GCSEs (General Certificates of Secondary Education) are exams that students take in different subjects as part of their secondary school education. The GCSEs are open to students that are 16 years old or older.
Biology, in particular, is not a walk in the park. Additionally, several changes have been made in the system over the years. Such changes include the introduction of different structures for the courses. The grading system has also gone through some significant changes.
It is a requirement for students that wish to pursue their A levels. It is, therefore, one of the mandatory qualifications for A levels. The sciences are some of the most challenging GCSEs in the system, and this means that the amount of revision and preparations that students have to do for the sciences beats that for languages and other subjects.
Human Reproduction
This is the topic that examines the human body. The text looks into aspects like the sexual organs and the general reproduction in men and women. The concept of the human body is introduced to students in sex education. Parents can also teach their kids some of the concepts, though not in-depth. This topic seeks to explore the functions of both male and female reproductive organs, hormones and their functions.
The process of fertilization and the growth of a fetus from the stage of conception is explored. The most important aspect of human reproduction is understanding how sex organs work individually before going into how they work together in reproduction. This topic is prevalent in GCSE biology. There are different types of reproduction:
Sexual Reproduction
Most animals, especially vertebrae indeed reproduce in a manner very similar to that of human being reproduction. The female and the male species combine their ova and sperms, respectively. The sperm, therefore, fertilizes the ova (the female egg). Fertilized eggs are incubated in the female uterus where they evolve and develop to a stage where they are independent of their mother. There are several terms involved in the process that students looking to sit for their GCSE biology have to grasp. The fact that there are two sets of genes means that there are those that will become dominant and those that will be recessive. The dominant genes are responsible for the aspects of the baby that resemble those of the parents like skin colour.
Asexual Reproduction
This type of reproduction requires two gametes for completion. As opposed to taking some genes from the parents, asexual reproduction leads to the offspring becoming a clone of the parent. The processes of meiosis (for creating gametes) and mitosis (cell division) are used in this type of reproduction. Asexual reproduction is common in fungi and bacteria.
Genetics and Inheritance
Human beings and some other animals, inherit genes and characteristics from their biological parents. Genetics and inheritance explores the structure of DNA and the process in which each pair of chromosomes come from each of the biological parents. The topic also examines the structure and the formation of the alleles. Additionally, the subject looks at the different types of cell division and the stages of cell division in different organisms.
GCSE Biology Evolution
This topic seeks to describe how some specific and accidental gene changes occur over tome to give living organisms survival characteristics. Additionally, concepts like natural selection, selective breeding, continuous and discontinuous variations are covered.
Living Organisms
Living organisms are split into different kingdoms owing to their characteristics. In this topic, each of these kingdoms is discussed in depth.
Nutrition, Digestion and Excretion
This area covers a wide range of topics. Most of these topics are related to the concept of diet and digestion. The text also covers all aspects of nutrition and excretion, including different classes of foods.
Glossary of Select Biology Terms
There are several terms used in biology, which this topic seeks to define and bring an understanding.
Online Resources for GCSE Biology
Some of the most common and useful online GCSE Biology revision resources are:
The Student Room
This is an online forum for students looking to discuss different topics with other students from all around the globe. In this forum, students share revision techniques, revision materials and other tools for academic success.
OCR
This is a site for revision offering materials in all subjects, including biology.
AQA
This is a revision website that provides revision materials to several students.
Edexcel
This is a revision website that provides students with revision materials, course content, published resources and other materials for revision in any subject.
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