Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) Active Recall Guide (9BN0)

Edexcel · A-Level

Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) Active Recall Guide

A question-and-answer revision guide for Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield), built to be worked in three passes rather than read.

Edexcel
A-Level
Specification 9BN0
8 topics

See what is inside or try the sample questions.

Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) Active Recall Guide cover

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The 3-step active recall method

Re-reading notes is a futile process when your aim is to remember the information and successfully apply it in exam settings. Active recall is the method you use to ensure the information sticks for a long period of time. But even active recall can be futile unless you have a structured way of implementing it. This is where the 3-step active recall method comes in, a structured method that is signature to the Levo Learning guides.

Step 1
Answer up to 10 questions cold, closed book, even if you are unsure on the topic.
Step 2
Answer the same questions again, but open book. Write the correct answer down even if it seems pointless.
Step 3
Repeat as step 1 and answer the questions closed book again.

Worked across the Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) specification, one subtopic at a time.

The subject, and what is assessed

Edexcel A-Level Biology A (specification 9BN0) is the Salters-Nuffield course, built around eight topics and assessed by three written papers of equal weight. Topics 1 to 4 cover molecules, cells, genetics and biodiversity and are examined on every paper. Topics 5 and 6 cover ecology, climate and immunity, and topics 7 and 8 cover exercise physiology and the nervous system. Eighteen core practicals run through the course and are examined alongside the theory.

Paper	Covers	Length	Marks	Weighting
Paper 1	The Natural Environment and Species Survival	2 hours	100 marks	33.33%
Paper 2	Energy, Exercise and Co-ordination	2 hours	100 marks	33.33%
Paper 3	General and Practical Applications in Biology	2 hours	100 marks	33.33%

Memorisation, then application

Marks are given for applying content to the question that has been set, which cannot happen while the content is still being looked up. Step 1 shows what is actually held. Step 2 puts the correct wording in front of you while the gap is still fresh. Step 3 repeats the cold test, and the difference between the first and third attempt is the part that has moved.

Every question in the guide is paired with its answer in the same document, so step 2 is done from the guide itself rather than from a separate set of notes.

What is inside the guide

Questions are grouped by topic and then by subtopic, following the Edexcel specification. Open a topic to see its subtopics.

Lifestyle, Health and Risk13 subtopics

Covers the biological molecules the body is built from and the circulatory system that carries them: the cardiac cycle, blood vessels and clotting, how atherosclerosis develops, and how risk factors for cardiovascular disease are identified and treated.

Water and the carbohydrates17
Condensation, hydrolysis and glycosidic bonds8
Lipids, food tests and units15
The cardiac cycle and the structure of the heart19
Arteries, veins and capillaries10
Core practical: caffeine and the heart rate of Daphnia8
The blood clotting cascade13
Thrombus, embolus and their consequences8
Atherosclerosis and the risk factors for CVD11
Treatments for CVD, and cholesterol transport13
BMI, waist-to-hip ratio and energy balance17
Correlation, causation and the design of health studies13
Risk perception, and handling quantitative data19

Genes and Health19 subtopics

Covers gas exchange and how substances cross membranes, the structure of DNA and how it is read into protein, enzymes, replication and mutation, and the inheritance, effects and screening of cystic fibrosis.

Gas exchange surfaces and Fick's Law18
The fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane18
Osmosis, diffusion and active transport16
Surface area and volume calculations9
The structure of DNA and RNA20
Transcription9
Translation and the genetic code15
Amino acids and the levels of protein structure13
Globular and fibrous proteins: haemoglobin and collagen16
Alternative splicing and tissue-specific proteins12
Enzyme specificity, the active site and activation energy15
Rates of reaction, Vmax and Core Practical 417
Semi-conservative replication and Meselson-Stahl12
Types of mutation and the CFTR gene9
Alleles, genotype and monohybrid inheritance12
Pedigree diagrams and the inheritance of cystic fibrosis8
The effects of cystic fibrosis, and the chi-squared test15
Prenatal genetic testing: PGD, amniocentesis and CVS12
and 1 more subtopic in this topic

Voice of the Genome16 subtopics

Covers the cell as a unit: the ultrastructure of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, mitosis and meiosis, gametes and fertilisation, stem cells and how gene expression makes one cell different from another.

