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Words Definition
Sensory organs Organs that detect stimuli
Stimuli Changes that occur in the surroundings
Singular: Stimulus
Sense The ability of an organism to detect a stimulus
Response The reaction of an organism towards a stimulus
Receptors Special structures in our sensory organs that are very sensitive to stimuli with
nerves attached to them.
Nerve Impulses Electrical messages produced by receptors
Brain Interprets nerve impulses and decides how to body should respond by sending
out nerve impulses which carry the information to the related effectors
Effectors Parts of a body that carry out responses
Skin The sensory organ that gives us the sense of touch
Epidermis The outer layer of the skin which is made up of dead cells. It has a tough
waterproof surface which acts as a protective layer against bacteria.
Dermis The inner layer of the skin which consists of living cells, blood vessels, sweat
glands and nerves.
Nose Sensory organ for smell
Smell Chemicals present in the air
Tongue The sensory organ for taste which is sensitive to chemicals in food that gives
taste to food.
Taste receptors Found in taste buds on the surface of the tongue
Ears The sensory organs for sight, which are sensitive to light.
Reflection of light Occurs when light bounces off the surface of on object.
Regular reflection Light that is reflected in a regular pattern
Irregular/ diffused
pattern
Reflected rays which are scattered in all directions.
Enables us to see an object from any angle.
Plane mirrors Used at home and as rear-view mirror in vehicles
Convex mirrors Produce a wider scope of view
Concave mirrors Produce magnified images
Periscopes Made up of two plane mirrors to reflect and change the direction of light
Kaleidoscopes A tube made up of mirrors with small pieces of coloured objects.
Transparent media Allow light to pass through
Refraction of light The bending of light when it passes from one transparent medium to another of
a different density.
Normal An imaginary line that is perpendicular to the surface of the medium.
Normal vision The images produced on the retina are blurred.
Defective vision Images formed on the retina are blurred
Short-sightedness
(myopia)
Sees near objects clearly but distant objects are blurred.
Eye lens are too thick or eyeballs are too long.
Corrected by concave lenses to diverge light.
Long-sightedness
(hypermetropia)
Sees distant objects clearly but near objects are blurred.
Eye lenses are too thin or eyeballs are too short.
Light from near object is focused behind the retina.
Corrected by convex lenses to converge light.

Astigmatism Caused by irregular surface of the cornea or lens, or both.
Cannot see near or distant objects clearly
Corrected with glasses with cylindrical lenses or by wearing special lens, or
surgery.
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Colour-blindness Cannot see some or all colours. Most of them cannot distinguish between red
and green colours. Most sufferers are men. They are due to reduced number of
cone cells on the retina/defects in them.
Inherited from the mother who is a carrier for the defect and it cannot be
corrected.
Presbyopia As we grow older, our eye lenses become less elastic. The ciliary body also loses
its ability to contract and relax. As a result, images for near and distant objects
are blurred. Glasses with bifocal lenses can correct this defect.
Optical illusion Occur when what we see is different from the actual situation. The brain cannot
interpret the correct image that is reflected on the retina.
Stereoscopic vision When both eyes are used to view an object
Judge position, size and distance
Field of stereoscopic
vision
The area where the visual fields of both eyes overlap
Monocular vision When one eye is used to view an object
Sound A form of energy which is produced by vibrations
Echoes Reflected sounds
Deafness Refers to partial or total hearing loss
Hearing aid Amplifies sounds.
Consists of a microphone, an amplifier and an earphone

Stereophonic
hearing
Hearing with two ears
Tropisms Directional growth responses of plants to external stimuli
Positive tropism When part of a plant grows towards the stimulus
Negative tropism When part of a plant grows away from the stimulus.
Phototropism The growth movement in plants in response to light
Geotropism The growth movement of plants in response to gravity.
Hydrotropism The growth movement of plants in response to water
Thigmotropism The growth movement of plants in response to touch or contact.
Nastic movements Non-directional movements of plant parts in response to external stimuli.
Seismonastic A nastic movement in response to touch.
Food A collection of chemicals taken into an organism for the following purposes:
To provide energy for cellular activities,
To provide raw materials for growth and repair of worn-out tissues.
Nutrition The process of making or obtaining food.
Carbohydrates Food substances consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in their molecules.

