Monday 06 February 2012
GCSE Science
 

GCSE Science is now offered as three separate GCSEs: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
 
Each subject consists of three units covering a variety of topics (Appendices 1 to 3) alongside a centre-assessed unit based on a practical investigation. The aim is to provide pupils with a broad range of topics to study with an emphasis on how science works and its role in society.
 
Assessment is in the form of three 45-minute papers (one for each unit) and a centre-assessed unit (practical investigation plus written paper). Each of the written papers and the centre-assessed unit account for 25% of the final grade.
 
Two tiers are available, depending on a pupil’s ability: Foundation (grades C – G) and Higher (grades A* – D). Since the same syllabus is taught for both tiers pupils are not committed to a particular tier at the start of S10.
 
It is anticipated that unit 1 of each subject will be examined at the end of S10, and units 2 and 3 will be examined in S11. Practical investigations will be carried out periodically over the course of the two years.
Appendix 1
 
Biology 1
 
·        How do human bodies respond to changes inside them and to their environment?
·        What can we do to keep our bodies healthy?
·        How do we use/abuse medical and recreational drugs?
·        What causes infectious disease and how can our bodies defend themselves against them?
·        What determines where particular species live and how many of them there are?
·        Why are individuals of the same species different from each other?
·        What new methods do we have for producing plants and animals with the characteristics we prefer?
 
Biology 2
 
·        What are animals and plants built from?
·        How do dissolved substances get into and out of cells?
·        How do plants obtain the food they need to live and grow?
·        What happens to energy and biomass at each stage in a food chain?
·        What happens to the waste material produced by plants and animals?
·        What are enzymes and what are some of their functions?
·        How do our bodies keep internal conditions constant?
·        Which human characteristics show a simple pattern of inheritance?
 
Biology 3
 
·        How do dissolved substances get into and out of animals and plants?
·        How are dissolved materials transported around the body?
·        How does exercise affect the exchanges taking place within the body?
·        How do exchanges in the kidney help us to maintain the internal environment in mammals and how has biology helped us to treat kidney disease?
·        How are microorganisms used to make food and drink?
·        What other useful substances can we make using microorganisms?
·        How can we be sure we are using microorganisms safely?
 
 
Appendix 2
 
Chemistry 1
 
·        How do rocks provide building materials?
·        How do rocks provide metals and how are metals used?
·        How do we get fuels from crude oil?
·        How are polymers and ethanol made from oil?
·        How can plant oils be used?
·        What are the changes in the Earth and its atmosphere?
·        Why have some species of plants and animals died out?
·        How do new species of plants and animals develop?
·        How do humans affect the environment?
 
 
Chemistry 2
 
·        How do sub-atomic particles help us to understand the structure of substances?
·        How do structures influence the properties and uses of substances?
·        How much can we make and how much do we need to use?
·        How can we control the rates of chemical reactions?
·        Do chemical reactions always release energy?
·        How can we use ions in solutions?
 
 
Chemistry 3
 
·        How was the periodic table developed and how can it help us understand the reactions of elements?
·        What are strong and weak acids and alkalis?
·        How can we find the amounts of acids and alkalis in solutions?
·        What is in the water we drink?
·        How much energy is involved in chemical reactions?
·        How do we identify and analyse substances?
 
Appendix 3
 
Physics 1
 
·        How is heat (thermal energy) transferred and what factors affect the rate at which heat is transferred?
·        What is meant by the efficient use of energy?
·        Why are electrical devices so useful?
·        How should we generate the electricity we need?
·        What are the uses and hazards of the waves that form the electromagnetic spectrum?
·        What are the uses and dangers of emissions from radioactive substances?
·        What do we know about the Universe and how it continues to change?
 
 
Physics 2
 
·        How can we describe the way things move?
·        How do we make things speed up or slow down?
·        What happens to the movement energy when things speed up or slow down?
·        What is momentum?
·        What is static electricity, how can it be used and what is the connection between static electricity and electric currents?
·        What does the current through an electrical circuit depend on?
·        What is mains electricity and how can it be used safely?
·        Why do we need to know the power of electrical appliances?
·        What happens to radioactive substances when they decay?
·        What are nuclear fission and nuclear fusion?
 
 
Physics 3
 
·        How do forces have a turning effect?
·        What keeps bodies moving in a circle?
·        What provides the centripetal force for planets and satellites?
·        What do mirrors and lenses do to light?
·        What is sound?
·        What is ultrasound and how can it be used?
·        How can electricity be used to make things move?
·        How do generators work?
·        How do transformers work?
·        What is the life history of stars?