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Unit notes and practice questions

Grade 11 Biology unit 1: Biology and Technology

Everything here is for unit 1 of the Grade 11 Biology textbook: what the chapter covers, the short notes, practice questions with their answers, and the lesson video where one exists.

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3
Cards
10
Practice questions on unit 1
7–25
The textbook pages for unit 1

What unit 1 covers

  1. 1.Learning from nature
  2. 2.1The benefits of biology to technology
  3. 3.2Uses of technology in biology
  4. 4.Impacts of biology and technology on society and the natural world
  5. 5.1Impacts of biology on the society and the natural world
  6. 6.2Impacts of technology on the society and the natural world
  7. 7.Ethical issues in biology
  8. 8.1Ethical treatment of plants and animals during biological studies

Short notes for unit 1

The cards filed under this chapter on the Grade 11 Biology page. Open one at a time.

Device or TestBiological Target or Mechanism
Pregnancy urine testHuman Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) hormone
Diabetic blood testBlood glucose level
CT scanMultiple X-ray slices for internal screening
PET scanRadioactive tracers tracking metabolic processes
GPSBiogeographical and organism movement data

When you use it

Use when identifying technological devices used in biological investigations, medical testing, and physiological imaging.

Watch out

Pregnancy test kits detect the hCG hormone produced by the placenta, while PET scans use radioactive tracers to view metabolic processes rather than standard X-rays.

Drafted from Grade 11 Biology, pages 7-25, then checked twice before it went up

Biological ModelImitated Technology
Termite moundVentilated building design (Eastgate Centre)
Kingfisher beakBullet train nose
Mosquito proboscisInjection needle
Spider silkSynthetic bulletproof vest
Elephant trunkFlexible robotic arm
Shellfish exoskeletonCrack-resistant ceramics

When you use it

Use when identifying modern technological devices and architectures designed by copying biological structures and mechanisms.

Watch out

The Eastgate Centre in Harare imitates termite mound ventilation chimneys for temperature control, not avian nesting structures.

Drafted from Grade 11 Biology, pages 7-25, then checked twice before it went up

PrincipleEthical Action in Research
ReductionMinimizing the total number of animals used in experiments
RefinementUsing less invasive methods and better care to reduce suffering
ReplacementSubstituting whole animals with cell cultures or computer models

When you use it

Use when evaluating ethical procedures designed to safeguard sentient animals during biological experiments.

Watch out

Replacement substitutes animals entirely with alternatives like cell cultures, whereas refinement only modifies procedures to minimize pain in live subjects.

Drafted from Grade 11 Biology, pages 7-25, then checked twice before it went up

Practice questions on unit 1

10 multiple-choice questions written against this chapter, each with its answer and the reason. Try one before you open the answer.

Question 1

Which structure in nature inspired engineers to design the medical injection needle?

  1. A.Mosquito proboscis
  2. B.Elephant trunk
  3. C.Spider spin silk
  4. D.Kingfisher beak
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Mosquito proboscis

Why

Injection needle technology was copied directly from the shape and function of a mosquito's proboscis.

Question 2

What is the term for the integration of biology and technology that uses biological systems to create useful products?

  1. A.Bioinformatics
  2. B.Biotechnology
  3. C.Biophysics
  4. D.Biogeography
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Biotechnology

Why

Biotechnology is the blend of biology and technology. It uses organisms, cells, or biological processes to develop useful products like bread, beer, and medicines.

Question 3

Which hormone is detected by a standard urine pregnancy test kit?

  1. A.Insulin
  2. B.Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)
  3. C.Estrogen
  4. D.Hemoglobin
Show the answer and why

Answer: B Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)

Why

A pregnancy test checks for Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), a hormone produced in the placenta about 6 to 10 days after fertilization.

Question 4

Under the ethical 3 Rs principles of animal research, what does Reduction mean?

  1. A.Replacing live animals with computer simulations
  2. B.Giving animals better living conditions and medical care
  3. C.Minimizing the number of animals used in experiments
  4. D.Stopping all scientific experiments on plants
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Minimizing the number of animals used in experiments

Why

Reduction aims to minimize the number of animals used in research by improving experimental techniques and sharing data.

Question 5

The East Gate Center building in Harare maintains constant temperature and humidity by imitating the architecture of which natural structure?

  1. A.Swallow nests
  2. B.Spider webs
  3. C.Shellfish shells
  4. D.Termite mounds
Show the answer and why

Answer: D Termite mounds

Why

The East Gate Center was designed by mimicking termite mounds, which use chimney structures to maintain constant internal humidity and temperature.

Question 6

A researcher in Addis Ababa uses computer software to store and analyze large sets of DNA and amino acid sequence data. Which field of study is this?

  1. A.Bioinformatics
  2. B.Biogeography
  3. C.Biomedical studies
  4. D.Biophysical studies
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Bioinformatics

Why

Bioinformatics is the scientific discipline that uses computer technology to collect, store, analyze, and disseminate biological data like DNA and amino acid sequences.

Question 7

Which medical imaging device uses a special dye with radioactive tracers to track metabolic processes such as blood flow and absorption?

  1. A.Computed Tomography (CT scan)
  2. B.Digital thermometer
  3. C.Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan)
  4. D.Global Positioning System (GPS)
Show the answer and why

Answer: C Positron Emission Tomography (PET scan)

Why

A PET scan uses a special dye containing radioactive tracers to visualize and measure metabolic processes like blood flow, chemical changes, and absorption.

Question 8

According to the textbook, in which two main ways have industrialization and modern technology damaged our natural world?

  1. A.Through robotics and high speed transport
  2. B.Through bio-sensors and gene therapy
  3. C.Through cell cultures and bioinformatics
  4. D.Through pollution and the depletion of natural resources
Show the answer and why

Answer: D Through pollution and the depletion of natural resources

Why

The textbook notes that technological advancements and industrialization have damaged our world primarily through pollution and the depletion of natural resources.

Question 9

Why are trees able to function properly without a centralized brain or command center?

  1. A.They have distributed nerve fibers along their outer bark
  2. B.They function in decentralized forms
  3. C.They imitate the nervous systems of colonial insects
  4. D.They depend entirely on signals from soil microorganisms
Show the answer and why

Answer: B They function in decentralized forms

Why

Trees are living organisms that function properly in decentralized forms without any centralized order-providing unit or brain.

Question 10

Which biological material served as the model for developing synthetic bulletproof vests?

  1. A.Spin silks of spiders
  2. B.Exoskeletons of shellfish
  3. C.Kingfisher feathers
  4. D.Elephant trunk fibers
Show the answer and why

Answer: A Spin silks of spiders

Why

Synthetic bulletproof vests were developed by imitating the high strength and elasticity of the spin silks of spiders.

The app holds 12 questions on this unit, marked as you go. These are the first 10.

The textbook pages for unit 1

Unit 1 runs from page 7 to page 25 of the Ministry of Education edition.

Ministry of Education edition, English, 294 pages

Download the PDF

All Grade 11 Biology short notes

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