Module 4: Biodiversity, evolution and disease (OCR A-level Biology A)

The detailed content, exam-style questions, guided discussion points and quiz competitions that are found in each of the 16 paid lessons that are included in this bundle (as well as the 5 free lessons which are named at the bottom) cover the following specification points in module 4 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification:

Module 4.1.1

• The different types of pathogen that can cause communicable diseases in plants and animals
• The means of transmission of animal and plant communicable pathogens
• The primary non-specific defences against pathogens in animals
• The structure and mode of action of phagocytes
• The structure, different roles and modes of action of B and T lymphocytes in the specific immune response
• The primary and secondary immune responses
• The structure and general functions of antibodies
• An outline of the action of opsonins, agglutinins and anti-toxins
• The differences between active and passive immunity, and between natural and artificial immunity
• Autoimmune diseases
• The principles of vaccination

Module 4.2.1

• How biodiversity can be considered at different levels
• The random and non-random sampling strategies that are carried out to measure the biodiversity of a habitat
• How to measure species richness and species evenness
• The use and interpretation of Simpson’s Index of Diversity
• How genetic biodiversity may be assessed
• The ecological, economic and aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity
• In situ and ex situ methods of maintaining biodiversity
• International and local conservation agreements made to protect species and habitats

4.2.2

• The biological classification of species
• The binomial system of naming species and the advantage of such a system
• The features used to classify organisms into the five kingdoms
• The evidence that has led to new classification systems
• The different types of variation
• Using the standard deviation to measure the spread of a set of data
• Using the Student’s t-test to compare means of data values of two populations
• Using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to consider the relationship of the data
• The different types of adaptations to their environment
• The mechanism by which natural selection can affect the characteristics of a population over time
• How evolution in some species has an impact on human populations

If you would like to get an idea of the quality of the lessons that are included in this bundle, then download the following five OCR A lessons which have been uploaded for free:

Immunity & vaccinations
Reasons for maintaining biodiversity
Taxonomic hierarchy and the binomial naming system
Adaptations and natural selection
Transmission of animal and plant pathogens