Science & the Built Environment

Leaving Certificate Biology Courses: Prep for your Exam

Considering a Leaving Certificate Biology Course? 

The leaving certificate biology course is incredibly diverse, covering everything from the human body to cell biology to plants and ecology. There is a ton of learning to be done in this subject and with all the new terms, it can occasionally seem as though you are learning a new language. The course is ideal for those studying biology for their leaving certificate, who require extra help or need to improve. Practice makes perfect and that is what you can expect by doing a leaving certificate biology course. The good news is there are tons of leaving certificate biology courses currently available.  

About Biology 

Biology is the study of life. Through the study of biology, students learn about the diversity of life and the inter-relationships between organisms and their environment. They become aware of the use of living organisms and their products to improve human health and the environment. The field deals with all the physiochemical aspects of life. The modern tendency toward the unification of scientific knowledge and cross-disciplinary research and investigation from various fields has resulted in significant overlap of the field of biology with other scientific disciplines.  

Modern principles of other fields – physics, medicine and chemistry, for example, are integrated with those of biology in areas such as biomedicine, biophysics and biochemistry. Biology is subdivided into separate branches for convenience of study, though all the subdivisions are interrelated by basic principles. Therefore, while it is normal to separate the study of plants, botany from the study of animals, zoology, and the study of the structure of organisms, morphology, from that of function, all living things share in certain common biological phenomena, for example, various means of cell division, reproduction and the transmission of genetic material.  

Why Do a Leaving Certificate Biology Course? 

Leaving certificate biology courses will provide you with comprehensive notes on all of the topics covered in the exam. They also tend to offer continuous written assignments, which are corrected and graded, designed to help you see whether progress is being made or whether more help is needed. Through this, you will gain constructive feedback which will boost your determination to succeed. The courses also tend to do written examination practice to give you an example of what the day will be like and how your timing is.  

What Will I Learn? 

You can expect to learn all the subjects in the leaving certificate biology curriculum. Therefore, you can expect to explore bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeast, blood and the circulatory system, the breathing system and cell division. In addition, you will explore cell metabolism and enzymes, cell structure, digestive system, ecology and ecosystems and excretion. Learners will explore the various experiments included in the curriculum, the eyes and ears and the nervous system, food and food tests, genetics, DNA and evolution and the hormonal system. Students will explore human reproduction, the immune system, the musculoskeletal system, photosynthesis, plant reproduction and transport. Plant responses and seed growth, plant structure and respiration will also be covered.  

About the Leaving Certificate Biology Exam Paper 

The leaving certificate biology exam paper can be taken at higher or ordinary level. You are required to keep a record of your practical work, ie. your experiments, over the two years of the course and there will be experiment questions on the written paper. 

Future Careers with Leaving Certificate Biology 

After successfully completing your leaving certificate biology course, you can do courses in medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, science and much more to work in a variety of different areas.  

If you’re serious about doing a leaving certificate biology course, check out courses near you in the Nightcourses.co.uk national course finder.