Core Science
(AQA Science A)
Important exam
information
and
revision booklet
CONTENTS PAGE
Introduction
When are my exams? What will they test
Useful places to help you to revise Core Science
How Science Works Topic revision tick-sheet
Biology Topic revision tick-sheet
Chemistry Topic revision tick-sheet
Physics Topic revision tick-sheet
Equations for GCSE Core Science
Data Sheet and Periodic Table
Page
3
4
5
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11
13
14
Introduction
This booklet is aimed to help you successfully plan, practise and carry out your revision
programme in preparation for your Science exams. Remember, many of the skills in this
booklet are transferable and will also help you with your other subjects. Take your time
to read the information carefully and complete the activities. They are there to help you
get the most from your revision.
The first section in this booklet includes all the relevant information you need to know
about your science exam papers, including what will be tested on each paper, when they
are and how long they are. There is also a topic checklist for you to traffic light (red – I
don’t know this topic at all; amber – I know some of this topic; green – I know this topic
quite well) to help focus your revision. There is also a list of common formulae, a data
sheet and periodic table that is used in the chemistry paper.
All students have been issued with a revision guide at the appropriate tier of entry. This
should be used as a useful revision tool.
We hope you find this booklet useful and wish you luck in your revision planning and
exams!
SECTION ONE
When are my exams? What will they test?
Each exam for Core Science will last 60 minutes. It is made up from a series of
structured questions designed to test your understanding of the syllabus content.
The areas that will be tested in each paper are listed beneath each one. Knowing what
areas will be tested will help you to plan your revision more effectively.
Biology 1 – Tuesday 16th May 2017 (pm)
 How we keep ourselves healthy
 How nerves and hormones work
 The use and abuse of drugs
 Interdependence and adaption
 Energy and biomass in food chains
 The waste materials from plants and animals
 Genetic variation and its control
 Evolution
Chemistry 1 – Thursday 18th May 2017 (am)
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Fundamental ideas in chemistry
Limestone and building materials
Metals and their uses
Crude oil and fuels
Other uses of crude oil
Plant oils and their uses
Changes in the Earth and its atmosphere
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How energy is transferred in heating
How energy is used efficiently
The usefulness of electrical appliances
How we generate our electricity
How we use different waves
Physics 1 – Wednesday 24th May 2017 (pm)
Each Paper will also have questions on “How Science Works”. These will assess the
“procedural content” (processes of scientific activity) such as how scientific data is
collected and used.
How Science Works – Assessed in Biology 1, Chemistry 1 and Physics 1.
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The thinking behind the doing
Fundamental ideas
Observation as a stimulus to investigation
Designing an investigation
Making measurements
Presenting data
Using data to draw conclusions
Societal aspects of scientific evidence
Limitations of scientific evidence
Useful places to go to help you revise Core Science
1. AQA website (specification (syllabus), past papers, mark schemes and
information about exams (dates/content etc.)
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/science-a-4405
2. Weald VLE (revision materials put in one place by your teachers). All
students have a password to access these materials.
http://learning.theweald.org.uk/
3. BBC Bitesize (revision materials presented in an easily accessible
format)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa/
4. Revision videos/materials
http://www.my-gcsescience.com/ (this is free for Core Science –
you will need to register though)
Reliability of evidence
F&H
Validity of evidence
F&H
Evidence based on opinion (scientific vs prejudices/whim/hearsay)
F&H
Continuous variables
F&H
Ordered variables
F&H
Categoric variables
F&H
Discrete variables
F&H
Links between variables (causal, association, chance)
F&H
Reliable - reproduced by others
F&H
Valid - reliable and answers the question
F&H
Hypotheses and predictions
F&H
Scientific theories and models
F&H
Independent variables
F&H
Dependent Variables
F&H
Fair testing
F&H
Control groups/experiments
F&H
Use of a placebo
F&H
Choosing a range for data
F&H
Accuracy of data
F&H
Precision of data
F&H
Systematic error
F&H
Random error
F&H
Anomalous values
F&H
Calibration of instruments
F&H
Range of data
F&H
Mean/average and calculations
F&H
Tables & Graphs (Bar charts, line graphs, scattergrams)
F&H
Line of best fit
F&H
Evaluating data
F&H
Bias (allegiances - political/financial/status)
F&H
Ethical, social, economic and environmental issues
F&H
Opinions and beliefs on questions we cannot answer
F&H
DONE
3rd revision
2nd revision
1st revision
Topic
Traffic light
Tier
Topic Checklist for "How Science Works"
Describe the components of a balanced diet and say why each is needed.
F&H
Describe the effects of an unbalanced diet – eating too much or too little.
F&H
Describe how exercise affects health.
F&H
Explain metabolic rate and the effect of exercise on metabolic rate.
F&H
State how inherited factors may affect metabolic rate or cholesterol.
F&H
Define pathogen.
F&H
Describe how viruses and bacteria make us ill.
F&H
State some ways the body protects against pathogens.
F&H
Describe the 3 ways white blood cells work.
F&H
Describe how an individual may become immune to a pathogen.
