CLASSIFICATION

1.1 Characteristics of Living Things

● Living things: organisms
○ Growth: a permanent increase in size and dry mass by increase in cell number/cell size
○ Sensitivity: the ability to detect and respond to changes in the environment
○ Respiration: the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and
release energy
○ Movement: an action by an organism causing a change of position or place
○ Reproduction: the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
○ Excretion: removal of toxic materials, substances in excess, or waste products of
metabolism from an organism
○ Nutrition: taking in of materials for energy, growth, and development
■ Plants require light, carbon dioxide, water, and ions
■ Animals need organic compounds, ions, and water
● Cells of organisms have a
○ cytoplasm,
○ cell membrane,
○ DNA,
○ ribosomes that make proteins in the cell
○ Enzymes that help the cell carry out aerobic respiration
1.2 Classification of Living Things
● Groups of organisms, such as mammals, have the same features that come from a common
ancestor
● Common ancestor: a species that lived long ago that is thought to be a distant ancestor of 2 or
more species living today
● In the past, scientists used:
○ Morphology: the overall shape and form of an organism’s body
○ Anatomy: the detailed body structure of an organism
● Now, DNA is used
○ DNA: the chemical from which genes and chromosomes are made
○ Contains 4 bases (adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine) which are arranged in different
ways
○ The more similar the base sequences/amino acid sequences are, the more closely
related the species are to one another
● Linnaeus divided organisms into species and genus
○ Kingdoms: one of the five large groups into which all living organisms are classified
○ Genus: a group of similar and related species
○ Species: a group of organisms that can reproduce and produce fertile offspring
● Binomial system: an internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism
is made up of 2 parts, the genus and species
1.3 The Kingdoms of Living Organisms
Animals
● Multicellular
● Cells have a nucleus, but no cell walls or chloroplasts
● Feed on organic substances made by other living organisms
Plants
● Chlorophyll: absorbs energy from sunlight that is used to make sugars through photosynthesis
 ● Multicellular
● Cells have a nucleus, cell walls of cellulose, and usually have chloroplasts
● Feed by photosynthesis
● May have roots, stems, and leaves
Fungi
● Usually multicellular
● Have nuclei
● Have cell walls, not made of cellulose
● Do not have chlorophyll
● Feed by saprophytic or parasitic nutrition
Protoctista
● Multicellular/unicellular
● Cells have a nucleus
● Cells may or may not have a cell wall and chloroplasts
● Some feed by photosynthesis and others feed on organic substances made by other organisms
Prokaryotes (bacteria)
● Often unicellular
● Have no nucleus
● Have cell walls, not made of cellulose
● Have no mitochondria
1.4 Viruses
● Do nothing until they get into a host cell then make copies of themselves
● The new viruses burst out of the cell and invade others where the process is repeated
● The host cell is killed
● A virus contains a piece of DNA/RNA surrounded by a protein coat
1.5 Classifying Animals
Phylum Vertebrates
● With a supporting rod running along the length of the body
● Have a backbone and called vertebrae
Class Fish
● Vertebrates with scaly skin
● Gills
● Fins
Class Amphibians
● Vertebrates with moist, scaleless skin
● Eggs laid in water, larvae lives in water
● Adult often lives on land
● Larve has gills, adult has lungs
● E.g: toads, frogs, salamanders
Class Reptiles
● Vertebrates with scaly skin
● Lay eggs with rubbery shells
● E.g: crocodiles, snakes, turtles, tortoises
Class Birds
● Vertebrates with feathers
● Forelimbs have become wings
● Lay eggs with hard shells
● Endothermic
 ● Have a beak
● Heart has 4 chambers
Class Mammals
● Vertebrates with hair
● Have a placenta
● Young feed on milk from mammary glands
● Endothermic
● Have a diaphragm
● Heart has 4 chambers
● Have different types of teeth (incisors, canines, premolars, and molars)
Phylum Arthropods
● Several pairs of jointed legs
● Waterproof exoskeleton
Insects
● Arthropods with 3 pairs of jointed legs
● 2 pairs of wings
● Breathe through tracheae
● Head, thorax, and abdomen
● E.g: locust, moth
Crustaceans
● Arthropods with more than 4 pairs of jointed legs
● Not millipedes or centipedes
● Breathe through gills
● E.g: crab, lobsters, woodlice
Arachnids
● Arthropods with 4 pairs of jointed legs
