Every GCSE topic on the map
The full list behind the GCSE map: every Year 10 and Year 11 topic in Maths and Combined Science, with the specification section it was written from, its tier, and what it builds on. Written against AQA GCSE Mathematics (8300) and AQA GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464); AQA has not reviewed or approved it.
Maths 90 topics
Year 10
Simultaneous equations
Two unknowns, two equations, one consistent story. Read the full explainer →
Written against: AQA 8300 A19 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Solving two-step linear equations — “Two-step fluency before two equations at once.” · Linear graphs y = mx + c
Calculating in standard form
Multiply and divide numbers in standard form using the index laws.
Written against: AQA 8300 N9 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Laws of indices — “Multiplying the powers of ten uses the index laws.” · Standard form: large numbers — “You can't calculate in a form you can't read.”
Recurring decimals
Some fractions become decimals that repeat forever — recognise them and write them with dot notation.
Written against: AQA 8300 N10 · Higher only
Builds on: Fractions ↔ decimals ↔ % — “You need the fraction–decimal bridge before asking which decimals repeat.”
Estimating roots
Trap a square root between two whole numbers — √50 lies between 7 and 8.
Written against: AQA 8300 N6 · Higher only
Builds on: Squares, cubes & roots — “You can't trap √50 between squares you don't know.”
Parallel lines on graphs
Lines with the same gradient never meet — recognise parallel lines from their equations.
Written against: AQA 8300 A9 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Linear graphs y = mx + c — “Parallel is a claim about gradients — read them first.”
Fractional enlargements
Enlarge by a factor like ½ — the image shrinks, but it's still called an enlargement.
Written against: AQA 8300 G7 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Scale factors as multipliers — “A factor of ½ only surprises you until multipliers don't.” · Enlarging shapes — “Whole-number factors first; fractions bend the intuition.”
Plans & elevations
Draw a solid from the front, the side and above — three flat views that pin down one 3D shape.
Written against: AQA 8300 G13 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Nets of 3D shapes — “Nets flatten surfaces; elevations flatten views.” · Naming 3D solids
Independent events
One event happening tells you nothing about the other — coins have no memory.
Written against: AQA 8300 P8 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Probabilities sum to 1 — “Independence talk needs sure-footed single-event probability.” · Theory versus experiment
Line of best fit
Draw one straight line through the middle of a scatter cloud, then use it to predict — carefully.
Written against: AQA 8300 S6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Scatter graphs & correlation — “The line summarises a cloud you can already read.”
Correlation is not causation
Ice cream sales and drownings rise together — the correlation is real, the cause is the summer.
Written against: AQA 8300 S6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Scatter graphs & correlation — “First see the pattern, then question its story.”
Quadratic expressions
Expand and factorise with x² — the next algebra.
Written against: AQA 8300 A4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Collecting like terms — “Like terms keep x² tidy.” · Multiplying & dividing negatives — “Sign slips are where double brackets die.” · Expanding and simplifying — “Expand-and-collect is the whole of double brackets.” · Graphs of quadratics
Trigonometry first steps
Sine, cosine and tangent as ratios in right-angled triangles.
Written against: AQA 8300 R12 · AQA 8300 G20 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pythagoras: the hypotenuse · Ratio & proportion problems · Angles in polygons — “Trig lives inside triangles’ angle facts.”
Error intervals
A rounded number hides a range — write the interval of values it could have been.
Written against: AQA 8300 N15 · AQA 8300 N16 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Significant figures — “The interval's width is set by the rounding you applied.”
Fractional indices
A power of ½ means square root — indices and roots turn out to be one system.
Written against: AQA 8300 N7 · Higher only
Builds on: Squares, cubes & roots · Negative & zero indices — “Half-powers extend the same pattern past zero and the negatives.”
Function notation f(x)
Write rules as f(x) = 3x + 2 and read f(5) as 'feed in 5' — tidier packaging for machines you know.
Written against: AQA 8300 A7 · Higher only
Builds on: Substituting into expressions — “f(3) is substitution with tidier packaging.” · Function machines
Rearranging multi-step formulae
Change the subject when it appears in several steps — brackets, fractions and all.
Written against: AQA 8300 A5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Unknowns on both sides · Rearranging simple formulae — “Two-step subjects before tangled ones.”
Quadratic sequences
Sequences whose differences change steadily — the n² family, one peek ahead.
Written against: AQA 8300 A24 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Recognising special sequences · nth term of linear sequences — “Linear nth terms first — the difference of differences comes next.”
Proportion formulae
Write y = kx or y = k/x from a description, find k, and use the formula.
Written against: AQA 8300 R13 · Higher only
Builds on: Direct proportion y = kx — “y = kx must mean something before you write it down.” · Inverse proportion — “Half the formulae here are the inverse kind.” · Rearranging simple formulae
Arcs & sectors
A slice of circle: the angle tells you what fraction of the circumference and area you keep.
Written against: AQA 8300 G18 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Circumference of a circle — “An arc is a fraction of a circumference you can already find.” · Area of a circle — “A sector is a fraction of an area you can already find.” · Fractions of amounts
Column vectors
Write a slide as a column vector — across and up in one bracket.
Written against: AQA 8300 G24 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Translating shapes — “Column vectors formalise the slides you've been doing.” · Coordinates in four quadrants
Sampling & bias
You can't ask everyone — how you choose who to ask decides what your data is worth.
Written against: AQA 8300 S1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Experimental probability · The data-handling cycle — “Sampling is the collect step, interrogated.”
Frequency polygons
Join the midpoints of grouped data — a line that lets two distributions share one grid. Read the full explainer →
Written against: AQA 8300 S4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Line graphs over time · Grouped frequency tables — “No classes, no midpoints to join.”
Quartiles & interquartile range
Cut the ordered data into quarters — the middle half's width is a spread outliers can't wreck. Read the full explainer →
Written against: AQA 8300 S4 · Higher only
Builds on: Outliers & their effect · Averages & range — “Quartiles slice the ordered list the median already cut.”
The product rule for counting
Work out how many combinations there are by multiplying the number of choices at each stage instead of listing them.
Written against: AQA 8300 N5 · Higher only
Builds on: Listing outcomes systematically · Sample space diagrams
Equations and identities
Tell an equation (true for some values) from an identity (true for every value), and use the identity sign.
Written against: AQA 8300 A3 · AQA 8300 A6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Term, expression, equation, formula · Expanding and simplifying
Showing expressions are equivalent
Use algebra to show that two expressions are the same and to back up a mathematical argument.
Written against: AQA 8300 A6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Expanding and simplifying · Writing expressions from words
Finding the equation of a line
Find the equation of a line from two points, or from one point and the gradient.
Written against: AQA 8300 A9 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Finding a line's equation · Gradient as a rate
Reading a quadratic graph
Read the roots, the intercepts and the turning point from the graph of a quadratic.
Written against: AQA 8300 A11 · AQA 8300 A18 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Graphs of quadratics · Solving equations with graphs
Cubic and reciprocal graphs
Recognise, sketch and read simple cubic graphs and the graph of y = 1/x, including in real contexts.
Written against: AQA 8300 A12 · AQA 8300 A14 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Graphs of quadratics · Inverse proportion graphs · Substituting negatives & squares
Exponential graphs
Recognise, sketch and read graphs of the form y = k to the power x, including in real contexts.
Written against: AQA 8300 A12 · AQA 8300 A14 · Higher only
Builds on: Geometric sequences · Negative & zero indices · Percentage multipliers
Gradient of a curve
Estimate the gradient at a point on a curve by drawing a tangent, and say what it means, for example as a speed.
Written against: AQA 8300 A15 · AQA 8300 R15 · Higher only
Builds on: Gradient as a rate · Real-life graphs · Graphs of quadratics
Area under a graph
Estimate the area under a graph and say what it means, for example as a distance.
Written against: AQA 8300 A15 · Higher only
Builds on: Area of a trapezium · Real-life graphs · Speed, distance, time
Equation of a circle
Recognise and use the equation of a circle centred on the origin.
Written against: AQA 8300 A16 · Higher only
Builds on: Pythagoras: the hypotenuse · Coordinates in four quadrants
Iteration
Find an approximate solution to an equation by repeating a calculation, feeding each answer back in.
Written against: AQA 8300 A20 · AQA 8300 R16 · Higher only
Builds on: Substituting into expressions · Term-to-term sequences · Calculator fluency
Inequalities on a graph
Show the region of a graph that satisfies one or more inequalities in two variables.
Written against: AQA 8300 A22 · Higher only
Builds on: Solving linear inequalities · Plotting lines from tables · Horizontal & vertical lines
Fibonacci-type sequences
Recognise and use sequences where each term is the sum of the two before it.
Written against: AQA 8300 A24 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Term-to-term sequences · Building equations from problems
Simple interest and money maths
Work out simple interest and handle everyday financial calculations, with the vocabulary from N2b.
Written against: AQA 8300 N2 · AQA 8300 R9 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Percentages of amounts · Percentage increase & decrease
Density and pressure
Use density and pressure as compound measures, and convert their units.
Written against: AQA 8300 R1 · AQA 8300 R11 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Density as a rate · Speed, distance, time · Converting area & volume units · Calculating density (PHYS)
More constructions
Construct a perpendicular to a line from or at a point and an angle of 60 degrees, and know that the perpendicular is the shortest route from a point to a line.
Written against: AQA 8300 G2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Constructing bisectors · Constructing triangles
Loci
Find and draw the set of points that obey a rule, such as being the same distance from two points.
Written against: AQA 8300 G2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Constructing bisectors · Parts of a circle · Simple scale drawings
Geometric proof
Use angle facts, congruence, similarity and quadrilateral properties to prove results about angles and sides.
Written against: AQA 8300 G6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Geometric reasoning chains · Congruence criteria · Similar shapes
Circle theorems: angles
Use the theorems about angles at the centre, in a semicircle, in the same segment and in a cyclic quadrilateral.
Written against: AQA 8300 G10 · Higher only
Builds on: Parts of a circle · Special triangles · Geometric reasoning chains
Volume of pyramids, cones and spheres
Find the volume of a pyramid, a cone and a sphere.
Written against: AQA 8300 G17 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Volume of cylinders · Volume of prisms · Substituting into formulae
Surface area of pyramids, cones and spheres
Find the surface area of a pyramid, a cone and a sphere.
Written against: AQA 8300 G17 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Surface area of cylinders · Surface area of prisms · Pythagoras: the hypotenuse
Similar shapes: areas and volumes
Use the fact that areas scale by the square, and volumes by the cube, of the length scale factor.
Written against: AQA 8300 G19 · Higher only
Builds on: Similar shapes · Converting area & volume units · Squares, cubes & roots
Histograms
Draw and read histograms, including ones with bars of different widths.
Written against: AQA 8300 S3 · Higher only
Builds on: Grouped frequency tables · Bar charts · Density as a rate
Cumulative frequency graphs
Draw a running-total graph for grouped data and read values from it.
Written against: AQA 8300 S3 · Higher only
Builds on: Grouped frequency tables · Averages from frequency tables · Line graphs over time
Year 11
Repeated percentage change
Apply a percentage change several times — and see why two 10% rises are not 20%.
Written against: AQA 8300 R16 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Percentage multipliers — “Repeated change is repeated multiplication — multipliers keep it honest.” · Percentage increase & decrease — “Chaining changes assumes single changes are safe.” · Index notation
Combined events
Two dice, two spinners — multiplying chances.
Written against: AQA 8300 P8 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Sample space diagrams — “Two dice need the grid before the multiplication.” · Independent events — “Multiplying chances assumes the events ignore each other.” · Probability of single events — “Two dice are two single events, multiplied.”
