Biology

Welcome
Your teachers for this year will be Di Ferrar (diana.ferrar@easterneducation group.ac.uk),
Rob Johnson (robert.johnson@easterneducationgroup.ac.uk) and Susie Henson
(susie.henson@easterneducationgroup.ac.uk)
We have put together some course information and tasks for you to complete over the
summer holidays before the beginning of term.

What we study:
AQA A Level Biology (7402) – the specification can be found here:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/as-and-a-level/biology-7401-7402/specification-
at-a-glance

What you will need:

You will need this textbook for next year, and may therefore wish to buy it now so you have
a reference book to look at and check you are on the right track. We would prefer you to
use the textbook rather than the internet, as it is written specifically for the A-Level
specification. You may need to shop around to find the best price.

• Textbook – AQA A-level Biology - Glenn Toole (ISBN-10 0198351771 or ISBN-13 978-
0198351771)
• A4 lined paper, ring binder, dividers, scientific calculator, fully stocked pencil case
• You may choose to work on a tablet or laptop, but you need to be able to print out
and hand in work when required

Should you need Financial Information please click here or head to our website: www.abbeygatesfc.ac.uk
We have put together some suggested activities, articles and books to read with some tasks
for you to prepare yourself for next year. We are asking for two tasks to be completed and
brought with you to the first lesson in September.

The others, although not mandatory, would support your transition to A level Biology well,
ensuring that you are A-level ready and raring to go. You can also rest assured that you are
in a good position to start this course because you have completed the transition work and
have a good foundation of knowledge on which to build.

Work to be brought in September:

1. Water is a major component of cells. It has several properties that are important in
biology. It has an unusual structure involving hydrogen bonds.
In particular, water:
• is a metabolite in many metabolic reactions
• is an important solvent in which metabolic reactions occur
• has a relatively high heat capacity, buffering changes in temperature
• has a relatively large latent heat of vaporisation, providing a cooling effect with
little loss of water through evaporation
• has strong cohesion between water molecules; this supports columns of water
in the tube-like transport cells of plants and produces surface tension where
water meets air.
Please produce a written piece of two sides of A4, either typed or written. Your work
should explain how the structure and bonding of water is unusual. Then for each
property above, give an example and explain why water has this property.

2. In preparation for the Cells unit of work, find out about the structure of a eukaryotic
cell. Show the organelles present in both animal and plant cells in a large diagram
that reveals their structure, and then summarise the function of each organelle in a
table. You should also give an idea of the size of each organelle using the appropriate
unit.

This is one website with A level content to help you with this work – there are many others:
http://www.a-levelnotes.co.uk/biology-aqa-as-level-notes-new-spec.html

Other suggested Tasks:

1. Work through the Head Start to A level Biology book:
https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/as-and-a-level/science/biology/bbr72-head-start-
to-a-level-biology-with
 2. You will also be studying Biological Molecules as one of the first units of work, and this is usually
something students find hard. If you could become familiar with the names, structures and
functions of the following molecules, that would give you a head start:
a. Monosaccharides
b. Disaccharides
c. Polysaccharides
d. Triglycerides
e. Proteins
f. DNA and RNA
We suggest that you make a summary sheet, table or mind map with diagrams of all the relevant
structures and their functions as a good reference document.

Reading List:

The Epigenetics revolution – Nessa Carey

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot
The Unexpected Truth about Animals – Lucy Cooke
The Selfish Gene – Richard Dawkins
A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson

Websites
https://www.ted.com/talks
http://www.ibiblio.org/virtualcell/index.htm – An interactive cell biology site
http://www.uq.oz.au/nanoworld – Visit the world of electron microscopy
http://www.dnai.org/a/index.html – Explore the genetic code
http://nobelprize.org – Details of the history of the best scientific discoveries
http://www.nhm.ac.uk – The London Natural History Museum’s website with lots of interesting
educational material
http://www.bmj.com – The website of the British Medical Journal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment - The BBC news page for Science and the
Environment