Aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration
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Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils’ prior learning from Photosynthesis: requirements and products, where they learned how plants produce glucose using light, water, and carbon dioxide. It deepens their understanding by focusing on aerobic and anaerobic respiration, showing how organisms release energy from glucose for life processes. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Transport and exchange surfaces in plants, where they will explore how plants transport water, minerals, and gases, reinforcing the connection between energy and nutrient transport.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Living organisms are made up of one or more cells.
- Animal, plant and other eukaryotic cells contain mitochondria that use food as a fuel for cellular respiration to provide energy for life processes.
- Differences between breathing and cellular respiration.
- In humans, the circulatory system transports substances from the gas exchange and digestive systems to cells for cellular respiration, and transports the waste products away.
- Word equations for aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration in humans.
- Word equations for anaerobic cellular respiration in humans and in microorganisms.
- Humans use anaerobic cellular respiration (fermentation) in microorganisms to make useful products such as bread, yogurt and alcoholic drinks.
Threads
Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils’ prior learning from Photosynthesis: requirements and products, where they learned how plants produce glucose using light, water, and carbon dioxide. It deepens their understanding by focusing on aerobic and anaerobic respiration, showing how organisms release energy from glucose for life processes. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Transport and exchange surfaces in plants, where they will explore how plants transport water, minerals, and gases, reinforcing the connection between energy and nutrient transport.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Living organisms are made up of one or more cells.
- Animal, plant and other eukaryotic cells contain mitochondria that use food as a fuel for cellular respiration to provide energy for life processes.
- Differences between breathing and cellular respiration.
- In humans, the circulatory system transports substances from the gas exchange and digestive systems to cells for cellular respiration, and transports the waste products away.
- Word equations for aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration in humans.
- Word equations for anaerobic cellular respiration in humans and in microorganisms.
- Humans use anaerobic cellular respiration (fermentation) in microorganisms to make useful products such as bread, yogurt and alcoholic drinks.
Biology
Aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration
This unit covers cellular respiration as an exothermic reaction in all cells, comparing aerobic and anaerobic processes. It explores cell structures and functions, enhanced by electron microscopy. Emphasis is on conducting experiments, analysing data, and interpreting results.
4 lessons in unit
slide decks, worksheet PDFs, quizzes and lesson overviews. You can select individual lessons from the Aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration unit and download the resources you need, or download the entire unit now. See every unit listed in our OCR secondary combined science curriculum and discover more of our teaching resources for OCR secondary combined science programmes.