Edexcel A-Level Biology B guide FAQ (9BI0)
Guide overview All 10 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
Edexcel A-Level Biology B: questions and answers
Specification 9BI0. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
Am I on Biology B or Biology A?
Edexcel runs two A-Level Biology specifications. This guide is Biology B, 9BI0, the concept-led route with ten topics. The other is Biology A, Salters-Nuffield, 9BN0, which teaches the same biology through contexts and is organised completely differently.
The code is on your exam timetable. If yours says 9BN0 you need the Biology A guide instead.
Which topics are on which paper?
Paper 1 draws on Topics 1 to 7. Paper 2 draws on Topics 1 to 4 and 8 to 10. Paper 3 draws on all ten. The full breakdown is here.
Why is Paper 3 worth 40 per cent?
Because it sets no new content and instead asks you to bring topics together, analyse unfamiliar data and answer on experimental method. That is a recall problem before it is a technique problem, which is why the whole course in one file helps.
Is the Practical Endorsement in it?
No. It is teacher assessed across at least twelve practical activities and reported separately as a pass. The practical content examined on the written papers is in the guide, inside the topics it belongs to.
Are the calculations covered?
Yes. Magnification and scale, rates from gradients, chi-squared and the choice of statistical test, standard deviation, the Hardy-Weinberg equation, water potential and percentage change.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Topics run from 100 to 383 questions, so work by subtopic.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. Biology marks turn on named structures, named processes and precise definitions, and step 2 is where the wording gets corrected. The method page sets out the evidence.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. Past papers train the data analysis, the unfamiliar context and the extended answers. Pearson publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 2,073 exam-style questions covering the whole of Edexcel A-Level Biology B, with the answers printed after each topic.
How do I check it is the right course?
Find the specification code on the exam timetable. Edexcel runs Biology A, Salters-Nuffield (9BN0) and Biology B (9BI0). They are different courses. This one is 9BI0.
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 and highlighting are the two most common revision activities and Dunlosky and colleagues rated both low utility in their 2013 review of ten techniques. The method page sets out what to do instead.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£8.00 for the whole specification. An endorsed Edexcel A-Level Biology textbook is usually £30 to £40 and covers one of the two years.
How much time does the whole course take?
138 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 46 hours for a full first pass, spread across two years.
My child has fallen behind. Where should they start?
With Topics 1 to 4. They are examined on all three papers and everything else assumes them.
Edexcel A-Level Biology B Active Recall Guide
2,073 questions with their answers, 138 subtopics, one file.