F&H
Describe how vaccinations can protect individuals and populations.
F&H
Describe the work of Semmelweiss and explain its importance.
F&H
State how some different types of medicines work.
Explain why antibiotics don’t work on viral infections, and why treatment
is difficult.
F&H
F&H
Explain antibiotic resistance. HIGHER
H
Give some of the problems with resistance strains of bacteria or viruses.
HIGHER
H
Write a method for culturing microorganisms in sterile conditions.
F&H
Explain differences in school & industrial conditions for growing microbes.
F&H
State the role of the nervous system in responding to the environment.
F&H
Link some examples of stimuli and receptor cells.
F&H
State some of the features of light receptor cells.
F&H
Describe the pathway of a simple reflex action.
F&H
Explain how water, ions, temperature & blood sugar levels are controlled.
F&H
Describe the general role of hormones in the body.
F&H
Describe the role of hormones in controlling the menstrual cycle.
F&H
Explain the use of hormones in controlling fertility
F&H
Describe how plants are sensitive to light, moisture and gravity.
F&H
Explain how hormones can control growth in plants.
F&H
Give some agricultural uses of hormones.
F&H
Describe the stages in developing and testing new medical drugs.
F&H
State the use of statins.
F&H
Describe the problems, and current use of, thalidomide.
F&H
Describe what a ‘drug’ is and the problems with dependence and addiction.
F&H
State some of the effects of misuse of legal and illegal recreational
drugs.
F&H
Describe some examples of performance enhancing drugs in sport.
F&H
Describe what animals compete
F&H
Describe what plants compete for
F&H
Explain how particular adaptations help animals to survive in their habitats
F&H
Explain what extremophiles are
Describe how distribution of organisms can change when the environment
changes
F&H
F&H
DONE
3rd revision
2nd revision
1st revision
Topic
Traffic light
Tier
B1 Topic Checklist for Core Science
State some examples of changes in the environment
F&H
Explain how lichens and invertebrates can be used as indicator species
F&H
Describe how we can use equipment to measure oxygen levels,
temperature and rainfall
State that the sun is the source of energy for living organisms
F&H
Describe the energy transfer that takes place during photosynthesis
F&H
Draw a pyramid of biomass for a food chain
F&H
Explain why the energy and biomass decrease further up the pyramid
F&H
State that living things remove materials from the environment
F&H
State that when organisms die and decay, materials are returned to the
environment
Define the term ‘decay’ & describe the conditions that microorganisms
grow fastest in
Explain why decay is important for plant growth
Describe a stable community in terms of the materials being cycled within
it
State how carbon dioxide is removed from, and released into the
atmosphere
Describe the role of plants, animals and microorganisms in the carbon
cycle
Explain how combustion affects carbon dioxide levels
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
Define the term ’gene’ & describe how genes are passed on from parents
to offspring
F&H
State that genes control characteristics
F&H
Give reasons to describe why there may be differences in characteristics
in organisms
F&H
Describe what sexual reproduction is
F&H
Describe what asexual reproduction is
F&H
Explain if offspring will be identical or different to their parents based
the type of reproduction
Describe the process of taking cuttings & state some advantages of
taking cuttings
Describe the stages involved in tissue culture, embryo transplants and
adult cell cloning
Describe what genetic engineering is
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
Define what GM (genetically modified) is
F&H
Give examples of ways in which we could modify crops and evaluate GM
crops
F&H
Describe Darwin’s theory of evolution
F&H
Give three reasons why the theory of natural selection was not accepted
at first
F&H
Describe the main stages of natural selection
F&H
State that variation can occur due to mutation
F&H
State the groups that living are classified into
F&H
Interpret evolutionary trees
F&H
Describe Lamarck’s theory of evolution
F&H
Annotate a diagram of an atom with names and features of each part
State numbers of protons and electrons in an atom and use this to explain
the overall charge
F&H
Define “element”, “mass number” and “atomic number”
F&H
Draw diagrams to show electronic structure of the first 20 elements
F&H
State and explain the relationship between elements in the same group
F&H
State what nobel gases are and explain why they are so unreactive
F&H
Define “compound” and “molecule”
F&H
Explain how ionic compounds are formed from metals and non-metals
F&H
Explain how molecular compounds are formed from non-metals
F&H
Give the chemical name and formula for limestone
F&H
Describe how limestone is quarried
Describe thermal decomposition of carbonates calcium, magnesium, zinc
and sodium
F&H
Describe the reaction of calcium oxide with water and of limewater
F&H
Describe how limestone is used to make cement and how cement is used
F&H
Link how metals are found in the Earth’s crust to their reactivity
F&H
Describe how metals can be extracted by reduction or electrolysis
Choose which method of extraction would be used, depending on the
reactivity of a metal
F&H
Describe how copper, aluminium and titanium are extracted and purified
F&H
Evaluate the benefits of recycling
F&H
Explain the properties of everyday alloys to their uses
Define transition metals. Link some properties of transition metals to
their uses
F&H
Link the properties of copper to its uses in electrical wiring and plumbing
Define “mixture” and describe what crude oil is and what it is made up
from
Recognise & define “alkanes”, name & draw the first 4 hydrocarbons in
