A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the blood circulation in a mammal and considers how the pulmonary circulation differs from the systemic circulation. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third part of point 3.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification
The lesson begins with a focus on the double circulatory system and checks that students are clear in the understanding that the blood passes through the heart twice per cycle of the body. Beginning with the pulmonary circulation, students will recall that the pulmonary artery carries the blood from the right ventricle to the lungs. An opportunity is taken at this point to check on their knowledge of inhalation and the respiratory system as well as the gas exchange between the alveoli and the capillary bed. A quick quiz is used to introduce arterioles and students will learn that these blood vessels play a crucial role in the changes in blood pressure that prevent the capillaries from damage. When looking at the systemic circulation, time is taken to look at the coronary arteries and renal artery as students have to be aware of these vessels in addition to the ones associated with the heart. In the final part of the lesson, students are challenged to explain how the structure of the heart generates a higher pressure in the systemic circulation and then to explain why the differing pressures are necessary.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons from topic 3.4.1 (mass transport in animals)
This engaging lesson looks at the structure of the quaternary protein, haemoglobin, and describes its role with red blood cells in the transport of oxygen. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover the first part of point 3.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and explains how the cooperative nature of binding results in a loading of each molecule with 4 oxygen molecules and describes how it is unloaded at the respiring cells too.
The lesson begins with a version of the quiz show Pointless to introduce haemotology as the study of the blood conditions. Students are told that haemoglobin has a quaternary structure and are challenged to use their prior knowledge of biological molecules to determine what this means for the protein. They will learn that each of the 4 polypeptide chains contains a haem group with an iron ion attached and that it is this group which has a high affinity for oxygen. Time is taken to discuss how this protein must be able to load (and unload) oxygen as well as transport the molecules to the respiring tissues. Students will plot the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve and the S-shaped curve is used to encourage discussions about the ease with which haemoglobin loads each molecule. Students will learn that a conformational change upon binding of the first oxygen leads to it being easier to bind future oxygens and that this is known as cooperative binding.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lesson on the Bohr effect.
This fully-resourced lesson explains how a combination of hydrostatic pressure and oncotic pressure results in the formation of tissue fluid in animals. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the final part of point 3.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification
The lesson begins with an introduction to the arteriole and venule end of a capillary as these will need to be considered as separate entities when describing the formation of tissue fluid. A quick quiz competition introduces a value for the hydrostatic pressure at the arteriole end and students are challenged to first predict some parts of the blood will move out of the capillary as a result of the push from the hydrostatic pressure and this allows oncotic pressure to be initially explored. The main part of the lesson uses a step by step guide to describe how the net movement is outwards at the arteriole end before students will use this guidance to describe what happens at the venule end. In the concluding part of the lesson, students will come to recognise oedema as a condition where tissue fluid accumulates and they again are challenged to explain how this occurs before they finally learn how the fluid is returned to the circulatory system as lymph.
This bundle contains 17 fully-resourced lessons which have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 7 (Run for your life) of the Pearson Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification. The specification points that are covered within these lessons include:
The interaction of muscles, tendons, ligaments and the skeleton in movement
The contraction of skeletal muscle by the sliding filament theory
The overall reaction of aerobic respiration
The enzymes involved in the multi-stepped process of respiration
The roles of glycolysis in aerobic and anaerobic respiration
The role of the link reaction and the Krebs cycle in the complete oxidation of glucose
Understand how ATP is synthesised by oxidative phosphorylation
The fate of lactate after a period of anaerobic respiration
The myogenic nature of cardiac muscle
The coordination of the heart beat
The use of ECGs to aid diagnosis
Calculating cardiac output
The control of heart rate by the medulla oblongata
The control of ventilation rate
The structure of a muscle fibre
The structural and physiological differences between fast and slow twitch muscle fibres
The meaning of negative and positive feedback control
The principle of negative feedback in maintaining systems within narrow limits
The importance of homeostasis to maintain the body in a state of dynamic equilibrium during exercise
DNA transcription factors, including hormones
The lessons have been planned so that they contain a wide range of activities and numerous understanding and prior knowledge checks so students can assess their progress against the current topic as well as be challenged to make links to other topics within topic 7 and earlier topics
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the link reaction and Krebs cycle, the fate of lactate,the using ECGs and transcription factors lessons as these have been uploaded for free
This detailed lesson looks at each of the stages of aerobic respiration and explains how this reaction is a multi-stepped process where each step is controlled by an enzyme. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover points 7.3 (i) and (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification.
