Changes to the AQA GCSE Biology specification for 2011*
Science - Biology 1 / Additional Science – Biology 2 / Extension Science – Biology 32011 / Removed / 2011 / Removed / 2011 / Removed
Life processes and cells / · Keeping our bodies healthy
· How the human body responds to internal fluctuations and to changes in the external environment
· Microorganism cultures and the action of disinfectants and antibiotics (was B3.) / · Cells (plant and animal).
· Structure of algal, bacterial and yeast cells (new).
· Animals and plant tissues, organs and systems. / · Cell membranes.
· Diffusion.
· Osmosis (was B2).
· More detail about how dissolved materials get in and out of animals and plants.
· Antigens (new).
Humans as organisms / · Response to changes in the environment.
· Keeping healthy
· The use and abuse of medical and recreational drugs.
· Cannabis and performance enhancing drugs.
· Diseases and defence systems.
· Clinical trials. / · Diseases and health problems linked to excess weight and malnutrition.
· Specific detail about cholest-erol.
· Smoking and alcohol. / · Transport of dissolved substances in:
--cells
--enzymes
--respiration
--homeostasis
· Physiological changes during exercise (was B3).
· Anaerobic respiration (was B3).
· Glucose/glycogen conversion (was B3). / · Gas exchange.
· Transport – blood.
· Artificial blood products, artificial hearts and stents (new).
· Exercise and its effects on the body.
· Aerobic and anaerobic respiration.
· The kidney function and dialysis.
· How materials are transported around an organism.
· How our bodies keep internal conditions as constant as possible.
· Homeostasis (was B2).
· Sports drinks (was B1).
· Transport systems n plants (xylem and phloem) (new)
Green plants as organisms / · Plant sensitivity, hormones, phototropism and geotropism (new).
· Interdependence between plants and animals and how they are adapted to their environments.
· How energy and biomass change at different stages in a food chain.
· The waste materials that plants and animals produce. / · Photosynthesis.
· Additional uses of glucose in plants and algae. / · Mineral deficien-cies in plants. / · Water
Variation, inheritance and evolution / · Variation.
· Why individuals of the same species are different from each other.
· Selective breeding.
· Evolution.
· Extremeophiles (new). / · Simple inheritance in plants and animals.
· How organisms have changed over time.
· Homozygous, heterozygous, phenotype and genotype.
· Polydactyl as an example of an inherited disorder (new).
· Speciation (new).
· Extinction (was B1).
· Origins of life on Earth (was B1).
· Fossil formation.
· Fossils as evidence of evolution (was B1). / · Hunting-ton’s disease and an example of an inherited disorder.
Living things and their environ-ment / · Effects of environmental change on organisms.
· Habitats.
· New methods for producing plants and animals with preferred characteristics.
· Non-living indicators of environmental change.
· GM crops.
· Material and energy in biomass (was B2).
· Decay processes and the carbon cycle (was B2). / · Food chains.
· The relationships within and between communities of organisms, and their interaction with the environment.
· Proteins and what they do.
· How organisms make use of the energy from respiration. / · Human effects on the environment, including increasing human population, land use and deforestation, waste production and global warming (was B1).
· Efficiency of food production (was B2)
· Sustainable fishing (new).
Applica-tions of biology: bio-technology / · Using microorganisms to make food and drink.
· Working safely with microorganisms. / · Use of micro-organisms to make yoghurt, cheese, bread alcohol and antibiotics.
*Subject to Ofqual accreditation.