Water, carbohydrates, lipids and proteins — their structures, the bonds that build them, condensation and hydrolysis, and the chemical food tests.
Enzymes as biological catalysts: the induced-fit model, activation energy, and how temperature, pH, concentration and inhibitors affect rate.
Structure of the heart, the cardiac cycle, blood vessels, blood clotting and the development of atherosclerosis.
Lipoproteins (HDL and LDL), dietary and lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease, correlation versus causation, and treatments.
Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell structure, the roles of organelles, the protein-secretion pathway, and microscopy and magnification calculations.
The fluid-mosaic model and movement across membranes: diffusion, facilitated diffusion, osmosis, active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis.
Nucleic acid structure, semi-conservative replication, the genetic code, transcription and translation, and the effect of mutations.
The cell cycle, the stages of mitosis, the role of meiosis in producing genetic variation, and the key differences between the two.
How cells become specialised, the types and uses of stem cells, the ethics of their use, and how gene expression is controlled.
Genes and alleles, monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, codominance, multiple alleles and sex linkage, with genetic diagrams.
Biodiversity and how it is measured, classification and the species concept, adaptation, natural selection, and conservation.
Mammalian gas exchange surfaces, the link to surface-area-to-volume ratio, and oxygen transport by haemoglobin including the dissociation curve.
The light-dependent and light-independent (Calvin cycle) reactions, the role of the chloroplast, and limiting factors.
Trophic levels and energy transfer, productivity, ecological succession, and the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
The greenhouse effect and evidence for climate change, effects on organisms and distribution, and the temperature coefficient Q10.
Bacterial structure and culturing, aseptic technique, the immune response (B and T cells, antibodies), vaccination and antibiotic resistance.
Aerobic respiration — glycolysis, the link reaction, the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation — plus anaerobic respiration and ATP.
Skeletal muscle and sarcomere structure, the sliding-filament theory of contraction, and the role of ATP and calcium.
Negative feedback, thermoregulation, control of blood glucose (insulin, glucagon, diabetes) and the kidney's role in osmoregulation.
Neurones and the nerve impulse, the action potential, synaptic transmission, and a comparison of nervous and hormonal control.
PCR, gel electrophoresis, recombinant DNA and genetic engineering, DNA sequencing and profiling, and the ethics of GMOs.