This resource has been designed to motivate students whilst they evaluate their understanding of the content in modules 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which can be assessed in PAPER 1 (Biological processes). The resource includes a detailed and engaging Powerpoint (149 slides) and is fully-resourced with differentiated worksheets that challenge the students on a wide range of topics. The resource has been written to include different types of activities such as exam questions with explained answers, understanding checks and quiz competitions. The aim was to cover as much of the specification content as possible but the following topics have been given particular attention: Monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides Glycogen and starch as stores and providers of energy The homeostatic control of blood glucose concentration Osmoregulation Lipids Ultrafiltration and selective reabsorption Diabetes mellitus Voluntary and involuntary muscle The autonomic control of heart rate The organisation of the nervous system The gross structure of the human heart Haemoglobin and the Bohr shift Bonding The ultrastructure of plant cells Cyclic vs non-cyclic photophosphorylation Oxidative phosphorylation Anaerobic respiration in eukaryotes Helpful hints and tips are given throughout the resource to help students to structure their answers. This resource can be used in the lead up to the actual Paper 1 exam or earlier in the course when a particular area of modules 1, 2, 3 or 5 is being studied. If you are happy with this resource, why not look at the one which has been designed for Paper 2 (Biological diversity)?

This fully-resourced lesson focuses on the events of meiosis which specifically contribute to genetic variation. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the 4th and final part of point 4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe how meiosis produces daughter cells that are genetically different from each other. In order to understand how the events of meiosis like crossing over and random assortment and independent segregation can lead to variation, students need to be clear in their understanding that DNA replication in interphase results in homologous chromosomes as pairs of sister chromatids. Therefore the beginning of the lesson focuses on the chromosomes in the parent cell and this first part of the cycle and students will be introduced to non-sister chromatids and the fact that they may contain different alleles which is important for the exchange that occurs during crossing over. Time is taken to go through this event in prophase I in a step by step guide so that the students can recognise that the result can be new combinations of alleles that were not present in the parent cell. Moving forwards, the lesson explores how the independent segregation of chromosomes and chromatids during anaphase I and II results in genetically different gametes. The final part of the lesson looks at the use of a mathematical expression to calculate the possible combinations of alleles in gametes as well as in a zygote following the random fertilisation of haploid gametes. Understanding and prior knowledge checks are interspersed throughout the lesson as well as a series of exam questions which challenge the students to apply their knowledge to potentially unfamiliar situations. Due to the detail of this lesson, it is estimated that this will take about 2 hours of A-level teaching time to deliver

This is an engaging revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content within topic 7 (Rates of reaction and energy changes) of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification. The specification points that are covered in this revision lesson include: Suggest practical methods for determining the rate of a given reaction Explain how reactions occur when particles collide and that rates of reaction are increased when the frequency and/or energy of collisions is increased Explain the effects on rates of reaction of changes in temperature, concentration, surface area to volume ratio of a solid and pressure (on reactions involving gases) in terms of frequency and/or energy of collisions between particles Describe a catalyst as a substance that speeds up the rate of a reaction without altering the products of the reaction, being itself unchanged chemically and in mass at the end of the reaction Explain how the addition of a catalyst increases the rate of a reaction in terms of activation energy Describe an exothermic change or reaction as one in which heat energy is given out Describe an endothermic change or reaction as one in which heat energy is taken in Recall that the breaking of bonds is endothermic and the making of bonds is exothermic Recall that the overall heat energy change for a reaction is: a exothermic if more heat energy is released in forming bonds in the products than is required in breaking bonds in the reactants b endothermic if less heat energy is released in forming bonds in the products than is required in breaking bonds in the reactants Calculate the energy change in a reaction given the energies of bonds (in kJ mol–1) Explain the term activation energy Draw and label reaction profiles for endothermic and exothermic reactions, identifying activation energy The students will thoroughly enjoy the range of activities, which includes a quiz competition called “E NUMBERS” where they have to recognise the differences between endothermic and exothermic reactions whilst crucially being able to recognise the areas of this topic which need their further attention. This lesson can be used as revision resource at the end of the topic or in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams

This revision lesson contains a wide range of activities that will challenge the students on their knowledge and understanding of the content detailed in topic 3 (Conservation of energy) of the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics specification. These activities include exam style questions which will allow the students to assess their progress against the clearly explained answer. There is also a quiz that runs throughout the course of the lesson and this has been designed to maintain engagement and motivation. The following specification points have been covered in this lesson: Recall and use the equation to calculate the gravitational potential energy Recall and use the equation to calculate the kinetic energy Explain what is meant by the conservation of energy Explain that mechanical transfers become wasteful when energy is dissipated to the surroundings Explain ways of reducing unwanted energy transfers Recall and use the equation to calculate efficiency Describe the main energy sources available for use on Earth and explain their patterns and trends in the use of energy resources

