Higher Biology

The Higher Biology Course for those studying the "old" Higher 
(If you are studying CfE "NEW" Higher Biology please see other page on this website)

The "old" Higher Biology Course is made up of three sections followed by an external assessment.
The three sections of the course are :
1  Cell Biology
2  Genetics and Adaptation
3  Control and Regulation

The Higher Biology exam is a single paper made up of three sections :
Section A - 30 Multiple Choice Questions worth 30 marks
Section B - Structured Questions worth 80 marks
Section C - Extended Response - two essays worth 10 marks each

To obtain an A in Higher, for example in 2009, you had to achieve a total of at least 92 out of a total of 130. A B mark required at least 77 and a C mark required you to achieve at least 62 marks. A C is usually achieved if you can answer at least 50 % of the available marks. Each year papers are standardised so the exact mark required each year may vary slightly.

Higher requires some very precise answers and more explanations than were required at Standard Grade and Intermediate 2. You need to plan your studying schedule throughout the year in order to achieve the mark you would like. Its no good leaving it all until the last minute as there is just too much to learn.  Here are some useful exam tips from Scholar and BBC Bitesize for Higher Biology :
http://scholar.hw.ac.uk/export/sites/scholar/Resources/FAQ_Exam_Revison_PDFs/FAQBiology.pdf
and
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/biology/about_the_exam/about_the_exam/revision/1/

 To Find Out Exactly What you are Expected to Know for the Exam :
The Arrangements Documents on the SQA website
(On page Page 9 of the document see details of what to learn for Unit 1, Unit 2 and Unit 3) :
http://www.sqa.org.uk/files/nq/BiologyHigher.pdf
_________________________________________

 Past Papers - 2010 - 2014
http://www.sqa.org.uk/pastpapers/findpastpaper.htm?subject=Biology&level=H
and older past papers can be found at :
http://www.coltnesshigh.n-lanark.sch.uk/departments/CS_Science/Higher%20Biology%20Past%20Papers
_________________________________________

Percentage Increase / Percentage Decrease

That old favourite of maths that no-one seems to like. Can be easily calculated by taking :


To check if your answer is right then make sure you have a good understanding of what a 100% increase or a 50% decrease (for example), would look like ! Here are some graphics to help :






















































Here are a few fun online resources to help with your studying.
I will be adding more resources all the time, so keep looking !
_____________________________________________

InfoChem Magazine from Royal Society of Chemistry
A very interesting magazine with lots of Biology content eg November 2011 issue has a piece about DNA and a piece about Carotene in leaves.
Its aimed at 15-18 year olds - read online, download or print out.
http://www.rsc.org/Education/EiC/digitialedition/InfoChemdigitaledition.asp

____________________________________________

Higher Biology Notes Online

You should definitely ask your teacher if you have a password to use the SCHOLAR system that was produced at Heriot Watt University. This is an excellent online course with interactive web based activities to try.
In the meantime you may be able to have a look at some of the materials produced for Unit 1 in the Preview section of the SCHOLAR Higher Biology course by clicking here :
http://courses.scholar.hw.ac.uk/

These are a quite interesting set of Higher Biology notes - in places they provide perhaps more than you need to know but they have very nice illustrations and examples and are clearly laid out. They could also help you with your revision if you are tired of reading the same old book again and again !
Unit 1 :
http://www.torry.aberdeen.sch.uk/departs/biology/hbiol1.pdf
Unit 2 :
http://www.torry.aberdeen.sch.uk/departs/biology/hbiol2.pdf
Unit 3 :
http://www.torry.aberdeen.sch.uk/departs/biology/hbiol3.pdf

______________________________________________

eChalk - a Very Good Site with good images of cells and also Good animations of meiosis etc.
Lots to investigate :
http://www.echalk.co.uk/Science/biology.aspx

(You might even want to subscribe to this site for the year to help with your studying)
___________________________________________

UNIT 1
__________________________________________

Animated Interactive Cell - very nice !

http://www.centreofthecell.org/interactives/exploreacell/index.php

_________________________________________

Single Celled creatures

 Paramecium - https://www.ebiomedia.com/the-biology-classics-paramecium.html
and also at :
https://www.ebiomedia.com/The-Biology-Classics/Paramecium-Hydra-Planaria-Daphnia/flypage-video.tpl.html?redirected=1
___________________________________________

