Q2.

The diagram represents part of an animal cell which has been put in distilled water.
Distilled water

Cell surface
membrane

Cytoplasm

Water
molecules

Solute
molecules

(a)
Use the diagram to:
(i)
explain why the water potential of the distilled water is higher than the
water potential of the cytoplasm of the cell;
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..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
(2)

(ii)
describe the property of the cell surface membrane which allows osmosis to
take place.
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..........................................................................................................................
(1)

(b)
Osmosis has been described as a special case of diffusion. Describe two ways in
which you would expect the movement of water into a cell by osmosis to be similar to the
diffusion of oxygen into a cell.
1...................................................................................................................................
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2...................................................................................................................................
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(2)
(Total 5 marks)

Q8.
Ultracentrifugation was used to separate the components of cells from
lettuce leaves.
The flow chart summarises the steps in the process.
(c)
The mitochondria from pellet C were observed with an electron
microscope. They had all burst and appeared as shown in the diagram.
What does this suggest about the water potential of the solution in which the chopped leaves
were put? Explain your
answer..............................................................................................................................................
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.........................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................(2)

(Total 5 marks)

Q13.

Read the following passage.

A red blood cell is packed full of haemoglobin. When mature, it contains none of

the
organelles usually found in an animal cell. The nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum.
mitochondria and ribosomes are all absent.
More is known about the plasma membrane of a human red blood cell than about
any
5
other eukaryotic cell membrane. One reason for this is that the plasma membrane
surrounding a red blood cell can be isolated without being contaminated by internal cell
membranes. Red blood cell plasma membranes or ghosts can be prepared by putting
the cells in a dilute salt solution. This causes the cells to swell and burst, leaving only the
plasma membrane.
10
Red blood cell ghosts have been investigated and found to contain several different
proteins. One of these proteins is spectrin. It is made up of long polypeptide chains which
form a network on the inside of the membrane. Spectrin strengthens the membrane and
is involved in maintaining the three-dimensional shape of the red blood cell.
(c)
(i)
Plasma membranes that have been isolated from red blood cells are not
contaminated by internal cell membranes (lines 6 - 7). Explain why.
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(1)

(ii)
When red blood cells are put in a dilute salt solution they swell (line 8). Use
your knowledge of water potential to explain why.
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(2)

(d)
Some people have red blood cells that do not contain spectrin. These red blood
cells are spherical in shape. They also burst more quickly when put in distilled water.
(i)
Explain why more oxygen is taken up by normal red blood cells than by
these spherical cells.
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)
Explain why red blood cells that do not contain spectrin burst more quickly
when put into distilled water.
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Q6.
Read the following passage.
If you are lactose intolerant, drinking cows milk will make you ill. This is the case for
about half of the worlds adult human population. These people lack an enzyme called lactase.
Lactase is a digestive enzyme normally found on the plasma membranes of epithelial
cells in
the small intestine. The enzyme hydrolyses lactose, the sugar found in milk, breaking it
down
5
to the two six-carbon sugars, galactose and -glucose. These separate sugars are then
absorbed from the intestine, a process which involves active transport.
In people who are lactose intolerant, lactose is not digested. Instead it stays in the
intestine
where it affects the water potential of the intestinal contents. This results in diarrhoea.
Bacteria in the intestine ferment the lactose, producing carbon dioxide, methane and
other
10
gases. It is the build up of these gases which produce the other embarrassing symptoms

of
lactose intolerance - loud abdominal rumblings and lots of wind.
Use information from the passage and your own knowledge to answer the following
questions.
(a)
The diagram shows a lactose molecule.

