A worksheet aimed at A-Level students that provides a mix and match task for the different types of nutrition seen across various biological kingdoms. The worksheet includes reference to autotrophs, heterotrophs, photoautotrophs, chemoautotrophs, saprobionts, parasites and holozoic nutrition. The final question requires students to explain why certain examples of living organisms fall into certain categories. Key words: Nutrition, parasite, saprobiont, holozoic, autotroph, heterotroph, photoautotroph, chemoautotroph, algae, tapeworm, human

Aimed at either GCSE or A-Level Biology students, this activity is part of a DRAW IT series of activities. A class is divided into two halves: one half gets the diagram and has to write a commentary as to what each stage in the diagram is depicting; the other half gets a written commentary about the process and has to draw a diagram representing each stage. The two halves of the class can then be paired up to discuss the process of eutrophication, before asking students to summarise during class discussion or on the main whiteboard of the classroom. An easy way to get information on a complex process across to students quickly. Key words: Eutrophication, draw, write, pollution, algae, sunlight, photosynthesis, decomposition, decay, oxygen, respiration, death, fish, organisms, aquatic

A worksheet aimed at A-Level Biology students, ideal as a lesson starter activity. The worksheet looks at energy flow through a cow and requires students to calculate energy losses and energy assimilated as biomass. There are follow up questions that touch on intensive farming and productivity of a grassland pasture. Keywords: Cow, energy, transfer, food chain, farming, biomass, intensive, respiration, photosynthesis, calculate, productivity, kilojoules

A worksheet designed to be used at the start of a topic on energy flow with A-Level Biology students. The worksheet provides a series of tasks which require students to conduct their own research and identify the key methods of nutrition, how energy is transferred and why energy is lost at each transfer stage. Extension work is aimed at students researching chemoautotrophs and realising that the sun is not always the start of a food chain. Key words: energy, transfer, parasite, holozoic, saprobiont, autotroph, chemoautotroph, photoautotroph, consumers

Ideal for use as a starter activity for A-Level Biology students following a topic on energy flow through food chains. This resource shows a diagrammatic representation of a food chain, with energy values quoted at each transfer stage. the questions require students to perform calculations and identify key processes involved in energy transfer through a food chain. Key words: energy, transfer, food chain, respiration, decomposition, photosynthesis, productivity, calcualtions, kilojoules, metres

Climate change is sometime a 'dry' topic and difficult to include much in the way of practical experiences for students. This worksheet contains a practical procedure that looks at the effect of temperature on the heart rate of Daphnia and the resultant impact on ecosystems. There is also provision for the analysis of results using 95% confidence limits and standard error. An engaging way to look at the impacts of climate change and global warming on living organisms. Key words: Daphnia, heart rate, climate change, global warming, temperature, food chains, ecology, 95% confidence limits and standard error

A worksheet that provides a matching exercise for key definitions related to ecology (e.g. population, community, ecosystem, niche, etc). Useful as a plenary task once this topic has been covered, which provides students with a written record of what each term means. Key words: Ecology, ecosystem, population, niche, community, competition, intraspecific, interspecific, habitat, environment

A worksheet aimed at A-Level Biology students that contains questions on ecological sampling techniques: transects, mark release recapture, random sampling, etc. The resource is useful as a revision exercise once these topics have been taught to students. Key words: Ecology, transect, sampling, quadrat, random, mark, release, recapture, bias, representative

A worksheet designed for A-Level Biology students that reviews the meaning of key words related to ecology (population, community, ecosystem, etc). The worksheet includes questions on the ethics of conservation work carried out by ecologists and includes full answers at the end. Key words: Ethics, ecology, ecosystem, abiotic, biotic, conservation, population, community, niche, competition, risk, hazard

A worksheet designed for A-Level biology students that requires independent research into the nature of crop pests and the problems they cause for farmers. The worksheet includes website references to guide students in their research. Key words: Crops, pests, pest control, farming, profits, pesticides, predators, biological control, monoculture, bioaccumulation, specific, cost effective, stable, contact, systemic, residual

