week chapter

1 may 7 Transport in flowering plants

7.1 Uptake and transport of water and ions
1 Relate the structure of root hair cells to
their function of water and ion uptake
2 Outline the pathway taken by water through
the root, stem and leaf, limited to: root hair
cells, root
cortex cells, xylem and mesophyll cells
3 Investigate, using a suitable stain, the
pathway of water in a cut stem
7.2 Transpiration and translocation
1 Describe transpiration as the loss of water
vapour from leaves
2 Understand that water evaporates from the
surfaces of the mesophyll cells into air
spaces and then
diffuses out of the leaves through the
stomata as water vapour
3 Explain:
(a) the effects of wind speed, and the
variation of temperature, humidity and light
intensity on
transpiration rate
(b) how wilting occurs
4 Investigate the effects of wind speed, light
intensity and temperature variation on
transpiration rate
5 Explain the mechanism by which water
moves upwards in the xylem in terms of a
transpiration pull that
draws up a column of water molecules, held
together by forces of attraction between
water molecules
6 Describe translocation as the movement of
sucrose and amino acids in the phloem from
parts of plants
that produce or release them (sources) to
parts of plants that use or store them (sinks)
7 Identify the positions of tissues as seen in
transverse sections of non-woody
dicotyledonous roots and
stems, limited to: xylem, phloem and cortex
8 State the functions of xylem as transport of
water and mineral ions, and support
9 Relate the structure of xylem vessels to
their function, limited to:
(a) thick walls with lignin (details of
lignification are not required)
(b) no cell contents
 (c) cells joined end-to-end with no cross
walls to form a long continuous tube
2 may 8 Human nutrition
8.1 Diet
1 List the principal sources of, and describe
the dietary importance of, carbohydrates,
lipids, proteins,
vitamins (C and D only), mineral salts
(calcium and iron only), fibre (roughage) and
water
2 Name the diseases and describe the
symptoms resulting from deficiencies of
vitamin C (scurvy), vitamin
D (rickets), calcium (rickets) and iron
(anaemia)
3 Understand the concept of a balanced diet
Cambridge O Level Biology 5090 syllabus for
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8.2 Human digestive system
1 Identify the main regions of the digestive
system: mouth, salivary glands, oesophagus,
stomach, small
intestine (duodenum and ileum), pancreas,
liver, gall bladder and large intestine (colon,
rectum and anus)
2 Explain why most foods must be digested
before they can be absorbed
3 Describe physical digestion as the
breakdown of food into smaller pieces
without chemical change to the
food molecules
4 Describe chemical digestion as the
breakdown of large molecules into small
molecules
5 State that physical digestion increases the
surface area of food for the action of
enzymes in chemical
digestion
3 may 6 Identify the types of human teeth (incisors,
canines, premolars and molars)
7 Describe the structure of human teeth,
limited to: enamel, dentine, pulp, nerves and
cement, and
understand that teeth are embedded in the
gum
8 Describe the functions of the types of
human teeth in physical digestion of food
9 Describe the functions of the main regions
of the digestive system, limited to:
 (a) mouth – ingestion, physical digestion,
chemical digestion of starch by amylase
(b) salivary glands – secretion of saliva
containing amylase
(c) stomach – physical digestion, chemical
digestion of protein by protease, presence of
hydrochloric acid
in gastric secretions
(d) small intestine (duodenum and ileum) –
chemical digestion of starch by amylase,
maltose by maltase,
protein by protease and lipids by lipase
(e) liver – production of bile and storage of
glycogen
(f) gall bladder – storage of bile
(g) pancreas – alkaline secretion containing
amylase, protease and lipase
(h) ileum and colon – absorption
(i) rectum and anus – egestion
10 Describe the functions of amylase,
maltase, protease and lipase, listing the
substrates and end-products,
limited to:
(a) amylase breaks down starch to maltose
(b) maltase breaks down maltose to glucose
(c) protease (pepsin and trypsin) breaks
down protein to amino acids
(d) lipase breaks down lipids to fatty acids
and glycerol
11 Describe the function of hydrochloric acid
in the stomach as killing ingested bacteria
12 Understand that the different proteases
present in the stomach and the duodenum
work best at different
pH levels
13 Outline the role of bile in emulsifying fats
to increase the surface area for the chemical
digestion of fat to
fatty acids and glycerol by lipase
14 Describe peristalsis as waves of
contractions of longitudinal and circular
muscles which move food
through the digestive system
4 may 8.3 Absorption and assimilation
1 State that the small intestine is the region
where nutrients are absorbed
2 Understand that absorption (by diffusion,
osmosis and active transport) is the
movement of nutrients
from the intestines into cells lining the
digestive system and then into the blood
 3 Understand that assimilation is the uptake
and use by cells of nutrients from the blood
4 Describe the structure of a villus and the
roles of capillaries and lacteals
5 Explain the significance of villi and
microvilli in increasing the internal surface
area of the ileum
6 Understand that water is absorbed from the
lumen of the small intestine and the colon,
but that most
absorption of water happens in the small
intestine
7 State the function of the hepatic portal vein
as the route taken to the liver by most of the
molecules and
ions absorbed from the ileum