Prokaryotic cells10
Eukaryotic organelles and their functions9
Identifying organelles in an electron micrograph9
Protein secretion, and levels of organisation12
Microscopy: the graticule, magnification and standard form8
The cell cycle and the stages of mitosis14
Core practical: the root tip squash8
Meiosis, linkage and sex linkage15
The structure of sperm and egg cells12
Fertilisation: the acrosome and cortical reactions12
Totipotency, pluripotency and sources of stem cells11
The ethics and risks of stem cell therapy8
Differential gene expression and specialisation10
The lac operon16
Epigenetics: DNA methylation and histone modification12
Polygenic inheritance, continuous variation and statistics13

Biodiversity and Natural Resources20 subtopics

Covers the variety of life and how it arises: measuring biodiversity, natural selection and speciation, classification, the structure and uses of plant tissues, and the testing of drugs and antimicrobials.

Biodiversity, species richness and the index of diversity13
Niches and the three kinds of adaptation13
Natural selection and evolution8
The Hardy-Weinberg equation and its assumptions22
Reproductive isolation and speciation9
Classification20
The plant cell wall, chloroplast and amyloplast14
The vacuole, plasmodesmata, pits and middle lamella16
Plant cells in the electron microscope11
Starch and cellulose12
Lignin, xylem vessels and sclerenchyma fibres11
Identifying plant tissues under the microscope9
The structure of xylem, phloem and sclerenchyma21
Water and the mineral nutrition of plants12
Core practical: investigating mineral deficiency8
Core practical: the tensile strength of plant fibres13
Drug development from Withering to modern trials15
Growing bacteria and aseptic technique13
and 2 more subtopics in this topic

On the Wild Side21 subtopics

Covers ecology and the climate: how ecosystems are sampled and how they change through succession, photosynthesis and productivity, the evidence for climate change and the models built from it, evolution and speciation, and the carbon cycle.

Photosynthesis: the light-dependent reactions13
Photosynthesis: the Calvin cycle9
Chloroplast structure and the products of photosynthesis15
Productivity: GPP, NPP and energy transfer10
Core practicals on temperature and growth23
Temperature, enzymes and Q1019
Sampling: quadrats and transects18
Succession21
Biotic and abiotic factors, niches and competition15
Ecosystems, populations and communities19
Evidence for climate change19
Climate models and their limitations15
Correlation, causation and scientific objectivity16
The effects of climate change on organisms9
Human activities that raise greenhouse gas levels17
The greenhouse effect12
Evolution and natural selection11
Speciation14
and 3 more subtopics in this topic

Immunity, Infection and Forensics15 subtopics

Covers how the body is invaded and defended, and how biology is used in forensic work: estimating time of death, DNA profiling, the structure of bacteria and viruses, the immune response, immunity and vaccination, and antibiotic resistance.

Decomposition, succession and forensic entomology14
Body cooling and rigor mortis12
DNA profiling and the polymerase chain reaction14
Gel electrophoresis9
The structure of bacteria and viruses17
Decomposition, and how pathogens enter the body10
The body's barriers, and modelling bacterial growth9
Tuberculosis and HIV13
The non-specific immune response11
Antigens, antibodies and B cells13
T cells and cell-mediated immunity11
Active and passive immunity, natural and artificial17
The evolutionary race and pathogen evasion8
Antibiotics and testing their effectiveness11
Hospital acquired infections and their control11

Run for Your Life15 subtopics

Covers the body in action: how muscles contract, how respiration supplies the ATP, how the heart and breathing are controlled and measured, how core temperature is held steady, and the effects and ethics of exercise and its enhancement.

