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EnglandBiology

Component 3: Requirements for Life

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are gas exchange surfaces adapted in mammals, fish, insects and plants?

Adaptations for gas exchange: the features of an efficient exchange surface; surface-area-to-volume ratio; gas exchange in mammals, fish (counter-current flow), insects and plants; and ventilation.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 3 statement on gas exchange. Covers the features of an efficient exchange surface, surface-area-to-volume ratio, gas exchange in mammals, fish (counter-current flow), insects and plants, and ventilation.
12 min answer →

How do organisms obtain and digest their food, and how is the gut adapted for absorption?

Adaptations for nutrition: autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition; the human digestive system; the digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids; and adaptations of the small intestine for absorption.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 3 statement on nutrition. Covers autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition, the human digestive system, the enzymes that digest carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, and the adaptations of the small intestine for absorption.
12 min answer →

How do mammals and plants transport substances around their bodies?

Adaptations for transport: the mammalian heart and the cardiac cycle; blood vessels and tissue fluid; haemoglobin and the oxygen dissociation curve; and transport in plants (xylem and phloem).
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 3 statement on transport. Covers the mammalian heart and the cardiac cycle, blood vessels and tissue fluid, haemoglobin and the oxygen dissociation curve including the Bohr effect, and transport in plants by xylem and phloem.
14 min answer →

How does the kidney filter the blood, conserve water and keep the internal environment constant?

Homeostasis and the kidney: the principle of negative feedback; the structure of the nephron; ultrafiltration and selective reabsorption; the role of the loop of Henle; and osmoregulation by ADH.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 3 statement on the kidney. Covers negative feedback, the structure of the nephron, ultrafiltration and selective reabsorption, the loop of Henle, and osmoregulation by ADH.
13 min answer →

How does a neurone carry an electrical impulse, and how is it passed across a synapse?

The nervous system: the structure of neurones; the resting and action potentials; the propagation of the nerve impulse; saltatory conduction; synaptic transmission; and the reflex arc.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 3 statement on the nervous system. Covers neurone structure, the resting and action potentials, propagation of the impulse, saltatory conduction, synaptic transmission, and the reflex arc.
14 min answer →