Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus - Cambridge International Examinations

Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus
Practical learning outcomes
Candidates should be able to:
i) use a light microscope, stage micrometer scale and eyepiece graticule
ii) correctly measure, using a light microscope and specimens, the size of objects and calculate their
magnification
iii) produce drawings of an organism, a section through a small organism and a part of an organism as
seen under the light microscope
iv) produce correctly labelled and annotated drawings of cells from microscopic examination and from
electronmicrographs
v) recognise organelles in a variety of cells from across the four eukaryotic kingdoms
vi) investigate the movement of materials through cell membranes, for example by diffusion, osmosis and
active transport
vii) estimate the water potential of a plant tissue by investigating the change in length or mass of suitable
plant tissue
viii) estimate the solute potential of plant cells using percentage plasmolysis of suitable plant epidermal cells
ix) investigate the effect of temperature and different solvents on the permeability of membranes
x) investigate endocytosis and intracellular digestion in a protoctist, such as Paramecium or Vorticella, or
using yeast stained with neutral red
1.2 Prokaryotic cells
Content
Structure of prokaryotic cells
Pathogenic bacteria
Antibiotics
Reproduction
Learning outcomes
Candidates should be able to:
a) outline key structural features of prokaryotic cells (including: unicellular, 1-5 µm diameter, peptidoglycan
cell walls, lack of membrane-bound organelles, naked circular DNA, 70S ribosomes)
b) outline the structure and functions of bacterial ribosomes and cell walls and the significance of the
structure of bacterial cell walls for the use of antibiotics
c) explain the mode of transmission and infection of bacterial pathogens (including Agrobacterium
tumefaciens (Rhizobium radiobacter), Clostridium tetani, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Helicobacter
pylori)
d) explain the mode of action of penicillin on bacteria (as an example of an antibiotic) and explain why
penicillin does not affect viruses
e) outline the mechanism of asexual reproduction by binary fission in a typical prokaryote
Practical learning outcomes
Candidates should be able to:
i) investigate Gram staining of bacterial cell walls
ii) investigate the effect of penicillin or other antibiotics on bacterial growth (e.g. by use of Mast Rings)
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