Biology

Turning questions into testable hypotheses

Choosing independent, dependent and control variables

Writing a clear method with repeat measurements

Risk assessment: hazards, risks and control measures

Precision, accuracy and improving reliability

Repeatability, reproducibility and spotting anomalies

Presenting results in tables with units and headings

Plotting graphs with sensible scales and best-fit lines

Interpreting trends, patterns and correlations

Calculating mean, range and percentage change

Rate calculations (including practical contexts)

Using standard form in biology calculations

Using the microscope: scale bars and magnification basics

Evaluating method limitations and suggesting improvements

What all cells have in common

Animal cells: key sub-cellular structures and functions

Plant cells: chloroplasts, vacuole and cellulose cell wall

Bacterial cells: features and plasmids

Eukaryotic vs prokaryotic cells

Estimating and comparing sizes of sub-cellular structures

Cell specialisation in animals: sperm, neurones and muscle cells

Cell specialisation in plants: root hair cells, xylem and phloem

Cell differentiation: what it means and why it matters

Differentiation in animals vs plants

Stem cells: what they are and why they’re useful

Stem cells in medicine: benefits and risks (including ethics)

Microscopy: light vs electron microscopes

Magnification calculations (image size, real size, magnification)

Mitosis: why cells divide

The cell cycle and stages of mitosis (overview)

Diffusion: movement down a concentration gradient

Diffusion rate: surface area, temperature and concentration difference

Osmosis: movement of water across a partially permeable membrane

Active transport: moving substances against a concentration gradient

Exchange surfaces: what makes diffusion efficient

Using SA:V ratio to explain diffusion limits in organisms

Levels of organisation: cells to tissues to organs to organ systems

The digestive system: organs and overall function

Digestive enzymes: lock-and-key model

Amylase: where it’s made and what it does

Proteases: where they’re made and what they do

Lipases: where they’re made and what they do

Bile: neutralising acid and emulsifying fats

Absorption in the small intestine

Villi adaptations for absorption

Required practical: food tests for sugars, starch, protein and lipids (AQA)

Required practical: effect of pH on amylase (continuous sampling) (AQA)

The circulatory system: what the blood transports

The heart: structure (atria, ventricles, valves) and function

Blood vessels: arteries, veins and capillaries

Blood components: plasma, red cells, white cells and platelets

Coronary heart disease: causes and risk factors

Treating CHD: stents and statins (and lifestyle)

The respiratory system: ventilation basics

Gas exchange in alveoli: adaptations and diffusion

Non-communicable disease: examples and risk factors

Cancer: benign vs malignant tumours

Plant tissues: epidermis, palisade and spongy mesophyll

Xylem: structure and function

Phloem: structure and function

Transpiration: how water moves through a plant

Transpiration rate: light, temperature, humidity and wind

Translocation: moving sugars in the phloem

Pathogens and the idea of infectious disease

How communicable diseases spread (air, water, contact, vectors)

Reducing disease spread: hygiene and isolation strategies

Viral diseases: measles, HIV and tobacco mosaic virus

Bacterial diseases: salmonella and gonorrhoea

Fungal diseases: rose black spot (plants)

Protist diseases: malaria and mosquito vectors

Non-specific human defences: skin barrier

Non-specific human defences: nose hairs and mucus

Non-specific human defences: trachea/bronchi cilia and mucus

Non-specific human defences: stomach acid

White blood cells: phagocytosis

White blood cells: antibody production

White blood cells: antitoxin production

Vaccination: how it prevents disease

Herd immunity: why vaccinating many people reduces spread

Antibiotics: what they treat (and what they don’t)

Painkillers: symptom relief vs killing pathogens

Antibiotic resistance: how resistant strains increase

Drug discovery: plant/microbe origins and modern synthesis

Preclinical testing: cells, tissues and live animals

Clinical trials: safety, efficacy and dosage

Placebos and double-blind trials

Required practical: zones of inhibition on agar (AQA)

Monoclonal antibodies: how they are made (HT)

