Scheme of Work

A LEVEL BIOLOGY
SCHEME OF WORK
Term 2, 2024

TOPICS TO BE COVERED

1. Selection and evolution

2. Classification, biodiversity and conservation
3. Genetic technology

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 Scheme of Work

17: Selection and evolution

Topic/
Content Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

17.1 Variation 17.1.1 Explain, with Learners list as many features as they can that we can use to recognise each other. Examples may include
examples, that phenotypic hair and eye colour, height, weight, age, sex, and so on. The teacher asks learners to also list features that
Week 1 variation is due to genetic cannot be seen– such as ABO blood group and tidal volume. The learners identify which are examples of
factors or environmental continuous variation, and which are examples of discontinuous variation.
factors or a combination of
genetic and environmental Learners use the t-test to compare means of, for example, height or hair length between males and females, for
factors. example. A useful website to support analysis using the t-test is: www.theseashore.org.uk/theseashore/Stats
%20for%20twits/T%20Test.html
17.1.2 Explain what is meant
by discontinuous variation
and continuous variation.
The teacher prepares learners for the next lesson (on natural and artificial selection) by providing a series of
17.1.3 Explain the genetic questions for them to research in advance using internet sources. Questions may include ‘What is the
basis of discontinuous importance of variation between members of a species?’ and ‘What are the benefits of producing sexually
variation and continuous rather than asexually?’
variation.

17.1.4 Use the t-test to

compare the means of two
different samples.

Natural and 17.2.1 Explain that natural It is very important that learners are confident in using some of the key terms they encountered in Topics
artificial selection selection occurs because 6 and 16, including allele, frequency, dominant, recessive, homozygous, heterozygous, mutation, and so
populations have the on. Learners choose a term and offer a definition for it.
capacity to produce many
Week 2 offspring that compete for The teacher uses active learning to demonstrate a model that represents the natural selection of the HbS
resources; in the ‘struggle for allele. He places around 20–30 sweets of two different colours in a non-transparent bag to represent the
existence’, individuals that alleles HbA and HbS. There should be an equal number of both. Learners take two sweets at random. If an
are best adapted are most HbA and an HbS are taken, count this twice. This models the advantage experienced by heterozygous
likely to survive to reproduce individuals. If two HbS alleles are drawn out, place these out of sight. This models the disadvantage
and pass on their alleles to experienced by recessive homozygous individuals. Learners record numbers of each genotype in each
the next generation. generation and construct graphs to show the effect of selection over time.

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Content Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

17.2.2 Explain how

environmental factors can act Work through the interactive activity on natural selection with learners:
as stabilising, disruptive and https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/natural-selection
directional forces of natural
selection. Learners record a step-by-step guide to explain how natural selection occurs. This could consist of a series of
diagrams, a flow chart with statements separated by arrows or a short story. Examples of case studies
17.2.3 Explain how selection, include: warfarin resistance in rats; melanism in peppered moths; cyanogenic clover; antibiotic resistance in
the founder effect and bacteria; resistance in insects to insecticides.
genetic drift, including the
bottleneck effect, may affect To support learning of the material in this unit, the teacher shares an automated Hardy-Weinberg calculator
allele frequencies in with learners, e.g. www.perinatology.com/calculators/Hardy-Weinberg.htm. Learners use this to check their
populations. answers after manually calculating values. Tutorials and quizzes on the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium:
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0767424263/322933/fuentes_4_1.html
17.2.4 Outline how bacteria www.wwnorton.com/college/biology/discoverbio3/core/content/ch17/animations.asp
become resistant to
antibiotics as an example of Learners prepare Venn diagrams that compare the processes of natural and artificial selection.
natural selection.
Learners are challenged to write a ‘how to’ guide to help their peers in the following year group to answer
17.2.5 Use the Hardy– questions using the Hardy–Weinberg equations. They should describe the problems they encountered and
Weinberg principle to mistakes they initially made during this lesson. Their work must be written in a casual, friendly tone.
calculate allele and genotype
frequencies in populations
and state the conditions
when this principle can be
applied.

17.2.6 Describe the

principles of selective
breeding (artificial selection).

17.2.7 Outline the following

examples of selective
breeding:
 the introduction of
disease resistance to
varieties of wheat and
rice

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Content Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

 inbreeding and Extension activity: Learners suggest why the Hardy–Weinberg equations cannot be used if there are
hybridisation to produce multiple alleles, or if there is a codominant relationship between the alleles, and how selection, the founder
vigorous, uniform effect and genetic drift, including the bottleneck effect, invalidate the equations.
varieties of maize
 improving the milk yield
of dairy cattle.

