AQA A-Level Biology guide FAQ (7402)
Guide overview All 8 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
AQA A-Level Biology: questions and answers
Specification 7402. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 is topics 1 to 4: biological molecules, cells, exchange of substances, and genetic information and variation. Paper 2 is topics 5 to 8: energy transfers, how organisms respond, genetics and ecosystems, and the control of gene expression.
Paper 3 can draw on all eight. The full breakdown is here.
What is actually on Paper 3?
Structured questions including practical techniques, critical analysis of given experimental data, and one essay from a choice of two titles. It is 30 per cent of the A-Level and it is the paper that punishes gaps in the earlier topics, because it can reach any of them.
Are the required practicals covered?
The twelve required practicals are assessed two ways. The practical endorsement is marked by your teacher and reported separately as a pass. The techniques themselves are examined on all three written papers, and that content is in the guide inside the topics it belongs to.
Is the maths in it?
Yes. At least 10 per cent of the marks across the papers involve mathematical skills, and the guide asks for them directly: magnification and scale, surface area to volume, water potential, rates from graphs, chi-squared, Hardy-Weinberg, standard deviation and the statistical tests.
I keep losing marks on the essay.
The Paper 3 essay is marked on breadth of relevant biology drawn from across the specification, not on writing. A student who can produce content from six topics writes a better essay than one who writes well from two.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Topics here are large, from 125 to 350 questions, so work by subtopic.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. Biology mark schemes want precise terms and named processes, and step 2 is where the loose version gets replaced. The method page sets out the evidence.
When should I start?
7402 is linear, so all three papers are sat at the end of Year 13. Work each subtopic in the week it is taught, or start a first full pass in the January of Year 13 and run returns from there.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. The method puts the biology into memory. Past papers train the data analysis, the extended responses and the essay. AQA publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 1,977 exam-style questions covering the whole of AQA A-Level Biology, with the answers printed after each topic.
It is not a textbook. It is the tool for moving taught content into memory and for proving whether it went in.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. AQA A-Level Biology is 7402.
How do I know if it is being used properly?
There should be handwritten answers on paper and three passes over the same questions, and two scores per session to compare.
My child revises for hours and the grades have not moved.
Rereading notes and highlighting were both rated low utility by Dunlosky and colleagues in their 2013 review of ten techniques. Biology exposes this quickly, because a process recalled vaguely scores almost nothing.
The method page sets out the alternative.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£8.00 for the whole specification. An endorsed AQA A-Level Biology textbook is usually £30 to £40 and covers one of the two years.
How much time does the whole course take?
155 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 52 hours for a full first pass, spread across two years.
What else does my child need?
Past papers, free from AQA, a calculator, and their own notes for anything not yet taught.
AQA A-Level Biology Active Recall Guide
1,977 questions with their answers, 155 subtopics, one file.