Edexcel A-Level Business guide FAQ (9BS0)
Guide overview All 20 topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
Edexcel A-Level Business: questions and answers
Specification 9BS0. Two sets, because students and parents ask different things.
For students
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.
How long does one session take?
About twenty minutes for one subtopic, all three steps. Topics run from 85 to 197 questions.
Can I do it in my head instead of writing?
Write. The extended answers want a defined term, a worked figure and a judgement, and step 2 is where a loose version gets replaced. The method page sets out the evidence.
When should I start?
9BS0 is linear, so all three papers are sat at the end of Year 13. Themes 1 and 2 are normally taught first.
Do I still need past papers?
Yes. Past papers train the data response and the twenty-mark evaluations. Pearson publishes them free.
For parents
What is this, in plain terms?
A PDF of 2,305 exam-style questions covering the whole of Edexcel A-Level Business, with the answers printed after each topic.
How do I check it is the right course?
The specification code is on the exam timetable. Edexcel A-Level Business is 9BS0.
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 writes well but the grades are middling.
Business is marked on applying named theory to the business in front of you. Fluent writing without the terms and the models scores in the lower bands however good it reads.
How much is it compared with a textbook?
£8.00 for the whole specification. An endorsed Edexcel A-Level Business textbook is usually £30 to £40 and covers two of the four themes.
How much time does the whole course take?
80 subtopics at roughly twenty minutes each is about 27 hours for a full first pass.
What else does my child need?
Past papers, free from Pearson, a calculator, and the pre-released context for Paper 3.
Edexcel A-Level Business Active Recall Guide
2,305 questions with their answers, 80 subtopics, one file.