Edexcel A-Level Business Active Recall Guide (9BS0)
Edexcel · A-Level
Edexcel A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
Every topic of specification 9BS0 written as exam-style questions with the answers printed after them. 2,305 questions across 20 topics and 80 subtopics, covering all four themes with no optional content left out.
- Edexcel
- A-Level
- Specification 9BS0
- 2,305 questions
Guide overview All 20 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
What the exam asks of you
Edexcel A-Level Business is three written papers of 2 hours and 100 marks each. Paper 1, Marketing, people and global businesses, draws on Themes 1 and 4 and is 35 per cent. Paper 2, Business activities, decisions and strategy, draws on Themes 2 and 3 and is 35 per cent. Paper 3 draws on all four themes around a context released the previous November and is 30 per cent.
The marks turn on defined terms, named models and calculations done correctly under time, all applied to an unseen business. The application is practised on past papers; the terms and the models have to be in memory first.
| Paper | Covers | Length | Marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Paper 1 Marketing, people and global businesses |
Theme 1: Marketing and people Theme 4: Global business |
2 hours | 100 marks | 35% |
|
Paper 2 Business activities, decisions and strategy |
Theme 2: Managing business activities Theme 3: Business decisions and strategy |
2 hours | 100 marks | 35% |
|
Paper 3 Investigating business in a competitive environment |
All four themes A context released the previous November |
2 hours | 100 marks | 30% |
What is in the guide
All 20 topics
Every topic has its own page with its subtopics, what it covers and sample questions.
Sample questions
Taken from the guide. Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The market
How do strong brands enable businesses in mass markets to charge premium prices?
Show the answer
Strong brands create perceived value and customer loyalty, meaning consumers are willing to pay more for trusted, recognised products. -
Demand
How does an increase in consumer incomes typically affect demand for normal goods?
Show the answer
An increase in consumer incomes generally leads to an increase in demand for normal goods. -
Product/service design
Why must businesses balance the three elements of the design mix?
Show the answer
Because improving one element often involves trade-offs with another; enhancing one aspect may require compromising on the others. -
Approaches to staffing
What commitment-related drawback might arise from using part-time and temporary staff?
Show the answer
Potentially lower commitment to the organisation compared to permanent full-time employees. -
Role of an entrepreneur
How does the financial risk faced by an intrapreneur differ from that of an independent entrepreneur?
Show the answer
Intrapreneurs innovate using their employer's resources, so they do not bear personal financial risk; independent entrepreneurs risk their own money and assets. -
Internal finance
What are two advantages of using retained profit as a source of finance?
Show the answer
It does not require external approval and does not incur interest costs. -
Sales forecasting
Why must seasonal variations be incorporated into sales forecasts?
Show the answer
Consumer behaviour creates predictable fluctuations at certain times of year that affect demand patterns. -
Profit
What does the gross profit margin measure?
Show the answer
The percentage of revenue that remains after deducting cost of sales
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Look inside
Questions for a subtopic print together and the answers for that section print after them.
- Meeting Customer Needs121
- The Market140
- Marketing Mix and Strategy138
- Managing People197
- Entrepreneurs and Leaders146
- Raising Finance90
- Financial Planning129
- Managing Finance85
- Resource Management98
- External Influences112
- Business Objectives and Strategy137
- Business Growth97
- and 8 more
- Define demand in economic terms.
- What happens to demand for a product if the price of a substitute good rises?
- What are substitute goods?
- If the price of a complementary good rises, what happens to demand for the related product?
- Define complementary goods.
- How does an increase in consumer incomes typically affect demand for normal goods?
- How does a decrease in consumer incomes typically affect demand for normal goods?
- Why do changes in fashions, tastes and preferences cause demand to shift?
- Explain how advertising increases demand for a product.
- Demand is the quantity of a good or service that consumers are willing and able to purchase at a given price in a given time period.
- Demand for the original product increases, as consumers switch away from the now more expensive substitute.
- Substitute goods are products that can be used in place of one another to satisfy the same consumer need.
- Demand for the related product decreases.
- Complementary goods are products that are consumed together, where purchase of one increases demand for the other.
- An increase in consumer incomes generally leads to an increase in demand for normal goods.
- A decrease in consumer incomes generally leads to a decrease in demand for normal goods.
- Because consumer desires evolve over time, altering what products they want to buy regardless of price.
- Advertising increases demand by raising consumer awareness, creating desire, and differentiating products from competitors.
questions
Scroll sideways to turn through the pages.
Questions students ask first
Which themes are on which paper?
Paper 1 is Themes 1 and 4, marketing and people plus global business. Paper 2 is Themes 2 and 3, managing business activities plus decisions and strategy. Paper 3 draws on all four. The full breakdown is here.
What is the pre-released context for Paper 3?
Pearson releases a context document the November before the exam, naming an industry and a set of businesses. Paper 3 questions are set against it. You research it in advance; what the guide provides is the theory the questions apply.
How much maths is there?
Enough to matter. Break-even and margin of safety, cash flow forecasts, investment appraisal including payback, average rate of return and net present value, profitability and liquidity ratios, decision trees, and critical path analysis.
Do I need to know real businesses?
The questions supply the business. What you bring is the theory and the ability to apply it. Your own examples help in the twenty-mark evaluations, so keep a file of them alongside the guide.
Edexcel A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
Every question paired with its answer, grouped by topic and subtopic, ready to work in three passes.