A fully resourced lesson presentation (93 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 C3 (Chemical reactions) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Formulae of elements and molecules Formulae of ionic compounds Conservation of mass Chemical equations Half equations The mole Exothermic and endothermic reactions The pH scale Hydrogen ions and pH Electrolysis of molten salts Electrolysis of solutions Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “E Numbers” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

This fully-resourced lesson explores the effect of geographical and reproductive isolation on the evolution of a new species. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 6.1.2 (g) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of the effect of these isolating mechanisms on the evolution of a new species by either allopatric or sympatric speciation. The lesson begins by using the example of a hinny, which is the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, to challenge students to recall the biological classification of a species. Moving forwards, students are introduced to the idea of speciation and the key components of this process, such as isolation and selection pressures, are covered and discussed in detail. Understanding and prior knowledge checks are included throughout the lesson to allow the students to not only assess their progress against the current topic but also to make links to earlier topics in the specification. Time is taken to look at the details of allopatric speciation and how the different mutations that arise in the isolated populations and genetic drift will lead to genetic changes. The example of allopatric speciation in wrasse fish because of the isthmus of Panama is used to allow the students to visualise this process. The final part of the lesson considers sympatric speciation and again a wide variety of tasks are used to enable a deep understanding to be developed. This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on topic 6.1.2 (patterns of inheritance).

This resource contains a detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets, all of which have been designed to cover point 2.14 of the Edexcel GCSE Biology or Combined Science specification. This specification point states that students should be able to explain the structure and function of a reflex arc including sensory, relay and motor neurones. The lesson builds on the knowledge from point 2.13 where students learnt about the structures in the nervous system. The lesson begins by challenging the students to come up with the word reflex having been presented with 5 other synonyms of the word automatic. This leads into a section of discovery and discussion where students are encouraged to consider how a reflex arc can be automatic and rapid despite the fact that the impulse is conducted into the CNS like any other reaction. Students will be introduced to the relay neurone and will learn how this provides a communication between the sensory neurone and the motor neurone and therefore means that these arcs do not involve processing by the brain. Moving forwards, the main task of the lesson challenges the students to write a detailed description of a reflex arc. Assistance is given on the critical section which involves the relay neurone in the spinal cord before they have to use their knowledge of nervous reactions to write a paragraph before and after to complete the description. As a final task, students will have to compare the structure and functions of the three neurones. This lesson contains a wide range of activities which include quiz competitions to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way as well as understanding and prior knowledge checks so that students can assess their grasp of the critical content. It has been written for students studying the Edexcel GCSE Biology or Combined Science courses but is also suitable for younger students looking at the nervous system or A-level students who need to recall the key details and structures

This fully-resourced lesson covers part #1 of specification point 6.2.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should know the structure of a myelinated motor neurone and be able to explain why saltatory conduction enables a faster conduction along with the effect of axon diameter and temperature. A wide range of activities have been written into this resource to maintain the motivation of the students whilst ensuring that the detail is covered in real depth. Interspersed with the activities are understanding checks and prior knowledge checks to allow the students to not only assess their understanding of the current topic but also challenge themselves to make links to earlier topics such as the movement of ions across membranes and biological molecules. Time at the end of the lesson is also given to future knowledge such as the involvement of autonomic motor neurones in the stimulation of involuntary muscles. Over the course of the lesson, students will learn and discover how the structure of a motor neurone is related to its function over conducting impulses from the CNS to the effector. There is a focus on the myelin sheath and specifically how the insulation is not complete all the way along which leaves gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier which allow the entry and exit of ions. Saltatory conduction is poorly explained by a lot of students so time is taken to look at the way that the action potential jumps between the nodes and this is explained further by reference to local currents. The rest of the lesson focuses on the other two factors which are axon diameter and temperature and students are challenged to discover these two by focusing on the vampire squid. This lesson has been designed for students studying the AQA A-level Biology course

