Module One
CELLS AND ORGANISMS
Introduction
This Module should be read in conjunction with the Programme of Study.
The Programme of Study lists the topics that are in the Module and gives you the relevant page references to your coursebook. This Module aims to give you more direction as you work through the various topics. It aims to highlight the most important items in the topic, as well as areas that require a little more attention. It will also point you towards the resources, available through Canvas, that you should be using, as well as listing the coursebook pages to be read.
Please complete as many questions in the coursebook as possible: those on each double-page spread and those at the end of each chapter. Please note the skills listed in the relevant topics. These need to be practised, as they will be assessed in the final exam. There are activities in purple boxes that are worth reviewing, although you will probably not be able to complete them. The most important of these activities can be studied via video links listed on Canvas.
Please note that the IGCSE Combined Science course requires you to study the material without a sidebar, with a dashed blue vertical side bar and with a dashed black vertical side bar. A simplified summary table of this has been included on the inside of the back cover of your textbook. You will find it helpful to open this flap out and refer to it as you work through the different sections so that you cover all the material in the IGCSE Combined Science Extended course.
Remember to double-check with the syllabus (the section numbers are listed on your Programme of Study) that you cover all the items that you need to. The syllabus is especially useful for key definitions and equations. It is good practice to put these onto revision cards, as you will need to learn them.
Module One focuses on many of the building blocks required for success in later modules. You will learn about the characteristics that are present in living organisms and that organisms are built up from cells, each with their own set of smaller structures and all requiring certain biological molecules that ensure the continued survival of the cell. The essential role of enzymes is also considered. It is important to learn the finer details of this Module, as they will be revisited in many upcoming modules.
Topics
Module One is covered in the following topics:
Topic One (1.1): Characteristics of Living Organisms
Topic Three (1.3): Movement In and Out of Cells
Topic Four (1.4): Biological Molecules