Different Types of Cells

http://www.centreofthecell.org/centre/?page_id=23

___________________________________________

Who Wants to Be A Millionaire - Cell Structure and Functions game
See how far you can get in these questions from Centre of the Cell !
http://www.centreofthecell.org/lessonplans/ks3_designed_for_the_job.pdf
___________________________________________

 Osmosis
Plasmolysis in an Onion Cell when its placed in 15% salt solution - watch the video but ignore the explanation on YouTube as at the time of writing this, their explanation is incorrect. Can you explain why the onion cells are plasmolysing ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWkcFU-hHUk
___________________________________________

Diffusion / Osmosis / Active Transport

Animation on Page 3 of this explanation about Kidneys: http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/homeostasis_kidneys/kidneys3.cfm?coSiteNavigation_allTopic=1
___________________________________________

Parts of a Cell Flashcards

Have a look at them and then why not test yourself !

http://quizlet.com/2092786/cell-structure-flash-cards/
__________________________________________

Cell Membrane

A lot of this animation is too complicated for Higher - but it does give an idea of how the membranes work. http://www.johnkyrk.com/cellmembrane.swf
________________________________________

Autumn Leaf Colours - Explanation

You need to know about chlorphyll and carotenoid pigments for Higher Biology. Here's a little more explanation about how all these pigments contribute to the beautiful range of autumn leaf colours - particularly when we get a sunny autumn ! -
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/09/11/autumnleaves/
http://usparks.about.com/od/fallfoliage/a/Fall-Colors.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/od/howthingsworkfaqs/f/fallleafcolor.htm

_______________________________________________

Chromatography of Leaf Pigments

This short video shows a time-elapsed film of the Leaf pigment chromatography experiment to separate chlorophyll a and b, carotene and xanthophyll : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6jD0hJO-28
_______________________________________________

Photosynthesis

A very simple video showing the effect of light or dark on Elodea pondweed :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRMKiLlpATk
If you can collect the oxygen bubbles and measure volume of oxygen given off under different conditions of light intensity etc.

Nice diagrams of Photosynthesis Carbon Fixation here :
http://www.biology-online.org/1/4_photosynthesis.htm

Limiting Factors in Photosynthesis

The three limiting factors which we study are temperature, availability of carbon dioxide and light intensity. The Bitesize website has a good explanation of the types of questions involving graphs which you might come across :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/biology/cell_biology/photosynthesis/revision/5/

Plant Leaf - Stomata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br4gJuQslMI
________________________________

Respiration

Glycolysis
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/9834092339/student_view0/chapter7/how_glycolysis_works.html

Krebs Cycle
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/9834092339/student_view0/chapter7/how_the_krebs_cycle_works.html
______________________________

DNA
DNA has a double helix structure but this was only discovered in the 1950s. This discovery led to three scientists, Watson, Crick and Wilkins gaining a Nobel prize in 1962. However another scientist, Rosalind Franklin, had carried out much of the research leading to this discovery. For background reading you might like to read these articles, (not completely essential for Higher Biology but interesting background reading and awareness of the recent history of science). It is so very recently that DNA structure was realised, and so many scientific advances and discoveries have then been possible as a result of this.
A couple of articles about the Story of Rosalind Franklin and her X-ray chromatography to find the structure of DNA :
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/sciencechemistry/p/franklin_dna.htm
http://dnaandsocialresponsibility.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/public-unveiling-of-frieze-celebrating.html
___________________________________________

Amazing Scale of DNA

This does not really come up in Higher, but this just gives an idea of the sheer scale of DNA. When you look at a chromosome you are looking at many many looped up sections of DNA !  How on earth did this ever evolve !
http://www.johnkyrk.com/chromostructure.swf
___________________________________________

Science and Plants for Schools Website

There is loads and loads of information on this website ! You can browse through and see what you find out. It also has ideas which might help you think of a biology project involving plants at Advanced Higher :
http://www.saps.org.uk/
___________________________________________

Viruses photographed by Electron Microscope

http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/mmi/stannard/linda.html
__________________________________________

The Scale of Cells, Bacteria and Viruses etc.

