Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus - Cambridge International Examinations

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24 2. THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE Cambridge Pre-U Draft This section deals with the fundamental questions that help us define life – what materials and conditions are required for life to exist, when did it all get started, how are organisms changing and what drives this change? These questions may be put to candidates to stimulate discussion and prompt and direct their own researches while covering Section 2. • How and why did life get started? • Why are some people so sure about the ‘historical fact of evolution’ and why are other people not so sure? • Why is water essential for life? • Where would life be without proteins? • How independent are mitochondria and chloroplasts? • What are the mechanisms that drive evolutionary change? • What is the evidence that evolution explains life in all its richness? • Why have some organisms become multicellular? • What exactly defines a species? • Why is Charles Darwin a controversial figure for some? • What are the benefits of the classification of organisms? 2.1 The origins of life Content Origin of complex organic molecules Origin of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells Advantages of multicellularity Learning outcomes Candidates should be able to: a) outline the Miller-Urey experiment that showed that complex organic molecules (including amino acids) can form from simple inorganic molecules when subjected to the conditions once thought to have prevailed on Earth 4 billion years ago when life is thought to have originated b) describe the evidence for a single origin of life in terms of conservation of key biochemical mechanisms including the genetic code and the ubiquitin/ proteasome mechanism c) describe and explain how eukaryotes are thought to have originated about 2.7 billion years ago by endosymbiosis and the evidence that supports the theory of endosymbiosis d) discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being multicellular (limited to division of labour and specialisation, greater control of the internal environment, as against, increased complexity and coordination issues, vulnerability to trauma) Practical learning outcomes Candidates should be able to: i) use a microscope or photomicrographs to compare small multicellular eukaryotes (e.g. Volvox, rotifers, tardigrades) with unicellular eukaryotes (e.g. Amoeba, Euglena, ciliates)
Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus 2.2 The chemicals of life Content Water Lipids Carbohydrates Proteins Nucleic acids Learning outcomes Candidates should be able to: a) describe the chemical and physical properties of water and explain the biological significance of these properties b) describe the structures and properties of triglycerides and phospholipids and explain how these are related to their roles in living organisms c) describe the formation and breakage of ester bonds such as those found in triglycerides d) distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids e) describe the structures and properties of monosaccharides (α- & β-glucose and ribose); disaccharides (maltose and sucrose) and polysaccharides (amylose, amylopectin, cellulose and glycogen) and explain how these are related to their roles in living organisms f) describe the formation and breakage of glycosidic bonds g) describe the structures and properties of amino acids; globular proteins (including enzymes and haemoglobin) and fibrous proteins (including keratin and collagen) and explain how these are related to their roles in living organisms h) describe the formation and breakage of peptide bonds i) distinguish between the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins j) explain the significance of primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure as well as hydrogen, ionic, peptide and disulfide bonding and hydrophobic interactions in giving the shape of 3D globular proteins (tertiary and quaternary structures) k) describe the structure of nucleotides to include ATP l) describe the condensation of nucleotides to form nucleic acids m) describe the structure of DNA and RNA (limited to mRNA and tRNA) n) discuss the scientific method with reference to the contributions of Crick, Watson, Wilkins and Franklin in formulating and testing hypotheses in identification of DNA structure Practical learning outcomes Candidates should be able to: i) investigate some of the key physical and chemical properties of water ii) perform biochemical tests to identify types of molecules (including reducing and non-reducing sugars, starch, lipids and proteins) present in a variety of biological materials iii) investigate the energy content of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins, using simple calorimetry 25
Page 1: Cambridge Pre-U Syllabus - DRAFT Su
Page 4 and 5: 2 © University of Cambridge Intern
Page 6 and 7: 4 Introduction Cambridge Pre-U Draf
Page 8 and 9: 6 Aims The course aims to: Cambridg
Page 10 and 11: 8 Assessment objectives Cambridge P
Page 12 and 13: 10 Description of Papers Cambridge
Page 14 and 15: 12 Curriculum Content The syllabus
Page 16 and 17: 14 Cambridge Pre-U Draft In the con
Page 18 and 19: 16 1.1 Eukaryotic cell structure Co
Page 20 and 21: 18 1.3 Cell replication Content DNA
Page 22 and 23: 20 1.5 Respiration Content ATP Chem
Page 24 and 25: 22 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Practical
Page 28 and 29: 26 2.3 The evolution of life Conten
Page 30 and 31: 28 3. ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY Section 3 (
Page 32 and 33: 30 3.3 Nerves, muscles and behaviou
Page 34 and 35: 32 3.5 The immune system Content St
Page 36 and 37: 34 4. THE LIFE OF PLANTS Cambridge
Page 38 and 39: 36 4.3 Reproduction Content Pollina
Page 40 and 41: 38 5. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES Cambrid
Page 42 and 43: 40 5.2 Measuring and conserving bio
Page 44 and 45: 42 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Section A
Page 46 and 47: 44 Assessment of skills in Componen
Page 48 and 49: 46 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Candidates
Page 50 and 51: 48 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Sub-skill
Page 56 and 57: 54 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Skill Area
Page 58 and 59: 56 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Laboratory
Page 60 and 61: 58 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Reagents,
Page 62 and 63: 60 Appendix 2: Textbooks and IT res
Page 64 and 65: 62 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Biology Pr
Page 66 and 67: 64 Notes on the use of statistics i
Page 68 and 69: 66 Cambridge Pre-U Draft Glossary o
Page 70 and 71: 68 Appendix 4: Performance Descript
Page 72 and 73: 70 Appendix 5: Additional informati
Page 74 and 75: 72 Cambridge Pre-U Draft

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