Pass Functional Skills logo

Cell structure

Cell structure for GCSE Electronics AQA: what it means, how to set the working out, and the questions it is asked in.
  • GCSE
  • AQA
  • Electronics
  • Spec A15
  • 8 min read
  • 10 revision boxes

Introduction

2 boxes
2 min read

What is cell structure?

Listen to this box

Transcript

A short spoken summary of cell structure and where it is used.

A spoken walk-through of cell structure before you read the notes.
This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
3 rows

The cell structure reference table

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
Worth knowing: 49=7\sqrt{49} = 7.
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
49=7\sqrt{49} = 7
Row 3 column 4
Row 4 column 1
Row 4 column 2
a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2
Row 4 column 4

Learning

6 boxes
4 steps

How to work with cell structure

Practise the routine version until it is automatic, then move to the multi-step questions.
Worth knowing: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for cell structure 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: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.
Answer: a2+b2=c2a^2 + b^2 = c^2
2 rules

Key facts: Cell structure

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing cell structure laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.

  • Rule 1

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

  • Rule 2

    How cell structure behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    49=7\sqrt{49} = 7

  • Rule 3

    How cell structure behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
3 steps

How to work with cell structure

This idea appears again in the higher-mark questions, so it is worth over-learning.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for cell structure in the order the method gives.
  3. Substitute the values and simplify.
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: ≈160\approx 160
3 rules

Key facts: Cell structure

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing cell structure laid out step by step

The same idea drawn out, so the method is visible.
Worth knowing: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left.

  • Rule 1

    How cell structure behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    49=7\sqrt{49} = 7

  • Rule 2

    How cell structure behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    49=7\sqrt{49} = 7

  • Rule 3

    How cell structure behaves in the 3rd of the cases the specification names.
    34×25\frac{3}{4} \times \frac{2}{5}
5 steps

How to work with cell structure

Practise the routine version until it is automatic, then move to the multi-step questions.
  1. Read the question and write down what is being asked for.
  2. Set out the working for cell structure 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: x2+5x+6=0x^2 + 5x + 6 = 0.
Answer: ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left
2 rules

Key facts: Cell structure

Sketch the shape even when the question does not ask for one — it makes the next step obvious.

  • Rule 1

    How cell structure behaves in the 1st of the cases the specification names.
    ×10\times 10 moves every digit one column left

  • Rule 2

    How cell structure behaves in the 2nd of the cases the specification names.
    ≈160\approx 160

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
2 marks · worked

Worked example: cell structure

Check the answer against an estimate before you move on, so a place-value slip is caught here.
2 marks · worked

Practice question 10: ≈160\approx 160

The examiner marks the working, so a correct answer with no method still drops marks.
The layout below is the one the mark scheme expects.

Diagram showing cell structure laid out step by step

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

Practice bank

Thousands of revision questions

Every topic is backed by graded practice with instant marking and full solutions.
Try it now
Practice questions
2,000+
Topics
10
Marking and solutions
Instant

Common questions

How many marks is cell structure usually worth?
Between one and four, depending on how many steps the question asks for.
Is this on the GCSE Electronics AQA paper?
Yes — it sits in the People and organisations strand.