17.3 Evolution 17.3.1 Outline the theory of The teacher shows the Tree of Life, which is a short-animated video showing how the process of evolution is
evolution as a process thought to have occurred: www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6IrUUDboZo. Inspired by this, learners construct a
leading to the formation of one-sentence definition for the term ‘evolution’. They submit their work in the form of a shared electronic
new species from pre- document.
3 existing species over time, as
a result of changes to gene Learners suggest the traditional types of evidence used to investigate relatedness between different
pools from generation to organisms (e.g. comparative morphology and anatomy, fossils, classification and embryology). The
generation. teacher provides learners with the DNA sequences of a section of a gene common to five different
species (e.g. cytochrome-c oxidase). Learners are challenged to suggest how this can be used to
17.3.2 Discuss how DNA show evolutionary relationships between the species.
sequence data can show
evolutionary relationships Useful animation to describe speciation:
between species. http://nortonbooks.com/college/biology/animations/ch17a01.htm

17.3.3 Explain how Other resources on evolution:

speciation may occur as a https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/resourcelibrary.php
result of genetic isolation by:
 geographical separation
(allopatric speciation)
 ecological and
behavioural separation
(sympatric speciation).

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 Scheme of Work

18: Classification, biodiversity and conservation

Topic/
Content Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

18.1 18.1.1 Discuss the meaning The teacher displays a ‘tree of life’ showing the three domains and presents the information about them in an
Classification of the term species, limited to incomplete table which learners complete with ticks/crosses. Learners decide on a memorable mnemonic to
the biological species help remember the hierarchical order of taxons.
concept, morphological
Week 4 species concept and The teacher extends by prompting learners to use the taxonomic hierarchy of kingdom, phylum, class, order,
ecological species concept. family, genus and species to classify a variety of organisms. He explores the different types of species concept
to deepen learners’ understanding.
18.1.2 Describe the
classification of organisms Using internet research, learners prepare a poster explaining why the five-domain classification system was
into three domains: Archaea, replaced by the three-domain system in the 1970s. Emphasis. Each poster must include a blank table with
Bacteria and Eukarya. three columns (ready to accept examples of each of the three domains). After learners complete their work,
the teacher discusses why viruses are not included in the three-domain classification.
18.1.3 State that Archaea
and Bacteria are prokaryotes Learners identify examples of species that have been reclassified in the light of molecular evidence. This
and that there are differences article describes the news that the African elephant, previously thought of as one species, Loxodonta
between them, limited to africana, is in fact two: www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/12/101222-african-elephants-two-species-
differences in membrane new- science/.
lipids, ribosomal RNA and
composition of cell walls. Learners summarise the characteristic features of the kingdoms Protoctista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia.They
produce a series of cards showing photomicrographs and photographs of various species with their
18.1.4 Describe the characteristics on the reverse side. Further information and useful images: www.linnean.org/learning/teaching
classification of organisms in www.nationalgeographic.com/
the Eukarya domain into the www.kew.org/
taxonomic hierarchy of
kingdom, phylum, class,
order, family, genus and
species.

18.1.5 Outline the

characteristic features of the
kingdoms Protoctista, Fungi,
Plantae and Animalia.

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Contents Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

18.1.6 Outline how viruses

are classified, limited to the
type of nucleic acid (RNA or
DNA) and whether this is
single stranded or double
stranded.

18.2 Biodiversity 18.2.1 Define the terms Before the lesson, the teacher asks learners to find definitions of the term biodiversity.
ecosystem and niche.
The teacher models the process of random sampling by holding up one page from a large newspaper that
5 18.2.2 Explain that contains words of different-sized fonts, images and blank areas. He explains that this simulates a field or area
biodiversity can be assessed of forest, which has no more than 26 species living there, each species represented by a letter of the
at different levels, including: alphabet. He then makes the analogy clear by showing a series of images of a region of coastline, grassland
 the number and range of
or forest from their local area, or satellite images from e.g. Google Maps.
different ecosystems and
habitats
Learners discuss with the teacher a method to determine how many different species and how many
 the number of species
individuals of each species there are. They discuss a suitable strategy, highlighting: the importance of having
and their relative
to sample; taking a number of samples (the sample may be unrepresentative, e.g. a photograph represents
abundance
a bare rock, so no individuals would be found); choosing the correct size/area of each sample; random
 the genetic variation
sampling (biased sampling – any measurements can only apply to the sample, not to the whole area).
within each species.
Learners prepare a series of flashcards that help them understand the key differences between the terms
18.2.3 Explain the
ecosystem, habitat, and niche.
importance of random
sampling in determining the
Learners use quadrats to investigate species abundance or distribution in a grassy area. They record results
biodiversity of an area.
as species frequency, species density, percentage cover, or use an abundance scale (e.g.
ACFOR). Random sampling can be used, or a systematic sampling method with quadrats to sample
18.2.4 Describe and use
organisms along a transect line, perhaps by collecting data to calculate Simpson’s index of diversity. Support
suitable methods to assess
is available online including:
the distribution and
http://saps.org.uk/secondary/teaching-resources/127-ecology-practical-distribution-of-species-and-fieldwork-
abundance of organisms in
sampling
an area, limited to frame
quadrats, line transects, belt
transects and mark-release-
recapture using the Lincoln
index.

