AQA GCSE Biology Course Overview¶

Revision notes organised by course overview, topic-area hubs, topic pages, practical reference pages and cross-topic syntheses.

Scope¶

These notes cover the full separate Biology course, including its practical investigations and mathematical skills. The learning summaries on topic pages introduce what each chapter teaches. Higher Tier material is identified where the depth of an explanation or calculation depends on the route studied.

Assessment Shape¶

Two written papers each last 1 hour 45 minutes, carry 100 marks and contribute half of the final qualification. The first covers cell biology, organisation, infection and response, and bioenergetics. The second covers homeostasis and response, inheritance, variation and evolution, and ecology.

Questions include multiple choice, short answers, calculations and extended explanations. Both papers can test practical methods, interpretation of evidence and mathematical skills, so revise these alongside the biology rather than as a separate list of techniques.

Topic Map¶

• Cell Biology: cell structures, microscopy, division and transport across membranes.
• Organisation: tissues, digestion, circulation, health and plant transport.
• Infection and Response: pathogens, defence, vaccination, medicines and plant disease.
• Bioenergetics: photosynthesis, respiration, exercise and metabolism.
• Homeostasis and Response: nervous and hormonal coordination, internal regulation and plant responses.
• Inheritance, Variation and Evolution: reproduction, genetics, variation, evolution and classification.
• Ecology: interactions between organisms, sampling, material cycles, conservation and food production.

Practical Work and Revision¶

The practical reference brings the ten investigations together with the measurements and control choices that make their results meaningful. The key terms glossary links definitions back to their teaching pages.

Use Cell Structure as a starting point for the course, or return to the topic that explains a process you need to practise. Follow the connected-page links to compare processes such as diffusion and active transport, or photosynthesis and respiration.