Biology AS OCR
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1-1-practical-skills-written-assessment AS7 主题
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1-2-practical-skills-endorsement-assessment AS16 主题
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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1-2-2-practical-aseptic-techniques as
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1-2-3-practical-dissection-of-gas-exchange-surfaces-in-fish-and-insects as
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1-2-4-drawing-cells-from-blood-smears as
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1-2-5-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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1-2-6-practical-data-loggers-and-computer-modelling as
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1-2-7-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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1-2-8-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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1-2-9-practical-factors-affecting-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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1-2-10-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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1-2-11-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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1-2-12-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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1-2-13-chromatography as
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1-2-14-serial-dilutions as
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1-2-15-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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1-2-16-practical-using-a-light-microscope as
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1-2-1-practical-ethical-use-of-organisms as
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2-1-cell-structure AS9 主题
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-1-3-drawing-cells as
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2-1-4-magnification-and-resolution as
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2-1-5-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-6-eukaryotic-cells-under-the-microscope as
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2-1-7-organelles-and-the-production-of-proteins as
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2-1-8-the-cytoskeleton as
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2-1-9-prokaryotic-and-eukaryotic-cells as
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2-1-1-studying-cells as
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2-1-2-using-a-microscope as
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2-2-biological-molecules AS17 主题
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-2-2-monomers-and-polymers as
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2-2-3-monosaccharides as
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2-2-4-the-glycosidic-bond as
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2-2-5-polysaccharides as
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2-2-6-biochemical-tests-reducing-sugars-and-starch as
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2-2-7-lipids-and-ester-bonds as
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2-2-8-lipids-structure-and-function as
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2-2-9-biochemical-tests-lipids as
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2-2-10-amino-acids-and-peptide-bonds as
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2-2-11-protein-structure as
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2-2-12-globular-proteins as
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2-2-13-fibrous-proteins as
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2-2-14-inorganic-ions as
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2-2-15-biochemical-tests-proteins as
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2-2-16-finding-the-concentration-of-a-substance as
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2-2-17-chromatography as
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2-2-1-properties-of-water as
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2-3-nucleotides-and-nucleic-acids AS8 主题
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2-4-enzymes AS9 主题
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-4-2-enzyme-action as
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2-4-3-enzyme-activity-ph as
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2-4-4-enzyme-activity-temperature as
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2-4-5-enzyme-activity-enzyme-concentration as
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2-4-6-enzyme-activity-substrate-concentration as
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2-4-7-enzyme-activity-enzyme-inhibitors as
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2-4-8-coenzymes-cofactors-and-prosthetic-groups as
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2-4-9-practical-measuring-enzyme-activity as
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2-4-1-the-role-of-enzymes as
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2-5-biological-membranes AS9 主题
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-5-2-membrane-structure-and-permeability as
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2-5-3-diffusion-and-facilitated-diffusion as
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2-5-4-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-diffusion as
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2-5-5-active-transport as
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2-5-6-endocytosis-and-exocytosis as
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2-5-7-osmosis as
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2-5-8-osmosis-in-animal-and-plant-cells as
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2-5-9-practical-investigating-water-potential as
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2-5-1-the-cell-surface-membrane as
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2-6-cell-division-cell-diversity-and-cellular-organisation AS11 主题
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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2-6-2-the-stages-of-mitosis as
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2-6-3-identifying-mitosis-in-plant-cells as
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2-6-4-the-significance-of-mitosis as
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2-6-5-the-stages-of-meiosis as
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2-6-6-the-significance-of-meiosis as
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2-6-7-specialised-cells as
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2-6-8-the-organisation-of-cells as
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2-6-9-stem-cells as
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2-6-10-stem-cells-in-animals-and-plants as
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2-6-11-the-use-of-stem-cells as
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2-6-1-the-cell-cycle as
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3-1-exchange-surfaces AS7 主题
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3-2-transport-in-animals AS12 主题
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-2-2-circulatory-systems as
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3-2-3-blood-vessels as
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3-2-4-tissue-fluid as
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3-2-5-the-mammalian-heart as
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3-2-6-practical-mammalian-heart-dissection as
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3-2-7-the-cardiac-cycle as
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3-2-8-cardiac-output as
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3-2-9-heart-action-initiation-and-control as
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3-2-10-electrocardiograms-ecgs as
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3-2-11-the-role-of-haemoglobin as
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3-2-12-adult-and-fetal-haemoglobin as
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3-2-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-animals as
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3-3-transport-in-plants AS11 主题
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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3-3-2-the-xylem-and-phloem as
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3-3-3-the-xylem as
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3-3-4-the-phloem as
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3-3-5-transverse-sections-stems-roots-and-leaves as
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3-3-6-the-process-of-transpiration as
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3-3-7-transpiration-in-plants as
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3-3-8-practical-investigating-the-rate-of-transpiration as
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3-3-9-translocation as
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3-3-10-the-mass-flow-hypothesis as
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3-3-11-the-adaptations-of-xerophytic-and-hydrophytic-plants as
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3-3-1-the-need-for-transport-systems-in-plants as
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4-1-communicable-diseases-disease-prevention-and-the-immune-system AS16 主题
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-1-2-transmission-of-communicable-pathogens as
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4-1-3-plant-defences-against-pathogens as
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4-1-4-non-specific-immune-responses as
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4-1-5-phagocytes as
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4-1-6-blood-cells as
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4-1-7-the-t-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-8-the-b-lymphocyte-response as
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4-1-9-primary-and-secondary-immune-responses as
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4-1-10-antibodies as
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4-1-11-opsonins-agglutinins-and-anti-toxins as
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4-1-12-types-of-immunity as
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4-1-13-autoimmune-diseases as
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4-1-14-principles-of-vaccination as
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4-1-15-sources-of-medicine as
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4-1-16-antibiotics as
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4-1-1-common-pathogens-and-communicable-diseases as
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4-2-biodiversity AS10 主题
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-2-2-sampling-to-determine-biodiversity as
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4-2-3-practical-investigating-biodiversity-using-sampling as
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4-2-4-measuring-species-richness-and-species-evenness as
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4-2-5-simpsons-index as
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4-2-6-genetic-diversity as
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4-2-7-factors-affecting-biodiversity as
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4-2-8-reasons-for-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-9-methods-of-maintaining-biodiversity as
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4-2-10-conservation-agreements as
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4-2-1-biodiversity as
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4-3-classification-and-evolution AS15 主题
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
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4-3-2-binomial-system as
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4-3-3-classification-of-the-three-domains as
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4-3-4-classification-of-the-five-kingdoms as
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4-3-5-classification-and-phylogeny as
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4-3-6-evidence-of-evolution as
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4-3-7-types-of-variation as
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4-3-8-standard-deviation as
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4-3-9-variation-t-test-method as
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4-3-10-variation-t-test-worked-example as
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4-3-11-spearmans-rank-correlation as
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4-3-12-adaptation as
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4-3-13-natural-selection as
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4-3-14-evolution-of-resistance as
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4-3-15-consequences-of-resistance as
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4-3-1-classification-of-species as
4-3-11-spearmans-rank-correlation as
Exam code:H020
Spearman’s Rank Correlation
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Spearman’s rank correlation determines whether there is correlation between variables that don’t show a normal distribution
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Method:
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Step 1: Create a scatter graph and identify possible linear correlation
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Step 2: State a null hypothesis
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Step 3: Use the following equation to work out Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient r

