These free teaching resources and biology practical investigation ideas are referred to directly within the AQA GCSE Biology specification, for teaching from 2011.
Many other practical investigations and resources to support your teaching are available throughout the SAPS website. Please go to Secondary Resources for a filterable index of our other resources.
Unit 1
The effect of rooting compounds and weed killers on the growth of plants
- Practical: Wembley weed killer challenge Includes technical and teaching notes and student notes
Look at variation of leaf parameters
- Practical: What determines the number of spines on a holly leaf Includes technical and teaching notes
Investigate techniques to grow new plants from tissue culture
Energy in biomass
Unit 2
Investigating the need for chlorophyll for photosynthesis with variegated leaves
- Practical: Photosynthesis and starch production in variegated Pelargonium leaves Includes technical and teaching notes and student notes
Investigate the effects of light, temperature and carbon dioxide levels on the rate of photosynthesis
- Practical: Using Cabomba to demonstrate oxygen evolution Includes technical and teaching notes
- Practical: Demonstrating photosynthesis using algae wrapped in jelly balls Includes technical and teaching notes and student notes
- Practical: Investigating whether leaf discs can make starch in the dark Includes technical and teaching notes and student notes
Investigative fieldwork involving sampling techniques and the use of quadrats and transects
- Ecology 1: measuring abundance and random sampling
- Ecology 2: the distribution of species across a footpath
Unit 3
Investigating the relationship between concentrations of sugar solution and change in length of potato strips
- Practical: Observing osmosis using potato plus the new Chardakov method Includes technical and teaching notes
Observing guard cells and stomata using nail varnish
- Practical: Observing stomata Includes technical and teaching notes
- Video clip - Leaf structure, stomata and carbon dioxide
Plan an investigation using a potometer to measure the effect of temperature or wind speed on the transpiration rate.
- Practical: Comparison of transpiration rates Includes technical notes and student sheet