Biology Revision Notes

The seven characteristics of life, species and binomial names, dichotomous keys and the five kingdoms.

Plant, animal and bacterial cells, specialised cells, levels of organisation and magnification.

Diffusion, osmosis and active transport, and how each moves substances across membranes.

Carbohydrates, proteins, fats and DNA, with the food tests used to identify them.

Biological catalysts, how an enzyme binds its substrate at the active site, and the effects of temperature and pH.

Photosynthesis, limiting factors, mineral ions and the structure of the leaf.

Diet, the digestive system, physical and chemical digestion, and absorption.

Xylem and phloem, water uptake, transpiration and translocation.

Circulatory systems, the heart, blood vessels and the components of blood.

Pathogens and transmission, body defences, hygiene and sanitation, and immunity, vaccination and cholera.

Gas exchange surfaces, the breathing system, ventilation, inspired and expired air, and breathing during exercise.

Uses of energy, aerobic and anaerobic respiration, respiration in yeast, and the oxygen debt.

Excretory products and organs, the urinary system, kidney structure, the nephron, and the role of the liver.

Neurones, the reflex arc, synapses, and the structure and functions of the eye, including the pupil reflex.

Hormones and adrenaline, homeostasis, blood glucose and temperature control, and plant tropisms.

What a drug is, how antibiotics treat bacterial infections, and why antibiotic resistance matters.

Asexual and sexual reproduction, flower structure, pollination, fertilisation and germination.

DNA, genes and alleles, the inheritance of sex, how genes make proteins, mitosis, stem cells and meiosis.