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Contents Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

18.2.5 Use Spearman’s rank The teacher models the use of the Lincoln index using a container of beans. (Remove a small handful to be
correlation and Pearson’s marked for the first sample, add them back to the container, shake them up, remove a second sample for the
linear correlation to analyse ‘recapture’ (closed eyes) and record results, obtaining the estimate using the formula).
the relationships between
two variables, including how Using model data, the teacher demonstrates how to use Spearman’s rank correlation and Pearson’s linear
biotic and abiotic factors correlation to analyse the relationships between two variables.
affect the distribution and
abundance of species.

18.2.6 Use Simpson’s index

of diversity (D) to calculate
the biodiversity of an area,
and state the significance of
different values of D.

18.3 18.3.1 Explain why The teacher projects a world map onto the board. Learners put sticky notes onto the relevant countries or
Conservation populations and species can regions that host key threats to biodiversity. Learners identify the patterns that emerge, e.g. regions of the
become extinct. planet that are around the equator (coral reefs and rainforest) and have a high human population density.

Week 6 18.3.2 Outline reasons for Learners can be overwhelmed by the number and names of species that are threatened. As support, the
the need to maintain teacher asks learners to consider the range of threats that affect a particular example. For instance, coral
biodiversity. reefs in the Caribbean are threatened by globally increasing ocean temperatures, tourism, and so on. The
teacher uses this to explain reasons for controlling invasive alien species (here, predation by invasive
18.3.3 Outline the roles of lionfish).
zoos, botanic gardens,
conserved areas (including Learners write a definition of the term ‘endangered’, researching a named example and including the species
national parks and marine name and the reasons for it being endangered.
parks), ‘frozen zoos’ and
seed banks, in the The teacher provides an opportunity for the learners to research one species that is considered endangered.
conservation of endangered The learners prepare a one-page summary that lists key features of the species and why it is endangered.
species.

18.3.4 Describe methods of

assisted reproduction used in
the conservation of
endangered mammals,

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Contents Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

limited to IVF, embryo

transfer and surrogacy. Learners carry out research, and summarise their findings in the form of a blog, podcast or website, into San
Diego Frozen Zoo Global and the Millennium Seed Bank at Kew Gardens in the UK:
18.3.5 Explain reasons for www.sandiegozooglobal.org
controlling invasive alien www.kew.org/science-conservation/save-seed-prosper/millennium-seed-bank/index.htm.
species.
Extension activity: Learners reflect on whether single-celled organisms (including bacteria) could be
18.3.6 Outline the role in endangered, and how these could be identified and protected.
conservation of the
International Union for the
Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) and the Convention
on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITES).

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 Scheme of Work

19: Genetic technology

Topic/
Contents Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

19.1 Principles of 19.1.1 Define the term

genetic recombinant DNA.
technology
19.1.2 Explain that genetic
engineering is the deliberate Learners match a series of key terms to definitions (taken from Topic 6) that concern the structure of DNA and
manipulation of genetic RNA. Words will include specific, complementary and hybridisation.
material to modify specific
characteristics of an Learners undertake an activity focusing on the analysis of the stages of genetic engineering.
7&8 organism and that this may
involve transferring a gene
into an organism so that the
gene is expressed.

19.1.3 Explain that genes to The process of genetic engineering is often explained by using analogy (e.g. the genetic engineer’s ‘toolkit’). It
be transferred into an can be of great help to learners to think that the process consists of ‘tools’. Examples include restriction
organism may be: enzymes being represented as scissors, and glue acting as DNA ligase. Animations that use analogies:
 extracted from the DNA www.dnaftb.org/ http://highered.mheducation.com/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=swf::535::535::/sites/dl/free/
of a donor organism 0072437316/120078
 synthesised from the /bio37.swf::Restriction%20Endonucleases
mRNA of a donor http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/voet/0470129301/animated_figs/ch03/3-26.html
organism
 synthesised chemically Learners compare and contrast cellular DNA replication during the cell cycle with the process of PCR.
from nucleotides.

19.1.4 Explain the roles of

restriction endonucleases,
DNA ligase, plasmids, DNA
polymerase and reverse
transcriptase in the transfer
of a gene into an organism.