The lesson begins with an introduction to glycolysis and students will learn how this first stage of aerobic respiration is also the first stage when oxygen is not present. This stage involves 10 reactions and an opportunity is taken to explain how each of these reactions is catalysed by a different, specific intracellular enzyme. A version of “GUESS WHO” challenges students to use a series of structural clues to whittle the 6 organelles down to just the mitochondrion so that they can learn how the other three stages take place inside this organelle. 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 and that these stages produce the waste product of carbon dioxide. 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 and the atmospheric oxygen being reunited with hydrogen.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the process of skeletal muscle contraction in terms of the sliding filament theory. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 7.2 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification and includes the role of actin, myosin, troponin, tropomyosin, calcium ions and ATP.
The lesson begins with a study of the structure of the thick and thin filaments. Students will recognise that the protruding heads of the myosin molecule are mobile and this enables this protein to bind to the binding sites when they are exposed on actin. This leads into the introduction of troponin and tropomyosin and key details about the binding of calcium to this complex is explained. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to discuss possible reasons that can explain how the sarcomere narrows during contraction when the filaments remain the same length. This main part of the lesson goes through the main steps of the sliding filament model of muscle contraction and the critical roles of the calcium ions and ATP are discussed. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge by describing the immediate effect on muscle contraction when one of the elements doesn’t function correctly.
This lesson has been written to tie in with another uploaded lesson on the structure of a muscle fibre which is covered in specification point 7.10
Each of the 6 lessons in this bundle are fully-resourced and have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 12.2 (Respiration) of the CIE International A-Level Biology specification. The specification points that are covered within these lessons include:
The stages of aerobic respiration and their location in eukaryotic cells
Glycolysis as the first stage of aerobic and anaerobic respiration
Pyruvate is converted to acetyl CoA in the Link reaction
The series of reactions that form the Krebs cycle
The process and details of oxidative phosphorylation
The relationship between structure and function in the mitochondrion
Anaerobic respiration in mammalian tissue and yeast cells
The oxygen debt
The lessons have been written to include a wide range of activities and numerous understanding and prior knowledge checks so students can assess their progress against the current topic as well as be challenged to make links to other topics within this topic and earlier topics
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the Krebs cycle lesson which are free
This fully-resourced lesson explores what happens to lactate after a period of anaerobic respiration as detailed in point 7.7 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification. Students will learn how pyruvate is converted to lactate using reduced NAD and that the reoxidation of the coenzyme allows glycolysis to continue.
The lesson begins with a focus on the coenzyme, NAD, and students are challenged to recall details of its role in the oxidation of triose phosphate. Students will learn that oxidative phosphorylation in aerobic respiration allows these coenzymes to be reoxidised but that another metabolic pathway has to operate when there is no oxygen. Time is taken to go through the lactate fermentation pathway and students are encouraged to discuss the conversions before applying their knowledge to complete the diagram and passages about the pathway. Students are introduced to the oxygen debt and will learn how the volume consumed after vigorous exercise is used to catabolise lactic acid and to restore the body’s stores to normal levels.
This fully-resourced lesson explores how glucose as well as the other respiratory substrates, such as lipids and proteins, can enter the respiratory pathway and therefore can be respired to produce molecules of ATP. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 12.1 (f) and (g) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to explain the relative energy values of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins and be able to determine respiratory quotients from equations.
This lesson has been written to challenge current understanding as well as introduce details of glycolysis, the link reaction and Krebs cycle as these stages have yet to be covered fully. Students will learn that lipids and proteins can be used as respiratory substrates and will recognise the different ways that they enter the respiratory pathway. A quick quiz competition is used to introduce the relative energy value for carbohydrates and students are challenged to predict how the values for lipids and proteins will compare. As a result, students will recognise that a greater number of hydrogen atoms results in a greater availability of protons to form the proton gradient to fuel the production of ATP. The rest of the lesson focuses on the calculation of the respiratory quotient and time is taken to look at how the result can be interpreted to determine which substrates were respired.