A nice interactive example to show the scale of various things like cells and viruses :
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/
__________________________________________

Vaccination - a history of vaccination against the Smallpox virus.

A fascinating history of vaccination. Mostly for background reading but interesting all the same. People understood about immunity against viruses from very early dates in India and China and elsewhere too. Very interesting !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine
_________________________________________

Viruses and Cellular Defense in Animals and Plants

This BBC Bitesize section includes a nice animation of Phagocytosis :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/higher/biology/cell_biology/viruses/revision/3/
________________________________________

UNIT 2
________________________________________

Mitosis

Have a look at photographs of mitosis and you can even zoom in yourself on the root tip of an onion to see if you can spot the different stages of mitotic cell division :
http://www.vcbio.science.ru.nl/en/virtuallessons/mitostage/

Remember Mitosis - happens in your TOEsis - and all normal cells of your body.
___________________________________________________

Meiosis

Meiosis happens in the gamete mother cells in sex organs to create gametes :
eg to create eggs and sperm in humans or mammals
and
in plants pollen and ova

The stages of Meiosis are studied in Higher Biology.
Firstly here are some fabulous microscopic images of meiosis happening in cells of a Lily :
http://www.vcbio.science.ru.nl/en/image-gallery/show/PL0286/

And for some fun - here is a funny square dance video to remind you of stages of meiosis ! Fun to watch - don't worry at Higher you don't need to remember the names of each stage that are mentioned here - so dont worry about words like Prophase, metaphase etc


___________________________________________

Genetics

This webpage is useful as it allows you to work through some typical problems, insert your answers and immediately check if you have them correct.
Only complete the sections I have mentioned below :
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio105/geneprob.htm

The first parts are exactly the same as Higher Biology so complete those sections until your reach a heading :

Multiple Alleles and Codominance

Stop at that point and jump to the heading :

Sex-Linked Genes

Complete that particular section and then ignore the rest of the page from then on.

Note that for most of the answers you put the male parent gametes along the top of the square and the female parent down the left side of the square.

________________________________________

A quick Quiz about Mendel

http://anthro.palomar.edu/mendel/quizzes/mendqui1.htm
________________________________________

Some Medical Conditions which can be Inherited Genetically
Find out more about the conditions and how they are inherited - try and spot if they are recessive or dominant conditions when they are inherited and how do they affect the people who have them.
________________________________________

Some Genetics flashcards
Some of these are useful questions. Others seem to refer to a diagram that is not there so not so useful ! But see how you find it !
http://quizlet.com/4317895/biology-chapter-14-flash-cards/
________________________________________

More about Genetics

This website has loads to investigate about Genes, Inheritance, DNA, RNA and the people who made the discoveries. Have a browse !
http://www.dnaftb.org/
________________________________________

Horse Coat Colour Genetics
This is not essential for Higher Biology at all, but if you are a horsey person you might find this interesting - how quite a few genes interact to lead to the numerous possible types of coat colour in horses !  (I'll have a dark palomino one please !!)
http://www.jenniferhoffman.net/horse/index.html
________________________________________

Mutations Caused by Radiation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19245818
_________________________________________

Point Mutations Within Gene causing Incorrect Protein to form

with example of Haemoglobin in Sickle Cell Anaemia
http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/highersciences/biology/animations/mutations.asp 
________________________________________

Species

The genetics of polar bears and grizzly bears - are they a different species ? and if so, why ?
Find out a bit more here : http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/genetic-relationships-bears/
_______________________________________

 Darwin's Finches and the Peppered Moth
Both feature on powerpoints you can find on this webpage :
http://www.arkive.org/education/teaching-resources-11-14

(for extra reading if you are interested - but its not necessary for Higher - study of finches and evolution - some ideas - eg is a species more likely to divide into two different groups when subject to no competition ? etc. does this mean competition increases genes expressed ? or will a species express a narrower range of genes (be healthier) when competing...) http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/03/bird-evolution/
_______________________________________

Evolution and Darwin
http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=j
_______________________________________

Evolution documentary
how humans evolved - 45 min programme if you are interested :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsHEAnPX59Y
_______________________________________

