Unit 1: Molecules, Diet, Transport and Health

IAS compulsory unit

Externally assessed

Unit description
Introduction This unit includes a consideration of molecules that are important
in biology – including water, carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and
nucleic acids, providing a basis for many areas of biology. This
leads to the relevance of diet to health and the cardiovascular
system in particular. The unit includes cell membrane transport
processes, such as diffusion and active transport, proteins,
enzymes and protein synthesis. This unit also includes an
understanding of the genetic code and how mutations can result in
disorders. Students will also consider techniques for genetic
screening and the associated ethical and social issues.
Practical skills In order to develop their practical skills, students should be
encouraged to carry out a range of core practical experiments
related to this topic. There are also opportunities to carry out
additional practical work, such as investigating the structure of a
mammalian heart.
Mathematical skills There are opportunities for the development of mathematical skills
in this unit, including tabulation and graphical treatment of data,
concentrations and using appropriate units for physical quantities,
calculation of percentage changes, and finding the initial rate of
enzyme-catalysed reactions. (Please see Appendix 6:
Mathematical skills and exemplifications for further information.)

Assessment information
• First assessment: January 2019.
• The assessment is 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• The assessment is out of 80 marks.
• Candidates must answer all questions.
• The paper may include multiple-choice, short-open, open-
response, calculations and extended-writing questions.
• The paper will include a minimum of 8 marks that target
mathematics at Level 2 or above.
• Calculators may be used in the examination. Please see
Appendix 8: Use of calculators.
• Candidates will be expected to apply their knowledge and
understanding to familiar and unfamiliar contexts.

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Topic 1 – Molecules, Transport and Health
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to:

1.1 understand the importance of water as a solvent in transport, including its

dipole nature
1.2 (i) know the difference between monosaccharides, disaccharides and
polysaccharides, including glycogen and starch (amylose and amylopectin)
(ii) be able to relate the structures of monosaccharides, disaccharides and
polysaccharides to their roles in providing and storing energy
β-glucose and cellulose are not required in this topic.
1.3 CORE PRACTICAL 1
Use a semi-quantitative method with Benedict’s reagent to estimate the
concentrations of reducing sugars and with iodine solution to estimate the
concentrations of starch, using colour standards.
1.4 know how monosaccharides (glucose, fructose and galactose) join together to form
disaccharides (maltose, sucrose and lactose) and polysaccharides (glycogen,
amylose and amylopectin) through condensation reactions forming glycosidic bonds,
and how these can be split through hydrolysis reactions
1.5 (i) know how a triglyceride is synthesised by the formation of ester bonds during
condensation reactions between glycerol and three fatty acids
(ii) know the differences between saturated and unsaturated lipids
1.6 understand why many animals have a heart and circulation (mass transport to
overcome the limitations of diffusion in meeting the requirements of organisms)
1.7 understand how the structures of blood vessels (capillaries, arteries and veins)
relate to their functions
1.8 know the cardiac cycle (atrial systole, ventricular systole and cardiac diastole) and
relate the structure and operation of the mammalian heart, including the major
blood vessels, to its function
Details of myogenic stimulation are not needed at IAS.

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RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL PRACTICAL
Investigate the structure of a mammalian heart by dissection.
1.9 (i) understand the role of haemoglobin in the transport of oxygen and
carbon dioxide
(ii) understand the oxygen dissociation curve of haemoglobin, the Bohr effect and
the significance of the oxygen affinity of fetal haemoglobin compared with adult
haemoglobin
1.10 understand the course of events that leads to atherosclerosis (endothelial
dysfunction, inflammatory response, plaque formation, raised blood pressure)
1.11 understand the blood clotting process (thromboplastin release, conversion of
prothrombin to thrombin and fibrinogen to fibrin) and its role in cardiovascular
disease (CVD)
1.12 know how factors such as genetics, diet, age, gender, high blood pressure, smoking
and inactivity increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
1.13 understand the link between dietary antioxidants and the risk of cardiovascular
disease (CVD)
1.14 CORE PRACTICAL 2
Investigate the vitamin C content of food and drink.
1.15 be able to analyse and interpret quantitative data on illness and mortality rates to
determine health risks, including distinguishing between correlation and causation
and recognising conflicting evidence
1.16 be able to evaluate the design of studies used to determine health risk factors,
including sample selection and sample size used to collect data that is both valid and
reliable
1.17 understand why people’s perception of risks are often different from the actual risks,
including underestimating and overestimating the risks due to diet and other
lifestyle factors in the development of heart disease
1.18 (i) be able to analyse data on the possible significance for health of blood
cholesterol levels and levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) and low-density
lipoproteins (LDLs)
(ii) know the evidence for a causal relationship between blood cholesterol levels
(total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol) and cardiovascular disease (CVD)
1.19 understand how people use scientific knowledge about the effect of diet, including
obesity indicators, such as body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio, exercise and
smoking to reduce their risk of coronary heart disease
1.20 know the benefits and risks of treatments for cardiovascular disease (CVD)
(antihypertensives, statins, anticoagulants and platelet inhibitors)