This detailed and engaging lesson will support students with their revision in the build up to their PAPER 1 & 2 mocks or final assessments. The wide range of tasks and activities will challenge students on their knowledge of topics 1 - 11 of the CIE A-level biology specification (for assessment in 2025 - 27), allowing them to identify any areas which require further attention before the examinations. Included in the range of tasks are exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. There are quiz rounds to maintain engagement and to encourage healthy competition, as well as guided discussion periods to provide opportunities for students to support each other. The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson: The nature of the genetic code The structure of haemoglobin and collagen Fibrous and globular proteins The roles of the heart valves in the cardiac cycle The changes in the quantity of DNA through the mitotic cell cycle The role of DNA polymerase and DNA ligase in DNA replication The behaviour of chromosomes during prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase The importance of mitosis for living organisms The bonds formed during translation The structure of starch and cellulose The ultrastructure of eukaryotic cells Calculating the size of an object under an optical microscope Using the image = actual x magnification formula The role of APCs and T helper cells in the immune response Pathogens which cause infectious diseases Many of the tasks have been differentiated to maintain challenge whilst providing access to all. This is an extensive lesson with multiple tasks so it is estimated that it will take over 3 hours of teaching time if covered in full, but teachers may choose to use small sections in shorter lessons to focus on a specific topic.

This detailed and engaging lesson supports students with their revision in the build up to their PAPER 2 mocks or final assessment. The wide range of tasks and activities will challenge students on their knowledge and understanding of the content of topics 1 - 4 and 8 - 10 of the Edexcel A-level biology B specification, allowing them to identify those areas which require further attention before the examinations. Included in the range of tasks are exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. As shown in the cover image, there are several quiz rounds to maintain engagement and to encourage healthy competition, as well as guided discussion periods to provide opportunities for students to support each other. The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson: Directional, disruptive and stabilising selection Saltatory conduction The structure of neurones Depolarisation and the initiation of an action potential Hardy-Weinberg principle The Founder effect and population bottlenecks Genetic terminology Codominance Sex linkage and autosomal linkage Chi squared test Myoglobin vs haemoglobin Succession The sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the ANS The control of heart rate The functions of the different parts of the brain This is an extensive lesson with many tasks so it is estimated that it will take over 3 hours of teaching time if covered in full, but teachers may choose to use sections to focus on a specific topic. If the students find this lesson useful, there is also a PAPER 1 REVISION lesson uploaded which challenges the content of topics 1 - 7.

This lesson describes meaning of the mole and shows how this measurement is used in a range of calculations. The clear lesson PowerPoint presentation and accompanying question worksheet have been designed to cover points 1.50 & 1.51 of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification and also covers those points in the Chemistry section of the Combined Science course. This lesson has been specifically written to explain the concept in a concise manner so that the key details are understood and embedded. Students are shown how to recognise when a mole calculation requires them to use Avogadro’s constant and when they should the formula including the relative formula mass.

This lesson will support students with their revision in the build up to the AQA A-level biology PAPER 1 mocks or final assessments. The lesson includes a wide variety of tasks and activities which will engage and motivate students whilst challenging their knowledge and understanding of the content of topics 1 - 4, allowing them to identify any gaps so they can be addressed before the assessments. These tasks include exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. Several of these questions challenge their mathematical skills, to prepare them for the volume of marks that will be assigned to this aspect of the course. There are also quick quiz rounds and guided discussion periods to allow students to support each other, and some of the accompanying resources have been differentiated to allow access to the content for all. The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson: The nature of the genetic code Classification hierarchy The structure of proteins Cardiac output The roles of enzymes in DNA replication The events of meiosis which contribute to genetic variation The relationship between structure and function in plant polysaccharides The structure and function of organelles Cell fractionation Calculating the size of an object under an optical microscope Using the image = actual x magnification formula Types of immunity Understanding whether data is significantly different or not The role of macrophages in the immune response The evolution of antibiotic resistance The lesson finishes with a round of BLOCKBUSTERS, where students are challenged to recognise 17 key terms from across topics 1 - 4, which weren’t directly covered by the earlier part of the lesson. If you are happy with the quality of this revision lesson, a lesson challenging content from topics 5 - 8 for PAPER 2 has also been uploaded.

