PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport
19.1 Transport System in Humans
1. The human transport system is called The Circulatory System .
a. It consists of Heart, thousands of Blood Vessels and Blood which flows
inside these vessels.
2. Structure and function of the human heart

a. Heart cone-shaped, muscular organ, it is about the size of a fist, situated in

the Thoracic Cavity between the lungs.
b. The wall of heart is made up of Cardiac Muscles .
c. The heart is made up by four Chambers.
i. Two chambers at top Right Atrium and Left Atrium (Atria in
plural).
ii. Two chambers at bottom Right Ventricle and Left Ventricle.
d. There are three types of Valves inside the heart.
i. Tricuspid Valve it is found between the right atrium and
right ventricle.
ii. Bicuspid Valve it is found between left atrium and left
ventricle.
iii. Semilunar Valves they are situated at the beginning of the
pulmonary artery and the aorta.
These valves allow blood to flow in only one direction, from atria to the
ventricles.
e. Vocabulary
i. Aorta largest artery in human body, it carries oxygenated
blood to all parts of the body except the lungs.
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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

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ii. Pulmonary Artery it carries deoxygenated blood from the
right ventricle to the lungs.
iii. Pulmonary Vein it returns oxygenated blood from the lungs
to the left atrium.
iv. Coronary Artery it supplies blood to the cardiac muscles.
v. Coronary Vein it carries blood away from the cardiac
muscles.
f. The function of the heart is to pump blood to all parts of the body.
g. The rhythmic contractions and relaxations of the walls ensure a continuous
blood circulation in the human body.
h. The sequence of the pumping action of the heart
i. Blood from body flows into the right atrium while blood from the
lungs flows into the left atrium.
ii. Both atria contract and push blood through the valves into the
ventricles.
iii. Both ventricles contract and force the blood artery and the aorta. The
valves are closed to prevent blood from flowing back into the atria.
3. Blood vessels and their functions
a. The human circulatory system is called a Closed System because blood flows
in blood vessels that are connected.
b. There are three types of blood vessels in our body Arteries, Veins and
Capillaries.
i. Arteries branch into smaller vessels called Arterioles. In turn,
arterioles branch into very small vessels called Capillaries.
ii. Capillaries join together to form bigger vessels called Venules.
Venules join to form Veins.
Artery Arteriole Capillary Venule Vein

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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport

iii. Blood flow in veins is helped by the Valves, which prevent blood from
flowing backwards.
iv. The contraction of skeletal muscles also helps blood flow in one
direction inside veins.
4. Path of blood flow in the circulatory system
a. The human circulatory system is called a Double Circulatory System
because the blood in the body is pumped twice through the heart.
b. The human circulatory system can be divided into two parts.
i. The Pulmonary Circulation it goes from the heart to lungs
and back to the heart.
ii. The Systematic Circulation it goes from the heart to all
parts of the body except the lungs and back to the heart.

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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport

1. Vena Cava
Vena Cava
Valves are present
Carries deoxygenated blood
Blood flows through the blood vessel
slowly

Pulmonary Vein
Valves are present
Carries oxygenated blood
Blood flows through the blood vessel
slowly

19.2 Human Blood

1. Blood is renewable living tissue.
2. A healthy adult has about 5 litres of blood in body and makes up 9% of body weight.
3. The composition of blood is as follows:
a. Plasma (55%)
i. A pale yellowish liquid made up of 90% of water and 10% of soluble
substances (glucose, amino acids, mineral salts, blood proteins,
hormones and waste materials).
b. Cellular Components (45%) red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
i. Red Blood Cells
1. Produced in the Bone Marrow .
2. Biconcave Disc with large surface area to volume ratio.
3. No nuclei.
4. 5 000 000 000 (5 billion) red blood cells per 1 cm3 of blood.

