REVISION LIST FOR SECOND YEAR END OF YEAR EXAM 2024

Working Scientifically skills

a) Be able to identify the following variables in an investigation:

- independent variable (the thing you set out to change).
- dependent variable (the thing you measure).
- control variables (the things you need to keep constant to make it a fair test).

b) Know that you can test the reliability of results by repeating an experiment – if repeats give
the same or very similar results it suggests they are reliable.

c) Know how to calculate the mean of a set of repeats.

d) Know that measurements in mm are more precise than those in cm and mg are more
precise than g.

e) Be able to draw results tables with:

- the independent variable in the first column
- the dependent variable in the second column
- the units in the headings only.

f) Be able to plot bar charts (when independent variable is categoric) and line graphs (when
independent variable is continuous) with independent variable on x axis and both axes suitably
labelled including units.

g) Know that an anomalous result is one that is very different from other repeats and that it
should not be included when calculating the mean.

1ST YEAR TOPICS

a) Be able to identify parts of plant and animal cells and recall their functions (cell membrane,
nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria, chloroplasts, vacuole, cell wall, ribosomes)
b) Know examples of specialised cells (e.g. sperm cell, red blood cell, ciliated epithelial cell, root
hair cell, palisade cell) and be able to describe how their structure relates to their function
c) Be able to recall the levels of organisation (Organelles, cells, tissues, organs and systems)

2ND YEAR TOPICS

2. VARIETY OF LIFE

a) A habitat is the place where an organism lives.

b) Organisms have special adaptations to enable them to survive in their habitat. E.g. fur
colour to blend in with surroundings (camouflage), thick fur coat and/or thick layer of fat under
skin to act as insulating layer and reduce heat loss in cold climate, large ears to radiate heat in a
hot climate.
• Know at least one example of an animal that is adapted to living in its habitat. Know
where it lives, how it is adapted and how these adaptations help it to survive in its
habitat

c) Know that organisms can be sorted into groups based on shared features (this is
classification)
d) How to construct and use a key

e) Know that living things can be classified into 6 main groups (kingdoms): plants, animals,
fungi, protoctists, bacteria and viruses (not strictly living things!) and know the main features of
each of these groups:

• Plants: multicellular organisms; cellulose cell wall; make own

food by photosynthesis (using chlorophyll in chloroplasts to
absorb light energy)
• Fungi: single celled (yeast) or multicellular (moulds); cell walls
made of chitin; obtain nutrition by extracellular digestion (secrete digestive enzymes on
to food and absorb soluble products). Moulds play a role in decay; yeast used in
beer/wine/bread making.
• Protoctists: Most are microscopic single celled organisms that live in pond water. Some
have features like an animal cell e.g. amoeba, while others have chloroplasts and are
more like plants e.g. chlorella. An example of a pathogenic
protoctist is the malaria parasite Plasmodium.
• Bacteria: Microscopic single-celled organisms; they have a cell wall
made of murein, lack a nucleus but contain a circular chromosome
of DNA. Many play a role in decay and recycling of nutrients but
some cause disease e.g. food poisoning, tuberculosis. Some used in
food production (yoghurt, cheese)
• Viruses: Smaller than bacteria; they are parasitic and can only
reproduce only inside living cells; they infect every type of living organism. No cellular
structure just genetic material wrapped in a protein coat. Examples include influenza
virus and HIV.
• Animals: multicellular organisms; no cell wall; obtain nutrition by
eating; most can move from place to place; have nervous system

f) Animals can be classified into those with and those without a backbone
(vertebrates and invertebrates).

Vertebrates:
Easily distinguished by body covering.
- Mammals (hair)
- Birds (feathers)
- Fish (wet scales)
- Reptiles (dry scales)
- Amphibians (smooth moist skin).
Mammals and birds maintain a constant warm body temperature (warm-blooded). The young
of mammals develop inside the mother while the other groups of vertebrates lay eggs.
3. DNA
a) Know that genetic information is passed on from one generation to the next.
b) Know human body cells contain a total of 46 chromosomes/23 pairs
of chromosomes (one of each from mother and the other from father)
and that gametes (sperm and egg cells) have a total of 23
chromosomes (only one copy of each chromosome).
c) Know that chromosomes are made of very long molecules of DNA
coiled tightly.
d) Know that genes are short sections of DNA that code for a specific
protein. Proteins determine the characteristic of an organism.
e) Know that the molecule that carries the coded instructions for life is
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid).
f) Know that DNA is made up of nucleotides composed of a sugar,
phosphate and base. Understand a simple model of DNA (double helix
- two strands held together with complementary base pairs, A with T
and G with C).
g) Know the part played by Watson, Crick, Wilkins and Franklin in the
development of the structure DNA.

