This revision guide covers essential topics in SS 2 Biology, focusing on excretion, skeletal systems, digestion, transport, and more. It provides detailed explanations and exam-style questions to ensure a complete understanding of each concept. Use this guide to reinforce your knowledge and prepare effectively for your exams.
Week 1: Excretion
What is Excretion?
Excretion is the biological process by which organisms remove waste products from their bodies. This is crucial for maintaining internal balance and homeostasis.
Key Concepts:
- Excretory Organs: Kidneys, liver, skin, and lungs.
- Human Excretion: The kidneys filter waste from the blood, which is then excreted as urine.
- Excretory Products: Urea, uric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Define excretion and explain its importance.
- What are the primary excretory organs in humans?
- How do the kidneys contribute to excretion?
- Describe the role of the liver in excretion.
- Explain the process of urine formation in the kidneys.
- What are the different types of excretory products?
- How does the skin assist in excretion?
- Explain the role of the lungs in excretion.
- How do plants excrete waste products?
- Discuss the process of dialysis and its use in patients with kidney failure.
Week 2: Tissues and Supporting Systems
What are Tissues and Supporting Systems?
Tissues are groups of similar cells working together to perform a specific function, and supporting systems provide structure and support to the body.
Key Concepts:
- Types of Tissues: Epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous tissues.
- Supporting Systems: The skeletal and muscular systems provide structural support and enable movement.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Define tissues and list the four main types in animals.
- What is the function of epithelial tissue?
- Describe the structure and function of connective tissue.
- What role do muscle tissues play in the body?
- How does nervous tissue contribute to body function?
- Explain the difference between voluntary and involuntary muscle tissue.
- Describe the structure of bone tissue.
- How does the skeletal system provide support to the body?
- What are the functions of cartilage in the body?
- Explain the role of ligaments and tendons in supporting movement.
Week 3: Components of the Mammalian Skeleton
What is the Mammalian Skeleton?
The mammalian skeleton is a rigid framework that supports the body, protects internal organs, and allows for movement.
Key Concepts:
- Axial Skeleton: Includes the skull, vertebral column, ribs, and sternum.
- Appendicular Skeleton: Includes limbs and their attachments.
- Bone Types: Long bones, short bones, flat bones, and irregular bones.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Define the mammalian skeleton and its components.
- What is the role of the axial skeleton?
- Describe the structure and function of the appendicular skeleton.
- What are the different types of bones, and where are they found in the body?
- How does the skeletal system help in protecting internal organs?
- Explain the process of bone formation (ossification).
- What is the role of bone marrow in the body?
- How do bones grow and repair after fractures?
- What is the significance of the vertebral column in humans?
- Explain how the ribs protect vital organs like the heart and lungs.
Week 4: Joints
What Are Joints?
Joints are points where two or more bones meet, allowing for movement and flexibility.
Key Concepts:
- Types of Joints: Ball-and-socket joints, hinge joints, pivot joints, and saddle joints.
- Movements at Joints: Flexion, extension, rotation, adduction, and abduction.
- Synovial Fluid: Lubricates joints to reduce friction.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Define a joint and explain its function in the body.
- List and describe the different types of joints.
- What are the movements possible at a ball-and-socket joint?
- How do hinge joints differ from pivot joints?
- What is the role of synovial fluid in joints?
- Describe the structure of a synovial joint.
- Explain the causes and symptoms of arthritis.
- What is the difference between immovable and movable joints?
- How does the structure of a joint relate to its function?
- How do ligaments contribute to joint stability?
Week 5 & 6: Alimentary Canal/Digestive System
What is the Digestive System?
The digestive system is responsible for breaking down food into nutrients that can be absorbed by the body.
Key Concepts:
- Organs of the Digestive System: Mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas.
- Digestive Enzymes: Proteases, lipases, amylases.
- Absorption of Nutrients: Takes place primarily in the small intestine.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Describe the structure and function of the alimentary canal.
- What role does the mouth play in digestion?
- How does the stomach contribute to digestion?
- Explain the role of bile in digestion.
- What are the functions of the pancreas in digestion?
- How are nutrients absorbed in the small intestine?
- What is the role of the large intestine in digestion?
- How do digestive enzymes work to break down food?
- Describe the process of peristalsis in the digestive system.
- How does the digestive system work in humans to convert food into usable energy?
