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Biology
A LEVEL BIOLOGY
Who is the course for?
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Biology is the study of living things, right down to a molecular level to look at the very fundamental question of “what is life?” Biology centralises around an understanding of how cells function and interact to create complex life forms, and how those life forms are adapted and fit into a wider environment. Modern technology has allowed greater and greater levels of control and manipulation of this understanding to impact all areas of life from what food you eat to what medical treatments you could receive, to advances in biotechnology that could have global consequences. If the 20th century was the century of physics, the 21st is definitely the century of biology.
Course Details
The biology course covers the following content: 1. Biological molecules 2. Cells 3. Organisms exchange substances with their environment 4. Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms 5. Energy transfers in and between organisms 6. Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments 7. Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems 8. The control of gene expression There are also 12 required practicals which have specific criteria which must be evidenced.
Assessment
COMPONENT FORMAT DURATION WEIGHTING
Paper 1 Short and extended response questions on units 1-4 Paper 2 Short response and comprehension 2 hours 35%
2 hours 35%
questions on units 5-8 Paper 3 Structured questions on all 8 units, plus 2 hours 30% critical experimental analysis plus an essay question
Career Opportunities
There are a great many fields open to biology that are obvious (medicine, veterinary science, nursing, dentistry etc) but biological research is a huge and diverse area. You could find yourself in any field of lab based research from looking for new cancer treatments to developing the next generation of food crop to studying climate change or analysing fossils of ancient beasts. Aside from that, any science teaches critical thinking and investigation skills. These are highly sought after in almost any field.
