Edexcel | GCSE Biology | Paper 1 | 2025 predictions

Hey 👋

Get ready to smash your Edexcel GCSE Biology Paper 1 with our 2025 Predicted Papers! 🧪📚

Last year, we nearly predicted EVERY single topic correctly! 🔥🎯 And this year, we’ve analysed all the trends and patterns again to bring you:

✅ Exam-style questions designed to match the real thing 📝
✅ Mark schemes so you know exactly how to score top marks ✅
✅ NEW for 2025 🎥 FREE video walkthroughs showing you how to write answers the way examiners love! 🏆

Want even MORE support? 🎯 Join our Masterclasses to get:
🌟 Access to our Revision Accelerator Course over the school holidays 🚀
🌟 Live exam prep sessions the night before your exam for that final confidence boost! 🎧📢

We’ve done the hard work, but don’t forget—revise everything to be fully prepared! 💡💪

Ready to boost your grade? Grab your predicted papers & masterclass spot

You’ve got this! 🌟💖

Table of Contents

Edexcel | GCSE Separate Science Biology | Higher | Paper 1 | 2025 Predicted Topics & Revision Guide

Here are our 2025 predictions for Edexcel GCSE Biology Higher Paper 1! 🔬✨ We’ve carefully analysed trends, but remember—revise everything to be fully prepared! 💡📚

🦠 Cell Structure & Specialised Cells

✅ Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic cells – key differences (nucleus, organelles)
✅ Specialised cells & adaptations:

  • Sperm cell – tail for swimming, mitochondria for energy

  • Nerve cell – long with branches to send signals quickly


  • ✅ Functions of cell organelles – nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, etc.

⚡ Enzymes

✅ Lock and key theory – enzyme fits perfectly with its substrate
✅ Factors affecting enzyme activity:

  • Temperature & pH – too high or too low can denature enzymes

  • Substrate concentration – increases rate until saturation point
    ✅ Digestive enzymes:

  • Amylase → starch → glucose

  • Protease → protein → amino acids

  • Lipase → fats → fatty acids + glycerol

🧠 The Brain & Imaging

✅ Key parts of the brain & functions:

  • Cerebrum – thinking, memory, emotions

  • Cerebellum – balance and coordination

  • Medulla – heartbeat and breathing
    ✅ Brain imaging techniques:

  • MRI scans – detect brain damage & diseases

  • CT scans – 3D images of the brain structure

🔬 Microscopy

✅ Light vs. Electron microscopes – resolution, magnification, and what they show
✅ How to calculate magnification:
Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size
✅ How to prepare a slide – staining cells to see structures clearly

🧬 Inheritance, Sex Determination & Sex-Linkage

✅ Chromosomes:

  • XX = female

  • XY = male (Y chromosome determines male characteristics)
    ✅ Sex-linked conditions – some genes (e.g. for colour blindness & haemophilia) are carried on the X chromosome
    ✅ How to use Punnett squares to predict inheritance

🐶 Selective Breeding

✅ Humans choose parents with desirable traits
✅ Used for:

  • Farming – high-yield crops, disease-resistant livestock

  • Pets – dogs with gentle temperaments
    ✅ Risks – inbreeding causes health problems & reduces genetic variation

🧬 Cloning

✅ Types of cloning:

  • Tissue culture – growing plants from a few cells

  • Embryo transplants – splitting an embryo to produce clones

  • Adult cell cloning – nucleus transfer (e.g. Dolly the sheep)
    ✅ Advantages & risks:

  • Good for conservation & medicine

  • Reduces genetic diversity

🌱 Sexual & Asexual Reproduction

✅ Sexual reproduction – genetic variation, slower process
✅ Asexual reproduction – identical offspring, fast process
✅ Examples:

  • Bacteria & fungi reproduce asexually

  • Plants can do both! (e.g. strawberries use runners)

🦠 Aseptic Technique Practical

✅ Why it’s important: Prevents contamination from bacteria
✅ Steps:

  • Sterilise equipment (flaming inoculating loop)

  • Seal Petri dish (to prevent unwanted bacteria growth)

  • Incubate at 25°C (prevents harmful bacterial growth)

💊 Drug Trials

✅ Stages of drug testing:

  1. Preclinical trials – tested on cells & animals

  2. Clinical trials (Phase 1-3) – tested on humans

  3. Double-blind trials – patients don’t know if they have the real drug or a placebo
    ✅ Why blind trials are important? – Removes bias and increases reliability

🦠 Monoclonal Antibodies

✅ How they are made:

  • Fuse a B-lymphocyte (white blood cell) with a tumour cell

  • Creates a hybridoma cell that produces monoclonal antibodies
    ✅ Uses of monoclonal antibodies:

  • Treating cancer

  • Pregnancy tests

  • Detecting diseases

🦟 Malaria

✅ Caused by a protist (Plasmodium), spread by mosquitoes
✅ How to prevent malaria:

  • Using mosquito nets

  • Draining stagnant water

  • Using antimalarial drugs

💡 Final Advice & Masterclasses!

