Biology Waec Syllabus

Concept of Living

Classification

• Living and non-living things
• Classification of living things into Kingdoms
• Differences between plants and animals

Organization of life

• Levels of organization
  • cell (single-celled organisms): Amoeba, Euglena, Paramecium
  • Tissue: Hydra
  • Organ (storage organ) bulb, rhizome and heart.
  • System/Organ System: In mammals, flowering plants – reproductive system, excretory system, etc.
• Complexity of organization in higher organisms: advantages and disadvantages

Forms in which living cells exist

• Single and free-living: Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena, and Chlamydomonas
• Colony: Volvox
• Filament: Spirogyra
• Part of a living organism: cheek cells, onion root tip cells, and epidermis of fleshy leaves

Cell

• Cell structure and functions of cell components
• Similarities and differences between plant and animal cells

The Cell and its environment

• Physical and biophysical processes
• diffusion
• osmosis
• active transport

Properties and functions of the living cell

• Nutrition
  • Autotrophic (photosynthesis)
  • Heterotrophic (holozoic)
• Cellular respiration
  • Aerobic respiration
  • anaerobic respiration
  • energy release
• Excretion
  • Excretion in single-celled aquatic organisms. Diffusion by body surface and by the contractile vacuole
  • Waste products of metabolism
• Growth
  • Basis of growth: cell division (mitosis), enlargement, and differentiation.
  • Aspects of growth: increase in dry weight, irreversible increase in size and length, and increase in the number of cells.
  • Regions of the fastest growth in plants
  • Influence of growth hormones and auxins
  • Growth curvatures (Tropisms)
• Development: Enlargement and differentiation
• Movement
  • Organelles for movement: cilia and flagella
  • Cyclosis
• Reproduction:
  • Types of reproduction.
  • Asexual: fission, budding and vegetative propagation
  • Sexual: Conjugation, formation of male and female gametes (gametogenesis), fusion of gametes fertilization)

Tissues and supporting systems

• Skeletons and supporting systems in animals
  • Biological significance
  • Skeletal materials, e.g. bone, cartilage and chitin.
  • Types of skeleton: exoskeleton, endoskeleton and hydrostatic skeleton
  • Bones of the vertebral column, girdles and long bones of the appendicular skeleton
  • Mechanisms of support in animals
  • Functions of skeleton in animals: Protection, support, locomotion and respiratory movement
• Different types of supporting tissues in plants
  • Main features of supporting tissues in plants
  • Functions of supporting tissues in plants: strength, rigidity (resistance against the forces of the wind and water), flexibility and resilience.

Transport System

• Need for transport
  • surface area/volume ratio.
  • substances have to move greater distances
• Transport in animals
  • Structure of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries
  • Composition and function of blood and lymph
  • Materials for transport: excretory products, gases, digested food, and other nutrients
• Transport in plants
  • Uptake and movement of water and mineral salts in plants
  • Translocation
  • Transpiration
  • Movement of water to the apex of trees and herbs

Respiratory System

• Body surface: cutaneous, gills and lungs.
• Mechanisms of gaseous exchange in fish, toads, mammals and plants

Excretory Systems and Mechanisms

• Types of excretory systems: Kidney, stomata and lenticels

Regulation of Internal Environment (Homeostasis)

• Kidney: Structure and functions
• Liver
  • Functions of the liver
• The skin
  • Structure and function

Hormonal Coordination

• Animal hormones
  • Site of secretion, functions and effects of over and under-secretion
• Plant hormones

Nervous Coordination

• The central nervous system
  • Components of the central nervous system
  • Parts of the brain and their functions; cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, hypothalamus and their functions
  • Structure and function of the Spinal Cord
• Peripheral Nervous System
  • Somatic Nervous System
  • Autonomic nervous system
  • Structure and functions of the neurone
  • Classification of neurones
• Types of nervous actions
  • The reflex arc
  • Reflex and voluntary actions
  • Differences between reflex and voluntary actions
  • Conditioned reflex and its role in behavior

Sense Organs

Structure and function of the:

• Eye
• Ear

Reproductive System

• Reproductive systems of mammals
  • Structure and function of male and female reproductive systems
  • Differences between male and female reproductive organs
  • Structure of the gametes (sperm and ovum)
  • Fertilization, development of the embryo and birth
  • Birth control
• Metamorphosis in insects: life histories of butterfly and cockroach
• Comparison of reproduction in fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals
• Reproduction in flowering plants
  • Arrangements of floral parts of a named insect-pollinated flower and a named wind-pollinated flower
  • Structure and function of the male and female parts of a flower
• Pollination in Plants
  • Types of pollination
  • Features of cross-pollinated and self-pollinated flowers
  • Agents of Pollination
• Kinds of placentation: axile, marginal and parietal
• Process of development of zygote in flowering plants: Fertilization
  • Types of fruits (classification)
  • Structure of fruits
• Dispersal of fruits and seeds: Agents of dispersal

