England · Pearson EdexcelSyllabus
Biology syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the England Biologysyllabus, with a focused answer for each one. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions, and links to related dot points. Written by Claude Opus 4.8, Anthropic's latest AI.
Topic 7: Animal coordination, control and homeostasis
Module overview →- How is blood glucose controlled, and what goes wrong in diabetes?Explain the importance of homeostasis, how insulin and glucagon control blood glucose concentration, the causes and control of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and the correlation between body mass and type 2 diabetes.10 min answer →
- How do hormones coordinate the body, and how is thyroxine controlled by feedback?Describe where hormones are produced and how they reach their target organs, explain the role of adrenalin in the fight or flight response, and how thyroxine controls metabolic rate by negative feedback.9 min answer →
- How do hormones control the menstrual cycle, contraception and fertility treatment?Describe the stages of the menstrual cycle and the interactions of oestrogen, progesterone, FSH and LH, explain how hormonal and barrier contraception work, and the use of hormones in assisted reproduction.10 min answer →
- How does the body control its temperature and the water content of the blood?Explain thermoregulation by the skin including vasoconstriction, vasodilation and shivering, the structure and function of the kidney and nephron, and the role of ADH in osmoregulation.10 min answer →
Topic 2: Cells and control
Module overview →- How do organisms grow, and what are stem cells used for?Describe growth in organisms and the use of percentile charts, explain the importance of cell differentiation, describe the function of embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and meristems, and discuss the benefits and risks of using stem cells in medicine.9 min answer →
- What happens during the cell cycle and mitosis, and why is it important?Describe mitosis as part of the cell cycle, including the stages and the production of two genetically identical daughter cells, its importance in growth, repair and asexual reproduction, and cancer as uncontrolled cell division.9 min answer →
- How is the brain structured and studied, and how does the eye work and fail?Describe the structures and functions of the brain and how brain function is investigated with CT and PET scanning, the limitations of treating nervous-system damage, and the structure of the eye and its common defects and their correction.10 min answer →
- How does the nervous system carry information, and how does a reflex protect the body?Explain the structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurones and synapses in the transmission of electrical impulses, and the structure and function of a reflex arc.9 min answer →
Topic 9: Ecosystems and material cycles
Module overview →- How does energy transfer through an ecosystem, and how do humans affect biodiversity?Explain energy transfer between trophic levels and biomass calculations, the positive and negative human impacts on biodiversity, the benefits of maintaining biodiversity, food security, and indicator species.10 min answer →
- How are ecosystems organised, and how do we estimate the number of organisms in an area?Describe the levels of organisation in an ecosystem, how communities are affected by abiotic and biotic factors, interdependence including parasitism and mutualism, and sampling with quadrats and transects.10 min answer →
- How do carbon, water and nitrogen cycle through an ecosystem?Explain how materials cycle through ecosystems, the importance of the carbon, water and nitrogen cycles including the role of microorganisms, and the factors affecting decomposition.10 min answer →
Topic 8: Exchange and transport in animals
Module overview →- Why do larger organisms need exchange surfaces, and how are the alveoli adapted for gas exchange?Explain the need for exchange surfaces and a transport system using surface area to volume ratio, how the alveoli are adapted for gas exchange, and the factors affecting the rate of diffusion including Fick's law.10 min answer →
- What is cellular respiration, and how do aerobic and anaerobic respiration differ?Describe cellular respiration as an exothermic reaction that releases energy, compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration, and investigate the rate of respiration in living organisms.9 min answer →
- How are the blood, blood vessels and heart adapted to transport substances around the body?Explain how the structures of the blood, the blood vessels and the heart are related to their functions, and calculate cardiac output from stroke volume and heart rate.10 min answer →
Topic 3: Genetics
Module overview →- What is the structure of DNA, and how does it code for proteins?Describe DNA as a polymer, the genome and a gene, how DNA is extracted from fruit, and how the order of bases controls protein synthesis through transcription and translation.10 min answer →
- How are characteristics inherited, and how do we predict the offspring of a cross?Explain the key genetic terms, use genetic diagrams, Punnett squares and pedigrees for monohybrid inheritance and sex determination, and calculate outcomes as ratios, percentages and probabilities.11 min answer →
- How do sexual and asexual reproduction differ, and what does meiosis do?Explain the advantages and disadvantages of asexual and sexual reproduction, and the role of meiotic cell division in producing four genetically different haploid daughter cells.9 min answer →