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Topic 2 – Membranes, Proteins, DNA and Gene Expression
Candidates will be assessed on their ability to:

2.1 (i) know the properties of gas exchange surfaces in living organisms (large surface
area to volume ratio, thickness of surface and difference in concentration)
(ii) understand how the rate of diffusion is dependent on these properties and can be
calculated using Fick’s Law of Diffusion
(iii) understand how the structure of the mammalian lung is adapted for rapid
gaseous exchange
2.2 (i) know the structure and properties of cell membranes
(ii) understand how models such as the fluid mosaic model of membrane structure
are interpretations of data used to develop scientific explanations of the structure
and properties of cell membranes
2.3 CORE PRACTICAL 3
Investigate membrane properties including the effect of alcohol and
temperature on membrane permeability.
2.4 understand what is meant by osmosis in terms of the movement of free water
molecules through a partially permeable membrane, down a water potential gradient
RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL PRACTICAL
Investigate tissue water potentials using plant tissue and graded concentrations of
a solute.
2.5 (i) understand what is meant by passive transport (diffusion, facilitated diffusion),
active transport (including the role of ATP as an immediate source of energy),
endocytosis and exocytosis
(ii) understand the involvement of carrier and channel proteins in membrane
transport
2.6 (i) know the basic structure of an amino acid
Structures of specific amino acids are not required.
(ii) understand the formation of polypeptides and proteins (amino acid monomers
linked by condensation reactions to form peptide bonds)
(iii) understand the significance of a protein’s primary structure in determining its
secondary structure, three-dimensional structure and properties (globular and
fibrous proteins and the types of bonds involved in its three-dimensional structure)
(iv) know the molecular structure of a globular protein and a fibrous protein and
understand how their structures relate to their functions (including haemoglobin
and collagen)
RECOMMENDED ADDITIONAL PRACTICAL
Use a semi-quantitative method to estimate protein concentration using biuret
reagent and colour standards.
2.7 (i) understand the mechanism of action and the specificity of enzymes in terms of
their three-dimensional structure
(ii) understand that enzymes are biological catalysts that reduce activation energy
(iii) know that there are intracellular enzymes catalysing reactions inside cells and
extracellular enzymes catalysing reactions outside cells

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2.8 CORE PRACTICAL 4
Investigate the effect of temperature, pH, enzyme concentration and
substrate concentration on the initial rate of enzyme-catalysed reactions.
2.9 (i) know the basic structure of mononucleotides (deoxyribose or ribose linked to a
phosphate and a base, including thymine, uracil, adenine, cytosine or guanine)
and the structures of DNA and RNA (polynucleotides composed of
mononucleotides linked by condensation reactions to form phosphodiester bonds)
(ii) know how complementary base pairing and the hydrogen bonding between two
complementary strands are involved in the formation of the DNA double helix
2.10 (i) understand the process of DNA replication, including the role of DNA polymerase
(ii) understand how Meselson and Stahl’s classic experiment provided new data that
supported the accepted theory of replication of DNA and refuted competing
theories
2.11 understand the nature of the genetic code (triplet code, non-overlapping and
degenerate)
2.12 know that a gene is a sequence of bases on a DNA molecule that codes for a
sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain
2.13 (i) understand the process of protein synthesis (transcription and translation),
including the role of RNA polymerase, translation, messenger RNA, transfer RNA,
ribosomes and the role of start and stop codons
(ii) understand the roles of the DNA template (antisense) strand in transcription,
codons on messenger RNA and anticodons on transfer RNA
2.14 (i) understand how errors in DNA replication can give rise to mutations (substitution,
insertion and deletion of bases)
(ii) know that some mutations will give rise to cancer or genetic disorders, but that
many mutations will have no observable effect
2.15 (i) understand what is meant by the terms gene, allele, genotype, phenotype,
recessive, dominant, codominance, homozygote and heterozygote
(ii) understand patterns of inheritance, including the interpretation of genetic
pedigree diagrams, in the context of monohybrid inheritance
(iii) understand sex linkage on the X chromosome, including red-green colour
blindness in humans
2.16 understand how the expression of a gene mutation in people with cystic fibrosis impairs
the functioning of the gaseous exchange, digestive and reproductive systems
2.17 (i) understand the uses of genetic screening, including the identification of carriers,
pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and prenatal testing, including
amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling
(ii) understand the implications of prenatal genetic screening
2.18 be able to identify and discuss the ethical and social issues relating to genetic
screening from a range of ethical viewpoints, including religious, moral and social
implications

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