This detailed and engaging lesson describes the structural similarities and differences between DNA and RNA. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet containing exam-style questions have been designed to cover point 1.5.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification. In the first lesson of topic 1, the students were introduced to a number of monomers which included a nucleotide. In line with this, the start of the lesson challenges them to recognise the key term nucleotide when only the letters U, C and T are shown. The next part of the lesson describes the structure of a DNA nucleotide and an RNA nucleotide so that the pentose sugar and the bases adenine, cytosine and guanine can be recognised as similarities whilst deoxyribose and ribose and thymine and uracil are seen as the differences. Time is taken to discuss how a phosphodiester bond is formed between adjacent nucleotides and their prior knowledge and understanding of condensation reactions is tested through a series of questions. Students are then introduced to the purine and pyrimidine bases and this leads into the description of the double-helical structure of DNA and the hydrogen bonds between complementary bases. The final section of the lesson describes the structure of mRNA, tRNA and rRNA and students are challenged to explain why this single stranded polynucleotide is shorter than DNA In addition to the current understanding and prior knowledge checks, a number of quiz rounds have been written into the lesson to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way and the final round acts as a final check on the structures of DNA and RNA.

This lesson looks at the two stages of protein synthesis, transcription and translation, and focuses on the key details that students need to understand this potentially difficult topic. The lesson presentation has been deliberately written in a concise way to encourage the students to summarise the two stages and pick out the key points which will enable them to form longer answers when necessary. The lesson begins by introducing the students to RNA, and a quick check is done to see how much they can recall about the other nucleic acid, DNA. Moving forwards, students are challenged to study the structure of DNA and RNA in SPOT THE DIFFERENCE before being challenged to explain why RNA is necessary in this process. Time is taken to look at important sections such as complimentary base pairing and the identification of amino acids from the codon. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to maintain engagement and the progress checks are regular so that students assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be quickly identified and addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but should a teacher want to teach an introduction lesson on protein synthesis before going into more detail at a later date, then this would be suitable.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the process of skeletal muscle contraction in terms of the sliding filament theory. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 7.2 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification and includes the role of actin, myosin, troponin, tropomyosin, calcium ions and ATP. The lesson begins with a study of the structure of the thick and thin filaments. Students will recognise that the protruding heads of the myosin molecule are mobile and this enables this protein to bind to the binding sites when they are exposed on actin. This leads into the introduction of troponin and tropomyosin and key details about the binding of calcium to this complex is explained. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to discuss possible reasons that can explain how the sarcomere narrows during contraction when the filaments remain the same length. This main part of the lesson goes through the main steps of the sliding filament model of muscle contraction and the critical roles of the calcium ions and ATP are discussed. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge by describing the immediate effect on muscle contraction when one of the elements doesn’t function correctly. This lesson has been written to tie in with another uploaded lesson on the structure of a muscle fibre which is covered in specification point 7.10

This detailed lesson describes and explains the pressure and volume changes and associated valve movements that occur during the cardiac cycle to maintain the unidirectional flow of blood. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover the 5th part of point 3.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification. The start of the lesson introduces the cardiac cycle as well as the key term systole, so that students can immediately recognise that the three stages of the cycle are atrial and ventricular systole followed by diastole. Students are challenged on their prior knowledge of the structure of the heart as they have to name and state the function of an atrioventricular and semi-lunar valve from an internal diagram. This leads into the key point that pressure changes in the chambers and the major arteries results in the opening and closing of these sets of valves. Students are given a description of the pressure change that results in the opening of the AV valves and shown where this would be found on the graph detailing the pressure changes of the cardiac cycle. They then have to use this as a guide to write descriptions for the closing of the AV valve and the opening and closing of the semi-lunar valves and to locate these on the graph. By providing the students with this graph, the rest of the lesson can focus on explaining how these changes come about. Students have to use their current and prior knowledge of the chambers and blood vessels to write 4 descriptions that cover the cardiac cycle. The final part of the lesson covers the changes in the volume of the ventricle. This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on the circulatory system as detailed in topic 3.4.1 (Mass transport in animals)

This engaging lesson explains why coenzymes, cofactors and prosthetic groups are needed in some enzyme-controlled reactions. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been primarily designed to cover point 2.1.4 (e) of the OCR A-level Biology specification but can also be used as a revision lesson for the roles of ions as was covered back in module 2.1.2. The lesson begins with an introduction of the description of a cofactor and students will learn that some are permanently bound to the enzyme whilst others only form temporary associations. A quick quiz competition runs over the course of the lesson and is used to introduce prosthetic groups, mineral ion cofactors and organic coenzymes and zinc ions with carbonic anhydrase, chloride ions with amylase and NAD are used as examples of each type. The lesson has been planned to make links to related topics such as cations, anions, transport of carbon dioxide and respiration which will test students on their prior knowledge as well as prepare them for these topics in modules 3 and 5.

