Your journey to excellence in
By Revision Genie
Working scientifically
Unit 1
What makes a good scientific question
Writing a testable hypothesis
Variables: independent, dependent and control
Choosing apparatus for accuracy and precision
Risk assessment: hazards and control measures
Valid method vs reliable method
Recording results in tables with units
Using range and mean to describe data
Spotting anomalies and justifying exclusion
Random error vs systematic error
Precision, repeatability and reproducibility
Drawing and interpreting graphs (line, bar, scatter)
Gradient, intercept and what they mean
Using proportionality and orders of magnitude
Communicating conclusions using evidence
Evaluating claims and the role of peer review
Unit 2
Biology: Cell biology
Prokaryotic cells vs eukaryotic cells
Organelles in animal cells and what they do
Plant cell structures and what they do
Bacterial cell structures including plasmids
Cell size and scale calculations (standard form)
Specialised animal cells: sperm, nerve, muscle
Specialised plant cells: root hair, xylem, phloem
Cell differentiation in animals and plants
Light microscope vs electron microscope
Magnification calculations: image size and real size
Chromosomes, genes and DNA basics
The cell cycle overview
Mitosis: why it matters (growth and repair)
Stem cells in embryos, adults and meristems
Stem cells: uses, risks and ethics
Diffusion across membranes
Surface area to volume ratio and exchange needs
Osmosis in plant and animal cells
Required practical: microscopy of plant and animal cells
Required practical: osmosis in plant tissue
Unit 3
Biology: Organisation
Cells, tissues, organs and organ systems
The digestive system: organs and overall function
Enzymes as biological catalysts
Lock-and-key model of enzyme action
Factors affecting enzyme activity (temperature and pH)
Amylase, protease and lipase: where made and what they do
Bile: neutralisation and emulsification
Absorption in the small intestine and villi adaptations
The heart: double circulatory system overview
Blood vessels: arteries, veins and capillaries (structure–function)
The lungs: trachea, bronchi and alveoli
Gas exchange at alveoli (diffusion and blood supply)
Heart rate control: natural pacemaker and artificial pacemakers
Blood components: plasma, red cells, white cells, platelets
Coronary heart disease and reduced blood flow
Stents, statins, valves, transplants and artificial hearts
Health vs disease and interacting diseases
Risk factors, correlation and causation in health data
Lifestyle factors and non-communicable diseases
Cancer: benign vs malignant tumours and spread
Plant tissues: epidermis, palisade, spongy mesophyll, xylem, phloem, meristem
Leaf structure including stomata and guard cells
Transpiration and factors affecting rate
Translocation in phloem (what moves and where)
Required practical: food tests (Benedict’s, iodine, Biuret)
Required practical: effect of pH on amylase
Unit 4
Biology: Infection and response
Pathogens and how they cause disease
Communicable vs non-communicable diseases
Spread of disease: direct contact, water and air
Viral disease case studies: measles, HIV, TMV
Bacterial disease case studies: salmonella, gonorrhoea
Fungal disease case study: rose black spot
Protist disease case study: malaria life cycle and control
Non-specific defences: skin and physical barriers
Non-specific defences: nose, trachea/bronchi and stomach acid
White blood cells: phagocytosis
White blood cells: antibodies and antitoxins
Vaccination and immune memory
Herd immunity and limiting spread
Antibiotics: what they do and what they don’t do
Painkillers vs antibiotics (symptom relief vs killing pathogens)
Drug discovery: natural products and synthesis
Preclinical testing: cells, tissues and animals
Clinical trials: volunteers, patients and dose
Double-blind trials and placebo control
Unit 5
Biology: Bioenergetics
Photosynthesis word equation and symbol recognition
Photosynthesis as an endothermic reaction
Chloroplasts and chlorophyll: where photosynthesis happens
Limiting factors: light, COâ‚‚, temperature, chlorophyll
Measuring photosynthesis rate using bubbles or biomass change
Interpreting single-factor photosynthesis graphs
Higher tier: identifying limiting factor from multi-factor graphs
Higher tier: inverse square law for light intensity
Glucose uses: respiration, starch storage, fats/oils
Glucose uses: cellulose and amino acids (nitrates)
Respiration as an exothermic reaction in cells
Aerobic respiration word equation and symbols
Anaerobic respiration in muscles and lactic acid
Anaerobic respiration in yeast/plants: fermentation
Exercise response: heart rate and breathing changes
Oxygen debt and fatigue
Higher tier: lactic acid processing in the liver
Metabolism as the sum of chemical reactions
Building and breaking down carbohydrates, lipids and proteins
Urea formation from excess protein breakdown
Required practical: light intensity and photosynthesis rate
Unit 6
Biology: Homeostasis and response
What homeostasis means and why it matters
The nervous system: CNS and peripheral nerves
Reflex actions and the reflex arc
Synapses and neurotransmitters (basics)
The endocrine system and hormones overview
