Carrying out an experiment
Practical skills
Practical skills are needed to use apparatus correctly, skilfully and safely in order to obtain accurate, reliable results.
The skills needed to carry out the following practicals may be assessed:
- 1.1 鈥 make a temporary slide and use a light microscopeDevice that uses visible light and a series of lenses to produce an enlarged image of an object. to examine, draw and identify the structures of a typical plant and animal cell and produce labelled biological drawings.
- 1.2 鈥 investigate the need for light and chlorophyllThe green chemical inside the chloroplasts of plant cells. It enables photosynthesis to take place. in photosynthesisA chemical process used by plants to make glucose and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water, using light energy. Oxygen is produced as a by-product of photosynthesis. Algae subsumed within plants and some bacteria are also photosynthetic. by testing a leaf for starch.
- 1.3 鈥 investigate the energy content of food by burning food samples.
- 1.4 鈥 investigate the effect of temperature on the action of an enzymeProteins that act as biological catalysts, meaning they speed up reactions without being used up themselves..
- 1.5 鈥 investigate factors affecting the respirationChemical reaction that happens in every living cell to release energy from food molecules. of yeast.
- 1.6 鈥 use quadratA tool used to mark off a specific area so that the plants within it can be identified and counted to give a sample. to investigate the abundance of plants and/or animals in a habitatA place where plants, animals and micro-organisms live..
- 2.1 鈥 investigate the process of osmosisThe movement of water molecules across a partially-permeable membrane from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration. by measuring the change in length or mass of plant tissue or model cells using Visking tubing.
- 2.2 鈥 use a potometerA device used to measure the rate of water uptake by a plant. (bubble and weight potometer) to investigate the factors affecting the rate of water uptake by a plant and washing line method to investigate the factors affecting the rate of water loss from leaves.
- 2.3 鈥 investigate the effect of different chemicals or antibiotic discs on the growth of bacteria.