Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History · specification 4HI1 · Paper 2 | Section B: Breadth Study in Change · Free · no account needed
Medicine 3 — Accelerating change, 1875–1905; Ehrlich, Koch and chemistry (4HI1 specification)
Identifying specific bacteria, operating in sterile conditions, and the first drugs designed to kill a disease without killing the patient.
Learn it on Incandio
The 3 Incandio pages that teach this — each explained in full, then proved in marked questions, taught back to an AI pupil and defended in a debate. Completely free.
- Koch and bacteriology — Why did a method matter more than a discovery?
- From antiseptic to aseptic surgery — What is the difference between killing germs in the wound and keeping them out of the room?
- Magic bullets, blood transfusion and Marie Curie — Salvarsan was the 606th compound tested. What does the number tell you about how medicine now worked?
The teaching route this belongs to: Accelerating change, 1875–1905; Ehrlich, Koch and chemistry — Changes in medicine — the lessons in order, with every gate.
Specification coverage
Paper 2, Section B — B2 Changes in medicine, c1848–c1948, key topic 3
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO2. Suggested learning time: 90 minutes.
Required knowledge
- The fight against germs, including the work of Koch and bacteriology; aseptic surgery; the impact of the Public Health Act (1875) for improving public health; science and medicine: blood transfusions, magic bullets and the work of Ehrlich, radioactivity and the impact of Marie Curie
Required skills
- Explain and analyse using second-order concepts: causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance
- Track change and continuity across the whole period, not just within one key topic
- Reach a supported judgement rather than describing events
How it is examined
- (a) 6 marks — “Explain TWO ways in which X was different from Y” (AO1 2, AO2 4)
- (b) 8 marks — “Explain TWO causes of…” (AO1 4, AO2 4)
- (c) 16 marks — significance or causation across the period, choice of two, with two bullet prompts (AO1 7, AO2 9)
Common mistakes
- Treating Koch as a footnote to Pasteur. Koch identified specific organisms for specific diseases, which is a different and equally examinable achievement.
This page maps the specification. The pages above teach it, and the History lessons hold the whole course — completely free.