Control of blood glucose: insulin and glucagon
Type 1 vs Type 2 diabetes (cause and management)
Negative feedback in control systems
Thermoregulation: sweating and vasodilation
Thermoregulation: shivering and vasoconstriction
Kidney function overview and filtration
Reabsorption of glucose and ions (selective reabsorption)
Osmoregulation and water balance
ADH and control of water reabsorption
Plant hormones overview (auxin as the key example)
Phototropism and gravitropism using auxin
Required practical: reaction time and stimulus
Required practical: investigating plant responses (e.g., growth/auxin)
Unit 7
Biology: Inheritance, variation and evolution
DNA, genes and chromosomes recap
Mitosis vs meiosis (what each produces)
Meiosis and genetic variation
Sexual vs asexual reproduction (advantages and disadvantages)
Genetic terminology: allele, genotype and phenotype
Punnett squares for monohybrid inheritance
Inherited disorders (example contexts)
Variation: genetic vs environmental causes
Mutation: what it is and what it can lead to
Evolution by natural selection
Evidence for evolution: fossils and antibiotic resistance
Selective breeding and its outcomes
Genetic engineering overview and examples (e.g., crops)
Classification and the three-domain system (overview)
Speciation basics
Resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance
Required practical: variation and distribution using sampling
Unit 8
Biology: Ecology
Levels of organisation: individual to ecosystem
Abiotic factors and how they affect communities
Biotic interactions: competition and predation
Adaptations and survival in habitats
Sampling techniques: quadrats and transects
Estimating population size and making it reliable
Food chains and trophic levels
Pyramids of biomass and energy transfer
Decomposition and decay conditions
Carbon cycle and why it matters
Water cycle and why it matters
Recycling materials in ecosystems
Biodiversity and how to measure it
Human impacts: land use, pollution and climate change
Maintaining biodiversity: conservation strategies
Food security and sustainable farming
Peat formation and carbon stores
Required practical: fieldwork sampling with quadrats/transects
Unit 9
Chemistry: Atomic structure and the periodic table
Atoms, elements and compounds
Subatomic particles and relative charge/mass
Atomic number and mass number
Isotopes and why they differ
Electronic structure for the first 20 elements
Periods and groups: what they show
Development of the periodic table (Mendeleev)
Metals vs non-metals in the table
Group 0: noble gases and unreactivity
Group 1: alkali metals and trends in reactivity
Group 7: halogens and displacement
Transition metals properties (overview)
Required practical: investigating reactivity trends (where taught)
Unit 10
Chemistry: Bonding, structure and the properties of matter
Ionic bonding: formation of ions
Ionic structures and properties (mp/bp, conductivity)
Covalent bonding: sharing electrons
Simple molecular substances and their properties
Giant covalent structures: diamond and graphite
Graphene and fullerenes (overview)
Metallic bonding and metal properties
States of matter and particle model
Changes of state and energy
Internal energy and temperature vs energy store
Density calculations and units
Nanoparticles: properties and uses
Polymers basics and properties
Required practical: separating mixtures (where taught)
Required practical: investigating properties of materials
Unit 11
Chemistry: Quantitative chemistry
Relative formula mass and moles idea
Calculating moles from mass
Calculating mass from moles
Balancing symbol equations
Conservation of mass in reactions
Limiting reactants (Higher tier focus)
Yield and why it can be low
Percentage yield calculations
Atom economy and sustainable processes
Concentration in g/dmÂł and mol/dmÂł
Titration calculations (Combined Science level)
Required practical: titration or concentration (where taught)
Unit 12
Chemistry: Chemical changes
Acids, alkalis and neutralisation
pH scale and indicators
Strong vs weak acids (concentration vs strength)
Reactions of acids with metals
Reactions of acids with bases and carbonates
Making salts: different methods
Electrolysis basics and ionic movement
Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds
Electrolysis of aqueous solutions (rules)
Half equations (Higher tier focus)
Required practical: preparation of a salt
Required practical: electrolysis observations
Unit 13
Chemistry: Energy changes
Exothermic vs endothermic reactions
Reaction profiles and activation energy
Bond breaking and bond making (energy)
Calculating energy change using bond energies (Higher tier focus)
Cells and batteries as chemical energy stores
Fuel combustion and energy transfer
Required practical: temperature change in reactions
Unit 14
Chemistry: The rate and extent of chemical change
Collision theory basics
Factors affecting rate: temperature
Factors affecting rate: concentration/pressure
Factors affecting rate: surface area
Catalysts and enzymes (chemistry view)
Measuring rate: mass loss, gas volume, precipitate
Required practical: rate of reaction (e.g., magnesium + acid)
Reversible reactions and dynamic equilibrium
