CAPE Unit 1 consists of 3 broad topics;

Biomolecules, Reproduction and Development.

The syllabus therefore consists of three Modules Module 1- Cell and Molecular biology In this module you are expected to learn and understand the chemical structure of water, carbohydrates, lipids and proteins and their roles in living organisms. You also need to understand that cells are the basic unit of living organisms, grouped into tissues and organs Understand the fluid Mosaic model of membrane structure and the movement of substances into and out of cells Understand the mode of actions of enzymes

Module 2- Genetics, Variation and Natural Selection In this module you should be able to understand the structure of nucleic acids and their roles in protein synthesis and nuclear division Understand the behaviour of chromosomes, nucleus and cytoplasm in mitotic and meiotic cell division and their importance for stability and variation in a species Understand the importance of mitosis and meiosis for stability and variation in a species Understand the pattern of inheritance Understand genetic engineering and its medical, agricultural, environmental, ethical and social implications Understand the genetic basis of variation and its importance in natural selection

Module 3- Reproductive Biology Understand asexual reproduction and vegetative propagation Understand sexual reproduction in the flowering plant Understand sexual reproduction in humans

If you were keeping count you would have realised that there are only 13 things needed to be covered in this year. I must stress that at this stage in your lives you are employed solely as students and therefore being a student should take up the majority of your lives. You need to Concentrate and remember that there are no shortcuts to success. The only person that can make you successful is yourself. I see all of you as scholars and as such I expect you all to act it in your daily lives. Speak like one, act like one, live like one and I assure you that one day you will be one. I will do my part but you must remember that 95% of our time together will be solely based on what you must do.

MODULE 1- CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Biochemistry; The Chemistry of Living Things 1) Discuss how the structure and properties of water relate to the role that water plays as a medium of life

Water is the medium for life on earth.

Water is a major chemical component of the earths surface. It has many unusual and fascinating properties and at the centre of this fascination is the role of water as the medium for life. Typically organisms (Plants and Animals) constitute between 70% and 90% water. For example human cells consist of 80% water. Normal metabolic activity can occur only when cells are at least 65% water.

Properties of water
Water has a relative molecular mass of 18 (Mr 18). What is special about this molecule is that when compared to other compounds of similar sizes such as methane (Mr16), ammonia (Mr 17) or Carbon Dioxide (Mr44) water displays unexpected properties. Water has a substantially higher melting point, boiling point, heat of vaporisation and surface tension than these molecules making it a liquid at room temperature while the others are gasses. Life is based on water primarily because of waters solvent properties. Understanding this and other properties of water means firstly understanding waters molecular structure. Water is a solvent for many of the molecules in living organisms, primarily because it is a polar molecule. The oxygen atom in the water molecule has a high electronegativity this means that the electrons shared by the hydrogens and oxygen atoms are more attracted to the oxygen than the hydrogens. This unequal attraction of electrons gives the water molecule partial electrical charges. The angle between the hydrogen atoms is approximately 1050. This is important...... The oxygen atom is partially negative whilst the hydrogens are partially positive. This results in the water molecule having both a positively charged and negatively charged end making water polar.

The 2 hydrogen atoms of water are linked covalently to oxygen, each sharing an electron pair, to give a nonlinear arrangement. What this means then is that when two molecules of water come together the partially positive end of one water molecule attaches to the partially negative end of another water molecule forming a HYDROGEN BOND.These hydrogen bonds form with any other polar molecule making it great solvents for polar molecules.For example here is Sodium Chloride (NaCl)As you may remember Na is a positively charged ion whereas Chloride is negatively charged. What occurs here is that the partially negative oxygen pole from water surrounds the positive sodium ions whereas the positively charged hydrogens surround the negatively charged chloride ions.

The hydrogen bonds between water molecules account for one of waters most peculiar properties. Although solids are usually denser than liquids, when water becomes ice it expands and is less dense than its liquid form. In ice each water molecule forms four hydrogen bonds with four adjacent water molecules giving ice an ordered lattice structure. In this structure the bonds overcome the movement of individual water molecules holding them in a fixed 3- dimensional pattern. In addition the water molecules are spaced further apart making ice less dense than water. When ice melts the some of the hydrogen bonds are broken and the water molecules come closer into each other making liquid water more compact and therefore denser than ice. The hydrogen bonds that hold water together are responsible for another of waters properties. A great deal of energy is need to change the state of water from solid to liquid and then from liquid to gas. Water then is said to have an extremely high specific heat capacity or the capacity to absorb energy. Specific heat is measured as the amount of heat needed to raise 1 gram of a substance by 1degree degree Celsius. Waters specific heat is unusually high because it contains many Hydrogen bonds. A large amount of energy is needed to break the Hydrogen bonds between water molecules before heat is transferred. Entropy is a measure of how disordered a system is and in this case how freely the molecules can move. The entropy of ice is low, whereas in water it is higher and in water vapour it is the highest.