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?
- Investigate and assess the effectiveness of historical and contemporary methods of prevention and control of infectious disease, including the contemporary application of Aboriginal protocols in the development of particular medicines and biological materials in Australia
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on Aboriginal protocols. Covers traditional knowledge of antimicrobial plants (smoke bush, tea tree, eucalyptus), the legal and ethical framework for benefit sharing, and contemporary research collaborations.
5 min answer → - Investigate and assess the effectiveness of pharmaceuticals as treatment strategies for the control of infectious disease, including: antivirals and antibiotics, the development of antibiotic resistance, and the role of immunisation including the impact of vaccination programs in conferring herd immunity
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.
7 min answer → - Investigate and assess the effectiveness of historical and contemporary methods of prevention and control of infectious disease, including local, regional and global strategies (hygiene, quarantine, vaccination and public health campaigns)
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.
6 min answer →
Inquiry Question 2: How does a plant or animal respond to infection?
- Investigate the innate and adaptive immune systems in mammals, including the response of animal adaptive immunity to infection (third line of defence: humoral and cell-mediated immunity, including the roles of lymphocytes, antibodies and antigens)
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on adaptive (specific) immunity. Covers B cells and antibodies (humoral), T cells (cell-mediated), antigen presentation, clonal selection, memory cells, primary and secondary responses.
7 min answer → - Investigate the innate and adaptive immune systems in mammals, including the response of animal innate immunity to infection (first and second lines of defence, including the inflammatory 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.
6 min answer → - Investigate the response of a named Australian plant to a named pathogen through the application of physical and chemical defences
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 (eucalypts and Phytophthora cinnamomi).
6 min answer →
Inquiry Question 1: How are diseases transmitted?
- Describe a variety of infectious diseases caused by pathogens, including microorganisms, macroorganisms and non-cellular pathogens, and collect primary and secondary-sourced data and information relating to disease transmission, including: classifying different pathogens that cause disease in plants and animals
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.
6 min answer → - Investigate the work of Pasteur and Koch and evaluate the impact of their work on the understanding of infectious disease, including Koch's postulates
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, and the impact of germ theory on modern medicine.
6 min answer → - Investigate the transmission of a disease during an epidemic, including: mode of transmission (direct, indirect including airborne, vector-borne and waterborne or food-borne) of an infectious disease
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.
5 min answer → - Investigate the transmission of a disease during an epidemic, including: adaptations of pathogens that facilitate their entry into and transmission between hosts
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 7 dot point on pathogen adaptations. Covers structural and biochemical adaptations that allow entry into hosts, evasion of immune responses and transmission between hosts, with named examples for each.
6 min answer →