Plant and Animal Nutrition

Plant Nutrition

• Photosynthesis
  • Process of photosynthesis and its chemical equation
  • Light and dark reactions
  • Materials and conditions necessary for photosynthesis
  • Evidence of photosynthesis
• Mineral requirement of plants
  • Mineral nutrition: Macro and micro-nutrients
  • Soil and atmosphere as sources of mineral elements.

Animal Nutrition

• Food substances; classes and sources
• Balanced diet and its importance
• Food tests
• Digestive enzymes: Classes, characteristics and functions
• Modes of Nutrition
  • Autotrophic: Photosynthesis
  • Heterotrophic: holozoic, parasitic, symbiotic and saprophytic
• Alimentary System
  • Alimentary tract of different animals.
• Dental Formula
• Feeding in protozoa and mammals

Basic Ecological Concepts

Ecosystem

• Components of the ecosystem and sizes
  • Ecological components: environment, biosphere, habitat, population, biotic community and ecosystem
• Components of the ecosystem
  • Biotic and abiotic

Ecological factors

• Ecological factors in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

Simple Measurement of Ecological Factors

• Physical factors: Climatic, topographic and gaseous
• Edaphic factors: Chemical and physical composition, moisture content and soil texture

Food webs and trophic levels

• Autotrophs and Heterotrophs
  • Producers: autotrophs
  • Consumers: heterotrophs
  • Decomposers
• Trophic levels of energy relationships
  • Food chain
  • Food web
• Energy flow
  • Food/Energy relationship in aquatic and terrestrial environments
  • Pyramid of energy and Pyramid of numbers
• Decomposition in nature
  • Decomposers: (micro and macro-decomposers)
  • Gaseous products
  • Role of decomposers

Ecological Management

• Biological Associations
  • Type of associations: Parasitism, symbiosis, commensalism and saprophytism
• Adaptation of organisms to habitats
• Pollution of the atmosphere
  • Nature, names, sources and effects of air pollutants
  • Effect of noise
• Water and Soil Pollution
  • Type and effects of pollutants

Ecology of population

• Ecological succession
  • Structural changes in species composition, variety or diversity and increase in numbers
  • General characteristics and outcomes of succession
• Primary succession
• Succession in terrestrial and aquatic habitats
• Secondary succession, climax of the succession: characteristic of a stable ecosystem
• Factors that affect population size: natality, mortality, emigration, immigration, food shortage, predation, competition and diseases
• Preservation and storage of foods
• The life of selected insects
  • Weevils and cotton strainers
  • Control of pests

Microorganisms: Man and health

• Carriers of microorganisms
• Microorganisms in action
  • Beneficial effects in nature, medicine and industries
  • Harmful effects of microorganisms, diseases caused by microorganisms: cholera, measles, malaria and ringworm.
• Towards better Health
  • Methods of controlling harmful microorganisms: high temperature, antibiotics, antiseptics, high salinity and dehydration
  • Ways of controlling the vectors
• Public Health
  • Refuse and sewage disposal
  • Immunization, vaccination and inoculation (control of diseases)

Conservation of Natural Resources

Resources to be conserved: soil, water, wildlife, forest and minerals

Ways of ensuring conservation

Variation in Population

Morphological variations in the physical appearance of individuals

• size, height and weight
• colour (skin, eye, hair coat of animals)
• fingerprints

Physiological Variations

• Ability to roll tongue
• Ability to taste
• phenylthiocarbamide (PTC)
• Blood groups (ABO) classification

Biology of Heredity (Genetics)

Genetic Terminologies

Transmission and expression of characteristics in organisms

• Hereditary variation
• Mendel’s work in genetics
  • Mendel’s experiments
  • Mendelian traits
  • Mendelian laws

Chromosomes: The basis of heredity

• Structure
• Process of transmission of hereditary characters from parents to offspring

Probability in genetics (Hybrid formation)

Linkage, sex determination and sex-linked characters

Application of the principles of heredity in

• Agriculture
• Medicine

Adaptation for survival and Evolution

Behavioural Adaptations in Social Animals

• Termites
• Bees

Evolution

• Evidence of evolution
• Theories of evolution

SECTION B

Introducing Biology

• Biology as a science of life
• Procedure for biological work
• Importance of Biology
• Body symmetry, sectioning and orientation
• The microscope
• Biological drawings