Muscles and Movement13
The myofibril and the sarcomere16
The sliding filament theory, calcium and ATP13
Slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibres11
Glycolysis and the link reaction12
The Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and oxygen debt10
The conduction system: SAN, AVN and Purkyne fibres14
The sequence of cardiac excitation14
The electrocardiogram, cardiac output and stroke volume14
The cardiovascular and ventilation control centres8
Spirometry and ventilation during exercise15
Homeostasis, feedback and gene control by hormones14
Thermoregulation and the hypothalamus16
The effects of too much and too little exercise19
Medical technology and performance-enhancing substances14

Grey Matter17 subtopics

Covers how information is carried and processed: the neurone and the action potential, the synapse, how the eye detects light, plant responses, the regions of the brain and how they are imaged, learning and its critical periods, and the drugs that act on the brain.

The structure of neurones and myelination12
The action potential and saltatory conduction18
The structure of a synapse and calcium entry11
Neurotransmitter release and acetylcholine11
Rod cells and the detection of light16
Effectors, the neuromuscular junction and the pupil reflex13
Phytochrome and the response to light10
IAA, phototropism and gravitropism16
Nervous against hormonal coordination10
The regions of the brain and their functions20
Brain imaging: MRI, fMRI, PET and CT19
Critical periods and the Hubel and Wiesel experiments15
Nature, nurture, habituation and research ethics15
Dopamine, serotonin and their imbalance12
L-Dopa and MDMA12
Genome sequencing, personalised medicine and its ethics9
Genetically modified organisms: benefits and risks16

Sample questions

Taken from the Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Lifestyle, Health and Risk

What is meant by describing water as a polar molecule?

Show the answer
Water has partial positive and partial negative charges on different parts of the molecule, giving it a dipole nature.
Genes and Health

Why do gas exchange surfaces have a large surface area to volume ratio?

Show the answer
To maximise the area available for diffusion.
Voice of the Genome

What is the fundamental structural unit of all living organisms?

Show the answer
The cell: every living thing is built from one or more of them.
Biodiversity and Natural Resources

What has happened to the variety of life on Earth over time, and what is the current threat to this variety?

Show the answer
It has grown enormously over evolutionary time, and human activity is now reducing it.
On the Wild Side

What happens to electrons in chlorophyll when light energy is absorbed during the light-dependent reactions?

Show the answer
The electrons become excited (raised to a higher energy level) by the absorbed light energy.
Immunity, Infection and Forensics

What physical process in a corpse can be examined to estimate time of death?

Show the answer
The extent of decomposition of the body.
Run for Your Life

What role does the skeleton play in movement?

Show the answer
The skeleton provides a rigid framework of levers that muscles pull against to produce movement
Grey Matter

What is the function of sensory neurones in the nervous system?

Show the answer
Sensory neurones transmit nerve impulses from receptors to the central nervous system (CNS).

Questions about this guide

How do you use active recall for Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield)?

Answer up to 10 questions cold and closed book. Answer the same questions again open book, writing the correct answer down. Then answer them closed book one more time. The difference between the first and third attempt is what has moved into recall.

How is Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) assessed?

Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) is assessed by 3 components: Paper 1, the natural environment and species survival (2 hours, 100 marks, 33.33%); Paper 2, energy, exercise and co-ordination (2 hours, 100 marks, 33.33%); Paper 3, general and practical applications in biology (2 hours, 100 marks, 33.33%).

What topics does the Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) active recall guide cover?

It covers Lifestyle, Health and Risk, Genes and Health, Voice of the Genome, Biodiversity and Natural Resources, On the Wild Side, Immunity, Infection and Forensics, Run for Your Life and Grey Matter.

Is the Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) guide a PDF?

Yes. It is a digital PDF sent to the email address on your order after purchase. Check the address is correct at checkout, and check junk or spam if it has not arrived.

Does the guide include the answers?

Yes. Every question has its answer in the same document, grouped by topic, so step 2 of the method is done from the guide.