Easy Questions
1 (a) Organisms must transport substances to and from the external environment.
Identify one substance which cells must transport across the cell membrane to support
cell functions.
(1 mark)
(b) Figure 1 shows particles of two gases.
Figure 1
Complete Figure 1 by drawing the arrangement of the gas particles after 1 hour.
(1 mark)
(c) Name the process shown in Figure 1.
(1 mark)
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(d) Which of the following is an example of simple diffusion?
A. Movement of water into the root of a plant
B. Movement of mineral ions into the root of a plant
C. Movement of oxygen into the leaf of a plant
D. Movement of glucose into the epithelial cells of villi in the small intestine
(1 mark)
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2 (a) Complete each row of Table 1 with a tick (✓) or a cross ( ✕ ) to indicate whether it is a
feature of osmosis.
Table 1
Feature ✓/ ✕
Involves the movement of gases
Requires energy from respiration
Movement occurs through a partially permeable membrane
Particles move down a concentration gradient
(4 marks)
(b) Draw an arrow on the diagram in Figure 2 to show the overall direction that the water
particles will move in (net water movement).
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Figure 2
(1 mark)
(c) Describe an example of where diffusion of gasses is important in multicellular
organisms.
(3 marks)
(d) Identify one feature of a gas exchange surface which maximises the rate of diffusion.
(1 mark)
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3 (a) Describe how the root hair cell in Figure 3 is adapted for absorption of water by
osmosis.
Figure 3
(2 marks)
(b) Figure 4 shows two cells after the effects of osmosis.
Figure 4
Draw a line from each cell to the correct description.
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(2 marks)
(c) A student carried out an experiment into osmosis in plant tissue. They set up their
investigation as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
Each beaker contained potato discs in a solution of sugar or distilled water. The student
found that the potato discs in Beaker 5 decreased in mass.
Explain why this is with reference to osmosis.
(2 marks)
(d) Which of the following is a suitable control variable for the investigation carried out by
the student in part (c)?
A. Maintain the same sugar concentration in each beaker
B. Repeat the experiment 3 times
C. Use the same size potato pieces in each beaker
D. Calculate an average of the results
(1 mark)
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4 (a) Pre-cut potato chips can be stored in salt solution before being cooked in restaurants. To
avoid the chips becoming too salty, it is important to make sure that water does not
move in or out of the chips as they are stored.
A scientist wanted to collect some data about the salt content of potato chips to inform
the restaurants of the best storage concentration.
The steps in Table 2 refer to the method that the scientist used to collect his results.
Table 2
1 Measure out 100ml of each salt solution into 5 different test tubes
Remove the chips, pat dry and reweigh
Cut 5 potato chips of similar size and dimensions
Place 1 chip into each concentration of salt solution and leave for 1 hour
Record the mass of the potato chips
Complete the table to place the steps in the correct order by adding numbers 2 to 5 into
the left hand column of Table 2. The first stage has been labelled for you.
(2 marks)
(b) Figure shows the results obtained by the scientist when completing the investigation
from part (a).
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Figure 6
In which salt solution did the mass of the chip increase after one hour?
(1 mark)
(c) Explain what led to this increase in mass of the chip identified in part (b).
A. Water moved out of the chip by osmosis
B. Salt moved into the chip by diffusion
C. Water moved into the chip by osmosis
D. The chip reacted with the salt in the solution
(1 mark)
(d) The scientist concluded that the best solution for storing chips in would be 0.5 mol dm-3
salt solution because there would be no net (overall) movement of water into or out of
the potato chips.
Suggest how the scientist can tell this from the results in Figure 6.
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(1 mark)
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5 (a) Figure 7 shows two cells.
Figure 7
Suggest which cell (X or Y) is better adapted to carry out diffusion and give a reason for
your choice.
(2 marks)
(b) The cells in Figure 7 from part (a) also contain a high number of mitochondria.
Identify which transport process requires mitochondria to move particles across the cell
membrane.
(1 mark)
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(c) Complete the three sentences below by entering the appropriate transport process into
the space provided.
_____(i)_____ is the movement of particles from a low concentration to a high
concentration with the help of energy in the form of ATP.
_____(ii)_____ is the movement of particles from a high concentration to a low
concentration.
_____(iii)_____ is the movement of water particles from a high water concentration to a low
water concentration through a partially permeable membrane.
(3 marks)
(d) Which substance is absorbed by plants during active transport?
A. Magnesium ions
B. Glucose
C. Water
D. Oxygen
(1 mark)
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Medium Questions
1 (a) Sugar molecules are moved from the gut to the blood by active transport.
What is involved in active transport?
(3 marks)
(b) Explain two ways in which the intestine is specialised for exchanging materials.
