Skip to content

Study Hub

Study Guides

This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.

Year 9 - Science

Differences between infectious and non-infectious disease

Disease and drugs

Unit Summary

This unit explores the human gas exchange system, focusing on the impact of exercise, asthma, smoking, recreational drugs, and the differences between infectious and non-infectious diseases. It emphasises understanding scientific methods, evidence, risk evaluation, and peer review importance.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe some common infectious and non-infectious diseases and their causes.

Key Notes

  • Infectious diseases can be passed from one organism to another.
  • Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens including viruses and some bacteria.
  • Some lifestyle factors are linked to non-infectious diseases.
  • Non-infectious diseases cannot be passed from one organism to another.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • infectious: Can be spread from organism to organism.
  • disease: A persistent deviation from a person's normal appearance, body function or behaviour.
  • pathogen: A virus, bacterium or other microorganism that causes disease.
  • viruses: Non-living infectious agents that can replicate inside a host cell.
  • bacteria: Unicellular microorganisms that do not have a cell nucleus.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Non-infectious diseases such as heart disease can be passed from person to person.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.

Infectious diseases can be passed from one organism to another. Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens including viruses and some bacteria.

2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'infectious'

Can be spread from organism to organism. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.

3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.

Mistake: Non-infectious diseases such as heart disease can be passed from person to person. Correction: Only infectious diseases caused by pathogens can spread from person to person.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 9 Science guide library.