Biology Form 5- Aquatic Adaptation

Aquatic plants - also called hydrophytic plants or hydrophytes - are plants that
have adapted to living in aquatic environments.
One of the main problems facing submerged aquatic plants is their inability to o
btain oxygen. Unlike terrestrial plants, these plants cannot obtain the vital ga
s through their stomata because they are submerged in water.
Therefore, the stems, roots, and leaves of submerged aquatic plants posses aeren
chyma cells, which supply oxygen to the rest of the plants.
Aerenchyma is a parenchyma tissue with large intercellular air spaces. It stores
and transports oxygen to living tissues.
Air spaces within the tissues help to keep the aquatic plant buoyant so that its
leaves can reach the top of the pond, thus maximising the amount of sunlight it
receives.
Submerged aquatic plants utilise living in water to their fullest advantage. Sin
ce these plants are in no danger of drying out, the leaves have few or no cuticl
es on the surface of their leaves.
In addition, the stems of these plants are limp and delicate with little strengt
hening tissue because they utilise the water for support.
The leaves tend to be thin, flexible and narrow. These finely dissected leaves o
ffer little resistance to running water and can be dragged through the water wit
hout tearing.
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Characteristics of hydrophytes:
A thin cuticle. Cuticles primarily prevent water loss, thus most hydrophytes hav
e no need for cuticles.
Stomata that are open most of time because water is abundant and therefore there
is no need for it to be retained in the plant. This means that guard cells on t
he stomata are generally inactive.
An increased number of stomata, that can be on either side of leaves.
A less rigid structure: water pressure supports them.
Flat leaves on surface plants for floatation.
Air sacs for floatation.
Smaller roots: water can diffuse directly into leaves.
Feathery roots: no need to support the plant.
Specialized roots able to take in oxygen.
For example, some species of buttercup (genus Ranunculus) float slightly submerg
ed in water; only the flowers extend above the water. Their leaves and roots are
long and thin and almost hair-like; this helps spread the mass of the plant ove
r a wide area, making it more buoyant. Long roots and thin leaves also provide a
greater surface area for uptake of mineral solutes and oxygen.
Wide flat leaves in water lilies (family Nymphaeaceae) help distribute weight ov
er a large area, thus helping them float near surface.
Many fish keepers keep aquatic plants in their tanks to control phytoplankton an
d moss by removing metabolites.
Many species of aquatic plant are invasive species in different parts of the wor
ld. Aquatic plants make particularly good weeds because they reproduce vegetativ
ely from fragments.

[Biology Form 5] Characteristics - Laws of Inheritance

Gregor Mendel is highly attributed for his work in genetics. The father of genet
ic studied the inheritance of characteristics from the common garden pea plant,
Pisum sativum, and was credited with discovering the two basic laws of inheritan
ce: the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment.
All characteristics are controlled by pair of genes.
a) A characteristic is a distinctive inherited feature. Three examples of charac
teristics in:
Plants - Height of plant, seed colour, seed shape.
Animals - Eye colour, height, colour of fur/skin.
b) A trait is a variant for each characteristic. Two examples of traits in:
Plants - Yellow colour of seed, wrinkled seed shape.
Animals - Grey fur colour, green eyes.
A gene is a specific segment of DNA.
Two genes, each found on the same locus along a pair of homologous chromosomes,
are needed to determine one characteristic.
Each member of the pair of genes determining a particular characteristic is call
ed an allele.
A dominant allele is one which, when present, even singly, is strong enough to d
etermine the phenotype. The two following conditions can allow a dominant allele
to express itself in the phenotype.
a) Homozygous dominant: two dominant alleles present.
b) Heterozygous dominant: one dominant allele and one recessive allele present.
A recessive allele can only determine a phenotype if it is present on both homol
ogous chromosomes.
Biology Form 5] Clotting Helps!
Your blood is exposed to the air when there is a wound. We do not want harmful m
icroorganisms to infect the wound, nor do we wish to lose blood at the site of i
njury.
The good news is this: our blood contains platelets, which help blood to clot. A
clot closes the wound and disallows blood loss.
Question & Answer
1. Which cells and proteins/enzymes are involved in the mechanism of blood clott
ing? What are their function?
Platelet (cell) - initiates the clotting of blood.
Thrombokinase (enzymes) - catalyses the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin.
Thrombin (enzymes) - catalyses the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin.
Prothrombin (plasma protein) - produces thrombin when activated.
Fibrinogen (plasma protein) - produces fibrin when activated.
Fibrin (thread-like structures) - traps red blood cell to produce a clot.
2. State the characteristics of blood platelets.
No regular shape, mere cell fragments, no nucleus, no haemoglobin.
3. Where are the plasma proteins involved in clotting of blood
a) synthesised?
Liver.
b) found?
Blood plasma.
4. What happens if:

i) clotting does not happen?

