Biology
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Required practicals
AQA 8461 · Practical handbook
The GCSE Biology required practicals, distilled to the one idea each exam question hinges on.
Reading mode — read across, know each one cold.
| Required practical | The key point examiners want |
|---|---|
| RP1 Microscopy | Calculate magnification (image size / actual size); prepare a slide with a stain (e.g. iodine). |
| RP2 Microbiology (Biology only) | Effect of antiseptics/antibiotics on bacterial growth; aseptic technique; measure the zone of inhibition (clear area) = pi x radius2. |
| RP3 Osmosis (potato) | Percentage change in mass vs sugar concentration; the concentration where mass doesn't change = the cell's concentration. |
| RP4 Food tests | The four qualitative tests — reagent, colour change, control. |
| RP5 Enzymes | Effect of pH on amylase; use a buffer, sample onto iodine every 30 s, time to no blue-black (starch gone). |
| RP6 Photosynthesis | Rate vs light intensity (pondweed); inverse-square law (rate proportional to 1/distance2). |
| RP7 Reaction time | Ruler-drop test; distance → time; identify and control variables (caffeine, practice). |
| RP8 Plant responses (Biology only) | Effect of light/gravity on seedling growth (phototropism/gravitropism). |
| RP9 Field investigations | Quadrats for abundance, a transect for distribution; estimate population = (mean per quadrat / quadrat area) x total area. |
| RP10 Rate of decay (Biology only) | Effect of temperature on the rate of milk decay; measure the time for pH to change (lipase/microbes souring the milk). |
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