Transportation in Animals and Plants

In humans, blood carries food, water, oxygen and wastes around the body. Blood has a fluid part, plasma, with red blood cells containing haemoglobin to carry oxygen, white blood cells that fight germs, and platelets that help clotting. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart and have thick, elastic walls, which give the pulse; veins carry carbon dioxide-rich blood back and have valves; thin capillaries connect the two. The heart has four chambers, two atria above and two ventricles below, and beats about 72 times a minute. William Harvey discovered the circulation of blood. Wastes are excreted by the kidneys, which filter blood to form urine; it passes through the ureters to the urinary bladder and out through the urethra. Fish excrete ammonia, birds uric acid and humans urea, and when kidneys fail, dialysis filters blood artificially. In plants, root hairs absorb water and minerals, which xylem carries up to the leaves, while phloem carries food. Transpiration, the loss of water through stomata, creates a suction pull that lifts water up tall trees.

Detailed Worksheet: Transportation in Animals and Plants Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is the circulatory system? Name its main parts. (2 marks) 2. Distinguish between arteries and veins on two points. (2 marks) 3. What is the pulse? What is the normal pulse rate of an adult at rest? (2 marks) 4. Define excretion. Name the main excretory organ in humans. (2 marks) 5. What is transpiration? State its importance. (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. State the function of (i) red blood cells (ii) white blood cells (iii) platelets (iv) plasma. Why is blood red? (3 marks) 7. Name the waste each animal excretes: (i) fish (ii) lizard or birds (iii) humans. Why do aquatic animals excrete ammonia directly into water? (3 marks) 8. Trace the path of urine from where it is formed to where it leaves the body. (3 marks) 9. Compare xylem and phloem: what they carry and the direction of movement. (3 marks) 10. Explain why (i) veins have valves (ii) arteries have thick walls (iii) sponges and Hydra do not need a circulatory system. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a labelled diagram of the human excretory system showing the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder and urethra. (4 marks) 12. Draw a schematic diagram of the circulation of blood showing the heart, lungs and the rest of the body, with arrows for oxygen-rich and carbon dioxide-rich blood. (3 marks) 13. Draw the set-up of an experiment to show the movement of water in a plant using a balsam plant or stem in coloured water. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. A doctor uses a stethoscope to listen to a patient's heart. (i) What does a stethoscope amplify? (ii) What causes the heartbeat sound? (iii) How are heartbeat and pulse rate related? (iv) Why does pulse rate increase after exercise? (5 marks) 15. A patient's kidneys stopped working. (i) What wastes will build up in his blood? (ii) What is dialysis? (iii) Why can it save his life? (iv) Suggest two habits to keep kidneys healthy. (5 marks) 16. A plant kept in sunlight with a polythene bag tied over its leaves showed water droplets inside the bag after a few hours. (i) Where did the water come from? (ii) Name the process. (iii) How does it help in the upward movement of water? (iv) How does it cool the plant? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Use arrows to show the direction of blood flow and water movement in diagrams.