United Kingdom · National Curriculum Attainment Targets
Year 10 Biology
This curriculum explores the fundamental principles of life from a molecular level to global ecosystems. Students investigate how biological systems maintain balance, how genetic information drives diversity, and how human intervention impacts the natural world.
The Architecture of Life
An investigation into cellular structures and the specialized processes that sustain life at the microscopic level.
Differentiating between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells while exploring how structure relates to function in specialized tissues.
Examining the cell cycle and the role of mitosis in growth, repair, and asexual reproduction.
Analyzing the mechanisms of diffusion, osmosis, and active transport in biological systems.
Biological Systems and Coordination
Exploring how complex organisms coordinate responses and transport essential substances through specialized organ systems.
Understanding the mechanics of gas exchange and the transport of nutrients and waste through the blood.
Investigating how enzymes catalyze chemical reactions to break down food for energy and growth.
Comparing the rapid responses of the nervous system with the long-term regulation provided by hormones.
Infection and Response
A study of pathogens, the human immune response, and the development of medical treatments.
Classifying viruses, bacteria, protists, and fungi and understanding how they spread between hosts.
Analyzing how white blood cells protect the body through phagocytosis, antibody production, and antitoxins.
Exploring the history of medicine and the modern challenges of antibiotic resistance.
Bioenergetics
Investigating the chemical processes of photosynthesis and respiration that power life on Earth.
Examining how plants convert light energy into chemical energy and the factors that limit this process.
Comparing the energy yield and products of respiration in different conditions and organisms.
The role of the liver in processing products of respiration and maintaining metabolic balance.
Inheritance and Variation
The study of genetics, DNA structure, and how traits are passed from one generation to the next.
Exploring the structure of DNA and the significance of the human genome project.
Using monohybrid crosses and Punnett squares to predict the inheritance of traits and disorders.
Analyzing how natural selection leads to adaptation and the formation of new species.
Ecology and Sustainability
Studying the interactions between organisms and their environment, and the human impact on global biodiversity.
Investigating how organisms interact within ecosystems and compete for limited resources.
Evaluating the effect of human activities like deforestation and pollution on global ecosystems.
Analyzing the transfer of energy through ecosystems and the efficiency of biomass transfer.