Surds: exact roots
Keep √2 as √2 — an exact answer instead of a rounded one.
Written against: AQA 8300 N8 · Higher only
Builds on: Squares, cubes & roots — “Surds are roots that refuse to simplify — know roots first.” · Estimating roots — “Exact roots matter once you've felt approximations wobble.”
Recurring decimals to fractions
Turn 0.363636… into 4/11 with an equation trick — multiply, subtract, solve.
Written against: AQA 8300 N10 · Higher only
Builds on: Solving two-step linear equations — “The trick is solving a two-step equation.” · Recurring decimals — “You can only convert a repeat you can notate.”
Solving quadratics by factorising
If two brackets multiply to zero, one of them is zero — the first quadratic solving method.
Written against: AQA 8300 A11 · AQA 8300 A18 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: One-step equations · Quadratic expressions — “A factorised quadratic hands you its roots.” · Unknowns on both sides · Equations with fractions
Compound interest
Money growing by the same percentage each year — repeated multipliers, with savings attached.
Written against: AQA 8300 R16 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Percentage multipliers — “No multipliers, no compounding.” · Repeated percentage change — “Compound interest is repeated percentage change with money attached.”
Trigonometry: finding angles
Use inverse sin, cos and tan to recover an angle from two sides.
Written against: AQA 8300 G20 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Trigonometry first steps — “Finding angles inverts the ratios — meet them forwards first.”
Tree diagrams
Draw branching chances for two-stage events — multiply along the branches, add down the ends.
Written against: AQA 8300 P6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Independent events — “Branch probabilities multiply only when events are independent.” · Multiplying fractions · Combined events — “Trees draw the multiplication of chances.”
Calculating with surds and rationalising denominators
Calculate with surds, and rewrite a fraction so that no root is left on the bottom.
Written against: AQA 8300 N8 · Higher only
Builds on: Expanding and simplifying · Equivalent fractions · Surds: exact roots
Upper and lower bounds in calculations
Use upper and lower bounds, including to find the largest and smallest possible result of a calculation.
Written against: AQA 8300 N16 · Higher only
Builds on: Estimating before calculating · Error intervals
Difference of two squares
Recognise and factorise an expression that is one square minus another.
Written against: AQA 8300 A4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Squares, cubes & roots · Quadratic expressions
Expanding three or more brackets
Multiply out three or more brackets and simplify the result.
Written against: AQA 8300 A4 · Higher only
Builds on: Index laws in algebra · Quadratic expressions
Factorising harder quadratics
Factorise a quadratic that has a number in front of the x squared.
Written against: AQA 8300 A4 · Higher only
Builds on: Factorising into a bracket · Quadratic expressions
Algebraic fractions
Simplify and manipulate fractions that contain algebra.
Written against: AQA 8300 A4 · Higher only
Builds on: Adding fractions, unlike denominators · Factorising into a bracket · Quadratic expressions
Algebraic proof
Write a complete proof of a general statement using algebra.
Written against: AQA 8300 A6 · Higher only
Builds on: Showing expressions are equivalent · Quadratic expressions
Inverse functions
Find the function that reverses another one.
Written against: AQA 8300 A7 · Higher only
Builds on: Inverse operations · Function notation f(x) · Rearranging multi-step formulae
Composite functions
Apply one function and then another, and write the result as a single rule.
Written against: AQA 8300 A7 · Higher only
Builds on: Function machines · Function notation f(x)
Perpendicular lines
Use y = mx + c to tell when two lines meet at right angles.
Written against: AQA 8300 A9 · Higher only
Builds on: Parallel lines on graphs · Gradient as a rate · Dividing by a fraction
Turning points by completing the square
Find the turning point of a quadratic from its completed-square form.
Written against: AQA 8300 A11 · Higher only
Builds on: Completing the square · Reading a quadratic graph
Trigonometric graphs
Recognise and sketch the graphs of sine, cosine and tangent for angles of any size.
Written against: AQA 8300 A12 · Higher only
Builds on: Graphs of quadratics · Trigonometry first steps
Transforming graphs
Sketch what happens to a graph when its function is translated or reflected.
Written against: AQA 8300 A13 · Higher only
Builds on: Graphs of quadratics · Translating shapes · Reflecting shapes · Function notation f(x)
Tangent to a circle
Find the equation of the line that just touches a circle at a given point.
Written against: AQA 8300 A16 · Higher only
Builds on: Finding a line's equation · Equation of a circle · Perpendicular lines · Circle theorems: tangents and chords
Completing the square
Rewrite a quadratic as a squared bracket plus a number, and use that to solve it.
Written against: AQA 8300 A18 · Higher only
Builds on: Squares, cubes & roots · Quadratic expressions
The quadratic formula
Solve any quadratic equation with the quadratic formula.
Written against: AQA 8300 A18 · Higher only
Builds on: Substituting negatives & squares · Calculator fluency · Solving quadratics by factorising · Surds: exact roots
Simultaneous equations: one linear, one quadratic
Solve a pair of equations where one is linear and the other is quadratic.
Written against: AQA 8300 A19 · Higher only
Builds on: Simultaneous equations · Solving quadratics by factorising
Quadratic inequalities and set notation
Solve an inequality that contains a quadratic, and write solution sets in set notation.
Written against: AQA 8300 A22 · Higher only
Builds on: Inequalities on a number line · Solving quadratics by factorising · Reading a quadratic graph
Geometric sequences with surds, and other sequences
Work with geometric sequences whose multiplier is a surd, and with unfamiliar sequences defined in the question.
Written against: AQA 8300 A24 · Higher only
Builds on: Geometric sequences · Surds: exact roots
nth term of a quadratic sequence
Find the formula for the nth term of a quadratic sequence.
Written against: AQA 8300 A25 · Higher only
Builds on: nth term of linear sequences · Quadratic sequences
Negative scale factors
Enlarge a shape by a negative scale factor, which puts the image on the other side of the centre.
Written against: AQA 8300 G7 · Higher only
Builds on: Fractional enlargements · Enlarging shapes · Multiplying & dividing negatives
Combining transformations
Describe the result of one transformation followed by another, and say what stays unchanged.
Written against: AQA 8300 G8 · Higher only
Builds on: Describing transformations · Column vectors
Circle theorems: tangents and chords
Use the theorems about tangents, chords and the alternate segment.
Written against: AQA 8300 G10 · Higher only
Builds on: Parts of a circle · Congruence criteria · Circle theorems: angles
Proving circle theorems
Prove the circle theorems and use them to prove other results.
Written against: AQA 8300 G10 · Higher only
Builds on: Circle theorems: angles · Circle theorems: tangents and chords · Geometric proof
Composite solids and frustums
Find the volume and surface area of solids built from simpler ones, including a cone with its top cut off.
Written against: AQA 8300 G17 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Similar shapes · Volume of pyramids, cones and spheres · Surface area of pyramids, cones and spheres
Pythagoras and trigonometry in 3D
Find lengths and angles inside three-dimensional shapes.
Written against: AQA 8300 G20 · Higher only
Builds on: Pythagoras: shorter sides · Plans & elevations · Trigonometry first steps · Trigonometry: finding angles
Exact trigonometric values
Know the exact sine and cosine of 0, 30, 45, 60 and 90 degrees, and the exact tangent of 0, 30, 45 and 60 degrees.
Written against: AQA 8300 G21 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Special triangles · Pythagoras: the hypotenuse · Trigonometry first steps
The sine rule
Find a missing side or angle in any triangle with the sine rule.
Written against: AQA 8300 G22 · Higher only
Builds on: Equations with fractions · Trigonometry first steps · Trigonometry: finding angles
The cosine rule
Find a missing side or angle in any triangle with the cosine rule.
Written against: AQA 8300 G22 · Higher only
Builds on: Pythagoras: the hypotenuse · Substituting negatives & squares · Trigonometry first steps · Trigonometry: finding angles
Area of any triangle
Find the area of a triangle from two sides and the angle between them, or work back from the area to a side or an angle.
Written against: AQA 8300 G23 · Higher only
Builds on: Perimeter & area · Trigonometry first steps
Adding, subtracting and scaling vectors
Add and subtract vectors and multiply a vector by a number, on a diagram and in column form.
Written against: AQA 8300 G25 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Negative numbers · Column vectors
Vector proofs
Use vectors to build geometric arguments and proofs.
Written against: AQA 8300 G25 · Higher only
Builds on: Simplifying expressions · Ratio notation · Adding, subtracting and scaling vectors
Dependent events
Find probabilities when the first event changes the chances for the second, such as picking without replacement.
Written against: AQA 8300 P8 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Independent events · Tree diagrams · Combined events
Conditional probability
Work out the probability of one thing given that another has happened, using two-way tables, trees and Venn diagrams.
Written against: AQA 8300 P9 · Higher only
Builds on: Two-way tables · Venn diagrams for probability · Dependent events
Box plots
Draw and compare box plots.
Written against: AQA 8300 S4 · Higher only
Builds on: Comparing two distributions · Quartiles & interquartile range · Cumulative frequency graphs
Physics 61 topics
Year 10
Power
Power as how quickly energy is transferred or work is done, with the watt as one joule per second.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Energy stores & transfers — “You can’t rate a transfer you can’t trace.” · Work = force × distance — “Power is work done per second — work comes first.”
Specific heat capacity
A first look at why some materials take ages to heat up: every material has its own price, in joules, for each degree of warming.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.1.3 · AQA 8464 6.3.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Temperature is not energy — “Specific heat capacity puts a number on the gap between temperature and energy.” · The kilowatt-hour
Energy stores and systems
Describing how the energy stored in a set of objects is shared out differently after something happens — a thrown ball, a braking car, a kettle boiling — and showing the before and after amounts on one scale.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Energy stores & transfers — “GCSE keeps the same store-to-store story and starts putting numbers on it.” · Energy is always conserved — “Showing where the energy ends up only works if the total is known to stay the same.”
Kinetic energy
Calculating the energy an object has because it is moving, from its mass and its speed.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Speed = distance ÷ time — “Kinetic energy is worked out from speed, so speed has to be a number first.” · Substituting negatives & squares (MATH) · Energy stores and systems — “The calculation fills in one store in the before-and-after picture.” · Rearranging multi-step formulae (MATH)
Gravitational potential energy
Calculating the energy an object gains when it is lifted, from its mass, the strength of gravity and the height.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Calculating weight (W = m × g) — “The equation is weight multiplied by height, so weight from mass comes first.” · Work = force × distance · Energy stores and systems — “The calculation fills in one store in the before-and-after picture.”
Reducing unwanted energy transfers
Cutting waste with lubrication and insulation, and how the thickness and thermal conductivity of walls set how fast a building cools.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Conduction: heat through solids — “Insulation only makes sense once conduction through solids is understood.” · Dissipation: energy spreading out — “Cutting waste starts from knowing where the energy spreads out to.” · Friction and drag
Efficiency
Efficiency as the useful share of the energy (or power) put in, written as a decimal or a percentage.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.2.2 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Sankey diagrams — “A Sankey diagram already shows the useful and wasted shares that efficiency turns into one number.” · Fractions ↔ decimals ↔ % (MATH) · Power — “One of the two efficiency equations is written in terms of power.”
Energy resources: renewable, reliable, and what they are used for
The main energy resources (fossil fuels, nuclear, bio-fuel, wind, hydro, geothermal, tides, Sun, waves), which are renewable, which are reliable, and their use for transport, electricity and heating.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Renewable and non-renewable resources — “The renewable/non-renewable sort is the starting point; GCSE adds reliability and use.”
