AS Course Outline

What is Biology? – diversity in the making
Biology is the study of life. At least a million and a half different kinds of living things share our planet and that means at least a million and a half ways of being alive. Many are so small that powerful microscopes are needed just to see them: there are more bacteria in your mouth than the number of people who have ever lived.

Studying Biology helps you to understand what unites these extraordinary life forms. It’s a study about structure and division of labour: different body parts working together to keep life ticking over – however brief, however long. It’s about understanding what fuels the processes of life and how life produces more life. And how can so much depend upon the tiny droplets of DNA found in our 50 trillion cells?

You will recognise a great deal of GCSE science in AS Biology, but the course concentrates much more on the workings of the body’s natural building-blocks: the cells. It explores how the whole body is a complex set of interacting cells, and that the workings of the cells are driven by the activity of molecules inside them. Only from this beginning can we really appreciate the functions of more familiar organs, such as a pumping heart or a solar-powered leaf.

The OCR AS specification gives you the opportunity to explore these – and other – issues, beginning as it does with a study of the lives of microscopic cells and the implications of disease, before moving on to a review of living biodiversity in all its brilliance.

What skills will students develop when studying Biology?
Biology is supported by experimental work. Students learn to collect reliable data, and learn to regard data – whether collected themselves or not – with a critical eye. Students are encouraged to search for patterns in what they see, and to recognise anomalies.

As well as developing numerical skills, Biology is a subject that demands good literary skills too. Students develop ways of articulating complex ideas in prose concisely and without ambiguity.

This means that Biology is not just for scientists! The skills acquired by studying Biology would be of great benefit in a variety of careers: teaching, journalism, finance, law, and many more.

Structure of the Course

This course will be taught for 6 lessons per week. Homework will be set weekly and deadlines must be adhered to. On some weeks one of the lessons will be used for practical work.

Recommended Reading
OCR AS Science: Biology Student Book Kennedy, P. et al. 2008. Heinemann ISBN: 9780435691806