A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this resource is suitable as a lesson starter for a topic on gas exchange in fish. The worksheet requires students to consider the difference in circulatory system layout between a fish and a mammal before focusing on the differences between concurrent and counter-current exchange. Key words: fish, circulatory, counter-current, concurrent, blood, gas exchange, oxygen, carbon dioxide, gills, Fick's law, equilibrium, surface area, concentration gradient, exchange surface

This resource consists of two worksheets, each of which contains a task on identifying structures associated with the lungs and thorax, followed by a table which requires students to identify the key events that occur during ventilation. Each worksheet contains slightly different terminology, making one more suitable for A-Level and one more suitable for GCSE. The worksheets can be used as a starter or plenary task to recap student's knowledge. Key words: Intercostal, lungs, pressure, Boyle's law, diaphragm, ribs, contract, relax, trachea, cartilage, alveoli, bronchus, bronchi

A single page method sheet for carrying out the reducing sugar and non-reducing sugar test. This resource would be suitable as a concise guide to the these biochemical tests and is aimed at Advanced Level biology students or BTEC Level 3 students.

A questionnaire that can be given to students as part of a homework or research task on the subject of MMR vaccinations. The questions are thought provoking and force students to think about how they would act in the situation of getting their own children vaccinated. This activity works well as a starter activity to ignite debate - particularly when students are tasked with using this questionnaire on members of their own family and reporting the results back to class.

This resource is aimed at GCSE (14-16 year old) biology students and consists of two worksheets. The first worksheet is an introduction to the concept of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems and involves a mix and match task to sort key definitions. The worksheet also has a table to fill in with specific examples of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems. The second worksheet consists of eleven questions that are related to an online video that neatly (in the space of 3-4 minutes) introduces the topic of the digestive system. Students watch the video (link to the video is provided on the worksheet) and answer the questions as they go. This is ideal to use as a starter task for a lesson on the digestive system.

A resource aimed at GCSE (14-16 year old) biology students, this worksheet consists of nine questions that probe understanding of the process of osmosis. This resource is ideal to use as a starter activity following the classic practical investigation into how different concentrations of salt or sugar solution affect the mass of a potato chip. Key words: osmosis, mass, percentage change, water, concentration

A resource aimed at GCSE (14-16 year old) biology students, this resource consists of a series of instructions for four food test investigations (testing for a reducing sugar, protein, starch and fat), each of which can be printed out and positioned at various locations/work stations in a laboratory. The resource also contains a worksheet for students to fill in as they complete each investigation - students should test a known sample of a food substance first in order to see for themselves the positive result/colour change before then testing an unknown mixture.

A worksheet resource that could be used by either 14-16 or 16-18 year old biology students, this resource provides an 'active video' task on the history of thalidomide with a series of question prompts that students complete while watching the video clip. the video clip can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0QpnqjKGJo The video clip provides an overview of the thalidomide tragedy and how the United States stood their ground in refusing a drug licence while the disaster played out across the rest of the world. This is a good activity to set the scene for any topic on how drugs are developed and the importance of drug testing and clinical trials. Key words: Thalidomide, disaster, focomelia, drugs, clinical trials, pharmaceutical, USA, regulations

A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this resource provides several prompts for students to research and learn about the nature of the nerve impulse and action potential. Extension tasks are also provided along with weblinks to animations and information sources. This is a good activity to set a class as a homework or as an independent learning task prior to teaching of the topic in class. Key words: Nerve, neurone, nerve impulse, action potential, depolarisation, repolarisation, refractory period, resting potential, propagation, sodium, potassium, influx, efflux, membrane

A worksheet aimed at A-Level Biology students that requires students to read a passage of text, study diagrams and answer questions that require application of knowledge on the Carbon Cycle. The stimulus material is in the context of space science research and mapping of the Earth's oceans. Phytoplankton are a major carbon sink and their numbers are declining, possibly as a result of global warming. This worksheet considers the implications of this change. Keywords: Phytoplankton, Carbon cycle, space, satellite, envisat, sink. oceans, greenhouse, global warming

A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this resource provides prompts and questions to guide student research into co-ordination and homeostasis of the human body. The worksheet consists of questions relating to the role, nature and mechanisms of hormones, local chemical mediators and the nervous system. Key words: nervous system, hormones, homeostasis, chemical mediator, receptor, signal, communication, impulse, co-ordination

A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this resource provides a series of exercises that help students understand the nature of the genetic code and the impact of mutations. Students are required to decode a piece of DNA using the decode table provided, before then considering how a substitution, deletion or addition could change how the sequence is decoded. This is an excellent resource for driving home the point about frameshift mutations and how some mutations may be silent.

A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this worksheet is ideal as a starter task (or alternatively as a homework preparation/background reading exercise) that covers the reasons why meiosis takes place and the nature of gametes produced from meiosis. This is a useful exercise to conduct with students to establish the 'big picture' prior to study of individual stages of meiotic cell division. Keywords: meiosis, chromosomes, interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, haploid, diploid, reduction division, independent assortment, variation, genetic, evolution

A worksheet aimed at advanced level biology students, this resource provides a list of key statements and key words related to the topic of mitosis. The worksheet can be used as a revision activity whereby students draw out cell diagrams depicting each stage of mitosis and then use the key words and statements to annotate their diagrams appropriately. Key words: key words, key statements, mitosis, centrioles, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, cytokinesis, interphase, chromosomes, nucleus, spindle fibres

A worksheet aimed at advanced level biology students which introduces the concept of nervous and hormonal control of the body. The worksheet consists of some introductory questions that require students to consider the nature, mechanisms, speed and duration of hormonal communication versus nervous communication. Key words: communication, hormone, nerve, impulse, endocrine, neurotransmitter, chemical messenger

A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this is ideal as a starter or plenary task following a topic on glucose homeostasis. The worksheet consists of eighteen questions related to glucose homeostasis (a 'what am I?' quiz) which require single word answers. All answers are provided on the second page of the worksheet. A good activity to consolidate key word vocabulary from this topic. Key words: glucose, glycogen, homeostasis, starch, gluconeogenesis, glycogenolysis, liver, pancreas, islets of langerhans, alpha cells, beta cells

A worksheet aimed at either higher ability 14-16 students or advanced biology students, this resource is useful as a starter or plenary exercise to recap ideas on homeostasis and the mechanisms by which heat can be gained or lost (various scenarios are given for students to explain). The worksheet concludes with some research tasks on the physiological mechanisms of thermoregulation. Key words: homeostasis, thermoregulation, temperature, conduction, convection, radiation, heat gain, heat loss

A worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this comprehensive set of worksheets can effectively be used to introduce the concept of homeostasis (focusing on negative feedback mechanisms and the need to keep a steady state) and thermoregulation. Students can work their way through each section of the worksheet before a class discussion to check understanding - for some sections a teacher may decide to lead on an explanation before using the worksheet exercises as a way of checking understanding. Key words: homeostasis, negative feedback, thermoregulation, sweating, vasoconstriction, vasodilation, piloerection, shivering

A comprehensive six page worksheet aimed at advanced biology students, this resource deals with all the major aspects of how a nerve impulse originates and is propagated along a neurone. The worksheets include diagrams that show the different open and closed positions of sodium and potassium channels with space for students to show their own positions of the relevant ions (this is with reference to an online animation - weblink included on the worksheet). The worksheet also has a labelling exercise for the classic action potential graph as well as details on saltatory conductance and factors affecting speed of impulse transmission. Key words: nerve, neurone, depolarisation, repolarisation, refractory period, action potential, resting potential, sodium, potassium, diffusion, ATP, ATPase pump