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Where:
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rs = spearman’s rank coefficient
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D = difference in rank
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n = number of samples
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Step 4: Refer to a table that relates critical values of rs to levels of probability
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If the value calculated for Spearman’s rank is greater than the critical value for the number of samples in the data ( n ) at the 0.05 probability level (p), then the null hypothesis can be rejected, meaning there is a correlation between two variables
Worked Example
A student conducted an experiment using quadrats to measure the abundance of different plant species in a neglected allotment. They wanted to see if there was correlation between the abundance of species C and D. When they looked at their data and plotted a scatter graph they saw some correlation.Investigate the possible correlation using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

Scatter graph showing the correlation between the abundance of species C and species D
Answer:
As the data was not normally distributed they decided to use Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.
Null hypothesis: there is no correlation between the abundance of species A and species B.
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n = 10 as there are 10 quadrat samples

Step 1: Rank each set of data (rank 1 being the smallest data figure)
Step 2: Find the difference in rank between the two species, D
Step 3: Square the difference in rank, D2 (= 6)
Step 4: Substitute the appropriate numbers into the equation (remember n = 10)

Step 5: Refer to a table that relates values of rs to probability. Look for the 0.05 probability level with n = 10

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As Rs = 0.964, it is greater than the critical value of 0.65. The null hypothesis can be rejected, there is a genuine positive correlation between the abundance of species A and B
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You will be provided with the formula for Spearman’s rank correlation in the exam. You need to be able to carry out the calculation to test for correlation, as you could be asked to do this in the exam. You should understand when it is appropriate to use the different statistical tests that crop up in this topic, and the conditions in which each is valid.Correlation does not always mean causation. Just because there is a correlation between the abundance of species A and species B it does not mean that the presence of species A causes the presence of species B.
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