An informative lesson that looks at how energy is lost at each stage of a food chain and how this affects the biomass of consumers. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with A-level students who are revisiting this ecology topic. The lesson begins by posing a question to the students about why herbivores tend to be raised for food rather than carnivores to see how they would tackle it at this early stage. This exact question is revisited at the end of the lesson once learning has occurred so that students can monitor their own progress. Time is taken to look back at pyramids of biomass and food chains so that students are reminded of key terminology such as trophic level and also recognise that the biomass decreases at each level. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to maintain engagement but also to introduce key terms and numbers (like 10%) in a different way. The main part of the lesson looks at how the energy is lost by organisms that leads to the decrease in biomass and links are made to related topics such as respiration and homeostasis.

This detailed lesson looks at the structure of the mitochondrion and explains how the specific features allow the stages of aerobic respiration to take place in this organelle. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover point 5.2.2 (b) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes, cristae, matrix and mitochondrial DNA. The lesson begins with a version of “GUESS WHO” where students have to use a series of structural clues to whittle the 6 organelles down to just 1 - the mitochondrion. Moving forwards, the key components of the organelle are identified on a diagram. Students are introduced to the stages of respiration so that they can make a link to the parts of the cell and the mitochondria where each stage occurs. Students will learn that the presence of decarboxylase and dehydrogenase enzymes in the matrix along with coenzymes and oxaloacetate allows the Link reaction and the Krebs cycle to run. Finally, time is taken to introduce the electron transport chain and the enzyme, ATP synthase, so that students can begin to understand how the flow of protons across the inner membrane results in the production of ATP. This lesson has been designed to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on the stages of respiration.

A detailed and engaging lesson presentation (74 slides) which consists of a series of exam questions, quick tasks and competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within Module 2. All of the exam questions have displayed mark schemes with explanations so that students can recognise errors and misconceptions and address them. Students will thoroughly enjoy the numerous competitions which include "Name the 007 bonds" and "Biology catchphrase".

An engaging lesson presentation (74 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 the Biology unit B6 (Inheritance, variation and evolution) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification unit 4.6). The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Sexual and asexual reproduction Meiosis DNA and the genome Genetic inheritance and disorders Sex determination Variation Genetic engineering Resistant bacteria Classification of living organisms Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “From Numbers 2 LETTERS” and “This shouldn’t be too TAXing” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 6.1.2 (Patterns of inheritance) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Genetic variation Monogenic inheritance Dihybrid inheritance Multiple alleles Sex linkage Codominance Epistasis Using the chi-squared test Discontinuous and continuous variation The Hardy Weinberg principle Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

A fully resourced lesson, which includes an informative lesson presentation (22 slides) and differentiated worksheets that guide students through the topic of balancing symbol equations. The lesson takes the students through the steps involved and begins by getting them to be able to recognise when an equation is balanced or not. The difficulty of the equations to be balanced increases as the lesson progresses and students are given helpful hints to aid their progress. This lesson is suitable for both KS3 and GCSE students

A fully-resourced lesson that teaches students how to calculate the concentration of a solution in the units grams per decimetres cubed and mol per decimetre cubed. The lesson includes a concise but detailed lesson presentation (20 slides) and a set of differentiated questions. The lesson begins by introducing students to volumes in decimetres cubed and time is taken to ensure that students are able to convert to this measurement. Moving forwards, students are guided through how to calculate the concentration in both units through the use of worked examples. Differentiated questions are available so that all abilities can access the work. This lesson has been written for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but could be used with students who are beginning their A level Chemistry studies

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at the gaseous reversible reaction known as the Haber Process and then explores and explains why the specific conditions are chosen for this reaction. The lesson includes a detailed lesson presentation (29 slides) and associated worksheets which are differentiated. The lesson begins by challenging the students to use a description of the reaction to complete the balanced symbol equation. A quiz competition involving both Chemistry and Maths skills is used to reveal the temperature and pressure which are chosen for this reaction. Students will learn that this only produces a yield of 30% and therefore are encouraged to question why these conditions are chosen. In doing so, they are made to wear two “hats”, so that they consider it from both a Science angle but also a business angle. Their knowledge of reversible reactions and the effect of changing either the temperature or the pressure on the position of the equilibrium are constantly challenged and then checked through a range of progress check questions. As a result of this lesson, students will understand that these conditions are a compromise and be able to explain why. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK).

