Pearson Edexcel
Edexcel GCSE Biology revision.
Ilmino organises GCSE Biology around the Edexcel GCSE Biology 1BI0 specification, so every topic, every required piece of practical work and every mark scheme a student sees belongs to the board they are actually sitting.
The exam, in short
How Edexcel examines GCSE Biology.
- Specification
- GCSE Biology (1BI0)
- Papers
- Two papers, each 1 hour 45 minutes, with the required practicals examined across both.
- Tiers
- Foundation and Higher. A student is entered for one tier, and the same tier is sat for every paper in the subject.
- First exam series
- Summer 2018
Spec aligned
Every topic on the Edexcel specification.
The question bank is grouped by this board's specification, not by a generic topic list, so a student works through the same headings their teacher and their revision guide use.
Cell biology
- Cell structure, animal and plant cells
- Cell division and mitosis
- Microscopy and magnification calculations
- Diffusion, osmosis and active transport
Organisation
- Tissues, organs and organ systems
- The digestive system and enzymes
- The heart and circulatory system
- Plant tissues and transport
Infection and response
- Pathogens and communicable disease
- The human immune system
- Vaccination and antibiotics
- Developing new drugs
Bioenergetics
- Photosynthesis and limiting factors
- Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
- Metabolism and exercise
Homeostasis and response
- The nervous system and reflexes
- The endocrine system and hormones
- Control of blood glucose and diabetes
- Hormones in human reproduction
Inheritance, variation and evolution
- DNA, genes and the genome
- Meiosis and inheritance patterns
- Variation, natural selection and evolution
- Genetic engineering and classification
Ecology
- Ecosystems, communities and competition
- Cycling of materials
- Biodiversity and human impact
- Sampling techniques in the field
Marking
How marking follows Edexcel.
Ilmino stores an examiner-style mark scheme for every question, written per board. An answer is marked against the wording Pearson Edexcel credits, not against a general idea of what is right.
- Each mark is awarded or withheld on its own, with the mark-scheme point it maps to shown beside the answer.
- Command words are read the way Edexcel uses them, so describe, explain, evaluate and calculate are each held to their own standard.
- The phrase an examiner is looking for has to appear. A right idea in the wrong words loses the mark here, exactly as it would in the exam.
- Handwritten working is photographed and marked line by line, so method marks survive an arithmetic slip.
- When a mark is lost, Lumi explains which mark-scheme point was missed and what would have earned it.
Other boards for GCSE Biology
Sitting a different board? The whole bank switches with your choice, and progress carries across because it is stored by skill.
Edexcel in other subjects
Questions
Edexcel GCSE Biology on Ilmino

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