Key term
CCEA AS-Level Life and Health Sciences 0008
Experimental Techniques
Human Body Systems
Topic overviewBlood vessels, the heart and cardiac outputHeart sounds, ECG traces, pulse and blood pressureBody fluids, haemoglobin and the Bohr effectThe respiratory system, gas exchange and lung diseaseMonitoring breathing and lung volumesCellular respiration and ATPHomeostasis, blood glucose and thyroxineSodium, blood pH and oxygen saturationA balanced diet and nutritional needs through lifeCholesterol, minerals, vitamins, alcohol and exercise
Physical Chemistry in Industrial Processes
Topic overviewMoles, reacting masses and percentage yieldTitration types, indicators and standard solutionsTitration calculations and molarityEnthalpy changes and calorimetryHess's law and average bond enthalpiesCollision theory, rates and the Maxwell–Boltzmann distributionCatalysts, chemisorption and catalytic convertersReversible reactions, the Haber process and the Contact processScale-up, costs and siting a chemical plant
Brain ScienceDouble Award
Topic overviewBrain structure and frontal lobe damageNeurones, synapses and the endocrine systemAlzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and stem cell therapySchizophrenia and mental health awareness in Northern IrelandThe biology of aggression and methods of studying the brainStress, the stress response and stress managementMemory models, forgetting and eyewitness testimonyAbnormality, phobias, depression and OCDExperiments, observations, self-report and research designHypotheses, sampling, ethics and descriptive statistics
Material ScienceDouble Award
Topic overviewMaterial properties and selectionStress, strain and the Young modulusStress–strain graphs, creep and fatigueDensity, hardness and conductivity testingMetals, ceramics, glasses, polymers and compositesAtomic and microscopic structure of materialsAlloys, annealing and biomaterialsSmart materialsNanomaterials and semiconductors
Medicine, Drugs and Clinical TrialsDouble Award
Topic overviewCategories of medicine and routes to drug discoveryMedicines from natural sources, drug names and the ATC systemDrug development, preclinical testing and the therapeutic indexPhases of clinical trials and trial designLicensing, UK regulators, Yellow Card and trial ethicsFormulations, routes of administration and drug absorptionDistribution, metabolism, elimination and sites of drug actionQuantitative analysis of medicines and antibacterial bioassays
Human Body Systems
- 10 subtopics
- 30 things to know
- AS 2
What Human Body Systems covers
Human Body Systems is examined in Unit AS 2, Human Body Systems — examined, a core unit. It covers blood vessels, the heart and cardiac output, heart sounds, ECG traces, pulse and blood pressure, body fluids, haemoglobin and the Bohr effect, the respiratory system, gas exchange and lung disease, monitoring breathing and lung volumes, cellular respiration and ATP, homeostasis, blood glucose and thyroxine, sodium, blood pH and oxygen saturation, A balanced diet and nutritional needs through life and cholesterol, minerals, vitamins, alcohol and exercise.
Where it is assessed
AS 2
Human Body Systems — a written examination, compulsory.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 10 subtopics
Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Life and Health Sciences students sit this topic in the first year.
- Blood vessels, the heart and cardiac outputThe cardiovascular system, arteries, veins and capillaries, the four chambers and valves, the cardiac cycle and pacemaker, the double circulation and a cardiac output calculation.Open →
- Heart sounds, ECG traces, pulse and blood pressureHeart sounds, the ECG and its P wave, QRS complex and T wave, traces in tachycardia, bradycardia, arrhythmia and fibrillation, pulse rate, and blood pressure measurement and readings.Open →
- Body fluids, haemoglobin and the Bohr effectBlood, plasma and tissue fluid, the structure of haemoglobin and the role of iron, partial pressure, loading and unloading oxygen, the dissociation curve, the Bohr effect and carbon dioxide transport.Open →
- The respiratory system, gas exchange and lung diseaseThe trachea and alveoli, inhalation and exhalation, gas exchange and what affects its rate, cystic fibrosis and its cause, and emphysema and breathlessness.Open →
- Monitoring breathing and lung volumesBreathing rate, tidal volume and vital capacity, spirometers, peak flow meters in asthma, differences between males and females, minute ventilation and the effects of exercise.Open →
- Cellular respiration and ATPATP as the energy currency, glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain, the equation for aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration in muscle and basal metabolic rate.Open →
- Homeostasis, blood glucose and thyroxineHomeostasis and negative feedback, hormones, insulin and glucagon in blood glucose control, exercise and diabetes, glucose monitoring, and the production, control and effects of thyroxine.Open →
- Sodium, blood pH and oxygen saturationSodium balance and imbalance, the normal range of blood pH, buffering by blood, lungs and kidneys, acidosis and alkalosis, oxygen saturation and how a pulse oximeter works.Open →
- A balanced diet and nutritional needs through lifeA balanced diet and the Eatwell Guide, benefits of good diet, energy balance, the effects of overweight and obesity, comparing diets, and needs of babies, pregnant women, older people and people with diabetes.Open →
- Cholesterol, minerals, vitamins, alcohol and exerciseCholesterol and its monitoring, calcium and iron, iron deficiency, vitamins B, C, D and E and deficiencies, the UK alcohol guidelines and the long-term benefits of exercise.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
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What is the partial pressure of oxygen, and how does it control where haemoglobin loads and unloads oxygen?
