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
Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines
- 12 subtopics
- 36 things to know
- Paper 1
What Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines covers
Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines is examined in Paper 1, Biology 1. It covers health and susceptibility, pathogens and the diseases they cause, how infections spread and the virus life cycle, sexually transmitted infections, physical and chemical plant defences, the body's barriers, the immune system, immunisation and herd immunity, antibiotics and developing new medicines, aseptic technique and testing antibiotics on cultures, lifestyle and non-communicable disease, and treating cardiovascular disease.
Where it is assessed
Paper 1
Biology 1: 1 hour 45 minutes, 100 marks, 50% of the GCSE.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 12 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Health, disease and susceptibilityThe World Health Organization definition of health as physical, mental and social well-being, communicable and non-communicable diseases and examples of each, pathogens, susceptibility, and how HIV, human papilloma virus, malnutrition and lung damage make other diseases more likely.Open →
- Pathogens and common infectionsPathogens and the four types, how viruses, bacteria, fungi and protists cause disease, and the pathogen, symptoms and damage of cholera, tuberculosis, Chalara ash dieback, malaria, HIV and AIDS, Helicobacter stomach ulcers and Ebola haemorrhagic fever.Open →
- How pathogens spread, and the virus life cycleHow cholera, tuberculosis, Chalara ash dieback, malaria, Helicobacter and Ebola are spread and how their spread is reduced, mosquitoes as vectors, and the virus life cycle, from attachment through the lytic and lysogenic pathways to proviruses and the switch between pathways.Open →
- Sexually transmitted infectionsSexually transmitted infections, Chlamydia as a bacterial infection often passed on unnoticed and its effect on fertility, how HIV is passed on in body fluids, how condoms, screening and clean needles reduce spread, and why antibiotics cure Chlamydia but not HIV.Open →
- How plants defend themselvesPhysical plant defences such as the waxy cuticle, cellulose cell wall, bark and layers of dead cells, how they differ from chemical defences, poisons and antibacterial chemicals that deter pests and pathogens, and plant chemicals such as quinine, salicylic acid and caffeine and why they are useful in medicine.Open →
- Physical barriers and chemical defencesThe skin as a physical barrier, mucus and cilia in the airways and why smokers get more chest infections, lysozymes in tears and saliva, hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and how a cut in the skin raises the risk of infection.Open →
- The immune system, immunisation and herd immunityAntigens, lymphocytes and why each antibody works against only one pathogen, memory lymphocytes and the primary and secondary responses, vaccines, boosters and yearly influenza vaccines, herd immunity, and the advantages, disadvantages and savings of immunisation programmes.Open →
- Antibiotics and developing new medicinesWhy antibiotics treat bacterial but not viral infections, the discovery, development, preclinical and clinical testing of new medicines, low doses and placebos, peer review and publishing trial results for scientists and the public, and calculating clear zone areas with πr² to compare new antibiotics.Open →
- Aseptic technique in culturing microorganismsAseptic technique, sterilising growth medium and Petri dishes in an autoclave, flaming and cooling the inoculating loop, keeping cultures covered and taping lids, and why school cultures are incubated at 25 °C.Open →
- Testing antiseptics and antibiotics on bacterial culturesSpreading bacteria on agar and placing antiseptic or antibiotic discs, measuring clear zones and what they show, controls, variables and sources of error, incubating plates upside down, and calculating clear zone areas and the percentage of a plate that is clear with πr².Open →
- Lifestyle factors and non-communicable diseaseNon-communicable diseases caused by interacting factors, lung, liver and nutrition-related diseases, correlation and cause, calculating body mass index and waist:hip ratio, obesity and malnutrition, and how alcohol damages the liver and smoking and carbon monoxide raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.Open →
- Treatments for cardiovascular diseaseStatins, anticoagulants, stents, coronary bypass operations, lifestyle change and heart transplants as treatments for cardiovascular disease, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and when lifestyle change alone is not enough.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Explain how one disease or a poor diet can increase a person's susceptibility to other diseases.
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Describe the physical barriers that keep pathogens out of the body and why smoking weakens one of those barriers.
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Give two sources of error when measuring clear zones.
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What is a pathogen?
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How is cholera spread?
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What is a sexually transmitted infection?
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Name two physical barriers that protect a plant from pathogens.
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Which type of pathogen can antibiotics treat?
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What is meant by aseptic technique?
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Explain what is meant by saying a non-communicable disease is caused by interacting factors.
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Name one medicine taken for life to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, and state what it does.
Key term
How is health defined by the World Health Organization?
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Name the four types of pathogen.
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Describe two ways the spread of cholera can be reduced.
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Explain why Chlamydia is often passed on without the infected person realising.
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Explain how the cell wall protects a plant cell from a pathogen.
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Describe how the skin protects the body from pathogens.
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What is an antigen?
Process
Name one process in a bacterium that an antibiotic can inhibit.
Key term
What is an autoclave used for?
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Describe how bacteria are spread over an agar plate when investigating the effect of antiseptics.
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Give four groups of non-communicable disease.
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Describe what a stent does.
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State the three kinds of well-being included in the definition of health.
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Explain why a virus can only reproduce inside a living cell.
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Explain how the spread of tuberculosis can be reduced.
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Describe two ways the spread of Chlamydia can be reduced.
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Explain why damage to the bark of a tree increases the chance of infection.
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Explain how mucus in the airways protects the lungs.
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Which cells produce antibodies?
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Explain why antibiotics cannot be used to treat a cold.
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Explain why growth medium must be sterilised before it is used.
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Describe how different antiseptics are applied to a seeded agar plate.
Key term
Name one non-communicable disease strongly influenced by nutrition.
Key term
Describe what happens in a coronary bypass operation.
Take Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Communicable disease vs Non-communicable disease
Communicable disease: illness caused by a pathogen that passes between organisms. Non-communicable disease: illness with interacting causes that cannot pass between people.
Antigen vs Antibody
Antigen: molecule on a pathogen's surface recognised as foreign. Antibody: protein made by lymphocytes that binds one specific pathogen marker.
Lytic pathway vs Lysogenic pathway
Lytic pathway: viral genes take over the cell and new viruses burst it open. Lysogenic pathway: viral genes inserted into host DNA and copied without new particles.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
How is health defined by the World Health Organization?
Model answer
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not simply the absence of disease or infirmity.
- 2
State the three kinds of well-being included in the definition of health.
Model answer
Physical, mental and social well-being.
- 3
Explain why a person with no diagnosed illness might still not be considered healthy.
Model answer
Health also requires mental and social well-being, so someone free of disease can be unhealthy if either of these is poor.
- 4
Describe what is meant by mental well-being.
Model answer
Mental well-being means a person is free from mental illness and feels able to cope with the ordinary demands of life.
- 5
Suggest how a physically fit person could still have poor social well-being.
Model answer
They may be isolated or have poor relationships with the people around them.
- 6
Name the organisation whose definition of health includes physical, mental and social well-being.
Model answer
The World Health Organization.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines revision questions
- What does Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines cover in Edexcel GCSE Biology?
- 12 subtopics: health, disease and susceptibility, pathogens and common infections, how pathogens spread, and the virus life cycle, sexually transmitted infections, how plants defend themselves, physical barriers and chemical defences, the immune system, immunisation and herd immunity, antibiotics and developing new medicines, aseptic technique in culturing microorganisms, testing antiseptics and antibiotics on bacterial cultures, lifestyle factors and non-communicable disease and treatments for cardiovascular disease. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines organised?
- By the Edexcel 1BI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines, 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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