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Edexcel A-level Biology B core practicals: all 16

Pearson prints the Edexcel Biology B core practicals next to the content they belong to, not in a list of their own. We have gathered them here by number, in Pearson’s wording, each linked to the lesson section that teaches its method.

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

These are not the Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) 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 A (Salters-Nuffield) core practicals

NumberCore practical, in Pearson’s wordsWhere the method is taught
CP1Investigate a factor affecting the initial rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction.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
CP2Use of the light microscope, including simple stage and eyepiece micrometers and drawing small numbers of cells from a specialised tissue.Calibrate a graticule against a stage micrometer and measure a cell, in the lesson Microscopy, magnification and resolution
This section covers the micrometers. Drawing a few cells from a specialised tissue is not written up as a method of its own yet.
CP3Make a temporary squash preparation of a root tip to show stages of mitosis in the meristem under the light microscope.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
CP4Investigate the effect of sucrose concentrations on pollen tube growth or germination.Grow pollen tubes across a range of sucrose concentrations, in the lesson Sexual reproduction in flowering plants
CP5Investigate the effect of temperature on beetroot 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
CP6Determine the water potential of plant cells.Required practical 3: water potential of potato tissue, the full practical guide
Find the water potential of potato tissue from a dilution series, in the lesson Diffusion and osmosis
CP7Dissect an insect to show the structure of the gas exchange system, taking into account the safe and ethical use of organisms.Required practical 5: dissecting an insect and a fish gill, the full practical guide
Dissect an insect's tracheal system and a fish gill, and draw them, in the lesson Gas exchange in insects, fish and plants
CP8Investigate factors affecting water uptake by plant shoots using a potometer.Measure the rate of water uptake with a potometer, in the lesson Xylem and the transpiration stream
CP9Investigate factors affecting the rate of aerobic or anaerobic respiration using a respirometer, taking into account the safe and ethical use of organisms.Measure oxygen uptake with a respirometer, in the lesson Anaerobic respiration and the respiratory quotient
CP10Investigate the effects of different wavelengths of light on the rate of photosynthesis.Measure the rate of photosynthesis in pondweed, in the lesson Limiting factors and primary productivity
CP11Investigate the presence of different chloroplast pigments using chromatography.Required practical 7: chromatography of leaf pigments, the full practical guide
Separate photosynthetic pigments by chromatography and find Rf values, in the lesson Chloroplast structure and the light-dependent reactions
CP12Investigate the rate of growth of bacteria in liquid culture taking into account the safe and ethical use of organisms.Follow the growth of a bacterial culture by turbidity or counts, in the lesson Industrial biotechnology and fermentation
CP13Isolate individual species from a mixed culture of bacteria using streak plating taking into account the safe and ethical use of organisms.Isolate single colonies by streak plating, in the lesson Industrial biotechnology and fermentation
CP14Investigate the effect of gibberellin on the production of amylase in germinating cereals using a starch agar assay.Measure the effect of gibberellin on amylase in germinating seeds, in the lesson Plant responses: tropisms, auxins and the classic experiments
CP15Investigate the effect of different sampling methods on estimates of the size of a population taking into account the safe and ethical use of organisms.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
Comparing sampling methods has a part of its own within that section.
CP16Investigate the effect of one abiotic factor on the distribution or morphology of one species taking into account the safe and ethical use of organisms.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
Distribution is the transect with its abiotic readings; morphology has a part of its own near the end of the section.

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.