4. VARIATION
a) Understand that different species have different characteristics and individuals of the same
species share common features but there is also variation between members of same species.
b) Know that offspring resemble their parents because they inherit their genes from them but
that individuals vary because they get a unique mix of genes from the male and female parent.
c) Appreciate that some characteristics are controlled by genes e.g. blood type, eye colour,
ability to roll tongue, others are controlled by environment e.g. scars and language spoken but
that many characteristics are influenced by both genes and environment e.g. height and
weight.
d) Understand that variation between individuals within a species can be continuous
(characteristic takes a value within a range) or discontinuous (characteristic falls into a distinct
group or category) and be able to represent variation graphically.
e) Be able to suggest and explain how adaptations might increase the chances of survival e.g.
long legs to run faster and escape predators, spikes or spines to deter predators from eating,
thick fur coat or blubber for insulation to reduce heat loss in cold habitats.
5. EVOLUTION AND EXTINCTION
a) Understand that the variation between species and between individuals of the same species
means some organisms compete more successfully, which can drive natural selection.
b) Be able to describe the process of evolution by natural selection. Those individuals with
advantageous adaptions are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on their favourable
characteristic to their offspring and over many generations, these individuals become more
common.
c) Appreciate that changes in the environment may leave individuals within a species, and
some entire species, less well adapted to compete successfully and reproduce, which in turn
may lead to extinction.
d) Appreciate the importance of maintaining biodiversity and the use of gene banks to
preserve genetic material in order to prevent extinction of species.

6. DISEASE
a) Know that a pathogen is a disease causing organism and that viruses, fungi, bacteria and
protoctists are examples of pathogens.
b) Know that modes of transmission of pathogens include respiratory droplets e.g. influenza;
faecal-oral (food and water-borne) e.g. salmonella food poisoning and cholera; insect vector
e.g. malaria, breaks in skin e.g. HIV through needle punctures and sexual transmission (STDs)
e.g. HIV.
c) Understand that transmission of infectious diseases can be reduced:
1. work of Ignaz Semmelweiss and importance of hand washing/hygiene in hospitals
2. the importance of sanitation and clean drinking water
3. kitchen hygiene and need to cook food thoroughly
4. the use of mosquito nets to reduce transmission of malaria.
5. isolation, use of face masks, use of tissues to catch sneezes etc (“Catch it, Bin it, Kill it”
influenza campaign)
6. the use of condoms to reduce transmission of STDs
d) Understand the role of the skin (as a barrier), cilia and mucus in airways, stomach acid and
blood clotting at site of wound in preventing pathogens getting into the body.
e) Understand the role of white blood cells in defence against pathogens that do gain entry.
Some white blood cells (phagocytes) engulf and digest pathogens (phagocytosis). Others
(lymphocytes) produce special chemicals called antibodies that target and destroy specific
pathogens.
f) Understand that vaccination involves giving someone a dead or weakened form of the
pathogen (e.g. in form of an injection) – discovered by Edward Jenner. This results in the
stimulation of the relevant white blood cells to produce antibodies against the pathogen
without the person being exposed to the actual pathogen. If the pathogen enters the body in
the future the white blood cells “remember” it and quickly produce large amounts of antibody
to eliminate it.

7. DRUGS
a) Know that some drugs are medicinal e.g. antibiotics such as penicillin used to treat bacterial
infections and painkillers such as paracetamol.
b) Know about the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming and its use to treat bacterial
infections. Understand how we can test the effectiveness of different antibiotics in the lab by
measuring clear zones on bacteria plates (area of clear zone = πr2)

c) Understand that new medicinal drugs need to go through rigorous drug trials before they can
be licensed for use in patients. Know the role of placebo (dummy drugs) and its importance in a
double blind drug trials (neither the patient or the doctor knows which is the drug and which is
the placebo).