AS 1 Molecules and Cells: 12-week scheme of work
CCEA AS Biology teachers, Year 13 · 12 weeks, 4 periods per week
A free 12-week scheme of work for CCEA AS 1 Molecules and Cells, with weekly learning outcomes, practical opportunities and assessment points.
Specification: AS 1 Molecules and Cells
Designed for four periods a week with one double for practical work. Weeks are deliberately front-loaded on enzymes and membranes, which carry the most marks and generate the most misconceptions.
| Week | Content | Practical / assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Water, carbohydrates and lipids; monomers and polymers | Food tests (Benedict's, iodine, emulsion) |
| 2 | Proteins: structure levels and bonding | Model-building activity on tertiary structure |
| 3–4 | Enzymes: mechanism, specificity, inhibition | Catalase rate investigation; graph-drawing skills |
| 5 | Factors affecting enzyme activity | Short topic test, 20 marks |
| 6 | Cell structure, organelles, microscopy and magnification | Slide preparation; calculating actual size |
| 7–8 | Cell membrane structure and transport | Beetroot membrane permeability; osmosis in potato |
| 9 | Mitosis and meiosis | Root tip squash; stages identification |
| 10–11 | Nucleic acids, replication and protein synthesis | Transcription/translation card sort |
| 12 | Viruses and the immune response | Full past-paper section, timed, plus QWC extended response |
Recurring misconceptions worth planning a whole lesson around:
- Osmosis described without water potential, or with the gradient stated backwards.
- 'Enzymes are killed' rather than denatured, with no reference to tertiary structure.
- Transcription and translation used interchangeably.
- Magnification and resolution treated as the same property.
Assessment points: a 20-mark topic test after week 5, a practical-skills task in week 8 that mirrors AS 3 criteria, and a full timed section in week 12 marked strictly against a CCEA mark scheme.