Key term
Edexcel GCSE Biology 1BI0
Key Concepts in Biology
Topic overviewEukaryotic and prokaryotic cellsSpecialised cells and their adaptationsMicroscopes and magnification calculationsSize, scale and units in cell biologyEnzyme action and denaturationFactors affecting enzyme activityEnzymes in synthesis and digestion, and rate calculationsFood tests and the energy in foodDiffusion, osmosis and active transportOsmosis in potatoes and percentage change in mass
Cells and Control
Topic overviewMitosis and the cell cycleWhy mitosis matters: growth, repair and cancerGrowth, differentiation and percentile chartsStem cells and their use in medicineThe structure and function of the brainNeurones, receptors and the reflex arcThe structure and function of the eyeEye defects and how they are corrected
Genetics
Topic overviewAsexual and sexual reproductionMeiosis and the formation of gametesDNA structure, genes and the genomeExtracting DNA from fruitMendel's work and the inheritance of blood groupsAlleles, genotype and phenotypeMonohybrid crosses and sex determinationProbability and ratios from genetic crossesCauses of variation: genes and environmentThe Human Genome ProjectGenetic variation and the effects of mutation
Natural Selection and Genetic Modification
Topic overviewDarwin, Wallace and the theory of evolutionNatural selection and antibiotic resistanceFossil evidence for human evolutionStone tool evidence for human evolutionThe pentadactyl limb and the three domainsSelective breedingTissue cultureGenetic engineering and modern agricultureBenefits and risks of GM organisms
Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines
Topic overviewHealth, disease and susceptibilityPathogens and common infectionsHow pathogens spread, and the virus life cycleSexually transmitted infectionsHow plants defend themselvesPhysical barriers and chemical defencesThe immune system, immunisation and herd immunityAntibiotics and developing new medicinesAseptic technique in culturing microorganismsTesting antiseptics and antibiotics on bacterial culturesLifestyle factors and non-communicable diseaseTreatments for cardiovascular disease
Plant Structures and Their Functions
Topic overviewPhotosynthesis as an endothermic reactionLimiting factors in photosynthesisLight intensity and the rate of photosynthesisRoot hair cells, xylem and phloemTranspiration and translocationLeaf structure for photosynthesis and gas exchangeFactors affecting the rate of transpirationPlant adaptations to extreme environmentsPlant hormones, phototropism and gravitropism
Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis
Topic overviewHormones, endocrine glands and homeostasisThe menstrual cycle and its hormonesHormonal and barrier contraceptionHomeostasis and thermoregulationControlling blood glucose, and type 1 diabetesType 2 diabetes and body massThe urinary system and the production of ureaThe nephron, filtration and selective reabsorptionTreating kidney failure: dialysis and transplants
Exchange and Transport in Animals
Topic overviewWhy multicellular organisms need exchange surfacesAlveoli and gas exchangeRate of diffusion and Fick's lawThe blood and its componentsArteries, veins and capillariesThe heart and the circulatory systemCellular respiration as an exothermic reactionAerobic and anaerobic respiration comparedInvestigating the rate of respirationCardiac output, stroke volume and heart rate
Ecosystems and Material Cycles
Topic overviewLevels of organisation and interdependenceAbiotic and biotic factors in a communityParasitism and mutualismSampling with quadrats and transectsEstimating population size from field dataEnergy transfer between trophic levelsHuman impact on ecosystems and biodiversityFood securityThe carbon cycleThe water and nitrogen cyclesFactors affecting the rate of decompositionCalculating the rate of decay
Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis
- 9 subtopics
- 26 things to know
- Paper 2
What Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis covers
Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis is examined in Paper 2, Biology 2. It covers hormones, endocrine glands and homeostasis, the stages of the menstrual cycle and the roles of oestrogen and progesterone, hormonal and barrier contraception, thermoregulation and osmoregulation, insulin and type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and body mass, the urinary system and urea, filtration and selective reabsorption in the nephron, and dialysis and kidney transplants.
