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Follow classroom ideas into careers, research, medicine, the environment and the claims you meet in everyday life. Choose a unit, open a topic, then follow an activity to its lesson. Each activity starts from the specification and gives you a question to think through.

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Unit 1Molecules, Diet, Transport and HealthTopic 1 · Topic 272 activities
Topic 1Molecules, Transport and Health36 activities
  1. Water carries a chemical story1A · The Chemistry of Life
  2. Why water cannot wash away an oil spill1A · The Chemistry of Life
  3. The chemistry behind lactose-free milk1A · Carbohydrates 1: Monosaccharides and Disaccharides
  4. Can a blue test tube prove a drink has no sugar?1A · Carbohydrates 1: Monosaccharides and Disaccharides
  5. Could starch become packaging?1A · Carbohydrates 2: Polysaccharides
  6. What are endurance athletes actually storing?1A · Carbohydrates 2: Polysaccharides
  7. What does an oil label really tell you?1A · Lipids
  8. From used cooking oil to fuel1A · Lipids
  9. A small sequence change, a large consequence1A · Proteins
  10. Can AI predict a protein’s shape?1A · Proteins
  11. A name is not a structure1A · Thinking Bigger: Trehalose
  12. Keeping an organ supplied outside the body1B · The Principles of Circulation
  13. The scientist who runs a temporary circulation1B · The Principles of Circulation
  14. Why donated blood is separated1B · The Roles of the Blood
  15. What does an oxygen reading really measure?1B · The Roles of the Blood
  16. When a one-way system leaks1B · Circulation in the Blood Vessels
  17. Can scientists manufacture a replacement artery?1B · Circulation in the Blood Vessels
  18. Seeing flow rather than guessing from a heartbeat1B · The Mammalian Heart
  19. A replacement valve is a biological trade-off1B · The Mammalian Heart
  20. More than “clogged pipes”1B · Atherosclerosis
  21. Plastic in an artery: discovery or proof?1B · Atherosclerosis
  22. What is hidden behind “double the risk”?1C · Risk, Correlation and Cause
  23. When “same category” does not mean “same risk”1C · Risk, Correlation and Cause
  24. Following families across generations1C · Investigating the Causes of CVDs
  25. Can a menu become a controlled experiment?1C · Investigating the Causes of CVDs
  26. Why a warning needs more than a slogan1C · Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
  27. A heatwave is also a cardiovascular event1C · Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
  28. Can a single number describe health?1C · Diet and Cardiovascular Health
  29. High cholesterol can run in a family1C · Diet and Cardiovascular Health
  30. The test is the outcome1C · Dietary Antioxidants and Cardiovascular Disease
  31. Does the vitamin C on the label survive?1C · Dietary Antioxidants and Cardiovascular Disease
  32. Turning many papers into a useful conclusion1C · Using the Evidence
  33. Half a million volunteers can still be biased1C · Using the Evidence
  34. Why “best medicine” needs a context1C · The Benefits and Risks of Treatment
  35. Testing a side effect without dismissing it1C · The Benefits and Risks of Treatment
  36. Measuring function rather than guessing1C · Thinking Bigger: Heart Failure
Topic 2Membranes, Proteins, DNA and Gene Expression36 activities
  1. A channel with a measurable job2A · Cell Membranes
  2. Getting a message through a membrane2A · Cell Membranes
  3. Why “stronger alcohol” is not the whole answer2A · Cell Membranes
  4. A membrane as part of a treatment system2A · Cell Transport and Diffusion
  5. Why some medicines work as a patch2A · Cell Transport and Diffusion
  6. Water has specialised routes2A · Osmosis: A Special Case of Diffusion