formulae/diagrams
F&H
Describe how fractional distillation is used
F&H
Link the size of molecule to its boiling point, viscosity and flammability
State products of combustion of fuels, e.g. sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides,
carbon monoxide
F&H
Give the environmental problems with some of these products
F&H
Describe how levels of sulfur dioxide can be reduced
F&H
Evaluate the advantages of biofuels
F&H
State why hydrocarbons are cracked
Describe the process and conditions of cracking and state the products of
cracking
F&H
Give the general formula for alkenes
Recognise alkenes from their names & formulae and draw out the
structures for alkenes
F&H
Describe the bromine test
F&H
State that some products of cracking can be used as fuels
F&H
State what monomers & polymers are
F&H
F&H
F&H
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F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
DONE
3rd revision
2nd revision
1st revision
Topic
Traffic light
Tier
C1 Topic Checklist for Core Science
Identify names of polymers and monomers
F&H
Match monomers to the polymers they would make
F&H
Explain why waste disposal is a problem of using polymers
F&H
Explain why plastic bags are being made from cornstarch
F&H
Give the advantages and disadvantages to using and disposing of polymers
F&H
Describe how ethanol can be produced from ethane or from fermentation
F&H
Describe the stages involved in extracting vegetable oils
F&H
Describe why vegetable oils are important foods
F&H
State how the boiling points of vegetable oils compares to water
F&H
Explain how fried foods are different to boiled foods
F&H
Describe what an emulsion is
F&H
State some uses of emulsions based on their special properties
F&H
Describe how emulsifiers work HIGHER
H
Describe how we can identify unsaturated vegetable oils
F&H
Describe how vegetable oils can be hardened
Explain the properties of hydrogenated vegetable oils and link these to
their uses HIGHER
F&H
State the layers of the Earth
F&H
Describe the layers of the Earth in terms of size and properties
F&H
Describe why tectonic plates move
F&H
Explain how earthquakes and volcanoes happen
State what the Earth’s atmosphere is made up of and how the atmosphere
changed over time
Explain one theory of how life was formed and the Miller-Urey experiment
HIGHER
F&H
Describe how oxygen became part of the atmosphere
F&H
Describe two reasons why the levels of carbon dioxide have decreased
Explain why increased levels of carbon dioxide in the ocean can be a
problem
F&H
Explain why burning fossil fuels is a problem
F&H
Explain how the gases in air can be separated HIGHER
Describe some industrial processes that the gases in air can be used for
HIGHER
H
F&H
H
F&H
H
H
State what infrared radiation is and that objects emit and absorb it
F&H
Describe how the amount of infrared radiation can vary
Describe how different surfaces vary in their absorption of infrared
radiation
Describe how different surfaces vary in their reflection of infrared
radiation
Describe the particle arrangement and different levels of energy in the
states of matter
F&H
Explain the different energy states using the kinetic theory
F&H
Describe the bonds between particles in the different states of matter
Describe what is meant by conduction, in terms of particles, including the
roles of free electrons
Describe what is meant by convection, in terms of particles, including
explaining changes in density
Describe how energy is transferred in evaporation and condensation and
factors affecting each
Describe the factors that affect the rate of heat transfer from an
object
F&H
State the use of U-values
F&H
Describe how solar panels work
F&H
Describe what is meant by specific heat capacity and use the equation
F&H
Describe how energy is wasted and what happens to it
F&H
Construct and read information from a Sankey diagram
F&H
Calculate the efficiency of a device using the equation
F&H
Describe payback time and calculate it
F&H
Describe energy transfers in everyday electrical appliances
Link the amount of energy transferred to the power and the amount of
time switched on
F&H
Calculate the energy transferred when you know the time and power
F&H
Calculate the cost of electricity given the cost per kilowatt-hour
State some energy sources that are used to generate electricity (by
heating water)
F&H
Describe the processes that occur in different power stations
F&H
Describe alternative methods of generating electricity
F&H
Evaluate alternative methods of generating electricity
F&H
Explain what a pumped storage system does
F&H
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of small scale energy production
F&H
State what the National Grid is
F&H
Label the different essential parts of the National Grid
Describe the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves, using
sound and electromagnetic waves
F&H
Define and calculate the speed, frequency or wavelength of a wave
State the speed of an electromagnetic wave and describe what is meant
by the electromagnetic spectrum
F&H
State which electromagnetic waves are used for communication
F&H
Describe the hazards associated with electromagnetic waves
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
F&H
DONE
3rd revision
2nd revision
1st revision
Topic
Traffic light
Tier
P1 Topic Checklist for Core Science
Describe what happens when a wave is reflected including law of reflection
and images in a plane mirror
F&H
Explain how waves can be refracted
F&H
Explain how waves can be diffracted
F&H
Describe what is meant by frequency and how this relates to pitch
F&H
Describe what an echo is
Explain the Doppler effect and relate this to frequency and wavelength of
waves
F&H
Explain how evidence from red-shift supports the Big Bang theory
F&H
Describe what Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) is
F&H
F&H