Exam skills
What the paper asks you to do
- Suggest transmission controls from evidence
- Explain vaccination as a sequence
- Distinguish antibiotics from antibodies
Human systems
Disease and immunity
Connect pathogen transmission, body defences, antibodies, vaccination and public-health control.5090 syllabus routeConcept · skill · exam language
What to know
Build the topic around four anchors.
- 01Pathogens and transmission
- 02Physical and chemical barriers
- 03Antibodies and lymphocytes
- 04Vaccination and community protection
Common mistakes
Where marks disappear
- Using antibiotics for viral disease
- Saying vaccines directly kill pathogens
- Confusing an antigen with an antibody
Structured practice
Answer these without looking back.
For each prompt, write the biological chain clearly enough that every mark-worthy link is visible.
- 01Explain how vaccination creates protection.
- 02Suggest controls for a water-borne pathogen.
- 03Compare antibody and antigen.
Continue learning
Read the connected explanation.
See how barriers, inflammation, phagocytes, antibodies and T cells cooperate—and where immune memory comes from.
This independent teaching resource follows the Cambridge O Level Biology 5090 syllabus direction and is not endorsed by Cambridge International Education.