  7. Making drinking water by reversing the usual flow2A · Osmosis: A Special Case of Diffusion
  8. Why rehydration research uses transport biology2A · Active Transport
  9. A medicine that blocks a glucose carrier2A · Active Transport
  10. An artificial lung still needs gradients2A · The Need for Gas Exchange Surfaces
  11. A lung interface on a microchip2A · The Need for Gas Exchange Surfaces
  12. Why a larger air space can exchange less gas2A · The Mammalian Gas Exchange System
  13. Why wildfire smoke can reach deep into a lung2A · The Mammalian Gas Exchange System
  14. Joining exposure data to biology2A · Thinking Bigger: Asthma and Air Pollution
  15. Catalysis in the washing machine2B · Enzymes
  16. Can an enzyme recycle a plastic bottle?2B · Enzymes
  17. Selecting enzymes for a new task2B · How Enzymes Work
  18. The enzyme inside a glucose sensor2B · How Enzymes Work
  19. Shakespeare written in DNA2B · The Structure of DNA and RNA
  20. Jurassic Park needs more than an amber mosquito2B · The Structure of DNA and RNA
  21. An experiment that separates explanations2B · How DNA Works
  22. Molecular photocopying has a template problem2B · How DNA Works
  23. Cracking the code2B · The Genetic Code
  24. Could a cell use fewer genetic code words?2B · The Genetic Code
  25. Seeing the protein-making machinery2B · DNA and Protein Synthesis
  26. A medicine written as a temporary message2B · DNA and Protein Synthesis
  27. A tumour’s sequence is evidence2C · Gene Mutation
  28. A mutation is not automatically a tumour2C · Gene Mutation
  29. Explaining a probability clearly2C · Patterns of Inheritance
  30. Gattaca: a genotype is not a complete biography2C · Patterns of Inheritance
  31. Information should survive a colour change2C · Sex Linkage
  32. The royal family tree meets DNA evidence2C · Sex Linkage
  33. One protein, several specialist teams2C · Cystic Fibrosis: A Genetic Disease
  34. Why one CF medicine does not fit every mutation2C · Cystic Fibrosis: A Genetic Disease
  35. What embryo testing can tell you2C · Genetic Screening
  36. A negative DNA test is not an all-clear for life2C · Genetic Screening
Browse all Unit 1 activities by theme
Unit 2Cells, Development, Biodiversity and ConservationTopic 3 · Topic 471 activities
Topic 3Cell Structure, Reproduction and Development34 activities
  1. Beyond the conventional light microscope3A · Observing Cells
  2. Freezing molecules to see their shape3A · Observing Cells
  3. Interpreting a real cell section3A · Eukaryotic Cells 1: Common Cellular Structures
  4. The stain that makes a diagnosis possible3A · Eukaryotic Cells 1: Common Cellular Structures
  5. Cellular delivery addresses3A · Eukaryotic Cells 2: Protein Transport
  6. Vesicles need the right destination3A · Eukaryotic Cells 2: Protein Transport
  7. Useful extra DNA3A · Prokaryotic Cells
  8. The mobile resistance gene3A · Prokaryotic Cells
  9. Why an organoid is a model3A · The Organisation of Cells
  10. How a tissue sample becomes a clinical answer3A · The Organisation of Cells
  11. Discovering the controls3B · The Cell Cycle
  12. When cell-cycle control is lost3B · The Cell Cycle
  13. From cells to a research question3B · Mitosis
  14. Two ways of counting growth3B · Mitosis
  15. Breeding begins with chromosome behaviour3B · Sexual Reproduction and Meiosis
  16. When chromosomes do not separate3B · Sexual Reproduction and Meiosis
  17. The work of an embryologist3B · Gametes: Structure and Function
  18. What a semen analysis can and cannot show3B · Gametes: Structure and Function
  19. Fertilisation outside the body3B · Fertilisation in Mammals and Plants
  20. Two fusions inside a flower3B · Fertilisation in Mammals and Plants
