This is a fully-resourced lesson which looks at the inheritance of genes that are carried on the sex chromosomes in sex-linkage. Students will explore sex-linked diseases in humans and then are challenged to apply their knowledge to examples in other animals. The detailed PowerPoint and associated resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 3.8 (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology (Salters Nuffield) specification which states that students should understand sex-linkage. Key genetic terminology is used throughout and the lesson begins with a check on their ability to identify the definition of homologous chromosomes. Students will recall that the sex chromosomes are not fully homologous and that the smaller Y chromosome lacks some of the genes that are found on the X. This leads into one of the numerous discussion points, where students are encouraged to consider whether females or males are more likely to suffer from sex-linked diseases. In terms of humans, the lesson focuses on haemophilia and red-green colour blindness and a step-by-step guide is used to demonstrate how these specific genetic diagrams should be constructed and how the phenotypes should then be interpreted. The final tasks of the lesson challenge the students to apply their knowledge to a question about chickens and how the rate of feather production in chicks can be used to determine gender.

This fully-resourced revision lesson challenges the students on their knowledge of the content which is detailed in topic 14 (Particle model) of the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics specification. The wide range of activities, which include exam-style questions with clear explanations, will allow them to assess their understanding of the content and to recognise those areas which require further attention. The lesson has been designed to cover as much of the module as possible but the following specification points have been given particular attention: Recall and use the equation to calculate density Explain the differences in density between the different states of matter Describe that mass is conserved during physical changes Explain how heating a system will change the temperature or change a state Define the terms specific heat capacity and specific latent heat and describe the differences between them Use the equations involving specific heat capacity and specific latent heat Explain the qualitative relationship between Kelvin temperature and pressure of a gas Convert between the Kelvin and degrees Celsius scales Explain the effect of changing the volume on the pressure of a fixed mass of gas at a constant temperature Explain why doing work on a gas can increase the temperature Most of the resources are differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work and be challenged and the PowerPoint guides the students through the range of mathematical skills which are tested in this topic

This revision lesson is fully-resourced and has been written to allow students to assess their understanding of the content detailed in topic 15 (Forces and matter) of the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics specification. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint uses a wide range of activities, which includes exam-style questions with clear explanations of the answers, to enable the students to identify those areas which require further attention before the mock or terminal examinations. The lesson was designed to cover as much of the topic as possible but the following points have received particular attention: The difference between elastic and inelastic distortion Recall and use the equation for linear elastic distortion Use the equation to calculate the work done in stretching Describe the relationship between force and extension Recall and use the equation for pressure Describe how pressure in fluids increases with depth and density Use the equation to calculate the magnitude of pressure in liquids Explain that an object in a fluid is subjected to upthrust Calculate the depth at which an object floats Due to the heavy mathematical content of this specification and particularly this topic, a lot of the activities challenge the students on their ability to recall and apply the equations. Step-by-step guides and differentiated resources are used to allow students of differing abilities to access the work.

This fully-resourced lesson describes genetic biodiversity as the number of genes in a population and considers how it can be assessed. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying differentiated resources have been primarily designed to cover point 4.2.1 (e) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but also introduces inheritance and codominance so that students are prepared for these genetic topics when they are covered in module 6.1.2 In order to understand that 2 or more alleles can be found at a gene loci, students need to be confident with genetic terminology. Therefore the start of the lesson focuses on key terms including gene, locus, allele, recessive, genotype and phenotype. A number of these will have been met at GCSE, as well as during the earlier lessons in module 2.1.3 when considering meiosis, so a quick quiz competition is used to check on their recall of the meanings of these terms. The CFTR gene is then used as an example to demonstrate how 2 alleles results in 2 different phenotypes and therefore genetic diversity. Moving forwards, students will discover that more than 2 alleles can be found at a locus and they are challenged to work out genotypes and phenotypes for a loci with 3 alleles (shell colour in snails) and 4 alleles (coat colour in rabbits). Two calculations are provided to the students that can calculate the % of loci with more than one allele and the proportion of polymorphic gene loci. At this point, the students are introduced to codominance and again they are challenged to apply their understanding to a new situation by working out the number of phenotypes in the inheritance of blood groups. The lesson concludes with a brief consideration of the HLA gene loci, which is the most polymorphic loci in the human genome, and students are challenged to consider how this sheer number of alleles can affect the chances of tissue matches in organ transplantation

