Biology
Course Name: Biology A-level
Exam board and qualification: AQA A-level
Text Book: New A-Level Biology for AQA: Year 1 & 2 Student Book with Online Edition (CGP A-Level Biology) Paperback
Recommended learning book whilst off before starting the course in September is the following:
This book is a great stepping stone from GCSE to S-level and can be downloaded to phones/ kindle devices or purchased as a hard copy for around £5 (pre-owned versions are available for around £1-£2). This is by no means compulsory but will make you very well prepared come the start of the course to have read over the sections such as ‘Biological molecules’ and ‘Cells’.
Recommended Reading
Scientific journals such as:
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New Scientist
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Scientific American
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Nature
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Science
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Biological Sciences Review
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British Medical Journal
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Any scientific articles in newspapers (eg the Guardian on Wednesday)
To REALLY further your imagination, passion and curiosity in Biology, please research these on Amazon and select a few to read:
Richard Dawkins:
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The Selfish Gene
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The Blind Watchmaker.
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Unweaving the Rainbow
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Climbing Mount Improbable
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The Ancestor’s Tale
Steve Jones:
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Y: The Descent of Men In the Blood: God, Genes and Destiny Almost Like a Whale: The 'Origin of Species' Updated
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The Language of the genes
Matt Ridley:
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Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
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The Language of Genes
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Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code
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Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience and What Makes Us Human
James Watson:
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DNA: The Secret of Life
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The Double Helix: Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA
Lewis Thomas:
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The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher. The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher Barry Gibb: The Rough Guide to the Brain (Rough Guides Reference Titles)
Charles Darwin: The origin of species
Relevant Websites
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http://www.ibiblio.org/virtualcell/index.htm – An interactive cell biology site
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http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/VL/GG – A web site showing illustrations of many processes of biotechnology
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http://www.uq.oz.au/nanoworld – Visit the world of electron-microscopy
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http://www.dnai.org/a/index.html – Explore the genetic code
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http://nobelprize.org – Details of the history of the best scientific discoveries
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http://nature.com – The site of the scientific journal
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http://royalsociety.org – Podcasts, news and interviews with scientists about recent scientific developments
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http://www.nhm.ac.uk – The London Natural History Museum’s website with lots of interesting educational material
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http://www.bmj.com – The website of the British Medical Journal
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science_and_environment - The BBC news page for Science and the Environment
Useful websites for curriculum notes, practice questions and maths skills support:
Distance learning sites: www.kerboodle.com sign up to class FTNNT52
Link to work: https://www.kerboodle.com/app/courses/19551/modules/Resources/node/28657/page/1/content/260627
Kerboodle log in username = initial plus surname eg ylavassani
Password is the same as username eg ylavassani
Institution code is oun6 (o for orange )
Youtube / videos
The snap revise videos are great and available on YouTube for A-level Biology
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yOqKblASJzqMZfRL0DbYA
Ms Cooper’s A-level Biology videos are also a great help!
Ted Talks Science topic is full of pioneering research and debates, often around the topic of Biology.
Tasks: Attempt the work on Kerboodle for transition to A-level Biology
Research cellular structures beyond the 5 core structures for animal cells learnt from GCSE- bonus!
Any questions email