Energy resources: environmental impact and trends
The environmental cost of each resource, reading patterns in how energy use is changing, and why science can identify a problem without being able to fix it alone.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Renewable and non-renewable resources — “Weighing one advantage against one drawback grows into a full comparison.” · Energy: fossil and renewable (GEOG) · Fossil fuels are finite (CHEM) · Energy resources: renewable, reliable, and what they are used for — “You compare the resources only once you know what they are.”
Circuit symbols and diagrams
Drawing and reading circuit diagrams with the standard set of symbols.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Circuit symbols and diagrams — “The same shorthand, with more components to recognise.”
Charge and current
Current as the rate at which electric charge flows, measured in coulombs passing each second, and the same everywhere in a single loop.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Current around a series loop — “Current as a flow of charge is the idea this equation puts a number on.” · Static electricity: charging by rubbing
Current–potential difference graphs: resistor, lamp and diode
Telling fixed-resistance (ohmic) components from changing ones by the shape of their graphs, and the circuit used to take the readings.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Calculating resistance (R = V ÷ I) — “A characteristic graph is resistance read from many pairs of readings instead of one.” · Direct proportion graphs (MATH) — “A fixed resistor is recognised by a straight line through the origin.” · Current & simple circuits
Thermistors and light-dependent resistors
Components whose resistance falls as they get warmer or brighter, and their use in thermostats and automatic lights.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Resistance: what opposes current — “A sensor is a component whose resistance changes, so resistance must already mean something.” · Current–potential difference graphs: resistor, lamp and diode
Resistance in series and parallel, and series-circuit calculations
Adding resistances in series, knowing that parallel resistors give less resistance than the smallest one, and calculating currents, voltages and resistances in series circuits.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Series vs parallel circuits — “The rules for resistance sit on top of the two circuit layouts.” · Calculating resistance (R = V ÷ I) — “A circuit calculation chains V = I × R across several components.”
Direct and alternating potential difference
The difference between a supply that pushes one way (a battery) and one that keeps reversing (the mains: 50 Hz, about 230 V in the UK).
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Voltage: the electrical push — “Alternating potential difference is the same push, now reversing direction.” · Pitch and frequency
Mains electricity: three-core cable and safety
The live, neutral and earth wires — colour, job and voltage — and why a live wire is dangerous even with the switch off.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Voltage: the electrical push — “Each wire is described by its potential difference to earth.” · Series vs parallel circuits · Direct and alternating potential difference — “The live wire carries the alternating supply described there.”
Electrical power
How a device's power depends on the current through it and the potential difference across it.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.4.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Power ratings on appliances — “The watts on the label are what these equations calculate.” · Calculating resistance (R = V ÷ I) — “The second power equation comes from combining the first with V = I × R.” · Power — “Power was defined as energy per second in the Energy topic.” · Rearranging multi-step formulae (MATH)
Energy transferred by appliances
How much energy an appliance moves depends on its power and how long it is on; work is done whenever charge flows.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.4.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The kilowatt-hour — “The kilowatt-hour is energy = power × time in household units.” · Charge and current — “The second equation uses charge flow.” · Electrical power — “The first equation uses electrical power.”
The National Grid
The cables and transformers that carry electricity from power stations to homes, and why raising the voltage for the journey wastes less energy. *Higher tier only (was 6.2.4.3b, Transformer power equation):* Using the fact that an ideal transformer passes on all its power to find a missing voltage or current.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.2.4.3 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Dissipation: energy spreading out — “The Grid's high voltage exists to cut the energy dissipated in the cables.” · Voltage: the electrical push · Electrical power — “Power = current² × resistance explains why a smaller current wastes less.”
Internal energy
The total energy of all the particles in something — their movement plus their positions — and how heating raises it by warming the substance or changing its state.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.3.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Temperature is not energy — “Internal energy is the "how much" that temperature alone does not tell you.” · The particle model of matter — “It is the energy of the moving particles the model describes.”
Specific latent heat
The energy needed to melt or boil one kilogram of a substance without changing its temperature, for melting (fusion) and boiling (vaporisation).
Written against: AQA 8464 6.3.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Melting and freezing — “Latent heat is the energy that melting takes in while the temperature stands still.” · Evaporating, boiling and condensing · Internal energy — “The energy goes into internal energy without raising the temperature.” · Specific heat capacity
Heating and cooling curves
Reading a temperature–time graph that includes a change of state, where the flat sections mark melting or boiling.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.3.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Melting and freezing — “The flat parts of the curve sit at the melting and boiling points.” · Real-life graphs (MATH) · Specific latent heat — “The flat sections are where latent heat is being supplied.”
Particle motion in gases
Gas particles move randomly; temperature reflects their average kinetic energy; warming a gas in a fixed space raises its pressure.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.3.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Gas pressure: particles hitting walls — “Year 9 explains gas pressure by particles hitting the walls; GCSE adds what temperature does to it.” · The particle model of matter
Radioactive decay, activity and count-rate
Unstable nuclei give out radiation at random; activity is how many decay each second (in becquerels); count-rate is what a detector records.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.4.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Inside the atom (CHEM) — “Decay is something the nucleus does, so the nucleus has to be familiar.” · Mass number and isotopes (CHEM) — “Unstable nuclei are particular isotopes.”
Alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation
What each kind of radiation is, and how they differ in how far they travel in air, what stops them and how strongly they ionise — used to choose the right source for a job.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.4.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Thermal radiation · Radioactive decay, activity and count-rate — “These are the radiations given out in decay.” · Inside the atom (CHEM) — “Each is described using protons, neutrons and electrons.”
Nuclear equations
Writing balanced equations for a single alpha or beta decay by making the mass numbers and atomic numbers add up; gamma emission changes neither.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.4.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Chemical reactions & equations (CHEM) · Mass number and isotopes (CHEM) — “The equations balance mass numbers and atomic numbers.” · Alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation — “Each equation shows an alpha or a beta particle leaving.”
Half-life
The time for half the unstable nuclei in a sample to decay (or for the count-rate to halve), how that follows from decay being random, and reading it from data.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.4.2.3 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Probability of single events (MATH) · Ratio notation (MATH) · Radioactive decay, activity and count-rate — “Half-life describes how activity and count-rate fall.”
Contamination and irradiation
The difference between getting radioactive material on or in something and merely exposing it to radiation, the hazards of each, precautions, and why findings are peer reviewed.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.4.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation — “The hazard depends on which type of radiation is given out.”
Year 11
Newton’s laws (qualitative)
Why things keep moving, speed up, or push back.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.2.1 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Contact and non-contact forces · Friction and drag · Forces & balance — “The laws formalise your balanced-forces intuition.”
Rearranging F = ma
Use and rearrange F = ma to find any one of the three.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.2.2 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Solving two-step linear equations (MATH) — “F = ma is a two-step equation wearing a lab coat — rearranging it IS maths.” · Acceleration: speeding up, slowing down — “F = ma only means something once acceleration is a quantity you can point to.” · Newton’s laws (qualitative) — “Rearranging only helps once the law itself makes sense.”
The language of motion
Speed, velocity and acceleration name three different ideas, even though everyday speech blurs them. Physics asks for the right word on purpose.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.3 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Speed = distance ÷ time · Acceleration: speeding up, slowing down — “The words only sharpen once the ideas they separate exist.”
Terminal velocity
A first look at why falling things stop speeding up: drag grows with speed until it balances weight, and the fall settles at a steady top speed.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Friction and drag — “Terminal velocity is drag catching up with weight.” · Calculating weight (W = m × g) · Newton’s laws (qualitative) — “It's Newton's first law arriving mid-fall.”
The wave equation
A first look at wave speed = frequency × wavelength: one tidy GCSE equation linking how often a wave repeats to how long each ripple is.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pitch and frequency — “The equation multiplies frequency — pitch's number — by wavelength.” · Echoes and the speed of sound
How an electric motor spins
A first look at the motor: put a current-carrying coil in a magnetic field and it feels a turning force. Everything from fans to trains rides on that trick.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.7.2.3 · Higher only
Builds on: Magnets: poles push and pull · Making an electromagnet stronger · Electromagnets — “A motor is an electromagnet arranged to chase itself.”
Elastic potential energy
Calculating the energy stored in a stretched or squashed spring from its spring constant and its extension.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.1.1.2 · AQA 8464 6.5.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Stretching springs — “The energy stored depends on how far the spring has stretched, which is the pattern Hooke's law describes.” · Stretching, squashing and Hooke's law — “The spring constant in this equation is defined in the Forces topic.”
Scalars and vectors
Quantities with size only (scalars) and quantities with size and direction (vectors), drawn as arrows.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Drawing force diagrams — “A force arrow is already a vector: length for size, direction for direction.” · The language of motion — “Speed against velocity is the first scalar–vector pair pupils meet.”
Free body diagrams and resolving forces
Showing every force on one object, splitting a force into two parts at right angles, and using scale drawings to find a resultant with its direction.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.1.4 · Higher only
Builds on: Drawing force diagrams — “A free body diagram is a force diagram for one object on its own.” · Resultant force — “Finding a resultant at an angle extends finding one along a line.” · Simple scale drawings (MATH) · Scalars and vectors — “Resolving a force treats it as a vector.”
Stretching, squashing and Hooke's law
Elastic and inelastic deformation, why changing a shape takes more than one force, and extension being proportional to force up to a limit — with the spring constant as the link.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Stretching springs — “The straight-line pattern from Year 7 now gets its constant.” · Direct proportion y = kx (MATH) — “F = k × e is direct proportion with k as the constant.” · Measuring forces in newtons
Distance and displacement
Distance is how far something has moved; displacement is how far it has ended up from the start, in a stated direction.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The language of motion · Scalars and vectors — “Distance is the scalar and displacement the vector.”
Typical speeds
Everyday speeds to know by heart — walking, running, cycling, common forms of transport and sound in air — and why speed is rarely constant.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Speed = distance ÷ time — “A typical speed means nothing until speed itself is understood.” · Echoes and the speed of sound
Distance–time graphs
Drawing a distance–time graph from measurements and finding speed from its gradient.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.4 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Speed = distance ÷ time — “Reading the fastest part of a journey becomes measuring exactly how fast.” · Gradient as a rate (MATH) — “Speed from a distance–time graph is a gradient read as a rate.” · Real-life graphs (MATH) · Gradient of a curve (MATH)
Calculating acceleration
Acceleration as change in velocity divided by the time taken, slowing down as deceleration, and estimating everyday accelerations.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Acceleration: speeding up, slowing down — “The equation puts a number on "how quickly the speed changes".” · The language of motion
Velocity–time graphs
Drawing a velocity–time graph and reading acceleration from how steep it is. *Higher tier only (was 6.5.4.1.5c, Velocity–time graphs: distance from the area):* Finding the distance travelled from the area under a velocity–time graph, by calculation or by counting squares.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.5 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Gradient as a rate (MATH) — “Acceleration from the graph is again a gradient read as a rate.” · Perimeter & area (MATH) — “The area under the line is made of rectangles and triangles.” · Area of a trapezium (MATH) · Calculating acceleration — “The gradient is the acceleration that equation defines.” · Distance–time graphs · Area under a graph (MATH)
Uniform acceleration and falling
Linking start speed, end speed, acceleration and distance for steady acceleration, and knowing that things fall freely near the Earth at about 9.8 m/s².
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Rearranging multi-step formulae (MATH) · Calculating acceleration — “The equation only applies when the acceleration is steady.”
Newton's Third Law
When two objects interact they push or pull on each other with equal and opposite forces.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Newton’s laws (qualitative) — “The law was met in words; GCSE asks pupils to apply it.” · Forces & balance — “Third-law pairs must be told apart from the balanced forces on one object.”
Stopping distance
Stopping distance is thinking distance plus braking distance, and it grows with speed.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Speed = distance ÷ time — “Thinking distance is speed multiplied by reaction time.”
