Carbohydrates, lipids and Food tests - Resources to Test your understanding

Powerpoints, videos and animations, a self marking quiz on lipids and carbohydrates.

Some tips

  • Number the carbons and understand when and how a 1,4 glycosidic bond forms.

  • Why it matters that you can form a 6,1 bond in order to branch a polysaccharide.

  • Why does it matter that polysaccharides are insoluble and mono and di-saccharides are soluble.

  • What is the consequence of Beta glucose forming cellulose

  • Which molecules have a 5 carbon sugar in mammals ?

  • Can you explain why fatty acids are non-polar and what is the consequence for the formation of cell membranes

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Photosynthesis Tips - Notes, videos, powerpoints and a pack of long questions

Powerpoints and notes, a pack of long data analysis exam questions and a test on photosynthesis

Tips for Photosynthesis

LDR - occurs on the thylakoid membranes. Limiting factor is light intensity

  • Phosphorylates ADP (through chemiosmosis) - creates the Hydrogen ion gradient by the flow of electrons along the ETC in the thylakoid membrane. The flow of electrons is driven by the capturing of light by a range of different pigments which channel the energy to a chl a molecule at the reaction centre of the photosystem - which then loses an electron.

  • Reduces NADP with an electron from splitting water (photolysis) at PSII.

Light Independent Reaction (reduction of carbon dioxide) - occurs in the stroma (the cytoplasm of the chloroplast).

  • Limited by speed and quantity of RUBISCO enzyme (kinetic energy - temperature) and substrate concentration (Carbon dioxide)

  • Needs the products of the LDR - ATP and NADPH

  • NADPH and ATP are used to regenerate RUBP

  • Each time the Calvin cycle turns, a single Carbon is reduced. 3 turns - one extra Triose Phosphate. 6 turns - 2 extra TP = 1 extra glucose.

  • TP is the source of all of the carbon in all plants (and hence in all heterotrophes) - Amino acids, DNA, RNA, phospholipids etc

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Answering Questions with lots of Maths in Biology - Data Analysis Questions in the new OCR Biology A Specification - updated Feb 2018 with the latest handbook

Which maths skills you need to practise for the new specification A-level Biology - excellent resources from OCR - also applies to AQA and Eduqas, lots of great practice questions

The quantity of maths in the 2017 specification is a challenge to many students - so I put together a summary of all of the OCR A new spec questions with some element of data analysis.

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