EdexcelSpecification:B2
Name:……………………………………………………….……………………..
ThisspecificationlistseverythingyouneedtoknowforyourGCSEB2exam.Don’tletthescientific
languagebaffleyou,youknowmorethanyouthink!
• Tickthethingswelearninclass
• Laterintheweek,reviewthemandtickthereviewedbox
Contents:
Topic1:Thebuildingblocksofcells
Topic2:Organismsandenergy
Topic3:Commonsystems
Topic1:Thebuildingblocksofcells
LearningObjective
Learnt
Reviewed
DescribethefunctionofthecomponentsofabacterialcellincludingchromosomalDNA,
plasmidDNA,flagellaandcellwall
Describethefunctionofthecomponentsofaplantcellincludingchloroplast,large
vacuole,cellwall,cellmembrane,mitochondria,cytoplasmandnucleus
Describethefunctionofthecomponentsofananimalcellincludingcellmembrane,
mitochondria,cytoplasmandnucleus
Describehowplantandanimalcellscanbestudiedingreaterdetailwithalight
microscope
Demonstrateanunderstandingofhowchangesinmicroscopetechnologyhaveenabledus
toseecellswithmoreclarityanddetailthaninthepast,includingsimplemagnification
calculations
RecallthatageneisasectionofamoleculeofDNAandthatitcodesforaspecificprotein
DescribeaDNAmoleculeas:
InvestigatehowtoextractDNAfromcells
ExplainanunderstandingofhowthestructureofDNAwasdiscovered,includingtheroles
ofthescientistsWatson,Crick,FranklinandWilkins
Demonstrateanunderstandingoftheimplicationsofsequencingthehumangenome
(HumanGenomeProject)andofthecollaborationthattookplacewithinthisproject
Demonstrateanunderstandingoftheprocessofgeneticengineering,includingthe
removalofagenefromtheDNAofoneorganismandtheinsertionofthatgeneintothe
DNAofanotherorganism
Discusstheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofgeneticengineeringtoproduce
GMorganisms,including:
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twostrandscoiledtoformadoublehelix
strandslinkedbyaseriesofcomplementarybasepairsjoinedtogetherbyweak
hydrogenbonds:
o adenine(A)withthymine(T)
o cytosine(C)withguanine(G)
betacaroteneingoldenricetoreducevitaminAdeficiencyinhumans
theproductionofhumaninsulinbygeneticallymodifiedbacteria
cheproductionofherbicide-resistantcropplants
Describethedivisionofacellbymitosisastheproductionoftwodaughter
cells,eachwithidenticalsetsofchromosomesinthenucleustotheparent
cell,andthatthisresultsintheformationoftwogeneticallyidenticaldiploid
bodycells
Recallthatmitosisoccursduringgrowth,repairandasexualreproduction
Recallthat,atfertilisation,haploidgametescombinetoformadiploidzygote
Describethedivisionofacellbymeiosisastheproductionoffourdaughter
cells,eachwithhalfthenumberofchromosomes,andthatthisresultsinthe
formationofgeneticallydifferenthaploidgametes
Recallthatcloningisanexampleofasexualreproductionthatproduces
geneticallyidenticalcopies
Demonstrateanunderstandingofthestagesintheproductionofcloned
mammals,including:
Demonstrateanunderstandingoftheadvantages,disadvantagesandrisksof
cloningmammals
Recallthatstemcellsintheembryocandifferentiateintoallothertypesofcells,
butthatcellslosethisabilityastheanimalmatures
Demonstrateanunderstandingoftheadvantages,disadvantagesandrisksarising
fromadultandembryonicstemcellresearch
DescribehowtheorderofbasesinasectionofDNAdecidestheorderofamino
acidsintheprotein
Demonstrateanunderstandingofthestagesofproteinsynthesis,including
transcriptionandtranslation:
Describeeachproteinashavingitsownspecificnumberandsequenceofaminoacids,
resultingindifferent-shapedmoleculesthathavedifferentfunctions,including
enzymes
DemonstrateanunderstandingofhowgenemutationschangetheDNAbase
sequenceandthatmutationscanbeharmful,beneficialorneither
Describeenzymesasbiologicalcatalysts
Demonstrateanunderstandingthatenzymescatalysechemicalreactionsoccurring
insideandoutsidelivingcells,including:
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removalofdiploidnucleusfromabodycell
enucleationofeggcell
insertionofdiploidnucleusintoenucleatedeggcell
stimulationofthediploidnucleustodividebymitosis
implantationintosurrogatemammals
theproductionofcomplementarymRNAstrandinthenucleus
theattachmentofthemRNAtotheribosome
thecodingbytripletsofbases(codons)inthemRNA
forspecificaminoacids
thetransferofaminoacidstotheribosomebytRNA
thelinkingofaminoacidstoformpolypeptides
DNAreplication
proteinsynthesis
digestion
Recallthatenzymesarehighlyspecificfortheirsubstrate
Demonstrateanunderstandingoftheactionofenzymesintermsofthe‘lock-and-key’
hypothesis
Describehowenzymescanbedenaturedduetochangesintheshapeoftheactivesite
Investigatethefactorsthataffectenzymeactivity
Describethefactorsaffectingenzymeaction,including:
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temperature
substrateconcentration
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pH
Topic2:Organismsandenergy
LearningObjective
Learnt
Reviewed
Recallthatrespirationisaprocessusedbyalllivingorganismsthatreleasestheenergy
neededforlifeprocesses
Explainhowthehumancirculatorysystemfacilitatesrespiration,including:
Definediffusionasthemovementofparticlesfromanareaofhighconcentrationtoan
areaoflowerconcentration
Demonstrateanunderstandingofhowaerobicrespirationusesoxygentoreleaseenergy
fromglucoseandhowthisprocesscanbemodelledusingthewordequationforaerobic
respiration
Investigatetheeffectofexerciseonbreathingrateandheartrate
ExplainwhyheartrateandbreathingrateincreasewithexerciseCalculateheartrate,
strokevolumeandcardiacoutput,usingtheequation:
• cardiacoutput=strokevolumexheartrate
Demonstrateanunderstandingofwhy,duringvigorousexercise,musclecellsmaynot
receivesufficientoxygenfortheirenergyrequirementsandsostarttorespire
