Board: AQA
Syllabus: 4405
About the subject
This course is designed to provide students with a basic knowledge of Biology, Chemistry and Physics and how these subjects are relevant to our life. There are four modules one from each of the main science areas and a controlled practical assessment.
Learning styles
Students will also take part in practical work related to the themes covered and develop their communication and data handling skills. The course is taught in two and a half terms. Many of the topics will have been covered at previous schools and the aim is to raise students grade to a C or above.
Subject Combinations and Progression
The subject supports students taking the Health and Social Care and Physical Education AS/A2 levels but is not intended as a route into A level Sciences.
Subject Modules and Assessment
Unit 1: Biology – how to keep our bodies healthy, use and abuse of medical and recreational drugs, infectious diseases and how to protect ourselves, nerves and hormones and control in the human body, control in plants, interdependence and adaptation, environmental change, genetics and evolution.
Unit 2: Chemistry – atoms and the periodic table, limestone, getting metals from rocks, and producing fuels from crude oil, how polymers and ethanol are made from oil, the use of plant oils, and changes in the Earth and atmosphere.
Unit 3: Physics – thermal energy transfers, efficient use of energy, electrical devices and electricity generation, waves, sound and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Assessment pattern: Three written exams (25% each, leading to 75%) and the centre assessed coursework (25%).
Entry requirements
E in Science