  21. A clinical technique is not a guarantee3B · Thinking Bigger: Male Infertility
  22. Why “shuffling” needs a mechanism3B · Exam Practice
  23. Reprogramming a specialised cell3C · Cell Differentiation
  24. The axolotl challenges a simple cell story3C · Cell Differentiation
  25. Quantitative genetics3C · Interactions Between Genes and the Environment
  26. What identical twins reveal, and do not reveal3C · Interactions Between Genes and the Environment
  27. Mapping gene regulation3C · Controlling Gene Expression
  28. A medicine that changes RNA processing3C · Controlling Gene Expression
  29. Induced pluripotency3C · Stem Cells
  30. A stem-cell claim needs a safety question3C · Stem Cells
  31. An established use: blood-cell production3C · Using Stem Cells
  32. An experimental retinal-cell patch3C · Using Stem Cells
  33. Microbes as a research field3C · Thinking Bigger: Microbiota
  34. Looking beyond a gene count3C · Exam Practice
Topic 4Plant Structure and Function, Biodiversity and Conservation37 activities
  1. Why cellulose is a structural fibre4A · The Cell Wall
  2. Plant walls record a tree’s history4A · The Cell Wall
  3. Growing plants where sunlight is engineered4A · Plant Organelles
  4. A vertical farm still needs plant biology4A · Plant Organelles
  5. Why a plan is a scientific drawing, not decoration4A · Plant Stems
  6. Where flax fibres sit in a stem4A · Plant Stems
  7. Reading a leaf as a nutrient clue, not a diagnosis app4A · The Importance of Water and Minerals in Plants
  8. The hidden cost of too many nutrients4A · The Importance of Water and Minerals in Plants
  9. Whole plant cells as a composite4A · Using Plant Starch and Fibres
  10. Flax composites: strength is only one number4A · Using Plant Starch and Fibres
  11. Plant medicines still need evidence4A · Plant-based Medicines
  12. From a plant extract to an antimalarial4A · Plant-based Medicines
  13. Reading the 1785 book as a source4A · Developing New Drugs
  14. What a registered trial record tells you4A · Developing New Drugs
  15. Useful plants are still being documented4A · Exam Practice
  16. Why the code still matters4B · Principles of Classification
  17. A museum specimen becomes a DNA reference4B · Principles of Classification
  18. A species as a gene pool4B · What Is a Species?
  19. Look-alike bees, different species?4B · What Is a Species?
  20. Reading the 1990 proposal4B · Domains, Kingdoms or Both?
  21. A domain diagram can change with evidence4B · Domains, Kingdoms or Both?
  22. The first extinct-animal sequences4B · Thinking Bigger: The Quagga
  23. Taxonomy as a public, editable argument4B · Exam Practice
  24. An intergovernmental snapshot, not a mark scheme4C · Biodiversity and Endemism
  25. Why island endemics are vulnerable4C · Biodiversity and Endemism
  26. A global catalogue is not D4C · Measuring Biodiversity
  27. DNA traces are not a head count4C · Measuring Biodiversity
  28. Adaptation is a population process4C · Adaptation to a Niche
  29. A moth’s colour and its niche4C · Adaptation to a Niche
  30. Why a “no change” equation is still biology4C · Gene Pool and Genetic Diversity
  31. Genetic rescue has limits4C · Gene Pool and Genetic Diversity
  32. Speciation is evolution at the gene-pool boundary4C · Reproductive Isolation and Speciation
  33. A new plant lineage after chromosome doubling4C · Reproductive Isolation and Speciation
  34. A backup of backups4C · Conservation: Why and How?
  35. From breeding programme to wild survival4C · Conservation: Why and How?
  36. Reading a status, not a slogan4C · Thinking Bigger: Orang-utans
  37. Conservation as a coordinated claim4C · Exam Practice
Browse all Unit 2 activities by theme
Unit 4Energy, Environment, Microbiology and ImmunityTopic 5 · Topic 687 activities
