JAMB Biology Syllabus

Objective

Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the concepts of diversity, interdependence and unity of life; account for continuity of life through reorganization, inheritance and evolution; apply biological principles and concepts to everyday life, especially matters affecting living things, individuals, society, the environment, community health and the economy.

Objective

Differentiate between the characteristics of living and non-living things; identify structures of plant and animal cells; analyse the functions of plant and animal cell components; compare and contrast plant and animal cell structures; trace the levels of organization of living organisms in logical sequence across cells, tissues, organs, systems and organisms.

Objective

Analyse the external features and characteristics of the listed organisms; use these characteristics to demonstrate increasing structural complexity; trace their life histories and use these to demonstrate gradual transitions from aquatic to terrestrial life.

Objective

Trace the evolution of listed plants; analyse their external features and characteristics; demonstrate increasing structural complexity; trace life histories and the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life; classify plants according to their life-cycle duration as annuals, biennials and perennials.

Objective

Trace the advancement of invertebrate animals; determine the economic importance of studied insects; assess their environmental value; classify plants according to life-cycle duration; trace the advancement of multicellular animals; determine their economic importance.

Objective

Describe how structures, functions and behaviours adapt organisms to their environments and ways of life; categorize countershading in fish, toads and snakes, and warning colouration in mushrooms; differentiate castes in social insects such as termites and explain their colony functions; explain basking in lizards, territorial behaviour and responses to unfavourable conditions, including hibernation and aestivation.

Objective

Explain adaptations for feeding, protection, defence, securing mates, temperature regulation and water conservation; relate each adaptation to the organism's environment and way of life.

Objective

Identify transverse sections of plant organs; relate organ structure to function; identify supporting tissues; describe the distribution of supporting tissues in roots, stems and leaves.

Objective

Examine the arrangement of mammalian internal organs; describe the appearance and positions of digestive, reproductive and excretory organs.

Objective

Compare autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition; provide examples from flowering and non-flowering plants; differentiate holozoic, parasitic, saprophytic and carnivorous nutrition; determine the nutritional value of the organisms studied.

Objective

Compare photosynthesis and chemosynthesis; differentiate light and dark reactions; determine the necessity of light, carbon(IV) oxide and chlorophyll in photosynthesis; detect starch in leaves as evidence of photosynthesis; identify plant macronutrients and micronutrients; recognize nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium deficiency symptoms.

Objective

Identify sources of different food classes; determine the nutritional value of food; relate the importance of each food class to its deficiency diseases; explain the importance of a balanced diet; identify food types from experimental results.

Objective

Describe the structure of a typical mammalian tooth; differentiate types of mammalian teeth and relate their structures to their functions; compare the dental formulae of humans, sheep and dogs.

Objective

Relate the structures of the alimentary canal and accessory organs to their functions; identify the general characteristics of digestive enzymes; associate enzymes with digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats; determine the end products of digestion of these food classes.

Objective

Determine the relationship between increased size and complexity and the development of transport systems in plants and animals; identify sources of transported materials and the forms in which they are transported.

Objective

Describe the general circulatory system; compare the specific functions of the hepatic portal vein, pulmonary vein and artery, aorta, renal artery and renal vein.

Objective

Identify organs of the plant vascular system; explain the specific functions of phloem and xylem.

Objective

Identify transport media; state the composition and functions of blood and lymph; describe diffusion, osmosis, plasmolysis and turgidity; compare mechanisms of open circulation in animals with transpiration pull, root pressure and active transport in plants.

Objective

Explain the significance of respiration; outline the chemical processes involved in glycolysis and the Krebs cycle with reference to ATP production; deduce gaseous exchange, respiratory products and heat production from experimental setups.

Objective

Describe respiratory organs and surfaces and identify organisms in which they occur; explain the mechanism of stomatal opening and closing; determine respiratory mechanisms in plants and animals; examine the role of oxygen in energy release; explain the effects of insufficient oxygen supply to muscles.

Objective

Demonstrate fermentation using yeast cells and sugar solution; state the economic importance of yeasts.

Objective

Define excretion and state its significance; relate the characteristics of excretory structures to their functions; relate kidney structure to excretory and osmoregulatory functions; identify the functions and excretory products of lungs and skin; deduce the economic importance of plant excretory products.

Objective

Determine the need for support and movement in organisms; identify supporting tissues in plants and describe their distribution in roots, stems and leaves; relate plant responses to light, water, gravity and touch; identify growth regions in roots and shoots and explain the role of auxins in tropism.

Objective

Relate the location of chitin, cartilage and bone to their supporting functions; relate mammalian skeleton structure to support, locomotion and respiration; differentiate types of joints using examples; explain the protective, supportive, locomotive and respiratory roles of the skeleton in animal wellbeing.

Objective

Differentiate between asexual and sexual reproduction; apply natural vegetative propagation in crop production and multiplication; explain the application of grafting, budding and layering in agriculture.

Objective

Relate flower parts to their functions and reproduction; state the advantages of cross-pollination; deduce types of placentation associated with the development of simple, aggregate, multiple and succulent fruits.

Objective

Differentiate male and female reproductive organs; relate their structures and functions to offspring production; describe fertilization as fusion of gametes; explain the effects of maternal health, nutrition and indiscriminate drug use on embryonic development; explain modern reproductive methods, including in vitro fertilization and birth control.