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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport
5. Each red blood cell contains a pigment called Haemoglobin,
which transport oxygen in the form of Oxyhaemoglobin to all
living cells.
6. Lifespan: 120 days.
ii. White Blood Cells
1. Produced in Bone Marrow and Lymph Nodes .
2. Irregular in shape and their shape can change.
3. Have nuclei.
4. 8 000 000 (8 million) white blood cells per 1 cm3 of blood.
5. Protect the body against diseases and fight infections.
6. Two types of white blood cells.
a. Lymphocytes
i. Produce antibodies to kill germs.
b. Phagocytes
i. Carry out Phagocytosis by
surrounding the bacterium, swallowing it,
digesting them thus killing it.
7. Lifespan: 2 to 4 days.
iii. Platelets
1. Small fragments of cells from larger cells in the bone marrow.
2. 250 000 000 (250 million) platelets per 1cm3 of blood.
3. Help in the Clotting of Blood to stop bleeding.
4. Lifespan: 4 days.
4. Functions of blood
a. Act as a Transport Medium.
i. Carries dissolved gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide), digested food
substances (glucose, amino acids, and minerals), hormones and
waste products from one part of the body to another.
ii. Oxygen is carried in red blood cells.
Other substances are carried in blood plasma.
b. Protects the body against diseases.
i. Carried out by the white blood cells.
c. Blood maintains the body temperature at 37 C.
i. Heat is distributed from Liver to all parts of body by the blood
plasma.
5. Blood groups and compatibility
a. Four main groups A, B, AB and O.
i. Blood group O Universal Donors, can donate blood to other blood
groups.
ii. Blood group AB Universal Recipients, can receive blood from all
blood groups.
b. The transfer of blood from a donor to a recipient is called Blood Transfusion.
c. The donors blood must be compatible with the recipients blood. Otherwise,
Agglutination or Coagulation of blood occurs inside the blood
vessels which may result in the death of the recipient.
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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport
6. Importance of blood donation
a. Condition of blood donation for donor:
i. Generally healthy
ii. Age between 18 and 65 years
iii. Weighs at least 50 kg
iv. Has a haemoglobin level of at least 1.25 mg per litre of blood for
males, 1.20 mg per litre of blood for females.
b. Donated blood is collected in plastic bags which contain Sodium Citrate, to
prevent blood coagulation.
c. Donated blood is stored in Blood Banks at hospital at 4 C, which can last for
40 days.
d. Blood transfusion is given to patient who
i. Loses a lot of blood
ii. During surgery or childbirth
iii. To treat certain diseases (leukaemia and haemophilia )
19.3 Transport System in Plants
1. Water and food are carried from one part of plant to other parts.
2. Transport of Food
a. Food produced in the leaves through Photosynthesis moves out through the
Phloem Tissues .
b. Food (glucose) moves upwards to the shoots for growth.
c. Food moves downwards along the phloem tissues to the roots.
d. Glucose is used by root cells or stored as starch in roots.
3. Transport of Water
a. Water and dissolved minerals are absorbed by root hairs.
b. Water is transported upwards through the Xylem Tissues .
c. Water keeps the cells in leaves turgid, also used for Photosynthesis.
d. Water is lost as vapour through the Stomata during Transpiration
.
4. Transport tissues in plants
a. The transport system in plants is made up of Xylem and Phloem tissues, they
are found in roots, stems and leaves.
b. Xylem Tissues
i. Made up of Xylem Vessels which are dead cells with no nucleus nor
cytoplasm.
ii. Form long tubes with thick walls.
iii. Form the woody tissues of plants.
iv. Provide mechanical support to plants.
v. Transport water and dissolved minerals from the roots up the stems
to the leaves.
c. Phloem Tissues
i. Made up of living cells.
ii. Phloem cells are arranged to form long tubes with separating walls in
between.
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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport
iii. Transport food (glucose) from the leaves to all parts of the plant.

Vocabulary
o Upper epidermis
o Lower epidermis
o Vascular bundle
o Pith
o Cambium
o Cortex
5. Wilting
a. In the morning, the stem of non-woody plant is upright and the leaves are
well spread out because the cells are turgid .
In the afternoon, the stem is no longer upright and the leaves droop or wilt
because there is not enough water inside the plant.
b. On the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf are tiny pores called Stomata
(Stoma in singular form), usually more stomata on the lower surface of a leaf.
6. Transpiration and function of stomata
a. What is Transpiration?
It is defined as the loss of water in a form of water vapour.
b. The water vapour evaporates through the stomata on the leaves and lenticels
on the stem of a plant.
i. Stomata is a tiny pore between two bean-shaped cells called Guard
Cells, which contains chloroplasts and carry out photosynthesis
during day time.
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PT3 Science Chapter 19: Blood Circulation and

Transport
ii. Guard cells control the opening and closing of the Stomata.
iii. Stomata are usually open during the day to allow exchange of
oxygen and carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and respiration.
7. Factors that affect of transpiration
a. Light Intensity intensity increases, the rate of transpiration also increases.
b. Temperature the higher the temperature it is, the greater is the evaporation
of water vapour.
c. Humidity the lower humidity is, the higher is the rate of transpiration.
d. Air Movement on windy day, the wind blows water vapour away from
stomata. Thus more water is lost.
8. The rate of transpiration can be measured using a Bubble Potometer or a Weight
Potometer.
9. Role of transpiration in transport.
a. It helps transport water and dissolved minerals from the roots to the leaves.
b. It helps the roots to absorb water.
c. The evaporation of water vapour from the leaves keeps the plant cool in hot
weather.
d. It removes excess water from the plant.

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