Worksheet that asks students to work through a chi-squared analysis of data from an investigation into PTU tasting ability. Useful as a lesson starter or plenary review on chi-sqaured. Keywords: chi-squared, statistics, PTU, tasting, null hypothesis, probability, degrees of freedom, critical value

A starter or plenary task on the topic of the carbon cycle, designed for A-Level students. The worksheet asks students to suggest their own labels for each key process involved in the cycle and then identify carbon sources, sinks and ways in which human activity is contributing to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Key words: Carbon, cycle, sources, sinks, global warming, deforestation, greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide

A worksheet to review the basics of the carbon cycle, identify carbon sources and sinks and review the main causes of increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Key words: Carbon cycle, source, sink, trees, photosynthesis, respiration, fossilisation, combustion, decomposition, greenhouse, global warming

A detailed worksheet/activity that introduces the idea of calorimetry as a means of measuring the energy value of foods. The worksheet provides space for initial readings and subsequent calculations. There is discussion of how to calculate and use specific heat capacity followed by questions on the limitations of this investigation. Finally, as extension material, the worksheet has an exercise on spearman rank statistical test to see whether there is a link between the amount of energy in food and the fat content. Suitable for use with A-Level biology students as a part of a practical investigation during any topic on energy transfer, food chains, etc. Key words: Energy, food chains, specific heat capacity, spearman rank, statistical test, fat, combustion, burning, calorimeter

A worksheet that displays data for an investigation into the mental arithmetic ability of male and female students. The task is then to analyse the data using 95% confidence limits and standard error statistical test. A useful starter or plenary exercise or this could be adapted into a full investigation in its own right. Key words: Investigation, mental arithmetic, 95% confidence limits, statistics, null hypothesis, standard error, standard deviation, male, female

A worksheet that is aimed at A-Level Biology students, providing data from an investigation into the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia. Students are required to use the 95% confidence limits and standard error test to determine whether the results are statistically significant or not. Key words: Statistics, Daphnia, heart rate, caffeine, 95% confidence limits, standard error, standard deviation, significance, null hypothesis

A complete summary of all three main statistical tests required for AQA Biology: 95% confidence limits and standard error, spearman rank and chi-squared. The worksheet focuses on the basic routine of each test rather than getting bogged down with detailed explanations of the theory behind them. A useful resource to give to students as a summary once statistical tests have been taught. Each summary provides data for students to analyse and practice each test. There is also a quick quiz at the start, whereby students need to select the appropriate statistical test for each investigation. Key words: Statistical tests, 95% confidence limits, standard error, chi-squared, spearman rank, maths, degrees of freedom, critical value, probablity, null hypothesis

A practical method sheet for use by A-Level students investigating the effect of temperature on amylase, but also useful for teachers and technicians. Provides simple bullet point instructions that are easy to follow and also a full equipment list. A classic practical in A-Level Biology; please note that the practical procedure requires use of a colorimeter. Key words: Colorimeter, enzyme, amylase, rate, reaction, technician, buffer, iodine, substrate, products, temeprature, denature

This is an activity aimed at KS3-4 lower ability students, enabling them to learn the basics of lock and key theory via model building. The resource shows clear learning objectives includes a step by step series of tasks that gradually develop the model, with key questions for students to answer along the way. The resource also includes a personal learning checklist for completion before and after the lesson to show progress, along with a peer assessment sheet for students to assess each other. Key words: enzyme, substrate, lock and key, active site, denaturation, rate, reaction, products, protein, plasticine, personal learning checklist, peer assessment

A twenty question quiz worksheet on the topic of carbohydrates, Suitable for A-Level biology students, this quiz would be a useful starter exercise to recap key vocabulary and definitions at the end of a topic on carbohydrates. Key words: Carbohydrates, glucose, benedict's, reducing sugar, non reducing sugar, glycogen, cellulose, amylose, amylopectin, starch