● Breathe through gills called book lungs
● E.g: spiders, ticks, scorpions
Myriapods
● Body consists of many segments
● Each segment has jointed legs
1.6 Classifying Plants
● Cell walls with cellulose
● Green colour made by chlorophyll which absorbs energy from sunlight that it uses to make
glucose, using carbon dioxide and water (photosynthesis)
Ferns
● Plants with roots, stems, and leaves
● Leaves called fronds
● Do not produce flowers
● Reproduce by spores
Flowering plants
● Plants with roots, stems, and leaves
● Reproduce sexually with flowers and seeds
● Seeds are produced inside the ovary in the flower
● Monocots or dicots
○ Monocot: one cotyledon, branching root system, parallel veins in leaves
○ Dicot: 2 cotyledons, broad leaves, taproot systems, branching veins
 Cells
2.1 Cell Structure
● Light microscope: shines light through a piece of an organism
○ Magnifies 1500x
○ Structures inside a cell, like the nucleus
● Electron microscope: uss a beam of electrons
○ Magnifies 500,000x-10 mil x
○ More structures that weren’t seen with a light microscope
Cell Membrane
● All cells have a cell membrane
● Cell membrane: a very thin layer of fat and protein that surrounds every living cell
○ Partially permeable
● Organelles: a structure within a cell
Cell Wall
● Made of cellulose
● Paper is made of cellulose, animal cells do not have it
● Cellulose is a polysaccharide
○ Criss-cross fibres over one another forms a strong covering to the cell
○ Protects and supports the cell
○ Fully permeable -> has spaces between fibres
Cytoplasm
● 70% water
● Contains many substances, especially proteins
● Metabolic reactions happen here
Vacuoles
● Space in a cell surrounded by a membrane, containing a solution
● Plant cells have large vacuoles that contain cell sap
○ Cell sap: a solution of sugars and other substances inside the vacuole of a plant cell
● A full vacuole presses outwards on the rest of the cell to maintain its shape
● Animals have smaller vacuoles called vesicles that contain food or water
Chloroplasts
● Contain green pigment called chlorophyll
○ Absorbs energy from sunlight that is used to make food for the plant by photosynthesis
● Usually have starch grains
● Animals have granules of glycogen (similar to starch)
● Animal cells do not have chloroplasts
Nucleus
● Where genetic information is stored on chromosomes made of DNA
● Helps the cell make the right sorts of proteins
Mitochondria
● Powerhouse of the cell
● Oxygen is used to release energy from glucose (aerobic respiration)
● Lots of mitochondria -> lots of energy (muscle cells, sperm cells, neurones)
● Glycogen is broken down to glucose to be used as fuel by mitochondria in the liver cell or
transported in the blood
Ribosomes
● Ribosome: tiny organelles where protein synthesis takes place
● Run through the rough endoplasmic reticulum
○ Network of membranes inside a cell where ribosomes are present
● Where proteins are made by joining amino acids in a long chain (done according to the
instructions in the DNA in the cell’s nucleus)
● Amino acid sequence to make a protein
2.2 Cells and Organisms
Tissues
● Tissue: a group of cells with similar structures working together to perform a shared function
● A group of cells that specialize in the same activity found together
● Example: Stomach tissues
○ A layer of cells/lining of tissue in the stomach make enzymes
○ A layer of muscle in the stomach wall made of cells that can move (churning the food
and mixing it with enzymes)
● Example: Plant tissues
○ A layer of cells make up the palisade tissue in which cells can do photosynthesis
Organs
● Organ: a structure made up of a group of tissues, working together to perform specific functions
● A group of tissues makes an organ
● Example: leaf, onion bulb, heart, stomach, kidneys, lungs
Organ Systems
● Organ system: a group of organs with related functions, working together to perform body
functions
● Digestive system: stomach, mouth, intestines
● Ciliated cells -> tissue -> bronchus -> respiratory system
 Movement in & out of cells

3.1 Diffusion
Diffusion: the net movement of molecules and ions from a region of their higher concentration to a
region of their lower concentration down a concentration gradient, as a result of their random
movement.
- Random movement of particles
- Important part in gas exchange for respiration in animals and plants

● Living organisms obtain many of their requirements by diffusion

○ Getting rid of many of waste products
○ Example: Photosynthesis (it depends on diffusion of gases)

● How does Diffusion play a part in Photosynthesis?

1. Plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis
2. Diffuses from the air to the leaves
3. Through the stomata (lower concentration of carbon dioxide inside leaf, cells are using it
up)
4. Outside the leaf in molecules diffuse into the leaf

Oxygen -> waste product of Photosynthesis (diffuses out in the same way)
Higher oxygen concentration inside the leaf will cause it to diffuse out through the stomata into the
air.

Factors affecting rate of diffusion:

1. Surface area to volume ratio
Larger surface area increases the rate of diffusion
2. Temperature
At a higher temperature, the particles will have more kinetic energy and are moving around faster.
Therefore, on a given time, diffusion will occur.
3. Concentration Gradient
When there is a big difference between the number of particles in one place and another diffusion
will happen much faster than they are already quite spread out

3.2 Osmosis
Osmosis: the diffusion of water molecules from a region of higher water potential (dilute solution)
to a region of lower water potential (concentrated solution)through a partially permeable
membrane.

Osmosis (water molecules)

- Diffusion of water molecules from high water potential (dilute) to low water potential
(concentrated) through partially permeable membrane
- Dilute → a lot of water
- Concentrated → less water
- Hypotonic
- solution w/higher water concentration compared to inside of cell
- Isotonic
- Solution w/same water concentration as inside cell
- Hypertonic
- Solution w/lower water concentration compared to inside of cell
Water:
- One of the most important compounds in living organism
- Make up 80% of some organism’s bodies
- Many Functions
- Acting as a solvent (liquid in which solute dissolves)
- Substances are transported around the body dissolved in the water in blood plasma
Water molecules:
- Very small
- Made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atoms
Visking Tube (partially permeable membrane because it let some molecules through but not
others):
- Holes are big enough to let the water molecules through but not the sugar molecules
(because they are many times bigger than water molecules)
Cell Membranes
- Let some substances pass through them, but not others
- Partially permeable membranes
- There's always cytoplasm on one side of any cell membrane
Cytoplasm
- Solution of proteins and other substances in water
- Usually a solution on the other side of the membrane.
- Often separate two different solution (cytoplasm, solution around the cell)
- If the solutions are different, OSMOSIS will occur.
Osmosis and animal cells
- What happens in Osmosis?
 - Water moves from higher water potential (pure water/dilute solution) to an area of
low water potential (a more concentrated solution of sugar/another solute)
Osmosis and plant cells
- Plant cells are surrounded by cell wall (Fully permeable)
- Let any molecules go through it
- Has a cell surface membrane <- this is partially permeable
- As water goes in, the cytoplasm and vacuole will swell
Plant cells have very strong walls around it, stronger than the cell membrane and STOPS the plant
cells from BURSTING.
- The cytoplasm presses out against the cell wall, but the wall resists and presses back on
the contents
- Turgid (plants stay upright and keeps the leaves firm)
Plant cells losing water by osmosis
- Cytoplasm shrinks, stop pushing outwards on cell wall
- Flaccid (plant loses its firmness and begins to wilt)

If the solution is very concentrated, then a lot of water will diffuse out of the cell. The cytoplasm and
vacuole will go on shrinking. The cell wall is further and further into the center of the cell, the cell wall
gets left behind. The cell membrane, surrounding the cytoplasm, tears away from the cell wall
Plasmolysed (kills a plant cell because the cell membrane is damaged as it tears away from the cell wall)

3.3 Active transport

Active transport: the movement of molecules and ions in or out of a cell through the cell membrane
against a concentration gradient, using energy from respiration.
- Cells need to take in substances which are only present in SMALL QUANTITIES around them.
- Example: root hair cells take IN nitrate ions from the SOIL
- Diffusion gradient for the nitrate ions is OUT of the root hair and INTO the soil.
- Substances are transported against their concentration gradient, energy provided by
RESPIRATION in the cell (inside root hair cells)

In the cell membrane

- Root hair cells have proteins that pick up NITRATE IONS from OUTSIDE the cell and shape a
way where they push the nitrate ions through the cell membrane and INTO the cytoplasm of the
cell.