🔥 These topics are predicted, but the exam could include anything—so revise everything!
🔥 Practise past papers and use mark schemes to learn how examiners award points!
🔥 Need extra support? Join our Masterclasses! We’ve got revision boosters and live exam prep sessions the night before to help you feel confident! 🎧📢

💙 Most importantly, look after yourself! Exams are important, but your mental health matters more. Take breaks, eat well, and remember—you are so much more than your grades! 💪✨

👉 Get your predicted papers & masterclass spot

 

Edexcel | GCSE Combined Science Biology | Higher | Paper 1 | 2025 Predicted Topics & Revision Guide

Here are our 2025 predictions for Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Biology Higher Paper 1! 🔬✨ These topics are likely to appear, but remember—revise everything to be fully prepared! 💪📚

🦠 Cell Structure & Specialised Cells

✅ Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic Cells – key differences (nucleus, organelles)
✅ Specialised cells & adaptations:

  • Sperm cell – tail for movement, mitochondria for energy

  • Nerve cell – long with branches for fast signal transmission


  • ✅ Functions of organelles – nucleus (DNA), mitochondria (energy), ribosomes (protein synthesis)

⚡ Enzymes

✅ Lock and Key Theory – enzyme fits perfectly with its substrate
✅ Factors affecting enzyme activity:

  • Temperature & pH – too high or too low can denature enzymes

  • Substrate concentration – increases reaction rate until enzymes become saturated
    ✅ Digestive enzymes:

  • Amylase → starch → glucose

  • Protease → protein → amino acids

  • Lipase → fats → fatty acids + glycerol

🔬 Microscopy

✅ Light vs. Electron Microscopes – resolution, magnification, and what they show
✅ How to calculate magnification:
Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size
✅ How to prepare a slide – staining cells to see structures clearly

🧬 Inheritance & Sex Determination

✅ Chromosomes:

  • XX = female

  • XY = male (Y chromosome triggers male characteristics)
    ✅ Dominant vs. Recessive Alleles – dominant only needs one copy to be expressed
    ✅ Using Punnett Squares to predict inheritance of traits

🧬 Gene Therapy

✅ What is it? – Replacing faulty genes with healthy ones to treat genetic diseases
✅ Examples:

  • Treating cystic fibrosis by inserting a normal CFTR gene

  • Used in cancer treatment to target cancer cells
    ✅ Challenges & risks:

  • Difficult to insert genes in the right place

  • Expensive and still being developed

🐶 Selective Breeding

✅ Humans choose parents with desirable traits
✅ Used for:

  • Farming – high-yield crops, disease-resistant livestock

  • Pets – dogs with gentle temperaments
    ✅ Risks:

  • Inbreeding can cause genetic disorders

  • Reduced genetic variation makes species more vulnerable to disease

💊 Drug Development

✅ Stages of Drug Testing:

  1. Preclinical trials – tested on cells & animals

  2. Clinical trials (Phase 1-3) – tested on humans

  3. Double-blind trials – some patients get the real drug, others get a placebo
    ✅ Why blind trials are important? – Removes bias and increases reliability

🦟 Malaria

✅ Caused by a protist (Plasmodium), spread by mosquitoes
✅ Symptoms: Fever, chills, headache, muscle pain
✅ How to prevent malaria:

  • Using mosquito nets

  • Draining stagnant water

  • Using antimalarial drugs

💡 Final Advice & Masterclasses!

🔥 These topics are predicted, but the exam could include anything—so revise everything!
🔥 Practise past papers and use mark schemes to learn how examiners award points!
🔥 Need extra support? Join our Masterclasses! We’ve got revision boosters and live exam prep sessions the night before to help you feel confident! 🎧📢

💙 Most importantly, look after yourself! Exams are important, but your mental health matters more. Take breaks, eat well, and remember—you are so much more than your grades! 💪✨

👉 Get your predicted papers & masterclass spot

 

Edexcel | GCSE Combined Science Biology | Foundation | Paper 1 | 2025 Predicted Topics & Revision Guide

Here are our 2025 predictions for Edexcel GCSE Combined Science Biology Foundation Paper 1! 🔬✨ These are key topics we think might come up, so make sure you’re confident with them! But remember—revise everything to be fully prepared! 💪📚

🦠 Specialised Cells

✅ Cells are adapted for specific functions
✅ Examples:

  • Sperm cell – has a tail to swim to the egg, lots of mitochondria for energy

  • Nerve cell – long to send electrical signals quickly


  • ✅ Why do we need specialised cells? – Different jobs in the body require different structures

🔬 Microscopes & Magnification (Including Practical Techniques)

✅ Light vs. Electron Microscopes – electron microscopes have higher magnification and resolution
✅ Magnification formula:
Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size
✅ Practical techniques:

  • Place a thin specimen on a slide

  • Add stain (e.g. iodine) to highlight structures

  • Lower coverslip carefully to avoid air bubbles

🧬 DNA & Inheritance (Including Sex-Determination & Inherited Diseases)

✅ DNA carries genetic information – found in the nucleus in chromosomes
✅ Sex-determination:

  • XX = female

  • XY = male (Y chromosome triggers male characteristics)
    ✅ Inherited diseases:

  • Cystic fibrosis – caused by a faulty recessive allele (needs two copies to be inherited)

  • Polydactyly – caused by a dominant allele (only needs one copy)

🧠 The Nervous System

✅ How it works:

  • Stimulus (e.g. touching something hot) is detected by a receptor

  • Signal travels through sensory neurone → relay neurone → motor neurone

  • Effector (e.g. muscle) responds, moving hand away
    ✅ Why are reflexes important? – They are fast and automatic to protect us from harm

🌱 Selective Breeding & Genetic Modification

✅ Selective breeding:

  • Humans choose parents with desirable traits to breed together

  • Used for faster-growing crops, disease-resistant animals, pets with certain features

  • Risk: inbreeding can lead to health problems

✅ Genetic modification (GM):

  • Changing an organism’s DNA to give it new traits

  • Example: Making crops resistant to pests

  • Benefits: Better yields, disease resistance

  • Concerns: Ethical issues, long-term effects on the environment

💡 Final Advice & Masterclasses!

🔥 These topics are predicted, but remember—revise everything!
🔥 Practise past papers to get used to the types of questions that come up!
🔥 Need extra support? Join our Masterclasses! We’ve got revision boosters and live exam prep sessions the night before to help you feel exam-ready! 🎧📢

💙 Most importantly, look after yourself! Exam stress is real, but your grades do not define your worth. Take breaks, eat well, and believe in yourself—you’ve got this! 💪✨

👉 Get your predicted papers & masterclass spot here

 

Edexcel | GCSE Separate Science Biology | Foundation | Paper 1 | 2025 Predicted Topics & Revision Guide

Here are our 2025 predictions for Edexcel GCSE Separate Science Biology Foundation Paper 1! 🔬✨ We’ve carefully selected key topics, but remember—revise everything just in case! 💪📚

🦠 Specialised Cells

✅ Cells have adaptations to help them do their job
✅ Examples:

  • Sperm cell – tail for swimming, lots of mitochondria for energy

  • Nerve cell – long to quickly send electrical signals


  • ✅ Why do we need specialised cells? – Different jobs in the body require different structures

🔬 Microscopes & Magnification (Including Practical Techniques)

✅ Light vs. Electron Microscopes:

  • Light microscopes – lower magnification, can view living cells

  • Electron microscopes – much higher magnification, shows more detail but can only view dead specimens
    ✅ Magnification formula:
    Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size
    ✅ Practical steps:

  • Place a thin specimen on a slide

  • Add stain (e.g. iodine) to highlight cell structures

  • Lower the coverslip carefully to avoid air bubbles

🧬 DNA & Inheritance (Including Sex-Determination & Inherited Diseases)

✅ DNA stores genetic information – found in chromosomes in the nucleus
✅ Sex determination:

  • XX = female

  • XY = male (the Y chromosome determines male traits)
    ✅ Inherited diseases:

  • Cystic fibrosis – caused by a recessive allele (needs two copies to be inherited)

  • Polydactyly – caused by a dominant allele (only needs one copy)

🧠 The Nervous System

✅ How it works:

  • Receptors detect a stimulus (e.g. touching something hot)

  • Signal travels through sensory neurone → relay neurone → motor neurone

  • The effector (muscle or gland) responds
    ✅ Why are reflexes important? – They are fast and automatic to protect us from harm

🌱 Selective Breeding & Genetic Modification

✅ Selective breeding:

  • Humans choose parents with desirable traits

  • Used for bigger crops, disease-resistant animals, friendly pets

  • Risk: inbreeding can cause health problems

✅ Genetic modification (GM):

  • Changing an organism’s DNA to improve it

  • Example: GM crops that resist pests

  • Benefits: Higher yields, disease resistance

  • Concerns: Ethical issues, unknown long-term effects

🥩 Food Tests (Separate Science Only)

✅ Benedict’s test (sugars): Turns blue → brick red if sugar is present
✅ Iodine test (starch): Turns brown/orange → blue/black if starch is present
✅ Biuret test (protein): Turns blue → purple if protein is present

🌿 Plant Diseases & Aseptic Technique (Separate Science Only)

✅ Plant diseases:

  • Caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses & pests

  • Examples: Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), rose black spot, aphid infestations
    ✅ How to identify plant diseases:

  • Discolouration, spots, stunted growth

  • Using testing kits & lab analysis
    ✅ Aseptic technique practical:

  • Prevents contamination of bacteria cultures

  • Steps:

    • Sterilise equipment (e.g. flame the inoculating loop)

    • Seal Petri dish to prevent other bacteria from getting in

    • Incubate at 25°C (prevents growth of harmful bacteria)

💡 Final Advice & Masterclasses!

🔥 These topics are predicted, but remember—revise everything!
🔥 Practise past papers to get used to the types of questions that come up!
🔥 Need extra support? Join our Masterclasses! We’ve got revision boosters and live exam prep sessions the night before to help you feel exam-ready! 🎧📢

💙 Most importantly, look after yourself! Exams are important, but your grades do not define your worth. Take breaks, eat well, and believe in yourself—you’ve got this! 💪✨

👉 Get your predicted papers & masterclass spot


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