HO

HO

HH

H
O

(i)
Use the diagram to explain why lactose is described as a disaccharide
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)
by lactase

On the diagram, draw a ring round the chemical bond which is hydrolysed
(1)

(iii)
The molecular formula of galactose is C6H12O6. What is the molecular
formula of lactose
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(2)

(b)
Galactose and glucose are absorbed by epithelial cells lining the small intestine but
some other monosaccharides are not. Use your knowledge of active transport to explain this
difference
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(2)

(c)
Diarrhoea involves the production of large amounts of watery faeces. Explain the
link between the presence of lactose in the intestine and diarrhoea.
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(3)

Q7.S In an investigation, the storage tissue in a plant root was tested for the presence of
reducing sugar. Four cylinders were cut from the plant root with a cork borer. Each cylinder
was exactly 3 cm long.
These cylinders were washed thoroughly.
They were then treated as shown in the table, before being put into 5 cm3 of distilled water in a
test tube.
After 5 minutes, a sample of the water from each tube was tested with Benedicts solution. The
results are shown in the table.
Tube
Treatment of cylinders of root
Colour after testing with
Benedicts solution
Cut into 5 equal lengths
Greenish yellow
A
Cut into 10 equal lengths
Reddish yellow
B
Cut into 15 equal lengths
Brick red
C
Uncut
Blue
D

(a)
(i)
Explain the results for tubes A, B and C.
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(2)

(ii)
Explain the result for tube D.
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(1)

(b)
To estimate the concentration in each sample, standard solutions of reducing sugar
were used.
Describe how standard solutions could be used to estimate the concentration of reducing sugar
in the samples.
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(3)

Q8.
reaction.

(a) The graph shows the energy changes which take place during a chemical

Reactants
Energy

Products

Reaction time

(i)
Use the graph to explain what is meant by the term activation energy.
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(d)
In the laboratory, the optimal conditions for bacterial -amylase are a pH of 7 and
a temperature of 80C.
In terms of your knowledge of the way in which enzymes work, explain why the
rate of reaction would change if:
(i)
the temperature fell by 10C;
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...........................................................................................................................

(1)

(2)

(ii)
the pH changed substantially.
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(3)
(Total 12 marks)

Q9. (c)
(i)
Explain what causes molecules of a particular protein always to fold into the
same shape.
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(2)

(ii)
Describe how molecular shape is important in explaining the way in which
enzymes may be affected by inhibitors.
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(6)

Q12. (c)
If the amino acid arginine is replaced by glycine in a molecule of pro-insulin,
insulin will not be produced. Explain why the enzyme will no longer break down pro-insulin.
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(3)

Q13.
(a) A protein is formed from 300 amino acids. The diagrams show the primary,
secondary and tertiary structures of this protein.
Primary structure. Length = 300 nm

Secondary structure. Length = 45 nm

Tertiary structure. Length = 8.6 nm

(i)

Explain what causes the secondary structure to differ in length from the

primary structure.
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...........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)
Explain what is meant by the tertiary structure of a protein.
...........................................................................................................................
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(1)

(iii)
Heating may affect the tertiary structure of a protein. Explain how.
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(2)

Q14. The diagram represents an enzyme molecule and three other molecules that could
combine with it.
A
Active
site

C
Enzyme

(a)
Which molecule is the substrate for the enzyme? Give a reason for your answer.
.....................................................................................................................................
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.....................................................................................................................................
(1)

(b)
Use the diagram to explain how a non-competitive inhibitor would decrease the
rate of the reaction catalysed by this enzyme.
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(3)

(c)
Lysozyme is an enzyme. A molecule of lysozyme is made up of 129 amino acid
molecules joined together. In the formation of its active site, the two amino acids that are at
positions 35 and 52 in the amino acid sequence need to be close together.
(i)
Name the bonds that join amino acids in the primary structure.
...........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)
Suggest how the amino acids at positions 35 and 52 are held close together
to form the active site.
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......................................................................................................................(2)

Q17. Ethylene glycol is a substance used in car anti-freeze. If it is accidentally swallowed

it enters the liver cells where it is converted to poisonous oxalic acid. Ethanol inhibits
the production of oxalic acid and can be used to treat patients who have swallowed anti-freeze.
In an investigation, the rate of reaction of an enzyme that makes oxalic acid was
measured with and without ethanol present. The graph shows the results.
Without ethanol

With ethanol
Rate of
reaction

X
Ethylene glycol concentration

(i)
Increasing the concentration of ethylene glycol above X without ethanol present
does not increase the rate of the reaction. Explain why.
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.....................................................................................................................................
(2)

(ii)
Use the information in the graph to explain how ethanol prevents oxalic acid
production.
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(2)
(Total 4 marks)