Title: Investigate life processes and environmental factors that affect them
Credits: 4
Assessment: Internal
Date version published: 20 November 2014
This achievement standard involves investigating life processes of plants and/or animals and investigating environmental factors that affect these processes.
Achievement Criteria:
Achievement
· Investigate life processes and environmental factors that affect them.
Achievement with Merit
· Investigate, in depth, life processes and environmental factors that affect them.
Achievement with Excellence
· Investigate, comprehensively, life processes and environmental factors that affect them.
Explanatory Notes:
1 This achievement standard is derived from The New Zealand Curriculum, Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2007, Level 6. It is aligned with the Life Processes achievement objective in the Living World strand and the Investigating in Science achievement objectives in the Nature of Science strand, and is related to the material in the Teaching and Learning Guide for Science, Ministry of Education, 2010 at http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz.
This standard is also derived from Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. For details of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa achievement objectives to which this standard relates, see the Papa Whakaako.
2 This investigation involves collecting information about life processes and environmental factors that affect them. The information may come from a variety of sources such as direct observations, collection of experimental data, resource sheets, photos, videos, websites, and reference texts.
The procedures outlined in Safety and Science: A Guidance Manual for New Zealand Schools, Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2000, must be followed during any practical component investigation.
3 Investigate involves describing observations or findings about the structure, function and environmental factors related to life processes of the organism.
4 Investigate in depth involves using observations or findings, and biological ideas, to give reasons how or why the structure, function and environmental factors are related to life processes of the organism.
5 Investigate comprehensively involves using observations or findings, and biological ideas to make significant links between the structure, function and environmental factors related to life processes of the organism, including the implications for the organism. It may involve explaining, elaborating, applying, justifying, relating, evaluating, comparing and contrasting, or analysing.
6 Life processes may be selected from: support and movement, reproduction, sensitivity, growth, excretion, nutrition, and gas exchange. At least two of these processes must be selected.
7 Environmental factors that affect life processes may be internal or external factors and may include: temperature, pH, light intensity, photoperiod, moisture levels, concentration of gases, hormone levels, and nutrient supply.
8 Biological ideas relating to a life process include the following:
· structural features of the organism such as its organ system or tissues as appropriate to the organism
· functioning of the components of any organ system or tissues
· identifying the biological processes carried out by the organ system or tissues
· environmental factors that affect the life process.
9 Conditions of Assessment related to this achievement standard can be found at www.tki.org.nz/e/community/ncea/conditions-assessment.php.
Credits: 4
Assessment: Internal
Date version published: 20 November 2014
This achievement standard involves investigating life processes of plants and/or animals and investigating environmental factors that affect these processes.
Achievement Criteria:
Achievement
· Investigate life processes and environmental factors that affect them.
Achievement with Merit
· Investigate, in depth, life processes and environmental factors that affect them.
Achievement with Excellence
· Investigate, comprehensively, life processes and environmental factors that affect them.
Explanatory Notes:
1 This achievement standard is derived from The New Zealand Curriculum, Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2007, Level 6. It is aligned with the Life Processes achievement objective in the Living World strand and the Investigating in Science achievement objectives in the Nature of Science strand, and is related to the material in the Teaching and Learning Guide for Science, Ministry of Education, 2010 at http://seniorsecondary.tki.org.nz.
This standard is also derived from Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. For details of Te Marautanga o Aotearoa achievement objectives to which this standard relates, see the Papa Whakaako.
2 This investigation involves collecting information about life processes and environmental factors that affect them. The information may come from a variety of sources such as direct observations, collection of experimental data, resource sheets, photos, videos, websites, and reference texts.
The procedures outlined in Safety and Science: A Guidance Manual for New Zealand Schools, Learning Media, Ministry of Education, 2000, must be followed during any practical component investigation.
3 Investigate involves describing observations or findings about the structure, function and environmental factors related to life processes of the organism.
4 Investigate in depth involves using observations or findings, and biological ideas, to give reasons how or why the structure, function and environmental factors are related to life processes of the organism.
