AQA GCSE Biology Year 9 Study Guide and Curriculum Map

Science Education Philosophy at Windsor Girls' School

• The foundational belief of the science department is: "Science explains the world and gives us the power to make it better."
• Academic Level: AQA GCSE Biology - Year 9.

Year 9 Assessment Tracker and Topic Correspondence

• Assessment Records:
  • Topic 1 (comprising units B1 & B2):
    • Score 1: $17/40$
    • Percentage 1: $43\%$
    • Score 2: $24/40$
    • Percentage 2: $60\%$
  • End of Year 9 Test tracking is included with a recorded value of $32$.
• CGP Topic Number Mappings:
  • Topic 1 corresponds to units $B1$ and $B2$.
  • Topic 2 corresponds to units $B3$, $B4$, and $B7$.
  • Topic 3 corresponds to units $B5$ and $B6$.
  • Topic 4 corresponds to units $B8$ and $B9$, specifically including the anatomy of the "Eye".
• Marginalia and Annotations from Transcript:
  • Day reference: "Fri".
  • Chemical reference: "Mg" (Magnesium).
  • Partial labels: "Rec", "pi", "obje", "sta", "Light", "la".

B1: Cell Structure and Transport

• B1.1: Animal and plant cell structures.
• B1.2: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes.
• B1.3: Magnification and microscope technology.
• B1.4: Microscope Required Practical 1 ($RP1$).
• B1.5: Mechanisms of Diffusion and Active transport.
• B1.6: Surface area to volume ratio calculations and significance.
• B1.7: Osmosis theory and Required Practical 2 ($RP2$).

B2: Cell Division

• B2.1: The process of Cell division.
• B2.2: Growth and Cell Differentiation.
• B2.3: Stem cells and the associated ethical dilemmas.

B3: Organisation and the Digestive System

• B3.1: Biological levels of Organisation.
• B3.2: The human Digestive system.
• B3.3: Food tests and Required Practical 3 ($RP3$).
• B3.4: Enzymes and their catalytic activity.
• B3.5: The effect of $pH$ on enzyme activity and Required Practical 4 ($RP4$). This unit contains a direct "Chem link" (Chemistry connection).

B4: Organisation of Animals and Plants

• B4.1: Composition of Blood and types of Blood vessels.
• B4.2: Anatomy of the Heart and the Heart dissection procedure.
• B4.3: Heart treatments and medical interventions.
• B4.4: Mechanisms of Breathing and Gas exchange.
• B4.5: Plant tissues, organs, and transport systems.
• B4.6: Transpiration processes in plants.

B5: Communicable Disease

• B5.1: General concepts of Health and disease.
• B5.2: Pathogens and the spread of disease.
• B5.3: Antiseptic Required Practical (Designated as Triple Science only).
• B5.4: Methods for Preventing infection.
• B5.5: Specific Communicable diseases.
• B5.6: The Human defence response systems.
• B5.7: Plant disease and Plant defence responses (Designated as Triple Science only).

B6: Preventing and Treating Disease

• B6.1: Principles of Vaccination.
• B6.2: Use of Antibiotics and painkillers.
• B6.3: The process of Discovering Drugs.
• B6.4: The process of Developing Drugs.
• B6.4A: Practical activity: Design a drug package.
• B6.5: Making monoclonal antibodies (Designated as Triple Science only).
• B6.6: Practical Uses of monoclonal antibodies (Designated as Triple Science only).

Career Opportunities in Biology

• Opportunities linked to Cell Biology (Unit B1):
  • Cell biologist
  • Microbiologist
  • Immunologist
• Opportunities linked to Cell Division and Genetics (Unit B2):
  • Genetic counsellor
  • Cancer researcher
  • Forensic scientist
  • Tissue engineer
• Opportunities linked to Organisation and Nutrition (Unit B3):
  • Food scientist
  • Pharmacist
  • Enzyme engineer
• Opportunities linked to Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems (Unit B4):
  • Cardiologist
  • Blood bank specialist
  • ICU nurse
  • Heart transplant coordinator
• Opportunities linked to Epidemiology and Health (Unit B5):
  • Epidemiologist
  • Public health physician
  • Infection prevention specialist
  • Vaccine developer
• Opportunities linked to Pharmacology (Unit B6):
  • Drug discovery biologist
  • Pharmaceutical scientist