Key term
CCEA A-Level Life and Health Sciences 0008
Experimental Techniques
Human Body Systems
Topic overviewBlood vessels, the heart and cardiac outputHeart sounds, ECG traces, pulse and blood pressureBody fluids, haemoglobin and the Bohr effectThe respiratory system, gas exchange and lung diseaseMonitoring breathing and lung volumesCellular respiration and ATPHomeostasis, blood glucose and thyroxineSodium, blood pH and oxygen saturationA balanced diet and nutritional needs through lifeCholesterol, minerals, vitamins, alcohol and exercise
Physical Chemistry in Industrial Processes
Topic overviewMoles, reacting masses and percentage yieldTitration types, indicators and standard solutionsTitration calculations and molarityEnthalpy changes and calorimetryHess's law and average bond enthalpiesCollision theory, rates and the Maxwell–Boltzmann distributionCatalysts, chemisorption and catalytic convertersReversible reactions, the Haber process and the Contact processScale-up, costs and siting a chemical plant
Brain ScienceDouble Award
Topic overviewBrain structure and frontal lobe damageNeurones, synapses and the endocrine systemAlzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease and stem cell therapySchizophrenia and mental health awareness in Northern IrelandThe biology of aggression and methods of studying the brainStress, the stress response and stress managementMemory models, forgetting and eyewitness testimonyAbnormality, phobias, depression and OCDExperiments, observations, self-report and research designHypotheses, sampling, ethics and descriptive statistics
Material ScienceDouble Award
Topic overviewMaterial properties and selectionStress, strain and the Young modulusStress–strain graphs, creep and fatigueDensity, hardness and conductivity testingMetals, ceramics, glasses, polymers and compositesAtomic and microscopic structure of materialsAlloys, annealing and biomaterialsSmart materialsNanomaterials and semiconductors
Medicine, Drugs and Clinical TrialsDouble Award
Topic overviewCategories of medicine and routes to drug discoveryMedicines from natural sources, drug names and the ATC systemDrug development, preclinical testing and the therapeutic indexPhases of clinical trials and trial designLicensing, UK regulators, Yellow Card and trial ethicsFormulations, routes of administration and drug absorptionDistribution, metabolism, elimination and sites of drug actionQuantitative analysis of medicines and antibacterial bioassays
Scientific Method, Investigation, Analysis and Evaluation
Topic overviewThe scientific method, literature reviews and Harvard referencingDescriptive statistics and the normal distributionNull hypotheses, significance and choosing a statistical testInvestigation design, Design of Experiments and project plansGood Laboratory Practice, risk assessment and COSHHExperimental error, scientific writing and evaluation
Organic Chemistry
Topic overviewOrganic formulae, homologous series and functional groupsIUPAC naming and types of organic reactionStructural isomerism and E/Z isomerismAlkanes from crude oil, combustion and halogenationVehicle pollutants, catalytic converters and biofuelsAlkenes, pi bonds and electrophilic additionClassifying alcohols, making ethanol and its effects as a drugOxidation of alcohols, IR spectroscopy and mass spectrometryAddition polymers, plastic waste and nylonPreparing and purifying aspirin
Medical PhysicsA2 option
Topic overviewBody temperature and clinical thermometersBlood pressure readings and the sphygmomanometerHeart activity experiments and EEG tracesX-ray tubes, radiographs and CT scansFlexible endoscopes, optical fibres and lasersUltrasound A-scans, B-scans and acoustic impedanceMRI scanning and gamma camera imagingAlpha, beta and gamma radiation and half-lifeRadiopharmaceuticals, radiotherapy and radiation protection
Sound and LightA2 option
Topic overviewTransverse and longitudinal waves and wave graphsPhase difference and the electromagnetic spectrumOuter, middle and inner earSound intensity and the decibel scaleStanding waves, harmonics and resonance tubesHearing response, phons and equal loudness curvesStructure of the eye, rods and conesAccommodation, lens power and correcting long sightTotal internal reflection and fibre-optic communicationDipole antennas, wireless networks and radarAttenuation of radio waves and the Doppler effect
Genetics, Stem Cell Research and CloningA2 option
Topic overviewDNA structure and the evidence for the double helixRNA, genes and the triplet codeGenotype, phenotype and monohybrid inheritanceDihybrid crosses, epistasis and the chi-squared testDNA replication and the Meselson–Stahl experimentMeiosis and genetic variationInsulin, factor VIII and chymosin from genetically modified microbesRecombinant DNA technology and gene cloningGenetic engineering, food supply and ethicsGene therapy and cystic fibrosisGenetic disease, screening and counsellingGenetic fingerprinting and gel electrophoresisStem cells, therapeutic cloning and their ethics