Chemical energy that has been RELEASED FROM GLUCOSE (BY RESPIRATION) is converted into kinetic
energy of molecules and ions.

Other examples:
- Glucose can be actively transported from the lumen of the intestine into the cells of the villi
- In kidney tubules, glucose is actively transported out of the tubule and into the blood
 The Chemicals of life
4.1 What Are You Made Of?
Water
● Metabolic reactions:
○ Can only take place in water
○ Water is an important solvent
● Needed for plasma so dissolved substances can be transported around the body
● Dissolve enzymes and nutrients n the alimentary canal so that digestion can take place
● Needed to get rid of waste (urea is dissolved in water to form urine)
4.2 Carbohydrates
Sugars
● Simplest kind of carbohydrates = simple sugars/monosaccharides (e.g: glucose)
● 6 carbon atoms -> C6H12O6
● Disaccharide: 2 simple sugar molecules (e.g: maltose, sucrose)
Polysaccharides
● Many simple sugars joined together
● E.g: cellulose, starch, glycogen
Functions of carbohydrates
● Needed for energy (1 carb releases 17kJ)
● Glucose: Carbohydrate is normally used in respiration
○ Form in which carbs are transported around a body
● Human plasma contains dissolved glucose that is used to release energy
● Plants also use glucose in respiration to provide plants with energy
○ They transport sucrose, not glucose
○ Sucrose is changed to glucose when they need to use it
○ Plants store carbs as starch which is changed into glucose and vice versa
● Animals store glycogen in the liver and the muscles
○ Cellulose is used to make the plant cell walls
○ Cellulose fibers are very strong, so the cell wall helps to maintain the shape of the plant
cell
Testing for carbohydrates
● Add benedict’s solution to a good and heat it
● If the food contains a reducing sugar (glucose, maltose), a brick red color will be made
● The mixture changes from blue to green to yellow to orange to brick red
● If there is no reducing sugar, it stays blue
● Test for starch
○ Add iodine -> becomes blue-black -> has carbs
■ Stays orange-brown -> no carbs

4.3 Fats
● Also known as lipids
● Fats contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
● Made of 4 molecules, such as glycerol -> attached to glycerol are fatty acids
● Insoluble in water and liquid at room temperature
Functions of fats
● Release energy (39 kJ)
○ Used only after carbohydrates
● Used to store energy in cells that release energy when needed (adipose tissue)
○ Adipose also warms the body
Testing for fats and oils
● Ethanol emulsion test
○ Chop food and shake it up with ethanol
○ Pour ethanol into the water
■ Fats dissolve in ethanol
○ If there is any fat, the fat-ethanol mixture breaks up into droplets when mixed with
water -> this is called an emulsion (white and opaque, if transparent, there is no fat in
the food)
4.4 Proteins
● Contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur
● Made of long chains of amino acids
● 20 amino acids joined together in different orders to make different proteins
Functions of proteins
● Soluble in water, like haemoglobin (red pigment in blood)
● Insoluble in water, like keratin in hair
● Used to make new cells for growing and repairing damaged parts of the body
● Cell membranes and cytoplasm have a lot of protein
● Used to make antibodies
○ Help to kill bacteria and viruses
● Enzymes are also protein
● Long chains of amino acids -> curl up into different shapes -> 3-dimensional shape of protein
determined by the sequence of amino acids
● Shape affects function
○ Antibody molecule shape determines the kinds of bacteria/viruses it can attach to
○ Each antibody has a different sequence of amino acids from which it is built
Testing for proteins
● Mix food with water
● Add dilute copper sulfate
● Add dilute potassium hydroxide solution
● A purple color -> protein is present; blue -> no protein

