Grade 11 Biology Unit 1 - Plants

Grade 11 University Biology Study Notes

• Unit 1 - Plants: Structure and Function: Introduces plants, their characteristics, adaptation to land, vascular and non-vascular plants, seed-producing plants and flowering plants. Includes details on plant tissues, plant growth, water transport, and plant hormones. Also covers roots, stems, and leaves, along with their structure and functions.

Unit 1 - Plants: Structure and Function - Subtopics

• Introduction to Plants: Contains 5 plant characteristics, plant adaptation to land and non-vascular and vascular plants.
• Adapting on land: Describes how early plant-like protists adapted to life on land - including protective measures against drying out, ways to transport water, nutrients and wastes.
• Non-vascular Plants: Details about the absence of vascular systems in these plants — how they are structured, the methods used for moving water and nutrients, and reproductive strategies are covered.
• Vascular Plants: Explains the vascular plant structure, along with vascular tissue types and functions. Covers seeds, producing plants, and flowering plants.
• Seed Producing Plants: Focuses on seeds as a strategy for reproduction, their structure and development. Includes seed adaptations - seed dispersal and methods.
• Flowering Plants: Explains the flower structure and its role in reproduction.
• Roots and Stems: Explains the roots, their types and functions, and the stem types and functions; covering development and 4 zones of the roots.
• Leaves: Four main functions, deciduous leaves/needles, leaf structure, and plant tissue.
• Plant Tissues: Describes dermal, ground, and vascular tissues. Includes factors of plant growth
• Transport of Water and Minerals in Xylem: Looks at the transpiration-cohesion-tension theory, and the involvement of hydrogen bonding for water transport.
• Plant Hormones: Explains the roles of plant hormones in regulating plant growth and development, with 4 main types: gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, and abscisic acid. Includes plant tropism and response to stimulus.

Unit 2: Genetic Processes 2A

• Introduction to Genetics: Explains genetics' role in inheritance, DNA, and chromosome structure. Includes the concept of genes, traits, and haploid/diploid cells along with the order of nitrogen bases for organism uniqueness.
• Genetics and Inheritance: Focuses on how traits are passed from one generation to another.
• DNA and Chromosomes: Explores DNA structure, characteristics and function using examples like its unique double helix shape. Explores chromosomes as coiled DNA.
• Genes and Traits: Defines genes as short segments controlling trait expression and instructions to make proteins for cellular structure and enzymes. Genetic traits in the form of proteins.
• Haploid and Diploid Cells: Describes haploid (single set of chromosomes) and diploid (paired set of chromosomes) cells, their roles in reproduction (mitosis/meiosis).
• Cell Cycle and Meiosis: Explains interphase stages (G1, S, G2), Mitosis (prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase and cytokinesis), and the process. Summarizes the differences between mitosis and meiosis.
• DNA structure: Describes the molecule in detail, including nucleotides, base pairings, and anti-parallel nature.
• Karyotypes: explains the use of karyotypes to visualize chromosomes, diagnose genetic disorders, and analyse gene variation.
• Meiosis: Details the stages and outcomes of meiosis, particularly how it reduces the chromosome number, and the generation of genetic variation.
• Gametogenesis, Genetic Variation and Mutations: Describes the formation of gametes. Covers meiosis, different forms of gametogenesis, and genetic variation through mutations. Explains the different types of mutations and consequences.
• Inheritance Patterns: Discusses various patterns, such as dominant, recessive, co-dominance, incomplete dominance, and sex-linkage.
• Simple Inheritance Patterns and Pedigrees: explains autosomal dominance, recessiveness, inheritance, and sex-linked patterns and how to show on a pedigree diagram.
• Multiple Alleles and Polygenetic Inheritance: Explains how multiple alleles result in multiple phenotypes and how they affect variations. Looks at the concept of blood types and the immune system in relation to these variations.

Unit 2B: Inheritance Patterns

• Mendelian Genetics Terminology: Explains basic vocabulary and concepts
• Mendel’s Laws: Explains important concepts in heredity such as co-dominance, sex-linkage, and sex-linked traits in terms of how they are inherited. Includes concepts of monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, determining genotypes and phenotypes using punnett squares.
• Co-dominance, Incomplete Dominance, Sex Linkage: Details how these patterns of inheritance differ from simple dominant/recessive patterns.

Unit 3: Diversity of Living Things

• Taxonomy: Covers classification of living organisms to show how closely related species are, the methods for classification, and types of evidence.
• Binomial Nomenclature: Details the universal system for naming organisms, using scientific names for organisms and genus/species. Explores how to use these names.
• Dichotomous Keys: Explains how to use dichotomous keys for identifying organisms using branching methods.

Unit 4: Evolution

• Introduction to Evolution: Introduces microevolution and macroevolution as types of evolution and the changes in populations.
• Biological Evolution: Defines and provides the definition of the term
• Darwin and the Theory of Evolution: Examines Darwin's observations, influential figures, pre-Darwinian ideas about evolution, and the theory itself.
• Scientific Contributions to Theory of Evolution: Covers significant contributors to the theory and their observations, as well as major concepts like natural selection and uniformitarianism relating to ideas of the natural world.
• Evidence for Evolution: Presents the key pieces of evidence — biogeography, fossil records, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, and molecular biology — that support the theory of evolution.
• Evolutionary Adaptations: Types of Adaptations, including structural, physiological and behavioural adaptations and how they enhance fitness, survival and reproduction.
• Mechanisms Affecting Populations: Explains mechanisms leading to evolution and changes in allele frequencies in populations, like mutations and genetic drift. Expands on genetic drift including concepts for population sizes and the "bottleneck effect."
• Natural and Sexual Selection: Explains natural selection through Darwin's five points, with subtypes (directional, stabilizing, disruptive), and how it influences genetic variability overtime. Explains sexual selection, its role in mate choice and reproductive success.

Unit 5: Internal Systems: Structure and Function

• Introduction to Internal Body Systems: Defines organisms, tissues, organs and organ systems, and their relationship for maintaining homeostasis. Defines Anatomy and Physiology as specific study methods.
• Organ Systems: Examines how specific organ systems of an organism work together to maintain homeostasis and perform complex functions like the internal body systems relating to the digestive and respiratory.
• Human Digestive System: Examines the parts of the human digestive system and their respective functions and interactions for digestion. Includes the mechanical and chemical aspects of digestion and roles of enzymes.
• Human Respiratory System: Examines the structures and functions of the respiratory system for gas exchange, through breathing/ventilation, external and internal respiration and how cells use this energy.
• Human Circulatory System: Describes the heart and blood vessels, circulation patterns, and the role of blood in transporting nutrients, wastes, and gases. Covers the structure of the heart and types of blood vessels in relation to the circulatory system.

Explore the fascinating world of plants in this Grade 11 Biology quiz. This unit delves into the structure and functions of various plants, including adaptations to land, vascular and non-vascular types, and detailed functions of roots, stems, and leaves. Test your knowledge on plant growth, water transport, and the role of hormones in plant development.