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The answers are provided, but so also are explanations of why the alternatives are unsatisfactory
These multiple choice questions are similar to the ones set by the GCSE and IGCSE Examination Boards except that, in some cases, there may be more than one acceptable answer. For this reason, even if you select a correct answer at your first attempt, it is worth looking at all the alternatives (a) to see if there is a better answer and (b) to see why some of the alternatives are unacceptable
Question 1
Question 1
You are shipwrecked on a barren island but you have rescued three hens and a bag of wheat from the ship. Your best survival strategy is to (a) feed the wheat to the hens, eat the eggs they lay and then kill and eat the hens
(b) share the wheat with the hens, eat the eggs and then eat the hens
(c) eat the hens and then eat the wheat (d) eat all the wheat and then kill and eat the hens Question 2
No All the time the hens are alive they will be using their food to produce energy as well as eggs. This energy will not be available to you, so you are losing out on the potential value of the food available
No All the time the hens are alive they will be using their food to produce energy as well as eggs. This energy will not be available to you, so you are losing out on the potential value of the food available
Yes All the time the hens are alive they will be using their food to produce energy as well as eggs. This energy will not be available to you, so your best strategy will be to kill and eat the hens as soon as possible
No
All the time the hens are alive they will be using their food to produce energy as well as eggs. This energy will not be available to you, so you are losing out on the potential value of the food available
Question 2
Humans in hot weather (a) produce more urine at a greater concentration
No In hot weather, more water is lost by evaporation (e.g. sweating) and so a smaller volume of urine is produced
No In hot weather, more water is lost by evaporation (e.g. sweating) and so a smaller volume of urine is produced but it will be of a higher concentration
Yes
In hot weather, more water is lost by evaporation (e.g. sweating) and so a smaller volume of urine is produced. It will also have a higher concentration
No In hot weather there is a reduced volume of urine and at a higher concentration because water is lost by evaporation, leaving less to be excreted by the kidneys
Question 3
(d) a mollusc
Question 4
No
Yes
No
The drawing bears a superficial resemblance to a millipede but there are no jointed legs
No
Question 4
Compared with the air breathed in, the air leaving the lungs will have (a) less oxygen, more carbon dioxide and more water vapour (b) less carbon dioxide, more oxygen and more water vapour (c) less oxygen, more carbon dioxide and less water vapour (d) more carbon dioxide, less oxygen and more nitrogen Question 5
Yes Gaseous exchange in the alveoli results in oxygen being absorbed and carbon dioxide being given out. Also, evaporation from the lining of the alveoli results in an increase in the water vapour breathed out.
No Gaseous exchange in the alveoli results in oxygen being absorbed and carbon dioxide being given out.
No
It is correct that gaseous exchange in the alveoli results in oxygen being absorbed and carbon dioxide being given out. However, evaporation from the lining of the alveoli results in an increase in the water vapour breathed out.
No
Although air contains 79% nitrogen, it is an inert gas and does not play a part in respiration, so the nitrogen content of the air breathed in and out does not change
Question 5
The biceps muscle is (a) a flexor muscle (b) an extensor muscle (c) a voluntary muscle (d) antagonistic to the triceps muscle Question 6
Yes When the biceps muscle contracts, it flexes the arm at the elbow
No The extensor muscle is the triceps. It extends (straightens) the arm at the elbow
Yes The biceps is a voluntary muscle which responds to nervous impulses from the brain.
Yes
The action of the muscles have opposite effects. The biceps flexes the arm at the elbow and the triceps extends the arm
Question 6
What is missing from this equation which represents one form of respiration ? C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
No
C2H5OH (alcohol) is a product of anaerobic respiration (fermentation). The presence of 6O2 in the equation shows that this is aerobic respiration
No C3H6O3 (lactic acid) is a product of anaerobic respiration in muscle. The presence of 6O2 in the equation shows that this is aerobic respiration
Yes The presence of 6O2 in the equation shows that this is aerobic respiration and the glucose (C6H12O6) will be completely oxidised to carbon dioxide (6CO2) and water (6H2O)
Question 7
When the eye accommodates to focus on a distant object
(a) the ciliary muscle contracts
No
When the ciliary muscle contracts it reduces the tension in the suspensory ligament and allows the lens to become thicker in the middle. This is accommodation for close objects
ciliary muscle
Yes
When the ciliary muscle relaxes it allow the fluid pressure in the eye to pull the lens to a thinner shape. This is accommodation to focus distant objects
ciliary muscle
No
A lens which is thick in the middle has a shorter focal length and will focus close objects (see answer (a))
Yes
A thinner lens has a longer focal length and will focus distant objects (see answer (b))
Question 8
Which of the following would make the best contribution to a balanced diet? (a) Fish and chips (b) Pizza and salad (c) Sausage and mash with runner beans (d) A cheese sandwich Question 9
Not the best The green salad will provide some vitamins and dietary fibre but the pizza is largely carbohydrate, though the topping may contain a small amount of protein
The sausage will provide protein and fats; the mashed potatoes will be largely carbohydrate and the runner beans will contain dietary fibre and vitamins A and C
The cheese will contain protein, fat and vitamin A. The bread will be largely carbohydrate. Unless the bread is wholemeal there will be little dietary fibre. The vitamins found in green vegetables, particularly vitamins A and C will not be present in sufficient amounts
Question 9
No
Plants do need calcium ions for building cell walls, for example. But they do not need them specifically for making chlorophyll
No
Plants need phosphate ions for making DNA, for example, and for many chemical processes. But they do not need phosphates specifically for making chlorophyll
No Plants need potassium for root development and flower formation but not specifically for producing chlorophyll
Yes
Question 10
Which of the following can be described as either a source or a sink? (a) Sieve tubes in the phloem
(b) Leaves
(c) Potato tubers (d) Xylem vessels Question 11
No
Sieve tubes in the phloem carry food from one part of the plant to another (from sources to sinks) but they themselves are not sources or sinks
Yes
Leaves produce food by photosynthesis which is then transported in the sieve tubes to other parts of the plant. The leaves, therefore, are SOURCES
Yes
The sugar made in the leaves is transported in the phloem and stored as starch in the potato tubers. The tubers, therefore, are SINKS.