5 Investigate comprehensively involves using observations or findings, and biological ideas to make significant links between the structure, function and environmental factors related to life processes of the organism, including the implications for the organism. It may involve explaining, elaborating, applying, justifying, relating, evaluating, comparing and contrasting, or analysing.
6 Life processes may be selected from: support and movement, reproduction, sensitivity, growth, excretion, nutrition, and gas exchange. At least two of these processes must be selected.
7 Environmental factors that affect life processes may be internal or external factors and may include: temperature, pH, light intensity, photoperiod, moisture levels, concentration of gases, hormone levels, and nutrient supply.
8 Biological ideas relating to a life process include the following:
· structural features of the organism such as its organ system or tissues as appropriate to the organism
· functioning of the components of any organ system or tissues
· identifying the biological processes carried out by the organ system or tissues
· environmental factors that affect the life process.
9 Conditions of Assessment related to this achievement standard can be found at www.tki.org.nz/e/community/ncea/conditions-assessment.php.
Core Vocabulary & Glossary:
NUTRITION:
Food Groups: A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. Nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet.
Carbohydrates: any one of various substances found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes) that provide your body with energy and are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Proteins: any of various naturally occurring extremely complex substances that consist of amino-acids joined into large molecules, contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, usually sulfur, and occasionally other elements (as phosphorus or iron), and include many essential biological compounds (as enzymes, hormones, or antibodies).
Lipids: any one of various substances that contain fat, store energy and that are important parts of living cells.
Vitamins: Complex organic compounds that are needed in small amounts by the body for normal growth and metabolism.
Minerals: are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules.
Balanced Diet: a diet that contains the proper proportions of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water necessary to maintain good health.
Digestion: the process of making food absorbable by dissolving it and breaking it down into simpler chemical compounds that occurs in the living body chiefly through the action of enzymes secreted into the alimentary canal.
Ingestion: the taking of material (food) into the digestive system.
Egestion: the removal of waste food materials (e.g. cellulose = fibre) from the body.
Absorption: Digested food molecules are absorbed in the small intestine. This means that they pass through the wall of the small intestine and into our bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the digested food molecules are carried around the body to where they are needed.
Assimilation: The food absorbed by blood is transported to various parts of the body by blood vessels.
Enzymes: are secreted by the various parts of our digestive system and they help to break down food into basic components.
Mechanical Breakdown: is the actual physical break down of food into smaller pieces by teeth.
Chemical Breakdown: the conversion of food into absorbable substances by enzymes in the digestive tract.
Mouth: is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and does mechanical breakdown.
Teeth: are used to break down food into smaller chunks.
Amylase: is an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of starch into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva where it begins the chemical process of digestion.
Peristalsis: is the contraction of smooth muscle tissue to propel food/chyme through a digestive tract.
Stomach: a sac-like enlargement of the alimentary canal, as in humans and certain animals, forming an organ for storing, diluting, and digesting food.
Gastric gland: glands in the mucus lining of the stomach, containing cells that secrete hydrochloric acid and that produce pepsin.
Pepsin: an enzyme, produced in the stomach, that in the presence of hydrochloric acid splits proteins into peptides.
Chyme: is the semi-fluid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum.
Small Intestine: the part of the intestine that runs between the stomach and the large intestine; the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum collectively where digestion is completed and nutrients are absorbed by the blood.
Villus: small hairlike projections that cover the lining of the small intestine that serve in the absorption of nutrients.
Lipase: is an enzyme that the body uses to break down fats in food so they can be absorbed in the intestines. Lipase is primarily produced in the pancreas but is also in the mouth and stomach.
Large intestine: the part of the alimentary canal consisting of the caecum, colon, and rectum where water is absorbed from the remaining indigestible food matter and the useless waste material is transmitted.
Rectum: acts as a temporary storage site for feces before it is egested.
Pancreas: A long, irregularly shaped gland that is located behind the stomach and is part of the digestive system. It secretes hormones (insulin and glucagon) into the bloodstream and digestive enzymes into the small intestine or gut.
