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LAUNCH · Science · Week 3

Master: Magnification Exam Questions

Aut1·W3 (Master) — Answer exam-style magnification questions independently.

Edexcel GCSE Biology 1BI0 Foundation · Paper 1 · Topic 1Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Biology 1BI0 (Foundation, grades 1–5); GCSE Combined Science 1SC0 F where appropriate; AQA UAS science units
🎯 Learning Objective: I can answer exam-style magnification questions independently, showing full working and the correct units.

✅ Success Criteria

  • I can read the command word and give exactly what it asks for.
  • I can show four-line working on a calculation.
  • I can check my answer has the right unit, or no unit for magnification.
🔗 Assessment link: AQA UAS: 'Using a microscope'; 'Scientific calculations'; exam technique.

LAUNCH · one 40-minute session. Title orientation is untimed; keep the full 15-minute independent task.

Teacher timing and core practice

40-minute session: Arrival 3; overview 1; I Do 1 4; We Do 1 4; I Do 2 3; We Do 2 4; independent work 15; feedback and next step 3; exit 3. Title orientation is untimed. The optional two-minute evidence check sits inside independent time. Keep extra practice available; use the core question, a contrasting example and a recheck before extending.

🖨 Teacher print tools

Resources · shared task, PDFs and video
🚪 Arrival · start this as you come in

Arrival task — pick your tier

◆ Supported

Match the command word to what it asks: calculate / describe / explain.

🗺️ Today at a Glance

Three things we do today

1.

Read the command word

2.

Four-line working

3.

Check the unit

👩‍🏫 I Do · watch me think

Watch me answer a 'calculate'

🧠 Watch me think: 'A cell image is 60 mm wide. The real cell is 0.15 mm. Calculate the magnification. [2]' Command word is calculate — number plus working. Line one: equation. Line two: units match? Both mm, yes. Line three: 60 ÷ 0.15. Line four: ×400, no unit. Two marks: one for the method, one for the answer. Now you run the loop on your own questions.

📖 Key definitions

  • calculate — Work out a number. Show your working; give the unit (or × for magnification).
  • describe — Say what you see or what happens. No reason needed.
  • explain — Say WHY. The word 'because' usually belongs in the answer.
  • estimate — Give a sensible value from the scale bar or the information given.
❌ Common mistake: If I cannot finish the calculation, I leave it blank.
✅ Actually: Write the equation and substitute. Method marks are real marks you can still get.
🤝 We Do · together

What does the question want?

Name the demand before you tap.Found 0/5
Calculate the magnification. [2]
Describe what the cell looks like. [2]
Give the actual size in µm. [2]
Estimate the width using the scale bar. [1]
Magnification = 400. Correct?

👩‍🏫 I Do 2 · the evidence loop

Evidence loop

🧠 Watch me think: This is the show-me lesson, so the working IS the witness evidence. Answer three exam-style questions with the four-line layout, then mark your OWN working against the board: did the equation appear? did the units match? is the unit right? Tick each line you completed. You are marking method, never awarding a grade.

Assessor witness · what the adult is watching for

  • Read the command word and answered to it.
  • Showed four-line working on a calculation.
  • Checked the unit (or no unit for magnification) before finishing.

📸 Capture: Photograph one full four-line answer the pupil completed unaided — the independent working is the strongest evidence in the topic.

🤝 We Do 2 · sort, then write

What is missing?

Sort, don’t guess. Match each card to the right answer.Matched 0/6
'400' (Calculate magnification, 2 marks)
'It is round and purple.' (Describe, 2 marks)
'40 mm ÷ 100 µm' (Calculate, 2 marks)
A full page for a 1-mark 'state'
'Actual = image × magnification'
'×400' with equation and substitution shown
MISSING: working — and check no unit is needed
NOT MISSING ANYTHING — describe wants what you see
MISSING: convert the units first
NOT MISSING — but it cost time it did not need
WRONG REARRANGEMENT — it should be ÷ magnification
COMPLETE — method and answer both there

✏️ Independent Work

Your turn — pick your tier

15 minutes. Choose the tier your adult rings for you.

