Practical Resources
We have a wide range of resources to help you with your core practical skills throughout the course, but it’s a good idea to have a better handle on what the different resources can do for you.
The papers labelled on Canvas as ‘Student Activity’ with a number after them are the original resources provided by our exam board, Salters Nuffield, or SNAB. These are the papers that students in a classroom environment would probably be using, and when you do your practical endorsement, you’ll probably be using something like this as well. It’s really important to read through these even if you can’t actually complete them at home - remember you may be asked to suggest an experiment method in one of your exams.
There are also similar looking resources which are from the Edexcel International course; these won’t be available for all the practicals, but where they are relevant, we’ve included them because they investigate a slightly different but related aspect of the topic. These are often the teacher’s copies, because they’ll usually have advice on what to look out for that you will find useful, especially as you won’t often have a chance to do these practicals in real life.
Remember: you won’t be asked to repeat what you’ve read on the SNAB papers verbatim, but (like all of the questions) to apply what you’ve studied to slightly new situations. Knowing a couple of different situations is a good idea so you have a wide range of information to dip into, but if you find the volume of information overwhelming, feel free to miss these out.
Any papers marked ‘Student Guidance’ and with the Wolsey Hall logo on were written as modified versions of the practicals which have been simplified to allow you to actually carry them out at home with minimal equipment. If you can have a go at these, they might give you some good experience, but these student guidance sheets are essential if you want to try these out for yourself!
Module Two
Practical 1.1 The Effect of Caffeine on Heart Rate Download Practical 1.1 The Effect of Caffeine on Heart Rate
Practical 1.2 The Vitimin C Content of Fruit Juice Download Practical 1.2 The Vitimin C Content of Fruit Juice
HSW Activity 1.3 Links Between Lifestyle Factors and Heart Disease Download HSW Activity 1.3 Links Between Lifestyle Factors and Heart Disease
Module Three
Practical 2.1 The Effect of Temperature on Membranes Download Practical 2.1 The Effect of Temperature on Membranes
Practical 2.2 Enzyme Concentration and Rate of Reaction Download Practical 2.2 Enzyme Concentration and Rate of Reaction
Module Five
Practical 3.1 Observing Mitosis Download Practical 3.1 Observing Mitosis
Module Six
Practical 3.2 Totipotency and Plant Tissue Culture Download Practical 3.2 Totipotency and Plant Tissue Culture
Module Eight
Practical 4.1 The Strength of Plant Fibres Download Practical 4.1 The Strength of Plant Fibres
Practical 4.2 Investigating Plant Mineral Deficiencies Download Practical 4.2 Investigating Plant Mineral Deficiencies
Practical 4.3 The Antimicrobial Properties of Plants Download Practical 4.3 The Antimicrobial Properties of Plants
Module Nine
Practical 5.1 Looking for Patterns Download Practical 5.1 Looking for Patterns
Practical Support Sheet Ecological Sampling Download Practical Support Sheet Ecological Sampling
Module Ten
Practical 5.2 The Effect of Temperature on the Hatching Success of Brine Shrimps Download Practical 5.2 The Effect of Temperature on the Hatching Success of Brine Shrimps
Module Eleven
Practical 6.1 DNA Gel Electrophoresis Download Practical 6.1 DNA Gel Electrophoresis
Practical 6.2 DNA Amplification Using PCR Download Practical 6.2 DNA Amplification Using PCR
Module Twelve
Practical 6.3 Which Antibiotic is Most Effective Download Practical 6.3 Which Antibiotic is Most Effective
Module Thirteen
Practical 7.1 Measuring the Rate of Oxygen Uptake Download Practical 7.1 Measuring the Rate of Oxygen Uptake
Module Fourteen
Practical 7.2 Investigating Breathing Download Practical 7.2 Investigating Breathing
Module Sixteen
Practical 8.1 Can Snails Become Habituated to a Stimulus Download Practical 8.1 Can Snails Become Habituated to a Stimulus