Biology

Course summary

Biology is a great choice of subject for people who want a career in health and clinical professions, such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, physiotherapy, pharmacy, optometry, nursing, zoology, marine biology or forensic science. Biology involves the study of a wide range of exciting topics, ranging from molecular biology to the study of ecosystems and from microorganisms to mammoths. Biology is never far from the headlines either. The human genome has been sequenced and we know the complete arrangement of the three thousand million bases that make up human DNA. In Kenya, 350 people die every day from AIDS and in South East Asia the skies are dark with smoke as the last Bornean rainforests are burned to grow oil palms. Biologists are concerned with all these issues. They work in the fields of cell biology, medicine, food production and ecology… and the work they do is vital to us all. The A-level route is a two-year course. There are three examinations at the end of this two-year course, covering all content and the skills acquired from the 12 required practical elements. The following topics are covered: Biological molecules, cells, how organisms exchange substances with their environment, how genetic information is transferred, the types of variation and relationships between organisms, how energy transfers in and between organisms, how organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments, population genetics, evolution and ecosystems and the control of gene expression.