Cell Biology

• Movement of substances into and out of cells: Endocytosis and Exocytosis
• Nucleic acids
• DNA structure and replication, RNA transcription
• Protein synthesis
• Cell cycle

Life Processes in Living Things

• Amoeba, Paramecium, and Euglena
• Spirogyra and Rhizopus
• Mosses and ferns

Diversity of Living Things

• Characteristics of some of the orders of Class Insecta
• Identification of organisms using biological keys

Interactions in Nature Soil

Mammalian Anatomy and Physiology

• Dissection of a small mammal
• Transport: Structure of the mammalian heart
• Cellular respiration
• Movement
  • Muscles
  • Skeletal tissues
• Reproduction
  • Secondary sexual characteristics
  • Prenatal/Antenatal care

Plant Structure and Physiology

• Morphology of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants.
• Transport: Guttation
• Reproduction: Floral formula

Humans and their Environment

• Integrated water resources management
• Health and hygiene
  • Drug abuse
  • Community Health
  • First Aid

Evolution

• Recombinant DNA Technology

Biology and Industry

• Biology and water industry
  • Contamination of water
  • Identification of polluted water
  • Wastewater treatment
• Biology and fishing industry
  • Fish stock management
  • Fish farming
• Biology and food industry
  • Food additives
• Biology and Agriculture
• Biotechnology
• Biological fuel generation

SECTION C

Concept of Living

• Cell theory
• Irritability as a basic characteristic of protoplasm
  • Types of responses: taxis and nastism
  • Environmental factors that evoke responses; temperature, pH etc
• Excretory Systems
  • Diseases of the kidney: Nephritis, kidney stone and diuresis, Their effects and remedies.
  • Diseases of the liver: infective hepatitis, cancer of the liver and gallstones. Their effects and remedies

Sense organs

• Nose
• Tongue
• The skin

Reproduction

• Courtship behaviour in animals
  • Pairing
  • Display e.g. peacocks
  • Territoriality
  • Seasonal migration associated with breeding in herrings, eels and birds.
• Metamorphosis and life history of houseflies.
• Adaptive features in a developing animal
  • Yolk in eggs of fish, toads and birds for nourishment
  • Placenta in animals
• Germination of seeds
  • Essential factors which affect developing embryos.
  • Types of germination

Plant and Animal Nutrition

Nitrogen cycle

Modes of nutrition:

• autotrophic, chemosynthetic, and carnivorous plants

Alimentary System

• Alimentary tracts of different animals
• Description and function of various parts.

Feeding habits

• Categories: Carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous
• Modifications and mechanisms associated with the following habits; filter feeding, fluid feeding, feeding adaptation in insects, saprophytic feeding, parasitic feeding etc.

Basic Ecological Concepts

Ecological Components:

• Lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, niche

Population Studies by Sampling

• Population size
• Dominance
• Density

Energy transformation in nature

• Energy loss in the ecosystem
• Solar radiation: its intake and loss at the earth’s surface
• Energy loss in the biosphere

Nutrient Cycling in Nature

• Carbon Cycle
  • Process of the carbon cycle
  • Importance of carbon in nature
• Water Cycle
  • Importance of water cycle
  • Importance of water to living organisms

Ecological Management

• Tolerance, Minimum and maximum range

Habitats

• Aquatic habitat: marine, estuarine fresh water under the following headings
  • Characteristics of habitat
  • distribution of plants and animals in the habitat
  • adaptive features of plants and animals in the habitat
• Terrestrial habitat: marsh, forest, grassland, arid land should be studied under the following headings
  • Characteristics of habitat
  • distribution of plants and animals in habitat
• Balance in Nature
  • Dynamic equilibrium population and population density

Relevance of Biology to Agriculture

• Classification of plants based on life cycle
• Effects of agricultural practices on ecology
  • Bush burning
  • Tillage
  • Fertilizer
  • Herbicide/pesticide
  • Different farming methods

Microorganisms: Man and His Health

• Microorganisms around us
  • Microorganisms in air and water
  • Groups of microorganisms: bacteria, viruses, some algae, protozoa and some fungi
• Microorganisms in our bodies and food
• Public Health
  • Food hygiene and health organization.

Application of Variations

Crime detection

Blood transfusion

Determination of paternity

Evolution

Adaptation for survival

• Factors that bring about competition
• Intra and Inter-species competition
• Relationship between competition and succession

Structural Adaptation for

• obtaining food protection and defense
• securing mates for reproduction,
• regulating body temperature
• conserving water

Adaptive Colouration Plants and animals Colouration and their functions