HKDSE Biology study plan

Map the HKDSE Biology compulsory syllabus into four strands (cells and molecules, genetics and evolution, organisms and environment, health and disease) and list every named process, structure and experiment you must be able to describe

Define and correctly use the core cell-biology vocabulary in both English and Chinese where the paper expects it, including organelle names, transport terms and enzyme terminology

Draw and label, from memory, a plant cell, an animal cell and a prokaryotic cell, and annotate three structural differences between them

Explain the fluid mosaic model of the membrane and predict the direction of diffusion, osmosis and active transport in three unfamiliar scenarios

Describe the stages of mitosis and meiosis and state, for each stage, what happens to chromosomes, chromatids and the nuclear envelope

Compare mitosis and meiosis in a table covering number of divisions, daughter-cell ploidy, crossing over and genetic variation

Explain the roles of enzymes in DNA replication, transcription and translation, and outline the central dogma in your own words

Solve genetics problems involving monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, including test crosses and sex-linked inheritance, showing full working

Trace the pathway of blood through the mammalian heart and describe how the cardiac cycle, valves and pacemaker produce one-way flow

Explain gas exchange in alveoli and in a leaf in terms of surface area, diffusion gradient, ventilation and transport

Describe the structure and function of the nephron and explain how the kidney maintains water and salt balance

Interpret data from an experiment on transpiration or enzyme rate and identify the independent, dependent and controlled variables

Explain photosynthesis and respiration as paired processes, naming the inputs, outputs and sites of each stage

Compare aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration in muscle and fermentation in yeast, including ATP yield differences

Describe how hormones and the nervous system coordinate a named response, and distinguish nervous from hormonal control

Answer short structured questions on homeostasis under time pressure without referring to notes

Describe the principles of natural selection and explain how they produce adaptation, speciation and antibiotic resistance

Interpret a phylogenetic tree and a fossil record diagram, and state what each can and cannot show

Outline the evidence for evolution from comparative anatomy, molecular data and selective breeding

Evaluate a claim about a genetically modified organism or a conservation measure using biological evidence rather than opinion

Describe energy flow and nutrient cycling in an ecosystem, including trophic levels, pyramids and the carbon and nitrogen cycles

Explain population growth models and the factors that regulate population size, and interpret a population graph

Describe how human activity affects biodiversity and outline two named management strategies

Predict the consequences of removing one species from a food web and justify the prediction

Describe how pathogens cause disease and how the body defends itself, including barriers, phagocytosis and the immune response

Explain the principles of vaccination and distinguish active from passive immunity with examples

Outline the causes, transmission and control of two named human diseases, one infectious and one non-infectious

Explain how antibiotics work and why misuse leads to resistance, linking back to natural selection

Complete two full timed past papers under exam conditions and record the score, time used per section and every question type that lost marks

Classify all errors from weeks 1 to 8 into content gaps, misread questions and weak data-analysis skills, and rank them by frequency

Rehearse the standard command words (describe, explain, compare, evaluate, suggest) by rewriting three weak answers to match the mark scheme

Build a one-page final revision sheet of formulas, ratios, definitions and diagram labels you must recall