Objective

Apply knowledge of germination conditions to plant growth; differentiate between epigeal and hypogeal germination.

Objective

Apply knowledge of the structure and functions of the central nervous system to coordination of body functions; illustrate reflex actions such as blinking and the knee jerk; differentiate reflex and voluntary actions and conditioned reflexes such as salivation, riding a bicycle and swimming.

Objective

Relate each sense organ to its function; apply knowledge of sense-organ structure and function to detecting and correcting defects.

Objective

State the locations of endocrine glands in animals; relate hormones produced by each gland to their functions; examine the effects of phytohormones on growth, tropism, flowering, fruit ripening and leaf abscission.

Objective

Relate hormone functions to homeostasis; explain the regulation of body temperature, salts and water.

Objective

Relate abiotic factors to the distribution of organisms; use appropriate equipment, including a Secchi disc, thermometer and rain gauge, to measure environmental factors.

Objective

Describe how the activities of plants and animals, particularly humans, affect the distribution of organisms.

Objective

Provide appropriate examples of symbiosis, parasitism, saprophytism, commensalism, mutualism, amensalism, competition, predation and cooperation among organisms.

Objective

Explain the distribution of organisms using food chains and food webs; define food chains and food webs.

Objective

Describe the carbon cycle and its significance; explain the balance of atmospheric oxygen and carbon(IV) oxide and the relationship with global warming; assess the effects of the water cycle on other nutrient cycles; relate the roles of bacteria and leguminous plants to nitrogen cycling.

Objective

Associate plants and animals with each habitat; relate adaptive features to the habitats in which organisms live.

Objective

Locate the listed biomes in Nigeria; apply knowledge of their features to determine the characteristics of different Nigerian regions.

Objective

Determine reasons for rapid changes in human population and the consequences of overcrowding; calculate population density as the number of organisms per unit area.

Objective

Relate population increases, disease, food shortages and lack of space to intraspecific and interspecific competition; determine how niche differentiation reduces intraspecific competition; relate competition to succession.

Objective

Deduce the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on population size; determine interactions between biotic and abiotic factors, such as drought or water scarcity causing food shortages and lack of space increasing disease rates.

Objective

Trace the sequence of ecological succession to the climax stage of stability in plant populations.

Objective

Identify physical properties of different soil types using measurements of particle size, porosity and water retention; determine experimentally the amounts of air, water and humus and the capillarity of different soils; relate soil characteristics, types and components to healthy plant growth.

Objective

Relate soil-management practices to soil fertility; explain how inorganic matter loss, compaction, leaching, erosion and repeated monocropping reduce fertility; apply soil-conservation and fertility-maintenance methods.

Objective

Identify ecological conditions favouring the spread of common, endemic and potentially epidemic diseases; relate the biology of disease vectors or causative agents to disease spread and control; use knowledge of causative organisms, transmission modes and symptoms to explain prevention, treatment and control; apply inoculation and vaccination principles to disease prevention.

Objective

Define drug abuse and addiction; list commonly abused drugs; state the effects of drug abuse on human health; explain methods of preventing drug abuse.

Objective

Categorize pollution into air, water and soil pollution; relate common pollutants to human health and environmental degradation; determine methods of controlling pollutants; explain the importance of sanitation, solid-waste and sewage disposal, community health and personal hygiene.

Objective

Assess the roles and functions of national and international health agencies in health promotion and disease control.

Objective

Apply methods of conserving renewable and non-renewable resources; outline the benefits of conservation and prevention of desertification; identify national and international conservation bodies and describe their activities.

Objective

Identify and state the locations and importance of game reserves and national parks in Nigeria.

Objective

Differentiate continuous and discontinuous variation with examples; relate environmental conditions, habitat and genetic constitution to variation; measure heights and weights of pupils of the same age group; plot frequency-distribution graphs of heights and weights; observe and record colour patterns in plants and animals; apply fingerprint classification in identity detection.

Objective

Identify specific examples of physiological variation in humans; categorize people according to physiological variation; apply knowledge of blood groups to blood transfusion and paternity determination; use discontinuous variation in crime detection.

Objective

Determine heritable and non-heritable characters with examples; illustrate the simple structure of DNA; explain how hereditary characters are transmitted from parents to offspring.

Objective

Illustrate gene segregation during meiosis and gene recombination at fertilization; deduce that genes segregate during gamete formation and recombine randomly at fertilization; analyse data from cross-breeding experiments.

Objective

Apply heredity principles to produce new crop varieties and livestock through crossbreeding; deduce advantages and disadvantages of outbreeding and inbreeding; analyse basic issues relating to GMOs, gene therapy and biosafety; apply heredity knowledge in marriage counselling, particularly regarding blood groups, sickle-cell anaemia and Rhesus factors.

Objective

Identify sex-linked characters; describe the significance of recombinant DNA in producing important medical products such as insulin, interferon and enzymes.

Objective

Define biotechnology; list applications of biotechnology in agriculture, medicine, pharmaceuticals and the food industry.

Objective

Explain organic evolution as the sum total of adaptive changes occurring over long periods, resulting in diversity of forms, structures and functions among organisms; explain the contributions of Lamarck and Darwin to evolutionary theory.

Objective

State evidence supporting organic evolution; describe evidence from fossils, comparative anatomy, physiology and embryology; trace evolutionary trends in plants and animals; state evidence supporting modern evolutionary theories, including genetic studies and mutation.