Higher Biology:
Course summary

Based on sections in the James Torrance textbook

Unit 1: Cell biology

1. Cell variety in relation to function

Cells as the basis of life, unicellular and multicellular organisms, cell variety within tissues, structure in relation to function;

2. Absorption and secretion of materials

Structure of cell wall and cell membrane, roles of membrane proteins, maintenance of constant cell environment, diffusion, osmosis, active transport (e.g. Na/K pump), endocytosis (phagocytosis and pinocytosis), exocytosis;

3. ATP and energy release

Effect of ATP on muscle, structure and role of ATP, oxidation and reduction;

4. Chemistry of respiration

Glycolysis, mitochondria, fate of pyruvic acid, Krebs cycle, cytochrome system, alternative respiratory substrates, respirometers, anaerobic respiration in animals and plants;

5. Role of photosynthetic pigments

Absorption/reflection/transmission of light, extraction and separation of leaf pigments (chlorophyll a & b, carotene, xanthophyll), absorption spectra, action spectra, chloroplasts;

6. Chemistry of photosynthesis

Photolysis, photophosphorylation, carbon fixation, factors limiting rate of photosynthesis;

7. DNA and its replication

Structure of DNA, replication of DNA;

8. RNA and protein synthesis

Structure of RNA, genetic code, transcription, ribosomes, translation, role of endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus;

9. Functional variety of proteins

Structure of proteins (amino acids, peptide bonds, hydrogen bonds, further linkages), fibrous proteins, globular proteins (e.g. enzymes, membrane proteins, hormones, antibodies), conjugated proteins (e.g. glycoprotein, haemoglobin, cytochrome);

10. Viruses

Parasitic nature, invasion of cells, retroviruses, HIV;

11. Cellular defence mechanisms

Phagocytosis, antibody production, immunological memory, active and passive immunity, naturally and artificially-acquired immunity, rejection of transplants, plant defences (tannins, cyanide, nicotine, phytoalexins, galls, resin);

Unit 2: Genetics and adaptation

12. Meiosis

Role of sexual reproduction, haploid and diploid cells, process of meiosis, independent assortment, crossing over, importance of variation;

13. Monohybrid cross

Mendel's pea plants, genotype and phenotype, Mendel's first law (segregation), homozygous and heterozygous, incomplete dominance (e.g. snapdragon flower colour, shorthorn cattle colour);

14. Dihybrid cross and linkage

Dihybrid crosses, 9:3:3:1 ratio, Mendel's second law (independent assortment), recombination, fruit fly experiments, linkage, chromosome maps;

15. Sex linkage

Sex chromosomes, sex-linked genes (e.g. eye colour in Drosophila, red-green colour blindness, haemophilia).

16. Mutation

Chromosomal mutations arising from non-disjunction (Down's syndrome, Turner's syndrome, Klinefelter's syndrome), polyploidy (e.g. in wheat), changes in chromosome structure (deletion, duplication, translocation, inversion), gene mutations (substitution, insertion, deletion, inversion), mutation frequency, mutagenic agents, mutation as a source of variation;

17. Natural selection

Darwin's theory, examples (industrial melanism in peppered moth, sickle cell trait in humans, antibiotic resistance in bacteria, insecticide resistance in insects, heavy metal tolerance in grasses, calcifuge and calcicole plants);

18. Speciation

Gene pool, alterations to gene pool (mutation, natural selection, migration, non-random mating, genetic drift, chance), barriers (geographical/ecological/reproductive) island populations (e.g. rowan trees on Arran, wrens on St Kilda), continental distribution of organisms, marsupials, origin and evolution of species (e.g. dinosaurs, wood and water avens);

19. Adaptive radiation

Ecological niches, examples of adaptive radiation (Darwin's finches, marsupials, British buttercups), homology and divergent evolution (e.g. limbs), convergent evolution (e.g. marsupials and placentals);

20. Extinction and conservation

Extinction, effect of human activities, genetic diversity, on-site and off-site protection, wild relatives of crop plants;

21. Artificial selection

Selective breeding, inbreeding, hybrid vigour, locating genes on chromosomes, gene probes, genetic engineering, endonucleases, ligases, use of vectors (e.g. Agrobacterium), antibiotic-resistance genes as markers, GM crops, potential for GM animals, somatic fusion (e.g. for potato leaf-roll resistance);