No
The xylem vessels transport water and mineral ions from the roots to all parts of the plant but they are not sources or sinks.
Question 11
Once the atria have filled with blood, which of the following is the correct sequence for a heart beat ? (a) Semi-lunar valves close atria contract ventricles contract bicuspid and tricuspid valves close (b) Atria contract - bicuspid and tricuspid valves close ventricles contract - semi-lunar valves open (c) Atria contract ventricles contract bicuspid and tricuspid valves open semi-lunar valves open (d) Atria contract ventricles contract bicuspid and tricuspid valves close semi-lunar valves open Question 12
No
No
The bicuspid and tricuspid valves do not close until the ventricles contract
No Contraction of the ventricles causes the bicuspid and tricuspid valves to close
Yes
This is the correct sequence
Question 12
In which of the following ways do plant cells differ from animal cells? (a) They have a nucleus
No
Yes
Plant cells have a cellulose cell wall which is not present in animal cells
Yes
Mature plant cells have a large, central, fluid-filled vacuole. Animal cells may have small vacuoles distributed throughout their cytoplasm
No
All living plant and animal cells contain cytoplasm though its distribution in the cell is different
Question 13
This fruit is adapted for dispersal by (a) animals (b) water (c) explosive method (d) wind Question 14
1cm
style style
fruit fruit
No
You would expect a fruit adapted to dispersal by animals (mammals) to have tiny hooks to catch in the animals fur.
No The fruit may be occasionally dispersed by water but it does not show any adaptation to this method
No
It is usually seeds, not fruits, which are dispersed by an explosive method and they are usually small and smooth, thus offering little air resistance
Yes The fine hairs on the style increase air resistance and the fruit is likely to be carried away by the wind. The fruit is that of wild clematis often seen growing in hedgerows and called old mans beard because of the appearance of these fruits in dense clusters
Question 14
Which of the following formulae could represent a carbohydrate?
(a) C6H12O6 (b) CH2.NH2.COOH (c) C12H22O11 (d) C2H5OH Question 15
Yes
This compound contains only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with the hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2:1. It could be glucose or fructose, for example.
No
Although the compound contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen it also contains nitrogen. It is an amino acid, glycine. The NH2 is the amino group and the -COOH is the acid group.
Yes
This compound contains only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, with the hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2:1. It could be sucrose or maltose, for example.
No Although the compound contains carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, the hydrogen and oxygen are not in the ratio 2:1. This compound is ethanol.
Question 15
Antibodies are made by (a) the liver (b) lymphocytes (c) lymph nodes (d) the red bone marrow Question 16
No
The liver makes proteins (globulins) which play an important part in the immune reaction but they are not antibodies.
Yes
Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell. They produce antibodies against bacteria and other harmful bodies which get into the blood stream
Yes and No
Lymphocytes are stored in the lymph nodes and produce and release antibodies, but the lymph node itself does not produce antibodies
No
The red bone marrow produces the blood cells, including lymphocytes, but it doe not make antibodies
Question 16
Before mitosis occurs (a) the chromosomes split
No
The chromosomes do not split but each chromosome makes a copy of itself. The original chromosome and its copy are called chromatids.
No
Yes Each chromosome makes a copy (a replica) of itself , i.e. it replicates. The original chromosome and its copy are called chromatids
No
In mitosis, the chromosomes do not pair up. It is in the early stages of meiosis that the chromosomes form pairs
Question 17
The effect of insulin is to
(a) increase the release of glucose from the liver
No It is the hormone glucagon which causes the liver to convert stored glycogen into glucose and release it into the blood stream
Yes
Insulin causes the liver to take up glucose from the blood and convert it to glycogen which is stored
Yes
Insulin causes the tissues to take up glucose from the blood stream
Question 18
No
The bees visit to the flower may bring pollen into contact with the stigma but this is not fertilisation
Yes
The fusion of male (pollen) and female (egg) nuclei is the defining moment of fertilisation
No
The growth of the pollen tube is necessary to bring the pollen nucleus into the egg cell but it does not constitute fertilisation. It is, however, an essential stage in the process which results in fertilisation
No
The deposition of pollen on the stigma is pollination. It is an essential step in the sequence of events leading to fertilisation but it does not constitute fertilisation.
Question 19
Bacteria reproduce asexually by cell division. In favourable conditions, what is the maximum rate of cell division in some bacteria? (a) Every 2 minutes (b) Every 20 minutes (c) Every 2 hours (d) Every 24 hours Question 20
No
Yes
This is the maximum frequency of bacterial cell division most often quoted
No
No
Question 20
The organic bases present in DNA are (a) adenine, guanine, cytosine and valine (b) alanine, guanine, thymine and cytosine (c) cytosine, glycine, adenine and thymine (d) adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine
No
No
Yes
End of questions
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