height is possible between these values, so this is continuous variation. For example,
you can be 150 cm tall, 151 cm tall, or any height in between this - if you had a ruler that
could measure small enough values.
So, a characteristic that changes gradually over a range of values shows continuous
variation. Examples of such characteristics are:
•height
•arm span
•Weight
Discontinuous variation
Surveys of give us values that come in groups rather than a range. Human blood groups are
an example of discontinuous variation. In the ABO blood group system, only four blood
groups are possible - A, B, AB or O. You cannot have a blood group in between these four
groups, so this is discontinuous variation.
Here are some examples:
•blood group
•eye colour
Inheritance
• Inheritance is the basis of heredity and by this process, traits are
passed on from the parents to the offsprings. Continuity of the gene
pool is maintained by the process of inheritance.
Natural selection
• Natural selection is a process by which a species changes over time in
response to changes in the environment, or competition between
organisms, in order for the species to survive.
• The members of the species with the most desirable characteristics are
able to produce the best-adapted offspring. If a species is unable to
adapt then it is at risk of becoming extinct.
Extinction
• When a species becomes extinct, all its genetic
heritage is lost. The species evolve into new
species in order to adapt to the environmental
changes or changes in the genetic heritage.
• Over 99% of all the species that once lived on
the Earth, amounting to over five billion species,
are estimated to be extinct. As per the
estimations on the number of current species, a
range from 10 -14 million, of which more than
1.2 million have been studied and more than
86% have not yet been discovered.
• This could happen naturally due to a change in
the climate or because of human activities like
overhunting or the destruction of habitat.
Practice
Questions
Mineral ions are an important component of a healthy diet.
Describe how the other components of the diet are important in keeping us healthy.
In your answer you should refer to: the different components and why we need each
component.
Answers
1. LIVER, STOMACH, PANCREAS, LARGE INTESTINE.
2. Iodine, Benedict,s , alcohol, Biurret.
3. Blue black, brick red, lilac.
4. 42 g
5. Option C.
6. Variation
7. Information passed from mother in an egg.
8. Stomach-digestive system.
9. To take accurate measurement.
10. Cm
11. Length of the fingers is not marked continously.
12. Observe pupil,s tongues.

13. Investigation 2 has 14 pupils observed which we can know from the
table given where as investigation 1 has only 12 pupils.