4.5 DNA
● Deoxyribonucleic acid
● DNA: chemical that makes up genes and chromosomes
● 2 long strands with a series of bases arranged along it
● Bases on two strands are attached by bonds which make cross links
● In a double helix shape
● 4 bases: AT, CG
● Sequence of bases in DNA provides a code that determines the proteins made -> determines how
our cells, tissues, and organs, develop
 ENZYMES
5.1 biological catalysts
Catalysts
● Catalysts are substances that increase the rate of a chemical reaction and are not changed by the
reaction.
● The catalyst itself won’t change chemically, just fasten the chemical reaction, also known as
metabolic reactions.
○ Enzymes control these metabolic reactions
● Enzymes ensure that the rates of metabolic reactions are great enough to sustain life.
○ Examples could be:
■ Starch is digested to maltose by an enzyme called amylase
■ Protein is digested to amino acids by protease
■ Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen with catalase
Naming enzymes
● Enzymes are named after reactions that they catalyse.
○ For example:
■ Enzymes which catalyse the breakdown of carbohydrates are called
carbohydrases
■ Breaking down proteins are called proteases
■ If they break down lipids, they are called lipases
● Sometimes, they are given more specific names:
○ Carbohydrates that breaks down starch is called amylase
○ One that breaks down maltose is called maltase
○ One that breaks down sucrose is called sucrase

The lock and key mechanism,

● Enzymes are crafted specifically for the
molecules to fit, like a lock
● While a substrate is like a key, completing the
diagram
● They are complementary to each other
The active site
● Chemical reaction always involves one
substance changing into another
● The substance that is present in the beginning is called a substrate in a enzyme
● The substance which is made by the reaction is called the product
○ Starch using amylase becomes maltose
● An amylase molecule has a dent in it called active site
5.2 properties of enzymes
1. All enzymes are proteins
2. Enzymes are made inactive by high temperature: they are damaged by heat
3. Enzymes work best at a particular temperature: work best at around 37℃
4. Enzymes work best at a particular pH: pH is a measure of how acid or alkaline a solution is,
some work best in acid conditions (0-6), some work best in alkaline solutions (8-14)
5. Enzymes are catalysts: they are not changed in chemical reactions which they control, they can
be used over and over again.
6. Enzymes are specific: enzymes will oly catalyse one kind of chemical reaction
Temperature and enzyme activity
● Most chemical reactions happen faster at higher temperatures. More heat = more kinetic
energy
○ Means that at higher temperatures, an enzyme is likely to bump into its substrate more
often than at lower temperatures
○ They will also hit each other with more energy, so the reaction is more likely to take
place
● Most enzymes are damaged by high temperatures, for most itll be 40℃ upwards
○ Higher temperatures will make the enzymes lose their shape and the active sitr would
no longer fit the substrate, it will be called denatured.
● Temperature at which an enzyme works fastest is called its optimum temperature
○ Different enzymes have different optimum temperatures
■ Enzymes from human digestive system has a different optimum temperature,
most specifically 37℃
■ Plants often have a optimum around 28℃ to 30℃
■ Enzymes from backteria that live in hot springs may have optiums as high as
75℃
pH and enzyme activity
● pH of a solution affects the shape of an enzyme
● Most enzymes are their correct shape at a pH of about 7 (neutral)
● If the pH becomes very acidic or very alkaline, then they denatured (active site no longer fits the
substrate, so the enzyme no longer catalyse the reaction)
● Some enzymes have an optimum pH that is not neutral
○ Protease enzyme in the human stomach that has an optimum pH of about 2
■ We have hydrochloric acid in our stomachs
 PLANT NUTRITION
6.1 types of nutrition
● Taking in useful substances is called feeding, or nutrition
● animals and fungi cannot make their own food, they feed on organic plants
○ some animals eat other animals called carnivores
● Green plants make their own food from inorganic substances (carbon dioxide, water and
minerals) from the air and soil
● Substances made by living things are said to be organic
6.2 photosynthesis
● Green plants make carbohydrate glucose from carbon dioxide and water, at the same time
oxygen is produced.
● Green plants use energy from the sun to make glucose which is food for them, this is called
photosynthesis.
● Chlorophyll is the pigment in plants that makes it look green, it also traps sunlight energy.
● The full equation of photosynthesis is:
○ 6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + 6H2O (water) -> with sunlight & water turns into C6H12O6
(glucose) + 6O2 (oxygen)
6.3 leaves
● Photosynthesis happens inside chloroplasts, where the enzymes and chlorophyll are that
catalyse and supply energy for the
reaction.
● Leaves are factories for making
carbohydrates
Leaf structure and function