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What are the components of the cardiovascular system?
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What are the main structures of the respiratory system?
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How is breathing rate measured?
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What role does breathing play in cellular respiration?
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What is homeostasis?
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How is sodium balance regulated in the body?
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Why are a balanced diet and regular exercise important for health?
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What is the source and function of cholesterol?
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What are the functions of the cardiovascular system?
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What causes the heart sounds heard through a stethoscope?
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What are the main body fluids?
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How is the trachea adapted to its function?
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What is tidal volume?
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What is cellular respiration?
Process
What are the components of a homeostatic mechanism?
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Why are sodium and chloride ions important for health?
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What is a balanced diet?
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How are blood cholesterol levels monitored?
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How is the structure of an artery related to its function?
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What is an electrocardiogram?
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What is the composition of blood?
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How are alveoli adapted for gas exchange?
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What is vital capacity?
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What is ATP?
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What is negative feedback?
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What happens if blood sodium is too high or too low?
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What proportions of food groups does the Eatwell Guide recommend?
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What is a healthy total cholesterol level?
Take Human Body Systems further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Systolic pressure vs Diastolic pressure
Systolic pressure: the highest arterial pressure as the ventricles contract. Diastolic pressure: the lowest arterial pressure as the heart relaxes.
Tachycardia vs Bradycardia
Tachycardia: a resting heart rate faster than 100 beats per minute. Bradycardia: a resting heart rate slower than 60 beats per minute.
Insulin vs Glucagon
Insulin: the pancreatic hormone that lowers blood glucose by promoting uptake and storage. Glucagon: the pancreatic hormone that raises blood glucose by releasing stores.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What are the components of the cardiovascular system?
Model answer
The cardiovascular system consists of the heart, the blood vessels and the blood. The heart pumps blood through arteries, capillaries and veins.
- 2
What are the functions of the cardiovascular system?
Model answer
The cardiovascular system transports oxygen, nutrients, hormones and waste around the body. The system also helps regulate temperature and defend against infection.
- 3
How is the structure of an artery related to its function?
Model answer
An artery has a thick wall of muscle and elastic tissue and a narrow lumen. The wall withstands and smooths the high pressure of blood leaving the heart.
- 4
How is the structure of a vein related to its function?
Model answer
A vein has a thin wall, a wide lumen and valves. Valves stop low-pressure blood flowing backwards on its way to the heart.
- 5
How is the structure of a capillary related to its function?
Model answer
A capillary wall is one cell thick and the vessel is very narrow. The short diffusion distance allows rapid exchange of substances with tissues.
- 6
What are the four chambers of the heart?
Model answer
The heart has two atria at the top and two ventricles below. The right side pumps blood to the lungs and the left side to the rest of the body.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Human Body Systems revision questions
- Is Human Body Systems examined at AS in CCEA Life and Health Sciences?
- Yes. It sits in AS 2, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Human Body Systems cover in CCEA AS-Level Life and Health Sciences?
- 10 subtopics: blood vessels, the heart and cardiac output, heart sounds, ecg traces, pulse and blood pressure, body fluids, haemoglobin and the bohr effect, the respiratory system, gas exchange and lung disease, monitoring breathing and lung volumes, cellular respiration and atp, homeostasis, blood glucose and thyroxine, sodium, blood ph and oxygen saturation, a balanced diet and nutritional needs through life and cholesterol, minerals, vitamins, alcohol and exercise. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Human Body Systems organised?
- By the CCEA 0008 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Human Body Systems, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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