- What causes variation between organisms, and what effect do mutations have?Describe how most phenotypes result from multiple genes, the genetic and environmental causes of variation, the outcomes of the Human Genome Project, and that variation arises through mutations.9 min answer →
Topic 5: Health, disease and the development of medicines
Module overview →- How do antibiotics work, and how are new medicines developed and tested?Explain how antibiotics work and why they only treat bacterial infections, the aseptic techniques used to culture microorganisms, the clear-zone core practical, and the stages of developing new medicines.10 min answer →
- What is health, and what types of pathogen cause communicable disease?Describe health and the difference between communicable and non-communicable diseases, how having one disease can increase susceptibility to others, the four types of pathogen, and some common infections.9 min answer →
- How do pathogens spread, and how do plants and people prevent disease?Explain how pathogens are spread and how spread can be reduced, the lytic and lysogenic virus pathways, how STIs are spread and prevented, and how plants defend against and are tested for disease.10 min answer →
- How does the body defend against pathogens, and how does immunisation work?Describe the physical and chemical defences of the human body, the role of the specific immune system including antigens, antibodies and memory cells, and explain how immunisation works.10 min answer →
Topic 1: Key concepts in biology
Module overview →- How are the sub-cellular structures of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells related to their functions?Explain how the sub-cellular structures of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells are related to their functions, including the nucleus, cell membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, ribosomes, chloroplasts, cell wall, vacuole, plasmids and flagella.9 min answer →
- How do enzymes work as biological catalysts, and what affects their activity?Explain the mechanism of enzyme action including the active site and specificity, how enzymes are denatured, the effects of temperature, substrate concentration and pH, and the importance of enzymes in synthesis and breakdown reactions.10 min answer →
- How can chemical reagents identify the food groups, and how is the energy in food measured?Use chemical reagents to identify starch, reducing sugars, proteins and fats in food samples, and explain how the energy contained in food can be measured using calorimetry.9 min answer →
- How are specialised cells adapted to their function, and how does microscopy let us see and measure cells?Describe how specialised cells are adapted to their function, explain how microscope technology has improved our understanding of cells, and use the magnification equation with the correct units.9 min answer →
- How are substances moved into and out of cells by diffusion, osmosis and active transport?Explain how substances are transported into and out of cells by diffusion, osmosis and active transport, investigate osmosis in potatoes, and calculate the percentage change in mass.10 min answer →
Topic 4: Natural selection and genetic modification
Module overview →- What evidence supports human evolution, and how are organisms classified?Describe the evidence for human evolution from fossils, stone tools and the pentadactyl limb, and how genetic analysis led to the three-domain classification rather than the five kingdoms.9 min answer →
- How does evolution by natural selection work, and what evidence supports it?Describe the work of Darwin and Wallace and explain the theory of evolution by natural selection, including how the emergence of resistant organisms such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria supports the theory.9 min answer →
- How does genetic engineering work, and what are its benefits and risks?Describe genetic engineering and its main stages, the advantages and disadvantages of producing GM organisms and of agricultural solutions to feeding a growing population, and evaluate the benefits and risks.10 min answer →
- How do humans change species by selective breeding and tissue culture?Explain selective breeding and its impact on food plants and domesticated animals, and describe the process of tissue culture and its advantages in research and plant breeding.9 min answer →
Topic 6: Plant structures and their functions
Module overview →- What is photosynthesis, and what factors limit its rate?Describe photosynthesis as an endothermic reaction, explain the effect of temperature, light intensity and carbon dioxide as limiting factors, and use the inverse square law for light intensity.10 min answer →
- How do plants survive extreme environments and respond to light and gravity?Explain how plants are adapted to survive in extreme environments, how plant hormones such as auxins control growth in phototropisms and gravitropisms, and the commercial uses of plant hormones.9 min answer →
- How does water move through a plant, and what affects the rate?Explain how water and mineral ions are transported by transpiration including the role of stomata, how sucrose is moved by translocation, and the effect of environmental factors on the rate of water uptake.9 min answer →
- How are root hair cells, xylem, phloem and the leaf adapted to their functions?Explain how root hair cells absorb water and mineral ions, how the structures of xylem and phloem are adapted to their function, and how the leaf is adapted for photosynthesis and gas exchange.9 min answer →