This lesson describes the differences between the primary and secondary responses and describes how the structure of antibodies is related to function. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover specification points 4.1.1 (g), (h) and (i) as detailed in the OCR A-level Biology A specification and emphasises the importance of memory cells. As memory B cells differentiate into plasma cells that produce antibodies when a specific antigen is re-encountered, it was decided to link the immune responses and antibodies together in one lesson. The lesson begins by checking on the students incoming knowledge to ensure that they recognise that B cells differentiate into plasma cells and memory cells. This was introduced in a previous lesson on the specific immune response and students must be confident in their understanding if the development of immunity is to be understood. A couple of quick quiz competitions are then used to introduce key terms so that the structure of antibodies in terms of polypeptide chains, variable and constant regions and hinge regions are met. Time is taken to focus on the variable region and to explain how the specificity of this for a particular antigen allows neutralisation and agglutination to take place. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the differences between the primary and secondary immune responses and a series of exam-style questions will enable students to understand that the quicker production of a greater concentration of these antibodies in the secondary response is due to the retention of memory cells.

This detailed lesson describes the structure and properties of the cell membrane, focusing on the phospholipid bilayer, cholesterol and membrane proteins. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the details of point 2.2 (i) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and clear links are made to Singer and Nicholson’s fluid mosaic model which is covered in the following lesson Students met triglycerides in topic 1 and so a quick quiz competition at the start of the lesson challenges their recall of the structure of these lipids so that they can recognise the similarities and differences to the structure of phospholipids. Time is taken to look at the differing properties of the phosphate head and the fatty acid tails in terms of water and the class is challenged to work out how the phospholipids must be arranged when there’s an aqueous solution on the inside and outside of the cell. This introduces the bilayer arrangement, with the hydrophilic phosphate heads protruding outwards into the aqueous solutions on the inside and the outside of the cell. In a link to some upcoming lessons on the transport mechanisms, the students will learn that only small, non-polar molecules can move by simple diffusion and that this is through the tails of the bilayer. This introduces the need for transmembrane proteins to allow large or polar molecules to move into the cell by facilitated diffusion and active transport. Proteins that act as receptors as also introduced and an opportunity is taken to make a link to an upcoming topic so that students can understand how hormones or drugs will bind to target cells in this way. Moving forwards, the structure of cholesterol is covered and students will learn that this hydrophobic molecule sits in the middle of the tails and therefore acts to regulate membrane fluidity. The final part of the lesson challenges the students to apply their newly-acquired knowledge to a series of questions where they have to explain why proteins may have moved when two cells are fused and to suggest why there is a larger proportion of these proteins in the inner mitochondrial membrane than the outer membrane.

An engaging lesson presentation (42 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within TOPIC 6 (The rate and extent of chemical change) of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (specification point C4.6) The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Calculating rates of reactions Factors that affect the rate of a reaction Collision theory Reversible reactions Equilibrium Changing the equilibrium position Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Don’t get iRATE” and “Under PRESSURE” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

An engaging lesson presentation (68 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit B4 (Bioenergetics) of the AQA GCSE Biology specification (specification unit B4.4). The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Photosynthesis reaction Rate of photosynthesis Uses of glucose from photosynthesis Aerobic respiration Anaerobic respiration Response to exercise Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Take a STEP back” and “Shine a LIGHT on the errors” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the sub-topics found within Topic C9 (Separate chemistry 2) of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification. The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include: Describe flame tests to identify cations in solids or solutions Describe tests and identify anions in solids or solutions Recall the formulae of the molecules of alkanes and alkenes Explain why the alkanes and alkenes are described as the saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons respectively Explain how bromine water is used to distinguish between alkanes and alkenes Describe how the complete combustion of alkanes and alkenes leads to the production of carbon dioxide and water Recall that a polymer is made up of repeating units Recall the formulae of the carboxylic acids and alcohols Know the functional groups of these homologous series Compare the sizes of nanoparticles with atoms and molecules Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual GCSE terminal exams

This engaging lesson explains why coenzymes, cofactors and prosthetic groups are needed in some enzyme-controlled reactions. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been primarily designed to cover point 2.1.4 (e) of the OCR A-level Biology specification but can also be used as a revision lesson for the roles of ions as was covered back in module 2.1.2. The lesson begins with an introduction of the description of a cofactor and students will learn that some are permanently bound to the enzyme whilst others only form temporary associations. A quick quiz competition runs over the course of the lesson and is used to introduce prosthetic groups, mineral ion cofactors and organic coenzymes and zinc ions with carbonic anhydrase, chloride ions with amylase and NAD are used as examples of each type. The lesson has been planned to make links to related topics such as cations, anions, transport of carbon dioxide and respiration which will test students on their prior knowledge as well as prepare them for these topics in modules 3 and 5.