Inter-Specific and Intra-Specific Competition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiQTrA0-TE8
_______________________________________

 Genetically Modified Crop Plants

An interesting radio programme to listen to or download :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvn2f

A website from Monsanto, a company famous for producing genetically modified crops - you can read about some of them here :
http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/new-leaf-potato.aspx

GM Trials - latest news March 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26554969
____________________________________

Cacti and Succulents
Photos from the Botanic Gardens of Xerophyte plants !
http://www.milngavietutors.com/p/cacti-and-succulents-from-botanic.html
___________________________________

UNIT 3
___________________________________

Growth Curves
Here is a video of a lobster shedding its skin. It is a crustacean which is closely related to the insects group and leads to a distinctive"stepped" growth curve as they grow once their hard outer skin is shed. The fisherman in the picture also shows how the lobster has grown already with the two days of the filming !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDLb5WcSREM

And here is an insect shedding its skin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UwXlmvXg0E

 The Life of a Tree - Xylem and Phloem
This helps a little towards understanding how the rings of trees work.
http://www.arborday.org/kids/carly/lifeofatree/

Transpiration (Unit 2 / Unit 3 ? Check ....)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc9gUm1mMzc

My photograph of tree rings from Aberfoyle Forest - showing the softer areas and how the chainsaw chopping the tree down has affected the soft and hard wood.
(please note this image is copyright - if to be used within a school please contact me to make arrangements to use it)

__________________________________________

Genetic Control - Jacob - Monod Hypothesis
E.Coli - lactose metabolism
A good video - tells you just a little bit more about the theory than you need but it helps to understand how cleverly evolved bacteria are in how they manage to use lactose as a food supply if they find some in their environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBwtxdI1zvk
__________________________________________

Gibberelic Acid (GA)  vs  Indole Acetic Acid  (IAA)
Trying to memorise what each of these plant growth substances does using a mind map and Snow White's seven dwarves ! (please note these Mind maps are copyright - if to be used within a school please contact me to make arrangements to use it):

____________________________________

Adaptations to Arid Environments
http://www.arkive.org/education/teaching-resources-11-14
Have a look at the relevant powerpoint about Arid Environements.
____________________________________

Carrying Capacity of an Environment Interesting article about the definition of "Carrying Capacity" of a piece of land : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrying_capacity __________________________________________

Short Day / Long Day Plants

If you are interested in plants, you might find this of interest - its how they commercially schedule Poinsettia plants to be flowering and ready to sell for Christmas or Advent time in America http://www.ecke.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Poinsettia-Scheduling-2013.pdf

This starts well but becomes confusing - short day long day plants - http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp39/3902s.swf

Homeostasis
Animation of ADH affects :
http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/hormones/horm8.cfm

Homeostasis - including a test :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_pre_2011/homeostasis/

Homeostasis - My Mind Map (please note these are copyright - if to be used within a school please contact me to make arrangements to use it) :


Monitoring Populations - my Mind Map - why not try making your own or print this out and add to it (please note these are copyright - if to be used within a school please contact me to make arrangements to use it) :

Populations My Mind Map - try making your own or print this out and add to it (please note these are copyright - if to be used within a school please contact me to make arrangements to use it)

__________________________________________

Fabulous website about the Wolf-Moose project
http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/overview/overview/at_a_glance.html
__________________________________________

Higher Biology Practise Test-Yourself
Online quiz with different questions each time (I think !). See what score you can get and then you can review and check your answers at the end.
http://www.oronsay.org/Files/Higher/Articulate%20Quizzes/Higher%20Prelim%20Practice%20-%20output/quizmaker.html
__________________________________________

The Encyclopaedia of Life
This is a fantastic resource of photographs of all the types of Life on Earth - you could browse this for ages ! http://eol.org/
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Hello

I 'm Jen Wilson and I tutor  Chemistry, Biology and Human Biology  at Higher and Advanced Higher  in Scotland.    Tutoring Subjects ...

  • Hello
    I 'm Jen Wilson and I tutor  Chemistry, Biology and Human Biology  at Higher and Advanced Higher  in Scotland.    Tutoring Subjects ...