Reaction time
Typical human reaction times, what slows them (tiredness, drugs, alcohol, distraction), how to measure them and what that does to thinking distance.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Reflexes & the nervous system (BIOL) · Recreational drugs (BIOL) · Stopping distance — “Reaction time sets the thinking part of the stopping distance.” · The reflex arc and reaction time (BIOL)
Braking distance: road, weather and vehicle condition
How wet or icy roads and worn brakes or tyres lengthen braking distance, and estimating emergency stopping distances across typical speeds.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.3.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Friction and drag — “Braking depends on friction between tyre and road.” · Estimating before calculating (MATH) · Stopping distance — “Braking distance is the second part of the stopping distance.”
Braking and energy
Brakes do work that turns the car's kinetic energy into heating of the brakes; faster cars need bigger braking forces; large decelerations risk overheating and loss of control.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.4.3.4 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Work = force × distance — “Brakes stop a car by doing work against its motion.” · Rearranging F = ma · Kinetic energy — “The energy the brakes must remove is the car's kinetic energy.” · Calculating acceleration
Momentum
Momentum as mass multiplied by velocity — a property every moving object has.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.5.1 · Higher only
Builds on: The language of motion — “Momentum uses velocity, so direction matters.” · Scalars and vectors — “Momentum is a vector.”
Conservation of momentum
In a closed system the total momentum before a collision or other event equals the total after it.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.5.5.2 · Higher only
Builds on: Energy is always conserved · Momentum — “You conserve a quantity once it is defined.” · Newton's Third Law
Transverse and longitudinal waves
Waves that shake across their direction of travel (water ripples) and along it (sound), and the evidence that the wave travels while the water or air stays put.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Sound needs a medium — “Sound as particles nudging their neighbours is the longitudinal wave in everyday words.” · Light & sound basics — “The evidence asked for is that waves carry energy without carrying the stuff.”
Amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period
The four measurements that describe a wave, read from a diagram, with period as one divided by frequency.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pitch and frequency — “Frequency was first met as the number behind pitch.” · Loudness and amplitude — “Amplitude was first met as the size behind loudness.”
Measuring the speed of waves
Methods for measuring the speed of sound in air and of ripples on water.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Echoes and the speed of sound — “Timing an echo is the simplest version of the method.” · The wave equation — “The ripple-tank method finds speed from frequency and wavelength.”
The electromagnetic spectrum
One family of transverse waves, all travelling at the same speed in a vacuum, in order from radio to gamma; our eyes detect only the visible part.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Splitting white light — “The visible spectrum is the middle slice of the full one.” · Thermal radiation — “Infrared was met as thermal radiation crossing empty space.” · Transverse and longitudinal waves — “Electromagnetic waves are transverse.” · The wave equation
How materials treat different wavelengths, and why waves refract
Materials absorb, transmit, refract or reflect electromagnetic waves differently depending on wavelength; refraction explained by the change of speed, using wave-front diagrams.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.2.2 · Higher only
Builds on: Refraction: light changes direction — “The Year 8 explanation — light changes speed — now gets its wave-front picture.” · Seeing colour: filters and surfaces · The electromagnetic spectrum — “The rule is about the whole spectrum, not just light.”
Where electromagnetic waves come from, and their hazards
Changes in atoms and nuclei produce or absorb these waves (gamma rays come from the nucleus); ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays damage body tissue, with dose as the measure of risk. *Higher tier only (was 6.6.2.3a, Radio waves and electrical circuits):* Radio waves are made by oscillations in circuits, and when absorbed they set up an alternating current of the same frequency.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.2.3 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: The electromagnetic spectrum — “The hazards belong to the short-wavelength end of the spectrum.” · Alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation — “Gamma rays and ionising power were met in the radioactivity topic.” · Electronic structure (CHEM) · Direct and alternating potential difference — “What they induce is an alternating current.”
Uses of electromagnetic waves
One or two practical uses for each part of the spectrum, from radio and television to medical imaging.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.6.2.4 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: The electromagnetic spectrum — “Each use belongs to a named part of the spectrum.”
Magnetic poles, permanent and induced magnets
Like poles repel and unlike attract; a permanent magnet makes its own field, while an induced magnet is only magnetic while it sits in another field and is always attracted.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.7.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Magnets: poles push and pull — “Induced magnets are explained by the same pole rules.”
The magnetic field of a current: wires and solenoids
A current makes a magnetic field around a wire; coiling the wire into a solenoid and adding an iron core makes it stronger; drawing both field patterns with their direction.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.7.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Electromagnets — “An electromagnet is the solenoid this section draws the field of.” · Plotting magnetic field lines — “The field of a wire or a coil is drawn with the same field-line rules as a bar magnet.” · Making an electromagnet stronger
The motor effect and Fleming's left-hand rule
A current-carrying wire in a magnetic field feels a force; the left-hand rule gives its direction, and the force depends on field strength, current and length.
Written against: AQA 8464 6.7.2.2 · Higher only
Builds on: Plotting magnetic field lines — “The rule needs the direction of the field.” · Current around a series loop · The magnetic field of a current: wires and solenoids — “The force arises because the wire's own field meets the magnet's.”
Chemistry 91 topics
Year 10
How small is an atom?
Atoms are about a ten-millionth of a millimetre across — a scale best handled with powers of ten.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Atoms, elements & compounds — “Before asking how small an atom is, know what one is.” · Standard form: large numbers (MATH) · Standard form: small numbers (MATH) — “Atomic sizes are written in standard form with negative powers of ten.”
Testing common gases
Identifying a mystery gas with a small, sharp test: a squeaky pop for hydrogen, a relit splint for oxygen, milky limewater for carbon dioxide.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.8.2.1 · AQA 8464 5.8.2.2 · AQA 8464 5.8.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Signs of a chemical reaction — “Each gas test is a tiny reaction with one visible sign.” · Combustion
Acids + carbonates
Acids fizz with carbonates too — but the gas this time is carbon dioxide, and limewater proves it.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Testing common gases · Acids, alkalis & pH — “Acid chemistry first; the fizz is a special case.”
Moles — counting by weighing
Scaling from grams to numbers of atoms.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.2.1 · Higher only
Builds on: Balancing symbol equations · Concentration — “Moles scale the concentration idea down to atoms.” · Standard form: large numbers (MATH) · Rearranging simple formulae (MATH) · Relative formula mass — “Moles are mass divided by relative formula mass, so formula mass comes first.”
Inside the atom
A GCSE peek: atoms have their own parts — protons and neutrons in a tiny nucleus, electrons around it.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Atoms, elements & compounds — “Splitting the atom's story open only works once the atom itself is familiar.” · How small is an atom? · Forces between charges (PHYS)
Ions — atoms with a charge
A GCSE peek: when an atom loses or gains electrons it becomes charged — an ion. Salts are built from them.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Inside the atom — “Ions are atoms with electrons missing or gained — you need the electrons.” · Electronic structure — “Dot and cross diagrams move outer-shell electrons, so shells come first.” · The three types of chemical bond
Electrons explain the table
A GCSE peek: the table's shape comes from how electrons arrange themselves — group number matches the outer electrons.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Groups & periods — “The pattern being explained is groups and periods.” · Inside the atom — “Electron arrangements explain the table — you need the electrons.” · Electronic structure — “Group number is the number of outer-shell electrons, so electronic structure comes first.”
Strong & weak acids
A GCSE peek: two acids at the same concentration can have different pH — some acids simply hold their hydrogen back.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.2.5 · Higher only
Builds on: Acids, alkalis & pH — “Strong versus weak refines what 'acidic' means — the scale comes first.” · Measuring pH accurately · The pH scale and neutralisation in terms of ions — “Strength is about how many hydrogen ions an acid releases.” · Concentration in grams per cubic decimetre — “Dilute and concentrated are concentration words, and the topic turns on not confusing them with weak and strong.”
Naming compounds and writing equations
Name a compound from its formula, and write word equations, formulae and balanced symbol equations for every reaction in the course. *Higher tier only (was 5.1.1.1c, Half equations and ionic equations):* Write equations that show only the ions that change, and half equations that show electrons being lost or gained.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.1 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Balancing symbol equations — “Balancing simple equations is the Year 9 skill; GCSE asks for it on every reaction in the course.” · Writing simple formulae — “An equation cannot be balanced until each formula in it is right.” · Naming compounds: -ide and -ate · Ions — atoms with a charge — “Ionic equations are written in ions, so ions have to come first.”
Mixtures and how to separate them
A mixture is not chemically joined, so it can be separated by physical methods: filtration, crystallisation, simple and fractional distillation, and chromatography; choose the right one for a given mixture.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Separating mixtures — “The KS3 separation methods are the starting set; GCSE adds crystallisation and fractional distillation.” · Compounds vs mixtures — “Physical separation only works because a mixture is not chemically joined.” · Chromatography
How the model of the atom developed
The story from solid spheres to the plum pudding model, the alpha-scattering experiment and the nuclear model, then Bohr's electron orbits, the proton and Chadwick's neutron, as an example of evidence changing a model.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Atoms, elements & compounds — “The story is about what an atom is, so the atom itself must be familiar.” · Forces between charges (PHYS) · Inside the atom — “The models being compared are built from protons, neutrons and electrons.”
Mass number and isotopes
Mass number counts protons plus neutrons; atoms of one element with different numbers of neutrons are isotopes; work out the protons, neutrons and electrons in any atom or ion.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Inside the atom — “Mass number counts the protons and neutrons that section introduces.”
Relative atomic mass
The relative atomic mass of an element is a weighted average of its isotopes; calculate it from their percentage abundances.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Percentages of amounts (MATH) — “A weighted average of isotope masses is a percentages calculation.” · Mass number and isotopes — “The average is taken over isotopes, so isotopes come first.”
Electronic structure
Electrons fill the innermost shells first; write or draw the arrangement for the first twenty elements (sodium is 2,8,1).
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.1.7 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The periodic table · Inside the atom — “Electrons can only be placed in shells once you know how many an atom has.”
How the periodic table developed
Early tables ordered elements by atomic weight and misplaced some; Mendeleev left gaps and swapped some pairs, his predictions were confirmed, and isotopes later explained why weight order sometimes fails.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Mendeleev's gaps — “Mendeleev's gaps are the centre of the story; GCSE adds what came before and why it was later explained.” · Mass number and isotopes
Metals and non-metals
Metals are the elements that form positive ions; explain the differences between metals and non-metals, and where each sits in the table, from their electron arrangements.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Properties of metals — “The KS3 checklist of metal properties is what the GCSE explanation has to account for.” · Properties of non-metals — “The same goes for the non-metal checklist.” · Metals to non-metals across a period · Electronic structure — “The explanation is in terms of outer-shell electrons.”
Group 0: the noble gases
The noble gases are unreactive because their outer shells are full; their boiling points rise going down the group.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Group 0: the noble gases — “"Unreactive" was the KS3 fact; a full outer shell is the GCSE reason.” · Electronic structure — “The reason is the electron arrangement.”
Group 1: the alkali metals
Alkali metals have one outer electron; describe how lithium, sodium and potassium react with oxygen, chlorine and water, and explain why reactivity increases down the group.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Group 1: the alkali metals — “The reactions with water and the trend are KS3; GCSE adds oxygen, chlorine and the reason.” · Electronic structure — “The single outer electron is the explanation.”
Group 7: the halogens and their trends
Halogens have seven outer electrons and exist as two-atom molecules; melting and boiling points rise and reactivity falls down the group; describe the compounds they form with metals and non-metals.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Group 7: the halogens — “The family and its reactivity trend are KS3; GCSE adds the molecules, the physical trends and the reason.” · Electronic structure — “Seven outer electrons is the explanation.”
