📚 Biology

🌱 Nutrition Overview
Living organisms require nutrients for energy, growth, and repair.
Autotrophs (e.g., plants, algae) produce their own food via photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis: process that converts light energy into chemical energy, storing it in
glucose (C6 H12 O6
​ ). ​ ​

Heterotrophs obtain nutrients by consuming other organisms.

Feature Autotrophs Heterotrophs
Energy source Light (sun) Organic matter
Primary process Photosynthesis Ingestion & digestion
Example Plants, cyanobacteria Animals, fungi

🔄 Respiration & Energy Release

Cellular respiration releases energy from glucose.

Respiration: oxidation of glucose to produce ATP, C O2 ​ and H

2O ​ .

General equation:
C6 H12 O6 + 6O2 → 6C O2 + 6H2 O + energy (ATP)
​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Excretion removes toxic waste products (e.g., C O , urea). 2 ​

🏠 Homeostasis
Maintains a stable internal environment (temperature, pH, ion
concentrations).
 Homeostasis: regulatory mechanisms that keep internal conditions within optimal
ranges for cellular function.

Sensors detect stimuli (light, temperature, chemicals) and trigger responses

(movement, secretion, behavior).

🧬 Reproduction
1. Asexual – one parent, offspring genetically identical.
2. Sexual – two parents, offspring have genetic variation.
Purpose: produce offspring to continue the species.

📈 Growth & Development

Cell division (mitosis) increases size.
Complexity rises via controlled genetic expression.
Multicellular eukaryotes develop specialized tissues and organs.

🧫 Cellular Organization
🟢 Prokaryotic Cells
No nucleus; DNA free in cytoplasm.
Cell wall (often peptidoglycan), plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes.
Reproduce by binary fission.
Shapes: rod (e.g., Lactobacillus), spherical (e.g., Streptococcus), spiral (e.g.,
Treponema pallidum).
🟣 Eukaryotic Cells
Organelle Function
Nucleus Stores DNA, controls cell activities
Mitochondria Site of aerobic respiration
Chloroplast Conducts photosynthesis (plants & algae)
Vacuole Large central vacuole in plants maintains
turgor
 Cell wall Rigid support (cellulose in plants)
Cell membrane Regulates substance entry/exit
Plant cells: have chloroplasts, cell walls, large central vacuole.
Animal cells: lack chloroplasts and cell walls; store glycogen.
Fungal cells: have chitin cell walls, hyphal bodies, can be multicellular or
unicellular (yeast).

🧪 Biomolecules
Class Primary Elements Typical Examples
Carbohydrates C, H, O (≈ C n (H2 O)n ) Glucose, starch (plants),
glycogen (animals)
​ ​ ​

Proteins C, H, O, N (high N) Enzymes, structural

proteins
Lipids C, H, O (low O) Triglycerides (glycerol + 3
fatty acids)
Nucleic Acids C, H, O, N, P DNA, RNA
Monosaccharides: simple sugars (e.g., glucose).
Polysaccharides: long chains of glucose units (starch, glycogen).

🔬 Laboratory Tests
Glucose test – Benedict’s reagent turns orange‑red if glucose present.
Protein test – Biuret solution turns blue‑purple with peptide bonds.
Lipid test – Emulsion test produces a milky layer; Sudan III stains lipids red.

⚙️ Enzyme Kinetics & Factors

Enzymes lower activation energy (E ) to speed reactions.
a ​

Optimal temperature for most human enzymes ≈ 37 C; higher temperatures

∘

denature enzymes.
pH also influences activity; each enzyme has an optimal pH range.
☀️ Photosynthesis: Rate‑Limiting Factors
1. Light intensity – increases rate up to a plateau (light saturation).
2. C O concentration – rises until another factor becomes limiting.
2

3. Temperature – optimal range; too high reduces enzyme efficiency.

​

Photosynthetic rate equation (simplified):

Rate = f (light intensity, C O2 , temperature)
​

Plant adaptations: cuticle reduces water loss; palisade mesophyll densely

packed with chloroplasts for light absorption; spongy mesophyll provides gas
exchange.

🍀Leaf Anatomy
Cuticle – a thin, waxy layer on the outer surface of the leaf that minimizes
water loss while still allowing light to pass through.
Epidermis & Stomata – tiny pores mostly on the upper epidermis. When
stomata open, CO₂ can diffuse in and O₂/H₂O vapor can diffuse out. Guard
cells control the opening.
Palisade Mesophyll – Layer just beneath the epidermis, packed tightly with
chloroplasts. Its primary role is to capture light efficiently.
Spongy Mesophyll – located below the palisade layer; cells are loosely
arranged with large inter‑cellular air spaces. These air spaces create a diffusion
network
How gas exchange works in this layout
1. CO₂ entry – atmospheric CO₂ diffuses through open stomata into the air
spaces of the spongy mesophyll.
2. Diffusion to chloroplasts – CO₂ moves through the inter‑cellular spaces and
reaches the chloroplasts in both the palisade and spongy layers, where it is
fixed in the Calvin cycle.
3. O₂ & H₂O release – the O₂ produced during photosynthesis and the excess
water vapor generated by transpiration diffuse back out through the same air
spaces and exit the leaf via the stomata.

🍽 Digestion Overview
 Stage Mechanical Action Chemical Action
Mouth Chewing (mechanical) Salivary amylase begins
starch digestion
Stomach Churning Pepsin (protein digestion)
+ HCl kills bacteria
Small intestine Segmentation Pancreatic enzymes & bile
emulsify fats, further digest
carbs & proteins
Large intestine Peristalsis Water absorption,
formation of feces
Excretion follows digestion: removal of undigested waste.

🫁 Gas Exchange
Air‑conducting pathway – nasal cavity → pharynx → larynx → trachea →
bronchi (right & left) → bronchioles.
Alveolar region – Bronchioles end in clusters of alveoli, tiny thin‑walled sacs
(≈ 200 µm diameter) surrounded by a dense capillary network. This is where gas
diffusion actually occurs.
Diaphragm & intercostal muscles – Diaphragm contracts (flattens) and the
external intercostals lift the ribs, expanding the thoracic volume.

🩸 Blood Components
Main components of blood:
• Plasma – Liquid portion containing water, proteins, nutrients, hormones, and waste
products
• Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes) – Most numerous cells containing haemoglobin for
oxygen transport.
• White Blood Cells (Leukocytes) – Larger nucleated cells involved in immune defense;
include lymphocytes, phagocytes
• Platelets (Thrombocytes) – Cell fragments essential for blood clotting and wound
healing
Haemoglobin function: Iron-containing protein in red blood cells that binds oxygen in
lungs (forming oxyhaemoglobin) and releases it in tissues where oxygen concentration is
lower.

How phagocytes work

Engulfment: The cell membrane engulfs bacteria
Destruction: Then destroys the bacteria
Process is called phagocytosis

How lymphocytes work

Their function is to make antibodies and destroy disease-causing-
microorganisms
Antibodies destroy pathogens in a number of ways:
● Making bacteria stick together

● Acting as a chemical ‘label’ on the pathogen

● Causing bacteria cells to burst open

● Neutralising the toxins produced by pathogens