Module 8: Non-infectious Disease and Disorders
8 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.
Inquiry Question 2: Do non-infectious diseases cause more deaths than infectious diseases?
- Investigate the causes and effects of non-infectious diseases in humans, including but not limited to: genetic diseases, diseases caused by environmental exposure, nutritional diseases and diseases caused by cancer
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 8 dot point on causes of non-infectious disease. Covers genetic, environmental, nutritional, lifestyle and age-related categories with named examples, distinguishing causal mechanisms and risk factors.
7 min answer → - Collect and represent data from secondary sources to evaluate the method used in an example of an epidemiological study, including incidence, prevalence, mortality, and the methods and benefits of epidemiology
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 8 dot point on epidemiology. Defines incidence, prevalence and mortality, compares cohort, case-control and cross-sectional study designs, and applies them to the Doll and Hill lung cancer studies.
8 min answer → - Investigate the causes and effects of named genetic diseases on humans, including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia and Huntington's disease, and analyse pedigrees showing their inheritance
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 8 dot point on genetic disorders. Covers cystic fibrosis (autosomal recessive, CFTR), sickle cell anaemia (autosomal recessive, HBB), Huntington's disease (autosomal dominant, HTT), with pedigree analysis and inheritance patterns.
9 min answer → - Investigate the causes and effects of named nutritional and environmental diseases, including diabetes (type 2), cardiovascular disease and mesothelioma
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 8 dot point on nutritional and environmental disease. Covers type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis) and mesothelioma, with mechanisms, risk factors and burden of disease in Australia.
9 min answer →
Inquiry Question 4: How can technologies be used to assist people who experience disorders?
- Investigate the treatment, management and possible future directions for the cure of non-infectious diseases through pharmaceutical intervention, gene therapy and lifestyle change
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 8 dot point on disease treatment. Covers pharmaceutical intervention (insulin, statins, CFTR modulators), gene therapy (Casgevy for sickle cell, Luxturna for vision), and lifestyle change as both prevention and treatment.
9 min answer → - Investigate technologies that are used to assist with the effects of a disorder, including hearing loss, vision loss and loss of kidney function, and explain how a named disorder is assisted by the use of named technologies
A focused answer to the HSC Biology Module 8 dot point on technologies assisting disorders. Covers hearing loss (hearing aids, cochlear implants, bone-anchored devices) and vision disorders (corrective lenses, IOLs, laser surgery), with mechanisms and named conditions.
8 min answer →