Insulin: is a hormone produced by a cluster of cells inside the pancreas called the Islets of Langerhans. The main function of insulin is to regulate the level of glucose in blood.
Glucagon: is a hormone that raises the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood when body needs additional energy.
Liver: A large, reddish-brown, glandular organ located in the upper right portion of the abdomen that secretes bile and is active in the formation of certain blood proteins, removing toxins and in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Glycogen: type of sugar stored in liver and muscles that acts as reserve energy source.
Gall Bladder: the small sac-shaped organ beneath the liver, in which bile is stored after secretion by the liver and before release into the intestine.
Bile: a bitter greenish-brown alkaline fluid which aids digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder.
Obesity: is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight.
Diabetes B: called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes) is caused by the body's ineffective use of insulin.
A number of lifestyle factors are known to be important to the development of type 2 diabetes, including obesity and overweight.
EXCRETION:
Metabolic waste: or excretes are substances left over from excretory processes, which cannot be used by the organism (they are surplus or have lethal effect), and must therefore be excreted. This includes nitrogen compounds, water, CO2, phosphates, sulfates, etc.
Kidney: ans organ that remove waste products from the blood and produce urine.
Cortex: is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. The part of the kidney containing the glomeruli and the proximal and distal tubules.
Medulla: is the innermost part of the kidney. The renal medulla is split up into a number of sections, known as the renal pyramids which consists of loops of Henle and collecting ducts.
Renal Pelvis: a small funnel-shaped cavity of the kidney into which urine is discharged before passing into the ureter.
Ureter: The long, narrow duct that conveys urine from the kidney to the bladder.
Bladder: a muscular membranous sac in the abdomen which receives urine from the kidneys and stores it for excretion.
Urethra: the duct by which urine is conveyed out of the body from the bladder.
Deamination: is the process by which amino acids are broken down if there is an excess of protein intake. The amino group is removed from the amino acid and converted to ammonia.
Urea: a colourless crystalline compound which is the main nitrogenous breakdown product of protein metabolism in mammals and is excreted in urine. It is synthesised in the liver from ammonia and carbon dioxide.
Urine: a watery, typically yellowish fluid stored in the bladder and discharged through the urethra. It is one of the body's chief means of eliminating excess water and salt, and also contains nitrogen compounds such as urea and other waste substances removed from the blood by the kidneys.
Filtrate: fluid filtered through the glomerulus and passed into collecting duct.
Nephron: each of the functional units in the kidney, consisting of a glomerulus and its associated tubule, through which the glomerular filtrate passes before emerging as urine.
Bowman's Capsule: is a cup-like sac at the beginning of the tubular component of a nephron in the mammalian kidney that performs the first step in the filtration of blood to form urine.
Glomerulus: a cluster of capillaries around the end of a kidney tubule where filtration takes place.
Proximal Tubule: is the portion of the duct system of the nephron of the kidney which leads from Bowman's capsule to the loop of Henle.
Loop of Henle: the part of a kidney tubule which forms a long loop in the medulla of the kidney, from which water and salts are reabsorbed into the blood.
Distal Tubule: is a portion of kidney nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct system that is concerned with the concentration of urine.
Collecting Duct: system of the kidney consists of a series of tubules and ducts that connect the nephrons to the ureter. It participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone.
Filtration: is the mass movement of water and solutes from blood plasma to the renal tubule that occurs in the glomerulus. About 20% of the plasma volume passing through the glomerulus at any given time is filtered. This means that about 180 liters of fluid are filtered by the kidneys every day. Thus, the entire plasma volume (about 3 liters) is filtered 60 times a day! Filtration is primarily driven by blood pressure in the capillaries of the glomerulus.
Reabsorption: Reabsorption is the movement of water and solutes from the tubule back into the blood plasma. Reabsorption of water and specific solutes occurs to varying degrees over the entire length of the renal tubule.
Excretion: the process of eliminating or expelling waste matter.
Osmoregulation: is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's fluids to maintain the water content; that is, it keeps the organism's fluids from becoming too diluted or too concentrated.
