The Transport System in Humans

1. The human blood circulatory system consists of the heart, a

network of blood vessels and blood.

2. The functions of the transport system are as follows:

a. to transport nutrients, oxygen and water to the body cells.

b. to transport carbon dioxide and waste products from the cells

to the excretory organs.

c. to bring hormones to the target body cells.

3. The heart is the organ that pumps blood throughout the body by its
alternate contractions and relaxations of the muscles.

4. The structure of the human heart.

a. The heart is made up of four parts that is the pulmonary vein in

the left atrium (auricle), the vena cavain the right atrium
(auricle), the aorta in the left ventricle and the pulmonary
artery in the right ventricle.

b. The valves in the heart prevent the backflow of blood and ensure
that the direction of the flow of blood is in one direction only.
The bicuspid valve separates the left atrium (auricle) from the
left ventricles. The tricuspid valve separates the right atrium
(auricle) from the right ventricle. The semilunar valvesare
located at the beginning of the aorta and the pulmonary artery.

5. The human blood circulatory system is made up of a double circulatory

system that is:

a. the pulmonary circulation (involving the lungs) whereby

deoxygenated blood flows from the heart to the lungs for
oxygenation. The oxygenated blood of the lungs is then returned
to the heart.
 b. the systemic circulation (general body) whereby oxygenated
blood is sent to all parts of the body except the lungs and
deoxygenated blood is returned to the heart.

6. Blood that leaves the lungs rich in oxygen is called oxygenated

blood. Blood in the vena cava from all parts of the body low in oxygen
content is called deoxygenated blood.

7. In the course of the circulation of blood, exchange of gases take place

at:

a. the lungs oxygen diffuses into the blood from the lungs.
Carbon dioxide is removed from the blood and diffuses into the
lungs.

b. the body tissues oxygen from the blood diffuses into the
body cells while the carbon dioxide from the body cells diffuse
into the blood.

8. There are three types of blood vessels as shown in figure below and
described in table below.

Characteristic Artery Vein Capillary

Cross section Lumen Lumen Lumen

Function Carries blood away from the heart Carries blood to the heart Connects artery
to the vein

Lumen size Small Big Very small

Thickness of the Wall is thick and elastic to withstand the high Wall is thinner and not so Wall is one cell
walls blood pressure when the heart pumps blood elastic thick to enable
into it the exchange of
digested food,
waste gases and
excretory
products between
 the blood and
body cells

Type of blood Oxygenated blood Deoxygenated blood Oxygenated

carried blood into body
cells and
deoxygenated
blood from cells

Rate of blood Blood flows at a quick rate at high pressure Blood flows at a slow Blood flows at
flow rate at low pressure high rate at high
pressure

3.02.2
Human Blood
1. Human blood is made up of 55% plasma and 45% blood cells.

2. Plasma

a. Has a pale yellow colour; when the blood cells have been
removed, the remaining liquid is known as plasma
Blood blood cells plasma

b. Its function is to transport digested food, mineral

salts and vitamins to the body cells. It also transports waste
substances like carbon dioxide, water and urea to the excretory
organs. It is important as it maintains the pH of blood. Further it
distributes heat throughout the body so that the body
temperature of 37C is maintained.

3. Blood cells
 a. Blood are made up of red blood cells, white blood cells and
platelets.

b. Old red blood cells and platelets are destroyed in the liver or
spleen.

Red blood cell White blood cell Platelet

Contains haemoglobin Do not have haemoglobin Do not have haemoglobin

Round shaped and biconcave Do not have a fixed shape Cell fragments

No nucleus Have big nucleus No nucleus

Life span is 120 days Life span is 2 to 4 days Life span is 4 days

Produced in the marrow of long Produced in the marrow of long bones and Produced in the marrow of
bones spleen long bones

Carries oxygen Defends the body against attack by Helps in the clotting of blood
microorganisms

Characteristics and functions of the human blood cells

4. Human blood can be classified into four different groups. The four
groups are A, B, AB and O.

5. Different blood groups have different antigens and antibodies.

Blood groups Antigen Antibody

A A Anti-b
Blood groups B B Anti-a

AB A and B Nil

O Nil Anti-a and anti-b

 6. Blood group AB

a. Universal recipient

b. Can receive blood from all other groups

c. Can donate blood only to individuals with blood group AB

7. Blood group O

a. Universal donor

b. Can donate blood to all blood groups

c. Can only receive blood from group O only

8. The transfusion of blood from a donor to a suitable recipient can be

referred to table below.

Donor's blood group

A B AB O
Recipient's blood group
A
B
AB
O

9. A person who has lost a lot of blood needs a supply of blood that is
sufficient and compatible.

10. The donated blood will be stored.

a. Every unit of donated blood is separated into a few components.

b. Red blood cells are kept in a refrigerator for a maximum of 42

days.

c. Frozen red blood cells can be kept for up to 10 years.

 d. Plasma can be kept in a frozen condition only for one year.

3.02.3
The Transport System in Plants
1. If the soil surrounding the roots is short of water or if rate of the loss of
water is higher than the intake of water, plant cells will be short of
water. Under the conditions of short of water, the plant cells will not be
able to support the plant. The stem and leaves will become soft and
bend over with the condition known aswilting.

2. Transpiration is the loss of water through evaporation from the stoma

of the leaves.

a. Transpiration produces a pulling force which enables absorbed

water by the roots to reach the upper parts of the plant.

b. Importance of transpiration includes:

i. helps to transport water and dissolved mineral salts from

the roots to all parts of the plant;

ii. help to cool the plant when water evaporates.

3. Stomata on the leaf surface

a. Stomata are small pores found on both the upper and lower
surfaces of the leaf.

b. The size of the stomata is controlled by the guard cells. The

guard cells are kidney shaped surrounding the stoma.

c. Stomata are important because:

i. of the exchange of gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide in

photosynthesis and respiration;

ii. their size controls the rate of transpiration.

 a. Stoma opened

b. Stoma almost closed

Stomata on the surface of a leaf

4. Factors affecting the rate of transpiration.

a. Humidity of the air

i. Humid conditions prevent the evaporation of water from

the leaves.

ii. As the air becomes more humid, the slower is the rate of
transpiration.
 b. Temperature

A rise in the temperature of the air will increase the rate of

transpiration because the rate of evaporation of water from the
leaves will increase.

c. Speed of the wind

i. In still air the rate of evaporation of water from the leaves

will decrease and will cause the rate of transpiration to
reduce.

ii. The existence of wind, will increase the rate of

transpiration because the wind will blow water vapour
away from the leaf reducing the humidity.

d. Light

Increase light intensity will increase the rate of transpiration.

5. The transport system of plants are made up of specialised tissues that

is the xylem and the phloem tissue.

6. Xylem and phloem are found in the roots, stem and leaf.