levo

Global Challenges

White blood cells, antibodies and platelets

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2 (Biology)

Overview

How a phagocyte engulfs and digests a pathogen and is adapted to do so, antibodies made by lymphocytes and why each fits only one pathogen, antitoxins, what platelets are, how blood clotting keeps pathogens out, and why too few platelets raise the risk of infection.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What is an antibody, and which cell produces it?

Key term

What are antitoxins and what do they do?

Key term

What are platelets?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe how a phagocyte destroys a pathogen.

    Model answer

    It changes shape to surround and engulf the pathogen into a vacuole, then enzymes are released to digest it.

  2. 2

    Give two ways a phagocyte is adapted to its function.

    Model answer

    It has a flexible membrane that lets it change shape to engulf pathogens and squeeze out of capillaries, and it contains many digestive enzymes.

  3. 3

    What is an antibody, and which cell produces it?

    Model answer

    A protein that binds to a specific antigen on a pathogen; it is produced by a lymphocyte.

  4. 4

    Explain why one type of antibody works against only one type of pathogen.

    Model answer

    Its shape is complementary to one particular antigen only, so it cannot bind to the antigens of any other pathogen.

  5. 5

    What are antitoxins and what do they do?

    Model answer

    Proteins produced by lymphocytes that bind to the toxins released by bacteria and neutralise them so they cannot damage cells.

  6. 6

    What are platelets?

    Model answer

    Small fragments of cells in the blood, with no nucleus, that clump together at a wound to help form a clot.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Cell Level Systems
Community Level Systems
Genes, Inheritance and Selection
Global Challenges

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Algae and .
phytoplanktonfungianimals

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA diet high in sugar and fat leads to obesity.
BBody cells then respond poorly to insulin.
CBlood glucose concentration cannot be controlled.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Homozygous means carrying two identical alleles of a gene.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Global Challenges, 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.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.