MicrobiologyDouble Award
Topic overviewBacteria, fungi and protozoaViruses, viroids and prionsClassifying bacteria, fungi and virusesLight and electron microscopyLaboratory safety, biocontainment and quality assuranceAseptic technique, growth media and inoculationCounting and measuring microbial growthGrowth requirements and growth inhibitionAntibiotics, PCR, gene therapy and pharmaceutical microbiologyThe gut microbiome in health and disease
Oral Health and DentistryDouble Award
Histology and PathologyDouble Award
Topic overviewSpecimen processing, data protection and safety lawClinical biochemistry tests and electrophoresisBlood smears and identifying blood cellsBlood grouping, cross-matching and transfusionDiagnostic and surveillance work in hospital microbiologyPreparing and staining tissue sectionsRecognising tissues, atheroma and emphysema on slides
Analytical Chemistry TechniquesDouble Award
Topic overviewVolumetric analysis in industry and healthcareApplied titrations of vinegar, indigestion tablets and bleachRedox titration of iron tablets and evaluating titrationsPrinciples of colorimetryColorimetric analysis of copper ore, aspirin and ironThin-layer chromatography and its usesVisualising chromatograms and identifying painkillers and pigmentsCalorimetry and combustionMolar enthalpy and bond energy calculationsQualitative tests for cations and gases
Enabling TechnologyDouble Award
Topic overviewECG and EEG machines in patient monitoringUltrasound and IVF equipment in fertility treatmentProsthetic limbs, hearing aids and cochlear implantsWorkflow and equipment in a medical laboratoryOngoing monitoring of a long-term conditionHealth data collection, databases and data protection
Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials
- 8 subtopics
- 24 things to know
- AS 6
- AS 4 to AS 6, taken for the Double Award only
What Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials covers
Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials is examined in Unit AS 6, Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials — internally assessed, Double Award only. It covers categories of medicine and routes to drug discovery, medicines from natural sources, drug names and the ATC system, drug development, preclinical testing and the therapeutic index, phases of clinical trials and trial design, licensing, UK regulators, Yellow Card and trial ethics, formulations, routes of administration and drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and sites of drug action and quantitative analysis of medicines and antibacterial bioassays.
Where it is assessed
AS 6
Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials — internally assessed, Double Award only.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 8 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Categories of medicine and routes to drug discoveryDrugs and medicines, categories of medicine, accidental discoveries, demand, traditional remedies and aspirin, tropical plants, chemical fingerprinting, genetics, pathogens and synthetic drug development.Open →
- Medicines from natural sources, drug names and the ATC systemPaclitaxel, digitoxin, heparin, trabectedin, tiotropium and penicillin, extracting drugs from plants, the ATC classification, and chemical, generic and trade names.Open →
- Drug development, preclinical testing and the therapeutic indexThe stages of drug development and their cost, in vitro and in vivo testing, pharmacology and toxicology, thalidomide, animal ethics, ED50, LD50 and the therapeutic index, and dose calculations.Open →
- Phases of clinical trials and trial designPhases I to IV, randomised controlled trials, placebos and their ethics, double-blind and crossover trials, sample size, worked response rates, protocols, meta-analysis and evidence-based medicine.Open →
- Licensing, UK regulators, Yellow Card and trial ethicsLicensing, the MHRA, the Commission on Human Medicines and NICE, black triangle medicines and the Yellow Card scheme, side effects and contraindications, informed consent, Helsinki and TGN1412.Open →
- Formulations, routes of administration and drug absorptionFormulations and excipients, tablets, liquids, enteric-coated and modified-release forms, injection, inhalation, patches, sublingual and rectal routes, absorption, first-pass metabolism and bioavailability.Open →
- Distribution, metabolism, elimination and sites of drug actionPharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, distribution and protein binding, pH and levodopa, metabolism and prodrugs, elimination and half-life, agonists and antagonists, and how aspirin acts.Open →
- Quantitative analysis of medicines and antibacterial bioassaysBack titration of aspirin with a worked purity, permanganate titration of iron tablets, and ampicillin bioassays with dilutions, controls, reliability and risk assessment.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Describe how the effect of ampicillin on bacterial growth can be investigated.