This is a fully-resourced REVISION lesson which challenges the students on their knowledge of the content in TOPIC B4 (Natural selection and genetic modification) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification. The lesson uses an engaging PowerPoint (65 slides) and accompanying worksheets to motivate students whilst they assess their understanding of this topic. A range of exam questions, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions are used to test the following sub-topics: The discovery of key fossils and their implications for human evolution The dating of stone tools Evolution by natural selection Antibiotic resistance in bacteria as evidence for natural selection The domain and kingdom classification methods Genetic engineering of bacteria to produce human insulin The benefits and risks of genetic engineering and selective breeding The mathematical element of the course is also tested throughout the lesson and students are given helpful hints on exam techniques and how to structure answers. This resource is suitable for use at the end of topic B4 or in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams.

This lesson describes the principles of homeostasis and the differences between negative feedback and positive feedback. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.1.1 [c] of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and explains how this feedback control maintains systems within narrow limits but has also been planned to provide important details for upcoming topics such as osmoregulation, thermoregulation and the depolarisation of a neurone. The normal ranges for blood glucose concentration, blood pH and body temperature are introduced at the start of the lesson to allow students to recognise that these aspects have to be maintained within narrow limits. A series of exam-style questions then challenge their recall of knowledge from topics 1-8 to explain why it’s important that each of these aspects is maintained within these limits. The students were introduced to homeostasis at GCSE, so this process is revisited and discussed, to ensure that students are able to recall that this is the maintenance of a state of dynamic equilibrium. A quick quiz competition is used to reveal negative feedback as a key term and students will learn how this form of control reverses the original change and biological examples are used to emphasise the importance of this system for restoring levels to the limits (and the optimum). The remainder of the lesson explains how positive feedback differs from negative feedback as it increases the original change and the role of oxytocin in birth and the movement of sodium ions into a neurone are used to exemplify the action of this control system.

This lesson has been designed to cover the content as detailed in points 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 (Mitosis as part of the cell cycle) of the Edexcel GCSE Biology & Combined Science specifications. Consisting of a detailed and engaging PowerPoint (44 slides) and an accompanying worksheet, the range of activities will motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in detail. Students will learn how interphase, the 4 phases of mitosis and cytokinesis result in the production of genetically identical diploid daughter cells. Time is taken to go through each of the three stages of the cell cycle in detail so students can recognise how the key events of each stage allow this important form of “copying” cell division to occur. Progress checks are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding of the content and any misconceptions can be addressed whilst quiz competitions, like The Big REVEAL and YOU DO THE MATH, are used to introduce new terms and important values in a fun and memorable way. This lesson has been written for GCSE-aged students who are studying the Edexcel GCSE Biology or Combined Science specifications but can be used with older students who need to know the key details of the cell cycle for their A level course before taking it to greater depths

This lesson describes the role of plant hormones in stomatal closure, leaf loss in deciduous plants and seed germination. The extensive and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been planned to cover the content of point b of module 5.1.5 of the OCR A-level biology A specification. The start of the lesson challenges the students to identify three leaf cells in the list of 11 leaf structures. This introduces guard cells and then the opening between them, the stomatal aperture. Time is taken to go through the process by which the apertures are opened to allow carbon dioxide to diffuse into the leaf for photosynthesis. This provides students with an insight into the movement of potassium ions and water when they are challenged about the closure of these openings in response to water stress. Students will meet abscisic acid and understand how this acts as the first messenger, before calcium ions act as the second messenger to trigger events on the inside of the guard cells. Moving forwards, the role of ethene and auxins in leaf loss and gibberellins in seed germination are described and explained. Multiple opportunities are taken to challenge students on their prior knowledge as well as their current understanding and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. This lesson is extensive and it is estimated that it will take 2-3 hours of teaching time to go through all of the tasks and content.

