Resources Specification

GCSE Science A What's changed?

  • New content/
    new emphasis
  • Content in from
    a different unit
  • Content out to
    a different unit
  • Content
    removed

Biology unit 1

  • Plant sensitivity, hormones, phototropism and geotropism
  • Clinical trials
  • Cannabis and performance enhancing drugs
  • Extremophiles
  • Effect of environmental change on organisms
  • Non-living indicators of environmental change
  • GM crops
  • Microorganism cultures and the action of disinfectants and antibiotics (from B3)
  • Material and energy in biomass (from B2)
  • Decay processes and the carbon cycle (from B2)
  • Sports drinks (to B3)
  • Origins of life on Earth (to B2), Fossils as evidence of evolution (to B2) and Extinction (to B2)
  • Human effects on the environment (including increasing human population, land use and deforestation, waste production and global warming) (to B3)
  • Diseases and health problems linked to excess weight and malnutrition (except type 2 diabetes)
  • Specific details about cholesterol
  • Smoking and alcohol
  • Drugs from natural products

Chemistry unit 1

  • Extraction of copper by phytomining, bioleaching and displacement
  • Biofuels
  • Biodegradable polymers
  • Production of ethanol by fermentation
  • Use of vegetable oils in cooking
  • Hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties of emulsifiers
  • Chemical theories for the origins of life
  • Absorption of carbon dioxide by the oceans
  • Fractional distillation of liquid air
  • Changes on protons, neutrons and electrons and atom neutrality (from C2)
  • Electronic structure of atoms and relationship with the periodic table (from C2)
  • Reaction of carbonates with acid and use of limewater to detect for carbon dioxide (from C3)
  • Alloy properties in terms of their structure and bonding (to C2)
  • Reactants and reaction conditions affecting polymer properties (to C2)
  • Analysis of food additives (to C2)
  • Use of food additives
  • Uses of noble gases

Physics unit 1

  • Kinetic theory
  • Energy transfer by evaporation and condensation
  • U-values
  • Specific heat capacities
  • Transverse and longitudinal waves and their characteristics
  • Cosmic microwave background radiation
  • Diffraction
  • Reflection in a plane mirror (from P3)
  • Sound waves (from P3)
  • Atomic Structure and radioactivity (to P2)
  • X-rays (to P3)
  • Optical fibres (to P3)
  • Analogue and digital signals
  • Observations of the solar system
  • Uses of microwaves and IR other than for communication
  • Danger and uses of ultraviolet radiation