(2 marks)
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2 (a) Figure 1 shows two plant cells.
Figure 1
Which of the plant cells above was placed in a solution with a lower solute concentration
than the cell contents?
(1 mark)
(b) Explain what has happened to the plant cell you identified in part (a).
(4 marks)
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(c) When placed in different solutions, animal cells will also change.
Figure 2 below shows a red blood cell.
Figure 2
Describe what would happen if a red blood cell was put into a solution with a lower
solute concentration than the cell contents and explain why this would be different
from what would happen to a plant cell.
(3 marks)
(d) Hereditary spherocytosis is a rare inherited condition that produces red blood cells with
an abnormal spherical shape, as shown in Figure 3.
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Figure 3
Suggest the possible impact of this condition on a sufferer.
(3 marks)
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3 (a) All living organisms exchange substances with the environment. Plant roots use two
different methods to absorb water and ions from the soil.
Explain why roots have two different methods to absorb water and ions.
(4 marks)
(b) Table 1 shows the concentrations of three mineral ions in the roots of a plant and in the
surrounding soil.
All three mineral ions are essential to the healthy functioning of a plant.
Table 1
Mineral ion Concentration in millimoles per gram
Plant root Soil
Potassium 0.25 0.01
Magnesium 0.08 0.03
Calcium 0.12 0.02
Explain why the plant roots can not absorb these mineral ions by diffusion.
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(2 marks)
(c) Waterlogged soil has a lower oxygen concentration than non-waterlogged soil.
Suggest the impact of waterlogged soil on the activity of root cells.
(2 marks)
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4 (a) A student decided to investigate the effect of different salt solutions on the mass of
chicken eggs.
They used the following method:
1. 5 eggs were placed in acid for 24 hours to dissolve the eggshell.
2. The mass of each egg was measured and recorded.
3. Five beakers were set up; four with 200 cm3 of salt solution of a particular
concentration and one with water (0.0 mol dm-3).
4. An egg was placed in each of the beakers.
5. After 1 hour, the eggs were removed and dried with a paper towel.
6. The mass of each egg was measured and recorded.
Their results are shown in the table in Table 2 below:
Table 2
Concentration of salt Mass of egg without Mass of egg after 1 hour in
-3
solution (mol dm ) shell in grams solution in grams
0.0 74.5 79.2
0.2 73.0 75.8
0.4 74.2 75.5
0.6 73.6 72.0
0.8 75.8 71.5
Calculate the percentage change of the egg placed in the 0.4 mol dm-3 salt solution.
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Show your working.
Give your answer to two significant figures.
(2 marks)
(b) Explain why in some of the solutions the mass of the eggs decreased.
(3 marks)
(c) Explain what the student would need to do to determine an estimate of the
concentration of the solution inside an egg.
(3 marks)
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5 (a) A group of scientists investigated the rates of absorption of different sugars using two
pieces of the intestine.
One piece of the intestine was poisoned with cyanide which stops cellular respiration.
The results are shown in Table 3 below.
Table 3
Sugar Absorption rate (arbitrary units)
Healthy intestine Intestine poisoned with cyanide
A 108 56
B 31 30
C 33 32
D 84 23
Which of the sugars in Table 3 are absorbed by active transport?
(1 mark)
(b) Explain why you chose these sugars, using evidence from Table 3.
(3 marks)
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(c) One of the scientists states ‘All four of the sugars we investigated can be absorbed by
diffusion.
Determine whether the statement is correct or incorrect. Justify your answer.
(2 marks)
(d) One of the sugars absorbed by active transport is glucose.
Xylose is a sugar that is the same size as glucose, but it is not absorbed by active
transport.
Suggest a reason why.
(1 mark)
(e) The wall of the small intestine contains smooth muscle cells.
Muscle cells convert soluble glucose into glycogen which is insoluble in water.
Suggest an explanation as to why it is essential that muscle cells store glucose as
glycogen.
(3 marks)
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Hard Questions
1 (a) The statements in Table 1 refer to processes occurring in an organism.
Table 1
Process Transport
mechanism
Absorption of oxygen into the blood from the alveoli
Movement of mineral ions into the root hair cell of a plant
Movement of water from the kidney tubules into the blood
Absorption of glucose into respiring cells
Movement of urea from liver cells into the blood
Movement of water from the cell vacuole into the xylem of a
plant
Complete Table 1 to show which transport mechanism is being used for each of the
processes described.
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(6 marks)
(b) During digestion, glucose is absorbed from the partially-digested food in the lumen of
the small intestine, across the cells lining the small intestine (the epithelial cells) and into
the bloodstream.
