National 5 Biology

Comparing animal and plant cells, and what each organelle actually does.

Two passive ways substances move across a cell membrane, and what makes them different.

How a cell moves substances against a concentration gradient, and why that costs energy.

How cells release energy from glucose, aerobically and without oxygen.

How plants make glucose from carbon dioxide and water, and what limits how fast they can do it.

DNA's structure, and how the genetic code is used to build a protein.

How cells become specialised for a job, and the different kinds of stem cells that make this possible.

The organs food passes through, and the enzymes that break it down into absorbable molecules.

The heart, blood vessels, and what each component of blood actually does.

How the nervous system detects a stimulus and produces a fast response, including the reflex arc.

How hormones communicate more slowly than nerves, and how the body keeps blood glucose steady.

Where gametes are produced, why they have half the usual chromosome number, and how this creates genetic variation.

The difference between continuous and discontinuous variation, and what causes each.

Genotype, phenotype, dominant and recessive alleles, and working out a monohybrid cross across generations.

Key ecological terms, niche and competition, and how quadrats, transects, and keys are used to sample a real habitat.

Trophic levels, why food webs are more realistic than food chains, and why energy decreases at each stage.

How mutation, variation, competition, and survival combine to change a population, and how new species form.

How pollution affects ecosystems, and how indicator species are used to monitor it.