Combined Science

4.1 Cell biology

• Active transport
• Animal and plant cell sub-cellular structures
• Cell differentiation
• Cell specialisation
• Chromosomes and genes
• Diffusion and factors affecting it
• Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
• Magnification calculations
• Microscopy: light vs electron microscopesHigher
• Mitosis and the cell cycle
• Osmosis
• Required practical 1: light microscopy of plant and animal cells
• Required practical 2: osmosis in plant tissue
• Stem cells and therapeutic cloning
• Surface area to volume ratio and exchange surfaces

4.2 Organisation

• Bile and fat digestion
• Blood components and their functions
• Cancer: benign and malignant tumours
• Coronary heart disease
• Digestive enzymes: amylase, protease, lipase
• Health and disease interactions
• Lifestyle risk factors for non-communicable diseases
• Plant organ system: transpiration and translocation
• Plant tissues
• Principles of organisation: cells, tissues, organs, systems
• Required practical 3: food tests
• Required practical 4: effect of pH on amylase
• The heart and blood vessels
• The human digestive system and enzymes
• The lungs and gas exchange

4.3 Infection and response

• Antibiotics and painkillers
• Bacterial diseases: Salmonella and gonorrhoea
• Communicable diseases overview
• Discovery and development of drugs
• Fungal disease: rose black spot
• Human defence systems
• Protist disease: malaria
• Vaccination and herd immunity
• Viral diseases: measles, HIV, TMV
• White blood cells: phagocytosis, antibodies, antitoxins

4.4 Bioenergetics

• Aerobic and anaerobic respiration
• Metabolism overview
• Photosynthesis equation
• Rate of photosynthesis and limiting factors
• Required practical 5: rate of photosynthesis with pondweed
• Response to exercise and oxygen debt
• Uses of glucose from photosynthesis

4.5 Homeostasis and response

• Contraception: hormonal and non-hormonal
• Control of blood glucose and diabetes
• Homeostasis principle
• Hormones in human reproduction
• IVF and fertility treatment (HT only)
• Negative feedback: thyroxine and adrenaline (HT only)
• Required practical 6: human reaction time
• The human endocrine system
• The human nervous system and reflex arc

4.6 Inheritance, variation and evolution

• Antibiotic resistant bacteria (MRSA)
• Classification of living organisms
• DNA structure and the genome
• Evidence for evolution: fossils and antibiotic resistance
• Evolution by natural selection
• Extinction
• Fossils and the fossil record
• Genetic engineering and GM crops
• Genetic inheritance: alleles, genotype, phenotype
• Inherited disorders: polydactyly and cystic fibrosis
• Meiosis
• Selective breeding
• Sex determination
• Sexual vs asexual reproduction
• Variation and mutations

4.7 Ecology

• Abiotic factors affecting communities
• Adaptations: structural, behavioural, functional
• Biodiversity
• Biotic factors affecting communities
• Carbon and water cycles
• Communities, interdependence and competition
• Deforestation
• Food chains and predator-prey cycles
• Global warming
• Land use and peat bogs
• Maintaining biodiversity
• Required practical 7: population sampling with quadrats
• Waste management and pollution

5.1 Atomic structure and the periodic table

• Atoms, elements and compounds
• Development of the model of the atom
• Development of the periodic table
• Electronic structure of first 20 elements
• Group 0: noble gases
• Group 1: alkali metals
• Group 7: halogens
• Metals and non-metals
• Mixtures and separation techniques
• Periodic table arrangement
• Relative atomic mass
• Size and mass of atoms; isotopes
• Subatomic particles and atomic number

5.2 Bonding

• Covalent bonding
• Diamond
• Giant covalent structures
• Graphene, fullerenes and carbon nanotubes
• Graphite
• Ionic bonding and dot-and-cross diagrams
• Ionic compounds and giant lattices
• Metallic bonding
• Metals as conductors
• Polymers
• Properties of ionic compounds
• Properties of metals and alloys
• Properties of small moleculesHigher
• State symbols in chemical equations
• Three states of matter and particle theoryHigher
• Three types of chemical bonds

5.3 Quantitative chemistry

• Amounts of substances in equations (HT only)
• Chemical measurements and uncertainty
• Concentration of solutions
• Conservation of mass and balanced equations
• Limiting reactants (HT only)
• Mass changes when reactant or product is a gas
• Moles and the Avogadro constant (HT only)
• Relative formula mass
• Using moles to balance equations (HT only)