● Epidermis: to protect tbe inner layers of

cells in the leafs.
● Cuticle: secretes waxy substance, that lies
on top of them, helps water stop
evaporating from the leaf
● Stomata/stoma: small pores, regulates the
flow of gases through the leaf and plant
● Guard cells: open and close the hole to let sunlight in, sausage-shaped
● Mesophyll: contains chloroplasts, meso means middle, phyll means leaf
● Palisade layer: cells nearer to the top of the leaf are arranged like a fence or palisade
● Spongy layer: cells that are rounder and arranged quite loosely, with large air spaces between
them
● Xylem vessels: carries water, thick walls
● Phloem vessels: thin walls, carry sucrose and other substances that the leaf has made
 Animal nutrition
7.1 Diet
Seven types of nutrients animals need in their diet:
- Carbohydrates
- Proteins
- Fats
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Water
- Fibre
[ balanced diet ]

● Vitamins are organic substances which are only needed in tiny amounts
● Minerals are inorganic substances
● Fibre helps keep the alimentary canal working properly. Food moves through the
alimentary canal because the muscle contracts and relaxes to squeeze it along. < called
peristalsis.

Fat and Heart disease

● Fat found in animal foods called saturated fat
○ Contain cholesterol
|
V
Coronary Heart Disease
Fat deposits build up on the inside of arteries, making them stiffer and narrower. If this
happens in the coronary arteries supplying the heart muscle with blood, not enough blood can
get through. The heart muscle runs short of oxygen and cannot work properly.

Obesity
● Take in more energy than they use up
● Dangerous to health
● More likely to get: Heart disease, strokes & diabetes.
● Extra weight - > Problems with joints

Malnutrition common form (kwashiorkor)

● Lack of protein in the diet
● Common between ages 9 months to 2 years after they stopped feeding on breast milk
● Often caused by poverty, lack of knowledge
● Always underweight of their age
Severe Malnutrition
● Lack of both protein and energy in the diet
● Severe shortage of energy in the diet causes marasmus
○ Body weight lower than normal, emaciated
 7.2 Digestion