week chapter
1 june 9 Human gas exchange
9.1 Human gas exchange
1 Describe the features of gas exchange
surfaces in humans, limited to: large surface
area, thin surface,
good blood and air supply
2 State the percentages of the gases in
atmospheric air
3 Investigate and explain the differences
between inspired and expired air
4 Identify, on diagrams and images, the
larynx, trachea, lungs, bronchi, bronchioles,
alveoli and associated
capillaries
5 State the characteristics of, and describe
the role of, the exchange surface of the
alveoli in gas exchange
6 Identify, on diagrams and images, the ribs,
internal and external intercostal muscles and
the diaphragm
7 Explain the role of the ribs, the internal and
external intercostal muscles and the
diaphragm in producing
 volume and pressure changes in the thorax,
causing the movement of air into and out of
the lungs
(breathing)
8 Investigate and explain the effect of
physical activity on rate and depth of
breathing
9 Explain the role of goblet cells, ciliated cells
and mucus in protecting the gas exchange
system from
pathogens and particles
2 june 10 Respiration
10.1 Respiration
1 Describe respiration as the chemical
reactions in all living cells that release energy
from glucose
2 State the uses of energy in living organisms
including muscle contraction, protein
synthesis, cell division,
active transport, growth, the passage of
electrical impulses along neurones and the
maintenance of a
constant body temperature
3 Investigate and describe the effect of
temperature on respiration in yeast
10.2 Aerobic respiration
1 Describe aerobic respiration as the release
of a relatively large amount of energy by the
breakdown of
glucose in the presence of oxygen
2 State the word equation and balanced
chemical equation for aerobic respiration
3 june 10.3 Anaerobic respiration
1 Describe anaerobic respiration as the
release of a relatively small amount of energy
by the breakdown of
glucose without using oxygen
2 State the word equation for anaerobic
respiration in humans
3 State the word equation for anaerobic
respiration in yeast
4 Explain why lactic acid builds up in
muscles and blood during vigorous exercise
causing Excess Postexercise Oxygen
Consumption (EPOC) or an ‘oxygen debt’
5 Outline how the oxygen debt is removed
after exercise, limited to:
(a) continuation of fast heart rate to transport
lactic acid in blood from muscles to the liver
 (b) continuation of deeper and faster
breathing to supply oxygen for the breakdown
of lactic acid in the
liver
4 june 11 Transport in humans
11.1 Circulatory system
1 Describe the circulatory system as a
system of blood vessels with a pump and
valves to ensure one-way
flow of blood
2 Describe a double circulation as a system
in which blood passes through the heart
twice for each
complete circuit
3 Understand that a double circulation
provides a low pressure circulation to the
lungs and a high pressure
circulation to the body tissues
11.2 Heart
1 Identify the structures of the mammalian
heart, limited to: the muscular wall, the
septum, the left and
right ventricles and atria, atrioventricular and
semilunar valves and coronary arteries
2 Explain the relative thickness:
(a) of the muscle walls of the left and right
ventricles
(b) of the muscle walls of the atria compared
to those of the ventricles
3 Describe the functioning of the heart in
terms of the contraction of muscles of the
atria and ventricles and
the action of the valves in a heartbeat
4 State that blood is pumped away from the
heart in arteries and returns to the heart in
veins
5 State that the activity of the heart may be
monitored by electrocardiogram (ECG), pulse
rate and listening
to sounds of valves closing
6 Investigate and explain the effect of
physical activity on heart rate
7 Describe coronary heart disease in terms of
the blockage of coronary arteries and state
the possible risk
factors including diet, sedentary lifestyle,
stress, smoking, genetic predisposition, age
and gender
8 Discuss the role of diet and exercise in
reducing the risk of coronary heart disease
11.4 Blood
1 Identify red and white blood cells (lymphocytes and phagocytes) as seen under the light
microscope on

prepared slides, and in diagrams and photomicrographs

2 List the components of blood as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma

3 State the functions of the components of blood:

(a) red blood cells – oxygen transport

(b) white blood cells – antibody production by lymphocytes and engulfing pathogens by
phagocytes

(c) platelets – clotting by converting soluble fibrinogen to insoluble fibrin to prevent blood loss
and the

entry of pathogens

(d) plasma – transport, limited to: blood cells, ions, glucose, amino acids, hormones, carbon
dioxide, urea,

vitamins and plasma proteins

4 Describe the transfer of substances between blood in capillaries, tissue fluid and body cells