BIOLOGY

Biology is a word derived from two Greek words i.e. “Bios” and “logos” where Bios means life
and logos means knowledge.
Therefore Biology is the study of life or living things. All living things are called organisms.

BRANCHES OF BIOLOGY
1. Botany, the study of plants.
2. Zoology, the study of animals.
3. Anatomy, the study of the structure of living things.
4. Nutrition, the study of food and how living things feed.
5. Ecology, the study of how organisms are related to their environment / surrounding.
6. Mycology, the study of fungi.
7. Virology, the study of virus.
8. Bacteriology, the study of bacteria.
9. Entomology, the study of insects.
10. Microbiology, the study of microorganisms.
11. Physiology, the study of process and functioning of the body parts.
12. Genetics, the study of inheritance.
13. Taxonomy, the study of classification of organisms
14. Ornithology, the study of birds.
15. Ichthyology, the study of fish.

WHY DO WE STUDY BIOLOGY (IMPORTANCE OF BIOLOGY)

 To get knowledge on how to treat the sick
 To get knowledge needed to become doctors, and nurses
 To get knowledge on how to manufacture drugs
 To get knowledge on how to conserve the environment
 To know how our body functions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS

1. Nutrition/feeding
It’s a process by which living things obtain food.
Green plants make their own food while the rest obtain already made food from the environment.
2. Respiration
This is the breakdown of food to release energy in the body.

3. Excretion
Is the process by which waste products are removed from the body e.g. urea in urine, carbon
dioxide, etc.

4. Reproduction
This is the ability of an organism to give rise to off springs.

5. Movement
This is the transfer of part or whole body of an organism from one place to another.

6. Growth
Growth is a permanent increase in size of an organism.

7. Irritability / sensitivity
It is the ability of an organism to respond to changes in its environment.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Plants Animals
i) Have chlorophyll. Lack chlorophyll.
ii) Movement is by growth of plant parts. Movement involves the whole organism.
iii) They make their own food by photosynthesis. Feed on already made food.
iv) Respond to stimulus slowly since it involves Quick / immediate response to stimulus.
growth.
v) Growth occurs throughout life Growth is up to maturity and no further growth
after.
vi) Growth occurs in particular plant parts Growth occurs all over the body.

TOOLS USED TO STUDY BIOLOGY

1. HAND LENS:
A hand lens is a convex lens mounted in a frame. It is placed a shorter distance of about 5cm
from the eye and the object.
 Determination of magnification using a hand lens
Magnification refers to how much larger the object appears compared to its real size.
Magnification = Size of image/drawing
Size of object

Example
Calculate the magnification of an object, which is 10cm tall whose image appears to be 20cm tall.
Solution
Using the formula
Magnification  Size of image/drawing
Size of object
20 cm
 10 cm
2

(Teacher should give more examples on calculations)

2. MICROSCOPES
It is an instrument used to view objects that are too small to be seen by an unaided eye.

Types of microscopes.
 The electron microscope which uses a beam of electrons.
 The compound light microscope.

THE COMPOUND LIGHT MICROSCOPE

It is called so because it uses a beam of light to view objects and has more than one convex lens.
It is used in hospitals, schools and some industries.
Structure of a compound light microscope
 FUNCTIONS OF THE DIFFERENT PARTS
1. Eye Piece:
 Enables one to view the specimen
 It magnifies the image from the objective lens.
2. Barrel:
 Provides support for the eye piece and objective lens.
3. Nose piece/ turret/ rotating piece:
 It holds the objective lenses in position
 Can be rotated to position a particular lens required for a particular magnification.
4. Stage:
 It is where the specimen is placed for observation.
5. Mirror:
 It reflects light from external source through the specimen.
6. Stand / Base:
 Supports instrument in on a flat surface.
7. Diaphragm:
 Regulates the amount of light passing through the specimen.
8. Condenser:
 Concentrates light through the specimen on the stage.
9. Arm:
  Used for holding and carrying the microscope.
10. Clip:
 Keeps the slide firmly on the stage.
11. Coarse adjustment knob:
 Used for focusing the specimen.
12. Fine adjustment knob:
 Brings specimen into a sharp clearer focus (final focusing).
13. Objective lens:
 Magnifies the specimen under study. They are normally two or three. Low power
(shortest), medium power and high power (longest).

Determination of magnification of a microscope

Magnification refers to how much larger the object appears compared to its real size.
Magnification = magnification of the eye piece lens x magnification of the objective lens.

Example:
If the eye piece is marked x10 and the magnification of the objective lens is x40, what is the total
magnification of a microscope?
Magnification = magnification of the eye piece lens x magnification of the objective lens.
=10 x 40=400
The specimen was magnified X400

Complete the table below

Eye piece lens Objective lens Magnification
X15 X7
X60 X240
X17 X340
X25 X8

THE CELL
The cell is the smallest basic unit of life.
Unicellular/ single celled organisms are only made up of a single cell e.g. amoeba, paramecium.
Multicellular organisms are made up of many cells e.g. man, cows, bean plant, etc.

