Immunity and vaccination | Biology | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Match each word to its meaning.

antitoxin

⇔

produced by white blood cells to neutralise harmful chemicals ✓

toxin

⇔

produced by some pathogens and make us feel unwell ✓

antigen

⇔

molecule found on the surface of all cells ✓

antibody

⇔

produced by white blood cells and causes pathogens to clump together ✓
Which of the following is a key part of the immune system?

brain

red blood cells

liver

white blood cells ✓

heart
Which of these do not help to protect us against pathogens?

lymphocytes

phagocytes

platelets

red blood cells ✓
Match each cell to what it does.

phagocyte

⇔

can engulf and digest pathogens ✓

lymphocyte

⇔

can make specific antibodies that bind to antigens ✓

pathogen

⇔

infects the body and causes symptoms of illness ✓
True or false? Antibodies are proteins.

True ✓

False
Put these steps in order to explain how the body can remove harmful pathogens.

1

⇔

Antigens on the cell surface of a pathogen are detected.

2

⇔

Lymphocytes produce antibodies.

3

⇔

Antibodies attach to the antigen on the surface of the pathogen.

4

⇔

Pathogens are clumped together.

5

⇔

Phagocytes engulf pathogens.

6

⇔

Pathogens are digested by enzymes.

What is immunity?

The ability to recognise an antigen the first time the body is exposed to it.

The ability to respond quickly to an antigen when the body is re-exposed to it. ✓

The ability to engulf and digest a pathogen.
Put these steps in the correct order to explain how a vaccine works.

1

⇔

A dead or inactive form of the pathogen, or parts of it, are given as a vaccine.

2

⇔

Lymphocytes make antibodies that are complementary to the pathogen's antigens.

3

⇔

Phagocytes then destroy the inactive pathogen.

4

⇔

Memory cells remain in the blood, providing immunity to the pathogen.
Which type of blood cell remains in the blood after the first exposure to an antigen and provides immunity?

memory cell ✓

phagocyte

bacterial cell

red blood cell
What happens if a person is reinfected with the pathogen they were vaccinated against?

Memory cells are able to quickly produce a mutation.

Memory cells are able to quickly produce antibodies. ✓

Memory cells are able to quickly produce antigens.
True or false? Memory cells are lymphocytes.

True ✓

False
Why is it difficult to make a single vaccine against influenza?

White blood cells mutate regularly so they no longer recognise influenza.

Antigens on the pathogen mutate regularly so memory cells can't respond as well. ✓

Antibodies mutate when they encounter influenza and become harmful to the body.

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After exposure to a pathogen, memory cells remain in the body to provide immunity.
Vaccination creates immunity by injecting a small amount of a dead or inactivated pathogen in a vaccine into the body.
White blood cells mount an immune response by producing antibodies against the pathogen in the vaccine.
Some of the white blood cells stay in the body as memory cells to provide immunity to the pathogen in the vaccine.
Upon reinfection by the pathogen, memory cells respond by rapidly making antibodies against the pathogen.

Antibodies remain in the blood for years, which makes a person immune to a disease.

Antibodies don't stay in the body longer term, the memory cells do and they provide long lasting immunity against a pathogen.

Immunity - Immunity is established after the body is first exposed to a pathogen's antigens, and enables white blood cells to respond quickly to the antigen when the body is re-exposed to it.
Antibodies - Proteins produced by white blood cells against specific pathogens.
Memory cells - White blood cells that remain in the blood and give lasting immunity to certain pathogens.
Vaccine - A formulation that contains an inactive pathogen, or parts of it.
Vaccination - The process of administering a vaccine to an individual to create immunity to a pathogen.