Halogen displacement reactions
A more reactive halogen pushes a less reactive one out of a solution of its salt.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.1.2.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Displacement reactions — “Metal displacement taught the rule "the more reactive one takes the place"; halogens follow it too.” · Group 7: the halogens — “The reactivity order down Group 7 decides which halogen wins.” · Group 7: the halogens and their trends — “Displacement is the trend in reactivity, put to work.”
The three types of chemical bond
Ionic bonds hold oppositely charged ions together, covalent bonds are shared pairs of electrons and metallic bonds are a shared sea of electrons; which one forms depends on whether the elements are metals or non-metals.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Forces between charges (PHYS) — “All three bonds are attractions between opposite charges.” · Molecules · Electronic structure — “Bonds form by transferring or sharing outer-shell electrons.” · Metals and non-metals
Ionic compounds: the giant lattice
An ionic compound is a giant regular lattice of ions attracting in all directions; recognise it from a diagram, say what each kind of diagram gets wrong, and read off the simplest formula.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Particle diagrams of substances · Writing simple formulae · Ions — atoms with a charge — “The lattice is built from the ions that ionic bonding makes.”
Covalent bonds and small molecules
Non-metal atoms bond by sharing pairs of electrons; draw dot and cross diagrams for eight named small molecules, including water, ammonia and methane.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Molecules — “KS3 said atoms join into molecules; a shared pair of electrons is how.” · Reading chemical formulae · Electronic structure — “Sharing is worked out from the outer-shell electrons.” · The three types of chemical bond
Drawing polymers and giant covalent structures
Show covalent bonds as lines in small molecules, in the repeating unit of a polymer and in part of a giant structure; say what each kind of diagram cannot show, and read a molecular formula from a model.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Polymers: long-chain molecules — “The repeating unit drawn at GCSE is the "small unit repeated" from KS3.” · Covalent bonds and small molecules — “The lines in these diagrams are the covalent bonds from the first half of the section.”
Metallic bonding
A metal is a giant regular structure of atoms whose outer electrons are free to move through the whole piece; sharing those electrons is what holds it together.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Properties of metals · The three types of chemical bond — “Metallic bonding is the third of the three bond types in detail.”
States of matter and the forces between particles
Melting and boiling points depend on how strong the forces between particles are, which depends on the bonding; predict the state of a substance at a given temperature from data. *Higher tier only (was 5.2.2.1b, Limits of the simple particle model):* The simple model shows particles as solid spheres with no forces between them, which is why it cannot fully explain changes of state.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.1 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Particle model & states — “The particle pictures of solid, liquid and gas are the model being used.” · Melting & freezing — “Melting was particles breaking free; GCSE asks how strong the forces holding them were.” · Reading heating curves · Limits of the particle model — “Year 9 already teaches where the simple model breaks down; Higher tier asks for it by name.” · The three types of chemical bond
State symbols
Add (s), (l), (g) and (aq) to chemical equations to show the state of each substance.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Balancing symbol equations — “State symbols are added to the symbol equations that can already be balanced.” · Dissolving & solutions
Properties of ionic compounds
Ionic compounds have high melting points because the lattice has many strong bonds to break, and they conduct electricity only when melted or dissolved, because then the ions can move.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Melting & freezing · Current around a series loop (PHYS) · Ionic compounds: the giant lattice — “The properties follow from the giant lattice.”
Properties of small molecules
Substances made of small molecules melt and boil easily because only the weak forces between molecules are overcome, not the strong bonds inside them; they do not conduct.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Boiling vs evaporating · Covalent bonds and small molecules — “The molecules in question are the covalent ones.”
Polymers as very large molecules
Polymer molecules are long chains held together by covalent bonds, and the forces between chains are strong enough to make polymers solid at room temperature.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Polymers: long-chain molecules — “KS3 introduced the long chain; GCSE explains why it makes a solid.” · Properties of small molecules — “Polymers are the small-molecule story with much larger molecules.”
Giant covalent structures
In diamond, graphite and silicon dioxide every atom is covalently bonded to its neighbours throughout, so these solids have very high melting points.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Covalent bonds and small molecules — “A giant structure is covalent bonding with no molecule to stop at.” · Properties of small molecules
Properties of metals and alloys
Metals have high melting points and can be bent because their atoms sit in layers that slide; an alloy is harder because different-sized atoms distort the layers.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.7 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Properties of metals — “KS3 listed the metal properties; GCSE explains them.” · Describing properties precisely · Metallic bonding — “The explanation uses the metallic structure.”
Metals as conductors
Metals conduct electricity and heat well because their free electrons carry charge and energy through the structure.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.2.8 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Properties of metals — “Conducting is on the KS3 checklist of metal properties.” · Conduction: heat through solids (PHYS) · Metallic bonding — “The free electrons come from metallic bonding.”
Diamond
Each carbon atom in diamond makes four covalent bonds, which is why diamond is so hard, melts only at a very high temperature and does not carry a current.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Giant covalent structures — “Diamond is the first worked example of a giant covalent structure.”
Graphite
Each carbon atom in graphite makes three bonds, forming layers of hexagons with one free electron per atom, which explains its properties, including why it conducts like a metal.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Giant covalent structures — “Graphite is the second worked example of a giant covalent structure.” · Metallic bonding
Graphene and fullerenes
Graphene is a single layer of graphite; fullerenes are hollow cages and tubes of carbon atoms, including buckminsterfullerene and nanotubes, with uses in electronics and materials.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.2.3.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Graphite — “Graphene is one layer of graphite, and fullerenes are built from the same rings.”
Relative formula mass
Add up the relative atomic masses in a formula to get its relative formula mass, and use it to find the percentage by mass of an element in a compound.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Counting atoms in formulae — “Relative formula mass adds up the atoms you can already count in a formula.” · Percentages of amounts (MATH) · Relative atomic mass — “Formula mass is built from relative atomic masses.”
Uncertainty in measurements
Every measurement has some uncertainty; estimate it from the spread of repeat readings around their mean.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Averages & range (MATH) — “Uncertainty is estimated from the range of repeat readings about their mean.” · Comparing fuels fairly
Reacting masses from equations
Read a balanced equation as a recipe in moles and use it to calculate the mass of a product or reactant from a given mass of another.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.2.2 · Higher only
Builds on: Balancing symbol equations — “The mole ratio is read from the balancing numbers.” · Ratio & proportion problems (MATH) — “Scaling a mole ratio up or down is a proportion problem.” · Moles — counting by weighing — “The calculation converts mass to moles and back.”
Using moles to balance equations
Work out the balancing numbers of an equation from the masses that reacted, by converting to moles and finding the simplest whole-number ratio.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.2.3 · Higher only
Builds on: Balancing symbol equations — “The answer is a balanced equation, reached from the other direction.” · Ratio notation (MATH) · Moles — counting by weighing — “The masses are first converted to moles.”
Limiting reactants
When one reactant is in excess, the other runs out first and limits how much product can form.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.2.4 · Higher only
Builds on: Acids + carbonates · Reacting masses from equations — “The limit is worked out with a reacting-mass calculation.”
Concentration in grams per cubic decimetre
Concentration is how much solute, by mass, is dissolved in each unit volume of solution, in g/dm³; calculate the mass of solute in a known volume.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.3.2.5 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Concentration — “KS3 concentration was "amount per volume"; GCSE fixes the units and runs the calculation both ways.” · Rearranging simple formulae (MATH)
Metal oxides: oxidation and reduction
Metals react with oxygen to form oxides; gaining oxygen is oxidation and losing it is reduction.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Oxidation — “Oxidation as gaining oxygen is KS3; reduction is the same idea run backwards.”
The reactivity series
Order eight named metals, with carbon and hydrogen, by how they react with water and dilute acid; reactivity is how readily a metal forms its positive ion, and a more reactive metal displaces a less reactive one.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The reactivity series — “The league table of metals is KS3; GCSE names the metals and explains the order.” · Displacement reactions — “Displacement is the evidence the series is built from.” · Acids + metals · Ions — atoms with a charge
Oxidation and reduction as electron transfer
Oxidation is losing electrons and reduction is gaining them; write ionic equations for displacement reactions and say which substance is oxidised and which reduced.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.1.4 · AQA 8464 5.4.2.1 · Higher only
Builds on: Displacement reactions — “Displacement reactions are the examples the ionic equations describe.” · Acids + metals — “The reaction being explained is the KS3 one.” · Metal oxides: oxidation and reduction — “The oxygen definition comes first; the electron definition replaces it.” · Ions — atoms with a charge — “Losing and gaining electrons is how ions form.” · Naming compounds and writing equations — “The evidence is written as ionic and half equations.”
Neutralisation and making salts
Acids are neutralised by alkalis and insoluble bases to give a salt and water, and by carbonates to give a salt, water and carbon dioxide; predict the salt and work out its formula from the ions.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Neutralisation — “Acid plus alkali gives salt plus water is the KS3 rule being widened.” · Naming salts — “Naming the salt from the acid is KS3; working out its formula is the GCSE step.” · Acids + carbonates · Ions — atoms with a charge — “Salt formulae are built by balancing ion charges.”
The pH scale and neutralisation in terms of ions
Acids release hydrogen ions in water and alkalis release hydroxide ions; pH runs from 0 to 14 with 7 neutral, and neutralisation is hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions making water.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Acids, alkalis & pH — “The pH scale is KS3; GCSE says which ions the numbers are measuring.” · Neutralisation — “Neutralisation is rewritten as one reaction between two ions.” · Ions — atoms with a charge — “Acids and alkalis are now defined by the ions they release.”
Electrolysis: the process
A molten or dissolved ionic compound conducts electricity; passing a current sends positive ions to the negative electrode and negative ions to the positive electrode, where they turn into elements.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.3.1 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Current around a series loop (PHYS) — “An electrolyte completes a circuit: the current here is ions moving.” · Forces between charges (PHYS) · Properties of ionic compounds — “Electrolysis works only because ions are free to move when molten or dissolved.”
Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds
Electrolysing a molten compound of two elements gives the metal at the negative electrode and the non-metal at the positive electrode; predict the products.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Electrolysis: the process — “It is the simplest case of the general process.”
Extracting metals by electrolysis
Metals too reactive for carbon are extracted by electrolysis, which uses a great deal of energy; aluminium is made from aluminium oxide dissolved in molten cryolite, and the carbon positive electrode has to be replaced regularly.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.3.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Extracting metals from ores — “Carbon extracts only the less reactive metals; electrolysis is what is left for the rest.” · The reactivity series · Electrolysis of molten ionic compounds — “Aluminium extraction is the electrolysis of a molten compound.”
Electrolysis of solutions in water
In a solution, water supplies its own ions; hydrogen forms at the negative electrode if the metal is more reactive than hydrogen, and oxygen forms at the positive electrode unless a halide is present.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.3.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Testing common gases · Electrolysis: the process — “It is the general process with water's ions added.” · The reactivity series — “What is discharged depends on where the metal sits against hydrogen in the reactivity series.” · Test for chlorine
Half equations at the electrodes
At the negative electrode ions gain electrons (reduction) and at the positive electrode they lose electrons (oxidation); write the half equation for each.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.4.3.5 · Higher only
Builds on: Electrolysis: the process — “The half equations describe what happens at each electrode.” · Oxidation and reduction as electron transfer — “Each electrode reaction is a reduction or an oxidation in electron terms.” · Naming compounds and writing equations — “This is where half equations are used most.”