This clear and concise lesson explores the roles of the coenzymes NAD, FAD and coenzyme A in cellular respiration as detailed in point 12.1 (d) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification.
As this specification point comes before the specification points concerning the details of the stages of respiration, this lesson has been designed to introduce the key details whilst focusing on their roles. Students will understand that NAD and FAD are reduced upon accepting hydrogen atoms and then carry these protons and electrons to the cristae where they are used in the production of ATP. In addition, they will learn that coenzyme A is used in the link reaction and helps to deliver the acetyl group to the Krebs cycle
This fully-resourced lesson explores how pyruvate can be converted to lactate or ethanol using reduced NAD and that the reoxidation of the coenzyme allows glycolysis to continue. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying differentiated resources have been designed to cover points 12.2 (j) and (k) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to explain the production of a small yield of ATP in anaerobic conditions and recognise the concept of an oxygen debt
The lesson begins with a focus on the coenzyme, NAD, and students are challenged to recall details of its role in the oxidation of triose phosphate. Students will learn that oxidative phosphorylation in aerobic respiration allows these coenzymes to be reoxidised but that another metabolic pathway has to operate when there is no oxygen. Time is taken to go through the lactate and ethanol fermentation pathways and students are encouraged to discuss the conversions before applying their knowledge to complete diagrams and passages about the pathways. Understanding checks in a range of forms are used to enable the students to assess their progress whilst prior knowledge checks allow them to recognise the links to earlier topics. Students will also be introduced to the oxygen debt and will learn how the volume consumed after vigorous exercise is used to catabolise lactic acid and restore the body’s stores to normal levels.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on the stages of aerobic respiration.
This clear and detailed lesson describes the process of oxidative phosphorylation, including the roles of the electron carriers, oxygen and the mitochondrial cristae. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover points 12.2 (f) and (g) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification and includes details of the electron transport system, the flow of protons and ATP synthase.
The lesson begins with a discussion about the starting point of the reaction. In the previous stages, the starting molecule was the final product of the last stage but in this stage, it is the reduced coenzymes which release their hydrogen atoms. Moving forwards, the process of oxidative phosphorylation is covered in 7 detailed steps and at each point, key facts are discussed and explored in further detail to enable a deep understanding to be developed. Students will see how the proton gradient across the inner membrane is created and that the flow of protons down the channel associated with ATP synthase results in a conformational change and the addition of phosphate groups to ADP by oxidative phosphorylation. Understanding checks are included throughout the lesson to enable the students to assess their progress and prior knowledge checks allow them to recognise the clear links to other topics and modules.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on glycolysis, the Link reaction and the Krebs cycle
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the series of small steps that form the Krebs cycle and focuses on the reactions which involve decarboxylation and dehydrogenation and the reduction of NAD and FAD. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have both been designed to cover points 12.2 (d) and (e) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification.
The lesson begins with a version of the Impossible game where students have to spot the connection between 8 of the 9 terms and will ultimately learn that this next stage is called the Krebs cycle. The main part of the lesson challenges the students to use descriptions of the main steps of the cycle to continue their diagram of the reactions. Students are continually exposed to key terminology such as decarboxylation and dehydrogenation and they will learn where carbon dioxide is lost and reduced NAD and FAD are generated. They will also recognise that ATP is synthesised by substrate level phosphorylation. The final task challenges them to apply their knowledge of the cycle to work out the numbers of the different products and to calculate the number of ATP that must be produced in the next stage
This lesson has been designed to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on glycolysis, the Link reaction and oxidative phosphorylation.
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the details of glycolysis as the first stage of respiration and explains how the sequence of reactions results in glucose being converted to pyruvate. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying differentiated resources have been designed to cover point 12.2 (b) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should know glycolysis as the phosphorylation of glucose and the subsequent splitting into triose phosphate which is then oxidised to pyruvate.