Negative Feedback Control: it controls the rate of a process to avoid accumulation of a product. It keeps such conditions constant (homeostasis); i.e. this is the maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism.
Control systems that keep such conditions constant are examples of homeostasis; this is the maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism.
Osmoreceptor: is a sensory receptor primarily found in the hypothalamus region of the brain that detects changes in osmotic pressure.
ADH: is the chemical that tells the kidneys how much water to conserve. ADH constantly regulates and balances the amount of water in the blood. Higher water concentration increases the volume and pressure of the blood.
Diabetes Insipidus: a rare form of diabetes caused by a deficiency of the pituitary hormone ADH, which regulates kidney function.
Kidney Stone: a hard mass formed in the kidneys, typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds; a renal calculus.
At the end of this unit of work you should be able to use the core knowledge listed in the statements below to describe, explain and discuss aspects of systems structure and function. Questions may be presented to you in novel or applied situations that will require you to recognise and link these ideas together.
NUTRITION:
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the main food groups, their component parts and their use in the body.
2. Explain what is needed for a balanced, healthy diet.
3. Explain the need for digestion.
4. Identify all parts and positions of the digestive system.
5. Describe the process of ingestion.
6. Describe the role of teeth in the mechanical breakdown of food in the mouth.
7. Describe the role of saliva in the chemical breakdown of food in the mouth.
8. Describe the role of enzymes in the chemical digestion of food.
9. Describe the factors which can affect enzymes.
10. Describe the passage of food from the mouth to the stomach.
11. Describe the structure of the stomach.
12. Describe the structure of gastric glands.
13. Describe the role of pepsin in the chemical breakdown of proteins in the stomach.
14. Explain the role of the small intestine in the digestion and absorption of nutrients.
15. Explain how the structure of the small intestine is suited to its role in absorption.
16. Describe the role of the large intestine in the process of digestion.
17. Describe egestion.
18. Describe the role of associated organs in the digestive process.
19. Describe the purpose of absorbed materials.
20. State the purpose of aerobic respiration.
21. Explain the internal effects of environmental factors on digestion and the whole body.
22. Describe disorders of the digestive system. Explain the causes, effects, consequences and avoidance of the disorders.
What you need to know:
1. Learn the key terms and definitions: e.g. digestion, enzyme, absorption, diffusion, ingestion, egestion.
2. Learn the parts of the system and explain how they work: e.g. stomach and its lining, small intestine and absorption, pancreas and liver.
3. Be able to draw labelled biological diagrams and describe functions: teeth, villus, stomach lining.
4. Discuss how environmental factors affect the system and the whole organism: e.g. nutrient supply in obesity. Remember to link the environmental factor to the effect on the organ system, the effect on the whole organism and the survival of the organism.
EXCRETION:
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain the term excretion and state the four types of metabolic waste produced by humans.
2. List the excretory organs in the human body and their waste products.
3. Identify and label the human urinary system.
4. Locate the position of the kidneys in the human body. Label and identify the parts of the kidney.
5. State the function of each part of the kidney.
6. Explain where urea is made and what it is made from.
7. Describe how urea is transported and where it is made into urine.
8. Name the parts of the nephron and explain how is blood filtered by the nephron.
9. Name the products that Bowman's capsule and those that do not.
10. State the compounds that are reabsorbed into the blood from the kidney tubule and state the waste compounds that leave the nephron via the collecting ducts.
11. Discuss the effect of the environment on the urinary system.
12. Explain the role of the Anti-diuretic Hormone (ADH) in water balance and urea excretion.
13. Discuss the internal effects of the environment on the urinary system and the whole body.
14. Describe disorders of the excretory system.
15. Explain the causes, effects, consequences and avoidance of the excretory system disorders.
What you need to know:
1. Learn the key terms and definitions: e.g. excretion, urea, urine, nephron, osmoregulation.
2. Learn the parts of the system and explain how they work: e.g. kidney, nephron, and filtration.
3. Be able to draw labelled biological diagrams and describe functions: urinary system, kidney, nephron.
4. Discuss how environmental factors affect the system and the whole organism: hormone ADH levels water amount (in Diabetes Insipidous) and balances concentration of salts in urine (kidney stone formation). Remember to link the environmental factor to the effect on the organ system, the effect on the whole organism and the survival of the organism.