Exothermic and endothermic reactions
Energy is conserved in reactions; exothermic reactions warm their surroundings and endothermic ones cool them; know examples and everyday uses of each.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.5.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Exothermic & endothermic — “Sorting reactions by temperature change is KS3; GCSE adds where the energy goes.” · Energy is always conserved (PHYS) — “Energy conservation is why the products must hold less energy when the surroundings warm up.” · Comparing fuels fairly
Reaction profiles and activation energy
Particles react only if they collide with enough energy, the activation energy; draw and read an energy diagram showing reactants, products, the activation energy and the overall change.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.5.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Exothermic and endothermic reactions — “The diagram shows whether a reaction is exothermic or endothermic.”
Bond energy calculations
Breaking bonds takes energy in and making bonds gives energy out; calculate the overall energy change of a reaction from supplied bond energies.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.5.1.3 · Higher only
Builds on: Balancing symbol equations · Exothermic and endothermic reactions — “The answer says whether the reaction is exothermic or endothermic.” · Covalent bonds and small molecules — “The calculation counts every covalent bond in the molecules.”
Test for chlorine
Chlorine bleaches damp litmus paper white.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.8.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Testing common gases — “Chlorine is the fourth gas test, added to the three learnt at KS3.” · Using indicators
Year 11
Rates of reaction
A GCSE peek: reactions go faster when particles collide more often or harder — heat, concentration and surface area all raise the collision rate.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Gas pressure · Catalysts — “Catalysts opened the speed question; collision theory answers it.” · Concentration · Direct proportion y = kx (MATH) · Reaction profiles and activation energy — “Activation energy was defined with reaction profiles in Paper 1.” · Factors that affect the rate of reaction — “Collision theory is the explanation for the list of factors.”
Earth's early atmosphere
A GCSE peek: the air was not always like this — early volcanoes made a carbon-dioxide-rich sky, and life slowly rewrote the recipe.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The atmosphere's recipe — “Today's recipe is the puzzle; the early atmosphere is the backstory.” · The carbon cycle
Life-cycle assessment
A GCSE peek: judging a product fairly means costing its whole life — raw materials, making, use and disposal — not just the shelf price.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.10.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Polymers: long-chain molecules · Recycling & finite resources — “Life-cycle assessment is the recycling argument, done formally.”
Making water safe to drink
A GCSE peek: potable water is separation at city scale — sieve, settle, filter, then sterilise; distil only when you must.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.10.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Separating mixtures — “Making water drinkable is separating mixtures, scaled up to a city.” · Recycling & finite resources · Pure substances & mixtures — “"Potable" is not "pure": the chemist's meaning of pure from Year 7.” · Measuring pH accurately
Mean rate of reaction
Rate is how much reactant is used or product made per second; calculate a mean rate from masses or gas volumes and the time taken.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Gradient as a rate (MATH) — “A rate is "change per second": a gradient read as a rate.” · Conservation of mass
Rate graphs and tangents
Draw and read graphs of amount against time, and draw a tangent to the curve to judge the rate at one moment.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.1.1 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Gradient as a rate (MATH) — “The slope of the curve at one moment is the rate at that moment.” · Finding a line's equation (MATH) · Mean rate of reaction — “A graph shows how the mean rate changes as the reaction goes on.” · Moles — counting by weighing · Gradient of a curve (MATH)
Factors that affect the rate of reaction
Concentration, gas pressure, surface area, temperature and catalysts all change how fast a reaction goes; recall the effect of each.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Catalysts — “Catalysts were the first rate factor met at KS3.” · Concentration — “Concentration is the factor the required practical varies.” · Mean rate of reaction — “A factor cannot be said to change the rate until a rate can be measured.”
Catalysts and activation energy
A catalyst speeds up a reaction without being used up by offering a route with a lower activation energy; enzymes are biological catalysts.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Catalysts — “The two KS3 facts about catalysts are the starting point; GCSE says how they work.” · Enzymes in digestion (BIOL) · Reaction profiles and activation energy — “A catalyst's effect is drawn as a lower hump on a reaction profile.” · How enzymes work (BIOL)
Reversible reactions
In some reactions the products can react to re-form the reactants; changing the conditions changes the direction.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Chemical reactions & equations — “A reversible reaction is still reactants and products, with the arrow pointing both ways.” · Physical vs chemical change
Energy changes in reversible reactions
If a reversible reaction gives out energy in one direction it takes in exactly the same amount in the other.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Reversible reactions — “The statement is about the two directions of a reversible reaction.” · Exothermic and endothermic reactions — “It uses the words exothermic and endothermic.”
Equilibrium
In a sealed container a reversible reaction reaches equilibrium, where the forward and backward reactions go at the same rate.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Reversible reactions — “Only a reversible reaction can reach equilibrium.” · Mean rate of reaction
Le Chatelier's principle
When the conditions of a system at equilibrium are changed, the system shifts to oppose the change; use this to predict what happens.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.4 · Higher only
Builds on: Equilibrium — “The principle describes how an equilibrium responds.”
Changing concentration at equilibrium
Adding more of a reactant makes more product until equilibrium is restored; removing product pulls the reaction forward.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.5 · Higher only
Builds on: Concentration · Le Chatelier's principle — “It is the principle applied to concentration.”
Changing temperature at equilibrium
Raising the temperature favours the endothermic direction and lowering it favours the exothermic direction.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.6 · Higher only
Builds on: Le Chatelier's principle — “It is the principle applied to temperature.” · Energy changes in reversible reactions — “One direction is exothermic and the other endothermic.”
Changing pressure at equilibrium
For gases, raising the pressure favours the side of the equation with fewer molecules.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.6.2.7 · Higher only
Builds on: Gas pressure — “Pressure is gas particles hitting the walls, so fewer molecules means less pressure.” · Balancing symbol equations · Le Chatelier's principle — “It is the principle applied to pressure.”
Crude oil and hydrocarbons
Crude oil is a finite resource formed from ancient plankton buried in mud; it is a mixture of many compounds, most of them hydrocarbons, which contain only hydrogen and carbon.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Fossil fuels are finite — “How oil formed and why it is finite is KS3; GCSE says what it is made of.” · Pure substances & mixtures
Alkanes
The alkanes are a family of hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2; name and draw the first four: methane, ethane, propane and butane.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Substituting into formulae (MATH) · Crude oil and hydrocarbons — “Alkanes are the main hydrocarbons in crude oil.” · Covalent bonds and small molecules — “A displayed formula shows each covalent bond as a line.”
Fractional distillation and petrochemicals
Crude oil is separated into fractions of similar-sized molecules by evaporating it and condensing each fraction at a different height; the fractions become fuels and the raw material for solvents, lubricants, polymers and detergents.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Separating mixtures — “Fractional distillation is KS3 distillation applied to many liquids at once.” · Boiling vs evaporating · Crude oil and hydrocarbons — “Crude oil is the mixture being separated.” · Mixtures and how to separate them
Hydrocarbon properties and molecule size
Boiling point, viscosity and flammability change in a regular way as hydrocarbon molecules get bigger, which decides how each is used as a fuel.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Alkanes — “The trend runs along the alkane family.” · Properties of small molecules — “Bigger molecules have stronger forces between them, which is why boiling point rises.”
Complete combustion of hydrocarbons
Burning a hydrocarbon in plenty of air oxidises its carbon and hydrogen to carbon dioxide and water and releases energy; write the balanced equation for a given fuel.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Combustion — “What burning needs and makes is KS3; GCSE writes it as a balanced equation.” · Balancing symbol equations — “The equation has to be balanced.” · Alkanes — “The fuels being burned are alkanes.”
Cracking
Long hydrocarbon molecules are broken into shorter, more useful ones using heat with a catalyst or with steam, because small-molecule fuels are in higher demand; balance equations for cracking.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Thermal decomposition · Catalysts · Fractional distillation and petrochemicals — “Cracking deals with the long-chain fractions that distillation produces.”
Alkenes and the bromine water test
Cracking also makes alkenes, which are more reactive than alkanes, change the colour of bromine water, and are the starting material for polymers.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.7.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Polymers: long-chain molecules · Cracking — “Alkenes are a product of cracking.”
Formulations
A formulation is a mixture designed as a useful product, with each ingredient in a measured amount for a purpose; fuels, paints, medicines, alloys and fertilisers are examples.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.8.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pure substances & mixtures — “A formulation is a mixture, made on purpose.” · Properties of metals and alloys
Chromatography and Rf values
Chromatography separates substances by how they share themselves between a moving solvent and the paper; calculate an Rf value and use it to identify a substance or show that it is pure.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.8.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Chromatography — “Running and reading a chromatogram is KS3; GCSE adds the two phases and the Rf calculation.” · Significant figures (MATH) · Pure substances & mixtures
How oxygen increased
Algae, and later plants, released oxygen by photosynthesis from about 2.7 billion years ago, until there was enough for animals to evolve.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Photosynthesis — the word equation (BIOL) — “The oxygen came from photosynthesis, first met in biology.” · Earth's early atmosphere — “The early atmosphere is the starting point that oxygen changed.” · The photosynthesis reaction (BIOL)
How carbon dioxide decreased
Carbon dioxide was removed by photosynthesis and by being locked into sedimentary rocks and fossil fuels; explain how limestone, coal, crude oil and natural gas formed.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The carbon cycle — “The carbon cycle shows the routes by which carbon leaves the air.” · Fossil fuels are finite — “How coal and oil formed is the KS3 half of this section.” · The three rock families · Earth's early atmosphere — “The early atmosphere is where the carbon dioxide started.”
Greenhouse gases
Water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane keep the Earth warm enough for life by letting short-wavelength radiation in and absorbing long-wavelength radiation on its way out.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Greenhouse effect & climate — “That greenhouse gases hold warmth in is KS3; GCSE explains it with wavelengths.” · Thermal radiation (PHYS) — “The explanation rests on radiation arriving from the Sun and leaving the Earth.”
Human activities and the evidence for climate change
Name two human activities that add carbon dioxide and two that add methane; judge the evidence for human-caused warming, including uncertainty, peer review and biased reporting.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Greenhouse effect & climate — “The main human sources of carbon dioxide were named at KS3.” · Evidence for climate change (GEOG) · Greenhouse gases — “The gases being added are the greenhouse gases.”
Effects of global climate change
Describe four possible effects of a rising average global temperature and discuss their scale and risk.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Evidence for climate change (GEOG) · Human activities and the evidence for climate change — “The effects follow from the extra greenhouse gases.”
The carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas emitted over the whole life of a product, service or event; describe ways to reduce it and why they are hard to carry out.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Responding to climate change (GEOG) · Human activities and the evidence for climate change — “A footprint counts the gases from human activities.” · Life-cycle assessment
Pollutants from burning fuels
Burning fuels can release carbon monoxide, soot, sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen as well as carbon dioxide and water; explain how each forms and predict the products for a given fuel.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Combustion — “KS3 combustion assumed plenty of oxygen and a clean fuel; pollutants appear when either fails.” · Complete combustion of hydrocarbons — “Complete combustion is the case these pollutants depart from.”
Effects of atmospheric pollutants
Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that cannot be seen or smelt; sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides cause breathing problems and acid rain; particulates dim the sunlight reaching the ground and harm health.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.9.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Weathering of rocks · Pollutants from burning fuels — “These are the pollutants whose formation was just explained.”
The Earth's resources and sustainable development
People rely on finite and renewable resources; sustainable development meets today's needs without harming future generations; read data on resources from charts and tables.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.10.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: What counts as a resource (GEOG) — “Geography has already sorted resources into those that regrow and those that run out.” · Recycling & finite resources — “That the Earth's stores are limited is the KS3 starting point.”
Waste water treatment
Sewage and industrial waste water are cleaned by screening, settling into sludge and effluent, then digesting the sludge without air and treating the effluent with air; compare how easy it is to get drinking water from waste, ground and salt water.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.10.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Separating mixtures · Microbes: friend and foe (BIOL) · Making water safe to drink — “Treated waste water is compared with the other sources of drinking water.”
