Key term
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
The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System
- 3 subtopics
- 9 things to know
- Components 01, 02 and 03
What The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System covers
The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System 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 Alzheimer's disease: symptoms and causes, the effects of ageing on the senses and memory and investigating ageing, reaction times and memory.
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 3 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Alzheimer's disease: symptoms and causesRecall questions on dementia and the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, brain shrinkage, reduced acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, assessment, genetic risk factors including APOE ε4 and Down syndrome, age and modifiable risk factors, and correlation in dementia studies.Open →
- The effects of ageing on the senses and memoryRecall questions on structural changes in the ageing brain and slower reactions, presbycusis and reading audiograms, cataracts and their treatment, glaucoma and loss of peripheral vision, dry and wet age-related macular degeneration, and memory loss in normal ageing and dementia.Open →
- Investigating ageing, reaction times and memoryRecall questions on comparing reaction times of age groups with a ruler drop test, calculating reaction times and percentage increases, null hypotheses and t-tests, word-list memory tests and their controls, ethics with elderly volunteers, confounding variables, and cross-sectional and longitudinal studies.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Explain why chronic glaucoma is often not noticed by the patient until it is advanced.
Key term
Describe how you would use a ruler drop test to compare the reaction times of two age groups.
Key term
Secondary data show mean hearing thresholds rising steadily with age in a sample of factory workers. Why should this not be attributed to ageing alone?
Key term
What is dementia?
Key term
Give three structural changes that occur in the ageing brain.
Key term
Why is short-term memory affected before long-term memory in Alzheimer's disease?
Key term
Why do reaction times become slower with age?
Key term
Give three variables that must be kept the same for every participant in a reaction time investigation.
Take The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Glaucoma vs Macular degeneration
Glaucoma: raised fluid pressure inside the eye that damages the ganglion cell axons at the optic disc, taking peripheral vision first while central vision stays sharp until late. Macular degeneration: loss of the receptors at the centre of the retina, so a blurred or missing patch appears in the middle of whatever is looked at while the surrounding field remains.
Dry AMD vs Wet AMD
Dry AMD: the slow form of age-related macular disease, in which yellow waste deposits build up at the macula and the receptor layer gradually wastes away, with no cure available. Wet AMD: the rapid form of age-related macular disease, in which abnormal blood vessels grow beneath the macula and leak, treated by injections that block the growth of those vessels.
Beta-amyloid plaques vs Neurofibrillary tangles
Beta-amyloid plaques: insoluble deposits that build up outside the neurones, in the spaces between them. Neurofibrillary tangles: masses of abnormally phosphorylated tau protein that collapse inside a neurone, so transport within the cell fails.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is dementia?
Model answer
Dementia is a progressive loss of memory, reasoning and other mental abilities severe enough to interfere with everyday life.
- 2
Give three early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
Model answer
Early symptoms include forgetting recent events and repeating questions, difficulty finding the right word, and becoming confused about the time or the place.
- 3
Why is short-term memory affected before long-term memory in Alzheimer's disease?
Model answer
The hippocampus, where new memories are laid down, is one of the first regions to be damaged, whereas older memories are stored more widely across the cortex.
- 4
Give three behavioural changes seen as Alzheimer's disease advances.
Model answer
Patients may become apathetic and withdrawn, agitated or aggressive, and restless at night with disturbed sleep.
- 5
Which two abnormal protein deposits are found in the brain tissue of a person with Alzheimer's disease?
Model answer
Beta-amyloid plaques form between the neurones and neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein form inside them.
- 6
Where do beta-amyloid plaques form, and from what?
Model answer
They form outside the neurones in the spaces between them, from insoluble fragments produced by the abnormal breakdown of a membrane protein called amyloid precursor protein.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System revision questions
- What does The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System cover in OCR A-Level Biology B?
- 3 subtopics: alzheimer's disease: symptoms and causes, the effects of ageing on the senses and memory and investigating ageing, reaction times and memory. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System organised?
- By the OCR H422 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System, 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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