Process
OCR A-Level Biology B H422
The Developing Cell: Cell Division and Cell Differentiation
The Developing Individual: Meiosis, Growth and Development
The Development of Species: Evolution and Classification
Cells and Microscopy
Topic overviewMicroscopy and the cell theoryBlood smears, staining and microscope drawingsBlood cells and their structureMagnification and measuring cellsHaemocytometer cell counts and dilutionsFlow cytometry in blood analysisUltrastructure of the animal cellPlant and prokaryotic cellsMembrane lipids and the fluid mosaic modelMovement of molecules across membranesThe roles of membranes and the secretion of proteins
Water and Its Importance in Plants and Animals
Proteins and Enzymes
Nucleic Acids
Patterns of Inheritance
Population Genetics and Epigenetics
Gene Technologies
The Principles and Importance of Homeostasis
The Hormonal Control of Blood Glucose and the Management of Diabetes
Kidney Functions and Malfunctions
Topic overviewExcretion and the gross structure of the kidneyThe nephron: ultrafiltration and selective reabsorptionInvestigating the composition of urine, plasma and filtrateOsmoregulation and the action of ADHThe kidney as an endocrine gland and kidney failureDialysis, transplantation and the future of transplant surgery
The Cellular Basis of Cancer and Treatment
Respiratory Diseases and Treatment
Cellular Respiration
Metabolism and Exercise
Topic overviewThe consequences of exercise on the bodyAerobic fitness and VO₂ maxTraining, F.I.T.T. factors and investigating fitnessEnhancing athletic performanceHaemoglobin and the transport of oxygenOxygen dissociation curves of different respiratory pigmentsOxygen deficit and oxygen debtThe structure of skeletal muscleThe sliding filament theory of muscle contraction
Pathogenic Microorganisms
The Immune System
Controlling Communicable Diseases
Photosynthesis, Food Production and Management of the Environment
Topic overviewChloroplast ultrastructure and photosynthetic pigmentsThe light-dependent stage of photosynthesisThe Calvin cycleInvestigating the factors affecting photosynthesisThe Hill reaction and DCPIPUsing TP and GP to build carbohydrates, lipids and amino acidsThe compensation point and crop productionMicroorganisms, the nitrogen cycle and biosensorsBiomass transfer and efficiency in food productionRuminants in the human food chainFarms as ecosystems and the conflict with conservationDeflected succession and measuring biodiversity
The Impact of Population Increase
Planning and Implementing Practical Work
Analysing and Evaluating Practical Results
Practical Skills, Apparatus and Techniques
Topic overviewInvestigative approaches and working safelyFollowing instructions, recording and presenting dataResearch, referencing and processing data with softwareMeasuring mass, volume, time, temperature, length and pHColorimeters and potometersLaboratory glassware and serial dilutionsLight microscopy, graticules and biological drawingQualitative reagents for biological moleculesChromatography and electrophoresisAseptic technique and dissectionWhole-organism responses, fieldwork sampling and data logging
Fertility and Assisted Reproduction
The Effects of Ageing on the Reproductive System
Plant Reproduction
The Nervous System and the Identification and Consequences of Damage
Topic overviewOrganisation of the nervous system and nervous tissueThe structure and function of the human brainThe structure of motor, sensory and relay neuronesResting potential and the action potentialSynapses and the integration of responsesReflexes, reaction times and their investigationBrain scans and the consequences of nervous system damageDrugs, brain function and dependency
Monitoring Visual Function
The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System
The Heart and Monitoring Heart Function
Transport Systems in Mammals
Gas Exchange in Mammals and Plants
Controlling Communicable Diseases
- 4 subtopics
- 12 things to know
- Components 01, 02 and 03
What Controlling Communicable Diseases covers
Controlling Communicable Diseases is examined in all three written papers — the specification states that Components 01, 02 and 03 can each assess content from any of the five modules, so nothing is confined to one paper. It covers vaccination and vaccination programmes, problems and ethics of vaccine development and use, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance and investigating antibiotics, disinfectants and hygiene.
