What does Topic 5 of Edexcel Biology B cover?

Topic 5, Energy, exercise and coordination, links how energy is captured and released to how the body moves and is controlled. It covers photosynthesis and respiration, the structure of muscle and the sliding filament model, nervous and hormonal coordination, and homeostasis including the role of the kidney.

How are nervous and hormonal coordination different?

Nervous coordination uses electrical impulses along neurones and neurotransmitters at synapses; it is fast, precise and short-lived. Hormonal coordination uses chemical messengers carried in the blood to target cells; it is slower to act but its effects are more widespread and longer-lasting.

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Topic 5: Energy, exercise and coordination - Edexcel A-Level Biology B overview

Q: How is Topic 5 examined in Edexcel Biology B?

Topic 5 features strongly in Paper 2 (Energy, exercise and coordination) and is revisited synoptically in Paper 3. Questions reward sequencing the stages of photosynthesis and respiration, explaining muscle contraction, describing action potentials and synapses, and applying negative feedback to temperature, glucose and water balance.

An overview of Topic 5 of Edexcel A-Level Biology B (Salters-Nuffield, 9BN0), covering photosynthesis, respiration, muscles and movement, nervous and hormonal coordination, and homeostasis and the kidney, and how the topic is examined.

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The five dot-point areas
How Topic 5 is examined
How to study Topic 5
Work through the dot points
For the official specification

Topic 5 of Edexcel A-Level Biology B (specification 9BN0, the Salters-Nuffield course) is titled Energy, exercise and coordination. It connects how energy is captured and released to how the body moves and keeps itself in balance. This page maps the five dot-point areas and how they are examined.

The five dot-point areas

Photosynthesis: The light-dependent and light-independent reactions, the role of chloroplast structure, the products of each stage, and limiting factors.
Respiration: Glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, the role of ATP and the mitochondrion, and anaerobic respiration.
Muscles and movement: Skeletal muscle structure, the sliding filament model, the role of ATP and calcium ions, and slow and fast twitch fibres.
Nervous and hormonal coordination: Neurone structure and the action potential, synaptic transmission, the action of hormones, and how nervous and hormonal coordination differ.
Homeostasis and the kidney: Negative feedback, the control of temperature and blood glucose, and the structure and function of the kidney in excretion and osmoregulation.

How Topic 5 is examined

Topic 5 features strongly in Paper 2 (Energy, exercise and coordination) and is revisited in the synoptic Paper 3. Expect to sequence the stages of photosynthesis and respiration, explain the sliding filament model, describe action potentials and synapses, and apply negative feedback. Core practicals such as investigating dehydrogenase activity and heart rate in Daphnia draw on this topic.

How to study Topic 5

Map the energy pathways. Know where each stage of photosynthesis and respiration occurs and what it produces.
Sequence contraction. Order the steps of the sliding filament model and the roles of calcium and ATP.
Master the neurone. Explain the resting and action potentials and synaptic transmission clearly.
Apply negative feedback. Use it for temperature, blood glucose and water balance, including the role of ADH.

Work through the dot points

Each dot point has a focused answer page with worked exam questions and cross-links: photosynthesis; respiration; muscles and movement; nervous and hormonal coordination; and homeostasis and the kidney.

For the official specification

Pearson publishes the full specification (9BN0), past papers and mark schemes at qualifications.pearson.com. Always revise from the current specification and Edexcel's own past papers.

Sources & how we know this

Pearson Edexcel A-Level Biology B (9BN0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2015)