19.1.5 Explain why a

promoter may have to be

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Content Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

transferred into an organism

The teacher provides opportunities for learners to undertake calculations related to the process of PCR. The
as well as the desired gene.
three stages of PCR are repeated n times, giving 2n copies of the original DNA. Learners calculate the
number of molecules of DNA produced from one double-stranded starting molecule, after a given number of
19.1.6 Explain how gene
cycles.
expression may be confirmed
by the use of marker genes
The teacher supports learners as they explore a database associated with bioinformatics, such as Ensembl
coding for fluorescent
(genome), GenBank (DNA sequence), UniProt (protein sequence), PDB (protein structure) and COSMIC
products.
(somatic mutations in cancer). He provides an opportunity for learners to compare the primary sequence of a
protein common to a wide range of organisms (e.g. ribonuclease, cytochrome c-oxidase, or others). Learners
19.1.7 Explain that gene
compare the number and sequence of amino acids and comment on the similarities and differences. The
editing is a form of genetic
following is a useful source of lesson ideas:
engineering involving the
www.bioinformaticaindeklas.nl/en/
insertion, deletion or
replacement of DNA at
Learners explore the new technique of CRISPR/CAS9-dependent gene editing by carrying out research to
specific sites in the genome.
write a newspaper article for a general (non-scientific) audience. The challenge is for them to describe and
explain the procedure in simple terms, but with sufficient detail and scientifically accurate. Learners are
19.1.8 Describe and explain
encouraged to show their work to their family or friends who may not study biology.
the steps involved in the
polymerase chain reaction
Learners make a model microarray using items of rubbish (e.g. empty food packets, cardboard, paper, etc.).
(PCR) to clone and amplify
They then explain to the teacher how this gene technology works with reference to sources they have found
DNA, including the role of
in their textbook.
Taq polymerase.
The teacher supports learners to produce a clear summary set of notes on this topic.
19.1.9 Describe and explain
how gel electrophoresis is
used to separate DNA
fragments of different
lengths.

19.1.10 Outline how

microarrays are used in the
analysis of genomes and in
detecting mRNA in studies of
gene expression.

19.1.11 Outline the benefits

of using databases that

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 Scheme of Work

Topic/
Content Learning outcomes Teaching and Learning activities

provide information about

nucleotide sequences of
genes and genomes, and
amino acid sequences of
proteins and protein
structures.

9 & 10 EXAMINATIONS

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 Scheme of Work

19.2 Genetic 19.2.1 Explain the The teacher shows learners the sequence of DNA from a normal allele of a given gene, and then a mutant
technology advantages of using allele. Using their knowledge of key terms they encountered in Topics 6 and 16, learners describe the
applied to recombinant human proteins difference, and refresh their knowledge of how mutations happen and why they lead to a change in
medicine to treat disease, using the phenotype.
examples insulin, factor VIII
11 and adenosine deaminase. Learners design and produce a poster on the treatments offered by gene therapy, for use in a public
awareness campaign.
19.2.2 Outline the
advantages of genetic Discuss the social and ethical considerations of using genetic screening and gene therapy. Include in the
screening, using the discussion genetic screening for conditions for which treatment does and does not exist. Remind learners to
examples of breast cancer keep the language they use simple, but based on accurate scientific explanations.
(BRCA1 and BRCA2),
Huntington’s disease and Learners write their ideas under four headings on pieces of paper ‘Genetic screening – social consideration’;
cystic fibrosis. ‘Genetic screening – ethical consideration’; ‘Gene therapy - social consideration’; Gene therapy - ethical
consideration’. Learners justify their statements to a small group and, if agreed, add it to a poster. Display the
19.2.3 Outline how genetic posters for learners to consider and make notes.
diseases can be treated with
gene therapy, using the Learners write the shortest sentence possible using a range of key terms that feature in the topic of genetic
examples severe combined technology applied to medicine. This is a good way to focus learners on developing their higher-order thinking
immunodeficiency (SCID) skills to make sense of the meaning of these terms, rather than simply recall them.
and inherited eye diseases.

19.2.4 Discuss the social and

ethical considerations of
using genetic screening and
gene therapy in medicine.

Genetically 19.3.1 Explain that genetic Learners research how many, if any, local crops in their country and in other neighbouring countries are
modified engineering may help to genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
organisms in solve the global demand for
agriculture Learners use resources to produce an annotated flow diagram to summarise how one crop or livestock from
the list specified in the syllabus was produced.

Extension activity: Learners carry out calculations to compare, in ratios and percentages, the sizes of the
19.4 12 areas on which GMOs and non-GMOs are grown or farmed. The teacher extends the activity by considering the
ethical and social implications of using genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food production.

food by improving the quality

and productivity of farmed
animals and crop plants,
using the examples of
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 Scheme of Work

GM salmon, herbicide
resistance in soybean and
insect resistance in cotton.

19.3.2 Discuss the ethical

and social implications of
using genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) in food
production.

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