Monoclonal antibodies: diagnosis uses (HT)

Monoclonal antibodies: treatment uses (HT)

Monoclonal antibodies: side effects and ethical issues (HT)

Detecting plant disease by symptoms (HT)

Identifying plant disease: lab tests and reference sources (HT)

Plant physical defences (cell walls, cuticle, bark)

Plant chemical defences (antibacterial chemicals and poisons)

Photosynthesis word equation and balanced symbol equation

Photosynthesis as an endothermic reaction

Chloroplasts and chlorophyll: what they do

Limiting factors: light intensity

Limiting factors: carbon dioxide concentration

Limiting factors: temperature

Limiting factors: chlorophyll amount

Interpreting graphs with one limiting factor

Interpreting graphs with 2–3 limiting factors (HT)

Using the inverse square law for light intensity (HT)

Greenhouses: balancing cost with limiting factors (HT)

Required practical: light intensity on photosynthesis (pondweed) (AQA)

Uses of glucose: respiration

Uses of glucose: starch storage

Uses of glucose: fats/oils storage

Uses of glucose: cellulose for cell walls

Uses of glucose: making amino acids with nitrate ions

Respiration as an exothermic reaction in cells

Aerobic respiration equation and uses of energy

Anaerobic respiration in muscles: products and energy yield

Anaerobic respiration in plants/yeast: fermentation and uses

Exercise response: heart rate, breathing rate, breath volume

Lactic acid build-up and muscle fatigue

Oxygen debt: what it means and how it’s repaid

Metabolism: definition and why it matters

Building carbohydrates, lipids and proteins from smaller molecules

Making urea from excess proteins (link to excretion)

Homeostasis: keeping internal conditions stable

Control systems: receptors, coordination centres and effectors

Negative feedback: how homeostasis restores optimum conditions

The nervous system: CNS and neurones

Reflex actions: why they are rapid and protective

Reflex arc: sensory neurone, synapse, relay neurone, motor neurone

Synapses: why transmission is one-way

Measuring reaction time using data and graphs

Required practical: effect of a factor on human reaction time (AQA)

The brain regions: cerebral cortex, cerebellum, medulla (biology only)

Brain investigation and treatment: difficulties and ethics (HT, biology only)

The eye structures: retina, optic nerve, sclera, cornea, iris

Accommodation: focusing on near vs distant objects

Pupils and light intensity: reflex control

Hormones vs nerves: speed, duration and targeting

Endocrine glands: roles (pituitary, thyroid, adrenals, pancreas, gonads)

Blood glucose control: insulin and glucagon

Diabetes: Type 1 basics and management

Type 2 diabetes: risk factors and treatment (HT)

Thermoregulation: core temperature and enzymes

Skin responses: sweating, vasodilation and vasoconstriction

Shivering and metabolic heat production

Kidney structure: role of nephrons (overview)

Filtering blood: urea, water and ions

Selective reabsorption in the kidney tubules

Water balance and ADH

Kidney failure: dialysis vs transplant (pros and cons)

Reproduction hormones: FSH, LH, oestrogen, progesterone (overview)

The menstrual cycle: hormone changes across the cycle

Contraception: barrier methods and condoms

Contraception: hormonal methods (pill, implant) and effects

Contraception: IUDs and other non-barrier methods

Fertility treatment: IVF steps (and success factors)

Ethics of fertility treatment and embryo screening (HT)

Plant hormones: tropisms (phototropism and gravitropism)

Auxin and growth responses in shoots and roots

Uses of auxins: weedkillers and rooting powder

Gibberellins: seed germination and growth effects

Ethene: fruit ripening and commercial control

Required practical: light/gravity on seedling growth (AQA, biology only)

Sexual reproduction: what it involves (animals and flowering plants)

Asexual reproduction: what it is and where it happens

Meiosis: halving chromosome number in gametes

Fertilisation: restoring the full chromosome number

Mitosis vs meiosis: identical vs non-identical cells

Advantages and disadvantages of sexual reproduction (biology only)

Advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction (biology only)