anaerobically
Demonstrateanunderstandingofhowanaerobicrespirationreleasesenergyfromglucose andhowthisprocesscanbemodelledusingthewordequationforanaerobicrespiration
Describehowabuild-upoflacticacidrequiresextraoxygentobreakitdown.Thisiscalled excesspost-exerciseoxygenconsumptionorEPOC(formerlyknownasoxygendebt)
Explainwhyheartrateandbreathingrateremainhighafterexercise
Describehowthestructureofaleafisadaptedforphotosynthesis,
including:
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glucoseandoxygendiffusesfromcapillariesintorespiringcells
carbondioxidediffusesfromrespiringcellsintocapillaries
Recallthattheprocessofanaerobicrespirationreleaseslessenergythanaerobic
respiration
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largesurfacearea
containingchlorophyllinchloroplaststoabsorblight
stomataforgasexchange(carbondioxide,oxygenandwatervapour)
Demonstrateanunderstandingofhowphotosynthesisuseslightenergytoproduce
glucoseandhowthisprocesscanbemodelledusingthewordequationforphotosynthesis
Investigatehowfactors,includingtheeffectoflightintensity,CO2concentrationor
temperature,affecttherateofphotosynthesis
Explainhowthelossofwatervapourfromleavesdrivestranspiration
Explainhowwater,glucoseandmineralsaltsaretransportedthroughaplant,
including:
• mineraluptakeinrootsbyactivetransport
• theroleofthexylemandphloemvessels
Describehowroothaircellsareadaptedtotakeupwaterbyosmosis
Defineosmosisasthemovementofwatermoleculesfromanareaofhigherconcentration ofwatertoanareaoflowerconcentrationofwaterthroughapartiallypermeable
membrane
Investigateosmosis
Investigatetherelationshipbetweenorganismsandtheirenvironmentusingfieldwork
techniques
Investigatethedistributionoforganismsinanecosystem,usingsamplingtechniques
including:
Demonstrateanunderstandingofhowlimitingfactorsaffecttherateofphotosynthesis,
including:
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lightintensity
CO2 concentration
Temperature
pooters
sweepnets/pondnets
pitfalltraps
quadrats
andmeasureenvironmentalfactorsincluding:
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temperature
lightintensity
pH
Topic3:Commonsystems
LearningObjective
Learnt Reviewed
Evaluatetheevidenceforevolution,basedonthefossilrecord
Explainwhytherearegapsinthefossilrecord,including:
Explainhowtheanatomyofthepentadactyllimbprovidesscientistswithevidencefor
evolution
Describegrowthintermsofincreaseinsize,lengthandmass
Interpretgrowthdataintermsofpercentilecharts
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becausefossilsdonotalwaysform
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becausesofttissuedecays
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becausemanyfossilsareyettobefound
Explainhowcelldivision,elongationanddifferentiationcontributetothegrowthand
developmentofaplant
Explainhowcelldivisionanddifferentiationcontributetothegrowthanddevelopmentof
ananimal
Recallthestructureandfunctionofthefollowingpartsoftheblood,including:
Describethegroupingofcellsintotissues,tissuesintoorgans,andorgansintoorgan
systems
Explainhowthestructureoftheheartisrelatedtoitsfunction,including:
Explaintheroleofthemuscularwallofthealimentarycanalinperistalsis
Explaintheroleofdigestiveenzymes,including:
Explaintheroleofbileinneutralisingstomachacidandemulsifyingfats
Explainhowthestructureofvilli(largesurfacearea,singlelayerofcellsandcapillary
network)allowsefficientabsorptionofthesolubleproductsofdigestion
Investigatetheeffectofdifferentconcentrationsofdigestiveenzymes,usingandevaluating modelsofthealimentarycanal
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redbloodcells
whitebloodcells
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plasma
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platelets
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thefourmajorbloodvesselsassociatedwiththeheart(pulmonaryartery,
pulmonaryvein,aorta,venacava)
leftatriumandventricletopumpoxygenatedblood
rightatriumandventricletopumpdeoxygenatedblood
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valvestopreventbackflow(namesnotrequired)
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leftventriclehasathickermusclewallthantherightventricle
thedirectionofbloodflowthroughtheheart
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Describehowthecirculatorysystemtransportssubstancesaroundthebody,
including:
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arteriestransportbloodawayfromtheheart
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veinstransportbloodtotheheart
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capillariesexchangematerialswithtissues
Describethefunctionsofthepartsofthedigestivesystem,including:
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mouth
oesophagus
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stomach
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smallandlargeintestines
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pancreas
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liver
gallbladder
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carbohydrases,includingamylase,whichdigeststarchtosimplesugars
proteases,includingpepsin,whichdigestproteinstoaminoacids
lipase,whichdigestsfatstofattyacidsandglycerol
Evaluatetheevidencefortheclaimedbenefitsoftheuseoffunctionalfoodsaspart
ofahealthydiet,including:
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probioticscontainingBifidobacteriaandlacticacidbacteriaLactobacillus
prebioticoligosaccharides
plantstanolesters