Le Chatelier’s principle: temperature changes
Le Chatelier’s principle: pressure changes
Le Chatelier’s principle: concentration changes
Haber process as an equilibrium case study (overview)
Unit 15
Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Crude oil as a finite resource
Fractional distillation of crude oil
Hydrocarbons and homologous series
Alkanes: properties and combustion
Alkenes: double bond and reactivity
Cracking: conditions and products
Polymerisation of alkenes
Making and using plastics (properties and issues)
Alcohols and carboxylic acids (overview at Combined level)
Required practical: cracking demonstration (where taught)
Unit 16
Chemistry: Chemical analysis
Pure substances, formulations and mixtures
Chromatography basics
Required practical: paper chromatography
Interpreting chromatograms and Rf values (Higher tier focus)
Identifying gases: tests for Hâ‚‚, Oâ‚‚, COâ‚‚, Clâ‚‚
Flame tests for metal ions
Tests for carbonate, sulfate and halide ions
Instrumental analysis overview (flame emission spectroscopy)
Using spectroscopy data qualitatively (Combined level)
Unit 17
Chemistry: Chemistry of the atmosphere
Earth’s early atmosphere (overview)
How oxygen increased (photosynthesis)
Carbon dioxide changes over time
Atmospheric composition today
Greenhouse effect basics
Human activities and global warming
Climate change evidence and impacts (exam context)
Common pollutants: CO, SOâ‚‚, NOx, particulates
Acid rain: formation and effects
Reducing pollution: catalytic converters and regulations
Unit 18
Chemistry: Using resources
Using Earth’s resources and sustainability
Potable water and how it’s produced
Waste water treatment stages
Desalination and its energy cost
Life cycle assessment (LCA) basics
Reduce, reuse, recycle strategies
Corrosion and preventing rust
Alloys and improving properties
Ceramics, polymers and composites
Haber process and fertilisers (resource implications)
Required practical: potable water / purification (where taught)
Unit 19
Physics: Energy
Energy stores and energy pathways
Conservation of energy in systems
Calculating work done (force and distance)
Kinetic energy calculations
Gravitational potential energy calculations
Elastic potential energy calculations
Power and efficiency calculations
Sankey diagrams and energy transfer
Heating and insulation in buildings
Specific heat capacity and heating curves (Combined level)
Required practical: specific heat capacity or insulation comparison
Required practical: energy transfers (e.g., cooling)
Unit 20
Physics: Electricity
Circuit symbols and circuit diagrams
Current, potential difference and resistance
Series circuits: current and voltage rules
Parallel circuits: current and voltage rules
Resistance and I–V characteristics (qualitative)
LDRs and thermistors in circuits
Required practical: I–V characteristics (resistor/filament/diode)
Power in electrical devices (P=IV)
Domestic electricity: mains, plugs and safety
Energy transfer and cost (kWh)
Static electricity and electric fields (overview)
Unit 21
Physics: Particle model of matter
Density and rearranging the equation
Internal energy and changes of state
Specific latent heat (Combined level)
Gas pressure and particle explanations
Temperature and pressure in gases
Required practical: density of regular/irregular objects
Required practical: heating and cooling curves (where taught)
Unit 22
Physics: Atomic structure
Structure of the atom (nucleus and electrons)
Radioactive decay as a random process
Alpha, beta and gamma properties
Penetration and shielding
Half-life and decay curves (Combined level)
Nuclear equations (Combined level)
Uses and risks of nuclear radiation
Background radiation sources
Nuclear fission and nuclear reactors (overview)
Nuclear fusion (overview)
Required practical: radiation and shielding/absorption (where taught)
Unit 23
Physics: Forces
Contact and non-contact forces
Resultant force and motion
Distance–time graphs
Velocity–time graphs and acceleration
Newton’s laws overview
Stopping distance and thinking/braking distance
Momentum basics and conservation (Combined level)
Forces and elasticity (Hooke’s law)
Required practical: force and extension
Required practical: acceleration investigation (trolley/ramp)
Pressure in fluids (Combined level)
Unit 24
Physics: Waves
Transverse vs longitudinal waves
Wave speed equation and rearranging
Frequency, period and wavelength
Reflection and refraction basics
Sound waves and hearing range
Ultrasound uses (medical and industrial)
Electromagnetic spectrum order and uses
Properties of EM waves (travel at same speed in vacuum)
Required practical: wave properties (ripple tank or string)
Required practical: reflection/refraction (where taught)
Unit 25
Physics: Magnetism and electromagnetism
Permanent magnets and magnetic fields
Magnetic field patterns and plotting
The motor effect basics (force on a conductor)
Fleming’s left-hand rule (Combined level)
Electromagnets and factors affecting strength
Solenoids and relays (applications)
Induction: generating electricity (overview)
Transformers basics (Combined level)
Required practical: building/testing electromagnets (where taught)
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