This detailed lesson has been intricately planned to support student revision in the build up to their PAPER 2 mocks or final assessment. The wide range of tasks and activities will challenge students on their knowledge of topics 1 - 4, 7 & 8 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level biology A specification, allowing them to recognise those areas which require further attention before the examinations. Included in the range of tasks are exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. There are quiz rounds to maintain engagement and to encourage healthy competition, as well as guided discussion periods to provide opportunities for students to support each other. The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson: Allopatric and sympatric speciation Saltatory conduction The structure of neurones Depolarisation and the initiation of an action potential Hardy-Weinberg principle Genetic terminology Sex linkage and autosomal linkage Aerobic respiration The lower yield of ATP from anaerobic respiration The sliding filament model of muscle contraction The ultrastructure of skeletal muscle Slow and fast twitch muscle fibres The control of heart rate The functions of the different parts of the brain Calculating cardiac output Gene expression as demonstrated by the lac operon The events of atherosclerosis Epigenetics This is an extensive lesson with many tasks so it is estimated that it will take over 3 hours of teaching time if covered in full, but teachers may choose to use sections to focus on a specific topic.

This lesson explains why large organisms with a low surface area to volume ratio need specialised gas exchange surfaces and a mass transport system. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover points 4.1 (i & ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and have been specifically planned to prepare students for the upcoming lessons on gas exchange (4.3) and circulation (4.4) The students are likely to have been introduced to the surface area to volume ratio at GCSE, but understanding of its relevance tends to be mixed. Therefore, real life examples are included throughout the lesson that emphasise the importance of this ratio in order to increase this relevance. A lot of students worry about the maths calculations that are associated with this topic so a step by step guide is included at the start of the lesson that walks them through the calculation of the surface area, the volume and then the ratio. Through worked examples and understanding checks, SA/V ratios are calculated for cubes of increasing side length and living organisms of different size. These comparative values will enable the students to conclude that the larger the organism or structure, the lower the surface area to volume ratio. A differentiated task is then used to challenge the students to explain the relationship between the ratio and the metabolic demands of a single-celled and multicellular organisms and this leads into the next part of the lesson, where the adaptations of large organisms to increase this ratio at the exchange surfaces are covered. The students will calculate the SA/V ratio of a human alveolus (using the surface area and volume formulae for a sphere) and will see the significant increase that results from the folding of the membranes. In addition to the ratio, time is taken to discuss and describe how the maintenance of a steep concentration gradient and a thin membrane are important for the rate of diffusion and again biological examples are used in humans and other organisms to increase the understanding. Fick’s law of diffusion is also introduced as a mechanism to help the students to recall that surface area, concentration difference and thickness of membrane govern the rate of simple diffusion. The final part of the lesson considers how a mass transport system is needed alongside the specialised gas exchange surface to allow the oxygen to be delivered to the respiring cells to enable them to continue to carry out aerobic respiration to generate ATP.

This detailed lesson looks at the structural organisation of the mammalian nervous system into the CNS and the PNS as detailed in point 5.1.5 (g) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. Students will see how the PNS is divided into the sensory and motor systems and then further divided into the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. Prior knowledge checks are included throughout the lesson to make links to earlier topics such as the structure of neurones and the function of the hypothalamus in thermoregulation and osmoregulation. This lesson has been designed to tie in with the uploaded lesson on the autonomic nervous system which is also covered in specification point 5.1.5 (g)

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 lesson describes the similarities and differences between the xylem and phloem vessels and the sclerenchyma fibres. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 4.11 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to compare these tissues in terms of structure, position in the stem and function. The lessons begins by challenging the students to identify the substances that a plant needs for the cellular reactions, where they are absorbed and where these reactions occur in a plant. The aim of this task is to get the students to recognise that water and mineral ions are absorbed in the roots and needed in the leaves whilst the products of photosynthesis are in the leaves and need to be used all over the plant. Students will be reminded that the xylem and phloem are part of the vascular system responsible for transporting these substances and then the rest of the lesson focuses on linking structure to function. A range of tasks which include discussion points, exam-style questions and quick quiz rounds are used to describe how lignification results in the xylem as a hollow tube of xylem cells to allow water to move as a complete column. They will also learn that the narrow diameter of this vessel allows capillary action to move water molecules up the sides of the vessel. The same process is used to enable students to understand how the structures of the companion cells allows assimilates to be loaded before being moved to the sieve tube elements through the plasmodesmata. The final part of the lesson introduces the sclerenchyma tissue as part of the vascular bundle and along with the structure and function, the students will observe where this tissue is found in the stem in comparison to the xylem and phloem. It is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of A-level teaching time to cover the detail which has been written into this lesson