It is a two-stage process, shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Process A - glucose moves from the partially digested food in the small intestine into the
epithelial cell (lining the small intestine) using energy from ATP.
Process B - glucose moves passively from the epithelial cell into the the bloodstream.
Use the information in Figure 1 and your knowledge of transport across cell membranes
to describe the mechanisms used in process A and process B for the absorption of
glucose into the bloodstream.
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(4 marks)
(c) Process B (in Figure 1) relies on the presence of a concentration gradient.
Explain how a steep concentration gradient is maintained in order to continually support
Process B.
(2 marks)
(d) Absorption of glucose may not always occur through the transport mechanism shown in
Process A in Figure 1.
Suggest a situation when glucose may be absorbed into the epithelial cell through an
alternative transport mechanism different to that shown in Figure 1.
You should refer to concentration gradients in your answer.
(2 marks)
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2 (a) Particulate matter (PM) refers to the small particles in air pollution which can irritate the
airways and caused damage to the alveoli.
If concentrations of PM are high, the epithelium cells of the alveoli may be killed and
replaced with unspecialised cells resulting in:
Fewer functioning alveoli
Thickening of alveolar walls
Explain how particulate matter could lead to reduced gas exchange in the lungs of
humans.
(3 marks)
(b) Figure 2 shows the results of an investigation into the concentration of particulate
matter and the percentage of dead alveolar epithelium cells after 48 of exposure.
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Figure 2
Scientists studied 31 080 alveolar epithelium cells in this study.
Calculate how many more cells died after 48 hours of exposure to 1 000 µg cm-3 of
particulate matter than after 48 hours of exposure to 50 µg cm-3 of particulate matter.
(3 marks)
(c) Compare, with examples, the different transport processes involved in moving
substances across the cell membrane.
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(6 marks)
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3 (a) Monoglycerides are molecules made up of glycerol and one fatty acid tail. They are
absorbed into the epithelial cells of the small intestine by diffusion across the cell
membrane.
A scientist measured the uptake of monoglycerides in the epithelial cells of mice. In the
investigation, the scientist provided the mice with different concentrations of
monoglycerides and measured the uptake into the epithelial cells of the small intestine.
Complete Table 1 to show which variables the scientist used in this investigation.
Table 1
Independent Variable
Dependent Variable
Control Variable
(3 marks)
(b) The graph in Figure 3 shows the results of the investigation from part (a).
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Figure 3
Describe and explain what the graph shows.
(3 marks)
(c) Human body temperature is approximately 37 °C, which provides the optimum
temperature for activity of protein molecules such as enzymes.
Suggest why a temperature of 37 °C helps to maximise the rate of transport of
substances across the cell membrane.
(3 marks)
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(d) Figure 4 shows the concentration of sugars in three different cells. X, Y and Z.
Figure 4
Which of the following statements is correct?
A. More water will move by osmosis from cell Z to cell X than from X to Z.
B. More water will move by osmosis from cell X to cell Z than from Z to X
C. More water will move by osmosis from cell X to cell Y than from Y to X
D. More water will move by osmosis from cell Z to cell Y than from Y to Z.
(1 mark)
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4 (a) A student wanted to investigate the transport of water across a partially permeable
membrane. Figure 5 shows how the student prepared the beaker at the start of the
investigation.
Figure 5
Complete Figure 5 to show what the student would observe after 15 minutes.
(2 marks)
(b) Explain your answer to part (a).
(2 marks)
(c) The student carried out a further investigation into the effect of osmosis on plant tissue.
They cut a potato into cubes and recorded the change in mass over a 30 minute period.
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Figure 6 shows the results the student obtained from one cube of potato.
Figure 6
Describe and explain the trend shown on the graph.
(5 marks)
(d) The potato cube from Figure 6 had an initial mass of 2.3g.
Calculate the percentage increase that the potato cube had shown after 10 minutes.
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(2 marks)
(e) The student repeated the investigation but with the beaker placed in a water bath at
30°C.
Draw a second line on the graph to show the trend expected from these results.
(2 marks)
(f) Explain your line drawn for part (e)
(4 marks)
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5 (a) Glucose is a soluble sugar molecule. It can be stored in cells once it has been converted
to an insoluble form.
In plants, glucose is stored as starch grains and in animals, glucose is stored as glycogen.
Cells in the roots of a clover plant contain the following specialised adaptations
Large quantities of mitochondria
Many stored starch grains
Nodules on the roots which contain bacteria
Explain how these adaptations assist with the absorption of mineral ions and water from
the soil into to cells of the clover root.
(6 marks)
(b) A student places an animal cell and a plant cell into distilled water and examines both
under a microscope.
Explain the differences in observations that the student would have made of the animal
cell and plant cell.
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(4 marks)
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