Module 7: Infectious Disease
10 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.
Inquiry Question 3: How can the spread of infectious diseases be controlled?
HSC Biology Module 7: the contemporary application of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols in developing medicines. Real Australian examples (smokebush, Kakadu plum, tea tree, Jarlmadangah Burru painkiller), plus ICIP, free prior informed consent and benefit sharing.
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on pharmaceutical control of infectious disease. Covers antibiotic and antiviral mechanisms, the evolution of antibiotic resistance, vaccination types, and the herd immunity threshold with named examples.
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on disease control strategies. Covers hygiene, quarantine, vaccination programs, public health campaigns, and the role of the WHO, with named examples at each scale and a frank assessment of effectiveness.
Inquiry Question 2: How does a plant or animal respond to infection?
A focused HSC Biology Module 7 answer on adaptive (specific) immunity, the third line of defence. Covers humoral immunity (B cells, plasma cells, antibodies), cell-mediated immunity (helper and cytotoxic T cells), antigens and MHC antigen presentation, clonal selection, memory cells, and the primary versus secondary response.
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on innate (non-specific) immunity in animals. Covers the first line of defence (skin, mucous membranes, chemical barriers), the second line (phagocytosis, inflammation, natural killer cells, fever), and how these set up the adaptive response.
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on plant defences. Covers the waxy cuticle, bark, stomatal closure, callose deposition, phytoalexins and the hypersensitive response, with a named Australian example (jarrah and Phytophthora cinnamomi).
Inquiry Question 1: How are diseases transmitted?
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on the causes of infectious disease. Covers prions, viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi and macroparasites, with a named example for each and the structural features markers expect.
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on Pasteur and Koch. Covers Pasteur's swan-neck flask experiment, Koch's anthrax and tuberculosis work, the four Koch's postulates, their limitations, and the impact of germ theory on modern medicine.
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on modes of transmission. Covers direct transmission, indirect transmission (airborne, waterborne, food-borne) and vector-borne transmission, with a named example for each and the public-health implications.
A focused HSC Biology Module 7 answer on pathogen adaptations. Covers structural and biochemical adaptations for entry into hosts, immune evasion and transmission between hosts, with named examples (influenza, malaria, cholera, TB) and worked exam answers.