The lesson begins with the introduction of the name of the stage and then explains how the phosphorylation of the hexoses and the production of the ATP, coenzymes and pyruvate are the stages that need to be known for this specification. Time is taken to go through each of these stages and key points such as the use of ATP in phosphorylation are explained so that students can understand how this affects the net yield. A quick quiz competition is used to introduce NAD and the students will learn that the reduction of this coenzyme, which is followed by the transport of the protons and electrons to the cristae for the electron transport chain is critical for the overall production of ATP. Understanding checks, in a range of forms, are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their progress and any misconceptions are immediately addressed.
This detailed lesson introduces the four stages of aerobic respiration and looks at the relationship between structure and function of the mitochondrion. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover points 12.2 (a) and (i) of the CIE International A-level Biology 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 an introduction to glycolysis and students will learn how this first stage of aerobic respiration is also the first stage when oxygen isn’t present. A version of “GUESS WHO” challenges students to use a series of structural clues to whittle the 6 organelles down to just the mitochondrion so that they can learn how the other three stages take place inside this organelle. 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 clear and concise lesson explores the importance of coenzymes in cellular respiration as detailed in point 5.2.2 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification.
Students encountered coenzymes in module 2.1.4 as well as looking at the roles of NAD, CoA and FAD whilst learning about glycolysis, the link reaction and Krebs cycle earlier in this module. Therefore this lesson was designed to check on their understanding of the importance of these roles and goes on to explain how the transport of the protons and electrons to the mitochondrial cristae is key for the production of ATP.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons in module 5.2.2 which include the mitochondria, glycolysis, the link reaction and the Krebs cycle
This fully-resourced lesson explores how glucose as well as the other respiratory substrates, such as lipids and proteins, can enter the respiratory pathway and therefore can be respired to produce molecules of ATP. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 5.2.2 (j) and (k) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should know the difference in the relative energy values of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins and be able to use and interpret the respiratory quotient.
This lesson has been written to challenge current understanding as well as the knowledge of glycolysis, the link reaction and Krebs cycle and so contains regular prior knowledge checks which come in a range of forms. Students will learn that lipids and proteins can be used as respiratory substrates and will recognise the different ways that they enter the respiratory pathway. A quick quiz competition is used to introduce the mean energy value for carbohydrates and students are challenged to predict how the values for lipids and proteins will compare. As a result, students will recognise that a greater number of hydrogen atoms results in a greater availability of protons to form the chemiosmotic gradient to fuel the production of ATP. The rest of the lesson focuses on the calculation of the respiratory quotient and time is taken to look at how the result can be interpreted to determine which substrates were respired.
All 7 of the lessons in this bundle are fully-resourced and have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 5.2 (Respiration) of the AQA A-Level Biology specification. The specification points that are covered within these lessons include:
Respiration produces ATP
Glycolysis as the first stage of aerobic and anaerobic respiration
The phosphorylation of glucose and the production and oxidation of triose phosphate
The production of lactate or ethanol in anaerobic conditions
The Link reaction
The oxidation-reduction reactions of the Krebs cycle
The synthesis of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation
The chemiosmotic theory
Lipids and proteins as respiratory substrates
The lessons have been written to include a wide range of activities and numerous understanding and prior knowledge checks so students can assess their progress against the current topic as well as be challenged to make links to other sub-topics within this topic and earlier topics
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the anaerobic respiration and oxidative phosphorylation lessons as these have been uploaded for free
This fully-resourced lesson explores how other respiratory substrates, such as lipids and proteins, can be used to produce molecules of ATP. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the 7th and final part of point 5.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should know how these substrates enter the Krebs cycle.
This lesson has been written to challenge the knowledge of the earlier parts of the topic of respiration and so contains constant prior knowledge checks which come in a range of forms. Students will learn that lipids and proteins can be used as respiratory substrates and will recognise the different ways that they enter the respiratory pathway. Time is taken to look at the beta oxidation pathway and again students are challenged to compare the products of this pathway against that of the Link reaction.
