OCR Gateway GCSE Biology A: Global challenges (B6) overview
An overview of the global challenges content (topic B6) in OCR Gateway GCSE Biology A (J247), mapping monitoring and maintaining biodiversity, feeding the human race, communicable disease and pathogens, the immune system and vaccination, non-communicable disease and risk factors, and drug development and testing, and how they are examined on the second biology paper.
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The sixth biology topic of OCR Gateway GCSE Biology A (specification J247) tackles the big challenges facing humans: protecting biodiversity, feeding a growing population, and preventing and treating disease. B6 Global challenges is examined on the second biology paper (J247/02 at Foundation, J247/04 at Higher). This page maps the topic and links to a focused answer page for each part.
The global challenges content
- Monitoring and maintaining biodiversity
- Why biodiversity matters, sampling and indicator species, the human activities that reduce it, and conservation methods. See Monitoring and maintaining biodiversity.
- Feeding the human race
- Food security and its threats, fertilisers, pest control and intensive farming, biological control, and GM crops. See Feeding the human race.
- Communicable disease and pathogens
- The four types of pathogen, how diseases spread, human and plant diseases, and the body's and plants' non-specific defences. See Communicable disease and pathogens.
- The immune system and vaccination
- White blood cells, antibodies and antitoxins, vaccination and herd immunity, antibiotics and resistance, and monoclonal antibodies. See The immune system and vaccination.
- Non-communicable disease and risk factors
- Risk factors such as diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol, correlation versus cause, and cardiovascular disease and its treatments. See Non-communicable diseases and risk factors.
- Drug development and testing
- Drugs from plants and microorganisms, preclinical testing and clinical trials, and the use of placebos and double-blind trials. See Drug development and testing.
How this topic is examined
Topics B4 to B6 are assessed on the second biology paper, which is 1 hour 45 minutes, worth 90 marks and 50% of the GCSE. Questions include multiple choice, short structured answers, data and graph interpretation (health statistics, trial results, indicator-species data), evaluate questions (GM crops, pesticides versus biological control) and six-mark extended responses such as explaining vaccination or drug testing. The paper assumes the B1 to B3 content and includes synoptic questions, and every paper also tests the B7 practical skills, so the microbiology and ecology practicals can be examined here.
How to study the global challenges topic
- Work from the specification statements. Each point is a checklist; questions are written from them.
- Learn the pathogen and defence lists. The four pathogen types, the body's barriers and the immune response are common recall.
- Learn the sequences. Vaccination, drug testing and monoclonal antibody production are marked on a logical order.
- Practise data and correlation questions. Distinguish correlation from cause and interpret health and trial data.
- Rehearse evaluate questions. Biodiversity, food production and GM need balanced answers weighing benefits and risks.
For the official specification
OCR publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at ocr.org.uk. Always revise from the current specification and OCR's own past papers, because question style is board-specific.