Phytomining and bioleaching
Copper can be won from low-grade ores by growing plants that absorb metal compounds, or by bacteria that dissolve them; the metal is then recovered by displacement with scrap iron or by electrolysis.
Written against: AQA 8464 5.10.1.4 · Higher only
Builds on: Extracting metals from ores — “These are alternatives to digging ore and heating it with carbon.” · Displacement reactions — “Copper is recovered from solution by displacement with scrap iron.” · Electrolysis of solutions in water
Biology 78 topics
Year 10
Blood vessels
Arteries, veins and capillaries — each built for its job.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The circulatory system — “Vessels only make sense as parts of the circulatory loop.”
Blood components
Red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma — a tissue that flows.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The gas exchange system · The circulatory system — “Blood is what the circulation carries.”
Pathogens & disease
The microbes that cause illness, and how they spread.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Unicellular organisms — “Many pathogens are the unicellular organisms you met.”
The body's defences
Skin, mucus and white blood cells holding pathogens off.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease — “Defences only make sense once you know the threat.” · Blood components
Antibiotics & resistance
Medicines that kill bacteria — and why they are losing power.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.8 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease — “Antibiotics target the bacteria among the pathogens.” · Natural selection
Vaccination
Training the body's defences before a real infection arrives.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.7 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The body's defences — “A vaccine trains the defences you've just studied.”
Cell division & growth
How one cell copies itself so a body can grow and repair.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: DNA, genes & chromosomes · Animal cell structure — “Cell division copies the cell you dissected.”
Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
Animal and plant cells keep their DNA inside a nucleus; bacterial cells are far smaller and keep theirs loose, as one loop plus small rings called plasmids.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Animal cell structure — “A bacterial cell is compared, part by part, with the animal cell you already know.” · Unicellular organisms
Size and scale of cells
Comparing the sizes of cells and their parts using orders of magnitude, standard form and the prefixes centi, milli, micro and nano.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Magnification & scale — “Scale work grows out of the magnification sums from Year 7.” · Standard form: small numbers (MATH) — “Cell sizes are tiny numbers, and tiny numbers are written in standard form.” · Metric unit conversions (MATH)
Animal and plant cell structures
The parts of animal and plant cells and the job of each, now including ribosomes and mitochondria, with estimating and drawing what a light microscope shows.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Animal cell structure — “The animal-cell parts are the Year 7 list, with ribosomes added.” · Plant cell extras — “The plant-only parts are the same three, now tied to their functions.” · Cells & microscopy — “The required practical is the Year 7 microscope work done to exam standard.”
Specialised cells
How the build of a cell fits its job, for six named cells: sperm, nerve and muscle cells in animals; root hair, xylem and phloem cells in plants.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Specialised cells — “The same shape-follows-job idea, now with six named cells to explain.” · Root hair cells · Animal and plant cell structures — “You explain a specialised cell by naming which standard parts it has more or fewer of.”
Cell differentiation
How unspecialised cells turn into specialised ones as an organism develops: early in animals, throughout life in many plants.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Specialised cells — “Differentiation is the story of how the specialised cells you know came to be.” · Specialised cells — “You need the finished specialised cells before asking how they form.”
Light and electron microscopes
Why electron microscopes show far more than light microscopes (higher magnification and resolution), and what that revealed inside cells.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Cells & microscopy — “You compare the electron microscope with the light microscope you have used.”
Magnification calculations
Using and rearranging magnification = image size / real size, converting units and writing answers in standard form.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Magnification & scale — “The same formula as Year 7, now rearranged and with unit conversions.” · Standard form: small numbers (MATH) · Size and scale of cells
Stem cells: what they are and where they are found
Unspecialised cells that can become other cell types: in human embryos, in adult bone marrow, and in the growing tips (meristems) of plants.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Specialised cells · Cell differentiation — “A stem cell is a cell that has not differentiated.” · Cell division & growth
Using stem cells: benefits, risks and ethics
Possible treatments (diabetes, paralysis), therapeutic cloning, the risks and the objections, and cloning plants from meristems.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Stem cells: what they are and where they are found — “You weigh up a use of stem cells only after knowing what they are.”
Diffusion and what changes its rate
Particles spread from high to low concentration; the rate depends on the concentration difference, temperature and surface area. Examples: oxygen, carbon dioxide and urea.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Diffusion — “The Year 7 idea of diffusion, now with the three factors that set its speed.” · Diffusion (CHEM)
Surface area to volume ratio and exchange surfaces
Calculating surface area to volume ratio, why large organisms need exchange surfaces and transport systems, and what makes lungs, gut, gills, roots and leaves good at exchange.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Absorption in the gut — “The villi were your first exchange surface; this is the general rule behind them.” · The gas exchange system — “The alveoli are the second worked example of the same rule.” · Surface area of prisms (MATH) · Diffusion and what changes its rate — “Exchange surfaces exist to make diffusion fast enough.”
Osmosis
Water moving across a partially permeable membrane from a dilute to a concentrated solution, with percentage change in mass and graphs from the practical.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Osmosis — “The Year 8 idea, now measured: percentage change in mass and a graph.” · Diffusion and what changes its rate — “Osmosis is diffusion of water, so the diffusion rules apply.”
Active transport
Moving substances from low to high concentration using energy from respiration (mineral ions into root hairs, sugar from the gut), and telling it apart from diffusion and osmosis.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.1.3.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Aerobic respiration — “Active transport spends the energy that respiration releases.” · Root hair cells · Plant mineral nutrition · Diffusion and what changes its rate — “Active transport is defined as going against the direction diffusion would take.” · Osmosis
How enzymes work
Enzymes as biological catalysts with an active site of a particular shape (lock and key), and how temperature and pH change how fast they work.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Enzymes in digestion — “You met enzymes as digestion's tools; now you learn how the tool grips its target.” · Catalysts (CHEM) — “An enzyme is a catalyst made by a living cell.” · Acids, alkalis & pH (CHEM)
Digestive enzymes and bile
Where amylase, proteases and lipases are made, what each breaks down and into what, and how bile helps by neutralising stomach acid and breaking fat into droplets.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Enzymes in digestion — “The Year 8 enzyme-to-food matching, now with sites of production and products.” · Digestion & nutrition — “You need the route through the gut to place each enzyme.” · Nutrients & their jobs · How enzymes work — “Named digestive enzymes are examples of the general enzyme model.”
Food tests
Chemical tests that show which food molecules are present: Benedict's for sugars, iodine for starch, Biuret for protein. The practical also covers lipids, though the specification names no lipid test.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Testing a leaf for starch — “The iodine test for starch was first used on a leaf.” · Nutrients & their jobs
The heart and double circulation
The heart's chambers, the two loops (to the lungs and to the body), the named vessels joined to the heart, and natural and artificial pacemakers.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The circulatory system — “The Year 8 double loop, now with named chambers, vessels and the pacemaker.”
Coronary heart disease and its treatment
Fatty build-up narrowing the heart's own arteries, and weighing up stents, statins, replacement valves, transplants and artificial hearts.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Blood vessels — “The disease is a narrowed artery, so you need to know what an artery does.” · Energy balance & health · The heart and double circulation — “Coronary arteries and valves are parts of the heart you have just learned.”
Health and disease
Health as physical and mental well-being, communicable versus non-communicable disease, how one illness can lead to another, and reading disease data.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease · Scatter graphs & correlation (MATH)
Lifestyle risk factors
How diet, smoking, alcohol, exercise, obesity and carcinogens raise the risk of non-communicable diseases, the difference between a risk factor and a proven cause, and the human and financial cost.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Effects of smoking — “Smoking is a named risk factor; you know what it does to the lungs.” · Effects of alcohol — “Alcohol is a named risk factor; you know what it does to the liver and brain.” · Energy balance & health — “Obesity as a risk factor follows from energy balance.” · Correlation is not causation (MATH) · Health and disease — “Risk factors only make sense once non-communicable disease is defined.”
Cancer
Cancer as uncontrolled cell growth and division, the difference between benign and malignant tumours, and lifestyle and genetic risk factors.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.2.7 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Cell division & growth — “Cancer is cell division with the controls lost.” · Lifestyle risk factors
Plant tissues and the leaf
The tissues of a leaf and what each is built to do: epidermis, palisade and spongy mesophyll, xylem and phloem, guard cells, and meristem at the growing tips.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The leaf as an organ — “The Year 8 leaf, now with every layer named.” · Tissues → organs → systems
Transpiration and stomata
Water loss from leaves, how guard cells open and close stomata, and how temperature, humidity, air movement and light change the rate.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Transport in plants — “Transpiration is what pulls the water up the xylem.” · The leaf as an organ — “Stomata were met as the leaf's gas doors; now they control water loss too.” · Plant tissues and the leaf — “Guard cells and stomata are named leaf tissues.”
Xylem, phloem and translocation
How root hair cells take in water and mineral ions, how xylem carries them up, and how phloem moves dissolved sugars around the plant (translocation).
Written against: AQA 8464 4.2.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Transport in plants — “The Year 8 two-tube story, now with how each tube is built.” · Root hair cells — “Uptake starts at the root hair cell.” · Active transport — “Mineral ions enter the root by active transport.” · Osmosis
Viral diseases: measles, HIV and tobacco mosaic virus
Symptoms, spread and control of three named viral diseases, two human and one of plants.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease — “Each named disease is a worked example of how a virus spreads and harms.”
Bacterial diseases: salmonella and gonorrhoea
Symptoms, spread and control of two named bacterial diseases.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease — “Each named disease is a worked example of how bacteria spread and harm.”
Fungal disease: rose black spot
A named fungal disease of plants: what it looks like, how it spreads and how it is treated.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease — “A worked example of a fungal pathogen.”
Protist disease: malaria
Malaria: caused by a protist, carried by mosquitoes, and controlled by stopping mosquitoes breeding and biting.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Pathogens & disease — “A worked example of a protist pathogen and a vector.”
Where medicines come from
Traditional sources of drugs (foxglove, willow, the Penicillium mould) and how most are made by chemists today.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.9 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Microbes: friend and foe
Testing new medicines
How a new drug is checked for safety, effectiveness and dose: laboratory tests, then clinical trials, placebos, double-blind trials and peer review.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.3.1.9 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Where medicines come from
The photosynthesis reaction
The word equation, the chemical symbols for the four substances, and photosynthesis as a reaction that takes in energy from light.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Photosynthesis — the word equation — “The Year 7 word equation, now with symbols and energy.” · Exothermic & endothermic (CHEM) — “Endothermic is the chemistry word for a reaction that takes energy in.” · Exothermic and endothermic reactions (CHEM)
Rate of photosynthesis and limiting factors
How temperature, light, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll change the rate, how to measure it, and reading graphs with one limiting factor.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Limiting factors for photosynthesis — “The Year 8 limiting factors, now measured and graphed.” · The photosynthesis reaction — “You can only talk about the rate of a reaction you can write down.”
Interacting limiting factors and the inverse square law
Graphs with two or three factors, light intensity falling with the square of distance, and the economics of heating and lighting a greenhouse.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.1.2 · Higher only
Builds on: Inverse proportion (MATH) — “The inverse square law is inverse proportion with a square in it.” · Rate of photosynthesis and limiting factors — “Several factors at once builds on reading one factor at a time.” · Proportion formulae (MATH)
How plants use glucose
The five things a plant does with the glucose it makes: respire it, store it as starch, store it as fat or oil, build cellulose, and make amino acids using nitrates.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Photosynthesis — the word equation — “Glucose is the product of photosynthesis.” · Plant mineral nutrition — “Nitrates from the soil are what turn glucose into protein.” · Testing a leaf for starch · The photosynthesis reaction — “This is what happens next to the product of the reaction.”
