FEEDBACK to BioTopics
amazon-logo
GCSE Biology
Revision guides

BioTopics Biotopics logo Contents Page




New collapsible format - same content!

This contents page has been greatly contracted, but all the previously available information is still here or you can go to the old version.

Simply click on a section heading below to expand (or contract) the section and see the list of topics that are available.

The topics are presented here in an order which suited the older UK syllabus specification, but the latest specifications cover almost the same material in a very different order and with different emphasis.

For the time being, I shall leave this material in place and retain the same directory structure, etc.
I am still mildly phased by the number of world-wide users of this material, some of whom are very grateful and supportive of the format, whilst others are critical and demanding. I am not very keen on supporting courses which access this material from members-only sites.

I am likely to rejig some of this, but it is not easy to this to suit all the exam boards, and some duplication seems inevitable.

Shortcuts within this contents page

Click on any of these categories to jump to the the appropriate title section in the contents table below, then click again! (you can then use Control-F to give you a search box)

Full topics list follows below (click on section titles to expand or contract)

How to use this material

If you move on from this page to the Biotopics units, you are expected to abide by these terms of reference.

The table below has been condensed greatly, but clicking on the section titles below will bring up a fuller menu of subsections - and if you simply leave your mouse pointer over topic titles you will be presented with extra information.

The 8 coloured sections below act as a list of links to the various Biological Topics on this site (126 at the last count).

Simply click on a title of interest below.

You may then wish to follow the "Next Topic" links at the top of each GCSE unit, or return here via the "Topics Contents Page" icons at the bottom of each unit.

What else to expect
For extra information, move your mouse pointer over the text, especially the gaps, and the diagrams.
Look out for these icons on the right hand side of the BioTopics pages - clicking on these will bring in additional materials (pictures, animations, specimen data, other help).
play sound control photo animation data help

Success leads to excess!

This site serves well in excess of 1.5 million pages per year.
Due to its popularity, this site has on several occasions exceeded its allotted bandwidth, resulting in its unavailability on the web. This occurred at peak revising time before last year's exams, but now it is very close to its limit due to increased use at the beginning of the (UK) academic year. BioTopics has running costs, so any financial contribution users (including teachers/schools) can make should improve the reliability of the service and ensure its continuing development.

Please make a contribution if you find this material useful.

HUMANS AS ORGANISMS (33 units)

Cell structure
How substances get into and out of cells (osmosis)
Osmosis in operation in animal and plant cells
Pupils' expts: osmosis in carrot discs
(ANIMAL &) HUMAN NUTRITION
FOOD TESTS
DIET ANALYSIS and FOOD ADDITIVES
DIGESTION & ASSOCIATED PROCESSES
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
TEETH
How enzymes work
ACTION OF AMYLASE ON STARCH
CONDITIONS FOR ENZYME ACTION
ACTION OF PEPSIN (+ ACID) ON PROTEIN (EGG WHITE)
ACTION OF LIPASE (+ BILE SALTS) ON FATS (MILK)
STARCH AGAR EXPERIMENTS
THE RESPIRATION PROCESS
THE HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Experiments to compare carbon dioxide content of inhaled and exhaled air
DANGERS OF SMOKING
BLOOD
THE HEART AND CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
HEART PROBLEMS AND FITNESS
HOMEOSTASIS, EXCRETION AND THE KIDNEYS
PROBLEMS WITH THE KIDNEYS
SKIN AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL
SENSES, SENSITIVITY, STIMULI AND SKIN
THE EYE AND VISION
THE EAR
THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM
RESPONSE AND CO-ORDINATION & DRUGS
HORMONES AND THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
THE HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
Birth control
PREGNANCY AND BIRTH

GREEN PLANTS AS ORGANISMS (7 units)

PHOTOSYNTHESIS
THE STRUCTURE OF THE LEAF
Experiment to show factors required for photosynthesis: (1) - (chlorophyll)
Experiment to show factors required for photosynthesis: (2) - (carbon dioxide and light)
TRANSPORT & SUPPORT IN PLANTS
PLANT MINERAL NUTRITION
PLANT HORMONES

SUBJECT EXTENSIONS (14 units)

MICRO-ORGANISMS CAUSING DISEASE
VIRUSES
BACTERIA
FUNGI
BASIC MICROBIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES
STREAKING
DILUTION PLATING
A CLOSER LOOK AT DISEASE
MALARIA
SEWAGE TREATMENT
ANTIBIOTICS
ANTIBODIES, ANTIGENS, MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES
FERMENTATION USING OTHER MICRO-ORGANISMS
MANIPULATING GENES
MANIPULATING REPRODUCTION
Microbes & disease
Biotechnology

VARIATION, INHERITANCE AND EVOLUTION (8 units)

VARIATION, HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT
GENETICS
GENETIC INHERITANCE DIAGRAMS
GENETIC PEDIGREES
DNA STRUCTURE, REPLICATION and NUCLEAR DIVISION
DNA and PROTEIN SYNTHESIS
CLONES and CLONING
EVOLUTION and NATURAL SELECTION

LIVING ORGANISMS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT (4 units)

CYCLES IN THE ECOSYSTEM
WATER
ECOSYSTEMS
HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Investigative skills assessment

RGS coursework guidelines
Planning
Obtaining evidence
Analysing and considering evidence
Evaluating

Other topics (28 units)

Using the microscope

Life processes (3 units)

7 processes of life
Human body - organs and systems
Cell division and chromosomes

Other material (24 units)

The effect of temperature on activity of yeast
Direct observation of yeast population growth by counting the number of yeast cells
To monitor the progress of fermentation of different sugars by yeast
Experiment to show the effects of temperature on fermentation by yeast
Experiment to show some methods of preserving food
Food spoilage and additives
The Skeleton and Movement
Asexual reproduction and artificial propagation
Plant groups
Simple organisms
Invertebrate groups
Insects
Cold blooded vertebrates
Warm blooded vertebrates
Classification
Making your own key
The bluebell
The fox
The earthworm
The snail
Experiment on heat loss in penguins or test-tubes
Experiment on the effect of light intensity on photosynthesis in Elodea
Questions about skin
Flower structure
Filter feeding
 

Higher level topics - A and AS level

(22 units)
Elements in Biochemistry
Glucose structure
Condensation and hydrolysis
Condensation of monosaccharides
Hydrolysis of a disaccharide
Amino acid structure
Condensation of amino acids
Hydrolysis of a dipeptide
Formation of a lipid by condensation
Hydrolysis of a lipid
Levels of protein structure Recently modified
Insulin as an example of protein structure
Haemoglobin and Myoglobin as examples of protein structure
Simple biochemical tests on carbohydrates
Chromatography of amino acids
Information about amino acids
Practical illustrating the effect of a competitive enzyme inhibitor
Unknown liquids practical
(now with photo of specimen results)
Effect of pH on the action of the enzyme catalase

Glycolysis pathway
Glycolysis pathway (minimal detail)
Glycolysis pathway (more detail)

Regeneration of NAD

Krebs cycle

Photosynthessis: light-dependent reactions
Light-independent reactions

Nitrogenous wastes

The kangaroo rat

Jmol section

- 3D views of (more than 52) Biological molecules

carbohydrates
lipids
(all 20!) amino acids
various proteins
nucleic acids
other compounds of biological importance


TCA cycle links

CHIME section (19 molecules)
carbohydrates
lipids
nucleic acids

Click and type in the box below if you still cannot find the topic you are looking for.
Google


Back to the Biotopics index page? Back to the top