22. Maintaining water balance - animals

Concept of adaptation, water balance in freshwater and saltwater fish, adaptations of migratory fish (e.g. salmon), physiological and behavioural adaptations in desert mammals (e.g. kangaroo rat), modification of response by an individual;

23. Maintaining a water balance - plants

Transpiration stream, entry of water (osmosis, root hairs, diffusion, root pressure), capillarity, upward transport in xylem, exit of water, transpiration pull, mineral uptake, stomata and their opening/closing, use of potometer and bubble atmometer, factors affecting transpiration rate, adaptations of xerophytes (e.g. marram grass, cacti), adaptations of hydrophytes (e.g. water-milfoil, water lily);

24. Obtaining food - animals

Use of chemoreceptors by planarians, foraging behaviour and search patterns (in bees, ants and higher animals), economics of foraging (time, productive/unproductive ecosystems, risk of predation, size of prey), interspecific competition (e.g. Paramecium, squirrels, trout, cormorants), intraspecific competition, territorial behaviour (e.g. in red grouse), dominance hierarchies (e.g. henpecking, wolves), co-operative hunting;

25. Obtaining food - plants

Sessility and mobility, autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition, competition between plants (leaf mosaic patterns, commercial applications, interspecific competition), effect of grazing (e.g. by rabbits or sheep) on plant diversity, compensation point, sun and shade plants;

26. Coping with dangers

Avoidance behaviour, habituation (e.g. in tapped snails), learning in humans (mirror drawing, learning curves, long-term modification of response), learning to avoid danger (e.g. toads, birds, humans), reasoning, active defence (venom, fighting, fleeing, distraction displays, feigning death), passive defence (protective coverings, eye spots, poisons, camouflage, deflection displays), social mechanisms for defence (e.g. musk oxen, quail, baboons), plant defences (e.g. hawthorns, holly spikes, stinging nettles), tolerance of grazing (low growth points, regeneration);

Unit 3: Growth and regulation

27. Plant growth

Growth as an irreversible increase in dry mass, apical meristems (e.g. in roots), lateral meristems (cambium, annual rings, grain of timber), regeneration in angiosperms, commercial propagation of plants, regeneration in mammals;

28. Growth patterns

Growth curves, different growth patterns (annual plants, insects, humans);

29. Genetic control

Control of gene action, b-galactosidase in E. coli, operons, metabolic pathways, phenylketonuria, albinism, differentiation of tissues (e.g. blood, parenchyma) and its genetic control, cloning of amphibians and sheep, genetic control of leaf shape;

30. Hormonal influences on growth

Pituitary gland, growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, plant hormones, auxins and their effect on cells/organs, phototropism, apical dominance, fruit formation, leaf abscission, commercial use of auxins (parthenocarpy, delaying abscission of fruit, rooting powders, herbicides), gibberellins and their effect (on pea seedlings, germinating barley and bud dormancy);

31. Effect of chemicals on growth

Macro-elements in plants (N, P, K, Mg), water culture experiments, lead as a poison and enzyme inhibitor, iron and calcium in animals, vitamin D deficiency, effect of drugs (e.g. thalidomide, alcohol, nicotine) on foetal development;

32. Effect of light on growth

Effect on shoots, phototropism, effect on flowering (photoperiodism), hormonal mechanism of response, latitudes and seasons, effect of light on timing of breeding in animals, migration, hibernation;

33. Physiological homeostasis

Maintenance of internal environment, negative feedback, anti-diuretic hormone and osmoregulation, control of blood sugar (liver, insulin and glucagon, adrenaline), diabetes, control of body temperature (ectotherms and endotherms, vasodilation/vasoconstriction, sweating, hair erection, shivering, voluntary responses), coping with extreme conditions;

34. Regulation of populations

Birth rate and death rate, dynamic equilibrium in population size (e.g. in sheep, birds), factors influencing population change, environmental resistance, density-independent factors, density-dependent factors (competition for food, toxic wastes, parasitism/disease, predation), predator-prey interactions, effect of soil type on springtail populations, population regulation;

35. Monitoring populations

Food species (e.g. fish, red deer), maximum sustainable yield, pest species (e.g. aphids, locusts, pathogenic fungi, mosquitoes, brown rats), indicator species (e.g. freshwater invertebrates, lichens, birds of prey, phytoplankton), endangered species (e.g. British plants, black rhinos, whales), effect of pollution (e.g. susceptibility to distemper in seals);

36. Succession in plant communities

Primary and secondary succession, pioneer and climax communities, effect of environmental factors (e.g. climate, edaphic factors), human intervention, intensive grazing.

