AQA A-Level Biology Paper 2 Predictions 2026 🧬🔮

Exam season is a marathon, not a sprint. Your mental health is just as important as your mitochondrial structure knowledge! Make sure you are balancing your revision with plenty of self-care, sleep, and hydration. You are doing great, and we are here to support you every step of the way. 💖

⚠️ A Gentle Reminder: Check the Full Specification

Before we dive into the crystal ball, please remember: we have not seen the exams. While we spend hours analysing trends to write these papers, examiners can be unpredictable. These predictions are designed to guide your revision, not replace it. Always review the full AQA A-Level Biology Specification to ensure you are covered for everything!

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🧬 Revision Guide: Predicted Topics for Paper 2 & Paper 3

Based on our analysis for 2026, here are the topics we expect to see on Paper 2 (Topics 5–8) and the Synoptic Paper 3. Use this list to focus your final revision sessions!

☀️ Photosynthesis: Light-Dependent Reactions

• Location: Thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.

• Process: Photoionisation of chlorophyll excites electrons. Photolysis splits water.

• Outcomes: Production of ATP (chemiosmosis) and Reduced NADP for the Light-Independent Reaction.

• Practical: Redox reactions using DCPIP (blue to colourless when reduced) to measure dehydrogenase activity.

🏃 Respiration (Anaerobic Focus)

• Glycolysis: Glucose → Pyruvate (Net 2 ATP, 2 Reduced NAD). Occurs in cytoplasm.

• Anaerobic Paths:

  • Plants/Yeast: Pyruvate → Ethanol + CO₂.

  • Animals: Pyruvate → Lactate.

• Key Function: Regenerates oxidised NAD so glycolysis can continue.

⚡ Productivity & Energy Transfers

• GPP vs NPP: Gross Primary Production (total energy) vs Net Primary Production (energy available for next trophic level).

• Energy Loss: Lost via heat (respiration), excretion, or inedible parts.

• Efficiency: Percentage efficiency = (Energy available after transfer / Energy available before) x 100.

♻️ Nutrient Cycles (Phosphorus Focus)

• No Gas Phase: Unlike Nitrogen, Phosphorus is sedimentary.

• Key Steps: Weathering of rocks releases phosphate ions PO₄^3-. Absorption by plants (often aided by Mycorrhizae - fungal associations increasing surface area). Eating/digestion by animals. Decomposition (saprobionts) returns ions to soil.

👁️ Visual Receptors

• Rods: High sensitivity (work in dim light) due to spatial summation (many rods : 1 bipolar neurone). Low visual acuity. Pigment: Rhodopsin.

• Cones: Low sensitivity (need bright light). High visual acuity (1 cone : 1 bipolar neurone). Pigment: Iodopsin (3 types for absorbing red, green and blue light).

❤️ Control of Heart Rate

• Myogenic: Heart beats on its own, but rate is controlled by the medulla oblongata.

• Chemoreceptors: Detect pH/CO₂ changes (e.g., exercise increases CO₂, lowers pH).

• Baroreceptors: Detect blood pressure changes in aorta/carotid arteries.

• Effect: Impulses sent via sympathetic (increases HR) or parasympathetic (decreases HR) nerves to the SAN.

💪 Muscle Contraction & Neuromuscular Junction

• Sliding Filament Theory: Calcium ions bind to troponin, moving tropomyosin to expose binding sites on actin. Myosin heads bind (cross-bridge), power stroke (ADP released), ATP binds to detach myosin head.

• Neuromuscular Junction: Action potential arrives → Calcium influx → Acetylcholine released → Binds to receptors on sarcolemma →Depolarisation.

🦁 Actions of Adrenaline (Second Messenger Model)

• Mechanism: Adrenaline (first messenger) binds to receptor on cell surface.

• Inside Cell: Activates enzyme Adenylate Cyclase, which converts ATP to cAMP (second messenger).

• Response: cAMP activates Protein Kinase, leading to glycogenolysis in liver cells (Glycogen → Glucose).

💧 Kidney Structure & Function

• Ultrafiltration: High hydrostatic pressure in glomerulus forces small molecules into Bowman’s capsule.

• PCT: Selective reabsorption of all amino acids, glucose (co-transport), some ions and water.

