Pass Functional Skills logo

Enzymes and digestion

Enzymes and digestion for A Level Psychology Edexcel Higher: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • A Level
  • Edexcel
  • Psychology
  • Higher
  • Spec G19 · G12 · G8
  • 12 min read
  • 6 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
1 min read

What is enzymes and digestion?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of enzymes and digestion and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of enzymes and digestion before you read the notes.
Read the units in the question before you start; a converted unit is the most common slip.
4 rows

The enzymes and digestion reference table

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing enzymes and digestion laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Term
Meaning
Example
Common slip
Row 1 column 1
Row 1 column 2
≈160\approx 160
Row 1 column 4
Row 2 column 1
Row 2 column 2
34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
Row 2 column 4
Row 3 column 1
Row 3 column 2
≈160\approx 160
Row 3 column 4

Learning

2 boxes
3 steps

How to work with enzymes and digestion

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing enzymes and digestion laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for enzymes and digestion in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
  4. Check the answer against an estimate before writing it down.
Start from the definition and substitute the numbers the question gives you.
Simplify one line at a time: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}.
Answer: 34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
3 rules

Key facts: Enzymes and digestion

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing enzymes and digestion laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.

  • Rule 1

    How enzymes and digestion behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2

  • Rule 2

    How enzymes and digestion behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0

20 minutes

Get your predicted grade

Twenty questions gives you a predicted grade, your target, and the gap between them — plus the topics that close it fastest.
Get my predicted grade

Examples

2 boxes
3 marks · worked

Worked example: enzymes and digestion

The specification wording is precise here, and the mark scheme follows that wording exactly.
3 marks · worked

Practice question 6: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7

Work through the method one line at a time and write down what changes at each step.
Worth knowing: ≈160\approx 160.

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
10,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is enzymes and digestion usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the A Level Psychology Edexcel Higher paper?
Yes — it sits in the Research methods strand.