Where it is assessed
Paper 2
Biology 2: 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, 50% of the GCSE.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 9 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Hormones, endocrine glands and homeostasisHormones as chemical messengers carried in the blood to target organs with specific receptors, the pituitary, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal glands, testes and ovaries and what they release, homeostasis and the changes it responds to, and receptors, coordination centres and effectors.Open →
- The menstrual cycle and its hormonesThe length and stages of the menstrual cycle, menstruation, the thickening of the uterus lining and ovulation around day 14, what happens to the lining if the egg is not fertilised, oestrogen from the ovaries thickening the lining, and progesterone maintaining it until its level falls.Open →
- Hormonal and barrier contraceptionHow oestrogen and progesterone in hormonal contraception prevent pregnancy, pills, injections, implants and patches, condoms and diaphragms as barrier methods, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and what perfect-use and typical-use effectiveness figures show.Open →
- Homeostasis and thermoregulationThermoregulation and why enzymes fail when the body is too hot or too cold, osmoregulation and animal cells in dilute or concentrated solutions, the hypothalamus and temperature receptors, the dermis and epidermis, sweating and why humidity slows it, hair erector muscles, and shivering.Open →
- Controlling blood glucose, and type 1 diabetesHow the pancreas monitors blood glucose and releases insulin to lower it by storing glucose as glycogen, why levels rise after a meal and fall in exercise, and the cause, onset, symptoms and insulin treatment of type 1 diabetes, including why insulin is injected and doses are matched to meals.Open →
- Type 2 diabetes and body massThe cause and risk factors of type 2 diabetes, how it differs from type 1 and is controlled, calculating body mass index and waist to hip ratio and their limits, correlation and cause, and scatter diagrams showing positive, negative or no correlation with lines of best fit.Open →
- The urinary system and the production of ureaThe kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra, the renal artery and vein, nephrons, and how the liver breaks down excess amino acids into toxic urea that the kidneys excrete in urine.Open →
- The nephron, filtration and selective reabsorptionFiltration in the glomerulus and Bowman's capsule, the substances that pass into the filtrate and why proteins and blood cells stay in the blood, selective reabsorption of glucose by active transport and water by osmosis, and how the long tubule and its capillaries suit it for reabsorption.Open →
- Treating kidney failure: dialysis and transplantsWhy kidney failure is dangerous, how dialysis removes urea by diffusion and why dialysis fluid contains glucose and salts, the disadvantages of dialysis, and the advantages of a kidney transplant and how rejection is reduced.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What causes type 1 diabetes, why does untreated blood glucose rise, and why must insulin be injected and matched to the meal?
Key term
What is a hormone?
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What happens during roughly the first five days of the menstrual cycle?
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Explain how oestrogen given as a contraceptive prevents pregnancy.
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What is thermoregulation?
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Name the main organs and tubes that make up the urinary system.
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Explain why liquid is forced out of the blood in the glomerulus.
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What happens to the blood if a person's kidneys fail?
Key term
What is meant by the target organ of a hormone?
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What is ovulation, and when does it usually happen in a 28-day cycle?
Key term
Explain how hormonal contraception can make the uterus unsuitable for pregnancy.
Key term
Explain why enzymes stop working if body temperature rises too far above normal.
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Which hormone is released when blood glucose concentration rises too high, and by which organ?
Key term
Which blood vessel carries blood into a kidney, and which carries blood away from it?
Key term
Which substances pass out of the blood into the Bowman's capsule?
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What is kidney dialysis?
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Which gland lies just beneath the brain and releases hormones that control several other endocrine glands?
Key term
Which hormone causes the lining of the uterus to thicken, and where is it made?
Key term
Explain why a contraceptive pill has to be taken regularly to work.
Key term
Explain the effect on enzyme-controlled reactions of the body becoming too cold.
Key term
Explain why blood glucose concentration falls during hard exercise.
Key term
What causes type 2 diabetes?
Key term
Explain why amino acids that are not needed have to be broken down.
Key term
What is meant by selective reabsorption?
Key term
Explain how urea is removed from the blood during dialysis.
Take Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Type 1 diabetes vs Type 2 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes: immune system destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. Type 2 diabetes: body cells stop responding properly to insulin.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a hormone?
Model answer
A hormone is a chemical messenger made by an endocrine gland and carried around the body in the blood.
- 2
How does a hormone travel from the gland that makes it to the part of the body it affects?
Model answer
It is released straight into the bloodstream and carried dissolved in the blood plasma.
- 3
What is meant by the target organ of a hormone?
Model answer
The target organ is the organ a hormone acts on, because its cells carry receptors that the hormone binds to.
- 4
Which gland lies just beneath the brain and releases hormones that control several other endocrine glands?
Model answer
The pituitary gland.
- 5
Where in the body is the thyroid gland found, and which hormone does it release?
Model answer
It is found in the neck, and it releases thyroxine.
- 6
Which organ lying behind the stomach releases hormones that control blood glucose?
Model answer
The pancreas.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis revision questions
- What does Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis cover in Edexcel GCSE Biology?
- 9 subtopics: hormones, endocrine glands and homeostasis, the menstrual cycle and its hormones, hormonal and barrier contraception, homeostasis and thermoregulation, controlling blood glucose, and type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and body mass, the urinary system and the production of urea, the nephron, filtration and selective reabsorption and treating kidney failure: dialysis and transplants. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis organised?
- By the Edexcel 1BI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis, 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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