• Loop of Henle: Maintains sodium ion gradient for water reabsorption.

• DCT/Collecting Duct: Permeability controlled by ADH (Anti-Diuretic Hormone) via aquaporins.

🧪 Urine Calibration Curve (Practical 11)

• Concept: Using serial dilutions to create known concentrations.

• Analysis: Creating a calibration curve to identify the concentration of an unknown sample (e.g., glucose or protein concentration in urine) by comparing absorbance.

🌱 Plant Responses & Hormones

• IAA (Indoleacetic Acid): Controls tropisms.

• Phototropism: IAA diffuses to shaded side →Cell elongation (shoots) → Bending towards light.

• Gravitropism: IAA accumulates on lower side. Inhibits elongation in roots (bend down), promotes in shoots (bend up).

🧩 Inheritance (Epistasis Focus)

• Epistasis: When the allele of one gene affects or masks the expression of another gene.

• Ratios: Watch out for modified dihybrid ratios like 9:3:4 (recessive epistasis) or 12:3:1 (dominant epistasis).

🐦 Speciation

• Allopatric: Geographical isolation prevents gene flow. Different selection pressures → Change in allele frequency.

• Sympatric: Reproductively isolated in the same area (e.g., temporal or behavioural isolation) → Change in allele frequency.

🌍 Conservation

• Importance: Maintaining biodiversity, ethical reasons, economic resources.

• Balance: Managing conflict between human needs and conservation.

🧬 Mutations

• Types: Substitution, Deletion, Addition, Inversion, Duplication, Translocation.

• Frame Shift: Caused by addition/deletion, changes all subsequent triplets.

• Increase Risk: High energy radiation, mutagenic chemicals.

🧪 Stem Cells

• Totipotent: Can divide into any cell type (early embryo).

• Pluripotent: Almost any cell type (embryonic).

• Multipotent: Limited types (adult bone marrow).

• Unipotent: One type (e.g., cardiomyocytes).

• iPS Cells: Induced Pluripotent Stem cells; adult cells reprogrammed using transcription factors.

🏥 Cancer

• Tumour Suppressor Genes: Usually slow division; mutation makes them inactive.

• Proto-oncogenes: Stimulate division; mutation turns them into Oncogenes (permanently switched on).

• Methylation: Hypermethylation of tumour suppressors can silence them.

🔧 Controlling Gene Expression (siRNA Focus)

• siRNA (Small Interfering RNA): Double-stranded RNA broken down into single strands.

• Mechanism: complementary to target mRNA - binds to prevent ribosome binding or causes enzymes to destroy mRNA.

• Result: Translation is prevented so no protein produced and gene is silenced.

✂️ Genetic Modification

• Recombinant DNA: Inserting DNA from one organism into another.

• Steps: Isolation (Reverse Transcriptase, Restriction Endonucleases, Gene Machine) → Insertion (Vector/Plasmid) → Transformation (Host cell) → Identification (Marker genes).

🪜 Gel Electrophoresis & Genetic Fingerprinting

• Electrophoresis: Separates DNA fragments by size using voltage (DNA is negative, moves to positive). Smaller fragments move faster.

• Fingerprinting: Analyses VNTRs (Variable Number Tandem Repeats). Unique to individuals (except identical twins).

🩺 Genetic Screening & Counselling

• Screening: Testing DNA for mutated alleles.

• Counselling: Advising patients on the risks/implications of genetic disorders based on family history and screening results.

📝 The Exam Structure

Knowing exactly what you are walking into is half the battle! Here is the breakdown for AQA A-Level Biology:

Paper 2 (7402/2)

• Content: Topics 5–8 (Energy transfers, Organisms' responses, Genetics, Populations, Evolution, Gene expression).

• Marks: 91 marks.

• Duration: 2 hours.

• Format: Short and long answer questions + Comprehension Question (15 marks).

Paper 3 (7402/3) - The Synoptic Paper

• Content: Topics 1–8 (Everything!).

• Marks: 78 marks.

• Duration: 2 hours.

• Format: Structured questions, critical analysis of practicals, and The Essay (25 marks).

Good luck, take care of yourself, and go show that exam paper what you are made of! You've got this! 🌟