Loss of blood and blood pressure, and infection at the site of the wound due to
exposure to microorganisms.
ii) a wounded person suffers from haemophilia?
Blood will not clot when there is a wound, resulting in loss of blood and possib
le death.
5. Name the factors that may affect the clotting of blood.
Presence of platelets; presence of plasma proteins (prothrombin and fibrinogen);
presence of Vit K, calcium and other clotting factors.
6. How does the mechanism of blood clotting work?
i) Cut/wound/exposure of blood to the air.
ii) Platelets release the enzymes thrombokinase.
iii)Thrombokinase converts prothrombin to thrombin.
iv) Thrombin catalyses the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin.
v) Fibrin traps red blood cells and a clot is then formed.
[Biology Form 5] Human Heart
State the function of human heart.
It pumps blood throughout the body.
Everything in heart seems to come in fours:
There are four main blood vessels in the heart. Name the blood vessels label
led A, B, C and D in the diagram, and state their functions.
A: Aorta - transports oxygenated blood to all parts of the body from the lef
t ventricle of the heart.
B: Pulmonary artery - transports deoxygenated blood to the lungs from the ri
ght ventricle of the heart.
C: Pulmonary vein - transports oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left a
trium of the heart.
D: Vena cava - brings in deoxygenated blood from all parts of the body to th
e right atrium of the heart.
There are four chambers: left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle and right
ventricle. Explain why the left ventricle has the thickest muscle wall.
(Tip: Where does it pump its blood to? Does it undergo high pressure?)
It must be able to withstand very high pressure because it pumps blood to al
l parts of the body.
There are four main valves: bicuspid valve, tricuspid valve and two semi-lun
ar valves. State their function.
(Tip: All valves ensure a one-way flow of blood)
Bicuspid valve - prevents the backflow of blood between the left ventric
le and the left atrium.
Tricuspid valve - prevents the backflow of blood between the right ventr
icle and the right atrium.
Semi-lunar valves - while one of them prevents the backflow of blood bet
ween the left ventricle and aorta, the other prevents it between the right ventr
icle and the pulmonary artery.
There are four structures involved in the beating of the heart: sinoatrial n
ode (SAN), atrio-ventricular node (AVN), bundle of His and Purkinje fibres. Stat

e the functions of the SAN and AVN.

(Tip: The two nodes act like batteries and generate electrical impulses that
cause the cardiac muscles to contract)
The two nodes act like batteries to produces electrical impulses that cause
the cardiac muscles to contract.
The pacemaker of a patient's heart fails to function. An electronic pacemake
r is used to replace the original pacemaker. Explain how this works.
(Tip: Think about the function of the SAN - the electronic pacemaker has the
same function)
The electronic pacemaker generates electrical impulses that make the cardiac
muscles contract and the heart beat.
Compare the rate of blood flow in blood vessels A and D.
(Tip: Which of the blood vessels is an artery or a vein? Which undergoes mor
e pressure? So, in which of them will blood flow more and at a greater speed?)
A, the aorta, is the largest artery and undergoes very high pressure. So
, in it, blood flows at a greater speed.
D, the vena cava, the largest vein, does not undergo as much pressure. T
hus, in it, blood flow is slower.
[Biology Form 5] Meeting Gametes
Study the following details for a better understanding of gametogenesis and what
happens after it.
Process and location
Male - Spermatogenesis in the testes.
Female - Oogenesis in the ovaries.
Parent cell for gametogenesis
Male - Primary spermatocyte.
Female - Primary oocyte.
Cell produced after Meiosis I
Male - Two secondary spermatocytes.
Female - One secondary oocyte (X) and one (1st) polar body (Y).
Cell produced after Meiosis II
Male - Four spermatids.
Female From the secondary oocyte (X): One ovum + One polar body.
From the first polar body (Y): Two other polar bodies.
What happens to cells produced after Meiosis II?
Male - Spermatids differentiate into sperms.
Female - All three polar bodies will degenerate; only the ovum will surv
ive.
When does Meiosis II occur?
Male - Immediately after Meiosis I.
Female For the first polar body: immediately after Meiosis I.
For the second oocyte: only after a sperm penetrates the oocyte.
What happens during sexual intercourse?
Male - Sperms are ejaculated from a male's penis into a female's vagina.
Female - Sperm from a male swim upwards, from a female's vagina, through
the cervix, into the uterus and then to the Fallopian tubes.
Site for fertilisation

Male - none.
Female - In the Fallopian tubes of the female reproductive system.
Product of fertilisation
Male - none.
Female - A diploid zygote (containing 46 chromosomes), which then develo
ps into an embryo.
What happens after sexual intercourse?
Possibility I
A sperm meets the secondary oocyte and penetrates it.
Meiosis II quickly occurs in the secondary oocyte, and an ovum and a pol
ar body is formed.
The polar body degenerates.
The nucleus of the ovum fuses with the nucleus of the sperm.
Fertilisation is successful and a diploid zygote is formed.
The female is pregnant.
Possibility II
None of the sperms meet the secondary oocyte. This could mean ovulation
has
not occurred yet;
occurred but the secondary oocyte, which can only live for 24 hours,
has died.
No fertilisation occurs.
No zygote is formed.
The female is not pregnant; she gets her next period as usual.
[Biology Form 5] The Daily Transporter
Blood plays many important roles, and one of them is transport.
It transports oxygen, enzymes, water, nutrients (glucose, vitamins, minerals, fa
tty acids, glycerol and amino acids), carbon dioxide, hormones, antibodies, wast
e substances, and even heat!
Transport of oxygen;
Cell involved - Red blood cell
Pigment used - Haemoglobin
Oxygen transported by the blood in the form of oxyhaemoglobin
Carbon dioxide transported in blood;
70% in the form of hydrogen carbonate ions
23% in the form of carbomino-haemoglobin
7% in the form of dissolved gas in plasma
Possible consiquences to his health if a man's erythrocyte count is below normal
;
When less oxygen reaches the cells in his body, the man may suffer from anae
mia. As a result, he may faint easily, feel tired and be unenergetic