An engaging and detailed lesson presentation (31 slides) that looks at how nitrogen is cycled and focuses on the different bacteria who play key roles in this cycle. The lesson begins by exploring why nitrogen is so critical for living organisms for the synthesis of DNA and proteins. Students are introduced to nitrogen-fixing bacteria to start and challenged to use their knowledge of interdependence to state the type of ecological relationship that is formed between them and the leguminous plant that they live on. Each stage of the cycle is complimented by a diagram highlighting that part so students are able to visualise how the cycle comes together. Time is taken to ensure that students recognise that any non-leguminous plants can only absorb nitrogen when it is nitrates form from the soil. Moving forwards, students will meet decomposers and nitrifying bacteria and again be shown where their function fits into the cycle. As the final part of the learning, students are challenged to consider what else is needed in order for this to be a cycle and will meet the denitrifying bacteria as a result. Progress checks, in a range of forms, have been written into this lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be immediately addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students, but could be used with A-level students who want to have a recap before extending their knowledge further.

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at how auxins are involved in the response to the stimuli and gravity. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (29 slides) and associated worksheets which have been differentiated. The lesson begins by challenging students to consider the different stimuli that a plant will respond to. There is focus throughout the lesson on the use of key terminology and students will start immediately by meeting the different types of tropisms. A quick competition is used to introduce the students to auxins and the key details of these chemicals are discussed. They will see how they are produced in the tips of shoots and roots and cause cell elongation in the shoots. A summary task is used to get the students to explain how a plant grow towards a light source. The next task challenges the students to apply their knowledge as a range of experimental data is shown to them and they have to predict how the plant would respond and explain - this task has been differentiated two ways so those students who need extra assistance can access the learning. The final part of the lesson looks at gravitropism and all of the learning is brought together to explain how the shoots grow away and the roots towards. This lesson has been written for GCSE students.

A fast-paced lesson presentation (20 slides) which focuses on the understanding of the scientific term, specific latent heat, and guides students through use of the related equation in energy calculations. This lesson has been written for GCSE students and along with specific heat capacity, these are topics which students regularly say that they do not understand so the aim here has been to embed the key details. The task at the start of the lesson gets students to plot the changing state line for pure water. They have to annotate the line to show the changes in state and then most crucially recognise that when these changes in state occur, there is no change in temperature. Moving forwards, students will meet the additional terms of fusion and vaporisation and then be introduced to the equation. They are reminded that this isn’t an equation that they have to recall, but are expected to apply it and therefore the next few slides focus on the potential difficulties that could be encountered. These include the conversion between units and a mathematical skills check is included at this point so that their ability to move between grams and kilograms and Joules and kiloJoules is tested. Progress checks like this are written into the lesson at regular intervals so the students can constantly assess their understanding.

A short, concise lesson presentation (25 slides) that explores the key evidence that is used to support the Big Bang Theory. This lesson has been written for GCSE students with the focus on the fine details which they need to be able to understand in order to successfully answer exam questions on this topic. The lesson begins with a fun slide which challenges their mathematical skills to work out a number of years and spot that a dingbat represents the Big Bang. This leads students into the key details of the theory and includes when it was believed to have happened. The rest of the lesson focuses on two main pieces of evidence, namely red shift and CMBR. Students are guided through these topics and related topics such as the Doppler effect are revisited. The final part of the lesson uses a quick competition to get students to recognise the names of alternative theories and a set homework challenges them to add details in terms of evidence to support each of steady state and creationism.

This fully-resourced lesson explores how the presence of particular alleles at one locus can mask the expression of alleles at a second locus in epistasis. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and associated resources have been designed to cover the part of point 6.1.2 (b[ii]) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of the use of phenotypic ratios to identify epistasis. This is a topic which students tend to find difficult, and therefore the lesson was written to split the topic into small chunks where examples of dominant, recessive and complimentary epistasis are considered, discussed at length and then explained. Understanding checks, in various forms, are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their progress and any misconceptions are immediately addressed. There are regular links to related topics such as dihybrid inheritance so that students can meet the challenge of interpreting genotypes as well as recognising the different types of epistasis.

This fully-resourced lesson explains how gel electrophoresis is used to separate DNA fragments or proteins and explores its applications in genetic fingerprinting. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been written to cover point 6.1.3 (e) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification The steps of the genetic fingerprinting process is covered the whole lesson but the main focus is the use of gel electrophoresis within this process. Students will be introduced to STRs and will come to recognise their usefulness in human identification as a result of the variability between individuals. Moving forwards, the involvement of the PCR is discussed and students are challenged on their knowledge of this process as it was encountered in a previous lesson. A brief outline of the role of restriction enzymes is provided to support students when these key gene technology enzymes are met in more detail later in the module. The main section of the lesson focuses on the use of gel electrophoresis to separate DNA fragments (as well as proteins) and the key ideas of separation due to differences in base pair length or molecular mass are discussed and explained. As well as current understanding checks, an application question involving Huntington’s disease is used to challenge their ability to apply their knowledge of the process to an unfamiliar situation. The remainder of the lesson describes how the DNA is transferred to a membrane and hybridisation probes are used to create a pattern on the X-ray film. Time has been taken to make continuous links to the previous lessons in module 6.1.3 as well as those from module 2.1.3 where DNA, RNA and protein synthesis were introduced.