Unit 3: Sustainability and Interdependence

Biology: Sustainability and Interdependence (Higher)

In this Unit, learners will develop knowledge by investigating how humans depend on sufficient and sustainable food production from a narrow range of crop and livestock species, focusing on photosynthesis in plants. The Unit covers the key areas of the science of food production, interrelationships and dependence, and biodiversity. Analytical thinking and problem solving skills will be developed contextually within these topics. The importance of plant productivity and the manipulation of genetic diversity to maintain food security are emphasised. The Unit also covers interrelationships and dependence, through symbiosis and social behaviour. By studying biodiversity, the Unit attempts to measure, catalogue, understand and address the human impact, including mass extinction.