2. Exchange and transport in animals
Transport in cells:
Suggest how the human respiratory system is adapted to increase the rate of oxygen transport.
An amoeba is a single celled organism. Explain why it is easier for an amoeba to gain its oxygen and glucose for respiration, than it is for the cells of a human.
When a patient is dehydrated they are put on a saline drip containing ions and water. Suggest why they aren’t given water.
Compare alveoli to fish gills.
The heart:
Explain why the left ventricle has a more muscular wall than any of the other chambers.
Cardiac muscle contains up to 35% mitochondria whereas other muscles contain around 2%. Suggest why this is needed for normal heart functioning.
Explain the effects on the heart of regular exercise.
Where in the heart is the pace maker? Explain its function.
Coronary heart disease:
Compare and contrast the use of stents and statins to treat coronary heart disease.
Evaluate the use of mechanical and biological heart valves as a way of treating heart disease.
For severe heart failure, a heart transplant or artificial heart are two options available. Suggest the advantages and disadvantages of both.
Response to exercise:
What differences might we see in heart rate, breath volume, lactic acid production and breathing rate between an athlete and an unfit person before, during and after vigorous exercise?
A scientist claimed that they could identify cell type by counting the number of mitochondria present. Why might mitochondria number in cells vary?
Decide if you think ‘aerobics’ is a good or bad name for a popular type of exercise .
Respiration:
Discuss this statement – ‘All living things respire’.
Can respiration be artificial?
Tissues and organs which bring about breathing are part of the ‘respiratory system’. Why is this confusing?
How can mammals respire underwater? Can a root hair cell respire underground? Explain.
Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration in a Venn diagram.
Edexcel GCSE
Exchange and transport in animals
ThinkIT!
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Blood vessels and blood:
Describe the route through the body of an oxygen molecule in the air to a muscle cell in the hand
First aid books note that a cut to an artery is more severe than a cut to a vein. Suggest why and describe what difference you may see
Anaemia is a decrease in the total amount of red blood cells in the blood. Describe and explain the symptoms of anaemia
Aerobic respiration:
Experiments which involve the oxidation of glucose are often explosive. Explain how aerobic respiration is controlled inside a cell to prevent an explosion.
Suggest why aerobic respiration occurs in the mitochondria yet anaerobic respiration occurs in the cytoplasm of a cell.
Anaerobic respiration:
Explain why a plant may die if it is overwatered.
What would life be like if yeast had never existed?
Explain why anaerobic respiration is less efficient than aerobic respiration.
When a loaf of bread is cut there is evidence that bubbles were once present. What caused these bubbles?