Use the task time to work, check and improve: reserve up to two of these 15 minutes for an evidence check with your adult or a partner, then act on one useful point. Point, say, sign, demonstrate, write or use an agreed scribe. Manual pause stays available.

15:00

◆ Supported

Four exam-style questions with the command word highlighted and the four-line layout printed to fill in.

▲ Standard

Six exam-style questions across magnification, including one conversion and one scale-bar estimate, four-line working throughout.

★ Stretch

Six exam-style questions including a scale-bar calculation, then review two of your own answers and write which line would gain the missing method mark.

🔁 Lundy Loop

Where what you say changes something

This is where your voice changes what happens next.

🛡 Space

Exam-style work raises the temperature. This is practice — the real Topic 1 assessment is separate and you will know when it happens.

🗣 Voice

Challenge any question that seems unfair. Sometimes the question is the problem, not you.

👂 Audience

Your independent answers go into the Topic 1 folder and are the revision set before the assessment.

⚙ Influence

The class chooses which question type gets one more worked example before moving on.

🎫 Exit Ticket

Before you go

◆ Supported

What does 'calculate' ask you to show as well as the answer?

your working (the method)

Slide 1/10
🏅📸✍️

Master: Magnification Exam Questions — banked!

LAUNCH Science · Week 3 ✅

I can read the command word and give exactly what it asks for. I can show four-line working on a calculation. I can check my answer has the right unit, or no unit for magnification.
⏸ MID-POINT PEER CHECK

Pens down — quick partner check!

📣 Show your partner where you’re up to. Check together against today’s success: I can read the command word and give exactly what it asks for. and I can show four-line working on a calculation.. If something’s missing, help them add it — kindly.

Optional check: use up to two minutes of the independent-work allocation. Manual pause is available if you need more time.

Lesson resources · W3L3

LAUNCH Science · W3L3 · lesson resources

Find the first faulty step

Choose one shared task or resource within the current lesson stage. Keep the lesson’s 40-minute timetable and 15-minute independent work.

We Do · Find the first faulty step

Image length = 32 mm. Actual length = 80 µm.

  1. Sam writes: 32 ÷ 80 = ×0.4
  2. Point to the first problem.
  3. Repair it, keeping the first attempt visible.

Discuss, point, write or dictate your first reason. Use one example first; extend only if there is time.

Reveal shared reasoning after an attempt

The units do not match.
32 mm = 32,000 µm.
M = 32,000 ÷ 80 = ×400.
Check units before arithmetic.

This page keeps your writing while it stays open. It does not save or send it.

Model explanation and diagram
Scientific visual for this lesson A local vector model used to support observation and reasoning. Labels and explanations are supplied in the lesson. edge choice + unit route + relationship + arithmetic
A model illustration. Use the stated measurements for calculations.

A ruler measurement changes if a picture is resized. A scale bar stays useful if the image and bar are resized together.

Watch for: Do not claim pupils measured a real cell if they used stated lengths or a model. A precise-looking number is not automatically an accurate measurement.

Give a smaller support cue

Check the units first. Then check the calculation. For a scale bar, count how many bar lengths fit the cell image.

Optional video · Microscopy

Watch for: What is the difference between making an image bigger and resolving more detail?

Use a short relevant extract within I Do, then pause for an explanation. The clip replaces part of the modelling time.

Open the freesciencelessons video in a new tab

No-video version · use the same question
Scientific visual for this lesson A local vector model used to support observation and reasoning. Labels and explanations are supplied in the lesson. apparent size separate detail not the same property

Magnification compares image size with actual size. Resolution is the ability to distinguish two close points as separate. Increasing size alone does not reveal more detail.

Internet is needed for the optional clip. It is concept teaching; viewing it is not completion of a practical.