GCSE Biology - Revision

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Level	Board	Subject	Paper	Assessment Type	Length	% of Course
GCSE	AQA	Biology	Paper 1: Cell Biology; Organisation; Infection and Response; Bioenergetics	Written Exam	1h 45m	50%
			Paper 2: Homeostasis and response; Inheritance; variation and evolution; Ecology	Written Exam	1h 45m	50%

Revision strategies

Where do I Start?

There is a lot to learn in Science, especially when you are taking Biology, Chemistry and Physics as separate GCSEs. That is why you need to start your revision early and organise your time. The first step is to get your hands on the syllabus for each subject. All the Science course specifications are extremely useful, because they provide clear definitions for terms you must be familiar with and tell you which examples, processes and practicals you need to remember in detail.

Go through the syllabus to work out the bits you are most and least confident on. If you are unfamiliar with any subject content, look it up in revision guides or using the internet

You can find your Biology specification here.

Specific revision strategies

• Make spider diagrams / mind maps
• Make notes – but not too many. Don’t just copy out text, read a paragraph and summarise it.
• Use flashcards/formula cards.
• Use diagrams, flow charts, equations and formula triangles to help you visualise ideas in different ways.
• Review key terms, and definitions to ensure you are confident with these as you will need to use the correct language in the exams.
• Regularly review ideas and test yourself on these
• Ensure you learn and can use the physics equations you will need for your exams.
• Don’t forget to revise the required practicals as these will also be in your exams. Make sure you are confident in the methods, and skills used practical work including drawing graphs, analysing data, interpreting variables, drawing conclusions and evaluating.

Revision areas

Paper 1

Unit 1: Cell biology

1. Eukaryotes and prokaryotes
2. Animal and plant cells
3. Cell specialisation
4. Cell differentiation
5. Microscopy
6. Chromosomes
7. Mitosis and the cell cycle
8. Stem cells
9. Diffusion
10. Osmosis
11. Active transport
12. Culturing microorganisms

Unit 2: Organisation

1. Principles of organisation
2. The human digestive system
3. The heart and blood vessels
4. Blood
5. Coronary heart disease
6. Health issues
7. The effect of lifestyle on some non-communicable diseases
8. Cancer
9. Plant tissues
10. Plant organ system

Unit 3: Infection and response

1. Communicable (infectious) diseases
2. Viral diseases
3. Bacterial diseases
4. Fungal diseases
5. Protist diseases
6. Human defence systems
7. Vaccination
8. Antibiotics and painkillers
9. Discovery and development of drugs
10. Producing monoclonal antibodies
11. Detection and identification of plant diseases
12. Plant defence responses

Unit 4: Bioenergetics

1. Photosynthetic reaction
2. Rate of photosynthesis
3. Uses of glucose from photosynthesis
4. Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
5. Response to exercise
6. Metabolism

Required practical activities

• Required practical activity 1: Use a light microscope to observe, draw and label a selection of plant and animal cells.
• Required practical activity 2: Investigate the effect of antiseptics or antibiotics on bacterial growth using agar plates and measuring zones of inhibition.
• Required practical activity 3: Investigate the effect of a range of concentrations of salt or sugar solutions on the mass of plant tissue.
• Required practical activity 4: Use qualitative reagents to test for a range of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.
• Required practical activity 5: Investigate the effect of pH on the rate of reaction of amylase enzyme.
• Required practical activity 6: Investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis using an aquatic organism such as pondweed.

Paper 2

Unit 5: Homeostasis and response

1. Homeostasis
2. The human nervous system
3. Human endocrine system
4. The brain
5. The eye
6. Control of body temperature
7. Control of blood glucose concentration
8. Maintaining water and nitrogen balance in the body
9. Hormones in human reproduction
10. Contraception
11. The use of hormones to treat infertility (HT only)
12. Negative feedback (HT only)
13. Plant hormones
14. Use of plant hormones

Unit 6: Inheritance, variation and evolution

1. Sexual and asexual reproduction
2. Meiosis
3. Advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction
4. DNA and the genome
5. DNA structure
6. Genetic inheritance
7. Inherited disorders
8. Sex determination
9. Variation
10. Evolution
11. Selective breeding
12. Genetic engineering
13. Cloning
14. Theory of evolution
15. Speciation
16. Understanding of genetics
17. Evidence for evolution
18. Fossils
19. Extinction
20. Resistant bacteria
21. Classification of living organisms

Unit 7: Ecology

1. Communities
2. Abiotic factors
3. Biotic factors
4. Adaptations
5. Levels of organisation
6. How materials are cycled
7. Decomposition
8. Impact of environmental change
9. Biodiversity
10. Waste management
11. Land use
12. Deforestation
13. Global warming
14. Maintaining biodiversity
15. Trophic levels
16. Pyramids of biomass
17. Transfers of biomass
18. Factors affecting food security
19. Farming techniques
20. Sustainable fisheries
21. Role of biotechnology

Required practical activities

• Required practical activity 7: Plan and carry out an investigation into the effect of a factor on human reaction time.
• Required practical activity 8: Investigate the effect of light or gravity on the growth of newly germinated seedlings.
• Required practical activity 9: Measure the population size of a common species in a habitat
• Required practical activity 10: Investigate the effect of temperature on the rate of decay of fresh milk by measuring pH change.

Websites

• Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/science)
• S-cool (https://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/biology) 
• BBC Bitesize (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zrkw2hv)
• Doc Brown's School (http://www.docbrown.info/page17/2016-0-index.htm#AQA)
• Biology Revision - Physics and Maths tutor (Biology Revision - PMT (physicsandmathstutor.com))

Past papers

It is vital you do past papers and mark them yourself. Exam practice is important as the examiner will want to see you can apply the scientific ideas you have been studying, and past papers will show how this is done. Follow this link to access Biology past papers.