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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 slightly (now to follow NGfL suggestions), but it now has a full menu of subsections restored - simply leave your mouse pointer over topic titles for 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.
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GCSE specifications (new word for syllabuses)
Each of the BioTopics contents sections below now has quick links (top of the list) to web pages containing the relevant part of the Edexcelspecification or the AQA specification.

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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.

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Shortcuts within this contents page

Click on any of these categories to jump to the the appropriate section in the contents table below (or use Control-F to give you a search box)

Full topics list follows below

HUMANS AS ORGANISMS (33 units)

See Edexcel specification 1520 section B1?
See AQA specification 3411 section Humans as Organisms (10.4-10.12)?

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)

See Edexcel specification 1520 section B2?
See AQA specification 3411 section - Green plants as Organisms (10.13-10.15)?

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 - EDEXCEL SYLLABUS 1520 (14 units)

See Edexcel specification 1520 section B5 (micro-organisms and disease)?
See Edexcel specification 1520 section section B6 (biotechnology)?
See AQA specification 3411 extension section Locomotion, Patterns of feeding, Controlling disease, Applied Microbiology (10.4-10.12)?

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)

See Edexcel specification 1520 section B3 ?
See AQA specification 3411 section Variation, Inheritance and Evolution (10.16-10.19)?
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)

See Edexcel specification 1520 section B4 ?
See AQA specification 3411 section - Living things in their Environment (10.20-10.23)?
CYCLES IN THE ECOSYSTEM
WATER
ECOSYSTEMS
HUMANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Investigative skills assessment

RGS coursework guidelines
Planning
Obtaining evidence
Analysing and considering evidence
Evaluating
Using the microscope

Life processes (3 units)

See AQA specification 3411 section Cell Activity (10.1-10.3)?

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
The sections on either side represent material that does not fit in with my current GCSE specification, but are still likely to be useful, and may have extra material added at any time!

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)

Photosynthessis: light-dependent reactions
Light-independent reactions

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

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