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Seven modules · 30 tutorials · the complete OCR Gateway Science specification
The complete OCR GCSE Biology A (Gateway Science) specification, taught by simulacra of the biologists who built the subject. The course follows the six teaching topics of the J247 spec faithfully — cell level systems, scaling up, organism level systems, community level systems, genes and inheritance, and global challenges — with the final topic split into two modules to give health and disease the space it requires. Each scholar leads the module where their work is most directly foundational: Robert Hooke Simulacrum on cells, William Harvey Simulacrum on circulation, Charles Sherrington Simulacrum on the nervous system, Rachel Carson Simulacrum on ecosystems, Gregor Mendel Simulacrum on inheritance, G.E. Hutchinson Simulacrum on ecological monitoring, and Louis Pasteur Simulacrum on disease and medicine.
Papers 1 and 3 assess Topics B1–B3 and B7. Papers 2 and 4 assess Topics B4–B6 and B7 with synoptic assessment. The modules can be taken in specification order as a complete course of study or topic-by-topic for targeted revision.
Led by Robert Hooke Simulacrum
Cell structures and microscopy · DNA and protein synthesis · enzymes and the lock and key model · aerobic and anaerobic respiration · photosynthesis and limiting factors. Covers light and electron microscopy, the double helix, transcription and translation, enzyme kinetics, and the energy reactions that power all life.
Open module →Led by William Harvey Simulacrum
Transport into and out of cells (diffusion, osmosis, active transport) · cell division and stem cells · exchange surfaces and the human circulatory system · plant transport systems (xylem, phloem, transpiration). The module traces why diffusion alone fails at scale and what organisms build to compensate.
Open module →Led by Charles Sherrington Simulacrum
The nervous system and the reflex arc · the eye and the brain · the endocrine system and the menstrual cycle · plant hormones · homeostasis (temperature control, blood sugar, kidneys and ADH). The two coordination systems in animals, hormonal control in plants, and the maintenance of a stable internal environment.
Open module →Led by Rachel Carson Simulacrum
Cycling materials through ecosystems (carbon cycle, water cycle, decomposition) · ecosystem organisation, abiotic and biotic factors, interdependence · food webs, trophic levels, pyramids of biomass and efficiency of biomass transfer. The ecology module.
Open module →Led by Gregor Mendel Simulacrum
The genome and genetic variation · sexual and asexual reproduction · genetic crosses, Punnett squares and Mendel’s laws · natural selection and evolution (Darwin, Wallace, fossils, antibiotic resistance). From the language of genetics through inheritance to the mechanism of evolution.
Open module →Led by G.E. Hutchinson Simulacrum
Fieldwork and sampling techniques (quadrats, transects, capture-recapture) · human impact on ecosystems and the challenge of maintaining biodiversity · food security and agricultural solutions (selective breeding, biological control, hydroponics) · genetic engineering (restriction enzymes, vectors, sticky ends, ligase, selection markers).
Open module →Led by Louis Pasteur Simulacrum
How communicable diseases spread · plant defences and disease detection · the immune system and monoclonal antibodies · vaccines, antibiotics and aseptic technique · non-communicable diseases, lifestyle factors, cancer, stem cells in medicine and gene technology. The largest section of the specification, covering everything from germ theory to the human genome.
Open module →