Middle School Curriculum Booklet 25-27

Biology

Edexcel IGCSE Biology 4BI1

How is the course assessed? The final grade is based on performance in two written examinations:

Why study Biology? This is a fascinating subject in which you will learn how your body works, how genes control your cells and how humans have affected the environment. You will improve your skills in comprehension, data analysis and evaluation. Biology IGCSE will allow you to pursue future studies in a wide range of areas, such as medicine, sports science, psychology, neuroscience, data science, and environmental and climate science. What does the course cover? Biology is an area of study based around life processes and living things. The course covers a range of unifying patterns and themes across the subject areas: The nature and variety of living organisms; Structures and functions in living organisms; Reproduction and inheritance; The use of biological resources; and Ecology and the environment. The course will support the development of experimental skills within the lab and outside of it, and considers areas which inform current affairs such as anthropogenic effects on the environment, food production, and genetic engineering.

Paper 1: 61% of final mark, 2 hours

A mixture of question styles, including multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, calculations and extended open-response questions.

Paper 2: 39% of final mark, 1 hour 15 minutes

A mixture of question styles, with a greater emphasis on scientific literacy.

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