5.4 Chemical changes

• Electrolysis of aqueous solutions
• Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds
• Electrolysis to extract metals (aluminium)
• Extraction of metals using carbon
• Half equations at electrodes (HT only)
• Metal oxides and oxidation
• Neutralisation of acids and salt production
• Oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons (HT only)
• Process of electrolysis
• Reactions of acids with metals
• Required practical 8: preparation of a soluble salt
• Required practical 9: electrolysis of aqueous solutions
• Soluble salts preparation
• Strong vs weak acids (HT only)
• The pH scale and neutralisation
• The reactivity series

5.5 Energy changes

• Bond energies and energy change of reactions (HT only)
• Exothermic and endothermic reactions
• Reaction profiles and activation energy
• Required practical 10: temperature changes in reactions

5.6 Rate and extent

• Calculating rate of reaction
• Catalysts
• Collision theory
• Effect of concentration on equilibrium (HT only)
• Effect of pressure on equilibrium (HT only)
• Effect of temperature on equilibrium (HT only)
• Energy changes in reversible reactions
• Equilibrium
• Factors affecting rate of reaction
• Le Chatelier's principle (HT only)
• Required practical 11: rates of reaction
• Reversible reactions

5.7 Organic chemistry

• Cracking and alkenes
• Crude oil, hydrocarbons and alkanes
• Fractional distillation and petrochemicals
• Properties of hydrocarbons and combustion

5.8 Chemical analysis

• Chromatography and Rf values
• Pure substances and formulations
• Required practical 12: paper chromatography and Rf
• Tests for hydrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and chlorine

5.9 Chemistry of the atmosphere

• Atmospheric pollutants from fuels
• Carbon footprint and reduction
• Composition of today's atmosphere
• Global climate change
• Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect
• How carbon dioxide decreased
• How oxygen increased
• Human activities and greenhouse gas emissions
• Properties and effects of atmospheric pollutants
• The Earth's early atmosphere

5.10 Using resources

• Life cycle assessment
• Phytomining and bioleaching (HT only)
• Potable water
• Reduce, reuse and recycle
• Required practical 13: water analysis and purification
• Using Earth's resources sustainably
• Waste water treatment

6.1 Energy

• Efficiency
• Energy conservation and dissipation
• Energy stores and systems
• Kinetic, gravitational potential and elastic potential energy
• National and global energy resources
• Power
• Required practical 14: specific heat capacity
• Specific heat capacity

6.2 Electricity

• Current, resistance and potential difference
• Direct and alternating potential difference
• Electrical charge and current
• Energy transfers in everyday appliances
• Mains electricity and three-core cable
• Ohmic conductors and non-ohmic components
• Parallel circuits
• Power equations P = VI and P = I^2 R
• Required practical 15: factors affecting resistance
• Required practical 16: I-V characteristics
• Series circuits
• Standard circuit symbols and circuit diagrams
• The National Grid and transformers

6.3 Particle model of matter

• Changes of state and conservation of mass
• Density of materials
• Internal energy
• Particle motion in gases and pressure
• Required practical 17: density of solids and liquids
• Specific latent heat

6.4 Atomic structure

• Development of the model of the atom (physics view)
• Half-life and the random nature of decay
• Mass number, atomic number and isotopes
• Nuclear equations
• Radioactive contamination vs irradiation
• Radioactive decay and types of nuclear radiation
• The structure of an atom

6.5 Forces

• Acceleration and v^2 - u^2 = 2as
• Conservation of momentum (HT only)
• Contact and non-contact forces
• Distance and displacement
• Distance-time graphs
• Factors affecting braking distance
• Forces and elasticity (Hooke's law)
• Gravity, weight and centre of mass
• Momentum (HT only)
• Newton's First Law
• Newton's Second Law
• Newton's Third Law
• Reaction time and influences
• Required practical 18: force and extension for a spring
• Required practical 19: F = m a investigation
• Resultant forces and free body diagrams
• Scalar and vector quantities
• Speed and typical values
• Stopping distance, thinking distance and braking distance
• Velocity
• Work done and energy transfer

6.6 Waves

• Electromagnetic spectrum
• Hazards of UV, X-rays and gamma rays
• Properties of waves and the wave equation
• Radio waves and atomic origins of EM waves (HT only)
• Refraction of EM waves (HT only)
• Required practical 20: speed of waves in ripple tank and solid
• Required practical 21: infrared absorption and emission
• Transverse and longitudinal waves
• Uses of electromagnetic waves

6.7 Magnetism and electromagnetism

• Electric motors (HT only)
• Electromagnetism and the solenoid
• Fleming's left-hand rule and the motor effect (HT only)
• Magnetic fields and compasses
• Permanent and induced magnets