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What is a drug?
Key term
Where does paclitaxel come from, and how does it treat cancer?
Process
Outline the stages a new medicine passes through from pre-discovery to launch.
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What must a company provide before a new medicine is licensed in the UK?
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What is meant by the formulation of a medicine?
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What is the difference between pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics?
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What is a medicine, and how does it differ from a drug?
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Why did the supply of paclitaxel become a problem, and how was it solved?
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Why does developing a new medicine take so long and cost so much?
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What is the purpose of a phase I clinical trial?
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What is the role of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency?
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What are excipients, and why are they added to a tablet?
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How is a drug distributed around the body after absorption?
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Why is the aspirin content of a tablet found by back titration rather than direct titration?
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How are medicines categorised according to their purpose?
Numbers
Where does digitoxin come from, and how was its use discovered?
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Why do most candidate drugs never reach patients?
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What does a phase II clinical trial investigate?
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What is the role of the Commission on Human Medicines?
Evaluation
What are the advantages and disadvantages of tablets?
Key term
How does binding to plasma proteins affect the distribution of a drug such as warfarin?
Key term
Write the equation for the reaction of aspirin with excess sodium hydroxide in a back titration.
Take Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Pharmacodynamics vs Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacodynamics: study of the effects a drug produces on the body and how it causes them. Pharmacokinetics: study of how the body absorbs, distributes, metabolises and eliminates a drug.
ED50 vs LD50
ED50: dose producing the desired therapeutic response in half of a test population. LD50: dose killing half of a test population of animals.
Side effect vs Contraindication
Side effect: unwanted reaction to a medicine taken at a normal dose. Contraindication: circumstance in which a particular medicine should not be given at all.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a drug?
Model answer
A drug is any chemical substance that changes the way the body works when it is taken in. Caffeine, alcohol and paracetamol are all drugs.
- 2
What is a medicine, and how does it differ from a drug?
Model answer
A medicine is a drug used to prevent, diagnose or treat disease or to relieve symptoms. Every medicine is a drug, but recreational drugs such as nicotine are not medicines.
- 3
How are medicines categorised according to their purpose?
Model answer
Medicines are grouped by what they are used to treat or prevent. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections, analgesics relieve pain and antihypertensives lower blood pressure.
- 4
Why is an antibiotic of no use to a patient with influenza?
Model answer
Antibiotics target structures found in bacteria, such as cell walls and bacterial ribosomes. Influenza is caused by a virus, which has none of these, so an antiviral is needed.
- 5
A patient has shingles and another has a bacterial chest infection. Which category of medicine does each need?
Model answer
The patient with shingles needs an antiviral, because shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The patient with a bacterial chest infection needs an antibiotic.
- 6
Give an example of a medicine whose use was discovered by accident.
Model answer
Minoxidil was developed as a tablet to lower blood pressure, and patients taking it noticed unexpected hair growth. Minoxidil is now applied to the scalp to treat hair loss.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials revision questions
- What does Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials cover in CCEA A-Level Life and Health Sciences?
- 8 subtopics: categories of medicine and routes to drug discovery, medicines from natural sources, drug names and the atc system, drug development, preclinical testing and the therapeutic index, phases of clinical trials and trial design, licensing, uk regulators, yellow card and trial ethics, formulations, routes of administration and drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and sites of drug action and quantitative analysis of medicines and antibacterial bioassays. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials organised?
- By the CCEA 0008 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Medicine, Drugs and Clinical Trials, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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