Welcome to the Biology Dept.

Members of staff: Mr. R. Weir, Mr. T. Ramsey, Miss. C. Craig, Mrs A Jones

Pupils went on a field trip to Dynamic Earth to examine amongst other things the effects of global warming, pollution and the environment

Edinburgh University Workshop

Biotechnology - Elisa techniques used to detect "viruses" in a sample of body fluids (saliva)

Standard Grade Biology

Sunday Herald Exam Advice

General & Credit Level

What you will study:

Biology is the study of living things. The Standard Grade Biology course aims to help you understand yourself and the natural world in which you live. There are seven topics in this course.

You will study cells, plant growth, genes and heredity; and the processes necessary for animal survival and for your body to be active.

You will study how living things depend on each other and their environment and how living things, including humans affect their environment.

You will study biotechnology, a fast developing area of Biology in which microbes are used by humans to make useful substances and to get rid of waste.

How you will study

You will do a lot of work in your two -year course, sometimes at your own pace and sometimes in a small group, sometimes with your whole class.

You will learn a lot of practical techniques, perform experiments, use microscopes and gather results with the help of computer interfacing.

You will learn using workcards, books, models and video material, so that you can make notes for further study.

You will have to do regular homework, going over important work and practising the skills needed for your final examination.

Your Biology teacher will help you to keep up to date with these activities.

How you will be assessed

There are three elements in Standard Grade Biology:

Knowledge and Understanding ( KU)

Problem Solving (PS)

Practical Abilities (PA)

KU & PS will be tested at the end of each topic. They are tested in May of S4 in written examinations set by the Scottish Examination Board

PA are assessed within the school throughout the course. You will be asked to show that you can carry out different techniques and you will carry out practical investigaions.

Content Outline:

The grid below shows the topics which make up the standard grade Biology course and the time which will be spent on each topic.

Topic	Sub - Topic	Summary of Content
Investigating cells S3 August	Investigating living cells	Structural similarities and differences between plant and animals cells
Animal Survival S3, September- November	The need for food	Nature of food, requirements for major types, food, ingestion, digestion and absorption in a mammal
	Reproduction	Mating and fertilisation in fish and mammals, reproductive organs in mammals, protection of the embryo, care of the young
	Water and Waste	Need for maintaining internal water balance, removal of waste, functioning of the kidney, application to maintenance of human health
	Responding to the environment	Effect of the environmental factors on behaviour
The Body in Action S3, December- February	Movement	The relationship of muscles, skeleton and associated structures in the performance of physical activates
	The need for Energy	The contribution of the respiratory and circulatory systems to providing energy for the muscular activity
	Co-ordination	Receiving and processing information in the co-ordination of movement responses.
	Changing levels of performance	Some effects of repeated physical activity.
The World of Plants S3, March- May	Introducing plants	Variety, use, commercial exploitation, need for maintaining variety in plants.
	Growing plants	Growing plants, germination, sexual reproduction, asexual reproduction
	Making food	Photosynthesis, gas exchange, transport.
Investigating Cells S3, June- S4, October	Investigating diffusion	Diffusion, osmosis
	Investigating cell division	Mitosis
	Investigating Enzymes	Catalyst, enzymes, effect of temperature / pH on enzyme action: breakdown and synthesis by enzymes
	Investigating aerobic respiration	Aerobic respiration
Biotechnology S4, November- December	Living factories	Fermentation and it's products
	Problems and profit with waste	Decomposition and upgrading of waste
	Reprogramming microbes	Application of genetic engineering
The Biosphere S4, January- February	Investigating an ecosystem	Sampling and other measurement techniques applied to the investigation of an ecosystem
	How it works	Components of an ecosystem, energy flow, population growth, controlling factors
	Control and management	Intervention in the natural balance of an ecosystem; using understanding to manage ecosystems
Inheritance S4, March- April	Variation	The species, variation and survival value
	What is inheritance?	Particulate nature of inheritance (genes), patterns of inheritance and use of organisms; fertilisation and chromosome numbers; sex determination
	Genetics and society	Detection of genetic abnormalities; breeding of selected plants and animals; mutations

Assessment

At the end of each full topic, knowledge and understanding (KU) and Problem Solving (PS) will be tested at General Level and at Credit Level.
S4 class tests will be held in November, covering the first four topics, with a 45 minute paper for each of the General Level and Credit Level.
Estimate Grade Examinations at General Level and Credit Level (1 1/2 hours for each paper) will be held in January of S4. These will test the first five topics.
Practical Abilities (PA) are assessed in two ways and as follows:

Practical Techniques (ten in total) will be tested at suitable points throughout the course>
Practical Investigations ( a minimum of two) will be carried out at suitable points between June of S3 and January of S4.

In the overall grade for the course, the weighting for KU, PS and PA is 2:2:1

The Human Body

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