Proteins Food substances that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Sulphur
and phosphorus are present too.
Kwashiorkor Insufficient protein in a childs diet
Fats Consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Fats contain less oxygen in proportion
to hydrogen.
Vitamins Organic compounds that are required in very small amounts for maintaining good
health.
Minerals Inorganic chemical elements that are needed in small amounts.
Dietary fibre
(Roughage)
Consists mainly of cellulose that is indigestible because we do not have enzymes
to digest it.
Food tests Are carried out to find out substances contained in food.
Benedicts test A brick-red precipitate indicates presence of glucose.
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Iodine test A blue-black colour indicates the presence of starch.
Millons test A red coagulation indicates the presence of proteins
Emulsion test A milky solution indicates the presence of fats.
Diet Refers to the food we eat
Balanced diet A diet that contains all the seven classes of food in the right amounts.
Calorific/ Energy
value
To indicate the energy content of food
Calorimeter To measure the energy value of food
Digestion The process of breaking down large food molecules into smaller soluble
molecules that can be readily absorbed by the body.
Physical digestion The mechanical breakdown of food by the chewing action of the teeth and the
churning action of the stomach.
Chemical digestion Involves the use of enzymes to break down food substances.
Enzymes Protein substances which act as a catalyst and generally speed up the chemical
reactions in our body.
Digestive enzymes Enzymes that break down food substances in the gut
Carbohydrases Catalyses the breakdown of carbohydrates
E.g. Salivary amylase : Starch-maltose
Pancreatic amylase : Starch-maltose
Maltase : Maltose-glucose
Proteases Catalyses the breakdown of proteins
E.g. Proteases : Proteins-polypeptides/peptones-amino acids
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid Secreted by gastric juice in the gastric glands which:
- Kills microorganisms
- Provides acidic medium for action of proteases
- Stops action of salivary amylase
- Converts inactive forms of proteases to active forms
Lipases Catalyses the breakdown fats and oils
E.g. Lipase ; Fats-fatty acids and glycerol
Bolus Food which is shaped into a round lump by our tongue
Peristalsis A wave-like action which is caused by the contraction and relaxation of muscles
in the oesophagus.
Gastric juices Contain proteases and hydrochloric acid
Chyme Food which is converted into a semi-fluid liquid
Bile A brownish-green liquid, which is produced by the liver, which contains bile salts
and bile pigments, which is stored in the gall bladder and released into the
duodenum through a tube called the bile duct.
Absorption The movement of digested food through the walls of the small intestine into the
blood capillaries.
Villi Increase the surface in contact with digested food.
(Singular: Villus)
Defecation The voiding of faeces through the anus caused by peristaltic contraction of the
rectum, aided by contraction of the abdominal muscles.
Constipation Faeces which become very hard and dry.
Biological diversity/
biodiversity
Refers to the wide variety of organisms on Earth.
Classification of
organisms
The sorting of organisms into groups
Kingdoms The present classification system divides organisms into five major groups called
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kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and very simple organisms.
Vertebrates Animals with backbones
Invertebrates Animals without backbones
Classes Vertebrates are classified into five smaller groups called classes, which are fish,
amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Cold-blooded Body temperature changes according to the surrounding temperature.
External fertilisation Eggs are fertilised outside the females body
Internal fertilisation Eggs are fertilised in the females body
Warm-blooded Body temperature remains constant.
Flowering plants Plants that produce flowers
Non-flowering
plants
Plants that do not produce flowers
Monocotyledons Flowering plants with one cotyledon in their seeds.
Have fibrous roots and parallel veins.
Most are herbaceous plants
Dicotyledons Flowering plants with two cotyledons in their seeds.
Have a tap root and network-like veins.
Many have woody stems.
Herbaceous plants Plants with non-woody stems
Fibrous roots Almost the same in length and branch in all directions
Tap root A main root that grows directly downwards. Many fine lateral roots grow from it.
Algae Do not have true stems, roots or leaves. Live in water.
Mosses Have simple stems and tiny leaves but no true roots.
Reproduce through spores produced in capsules.
Ferns Have stems, leaves and roots.
Reproduce through spores produced in capsules on the underside of the leaves.
Conifers Have stems, roots and needle-like leaves.
Reproduce through seeds produced in cones.






















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