NUTRITION:
Food Groups: A food group is a collection of foods that share similar nutritional properties or biological classifications. Nutrition guides typically divide foods into food groups and recommend daily servings of each group for a healthy diet.
Carbohydrates: any one of various substances found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes) that provide your body with energy and are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Proteins: any of various naturally occurring extremely complex substances that consist of amino-acids joined into large molecules, contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, usually sulfur, and occasionally other elements (as phosphorus or iron), and include many essential biological compounds (as enzymes, hormones, or antibodies).
Lipids: any one of various substances that contain fat, store energy and that are important parts of living cells.
Vitamins: Complex organic compounds that are needed in small amounts by the body for normal growth and metabolism.
Minerals: are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules.
Balanced Diet: a diet that contains the proper proportions of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water necessary to maintain good health.
Digestion: the process of making food absorbable by dissolving it and breaking it down into simpler chemical compounds that occurs in the living body chiefly through the action of enzymes secreted into the alimentary canal.
Ingestion: the taking of material (food) into the digestive system.
Egestion: the removal of waste food materials (e.g. cellulose = fibre) from the body.
Absorption: Digested food molecules are absorbed in the small intestine. This means that they pass through the wall of the small intestine and into our bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the digested food molecules are carried around the body to where they are needed.
Assimilation: The food absorbed by blood is transported to various parts of the body by blood vessels.
Enzymes: are secreted by the various parts of our digestive system and they help to break down food into basic components.
Mechanical Breakdown: is the actual physical break down of food into smaller pieces by teeth.
Chemical Breakdown: the conversion of food into absorbable substances by enzymes in the digestive tract.
Mouth: is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and does mechanical breakdown.
Teeth: are used to break down food into smaller chunks.
Amylase: is an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of starch into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva where it begins the chemical process of digestion.
Peristalsis: is the contraction of smooth muscle tissue to propel food/chyme through a digestive tract.
Stomach: a sac-like enlargement of the alimentary canal, as in humans and certain animals, forming an organ for storing, diluting, and digesting food.
Gastric gland: glands in the mucus lining of the stomach, containing cells that secrete hydrochloric acid and that produce pepsin.
Pepsin: an enzyme, produced in the stomach, that in the presence of hydrochloric acid splits proteins into peptides.
Chyme: is the semi-fluid mass of partly digested food expelled by the stomach into the duodenum.
Small Intestine: the part of the intestine that runs between the stomach and the large intestine; the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum collectively where digestion is completed and nutrients are absorbed by the blood.
Villus: small hairlike projections that cover the lining of the small intestine that serve in the absorption of nutrients.
Lipase: is an enzyme that the body uses to break down fats in food so they can be absorbed in the intestines. Lipase is primarily produced in the pancreas but is also in the mouth and stomach.
Large intestine: the part of the alimentary canal consisting of the caecum, colon, and rectum where water is absorbed from the remaining indigestible food matter and the useless waste material is transmitted.
Rectum: acts as a temporary storage site for feces before it is egested.
Pancreas: A long, irregularly shaped gland that is located behind the stomach and is part of the digestive system. It secretes hormones (insulin and glucagon) into the bloodstream and digestive enzymes into the small intestine or gut.
Insulin: is a hormone produced by a cluster of cells inside the pancreas called the Islets of Langerhans. The main function of insulin is to regulate the level of glucose in blood.
Glucagon: is a hormone that raises the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in the blood when body needs additional energy.
Liver: A large, reddish-brown, glandular organ located in the upper right portion of the abdomen that secretes bile and is active in the formation of certain blood proteins, removing toxins and in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Glycogen: type of sugar stored in liver and muscles that acts as reserve energy source.
Gall Bladder: the small sac-shaped organ beneath the liver, in which bile is stored after secretion by the liver and before release into the intestine.