Transport in plants
8.1 Plant transport systems

BIOTECHNOLOGY
21.1 What is Biotechnology?
● Biotechnology” using living organisms to carry out processes that make substances that we want
● E.g: yeast, alcohol, yoghurt, cheese
● Genetic engineering” scientists take a gene from one organism and put it into a different one
● Bacteria and fungi are used because:
○ Very small -> can grow in a laboratory -> can reproduce and make a range of substances
○ No ethical issues done to bacteria and fungi
○ Has DNA -> can take a gene from a human cell and place it into a bacterial cell to
produce a human protein
○ Bacteria have plasmids for moving genes from one organism’s cells to another
21.2 Yeast
● Glucose -> ethanol + carbon dioxide
Biofuel
● Glucose is broken down into ethanol that can be used as biofuel
● Treated with amylase enzymes which break down starch into glucose
● Yeast is added and uses the glucose in anaerobic respiration
● The ethanol that is produced can be extracted by distillation
● Doesn’t have as much energy as fossil fuels so is usually mixed with petrol
● Advantage:
○ Sustainable source
○ Reduces the amount of CO2
○ Although CO@ is made when it is burnt, plants that make the fuel take the carbon
dioxide from the air to make sugars and starch by photosynthesis
○ When we burn fossil fuels, the carbon that is released was buried under the earth years
ago
● Disadvantage:
○ Take up land that can be used to grow food
○ Using large amounts of maize to make biofuels increases their price
Bread
● Most bread is made from wheat flour
● Made by grinding the grains of cereal crops
● Flour contains starch and gluten (a protein)
● To make bread, flour is mixed with water to make the dough
● Amylase enzymes break down the starch in the dough to make maltose and glucose → the yeast
uses the glucose in anaerobic respiration
● Produces bubbles of CO2
● Get trapped in the dough
● Gluten makes the dough stretchy, so the carbon dioxide causes the dough to rise
 21.3 Making use of enzymes
● Microorganisms are grown inside fermenters
● The microorganisms are provided with everything they need to grow in the fermenter
● Includes oxygen, supply of nutrients, a suitable pH, and a suitable temperature
● Microorganisms make enzymes and release the liquid
● The liquid is collected from the fermenter and the enzymes are purified before use
Biological washing powders
● Contain enzymes
● Detergents help greasy dirt mix with water so that it can be washed away
● The enzymes break down other substances which can stain clothes
● Some of the enzymes are proteases which catalyse the breakdown of protein molecules
○ Helps with the removal of stains caused by protein such as blood
○ Blood contains haemoglobin
○ Proteases in biological washing powders break the haemoglobin molecules into smaller
molecules that are not coloured and can dissolve
● Some of the enzymes are lipases which catalyse the breakdown of fats into fatty acids and
glycerol
○ Good for removing greasy stains
■ To Prevent these enzymes from digesting proteins and fats in the skin of people
handling them -> the enzymes are packed into microscopic capsules that break
open when washing powder is mixed with water
○ The first biological washing powders only worked in warm water because the proteases
in them had optimum temperatures above 40 degrees
○ However, now proteases are developed so that they can work at higher temperatures
○ These proteases come from bacteria that naturally live in hot water
■ Other components of washing powders work best at these hot temperatures
Pectinase
● Pectin: a substance that helps to stick plant cells together
● If pectin is broken down, it is easier to squeeze juice from fruit like apples or oranges
● Used in the extraction of juice from fruit and make it clear
Lactase
● Lactase breaks down lactose that is found in milk into glucose and galactose.
● This allows milk and other dairy products to be lactose-free and digestible for lactose-intolerant
individuals.
● It causes the sugars to be absorbed easily
● Glucose and galactose are used for sweets
21.4 Penicillin
● Penicillin is made from the fungus Penicillium in a large fermenter
● Penicillium is grown in a culture containing carbohydrates and amino acids
● They are stirred -> keeps fungus in contact with supplies of nutrients and mixes oxygen into the
cultures
○ Rolls the fungus into pellets
■ Makes it easy to separate the liquid part of the culture which contains the
penicillin at a later stage
● The fungus just grows (15-24 hours)
● Then it secretes penicillin
● If there is more sugar, then less penicillin is made
● If there is no sugar, then no penicillin is made
● -> small amouunts of sugar have to be put into the fermenter so that the fungus produces
penicillin
● The culture is kept going until it is decided that the rate of penicillin production has slowed
down
● Culture is filtered and the liquid is treated to concentrate the penicillin
21.5 Genetic engineering
● Genetic engineering: changing the genetic material of an organism by removing, changing, and
inserting individual genes
● Insulin - needed by people with type 1 diabetes - now is produced by bacteria
○ Read 21/6
● Rice has been genetically engineered to contain more vitamin A. This rice appears more yellow
and is called Golden Rice. Golden Rice provides the vitamins required by malnourished children
around the world.
● Another organism that has been genetically engineered includes regular crop plants like soya
plants. They have been engineered and genetically modified so certain herbicides only damage
the weeds around them and not the soya plants themselves
● Cotton plants have been genetically modified so they contain Bt
○ Killed if they eat cotton plants
● Concerns /disadvantages are on page 287
Genetic engineering
● Insulin genes are extracted from human cells and treated with certain restriction enzymes
which cut DNA molecules.
● The ends of the cut DNA molecules with unpaired bases are called sticky ends.
● The gene for insulin is separated from the rest of the DNA and then added to bacteria, using a
plasmid.
● After the ring of DNA in the plasmid is cut with more restriction enzymes, it is mixed with the
DNA for the insulin genes.
● The sticky ends on both the gene and the plasmids connect with one another.
● DNA ligase is used to connect both of the strands. The result is recombination plasmids that
have both bacteria and DNA.
● These plasmids are then put into a collection of bacteria so that they can reproduce and form
even more bacteria with plasmids.
● Then, the insulin is isolated through fermenters
● 21.2. Genetic Engineering
● Need to know difference between genetic and selective breeding and how to do it (insulin)