DNA, genes, alleles and chromosomes: the basics

The genome and phenotype: environment interaction (AQA)

Genetic inheritance: genotype vs phenotype

Monohybrid crosses using Punnett squares

Dominant and recessive alleles in inheritance problems

Inherited disorders: polydactyly and cystic fibrosis

Embryo screening: economic, social and ethical issues

Sex determination: XX and XY chromosomes

Genetic cross for sex inheritance

Variation: genetic vs environmental causes

Mutations: what they are and their effects

Evolution by natural selection: steps in the process

Selective breeding: method and impacts

Genetic engineering: transferring genes for desired traits

GM crops: potential benefits and concerns

Darwin and Wallace: developing natural selection (biology only)

Speciation: how new species form (biology only)

Mendel: why his work mattered (and why delayed recognition)

Evidence for evolution: fossils and resistant bacteria

Fossil formation: why fossils form in some conditions

Extinction: causes and examples of factors

Resistant bacteria (including MRSA): selection and spread

Classification: Linnaean hierarchy (kingdom to species)

Binomial naming: genus and species

Using evidence to place organisms into groups

Levels of organisation in ecosystems: organism to ecosystem (AQA)

Interdependence: why species rely on each other

Competition: resources organisms compete for

Abiotic factors: light, temperature, moisture, soil pH, etc.

Biotic factors: predators, pathogens, food availability, competition

Adaptations: structural, behavioural and functional

Communities and stable ecosystems

Food chains: producers and consumers

Food webs: interlinked feeding relationships

Trophic levels: numbering and definitions (biology only)

Pyramids of biomass: constructing from data (biology only)

Transfer of biomass: ~10% to next trophic level (biology only)

Biomass losses: respiration, movement, waste and uneaten material

How materials are cycled: abiotic and biotic components

The water cycle: processes and importance

The carbon cycle: photosynthesis, respiration, combustion, decomposition

Decomposition: microorganisms and decay conditions (biology only)

Factors affecting decay rate: temperature, water and oxygen (biology only)

Anaerobic decay: biogas and methane (links to waste)

Required practical: temperature and milk decay rate using pH (AQA)

Impact of environmental change on species distribution (HT, biology only)

Biodiversity: what it is and why it supports stability

Measuring biodiversity: counting species in an area (overview)

Pollution types: water, air and land

Waste management: reducing, reusing and recycling strategies

Land use: building, quarrying, farming and landfill impacts

Peat bogs: habitat loss and carbon dioxide release

Deforestation: causes and environmental implications

Global warming: greenhouse gases and biological consequences

Maintaining biodiversity: conservation programmes and actions

Required practical: sampling and estimating population size (AQA)

Food security: what it means (biology only)

Factors threatening food security (biology only)

Farming techniques to improve efficiency (biology only)

Ethical objections to intensive farming (biology only)

Sustainable fisheries: quotas and net sizes (biology only)

Biotechnology in food: culturing microorganisms (biology only)

Biotechnology and GM solutions for growing demand (biology only)

Required practical 1: microscopy drawings of plant and animal cells (AQA)

Required practical 2: antibiotics/antiseptics and zones of inhibition (AQA, biology only)

Required practical 3: osmosis in plant tissue using sugar/salt solutions (AQA)

Required practical 4: food tests for carbohydrates, lipids and proteins (AQA)

Required practical 5: effect of pH on amylase (AQA)

Required practical 6: light intensity and photosynthesis rate (pondweed) (AQA)

Required practical 7: factor affecting human reaction time (AQA)

Required practical 8: light/gravity and seedling growth (AQA, biology only)

Required practical 9: field sampling to estimate population and distribution (AQA)

Required practical 10: temperature and milk decay rate via pH (AQA, biology only)

Cells, tissues, organs and organ systems work together

Mitosis vs meiosis as the basis of growth and inheritance

Photosynthesis and respiration as the two key life reactions

Metabolism as the sum of all chemical reactions in organisms

Cycling of materials between organisms and the environment (AQA)