Bile: a bitter greenish-brown alkaline fluid which aids digestion and is secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder.
Obesity: is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight.
Diabetes B: called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes) is caused by the body's ineffective use of insulin.
A number of lifestyle factors are known to be important to the development of type 2 diabetes, including obesity and overweight.
EXCRETION:
Metabolic waste: or excretes are substances left over from excretory processes, which cannot be used by the organism (they are surplus or have lethal effect), and must therefore be excreted. This includes nitrogen compounds, water, CO2, phosphates, sulfates, etc.
Kidney: ans organ that remove waste products from the blood and produce urine.
Cortex: is the outer portion of the kidney between the renal capsule and the renal medulla. The part of the kidney containing the glomeruli and the proximal and distal tubules.
Medulla: is the innermost part of the kidney. The renal medulla is split up into a number of sections, known as the renal pyramids which consists of loops of Henle and collecting ducts.
Renal Pelvis: a small funnel-shaped cavity of the kidney into which urine is discharged before passing into the ureter.
Ureter: The long, narrow duct that conveys urine from the kidney to the bladder.
Bladder: a muscular membranous sac in the abdomen which receives urine from the kidneys and stores it for excretion.
Urethra: the duct by which urine is conveyed out of the body from the bladder.
Deamination: is the process by which amino acids are broken down if there is an excess of protein intake. The amino group is removed from the amino acid and converted to ammonia.
Urea: a colourless crystalline compound which is the main nitrogenous breakdown product of protein metabolism in mammals and is excreted in urine. It is synthesised in the liver from ammonia and carbon dioxide.
Urine: a watery, typically yellowish fluid stored in the bladder and discharged through the urethra. It is one of the body's chief means of eliminating excess water and salt, and also contains nitrogen compounds such as urea and other waste substances removed from the blood by the kidneys.
Filtrate: fluid filtered through the glomerulus and passed into collecting duct.
Nephron: each of the functional units in the kidney, consisting of a glomerulus and its associated tubule, through which the glomerular filtrate passes before emerging as urine.
Bowman's Capsule: is a cup-like sac at the beginning of the tubular component of a nephron in the mammalian kidney that performs the first step in the filtration of blood to form urine.
Glomerulus: a cluster of capillaries around the end of a kidney tubule where filtration takes place.
Proximal Tubule: is the portion of the duct system of the nephron of the kidney which leads from Bowman's capsule to the loop of Henle.
Loop of Henle: the part of a kidney tubule which forms a long loop in the medulla of the kidney, from which water and salts are reabsorbed into the blood.
Distal Tubule: is a portion of kidney nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct system that is concerned with the concentration of urine.
Collecting Duct: system of the kidney consists of a series of tubules and ducts that connect the nephrons to the ureter. It participates in electrolyte and fluid balance through reabsorption and excretion, processes regulated by the hormones aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone.
Filtration: is the mass movement of water and solutes from blood plasma to the renal tubule that occurs in the glomerulus. About 20% of the plasma volume passing through the glomerulus at any given time is filtered. This means that about 180 liters of fluid are filtered by the kidneys every day. Thus, the entire plasma volume (about 3 liters) is filtered 60 times a day! Filtration is primarily driven by blood pressure in the capillaries of the glomerulus.
Reabsorption: Reabsorption is the movement of water and solutes from the tubule back into the blood plasma. Reabsorption of water and specific solutes occurs to varying degrees over the entire length of the renal tubule.
Excretion: the process of eliminating or expelling waste matter.
Osmoregulation: is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's fluids to maintain the water content; that is, it keeps the organism's fluids from becoming too diluted or too concentrated.
Negative Feedback Control: it controls the rate of a process to avoid accumulation of a product. It keeps such conditions constant (homeostasis); i.e. this is the maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism.
Control systems that keep such conditions constant are examples of homeostasis; this is the maintenance of constant internal conditions in an organism.
Osmoreceptor: is a sensory receptor primarily found in the hypothalamus region of the brain that detects changes in osmotic pressure.