Sections in Torrance textbook

A couple of good, straightforward questions from each chapter are highlighted in bold; long-answer questions are shown with *.

Unit

Chapter

Topic

Info pages

'Testing your knowledge'

'Applying your knowledge'

'What you should know'

1

1

Cell variety and function

p.1-4

p.4

p.5 (q.4,5,6*)

p.19

2

Absorption and secretion

p.6-15

p.8,15-16

p.16-19 (q.,2,5,10*,11*)

3

ATP and energy

p.20-21

p.22

p.22-23 (q.1,4,5*)

p.32

4

Chemistry of respiration

p.24-29

p.26,27,30

p.30-32 (q.2,6,7*)

5

Photosynthetic pigments

p.33-37

p.35,37

p.37-39 (q.1,3,6*)

p.44

6

Chemistry of photosynthesis

p.40-42

p.40,42

p.43-44 (q.3,5,6*)

7

DNA and its replication

p.45-48

p.46-47,48

p.49-50 (q.2,3,7*)

p.64

8

RNA and protein synthesis

p.51-56

p.52,54,56

p.56-58 (q.2,7*)

9

Variety of proteins

p.59-62

p.62

p.62-63 (q.1,3,5*)

10

Viruses

p.65-67

p.68

p.68-69 (q.2,4,6*)

p.78

11

Cellular defence

p.70-76

p.73,76

p.76-78 (q.3,7,9*)

2

12

Meiosis

p.79-84

p.82,84

p.85-86 (q.2,5)

p.119

13

Monohybrid cross

p.87-89

p.89

p.89-90 (q.2,5)

14

Dihybrid cross and linkage

p.91-100

p.96,101

p.101-102 (q.5,7,8*)

15

Sex linkage

p.104-106

p.107

p.107-108 (q.3,4,7*)

16

Mutation

p.109-117

p.112,114,117

p.117-118 (q.1,4,5*,8*)

17

Natural selection

p.120-126

p.122,126

p.127-128 (q.1,3,9*)

p.167

18

Speciation

p.130-136

p.131,136

p.137-138 (q.2,6*)

19

Adaptive radiation

p.139-141

p.141

p.142-144 (q.2,5*,6)

20

Extinction and conservation

p.145-148

p.146,148

p.150-151 (q.3,5,6*,8*)

21

Artificial selection

p.152-163

p.155,161,163

p.163-167 (q.6,9,10*)

22

Water balance - animals

p.168-171

p.171

p.172-174 (q.4,5,6*)

p.188

23

Water balance - plants

p.175-183

p.181,183

p.185-187 (q.3,9*,10*)

24

Obtaining food - animals

p.189-196

p.191-192,196-197

p.197-199 (q.5,6,8*,9*)

p.209

25

Obtaining food - plants

p.200-204

p.205

p.205-208 (q.5,7)

26

Coping with dangers

p.210-218

p.213,216,218

p.219-220 (q.3,5,7*,8*)

p.221

3

27

Plant growth

p.222-226

p.224,227

p.227-229 (q.2,5,6*)

p.235

28

Growth patterns

p.230-232

p.233

p.233-234 (q.2,4)

29

Genetic control

p.236-245

p.239,240,245

p.245-247 (q.2,4,7*)

p.247

30

Hormones and growth

p.248-259

p.249,256,259

p.259-262 (q.1,6,7*)

p.263

31

Chemicals and growth

p.264-269

p.270

p.270-272 (q.1,5,7*)

p.278

32

Light and growth

p.273-276

p.277

p.277-279 (q.2,4,5*)

33

Physiological homeostasis

p.279-288

p.280,283,288

p.289-291 (q.2,5,7*)

p.316

34

Regulation of populations

p.292-297

p.297

p.297-299 (q.4,6,8*)

35

Monitoring populations

p.300-306

p.302,306

p.306-309 (q.5,6,8*)

36

Succession

p.311-314

p.314

p.314-316 (q.5,6*)

Practical experiments mentioned in the textbook

 

Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information given here, and the syllabus may change in the future. For authoritative information about this course, see the Scottish Qualifications Authority web site.

More teachers' notes

© Andrew Gray, 2005