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EnglandBiology

Component 1: Energy for Life

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do human activities damage ecosystems, and how can we conserve them sustainably?

Human impact on the environment: the effects of deforestation, agriculture and pollution; eutrophication; the loss of biodiversity; climate change; and conservation and sustainability.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 1 statement on human impact. Covers deforestation and agriculture, eutrophication, the loss of biodiversity, climate change from greenhouse gases, and conservation and sustainability strategies.
12 min answer →

Why is ATP the universal energy currency of cells, and how is it made and used?

The importance of ATP: its structure; its hydrolysis to ADP and inorganic phosphate; why it is a suitable immediate energy currency; and how it is resynthesised by phosphorylation.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 1 statement on ATP. Covers ATP structure, its hydrolysis to ADP and inorganic phosphate, why it is the ideal immediate energy currency, and how it is resynthesised by substrate-level and oxidative phosphorylation.
11 min answer →

How are microorganisms cultured and counted, and how do bacterial populations grow?

Microbiology: the culturing of microorganisms; aseptic technique; the bacterial growth curve; methods of measuring population growth; and the action of antibiotics.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 1 statement on microbiology. Covers culturing microorganisms on agar, aseptic technique, the bacterial growth curve and its phases, methods of counting populations, and how antibiotics act.
12 min answer →

How does a chloroplast capture light energy and use it to fix carbon dioxide into sugars?

Photosynthesis: chloroplast structure; the light-dependent stage (photolysis of water, photophosphorylation and the reduction of NADP); the light-independent stage (the Calvin cycle); and the effect of limiting factors.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 1 statement on photosynthesis. Covers chloroplast structure, the light-dependent stage (photolysis, photophosphorylation and reduced NADP), the light-independent stage (the Calvin cycle with RuBP, GP and TP), and limiting factors.
14 min answer →

What controls the size of a population, and how does energy and matter flow through an ecosystem?

Population size and ecosystems: factors limiting population size; sampling techniques; succession; the flow of energy through trophic levels; and the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 1 statement on populations and ecosystems. Covers density-dependent and independent factors, sampling with quadrats and transects, succession, energy flow through trophic levels, and the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
13 min answer →

How is the chemical energy in glucose released and used to make ATP?

Respiration: glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation; the role of NAD and FAD; anaerobic respiration; and respiratory substrates.
A focused answer to the Eduqas Component 1 statement on respiration. Covers glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and chemiosmosis, the role of NAD and FAD, anaerobic respiration, and respiratory substrates.
14 min answer →