ADH: is the chemical that tells the kidneys how much water to conserve. ADH constantly regulates and balances the amount of water in the blood. Higher water concentration increases the volume and pressure of the blood.
Diabetes Insipidus: a rare form of diabetes caused by a deficiency of the pituitary hormone ADH, which regulates kidney function.
Kidney Stone: a hard mass formed in the kidneys, typically consisting of insoluble calcium compounds; a renal calculus.
At the end of this unit of work you should be able to use the core knowledge listed in the statements below to describe, explain and discuss aspects of systems structure and function. Questions may be presented to you in novel or applied situations that will require you to recognise and link these ideas together.
NUTRITION:
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the main food groups, their component parts and their use in the body.
2. Explain what is needed for a balanced, healthy diet.
3. Explain the need for digestion.
4. Identify all parts and positions of the digestive system.
5. Describe the process of ingestion.
6. Describe the role of teeth in the mechanical breakdown of food in the mouth.
7. Describe the role of saliva in the chemical breakdown of food in the mouth.
8. Describe the role of enzymes in the chemical digestion of food.
9. Describe the factors which can affect enzymes.
10. Describe the passage of food from the mouth to the stomach.
11. Describe the structure of the stomach.
12. Describe the structure of gastric glands.
13. Describe the role of pepsin in the chemical breakdown of proteins in the stomach.
14. Explain the role of the small intestine in the digestion and absorption of nutrients.
15. Explain how the structure of the small intestine is suited to its role in absorption.
16. Describe the role of the large intestine in the process of digestion.
17. Describe egestion.
18. Describe the role of associated organs in the digestive process.
19. Describe the purpose of absorbed materials.
20. State the purpose of aerobic respiration.
21. Explain the internal effects of environmental factors on digestion and the whole body.
22. Describe disorders of the digestive system. Explain the causes, effects, consequences and avoidance of the disorders.
What you need to know:
1. Learn the key terms and definitions: e.g. digestion, enzyme, absorption, diffusion, ingestion, egestion.
2. Learn the parts of the system and explain how they work: e.g. stomach and its lining, small intestine and absorption, pancreas and liver.
3. Be able to draw labelled biological diagrams and describe functions: teeth, villus, stomach lining.
4. Discuss how environmental factors affect the system and the whole organism: e.g. nutrient supply in obesity. Remember to link the environmental factor to the effect on the organ system, the effect on the whole organism and the survival of the organism.
EXCRETION:
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain the term excretion and state the four types of metabolic waste produced by humans.
2. List the excretory organs in the human body and their waste products.
3. Identify and label the human urinary system.
4. Locate the position of the kidneys in the human body. Label and identify the parts of the kidney.
5. State the function of each part of the kidney.
6. Explain where urea is made and what it is made from.
7. Describe how urea is transported and where it is made into urine.
8. Name the parts of the nephron and explain how is blood filtered by the nephron.
9. Name the products that Bowman's capsule and those that do not.
10. State the compounds that are reabsorbed into the blood from the kidney tubule and state the waste compounds that leave the nephron via the collecting ducts.
11. Discuss the effect of the environment on the urinary system.
12. Explain the role of the Anti-diuretic Hormone (ADH) in water balance and urea excretion.
13. Discuss the internal effects of the environment on the urinary system and the whole body.
14. Describe disorders of the excretory system.
15. Explain the causes, effects, consequences and avoidance of the excretory system disorders.
What you need to know:
1. Learn the key terms and definitions: e.g. excretion, urea, urine, nephron, osmoregulation.
2. Learn the parts of the system and explain how they work: e.g. kidney, nephron, and filtration.
3. Be able to draw labelled biological diagrams and describe functions: urinary system, kidney, nephron.
4. Discuss how environmental factors affect the system and the whole organism: hormone ADH levels water amount (in Diabetes Insipidous) and balances concentration of salts in urine (kidney stone formation). Remember to link the environmental factor to the effect on the organ system, the effect on the whole organism and the survival of the organism.
