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Edexcel A-level Biology A core practicals: all 18

Pearson prints the Edexcel Biology A core practicals (Salters-Nuffield, often called SNAB) among the statements of its specification. Here they are by number, in Pearson’s wording, each linked to the lesson section that teaches its method.

From the Edexcel Biology A specification, Issue 4 (November 2018).

These are not the Biology B numbers. Pearson’s two biology A levels set different core practicals, and the same number on each is a different investigation.

Taking the other one? Edexcel Biology B core practicals

NumberCore practical, in Pearson’s wordsWhere the method is taught
CP1Investigate the effect of caffeine on heart rate in Daphnia.Measure the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia, in the lesson Variables and controls: what an experiment can show
CP2Investigate the vitamin C content of food and drink.Titrate food and drink against DCPIP for vitamin C, in the lesson Diet, energy and how to read a health claim
CP3Investigate membrane structure, including the effect of alcohol concentration or temperature on membrane permeability.Required practical 4: beetroot membranes and temperature, the full practical guide
Measure membrane permeability with beetroot and a colorimeter, in the lesson Membrane structure and the fluid mosaic model
CP4Investigate the effect of enzyme and substrate concentrations on the initial rates of reactions.Required practical 1: enzyme rate with trypsin and milk, the full practical guide
Measure the rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction, in the lesson Factors affecting enzyme rate: temperature, pH and concentration
CP5Prepare and stain a root tip squash to observe the stages of mitosis.Required practical 2: root tip squash and mitotic index, the full practical guide
Prepare a stained root tip squash and calculate a mitotic index, in the lesson The cell cycle and mitosis
CP6Identify sclerenchyma fibres, phloem sieve tubes and xylem vessels and their location within stems through a light microscope.Section and stain a stem, and identify sclerenchyma, xylem and phloem, in the lesson Xylem and the transpiration stream
CP7Investigate plant mineral deficiencies.Grow seedlings in solutions lacking one mineral ion, in the lesson Xylem and the transpiration stream
CP8Determine the tensile strength of plant fibres.Measure the tensile strength of plant fibres, in the lesson Carbohydrate structure and function
CP9Investigate the antimicrobial properties of plants, including aseptic techniques for the safe handling of bacteria.Required practical 6: aseptic technique and antibiotic discs, the full practical guide
Test plant extracts against bacteria on agar, aseptically, in the lesson Industrial biotechnology and fermentation
CP10Carry out a study on the ecology of a habitat, such as using quadrats and transects to determine distribution and abundance of organisms, and measuring abiotic factors appropriate to the habitat.Required practical 12: a belt transect and species distribution, the full practical guide
Sample with quadrats and transects and relate distribution to an abiotic factor, in the lesson Succession and environmental change
CP11Investigate photosynthesis using isolated chloroplasts (the Hill reaction).Required practical 8: the Hill reaction in isolated chloroplasts, the full practical guide
Isolate chloroplasts and time the reduction of DCPIP, in the lesson Chloroplast structure and the light-dependent reactions
CP12Investigate the effect of temperature on the initial rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction, to include Q10.Required practical 1: enzyme rate with trypsin and milk, the full practical guide
Draw a tangent for initial rate and calculate Q10, in the lesson Factors affecting enzyme rate: temperature, pH and concentration
CP13Investigate the effects of temperature on the development of organisms (such as seedling growth rate, brine shrimp hatch rates).Measure the effect of temperature on seedling growth or hatch rate, in the lesson The carbon cycle and climate change
CP14Use gel electrophoresis to separate DNA fragments of different length.Separate DNA fragments by gel electrophoresis, in the lesson Recombinant DNA technology
CP15Investigate the effect of different antibiotics on bacteria.Required practical 6: aseptic technique and antibiotic discs, the full practical guide
Compare antibiotics by their zones of inhibition, in the lesson Evidence for evolution, resistance and genetic drift
CP16Investigate rate of respiration.Required practical 9: respiration rate in yeast, the full practical guide
Measure oxygen uptake with a respirometer, in the lesson Anaerobic respiration and the respiratory quotient
Measure the rate of respiration in yeast with methylene blue, in the lesson Anaerobic respiration and the respiratory quotient
CP17Investigate the effects of exercise on tidal volume, breathing rate, respiratory minute ventilation and oxygen consumption using data from spirometer traces.Read tidal volume, breathing rate and oxygen uptake from a spirometer trace, in the lesson Gas exchange in mammals: lungs and ventilation
CP18Investigate habituation to a stimulus.Measure habituation in snails to a repeated touch, in the lesson Brain imaging, development and learning

To see the same methods by technique, with their calculations and the errors to avoid, go to A-level Biology practicals.

To find the lessons that teach each numbered statement of this specification, use the Edexcel route map.

Pearson’s specification and practical guidance decide how each core practical is run and how the Science Practical Endorsement is assessed.

List checked against the specification on 21 August 2026.