This lesson describes how the products of the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis are used by plants, animals and other organisms. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover point 5.8 (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification concerning the uses of GP and GALP but as the lesson makes continual references to biological molecules, it can act as a revision tool for a lot of the content of topic 1 and 2. The previous lesson described the light-independent reactions and this lesson builds on that understanding to demonstrate how the intermediates of the cycle, GP and GALP, are used. The start of the lesson challenges the students to identify two errors in a diagram of the cycle so that they can recall that most of the GALP molecules are used in the regeneration of ribulose bisphosphate. A quiz version of Pointless runs throughout the lesson and this is used to challenge the students to recall a biological molecule from its description. Once each molecule has been revealed, time is taken to go through the details of the formation and synthesis of this molecule from GALP or from GP in the case of fatty and amino acids. The following molecules are considered in detail during this lesson: glucose (and fructose and galactose) sucrose starch and cellulose glycerol and fatty acids amino acids nucleic acids A range of activities are used to challenge their prior knowledge of these molecules and mark schemes are always displayed for the exam-style questions to allow the students to assess their understanding. As detailed above, this lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the earlier lessons in this topic on the structure of the chloroplast and the light-dependent and light-independent reactions of photosynthesis

This lesson ensures that students know the meaning of key ecological terms and explains how biotic and abiotic factors control the distribution of organisms. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification and therefore cover the biological definitions of ecosystem, community, population and habitat. A quiz round called REVERSE Biology Bingo runs throughout the lesson and challenges students to recognise the following key terms from descriptions called out by the bingo caller: community ecosystem abiotic factor photosynthesis respiratory substrate biomass calorimetry distribution niche The ultimate aim of this quiz format is to support the students to understand that any sugars produced by photosynthesis that are not used as respiratory substrates are used to form biological molecules that form the biomass of a plant and that this can be estimated using calorimetry. Links are made to photosynthesis and net primary productivity as these will be met later in topic 5 as well as challenging their prior knowledge of adaptations, classification and biological molecules. The final part of the lesson uses an exam-style question to get the students to recognise that biotic and abiotic factors control the distribution of organisms in a habitat and to recall the concept of niche.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the meaning of the terms stem cell, pluripotency and totipotency. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover points 3.11 (i) and (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification and therefore this lesson also contains discussion periods where the topic is the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of stem cells in medical therapies. The lesson begins with a knowledge recall of the structure of eukaryotic cells and the students have to use the first letters of each of the four answers to reveal the key term, stem cell. Time is then taken to consider the meaning of cellular differentiation, and this leads into the key idea that not all stem cells are equal when it comes to the number of cell types that they have the potential to differentiate into. A quick quiz round introduces the five degrees of potency, and then the students are challenged to use their understanding of terminology to place totipotency, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency and unipotency in the correct places on the potency continuum. Although the latter three do not have to be specifically known based on the content of specification point 3.11 (i), an understanding of their meaning was deemed helpful when planning the lesson as it should assist with the retention of knowledge about totipotency and pluripotency. These two highest degrees of potency are the main focus of the lesson, and key details are emphasised such as the ability of totipotent cells to differentiate into any extra-embroyonic cell, which the pluripotent cells are unable to do. The morula, and inner cell mass and trophoblast of the blastocyst are used to demonstrate these differences in potency. The final part of the lesson discusses the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and also foetal stem cells which allows for a link to chorionic villus sampling from topic 2. There is also a Maths in a Biology context question included in the lesson (when introducing the morula) to ensure that students continue to be prepared for the numerous calculations that they will have to tackle in the terminal exams. This resource has been differentiated two ways to allow students of differing abilities to access the work

A resourced lesson which looks at three of the main components of blood and ensures that students can relate their features to their function. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (31 slides) and an associated worksheet The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise blood from a description of some of its contents. This will enable students to identify some of the substances like hormones and urea that are carried in the plasma. Moving forwards, the rest of the lesson takes a format where the students have to act as recruitment consultants. They have been given 3 job roles to fill and once they have decided on the right candidates for the job, they need to be able to explain why these have been chosen. Students will go study the red and white blood cells and platelets, focusing on how their different specialised features enable them to effectively carry out their respective functions. Students will be able to compare the cells in terms of size, number of nuclei and ultimately explain why they have their features. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but is perfectly suitable to be used with KS3 students who are studying the circulatory system