This lesson introduces the key inorganic ions that are involved in biological processes and includes cations and anions. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 2.1.2 § of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but also makes links to topics in upcoming modules such as respiration, photosynthesis and neuronal communication. The roles of the following ions are covered in this lesson: phosphate nitrate chloride hydroxide hydrogencarbonate hydrogen ammonium sodium potassium calcium Extra time is taken during the lesson to describe how these ions are involved in the transport of carbon dioxide, the conduction of nervous impulses and blood clotting as well as other processes and a number of quiz competitions have been included to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way

This fully-resourced lesson describes the meaning of the terms stem cell, pluripotency and totipotency. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover points 3.11 (i) and (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification and therefore this lesson also contains discussion periods where the topic is the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of stem cells in medical therapies. The lesson begins with a knowledge recall of the structure of eukaryotic cells and the students have to use the first letters of each of the four answers to reveal the key term, stem cell. Time is then taken to consider the meaning of cellular differentiation, and this leads into the key idea that not all stem cells are equal when it comes to the number of cell types that they have the potential to differentiate into. A quick quiz round introduces the five degrees of potency, and then the students are challenged to use their understanding of terminology to place totipotency, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency and unipotency in the correct places on the potency continuum. Although the latter three do not have to be specifically known based on the content of specification point 3.11 (i), an understanding of their meaning was deemed helpful when planning the lesson as it should assist with the retention of knowledge about totipotency and pluripotency. These two highest degrees of potency are the main focus of the lesson, and key details are emphasised such as the ability of totipotent cells to differentiate into any extra-embroyonic cell, which the pluripotent cells are unable to do. The morula, and inner cell mass and trophoblast of the blastocyst are used to demonstrate these differences in potency. The final part of the lesson discusses the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and also foetal stem cells which allows for a link to chorionic villus sampling from topic 2. There is also a Maths in a Biology context question included in the lesson (when introducing the morula) to ensure that students continue to be prepared for the numerous calculations that they will have to tackle in the terminal exams. This resource has been differentiated two ways to allow students of differing abilities to access the work

This lesson describes how genetic diversity within, or between species, can be investigated by comparison of characteristics or biological molecules. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets are primarily designed to cover the content of point 4.7 of the AQA A-level Biology specification but as this is the last lesson in the topic, it has also been planned to contain a range of questions, tasks and quiz rounds that will challenge the students on their knowledge and understanding of topic 4. Over the course of the lesson, the students will discover that comparisons of measurable or observable characteristics, DNA and mRNA sequences and the primary structure of common proteins can all be used to investigate diversity. Links are continually made to prior learning, such as the existence of convergent evolution as evidence of the need to compare biological molecules as opposed to the simple comparison of phenotypes. The issues associated with a limited genetic diversity are discussed and the interesting biological example of the congenital dysfunctions consistently found in the Sumatran tigers in captivity in Australia and New Zealand is used to demonstrate the problems of a small gene pool. Moving forwards, the study of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene by Carl Woese is introduced and students will learn that this led to the adoption of the three-domain system in 1990. The final part of the lesson describes how the primary structure of proteins like cytochrome c that is involved in respiration and is therefore found in most living organisms can be compared and challenges the students to demonstrate their understanding of protein synthesis when considering the differences between humans and rhesus monkeys.

This clear and concise lesson explains how the inheritance of two or more genes that have loci on the same autosome demonstrates autosomal linkage. The engaging PowerPoint and associated resource have been designed to cover the part of point 7.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to use fully-labelled genetic diagrams to interpret the results of crosses involving autosomal linkage. This is a topic which can cause confusion for students so time was taken in the design to split the concept into small chunks. There is a clear focus on how the number of original phenotypes and recombinants can be used to determine linkage and suggest how the loci of the two genes compare. Important links to other topics such as crossing over in meiosis are made to enable students to understand how the random formation of the chiasma determines whether new phenotypes will be seen in the offspring or not. Linkage is an important cause of variation and the difference between observed and expected results and this is emphasised on a number of occasions. The main task of the lesson acts as an understanding check where students are challenged to analyse a set of results involving the inheritance of the ABO blood group gene and the nail-patella syndrome gene to determine whether they have loci on the same chromosome and if so, how close their loci would appear to be. This lesson has been written to tie in with the other 6 lessons from topic 7.1 (Inheritance) and these have also been uploaded

This detailed lesson describes each of the 4 stages of aerobic respiration and explains how this cellular reaction yields ATP and generates heat. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover points 5.1 (i) and (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specificaiton and acts as a clear introduction for the upcoming lessons where the finer details of glycolysis, the Link reaction and Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation are described The lesson begins with an introduction to glycolysis and students will learn how this first stage of aerobic respiration is also the first stage when oxygen is not present. This stage involves 10 reactions and an opportunity is taken to explain how each of these reactions is catalysed by a different, specific intracellular enzyme. A version of “GUESS WHO” challenges students to use a series of structural clues to whittle the 6 organelles down to just the mitochondrion so that they can learn how the other three stages take place inside this organelle. Moving forwards, the key components of the organelle are identified on a diagram. Students are introduced to the stages of respiration so that they can make a link to the parts of the cell and the mitochondria where each stage occurs. Students will learn that the presence of decarboxylase and dehydrogenase enzymes in the matrix along with coenzymes and oxaloacetate allows the link reaction and the Krebs cycle to run and that these stages produce the waste product of carbon dioxide. Finally, time is taken to introduce the electron transport chain and the enzyme, ATP synthase, so that students can begin to understand how the flow of protons across the inner membrane results in the production of ATP and the the formation of water when oxygen acts as the final electron acceptor.