Where it is assessed
Components 01, 02 and 03
Every module can be assessed on any of the three papers.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 4 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Vaccination and vaccination programmesRecall questions on how vaccines produce memory cells, live attenuated vaccines for measles and tuberculosis and their drawbacks, vaccines of killed pathogens and fragments, booster doses, herd immunity, who depends on it, and what happens when coverage falls.Open →
- Problems and ethics of vaccine development and useRecall questions on antigenic variability and the yearly influenza vaccine, antigenic shift and pandemics, why no HIV vaccine exists, live vaccines reverting to virulence, the cold chain and rural distribution, protein deficiency, and the HPV vaccine and the ethical objections to it.Open →
- Antibiotics and antibiotic resistanceRecall questions on how different antibiotics attack a bacterium, why viruses are unaffected, the cell differences that make selective toxicity possible, how resistance spreads, and the hospital-acquired strains.Open →
- Investigating antibiotics, disinfectants and hygieneRecall questions on testing antibiotics with discs on a bacterial lawn, measuring zones of inhibition and calculating their area, controls and control variables, penicillin against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, bacteriostatic and bactericidal antibiotics, disinfectants and antiseptics, and handwashing with soap.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Process
Explain why a very infectious disease needs high vaccination coverage, and what follows when coverage drops.
Process
Distinguish the two classes of antibiotic action and describe how you would find out which one you have.
Process
Explain how a clear zone appears around an antibiotic disc and why its diameter does not rank two antibiotics.
Key term
How is the effect of an antibiotic on a bacterium investigated using agar plates?
Key term
Why does the influenza vaccine have to be reformulated every year?
Key term
What is a vaccine?
Key term
What is antigenic shift, and why does it cause pandemics?
Key term
What is an antibiotic?
Key term
Name two diseases that are vaccinated against using a live attenuated vaccine.
Key term
Why is the mutation rate of HIV so high?
Key term
Why do antibiotics have no effect on a viral infection?
Take Controlling Communicable Diseases further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Bacteriostatic vs Bactericidal
Bacteriostatic: stopping bacteria reproducing without killing them, so the immune system is left to clear the cells that survive. Bactericidal: killing the bacteria outright, so no living cells remain to be cleared.
Disinfectant vs Antiseptic
Disinfectant: a chemical strong enough to kill microorganisms on non-living surfaces and equipment, but too harsh to put on the body. Antiseptic: a chemical mild enough to be applied to living skin or an open wound without damaging the tissue.
Antigenic drift vs Antigenic shift
Antigenic drift: the gradual accumulation of mutations that alters a virus's surface proteins a little each year, causing seasonal epidemics. Antigenic shift: a sudden exchange of genetic segments between two strains inside one host, creating a subtype nobody is immune to and so causing a pandemic.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a vaccine?
Model answer
A vaccine is a preparation containing antigens from a pathogen in a form that produces immunity without causing the disease.
- 2
On what principle does vaccination work?
Model answer
The vaccine provokes a primary immune response that produces plasma cells and, above all, memory cells, so that a later natural infection meets a rapid secondary response and is destroyed before symptoms develop.
- 3
What is a live attenuated vaccine?
Model answer
It is a vaccine containing a weakened strain of the pathogen that can still reproduce inside the body but has lost the ability to cause the disease.
- 4
Name two diseases that are vaccinated against using a live attenuated vaccine.
Model answer
Measles and tuberculosis.
- 5
Why does a live vaccine usually give stronger and longer-lasting protection than a killed one?
Model answer
The attenuated pathogen reproduces inside the body, so its antigens are presented in increasing amounts over a much longer period and a far larger clone of memory cells is produced.
- 6
State one disadvantage of a live attenuated vaccine.
Model answer
It cannot safely be given to people whose immune systems are suppressed, because even a weakened pathogen may cause disease in them.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Controlling Communicable Diseases revision questions
- What does Controlling Communicable Diseases cover in OCR A-Level Biology B?
- 4 subtopics: vaccination and vaccination programmes, problems and ethics of vaccine development and use, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance and investigating antibiotics, disinfectants and hygiene. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Controlling Communicable Diseases organised?
- By the OCR H422 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Controlling Communicable Diseases, 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.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.