Edexcel GCSE Biology Paper 1 Foundation June 2025 question paper 1BI0/1F

Genes control natural hair colour in humans.

Which term describes the differences in hair colour?

Genes are found on chromosomes.

Name the part of the human cell where chromosomes are found.

The hair colour of 24 students was recorded.

Figure 1 shows the results.

Complete Figure 2 to show the tally and the total for brown hair.

Complete the bar chart to show the totals in Figure 2 and label the x ‑axis.

Figure 3 shows a sperm cell.

Name the part labelled R.

Draw one straight line from each part of the sperm cell to its function.

Animal and plant cells are both eukaryotic.

State one structure found in a plant cell that is not found in an animal cell.

DNA is found in cells.

Figure 4 shows part of a DNA molecule.

Which type of large molecule is DNA?

Describe how the bases of a DNA molecule are held together.

Figure 5 shows a human brain.

Which is a function of the cerebellum?

Label the cerebral hemisphere on Figure 5.

State two functions of the cerebral hemispheres.

The brain sends information to the muscles in the iris of the eye.

Name the type of neurone that transmits nerve impulses from the brain to the muscles in the iris of the eye.

Figure 6 shows a human eye.

Explain how the pupil changes size.

Short-sightedness is a defect of the eye.

State one cause of short-sightedness.

Figure 7 shows the times when Homo sapiens (modern humans) and some of their ancestors are thought to have lived.

Which term is used to describe changes in species over time?

Estimate the length of time Homo habilis is thought to have lived on Earth.

Describe two methods scientists used to date the fossils of Ardi or Lucy, as shown in Figure 7.

The ancestors of modern humans used selective breeding to improve the plants they used for food.

Complete the sentences using words from the box.

Selective breeding involves choosing parents with

desirable_........ .

The best offspring are bred together and this process is repeated over

many_........ .

Suggest one feature of a banana that could be improved by selective breeding.

The DNA of fruit can be modified to produce new varieties.

Figure 8 shows part of a method used to extract DNA from fruit.

State the purpose of both step 1 and step 2.

State why the cold ethanol was added in step 3.

Figure 9 shows how adding fertiliser to the soil affects the yield of a food crop.

The area of a field is measured in hectares.

A farmer added 100 kg per hectare of fertiliser to a field.

Using Figure 9, calculate the increase in crop yield.

Explain why farmers should not add more than 40 kg per hectare of fertiliser to the soil.

Figure 10 shows part of a virus life cycle.

This virus infects bacterial cells.

Use Figure 10 to describe how new viruses are made.

Plants can be affected by pests such as insects.

Give one way that plant pests can affect the food available for the human population.

A scientist uses the method shown in Figure 11 to investigate the reaction times of some students.

• suddenly lets the ruler fall

Which measurement should be recorded to compare reaction times?

Figure 12 shows the results of five students.

Which is the mean of the results in Figure 12?

Explain which of the five students had the slowest reaction time.

Give two variables that need to be controlled during this investigation.

Figure 13 shows a motor neurone.

State the role of a motor neurone in a reflex arc.

Explain the function of the myelin sheath.

Describe how a nerve impulse passes across the gap between two neurones.

Bacteria cause many diseases in humans.

Which term describes a pathogen?

In the UK, most children are immunised against serious infections such as measles.

Give two advantages of immunising children against measles.

Humans have physical barriers to prevent bacterial infections.

Name two of these physical barriers.

State the chemical in the stomach that destroys bacteria.

*(c) Many food crops are damaged by pests.

Some farmers use insects for the biological control of plant pests.

Figure 14 shows a ladybird which can be used for biological control.

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of biological control.

Figure 15 shows the number of new cases of chlamydia diagnosed in England from 2013 to 2022.

Which type of organism causes chlamydia?

Calculate the increase in the number of new cases of chlamydia diagnosed from 2020 to 2022.

Tuberculosis is a disease that is spread through airborne droplets.

Give two ways of reducing or preventing the spread of tuberculosis.

Obesity is a risk factor for some non‑communicable diseases.

State why liver disease is a non-communicable disease.

The waist‑to‑hip ratio can be used to show if excess weight is a health risk.

An adult has a waist measurement of 80 cm and a hip measurement of 90 cm.

Calculate the waist‑to‑hip ratio for this adult, using the equation:

Give your answer to two decimal places.

waist‑to‑hip ratio_........

Figure 16 shows the health risk of some waist‑to‑hip ratios.

Explain the health risk for a female with a waist‑to‑hip ratio of 0.75.

Cancer occurs when cell division by mitosis is uncontrolled.

Describe the properties of cells produced by mitosis.

Figure 17 shows a beaker containing a potato cylinder in distilled water.

Explain why the mass of this potato cylinder will change when it is placed in distilled water.

A scientist investigated the rate of diffusion using three agar cubes of different sizes.

Each cube contained a pH indicator that changed from pink to colourless when placed in acid.

The cubes were placed in a beaker containing an acid.

Figure 18 shows some information about each cube.

Calculate the volume of cube C.

Explain the difference in the times taken for cubes A and B to become colourless.

* (c) Liquid agar was poured into a Petri dish and allowed to set.

A well was cut in the centre of the set agar.

Kiwi fruit juice was poured into the well.

Kiwi fruit juice contains an enzyme that causes set agar to break down into a liquid.

Figure 19 shows the results after 30 minutes.

Devise a plan to investigate the effect of different concentrations of kiwi fruit juice on the breakdown of set agar, using the equipment shown in Figure 19.

Your plan should include:

• measurements that need to be taken

• variables that need to be controlled.

In the 19th century, Gregor Mendel studied genetic inheritance in pea plants.

Mendel made the conclusion that characteristics in organisms were determined by the inheritance of ‘units’.

What are these ‘units’ of inheritance known as today?

Figure 20 shows one of Mendel’s experiments on the inheritance of pea shape.

plants that produced plants that produced

State the conclusion that Mendel was able to make about the wrinkled pea characteristic.

A scientist crossed two pea plants that were heterozygous for pea shape.

Complete the Punnett square to show the inheritance of the alleles for pea shape and the percentage probability of producing a plant with wrinkled peas.

Use the letter R for the allele for round shape.

Use the letter r for the allele for wrinkled shape.

percentage probability of producing a plant with wrinkled peas_........

Plants used to study inheritance are grown in controlled environmental conditions.

Suggest two ways of controlling these environmental conditions.

Some plants can reproduce asexually and sexually.

Complete the table by writing yes or no in each box to show the features of asexual and sexual reproduction.

A zygote with a diploid nucleus is formed by sexual reproduction.

State what is meant by a diploid nucleus.