Aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration. Energy release from glucose. The role of mitochondria. Word and balanced symbol equations. Comparison of energy yield. The relationship between respiration, exercise, and oxygen debt.
(Verbatim spec text private side only — © Pearson Education Limited 2024)
Tests canonical
Cross-overlay equivalents
The same canonical content is also tested by AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology paper) and AQA GCSE Biology — wikilinks will surface here when the AQA Combined Science overlay outcome pages are populated for Year 9 / Year 10 learners on that pathway.
Care note
Respiration topics interact with several lived experiences for the EBSNA cohort:
- Asthma and breathing-related conditions — many learners will have direct experience and may be more knowledgeable than expected; the topic can also surface anxiety around breath. Lessons designed to introduce, not interrogate
- Panic and anxiety physiology — over-breathing, sympathetic activation, and the felt experience of not getting enough air are physical realities that map directly onto this content. Teaching this strand can be either reassuring (you understand what’s happening) or activating (it draws attention to symptoms). Practitioner co-ordination matters here
- Exercise and oxygen debt — for learners with disordered relationships to exercise (over-exercise, under-exercise, body-image-driven training), the energy-balance framing needs careful handling. See the care note on the parent canonical strand