Core practical measuring the tensile strength of plant fbres

o Tensile strength maximum load the fbre can take before it breaks.
1. Plant material - stinging nettles- should be left to soak in a bucket for a
week to make fbre extraction easier (retting. !r" celer# can be used
and should be left in beaker of coloured water for fbres to be seen
easil# and pulled out.
$. !nce fbres remo%ed" measure lengths of fbres used (must all be the
same length and then connect between two clamp stands
&. 'raduall# add mass in the middle until the fbre breaks" and record the
mass.
(. Repeat the experiment with di)erent samples of the same fbre to
increase reliabilit#.
*. +ust make sure other %ariables are constant temperature" si,e of
each indi%idual mass used.
-afet# precautions. wear goggles to protect e#es and make sure the
area where weights will fall is clear.
/mportance of water and inorganic ions to plants
o 0ater is needed for photosynthesis" to maintain structural rigidity,
transport minerals and regulate temperature.
o Magnesium ions 1eeded for the production of chloroph#ll. 2efcienc#
results in yellow areas de%eloping and growth slows down
o Nitrate ions 1eeded for production of 213" proteins and chloroph#ll.
2efcienc# results in stunted growth" poor seed and fruit production and
leaves appear light green/yellow.
o Calcium ions Important components of plant cell wall" and re4uired
for plant growth. 2efcienc# results in leaves turning yellow and crinkly"
and poor fruit de%elopment.
Core practical. /n%estigating plant mineral defciencies
5sing +exican hat plantlets making sure the# are the same height.
1. 6 test tubes 6 di)erent nutrient solutions. $ used as a control. all nutrients
present and lacking all nutrients
$. Co%er test tubes with black paper this pre%ents algae growing in test tubes
which will take up the nutrients.
&. Put the nutrient solutions into the test tubes and label each one. -olutions
should be flled to the top so that the roots will be completel# submerged.
7abel each one.
(. Co%er test tubes with foil so that solutions don8t e%aporate and to keep the
plant stable
*. Pierce hole in the top of each one" and gentl# push the +exican hat plantlets
through the holes so that it is in the solution below.
9. Put in test tube racks and on a windowsill so that lea%es are exposed to
sunlight and to maximise photos#nthesis.
:. Check and obser%e after one week to see e)ect of the nutrient defciencies.
2rug testing and drugs from plants
0illiam 0ithering and his digitalis soup.
o ;e was a scientist in the 1:<<s
o 2isco%ered that an extract of foxglove plants could be used to treat drops#
(swelling brought about b# heart failure. The extract contained the drug
2igitalis
o 0ithering made a chance obser%ation" ga%e digitalis to patients and the#
were cured" but some died due to the poisonous nature of foxglo%es.
o 3s a result of this" he tested di)erent %ersions of the remed# with di)erent
concentrations of digitalis
o =ound that dried" powdered form was the most e)ecti%e.
o Through trial and error he disco%ered the right amount to gi%e to the patient.
+odern drug testing protocols are more rigorous and controlled.
+ust pass each stage of testing to go onto the next.
1. Computers are used to model the potential e)ects of a substance
$. Tested on human tissues in a lab
&. Tested on animals this sees the a)ects it has on an entire organism.
Testes on rats and mice and then rodents and non-rodents to compare to
other animals.
(. C7/1/C37 T>/37- three phases
Phase 1. 2rug tested on small group of healthy volunteers to fnd out
whether its a safe dosage and to see how the bod# reacts to the drug.
Phase $. 2rug tested on a larger group of patients with the disease
to see how well the drug actuall# works
Phase &. The drug is compared to existing treatments hundreds or
thousands of patients. The# are randoml# split into two groups" one
recei%es new treatment" and other group recei%es existing treatment. This
aims to see if the new drug is better than existing drugs.
2uring phase " the patients are split into $ groups" and one is assigned a place!o
" this allows scientists to see if the drug actuall# works compared to a placebo.
#hase and $ " dou!le !lind study design the doctors and patients don8t
know who has been gi%en the placebo or the drug" or in phase three the existing or
new treatments. This reduces !ias.