THE ORIGIN OF NEW CELLS

New cells are formed from already existing cells by a process called cell division. The already
existing cell is called a parent/ mother cell; and the new cells formed are called daughter cells.

Structure of an animal cell

STRUCTURE OF A PLANT CELL

Cell wall
Middle lamella
Starch granule
Sap vacuole
Cell membrane
Chloroplast Nucleus
Cytoplasm

Parts of the cell and their functions

1. Cell Membrane
It is found in both plant and animal cells.
Functions
 It allows movement of materials of in and out of the cell.
 Offers protection to the inner parts of the cell.
 Binds protoplasm/ cytoplasm.

2. Cell Wall
It is found in plant cells only and it is made up of cellulose which gives it its rigid tough nature.
Functions
 It gives the plant cell its shape.
 Protects the inner parts of the cell cellular.
 Allows movement of materials in and out of the cell.
 It offers mechanical strength to the cell.
3. Nucleus
It is surrounded by a membrane called the nuclear membrane.
Functions
 Controls cell activities.
 Controls cell division
 Stores the genetic material of a cell
 Plays an active role in protein synthesis.

4. Cell Vacuole
Contains the cell sap and is surrounded by a single membrane called the tonoplast.
Each Plant cell possesses one large permanent central vacuole while each animal cell has many
temporary vacuoles.
Functions
 Stores waste materials.
 It is a temporary food store.
 Gives shape to the cell.

5. Cytoplasm
It is a fluid material that contains many organelles e.g. mitochondria, nucleus etc.
Functions
 Site for cell activities i.e. metabolic reactions.
 Site for storage of energy producing materials e.g. starch and glycogen.

6. Mitochondria
It is the cell power house and its function is to release energy through respiration.

7. Chloroplast
Found in only plant cells.
 Contains a green pigment called chlorophyll that traps sunlight for photosynthesis.
 It is a site for photosynthesis.

COMPARING A PLANT AND ANIMAL CELL

Differences:
Plant cell Animal cell
i) Regular in shape Irregular in shape
 ii) Has a cellulose cell wall. Lacks a cellulose call wall.
iii) Has chloroplast. Lacks chloroplast.
iv) Large vacuole centrally located. Cell vacuole very small and positioned at the side.
v) Has a middle lamella. Lacks a middle lamella.
vi) Nucleus is positioned at one side. Nucleus centrally located.
vii) Store food as starch granules. Store food as glycogen granules.
viii) Has a tonoplast around the vacuole Has no tonoplast
ix) Has a Thin layer of cytoplasm Has a thick layer of cytoplasm
x) Has a permanent vacuole Has a temporary vacuole

SIMILARITIES:
 Both have a nucleus.
 Both have mitochondria.
 Both have a vacuole.
 Both have a cytoplasm.
 Both have a cell membrane.

SPECIALISED CELLS
These are cells modified to perform a particular function.
Examples of specialized cells in animals
i) Red blood cells
These transport oxygen in the body.

ii) Sperm cell

This is a male reproductive cell that fuses with the ovum to form a zygote during fertilization.
iii) Ovum or egg
This is the female reproductive cell that fuses with a sperm to form a zygote.

iv) White blood cells

These defend the body against infections and diseases.

v) Platelets
These are used for blood clotting.

Examples of specialized cells in plants

i) Root hair cells
They are found in plant roots.
They absorb water and mineral salts from the soil.

ii) Palisade cells

These are found in leaves of green plants
They carry out photosynthesis.

iii) Guard cells

They are found in green leaves
They control the opening and closing of stomata in leaves

LEVELS OF ORGANISATION
Cell Tissue Organs Organ systems Organism
TISSUE
A tissue is a group of cells linked together to perform a particular function.
A tissue may be made up of the same or different types of cells. E.g.
i) Blood tissue made up of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Blood transports
materials in the body and offers protection.
ii) Nervous tissue made up of nerve cells. It transmits impulses in the body.
iii) Muscular tissue made up of muscle cells which cause movement of body parts.
iv) Photosynthetic tissue made of palisade cells for photosynthesis.

ORGAN(S)
An organ is a group of tissues specialized in carrying out a specific function. eg
i) eye for sight
ii) Heart for pumping blood
iii) Ear for hearing
iv) Kidney for excretion
v) Leaves for photosynthesis
vi) Roots for absorbing water and mineral salts

ORGAN SYSTEM
An organ system is a group of different organs performing a specific function e.g.
i) nervous system (Brain, Spinal cord),
ii) circulatory system (Heart, Lungs and Blood vessels),
iii) Digestive system (gullet, stomach, small intestines).
iv) Shoot system (leaves stems. flowers)
v) Root system (roots)

ORGANISMS
Is a group of organ systems working together as a unit. E.g. man, cow, banana plant, etc.