Biology A (New From 2015)
June 2018
June 2017
June 2016
Sample exam Materials
Jun-16 (Old Specification)
Jun-15 (Old Specification)
Jun-14 (Old Specification)
Jun-13 (Old Specification)
Jan-13 (Old Specification)
Biology B (New from 2015)
June 2018
June 2017
June 2016
Sample exam Materials
Jun-12 (Old Specification)
Jan-12 (Old Specification)
Jun-11 (Old Specification)
Jan-11 (Old Specification)
Jun-10 (Old Specification)
Edexcel A Biology Spec at a glance
The Edexcel A level Biology exam board offers two different specifications so make sure you revise for the correct one as the two specifications, Edexcel A (Salters-Nuffield) and Edexcel B, are quite different from each other. The following outlines the structure of the Edexcel A level Biology exams.
Paper 1: The Natural Environment and Species Survival
·This paper covers:Topic 1: Lifestyle, Health and Risk, Topic 2: Genes and Health Topic 3: Voice of the Genome, Topic 4: Biodiversity and Natural Resources Topic 5: On the Wild Side Topic 6: Immunity, Infection and Forensics.
·33.33% of the qualification
·Assessment is 2 hours
·100 marks.
·A mixture of question types including maths skills questions, which will represent at least 10% of the mark.
Paper 2: Energy, Exercise and Co-ordination
·Topics Covered: Topic 1: Lifestyle, Health and Risk, Topic 2: Genes and Health, Topic 3: Voice of the Genome, Topic 4: Biodiversity and Natural Resources, Topic 7: Run for your Life, Topic 8: Grey Matter.
·33.33% of the qualification
·2 hours.
·100 marks.
·The paper may include multiple-choice as well as short and long answer questions. The maths questions will represent at least 10% of the overall mark of the paper.
Paper 3: General and Practical Applications in Biology
·This paper will include questions from topics 1-8. A scientific article will be pre-released on the OCR website 8 weeks before the examination and students should read through this article to make sure they have good prior knowledge of it before the exam. The pre-released scientific article will underpin one section of the paper.
·33.33% of the qualification
·2 hours
·100 marks.
·The paper will include long and short synoptic questions and will again have at least 10% of the marks attributed to maths skills questions.
Students will have to undertake required practicals that can be assessed in any or all the three exam papers.
Edexcel B Biology Spec at a glance
The Edexcel A level Biology exam board offers two different specifications so make sure you revise for the correct one as the two specifications, Edexcel A (Salters-Nuffield) and Edexcel B, are quite different from each other. The following outlines the structure of the Edexcel B A level Biology exams.
Paper 1: Advanced Biochemistry, Microbiology and Genetics
This exam will cover the following topics:
Topic 1: Biological Molecules
Topic 2: Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things
Topic 3: Classification and Biodiversity
Topic 4: Exchange and Transport
Topic 5: Energy for Biological Processes
Topic 6: Microbiology and Pathogens
Topic 7: Modern Genetics.
·30% of the qualification
·1 hour 45 minutes.
·90 marks.
·Paper 1 may include multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculations and extended writing questions. The paper will also consist of 10% maths skills questions.
Paper 2: Advanced Physiology, Evolution and Ecology
Paper 2 will assess content from the following topics:
Topic 1: Biological Molecules
Topic 2: Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things
Topic 3: Classification and Biodiversity
Topic 4: Exchange and Transport
Topic 8: Origins of Genetic Variation
Topic 9: Control Systems
Topic 10: Ecosystems.
Exam Structure:
·30% of the qualification
·1 hour 45 minutes.
·90 marks.
·Paper 2 may include long and short questions and with 10% of the questions being based on maths skills.
Paper 3: General and Practical Principles in Biology
This paper will include questions from the following topics:
Topic 1: Biological Molecules
Topic 2: Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things
Topic 3: Classification and Biodiversity
Topic 4: Exchange and Transport
Topic 5: Energy for Biological Processes
Topic 6: Microbiology and Pathogens
Topic 7: Modern Genetics.
Topic 8: Origins of Genetic Variation
Topic 9: Control Systems
Topic 10: Ecosystems.
Exam Structure:
·40% of the qualification
·2 hour 30 minutes.
·120 marks.
·Paper 2 may include long and short questions and with 10% of the questions being based on maths skills.
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All exam boards e.g. AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC.