Edexcel AS Level Biology Tutors Online

Edexcel AS Level Biology A is code 8BN0, and its full title is the Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Biology A (Salters-Nuffield). First teaching was September 2015 and first certification was 2016. This page works from Issue 2, dated March 2016.

The qualification consists of two externally examined papers and nothing else. There is no coursework, no practical endorsement and no non-examined assessment. Each paper is worth 50% of the total qualification, each runs for 1 hour 30 minutes, and each carries 80 marks.

The two papers are available in May and June only, and there is a rule that catches families out. The specification states that students must complete both assessments in May and June in any single year. So the two papers cannot be split across two summers or banked one at a time. Both are sat in the same series.

Paper 1 is Lifestyle, Transport, Genes and Health, code 8BN0/01. It draws on Topic 1, Lifestyle, Health and Risk, and Topic 2, Genes and Health. Paper 2 is Development, Plants and the Environment, code 8BN0/02. It draws on Topic 3, Voice of the Genome, and Topic 4, Biodiversity and Natural Resources.

The paper structure is the same on both. Each question is set in a context and is broken down into a number of parts, so a single question usually walks through recall, then application, then a judgement. The papers may include multiple-choice, short open, open-response, calculation and extended writing questions. They also include questions that target the conceptual and theoretical understanding of experimental methods.

Salters-Nuffield is a context-led course, and that shows in how the topics are built. Topic 1 teaches the heart, blood vessels, diet, carbohydrates and lipids through cardiovascular disease. Topic 2 teaches membranes, diffusion, DNA, protein synthesis, enzymes and inheritance through cystic fibrosis. Topic 3 teaches cell ultrastructure, gametes, meiosis, mitosis, stem cells and epigenetics through development. Topic 4 teaches biodiversity, natural selection, plant cell structure, plant fibres and drug testing through the uses humans make of the natural world.

The four topics break down into sixty five specification points. Topic 1 has eighteen, from the need for a heart and circulation through to the benefits and risks of treatments for cardiovascular disease. Topic 2 has sixteen, from gas exchange surfaces and Fick's Law through to the social and ethical issues raised by genetic screening. Topic 3 has fifteen, from eukaryotic and prokaryotic ultrastructure through to polygenic inheritance and continuous variation. Topic 4 has sixteen, from measuring biodiversity through to evaluating zoos and seed banks.

Practical work is central and it is examined rather than endorsed. The specification includes nine core practical activities, and it states plainly that core practicals will be assessed by examination. So a student's practical skill is tested through written questions about the practical, including planning, risk management, choosing apparatus with reasons, handling significant figures, plotting graphs and assessing uncertainty and error.

The nine core practical activities are spread across the topics. They are the effect of caffeine on heart rate in Daphnia, and the vitamin C content of food and drink, both in Topic 1. Then membrane permeability under alcohol concentration or temperature, and the effect of enzyme and substrate concentrations on initial rates, both in Topic 2. Then a root tip squash to observe the stages of mitosis, in Topic 3. Then identifying sclerenchyma fibres, phloem sieve tubes and xylem vessels in a stem, plant mineral deficiencies, the tensile strength of plant fibres, and the antimicrobial properties of plants including aseptic technique, all four in Topic 4.

The assessment objectives are three. AO1, demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures, is 35 to 37 per cent. AO2, apply knowledge and understanding in a theoretical context, in a practical context, and when handling qualitative and quantitative data, is 41 to 43 per cent. AO3, analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence to make judgements and reach conclusions and to develop and refine practical design and procedures, is 20 to 23 per cent.

Applying knowledge is the largest objective and it is worth more than knowledge itself. Both papers carry an identical split of 17 to 19 per cent for AO1, 20 to 22 per cent for AO2 and 10 to 12 per cent for AO3, so neither paper is the easier one and neither is weighted towards recall.

Mathematics is assessed across the qualification, with a printed minimum. The specification states that a minimum of 10% of the marks will be awarded for mathematics at Level 2 or above, with the skills listed in Appendix 5 on mathematical skills and exemplifications.

The qualification is graded on a five-grade scale from A to E using the total subject mark, and individual papers are not graded. Students below the minimum judged by Pearson to be of sufficient standard receive an unclassified U result. The qualification number is 601/5298/9.

One link forward is worth knowing. The content for the full A Level includes all the content studied at AS, and Topics 1 to 4 are common to both qualifications. A student who has completed the AS would then need Topics 5 to 8, and all the assessment for the A Level must be taken at the end of the A Level course. So the AS is a standalone qualification that also acts as the first half of the A Level, but its grade does not carry forward.