THE 3-INDIVIDUAL SCIENCES PATHWAY: MATHEMATICS BIOLOGY

GCSE Biology builds on students’ study in Year 8, covering a wide range of topics from Human Biology, Ecology and the Environment, Genetics and Cell Biology.

Full details of the specification can be found on AQA’s website, but students will explore: n Cell biology: structural differences between types of cells and their functions within an organism, cell division and specialisation. n Organisation: the human digestive system, the respiratory system, the circulatory system, plant systems. n Infection and response: pathogens and disease, the human immune system, drug development, treating disease. n Bioenergetics: photosynthesis, respiration, exercise and metabolism. n Homeostasis: the human nervous system, the eye, control of body temperature, the excretory system, control of blood sugar, the reproductive system. n Inheritance, variation and evolution: meiosis, natural selection, mutations, DNA, inheritance. n Ecology: studying ecosystems, communities, cycles, adaptations and interdependence, human impact on the environment, maintaining biodiversity.

THE 3-INDIVIDUAL SCIENCES PATHWAY:

Chemistry topics include: atomic structure, bonding, the links between bonding and structure, and between structure and properties; useful chemicals from rocks (including metal extraction); the air, metal oxides and rusting; fuels, polymers, alcohols and carboxylic acids; chemical calculations; equilibrium; rates; energy transfer; electrolysis; making salts; the Periodic Table; strong and weak acids and alkalis; water as a resource; the use of chemical reactions and instrumental methods to determine unknown substances and to detect impurities, equation writing.