Biology Combined Science Notes

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes on biology, focusing on key terms and definitions important for understanding cellular organization, ecosystems, nutrition, reproduction, health, and disease.

Specialised Cells

Different types of cells carry out specific functions and work collaboratively in an organism.

Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)

Transport oxygen from lungs to body tissues and carbon dioxide from body tissues to lungs. They lack a nucleus and contain haemoglobin for oxygen transport.

Palisade Cells

Responsible for photosynthesis, packed with chloroplasts for light absorption and have a columnar shape to increase surface area.

Ecosystem

A self-contained system of interdependent organisms and their physical environment.

Food Chain

A nutritional sequence involving a series of organisms through which energy is transferred, usually starting with producers.

Pyramid of Biomass

Illustrates the biomass at each level of a food chain, showing that producers have the greatest biomass, with herbivores and carnivores lower.

Energy Loss in Food Chains

On average, about 90% of energy is lost at each trophic level, with only about 10% transferred to the next level.

Carbon Cycle

Describes how carbon is recycled in nature through processes like photosynthesis and respiration.

Nitrogen Cycle

Involves the transformation of nitrogen from the atmosphere through various forms like ammonium, nitrites, and nitrates, essential for plant absorption.

Artificial Ecosystem

An ecosystem heavily influenced by human activity, where control measures and artificial inputs are implemented.

Biodiversity

The variability within species, between species, and in ecosystems; a measure of the variety of organisms in different ecosystems.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of glucose.

Stomata

Pores on leaf surfaces surrounded by guard cells that regulate gas exchange during photosynthesis.

Aerobic Respiration

The breakdown of glucose in the presence of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water, and energy, represented by the equation: ext{glucose} + ext{oxygen}
ightarrow ext{carbon dioxide} + ext{water} + ext{energy}.

Malnutrition

A disorder arising from an unbalanced diet, either from a deficiency or excess of nutrients.

Cholera

An intestinal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, transmitted through contaminated food or water.

Immunity

The body's ability to resist infections, which can be active (producing antibodies) or passive (receiving antibodies).

Transpiration

The process by which plants lose water vapor into the atmosphere, contributing to water movement and nutrient uptake.

Villi

Small finger-like projections in the ileum that increase the surface area for nutrient absorption.