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at how decomposers are involved with the process of decay. The lesson includes an engaging and detailed lesson presentation (31 slides) and an associated differentiated worksheets. The lesson begins by displaying the definitions for decomposers and detritivores and challenging students to use their bingo cards to see if they can work out the words which are being described. Students will learn how these two types of organisms work together to break down matter. Moving forwards, a worked example is used to guide students through how to calculate the rate of decay from a range of different data types. Students will be challenged to act like a travel agent for decomposers to come up with the different conditions that they require. Finally, they have to bring all of the new-found knowledge together to answer a range of summary questions. These questions are differentiated two ways so that differing abilities can access the work. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK)

An informative lesson presentation (24 slides), accompanied by a set of differentiated question worksheets, which together guide students through calculating energy changes in reactions and then challenges them to apply their new-found knowledge. The lesson begins by asking the students to complete a sentence which details how energy is taken in to break bonds in the reactants and given out when bonds are formed in the products. The bond energy table is then introduced so that students understand how it will be used in questions. Moving forwards, a step by step guide is used to calculate the energy change value for two reactions and students are shown how to interpret the positive or negative result as endothermic or exothermic respectively. The remainder of the lesson asks the students to apply what they have learnt to calculate the energy change for two more reactions. This question worksheet is differentiated two ways so that students who need extra assistance can still access the work. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students

This lesson has been written for GCSE students with a focus on the key processes and reactions involved in the carbon cycle as well as discussions centering around how the levels of carbon dioxide alter during the day and over longer periods of time. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to introduce key terms or to challenge students to recognise key reactions that they will have already met in their Biology lessons. As each stage of the cycle is encountered, time is taken to discuss the potential impacts and the organisms involved. The remainder of the lesson looks at carbon dioxide levels. Initially, students are challenged to explain why the levels would change during the course of a day. Students are already likely to be aware that carbon dioxide levels have increased over the last 100/200 years but not necessarily how much. Time is taken to focus on the mathematical skills which could be challenged on this topic and the percentage change equation is shown to the students so they can quantify their answers. As a class, deforestation and its effect on the carbon cycle and atmospheric levels are discussed so that students can mirror this in a homework task about combustion of fossil fuels. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students are constantly assessing their understanding.

A fully-resourced lesson which explores the photosynthesis reaction, focusing on where it takes place and the reactants and products of this chemical reaction. This lesson includes an engaging and detailed lesson presentation (45 slides), a summary task and a crossword which is used throughout the lesson. Students will already have a fair knowledge of this topic from KS3 so this lesson has been written to take that knowledge and push it forward. Key details are added throughout the lesson such as how the reactants enter the plant by osmosis and diffusion and also how water travels from the roots to the leaves in the xylem vessel. An engaging competition runs during the lesson called “LIGHT up the crossword” and this enables the key terms of the topic to be stored in one place. There are two main written tasks during the lesson which challenge the students to summarise the reaction using all that they have learnt and also to state the different uses of glucose. The lesson has been linked to related topics with understanding checks written in at regular intervals so this knowledge can be assessed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students who want to learn more than they currently know

This fully-resourced lesson explores the inheritance of genetic characteristics that involve multiple alleles and codominant alleles. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and differentiated worksheets have been designed to cover the part of point 6.1.2 (b[i]) which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of genetic diagrams to show patterns of inheritance including multiple and codominant alleles. The main part of the lesson uses the inheritance of the ABO blood groups to demonstrate how the three alleles that are found at the locus on chromosome 9 and the codominance of the A and B alleles affects the phenotypes. Students are guided through the construction of the different genotypes and how to interpret the resulting phenotype. They are challenged to use a partially completed pedigree tree to determine the blood group for some of the family members and to explain how they came to their answer. To further challenge their ability to apply their knowledge, a series of questions about multiple alleles and codominance in animals that are not humans are used. The final part of the lesson makes a link back to module 4 and the correlation between a high proportion of polymorphic gene loci and an increase in genetic diversity. Students will be expected to make links between module 4 and 6 as part of papers 2 and 3, so this demonstrates how exam questions can do just that

This is an engaging REVISION lesson which uses a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content within topic 6 (Waves) of the AQA GCSE Physics (8463) specification. The specification points that are covered in this revision lesson include: Transverse and longitudinal waves Properties of waves Reflection of waves Sound waves Waves for detection and exploration Types of electromagnetic waves Properties of electromagnetic waves Visible light The students will thoroughly enjoy the range of activities, which include quiz competitions such as “Should you WAVE goodbye” where they have to determine whether a passage about waves is 100% correct or not whilst all the time evaluating and assessing which areas of this topic will need their further attention. This lesson can be used as revision resource at the end of the topic or in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams