ZNOTES.
ORG
UPDATED TO 2019 SYLLABUS
EDEXCEL IAL
BIOLOGY
SUMMARIZED NOTES ON THE UNIT 6 (WBI16) SYLLABUS
Prepared for Sreyanti Sreshtha for personal use only.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
nearest value of degrees of freedom] to accept or
reject the null hypothesis.
1. Exam Preparation 4. A question testing your complete knowledge of
planning an experiment. The first part may ask you to
detail preliminary practical work: finding suitable
1.1. Useful Information
temperature, pH, concentration, species, method,
In addition to the information needed for Unit 3, these are weather and conditions to experiment. The second
some things that may be useful to keep in mind: part is generally a 10-marker on planning the
investigation. Remember the independent and
Specialized apparatus you may use: dependent variables, use five different
concentrations/temperatures if they are being tested,
colorimeter repeat the experiment thrice, and any calculations
respirometer needed. The third part asks how the data should be
spirometer recorded, presented and analysed; you must draw a
quadrat table or graph [usually a histogram or scatter graph]
sweep net and state a suitable statistical test to analyse the data.
pooter The fourth part will ask about the limitations of your
hemocytometer proposed method, so consider what conditions cannot
photosynthometer be controlled and what your method cannot test.
spectrophotometer
Statistical tests: 2. Core Practical 10
1. Student’s t-test - compares the means of two groups. If
2.1. Investigating the effects of light
the calculated value>critical value, there is a
significant difference. intensity, light wavelength,
2. Spearman rank correlation coefficient - checks temperature and availability of carbon
whether there is a significant correlation between two
data sets. dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis
3. Chi-squared test
Variables:
For the tests, we generally use 0.05 degrees of freedom.
Independent- Light
1.2. Aseptic Technique intensity/wavelength/temperature/availability of CO2
Dependent-Volume of gas produced
1. Sterilising workbench with alcohol
2. Working next to the Bunsen burner [two on either Equipment:
side] to create airflow
eye protection
3. Sterilising/autoclaving equipment
4. Opening petri dishes of bacteria for the minimum pondweed pieces of the same age, size and species
amount of time possible beaker of water
5. Wearing gloves and goggles sodium hydrogencarbonate
aluminium foil, paperclip
spatula, ruler, thermometer, stop clock
1.3. Answering Questions light filters
photosynthometer
The last question will generally consist of 4 parts:
bench lamp
1. A 6-marker asking you to plan an experiment and a balance
few short questions on theory. State the independent water baths of water at five different temperatures
and dependent variables.
2. A general practical question involving both theory and
Procedure [for testing light intensity]
calculations.
Place a piece of pondweed of known length in a beaker of
3. A description of an experiment which tests your ability
water and remove bubbles by running a finger and thumb
to use statistical tests. You may be asked to state a
over its surface.
null hypothesis, calculate means, draw suitable tables
Cover one side of the beaker with aluminium foil, add half
and graphs, calculate values, and compare them to
a spatula of sodium hydrogencarbonate and leave for 5
critical values [remember to use 0.05 and round to the
minutes.
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
Position the bench lamp 10cm from the beaker and leave
to equilibrate for 5 minutes. Fill the photosynthometer’s
capillary tubing with water.
Place the funnel end in the beaker and position the
pondweed so its cut end is at the top of the funnel
opening. The paperclip can be attached to the other end
of the pondweed to help weigh it down.
Start the stop clock as oxygen bubbles begin to form.
After a suitable time, draw oxygen produced into the
capillary tubing using the syringe and record the volume
of gas produced.
Equipment:
This procedure can be modified and repeated using the other
equipment to test for the effect of light wavelength [using 0.25m2 or 1m2 quadrat with grid
light filters], temperature [using water baths] and availability 20m tape measure
of carbon dioxide on the rate of photosynthesis. identification guide, method of taking notes
light meter OR light sensor and datalogger
Observations and Analysis
Procedure:
Choose a suitable sampling site with an obvious gradient
in the abiotic factor being measured [e.g., from a shaded
area to an area in full sunlight]. Lay a 20m tape as a
transect line.
Choose a plant species to study, whether to measure
percentage cover or density and define a hypothesis and
null hypothesis. Record this information.
Lay the quadrat next to the 0m mark on the tape, record
the abundance of the chosen species and measure the
light intensity and ground level. Move the quadrat 2m
along the tap and repeat until ten measurements along
the transect have been made.
Repeat the above three steps using two more transects
running from a shaded area to an area in light or collate
Rate of Photosynthesis = volume of oxygen produced/time
class results.
taken.
Core Practical 11 Core Practical 12
2.3. Investigating the effects of
2.2. Carrying out a study of the ecology
temperature on the development of
of the habitat, such as using quadrats
organisms
and transects to determine the
distribution and abundance of ==If using brine shrimp==
organisms and measuring abiotic Equipment
factors appropriate to the habitat
brine shrimp egg cysts
2g sea salt
dechlorinated water
100cm3 measuring cylinder
six 250cm3 beakers
stirrer, waterproof marker, thermometer, forceps,
pipettes, graph paper
water baths [25,30,35 degrees Celsius] and refrigerators
[15, 20 degrees Celsius]
lamp
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
Procedure:
Procedure: Label the five Petri dishes with the temperatures
[15,20,25,30,35 degrees Celsius].
Label the five beakers with the temperatures Add a layer of cotton wool about 1cm thick to the bottom
[15,20,25,30,35 degrees Celsius]. of each dish, then add 20 evenly spread seeds and 30
Dissolve the salt in 100cm of dechlorinated water using cm3 of water to each.
the stirrer. Place each dish in the corresponding incubator or
By dampening graph paper and sprinkling eggs, count 40 refrigerator, leave for 24 hours and then add another
eggs and cut the piece around the eggs. 20cm3 of water to each dish. Check dishes every 24 hours
Place the paper face down into the first beaker and leave to ensure they do not dry out and add an equal volume of
for 2 minutes for the eggs to fall into the water. Repeat for water to all dishes as needed.
each beaker, then place each beaker in the corresponding After 5 days, observe the seeds and record the number
water bath or refrigerator. that have germinated in each temperature in a table.
Prepare another beaker by dissolving 2g of salt in 100
cm3 dechlorinated water.
To count the shrimp, place a lamp next to each beaker, Core Practical 13
remove the shrimp that swim towards the light using a
pipette and put them in the beaker, then record the
number of hatched brine shrimp at each temperature in a
2.4. Investigating the growth rate of
table. microorganisms in liquid culture,
Repeat counting the number of hatched shrimp daily for
three days.
considering the safe and ethical use of
After the experiment, treat the brine shrimp ethically by organisms
releasing them into a nearby water source such as a pond
or lake. Do not kill them. Equipment:
==If using seedlings:== eye protection
disinfectant
Equipment: paper towels, stirrer, cotton wool, aluminium foil
Bunsen burner
suitable seeds
colourimeter set to absorbance with the filter of
distilled water
wavelength 600 nm and cuvettes OR light sensor and
100cm3 measuring cylinder datalogger
Petri dishes
yeast cultured for 24 hours
cotton wool, marker, forceps, thermometers
sterile nutrient broth in a sterile culture vessel, a glass
incubators [25,30,35 degrees Celsius] and refrigerators
bottle of sterile broth
[15, 20 degrees Celsius]
six 5cm3 measuring cylinders and 1cm3 automatic
pipettes
Procedure:
Carry out aseptic techniques to disinfect the work area
and apparatus.
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
Produce a culture containing 250cm3 of 0.5% glucose incubator
solution and 1.25g of yeast stirred well with a magnetic
stirrer, loosely covered with a cotton wool stopper and Procedure:
incubated at room temperature.
If using a colourimeter: Follow aseptic methods to disinfect your workbench and
apparatus.
Fill a cuvette with the glucose culture medium and set the Label an agar plate with the date and the different
absorbance to zero. antibiotics.
When the yeast suspension has been mixed, transfer a Using the forceps, place each filter paper disc on the agar
3cm3 sample into a cuvette, measure the absorbance and some distance apart. Before picking up a new disc, hold
record it in a table along with the time. Return the culture the forceps to the Bunsen flame to sterilise.
to the stirrer. Cross-tape the Petri dish and incubate at 30 degrees
Repeat the above two steps five to eight times over the Celsius for 24 hours.
next 12 hours, taking them at 30-minute intervals after With the lid on, measure the diameter of inhibition zones
the first 2 hours. around the discs.
If using a light sensor and datalogger: Observations and analysis:
Place a light source and heat shield on one side of the
yeast culture and a light sensor on the opposite side.
Place a cardboard box with a cutout near the light source
over the flask and light sensor to prevent ambient light
from entering.
Connect the light sensor to a datalogger and leave it to
record continuously for 12 hours.
Observations and analysis
The initial density of cells in the culture can be found using
a haemocytometer or graph paper.
Stain the yeast suspension with a few drops of 0.1%
methylene blue, place one drop onto a microscope slide
using a pipette cover with a coverslip, and count yeast
cells within one field of view under the x40 objective.
The volume of one pipette drop = volume of 10 drops
divided by 10. Divide the area of the x40 field of view by Core Practical 15
the area of the coverslip, then multiply by the volume of
one drop to find the volume under one field of view.
The initial yeast population cell density can be found by 2.6. Using an artificial hydrogen carrier
dividing the average cell count in one field of view by the [redox indicator] to investigate
volume of that field of view.
If many cells overlap when viewed under the x40 respiration in yeast
objective, the yeast suspension must be diluted for
increased accuracy. Equipment:
eye protection
Core Practical 14 actively respiring yeast suspension
0.5% triphenyl tetrazolium chloride [TTC] solution
distilled water, five water baths, crushed ice
2.5. Investigating the effect of different graduated pipettes, 10 test tubes and a rack
antibiotics on bacteria glass rods, thermometer, stop clock
Equipment: Procedure:
eye protection Choose five different temperatures [e.g., 10,20,30,40,50
Petri dishes with agar seeded with a known bacterium degrees Celsius] and set each water bath to a different
Bunsen burner temperature, then leave for 5 minutes.
samples of different antibiotics on filter paper discs Using the pipette, place 10cm3 of the yeast suspension
forceps, adhesive tape, disinfectant, ruler into each of the 5 test tubes, then place each tube into
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
one water bath. stop the clock, thin marker pen
Add 1cm3 of TTC to each of 5 test tubes, then place each clamp and stand
tube into one water bath. Leave for 5 minutes to allow the pipette
solutions to equilibrate. balance
Pour the TTC solution into the test tube containing the
yeast suspension, stir with a glass rod, return to the water Procedure:
bath, and then start the stop clock.
Stop the clock when the solution turns red.
Set up the respirometer according to the diagram above
and place a known mass of the organism being tested into
the boiling tube of the respirometer, leaving the tap open.
Note the reading on the respirometer at the start of the
experiment.
Close the tap and start the stop clock.
Note the position of the fluid every 1 minute for 5 minutes.
Calculate the distance travelled by the fluid and record
the results in a table.
Observations and Analysis
Observations and analysis:
Temperature affects yeast's respiration rate because the
The respirometer measures the uptake of oxygen by
enzymes involved in respiration work best at their optimum
respiring organisms. The experiment can be repeated with
temperature. If the temperature is too high, enzymes may be
and without soda-lime and the difference in gas volume can
denatured; if the temperature is too low, the kinetic energy of
be calculated to obtain the volume of carbon dioxide, which
molecules decreases.
could be used to calculate RQ [respiratory quotient] using the
equation:
Core Practical 16
2.7. Using a simple respirometer to
determine the rate of respiration and
RQ of a suitable material, such as small Core Practical 17
invertebrates or germinating seeds
2.8. Investigating the effects of exercise
Equipment:
on tidal vol, breathing rate, etc., using
eye protection data from spirometer traces
respirometer
small live invertebrates [e.g.: woodlice, maggots] or Equipment:
actively respiring germinating seeds [e.g.: mung beans,
peas] spirometer
soda-lime kymograph
coloured manometer fluid disinfectant
spatula eye protection
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
soda-lime 3% sodium hypochlorite bleach
Muslin
Procedure: Small beakers, volumetric glassware and measuring
cylinders, marker pen
1. Fill the spirometer with oxygen, attach a disinfected Scalpel
mouthpiece and switch it to the “open” or “air” position. Forceps
2. A healthy volunteer must place a nose clip on their Tile
nose, the mouthpiece in their mouth and breathe Gibberellic acid 1gdm^-3 stock solution
normally for a few seconds to adjust to the apparatus. Distilled water
3. Turn on the kymograph, move the switch to the Petri dishes with starch agar adhesive tape to seal
“chamber” position, and allow the volunteer to breathe
normally for 30 seconds. Procedure [must be conducted over three days]
4. Switch the spirometer back to the “air” position and
switch off the kymograph. Day 1
5. Purge the chamber by returning the spirometer to the
“chamber” position, lifting the floating part and 1. Makeup 5 gibberellin solutions to the appropriate
allowing it to drop a few times. concentration, using a small volume of 5cm3 of each.
6. Refill the chamber with oxygen.
→ A stock solution 1gdm-3 will be provided, and the equation
7. Allow the volunteer to exercise for 60 seconds.
c1v1=c2v2 can be used.
8. After completing the exercise, the subject should put
in the mouthpiece and repeat step 3. 1. Collect suitable cereal grains [e.g., 10] and remove the
husks.
Observations and analysis: 2. Cut each seed in half horizontally and discard the half
containing the embryo [this will be the more pointed
half].
3. Sterilise the endosperm halves in 3% sodium
hypochlorite for 5 minutes, removing contaminants.
4. Wash the seeds several times and drain until no
sodium hypochlorite remains.
5. Place an equal number of seeds into each gibberellin
solution [e.g., 2 in each] and leave for 24 hours with
the tops of the beakers slightly open to allow oxygen
to enter.
Day 2:
1. Collect one sterile Petri dish containing starch agar for
each of your planned concentrations and label them
on the underside. Using sterile forceps, place a
number of seed halves onto the agar with the cut face
To calibrate the spirometer, use a gas syringe of a known down
volume. 2. Tape each lid with two pieces of tape and incubate for
Measure tidal volume, breathing rate, respiratory minute 24-48 hours
ventilation, and oxygen consumption from spirometer Day 3:
trace data.
1. Remove the Petri dishes from the incubator, and add
potassium iodide over the agar to stain it.
Core Practical 18 2. Measure the diameter of the clear zone around each
seed.
2.9. Investigating the production of 3. Record your observations in a suitable table.
amylase in germinating cereal grains Observations and analysis
Equipment:
Laboratory safety wear: Lab coats, eye goggles, latex
gloves
Cereal grains
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL BIOLOGY
At specific concentrations, Gibberellin stimulates the
production of amylase by the aleurone layer around the
endosperm. This hydrolyses starch to maltose. Iodine stains
only starch-containing areas blue-black.
WWW.ZNOTES.ORG Copyright © 2024 ZNotes Education & Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This document is authorised
for personal use only by Sreyanti Sreshtha at Homeschooled on 03/10/24.
EDEXCEL IAL
Biology
© ZNotes Education Ltd. & ZNotes Foundation 2024. All rights reserved.
This version was created by Sreyanti Sreshtha on 03/10/24 for strictly personal use only.
These notes have been created by Omar Hassan Alghothani for the 2019 syllabus
The document contains images and excerpts of text from educational resources available on the internet and
printed books. If you are the owner of such media, test or visual, utilized in this document and do not accept its
usage then we urge you to contact us and we would immediately replace said media.
No part of this document may be copied or re-uploaded to another website. Under no conditions may this
document be distributed under the name of false author(s) or sold for financial gain.
“ZNotes” and the ZNotes logo are trademarks of ZNotes Education Limited (registration UK00003478331).