Aerobic respiration
Respiration as an energy-releasing reaction running all the time in every living cell: the equation with symbols, and what the energy is used for.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Aerobic respiration — “The Year 8 word equation, now with symbols and energy.” · Exothermic & endothermic (CHEM) — “Exothermic is the chemistry word for a reaction that gives energy out.” · Exothermic and endothermic reactions (CHEM)
Anaerobic respiration and fermentation
Respiration without oxygen: lactic acid in muscles, ethanol and carbon dioxide in yeast and plants, why it releases less energy, and its use in bread and brewing.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Anaerobic respiration — “The Year 9 topic, now with the yeast equation and the comparison.” · Microbes: friend and foe · Aerobic respiration — “Anaerobic respiration is defined by comparison with aerobic.”
The body's response to exercise
Why heart rate, breathing rate and breath volume rise in exercise, and how lactic acid, oxygen debt and muscle fatigue follow when oxygen runs short. *Higher tier only (was 4.4.2.2b, Oxygen debt and the liver):* What happens to lactic acid afterwards (carried to the liver and turned back into glucose) and the exact meaning of oxygen debt.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.2.2 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Heart rate & exercise — “You measured the pulse rising; now you explain every change.” · Exercise & fitness · Anaerobic respiration and fermentation — “Fatigue is explained by anaerobic respiration in muscle.”
Metabolism
Metabolism as the sum of all reactions in a cell or body: building and breaking down carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, and making urea from excess protein.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.4.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Nutrients & their jobs · Aerobic respiration — “Respiration supplies the energy for building molecules.” · How plants use glucose — “The plant's uses of glucose are examples of metabolism.” · How enzymes work — “Every metabolic reaction is controlled by an enzyme.”
Year 11
Fossils & the evidence
How rock records the slow rewriting of species.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Extinction · Darwin's theory — “Fossils are the evidence Darwin's theory predicts.” · Natural selection — the evidence
Selective breeding
Choosing which living things breed to steer their traits.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.2.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Variation — “Selective breeding steers variation on purpose.” · Natural selection · Variation and mutation
Reflexes & the nervous system
Fast, automatic responses that skip conscious thought. Read the full explainer →
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Tissues → organs → systems — “The nervous system is another organ system to map.” · Specialised cells · Homeostasis — “The nervous system is one of the body's two control systems.”
Natural selection — the evidence
How variation plus time rewrites species.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Ecosystems & food webs · Natural selection — “The evidence deepens the selection idea.” · Inheritance & variation · Evolution by natural selection — “Evidence is evidence for the theory just stated.”
Introduction to genetic modification
Moving a gene from one organism to another, on purpose.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.2.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: DNA, genes & chromosomes — “Editing genes needs you to know what a gene is.” · Selective breeding · DNA and the genome
Classification & the tree of life
Grouping living things by shared features and shared ancestry.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Darwin's theory · Identification keys — “Classification formalises the keys you've used.” · Evolution by natural selection · Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
Homeostasis
Keeping conditions inside the body steady (blood glucose, temperature, water) using receptors, coordination centres and effectors.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: How enzymes work — “Steady conditions matter because enzymes only work well in a narrow range.”
The reflex arc and reaction time
The three nerve cells of a reflex arc and the gaps between them, why reflexes matter, and measuring reaction time.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Reflexes & the nervous system — “You know reflexes are fast; now you trace the route that makes them fast.”
The endocrine system
Glands that release hormones into the blood, how hormonal control compares with nervous control, the pituitary as master gland, and where six glands are.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.3.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: The circulatory system · Homeostasis — “Hormones are the chemical half of the body's control systems.” · Reflexes & the nervous system
Blood glucose, insulin and diabetes
How the pancreas uses insulin to lower blood glucose, and how Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes differ in cause and treatment. *Higher tier only (was 4.5.3.2b, Glucagon and negative feedback):* How glucagon raises blood glucose and works with insulin in a negative feedback loop.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.3.2 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Energy balance & health · The endocrine system — “Insulin is a hormone from a gland you have located.” · Homeostasis — “Blood glucose is one of the three named conditions kept steady.”
Hormones in reproduction and the menstrual cycle
Oestrogen and testosterone at puberty, and the jobs of FSH, LH, oestrogen and progesterone in the menstrual cycle. *Higher tier only (was 4.5.3.3b, How the menstrual-cycle hormones interact):* How the four hormones switch each other on and off through the cycle, and reading graphs of their levels.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.3.3 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: The menstrual cycle — “The Year 9 cycle, now with the hormones that drive each stage.” · Puberty & adolescence · The endocrine system — “Reproductive hormones are endocrine hormones.”
Contraception
Hormonal and non-hormonal ways of preventing pregnancy, how each works, and weighing them up.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.3.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Gametes & fertilisation — “Every method works by stopping sperm meeting egg, or an egg maturing.” · Hormones in reproduction and the menstrual cycle — “Hormonal methods work by interfering with FSH and progesterone.”
Hormones to treat infertility
Fertility drugs and IVF: how FSH and LH are used, the steps of IVF, and its costs and risks.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.3.5 · Higher only
Builds on: Gametes & fertilisation — “IVF is fertilisation done outside the body.” · Hormones in reproduction and the menstrual cycle — “The treatment uses the two hormones that mature and release eggs.”
Adrenaline, thyroxine and negative feedback
What adrenaline and thyroxine do, and how thyroxine is held steady by negative feedback.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.5.3.6 · Higher only
Builds on: The endocrine system — “Both are hormones from glands you have located.” · Blood glucose, insulin and diabetes · Metabolism
Sexual and asexual reproduction
Two parents and mixed genetic information versus one parent and identical offspring (clones), and which type of cell division each involves.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Reproduction — “The Year 8 contrast, now explained by what happens to the genetic information.” · Gametes & fertilisation · Cell division & growth — “Asexual reproduction is mitosis and nothing else.”
Meiosis
The cell division that makes gametes: four cells, each with half the chromosomes and all genetically different; fertilisation restores the full number.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Gametes & fertilisation — “Gametes carry half-sets; meiosis is how the halving happens.” · Cell division & growth — “Meiosis is learned by contrast with mitosis.” · DNA, genes & chromosomes — “Halving only makes sense once chromosomes come in pairs.”
DNA and the genome
DNA as a double helix, a gene as a stretch of DNA that codes for one protein, the genome as all of an organism's genetic material, and why reading the human genome matters.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: DNA, genes & chromosomes — “The Year 9 nesting of DNA, gene and chromosome, now with structure and purpose.” · Polymers: long-chain molecules (CHEM)
The language of genetics
Ten terms that inheritance questions rely on: gamete, chromosome, gene, allele, dominant, recessive, homozygous, heterozygous, genotype and phenotype.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Inheritance & variation — “You know offspring take after both parents; these are the words for how.” · DNA, genes & chromosomes — “An allele is a version of a gene.” · DNA and the genome — “Genotype and phenotype rest on a gene coding for a protein.”
Genetic crosses and Punnett squares
Completing and reading Punnett squares and family trees, and giving outcomes as ratios and probabilities. Higher tier also builds the cross from scratch.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.4 · Foundation and Higher, with some Higher-only content
Builds on: Probability of single events (MATH) — “A cross predicts a probability, not a certainty.” · Ratio notation (MATH) · Sample space diagrams (MATH) · The language of genetics — “A cross cannot be read without the vocabulary.”
Inherited disorders
Polydactyly (dominant allele) and cystic fibrosis (recessive allele), and the arguments around embryo screening.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.5 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Genetic crosses and Punnett squares — “Each disorder is worked through as a genetic cross.”
Sex determination
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes; one pair decides sex (XX female, XY male), shown with a genetic cross.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.1.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: DNA, genes & chromosomes · Genetic crosses and Punnett squares — “Sex inheritance is shown with the same cross diagram.”
Variation and mutation
Differences within a species come from genes, environment or both; all new variants start as mutations, most of which change nothing.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Variation — “The Year 9 causes of variation, now with mutation as the source.” · Inheritance & variation · DNA and the genome — “A mutation is a change in the DNA.”
Evolution by natural selection
Evolution as change in inherited characteristics of a population over time, from simple life over three billion years ago, and how new species form.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.2.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Natural selection — “The Year 9 steps of natural selection, now carried through to new species.” · Darwin's theory · Variation and mutation — “Selection needs variation to act on.”
The steps of genetic engineering
The process itself: enzymes cut out the gene, a carrier (a plasmid or virus) takes it into the target cells, done early in development.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.2.4 · Higher only
Builds on: Introduction to genetic modification — “The steps explain how the transfer you already know about is done.” · Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells — “The usual carrier is a bacterial plasmid.” · How enzymes work
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria
How resistant strains such as MRSA arise by mutation and selection, and the three ways to slow them down.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.6.3.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Antibiotics & resistance — “The Year 9 link between overuse and resistance, now explained as evolution.” · Evolution by natural selection — “Resistance is natural selection on a fast clock.”
Communities, interdependence and competition
The levels from single organism to ecosystem, what plants and animals compete for, how species depend on each other, and what makes a community stable.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.1.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Competition & interdependence — “The Year 9 topic, now with the levels of an ecosystem and the idea of stability.” · Ecosystems & food webs
Abiotic factors
The seven non-living factors that affect a community (light, temperature, moisture, soil, wind, carbon dioxide, oxygen) and predicting the effect of a change.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.1.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Habitats & adaptation · Communities, interdependence and competition — “Factors act on the community you have just defined.”
Biotic factors
The four living factors that affect a community (food, new predators, new pathogens, being out-competed) and predicting the effect of a change.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.1.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Competition & interdependence — “Competition is one of the named biotic factors.” · Predator–prey cycles · Communities, interdependence and competition — “Factors act on the community you have just defined.”
Adaptations and extremophiles
Structural, behavioural and functional adaptations, and organisms that live in extreme heat, pressure or salt.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.1.4 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Habitats & adaptation — “The Year 7 idea, now sorted into three kinds and pushed to extremes.”
Sampling with quadrats and transects
Measuring how many of a species live in a habitat and where, using quadrats and transects, with mean, median and mode.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.2.1 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Sampling with quadrats — “The Year 8 quadrat method, now with transects and a factor to investigate.” · Averages & range (MATH) — “Counts are summarised with mean, median and mode.” · Abiotic factors · Sampling & bias (MATH)
Waste and pollution
How a growing population produces more waste, and how pollution of water, air and land reduces biodiversity.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.3.2 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Human impact on ecosystems — “The Year 9 overview of human impact, now sorted by water, air and land.” · Biodiversity — “Pollution is judged by what it does to biodiversity.” · Pollutants from burning fuels (CHEM)
Land use and peat bogs
How building, quarrying, farming and dumping take land from other species, and why destroying peat bogs costs both habitat and carbon.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.3.3 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Human impact on ecosystems — “Land use was one of the named human impacts; peat is the worked example.” · The carbon cycle · Biodiversity — “Land use is judged by what it does to biodiversity.”
Maintaining biodiversity
Five kinds of programme that protect biodiversity (breeding, habitat protection, hedgerows, cutting deforestation and emissions, recycling) and the pressures against them.
Written against: AQA 8464 4.7.3.6 · Foundation and Higher
Builds on: Conservation — “The Year 9 conservation topic, now with five named methods to evaluate.” · Biodiversity — “You protect biodiversity once you know why it matters.”
Drafted by AI agents from the published AQA specifications for GCSE Mathematics (8300) and GCSE Combined Science: Trilogy (8464), then checked by script that every section is covered and by re-reading a sample against the specification. AQA has not reviewed or approved this map and is not affiliated with aitutors.me. Year 10 and Year 11 are our placement, not a school timetable.