Topic 5Energy Flow, Ecosystems and the Environment45 activities
  1. The enzyme that harvests a gradient5A · The Importance of ATP
  2. Can sunlight be turned into a stored fuel?5A · The Importance of ATP
  3. Chlorophyll seen from orbit5A · Chloroplasts and Chlorophyll
  4. A pigment fingerprint from space5A · Chloroplasts and Chlorophyll
  5. How the cycle was mapped5A · The Biochemistry of Photosynthesis
  6. Watching the water-splitting machinery work5A · The Biochemistry of Photosynthesis
  7. The prize citation, in context5A · Thinking Bigger
  8. Why a green ocean patch is not a chromatogram5A · Exam Practice
  9. Ecosystems as energy-transfer systems5B · What Is Ecology?
  10. The camera trap sees a population, not an ecosystem5B · What Is Ecology?
  11. Recovery is not a blank page5B · How Ecosystems Evolve
  12. A buried forest waiting for disturbance5B · How Ecosystems Evolve
  13. Why field ecologists still carry meters5B · The Effect of Abiotic Factors on Populations
  14. A reef turns white under stress5B · The Effect of Abiotic Factors on Populations
  15. Competition is one interaction among several5B · The Effect of Biotic Factors on Populations
  16. Disturbance changes the invasion story5B · The Effect of Biotic Factors on Populations
  17. Why the world is not one winner per habitat5B · Ecosystem Interactions and the Importance of the Niche
  18. Warblers share a tree without sharing a niche5B · Ecosystem Interactions and the Importance of the Niche
  19. Why textbooks still talk about frames5B · Investigating Abundance and Distribution of Organisms
  20. A quadrat size can change the answer5B · Investigating Abundance and Distribution of Organisms
  21. p = 0.05 is a convention5B · Statistics and Ecology
  22. A wildlife app is not a random sample5B · Statistics and Ecology
  23. Frames, tapes and honesty about bias5B · Exam Practice
  24. An energy pyramid needs a measurement5C · Transfers Between Trophic Levels
  25. Plankton fuel an ocean food web5C · Transfers Between Trophic Levels
  26. A green map is not GPP5C · Net Primary Productivity
  27. Measuring a planet’s net production5C · Net Primary Productivity
  28. Fast cycle, slow cycle5C · The Carbon Cycle in Nature
  29. Carbon sinks into the deep sea5C · The Carbon Cycle in Nature
  30. NASA’s blanket, with numbers left off the syllabus5C · Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
  31. The greenhouse blanket has different threads5C · Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
  32. The professional tree-ring bank5C · Looking at the Evidence
  33. Air trapped in ancient ice5C · Looking at the Evidence
  34. Process is part of the evidence5C · The Global Warming Debate: Correlation or Causation?
  35. Who checks an assessment report?5C · The Global Warming Debate: Correlation or Causation?
  36. A laboratory we cannot build in the field5C · Models of Climate Change and Their Limitations
  37. A climate model is tested against yesterday5C · Models of Climate Change and Their Limitations
  38. The calendar of living things5C · The Biological Impact of Climate Change
  39. A spring diary becomes research data5C · The Biological Impact of Climate Change
  40. Speciation is isolation plus time5C · Climate Change and Evolution
  41. Finches show selection within a lifetime5C · Climate Change and Evolution
  42. Mitigation that uses land has side-effects5C · What Can Be Done?
  43. The offset advert leaves out the land5C · What Can Be Done?
