Transport and Gas Exchange in Plants and Mammals
In this unit containing chapters 8, 10, 11 and 12 of the AICE Biology book, the process of gaseous exchange and fluid transport was outlined in both plants and mammals. One of the most in depth areas of study was the mammalian heart. The anatomy of the mammalian heart was learned and its functions and importance to the organism was explored. In one of the tests taken in this unit students were required to outline the path that blood takes as it is circulated throughout the body by the heart. The characteristics of animal and plant transport systems were compared and contrasted. The effects of smoking and other harmful activities on the gaseous exchange structures of the lungs were studied, and the difference between the functionality of healthy lungs versus unhealthy lungs was observed. The defense mechanisms the mammalian body has to defend from foreign particles entering the body through the airways were identified.