A lot of time and effort has gone into the design of this revision resource as it covers the very important Atoms, elements and compounds topic (C3) of the CIE IGCSE Combined Specification which will be examined in June and November 2020 and 2021. This topic tends to contribute a high volume of the questions in the examination papers as it contains fundamental understanding. The resource contains a detailed and engaging PowerPoint (87 slides) and associated worksheets, which have been differentiated to allow differing abilities the chance to complete the task. The range of activities that include exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions aim to cover as much of the content as possible but the following topics have received particular attention: Metals vs non-metals Using the proton and nucleon number to calculate the number of sub-atomic particles Atoms vs ions Drawing dot and cross diagrams for ionic compounds The structure of an ionic compound and the relation to its properties Drawing dot and cross diagrams for simple molecules Understanding of the terms solution, solvent, solute and soluble Throughout the lesson, links have been made to other modules (e.g. Electricity and chemistry) so that students can see how they will be expected to make these connections. The detail of this lesson means that it can be used a number of times and is ideal for revision during the learning of C3, at the end of the topic or in the lead up to mocks or terminal exams.

This lesson describes how the expression of a gene mutation impairs the functioning of the gaseous and digestive systems in people with cystic fibrosis. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have primarily been designed to cover points 2.12 (ii) and 2.14 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification but also challenges the students on their knowledge of previously-covered topics including monohybrid inheritance, protein synthesis, genetic code and blood clotting as well as making links to the upcoming topics of loci, organisation of multicellular organisms and post-transcriptional changes. The main focus of the lesson is the CFTR gene and the functions of the ion channel that is synthesised when this gene is expressed. As well as explaining that this channel allows chloride ions to flow across the apical membrane of the epithelial cells, time is taken to emphasise the importance of its inhibition on the ENaC, which prevents the flow of sodium ions back into the cells. A step by step guide is then used to describe the sequence of events that result in mucus which is motile and can be moved by the wafting action of the cilia in healthy individuals. This leads into the section of the lesson which considers the inheritance of cystic fibrosis in an autosomal recessive manner and then focuses on the change in the primary structure of the channel which results from one of over 1500 different gene mutations. Again, the students are guided through the events that lead to the depletion of the apical surface liquid and the cilia being unable to move the viscous mucus. Although the majority of the lesson is described with reference to the gaseous exchange system, the impaired functioning of the digestive system in terms of the blockage of the pancreas and liver secretions is considered and discussed and the students are challenged on their understanding through a range of exam-style questions. All of the questions included in the lesson have mark schemes which are embedded into the PowerPoint and this allows the students to assess their progress. Due to the detailed content of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover

This lesson describes the structure and function of sensory and motor neurones as well as the role of intermediate neurones. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been planned to cover the content of point (3) of topic 15.1 of the CIE A-level Biology specification (for assessment in 2025 - 27) and also focuses on the organisation of the nervous system to support students with their understanding of upcoming content in this topic. The PowerPoint has been designed to contain a wide range of activities that are interspersed between understanding and prior knowledge checks that allow the students to assess their progress on the current topics as well as challenge their ability to make links to topics from earlier in the modules. Quiz competitions like SAY WHAT YOU SEE are used to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way. The students will be able to compare these neurones based on their function but also distinguish between them based on their structural features. Time is taken to introduce the importance of the myelin sheath that is present in both neurones to allow saltatory conduction to occur.