  44. The world’s climate lumber room5C · Thinking Bigger
  45. One report, many chapters5C · Exam Practice
Topic 6Microbiology, Immunity and Forensics42 activities
  1. TMV was a tool before it was a syllabus name6A · Bacteria and Viruses
  2. The Ebola image is a structure, not a monster6A · Bacteria and Viruses
  3. Phage as a laboratory switch, not a medicine6A · How Viruses Reproduce
  4. The hidden HIV reservoir6A · How Viruses Reproduce
  5. The school flask is not an industrial fermenter6A · The Growth of Bacterial Colonies
  6. Lag phase is busy, even when the curve is flat6A · The Growth of Bacterial Colonies
  7. The same principles as a professional bench6A · Microbial Techniques
  8. A cleanroom is aseptic technique at scale6A · Microbial Techniques
  9. Why a brewery still plates as well as reading a meter6A · Measuring the Growth of Bacterial Cultures
  10. Cloudy is not the same as alive6A · Measuring the Growth of Bacterial Cultures
  11. Flora as ecology on a person6A · Invading the Body
  12. Your skin is occupied territory6A · Invading the Body
  13. Through the air, not from surfaces6A · Case Studies of Disease: Tuberculosis
  14. Inside an infected lung cell6A · Case Studies of Disease: Tuberculosis
  15. HIV is the virus; AIDS is a stage6A · Case Studies of Disease: HIV/AIDS
  16. Antiretroviral drugs interrupt a life cycle6A · Case Studies of Disease: HIV/AIDS
  17. A teaching virus that earned its place6A · Thinking Bigger
  18. Principles, not a photocopied SOP6A · Exam Practice
  19. NIAID’s innate layer is this page in other words6B · Non-specific Responses to Infection
  20. A warning message to neighbouring cells6B · Non-specific Responses to Infection
  21. NIAID’s adaptive layer is clonal and specific6B · The Specific Response to Infection
  22. An antibody becomes a cancer medicine6B · The Specific Response to Infection
  23. CDC: vaccines train; they are not antibody drips6B · Developing Immunity
  24. What an mRNA vaccine actually supplies6B · Developing Immunity
  25. NHS antibiotics are not a virus medicine6B · Antibiotics: Treating Bacterial Disease
  26. Killing bacteria is not the only useful outcome6B · Antibiotics: Treating Bacterial Disease
  27. WHO: resistance is selected, not invented in a ward cupboard6B · Antibiotic Resistance
  28. The hospital pharmacist as an evolution manager6B · Antibiotic Resistance
  29. How vaccines work, in CDC’s sentence6B · Thinking Bigger
  30. Cause, then rule6B · Exam Practice
  31. Compost is managed decomposition6C · Microorganisms and Decomposition
  32. Compost versus landfill: the oxygen test6C · Microorganisms and Decomposition
  33. Forensic work is measurement with a method6C · Forensic Science and the Time of Death
  34. A time-of-death estimate is a range6C · Forensic Science and the Time of Death
  35. A life stage is evidence only with a method6C · The Process of Decay
  36. Maggots can heat their own clock6C · The Process of Decay
  37. PCR is amplification, not a result by itself6C · Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
  38. PCR finds a species without seeing it6C · Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
  39. Length, not a name printed on the band6C · DNA Profiling
  40. A DNA band is not a verdict6C · DNA Profiling
  41. Difficult DNA is a methods problem6C · Thinking Bigger
  42. Methods first6C · Exam Practice
Browse all Unit 4 activities by theme
Unit 5Respiration, Internal Environment, Coordination and Gene TechnologyTopic 7 · Topic 878 activities