Week 7: Feeding Habits
What are Feeding Habits?
Feeding habits refer to the methods and types of food consumed by organisms.
Key Concepts:
- Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores: Differences in diet.
- Specialized Feeding Structures: Teeth, beaks, and jaws.
- Adaptations for Feeding: Structural and functional adaptations to obtain food.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Define herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
- How are the feeding habits of herbivores different from carnivores?
- Describe the adaptations of carnivores for capturing and eating prey.
- How do the feeding habits of omnivores benefit them?
- What role do specialized structures like teeth play in feeding?
- How do feeding habits vary across different ecosystems?
- What are the feeding strategies of parasites?
- Describe the importance of digestion in the nutrition of animals.
- How do feeding habits influence the health of organisms?
- How do changes in the environment affect feeding habits?
Week 8: Feeding in Amoeba, Hydra, and Man
How Do Amoeba, Hydra, and Humans Feed?
Different organisms have unique ways of feeding and obtaining nutrients based on their structures and environment.
Key Concepts:
- Amoeba: Uses phagocytosis to engulf food particles.
- Hydra: Uses tentacles and a specialized digestive cavity.
- Humans: Ingest food, which is then mechanically and chemically digested.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Explain how Amoeba feeds through phagocytosis.
- How does Hydra capture and digest its food?
- Describe the human digestive process from ingestion to absorption.
- What adaptations allow Hydra to feed efficiently in aquatic environments?
- How do the feeding methods of Amoeba and Hydra differ from those of humans?
- What is the role of the vacuole in food digestion in Amoeba?
- How do different types of organisms digest food?
- What is the importance of the digestive enzymes in feeding?
- How do the feeding habits of Amoeba and Hydra help them survive in their environments?
- How is feeding behavior in humans influenced by culture and availability of food?
Week 9: Transport Systems
What are Transport Systems?
Transport systems help in the movement of substances like gases, nutrients, and waste products to and from cells in multicellular organisms.
Key Concepts:
- Types of Transport Systems: Circulatory systems, lymphatic systems.
- Diffusion and Active Transport: Methods of material transport across cell membranes.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Define transport systems and their function in organisms.
- What is the role of the circulatory system in humans?
- Describe the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
- How does the lymphatic system assist in transport?
- What is the difference between diffusion and active transport?
- Explain the role of the heart in the transport of substances.
- How does blood circulation maintain homeostasis?
- What is the role of the capillaries in the transport system?
- How does the transport system in plants differ from that in animals?
- What factors affect the efficiency of transport in organisms?
Week 10: Circulatory System in Mammals
What is the Circulatory System in Mammals?
The mammalian circulatory system is responsible for transporting oxygen, nutrients, and waste products throughout the body.
Key Concepts:
- Heart Structure: Four chambers – two atria and two ventricles.
- Blood Vessels: Arteries, veins, and capillaries.
- Blood Circulation: Systemic and pulmonary circulation.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Describe the structure of the mammalian heart.
- What is the role of the left and right sides of the heart in circulation?
- Explain how oxygenated and deoxygenated blood circulate through the body.
- How do arteries, veins, and capillaries differ in structure and function?
- What is the role of the circulatory system in homeostasis?
- How does the heart pump blood through the body?
- Describe the importance of the coronary arteries.
- What are the differences between the systemic and pulmonary circulations?
- How do the circulatory systems in mammals support growth and repair?
- What are the effects of cardiovascular diseases on the circulatory system?
Week 11: Mechanism of Transport in Higher Plants
How Do Higher Plants Transport Substances?
Plants have specialized systems for the transport of water, nutrients, and sugars.
Key Concepts:
- Xylem and Phloem: The vascular tissue responsible for transporting water and nutrients (xylem) and sugars (phloem).
- Transpiration: The process by which water is lost from plants and helps in the upward movement of water.
Likely Exam Questions:
- Describe the structure and function of xylem and phloem.
- What is transpiration, and how does it affect water movement in plants?
- How do plants move nutrients from the soil to the leaves?
- Explain how water moves through a plant from the roots to the leaves.
- What is the role of the stomata in transpiration?
- How does the phloem transport sugars throughout the plant?
- What factors affect the rate of transpiration?
- Describe how plants adapt their transport systems to different environments.
- What is the significance of the vascular tissue in plant transport?
- How do plants regulate water loss through transpiration?