Cambridge AS & A Level Marine Science

by Nandana Surendran

Cambridge International AS and A Level Marine Science provides a coherent and stimulating introduction to the science of the marine environment. We recommend that learners starting this course should have completed a course in Cambridge O Level or Cambridge IGCSE in Biology or Marine Science or the equivalent.

The emphasis throughout is on the understanding of concepts and the application of ideas to new contexts. It is expected that practical activities will underpin the teaching of the whole course. Science is a practical subject and research suggests that success in future scientific study, or a scientific career, requires good practical skills.

Cambridge International AS and A Level Marine Science can form part of an ideal subject combination for learners who want to study Marine Biology or Environmental Science at university or to follow a career in shipping, fisheries, tourism or aquaculture.

Aims of the course

  1. To provide a worthwhile educational experience for all candidates, through well designed studies of Marine Science, whether or not they go on to study a related subject beyond this level.

  2. To enable candidates to acquire sufficient understanding and knowledge to:
    • Become confident citizens in a technological world, able to take or develop an informed interest in matters of scientific importance
    • Recognise the usefulness, and limitations, of scientific method and to appreciate its applicability in other disciplines and in everyday life
    • Be suitably prepared for studies beyond Cambridge International A Level in subjects relating to the marine environment, in further or higher education, and for professional courses.

  3. To stimulate candidates, to create and sustain their interest in Marine Science, and to enhance their understanding of its relevance to society.

  4. To develop abilities and skills that:
    • Are relevant to the study and practice of Marine Science
    • Are useful in everyday life
    • Encourage effective communication.

  5. To assist the development of:
    • Objectivity
    • Integrity
    • Initiative
    • The skills of scientific inquiry.

  6. To stimulate interest in, and care for, the local and global environment, and to understand the need for conservation.

  7. To promote an awareness-
    • That scientific theories and methods have developed, and continue to do so, as a result of co-operative activities of groups and individuals
    • That the study and practice of science is subject to social, economic, technological, ethical and cultural influences and limitations
    • That science transcends national boundaries and that the language of science, correctly and rigorously applied, is universal
    • Of the importance of the use of IT for communication, as an aid to experiments and as a tool for the interpretation of experimental and theoretical results.

Syllabus

AS Level

  1. Scientific method
  2. Marine ecosystems and biodiversity
  3. Energetics of marine ecosystems
  4. Nutrient cycles in marine ecosystems
  5. Coral reefs and lagoons
  6. The ocean floor and the coast
    7.. Physical and chemical oceanography

A Level
8. Physiology of marine primary producers 
9. Aspects of marine animal physiology 
10. Marine animal reproductive behaviour 
11. Fisheries management 
12. Aquaculture 
13. Human impact on marine ecosystems 
14. Marine conservation and ecotourism 
15. Marine biotechnology

Objectives of the Assessment

Candidates should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding in relation to:

  1. Scientific phenomena, facts, laws, definitions, concepts, theories
  2. Scientific vocabulary, terminology, conventions (including symbols, quantities and units)
  3. Scientific quantities and their determination
  4. Human activities that impact on the marine environment, including the needs and interests of those involved.

Assessment

Centres and candidates may choose to:
• Take all AS and A Level components at one exam series (Papers 1, 2, 3 and 4), leading to the full A Level qualification
• Take the AS components (Papers 1 and 2) at one exam series and, having received the AS qualification, take the A Level components (Papers 3 and 4) at a later series, leading to the full A Level qualification
• Take the AS components (Papers 1 and 2) only, leading to the Advanced Subsidiary qualification.

COMPONENTS

  1. Structured questions on AS topics
    1 h 30 min
    Marks- 75
    AS Level- 60
    A Level- 30

  2. Data-handling questions (20 marks).
    Data may be provided in written, numerical, diagrammatic or graphical forms, or a mixture of these.
    Two free-response questions (15 marks each) in which candidates will be required
    to demonstrate aspects of Assessment Objectives A and B.
    1 h 15 min
    Marks- 50
    AS Level- 40
    A Level- 20

  3. Structured questions on A Level topics making links to AS topics where appropriate.
    1 h 30 min
    Marks- 75
    A Level– 30

  4. Data-handling questions (20 marks).
    Data may be provided in written, numerical, diagrammatic or graphical
    forms, or a mixture of these.
    Two free-response questions (15 marks each) on the A Level topics, making links where appropriate to AS topics in which candidates will be required to demonstrate aspects of Assessment Objectives A and B.
    1 h 15 min
    Marks- 50
    A Level– 20

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