Core practical - in%estigating antimicrobial properties of plants
?4uipment. agar plate seeded with bacteria" plant material. e.g. garlic and mint"
pestle and mortar" 1<cm@& industrial denatured alcohol" sterile pipette" paper
discs" sterile Petri dish" sterile forceps" ha,ard tape" marker pen
1. +ake plant extracts b# crushing &g of plant material with 1<cm@& alcohol
and shake occasionall# for 1<mins (must shake for long time to ensure there
is enough acti%e ingredient
$. Pipette <.1cm@& of the separate extracts onto sterile paper discs" and place
on the sterile Petri dish and allow it to dr#. Two paper discs are controls. 0ith
water and with nothing.
&. 7abel the agar plates with the di)erent plant extracts and split into (
sections" 1 for each t#pe of extract.
(. Place the discs into each 4uadrant of the agar plate and close and tape with
ha,ard tape.
*. 7ea%e to incubate and obser%e ,one of inhibitions.
!utcome. control discs completel# co%ered with bacteria" and some plant extracts
will ha%e larger inhibition ,ones than others which show the# are more e)ecti%e at
lower concentration.
+ust make sure surfaces" and all e4uipment used is -T?>/7?" otherwise unwanted
microbes will grow on the agar plates.
3daptation and e%olution.
Niche the role of an organism or species within its habitat" its way of life.
/ncludes its interactions with other living and non%living environment.
o ?%er# species has its own uni4ue niche" and a niche can onl# be occupied b#
one species.
o /f two species tr# to occup# same niche the# will compete and then onl#
one species will be left.
&daptations to niche'
3daptations. features that increase an organisms chance of survival and
reproduction
1. &natomical. structural features of an organisms bod#A bod# characteristics
e.g.. whales and seals ha%e blubber which protects them and has man#
functions.
$. #hysiological' processes inside an organisms bod# that increases its
chance of sur%i%al
e.g.. the mammalian di%ing reBex allows di%ing mammals to sta# under
water for longer because their heart rate drops and the blood pumps less
ox#gen.
&. (ehavioural' wa#s an organism acts
e.g.. penguins huddle together to sta# warm" and birds of paradise ha%e a
special dance when the# want to mate.
3daptations become more common b# e%olution.
1atural selection. one of the processes b# which e%olution occurs. /t explains wh#
li%ing organisms change o%er time to ha%e the anatom#" functions and beha%iour
that the# ha%e
1. /ndi%iduals within a population show variation in their phenotypes and
genotypes.
$. #redation, disease" and competition create a struggle for survival
&. /ndi%iduals that are !etter adapted ha%e characteristics which are
fa%ourable and gi%e them an ad%antage and are more likel# to survive"
reproduce and pass on their advantageous adaptations to o)spring.
(. !%er time" the num!er of indi%iduals with the ad%antageous adaptations
increases
*. !%er generations" this leads to evolution as the fa%ourable adaptations
become more common in the population.
Ciodi%ersit# and ?ndemism
Ciodi%ersit#. the %ariet# of organisms in an area. This includes.
o *pecies diversity. number of di)erent species and a!undance of each
species in an area
o +enetic diversity. Dariation of alleles within a species or population of
species.
Conser%ation needed to help maintain biodi%ersit#
?ndemism species uni4ue to a single place. Conser%ation of endemic species is
%er# important as the# are the most %ulnerable to extinction.
+easuring -pecies di%ersit#.
1. Count number of di)erent species in an area species richness. The higher
the number of di)erent species" the greater the species richness. ;owe%er"
this gi%es no indication of the abundance of each indi%idual species.
$. Count the number of di)erent species 312 the number of indi%iduals in each
species. Then use a !iodiversity index e.g. -impson8s /ndex of 2i%ersit# to
calculate the species di%ersit#. This wa# takes into account abundance of
each species.
*amples can be taken to make estimates on whole habitat based on the sample.
1. Choose a random area within habitat to sample random reduces bias in
results.
$. -ampling techni4ues.
o Plants use a 4uadrat (a frame placed on ground
o =l#ing insects sweepnet
o 'round insects pitfall trap
o 34uatic animals net
o Then count the number of species in the sample that #ou8%e got.
&. >epeat" and take as man# samples as possible" as it will gi%e a better
indication of the whole habitat.
(. 5se results to estimate total number of indi%iduals or total number of
di)erent species (species richness
*. 0hen sampling di)erent habitats and comparing" the same sampling
techni4ue should be used.