2(b) Cell structure
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology · 4BI1
Paper 1 | Whole paper: Core content, all five topics
Plant and animal cell structures, their functions, and the practical of examining them under a microscope.
Specification coverage
Topic 2 Structures and functions in living organisms (b) Cell structure — statements 2.2–2.3
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO2, AO3. Suggested learning time: 60 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The structures of a plant cell and an animal cell and the function of each: nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, cell wall, chloroplast, vacuole, mitochondria, ribosomes
- The similarities and differences between plant and animal cells
Required skills
- Identify structures on a micrograph or diagram
- Calculate magnification and actual size from an image
- Prepare and examine a slide
- Describe and evaluate the required practical: Investigate biological specimens using a light microscope, and make labelled drawings to scale.
How it is examined
- Multiple-choice and short-answer recall
- Application of the content to an unfamiliar context
- Extended open-response, marked on the quality of a connected explanation
- Practical questions on method, variables, data and sources of error
Common mistakes
- Mixing units in a magnification calculation. Convert to a single unit before dividing.
- Labelling a plant cell with a cell wall but forgetting that it also has a cell membrane inside it.
- Drawing shaded, sketchy biological diagrams. Marks require clean single lines and labels with straight lines that do not cross.