Topic 7Respiration, Muscles and the Internal Environment39 activities
  1. The large yield needed a mechanism, not a bigger explosion7A · Respiration in Cells
  2. When mitochondria cannot meet demand7A · Respiration in Cells
  3. A lactate number is a blood test7A · Glycolysis and Anaerobic Respiration
  4. Cancer cells rewrite the glycolysis story7A · Glycolysis and Anaerobic Respiration
  5. The carbon dioxide in your breath was chemistry first7A · The Krebs Cycle
  6. Carbon can leave before the chain begins7A · The Krebs Cycle
  7. The gradient was the disputed idea7A · The Electron Transport Chain
  8. Brown fat spends a gradient on heat7A · The Electron Transport Chain
  9. Yeast is a cell with a metabolism, not an RQ chart7A · Respiratory Substrates and Respiratory Quotient
  10. A fuel leaves a signature in two gases7A · Respiratory Substrates and Respiratory Quotient
  11. Same gases, different process7A · Exam Practice
  12. Sprain and strain are not the specification pair7B · Tissues of the Skeletal System
  13. A prosthetic joint still needs opposing pulls7B · Tissues of the Skeletal System
  14. A pulled muscle is not a labelled sarcomere7B · What Is Muscle?
  15. A muscle fibre has machinery within machinery7B · What Is Muscle?
  16. Endurance and injury are different conversations7B · Different Types of Muscle Fibre
  17. Fibre types are a continuum, not a sports horoscope7B · Different Types of Muscle Fibre
  18. Soreness is not a cross-bridge diagram7B · How Muscles Contract
  19. Why a stopped ATP supply stiffens muscle7B · How Muscles Contract
  20. An ECG records rhythm, it does not finish the medicine7B · Cardiac Muscle and Control of the Heartbeat
  21. A pacemaker assists a conduction system7B · Cardiac Muscle and Control of the Heartbeat
  22. Heat illness is failed balance, not a new definition7B · Principles of Homeostasis
  23. Feedback is measured over time7B · Principles of Homeostasis
  24. Activity changes the rate; the node still starts the beat7B · Controlling the Heart and Breathing Rates
  25. Stress hormones are measurable chemistry7B · Controlling the Heart and Breathing Rates
  26. Spirometry on the NHS is not this trace7B · The Response of the Breathing System to Exercise
  27. The exercise mask measures more than a breath count7B · The Response of the Breathing System to Exercise
  28. The clinical category is broader than one wave7B · Thinking Bigger
  29. The recording aids a clinician7B · Exam Practice
  30. Cells keep most genes quiet7C · Homeostasis and Hormones
  31. A steroid signal reaches the transcription machinery7C · Homeostasis and Hormones
  32. Filter and reabsorb, then the specification adds the mechanism7C · Osmoregulation in Mammals: The Kidney
  33. A dialyser is selective in a different way7C · Osmoregulation in Mammals: The Kidney
  34. A large urine volume can mean the hormone or the response7C · Control of the Kidney and Homeostasis
  35. Same urine result, two different faults7C · Control of the Kidney and Homeostasis
  36. Heat exhaustion is not an extra effector7C · Thermoregulation and Exercise
  37. Heat stress is a failure of balance, not a thermometer fact7C · Thermoregulation and Exercise
  38. Haemodialysis is not a second nephron7C · Thinking Bigger
  39. The public filter is the start of the answer7C · Exam Practice
Topic 8Coordination, Response and Gene Technology39 activities
  1. Light becomes a signal only after a receptor cell8A · The Structure of Neurones
  2. Myelin damage changes a network, not just one cable8A · The Structure of Neurones
  3. A receptor starts the pathway the cord then finishes8A · How the Nervous System Works
  4. After spinal injury, signal direction matters8A · How the Nervous System Works
  5. A receptor potential is not yet this spike8A · The Neurones in Action
  6. A local anaesthetic tests the sodium step8A · The Neurones in Action
  7. The NHS account of Parkinson’s is the cell loss8A · The Effect of Drugs on the Nervous System
  8. One receptor, very different chemicals8A · The Effect of Drugs on the Nervous System
  9. Photoreceptors start the electrical story8A · Sensory Systems and the Detection of Light
  10. Dark adaptation is more than pupil size8A · Sensory Systems and the Detection of Light
  11. The eye page names detection, not the iris muscles8A · Synapses and Habituation
  12. A sea slug taught neuroscientists about habituation8A · Synapses and Habituation
  13. Dopamine loss is not an axon sodium story8A · Exam Practice
  14. MRI is one way the living brain is pictured8B · The Central Nervous System
  15. The hypothalamus links two kinds of control8B · The Central Nervous System
  16. A scan can show the centre the nerves plug into8B · The Peripheral Nervous System
  17. A peripheral nerve test asks where the fault lies8B · The Peripheral Nervous System
  18. Activation during a task is not a thought transcript8B · Investigating the Human Brain
  19. PET traces molecules, not thoughts8B · Investigating the Human Brain
  20. Read the NHS sentence before you simplify depression8B · The Chemical Balance of the Brain
  21. A depression headline is not a serotonin assay8B · The Chemical Balance of the Brain
  22. A hormone can be the signal a transcription factor waits for8B · Chemical Control Systems in Plants
  23. Plants read the colour of their neighbours8B · Chemical Control Systems in Plants
  24. Flowering is a transcription decision8B · Phytochrome and Flowering
  25. A night-time flash can change a flowering signal8B · Phytochrome and Flowering
  26. The page is human genetics. The logic still fits a seedling.8B · Phytochrome and Transcription
  27. Malting begins with a gene-expression decision8B · Phytochrome and Transcription
  28. fMRI observes activation during a task8B · Thinking Bigger
  29. Use the NIBIB sentence when a question exaggerates8B · Exam Practice
  30. The same idea made insulin8C · Producing Recombinant DNA
  31. CRISPR is a different question from cut-and-join cloning8C · Producing Recombinant DNA
  32. Insulin was the proof the method could make a medicine8C · Drugs from Genetically Modified Organisms
  33. Insulin was a manufacturing milestone8C · Drugs from Genetically Modified Organisms
  34. Turned on, then compared8C · Microarrays and Bioinformatics
  35. A tumour profile measures RNA, not destiny8C · Microarrays and Bioinformatics
  36. Name the advantage, then name the issue8C · Benefits and Risks of GMOs
  37. A crop trait needs a case-by-case risk question8C · Benefits and Risks of GMOs
  38. Computers hold the sequences8C · Thinking Bigger
  39. Method, product, pattern, judgement8C · Exam Practice
Browse all Unit 5 activities by theme