OCR GCSE Biology A (Gateway) Paper 1 Foundation June 2023 question paper J247/01

A plant is placed near a window. The plant grows towards the light.

Which hormone is responsible for this growth movement?

A Auxin

B Insulin

C Oestrogen

D Testosterone

The cactus is found in the desert. It has very small leaves called spines.

Why are spines an advantage to the cactus?

A They slow down the rate of respiration.

B They slow down the rate of transpiration.

C They stop the plant photosynthesising.

D They stop translocation in the cactus.

In transpiration, water is lost from a plant.

Which part of a plant loses water to the surroundings?

A Guard cells

B Root hair cells

C Stomata

D Xylem

Which chamber in the human heart contracts with the greatest force?

A lizard cannot regulate its body temperature in the same ways as a human.

Which method can a lizard use to increase its temperature?

A Its blood vessels can constrict.

B It can lie in the sun.

C It can shiver.

D It can sweat less.

Which of these structures is found in the xylem?

A Cytoplasm

B Mitochondria

C Sieve pores in the end walls

D Waterproof substance called lignin

A patient is diagnosed with a detached retina. This means that part of the retina has moved forward, away from the back of the eye.

What will the patient be unable to do?

A Change the shape of their lens

B Control the amount of light entering the eye

C See colours

D See objects clearly

A person has a disease that has destroyed the motor neurones in their leg.

What is the most likely outcome for the person?

Small insects feed by taking fluid from the phloem of plants. They use the contents of this fluid for respiration.

What will the small insects take from phloem to use in respiration?

A Amino acids

B Fatty acids

C Mineral ions

D Sugars

Bacteria can get into deep wounds in the skin and cause infection. There is little oxygen in these wounds.

How will a lack of oxygen affect the type of bacteria in these wounds?

A Bacteria that respire using anaerobic respiration will be present.

B Most bacteria will respire aerobically and some will respire anaerobically.

C Only bacteria that respire using aerobic respiration will be present.

D The bacteria will not be able to respire, so all the bacteria will die.

What is the percentage change in mass of the potato chip during an experiment?

A – 0.5 %

B – 8.8 %

C – 9.6 %

D – 91.2 %

Which statement about type 1 diabetes is correct?

A It can be treated with insulin.

B It is caused by overproduction of insulin.

C It is usually detected later in life.

D It should be controlled by exercise and diet alone.

A person was in an accident and their memory is affected.

Which part of the brain is most likely to have been injured?

A Cerebrum

B Hypothalamus

C Medulla

D Pituitary

Put ticks in the table to show whether each statement is true or false about the structure of DNA.

Tick (✓) one box in each row.

A light microscope is used to see structures in cells.

Complete these sentences about the parts of a light microscope.

Use words from the list.

clips eyepiece focusing knob light

objective stage stain

The microscope slide is placed on the........ of the microscope.

The........ lens is used to change the magnification of the object

being viewed.

The part of the microscope that moves the lens to see the image more clearly is called

the........

The table lists some structures in the human body.

Identify whether each structure is:

• part of the nervous system

• part of the endocrine (hormonal) system

• not part of either system.

Tick (✓) one box in each row.

Stem cells are found in human embryos.

Describe what happens to stem cells as the embryo develops into a baby.

It takes one cell 12 hours to divide to produce two cells.

Starting with one cell, calculate how many cells there will be after 2 days.

The diagram shows a section through a kidney.

Name the region labelled A........

Name the region labelled B........

Which type of blood vessel brings blood to the kidney?

artery capillary vein

The table shows the volume of water gained and lost by one person in one day.

Calculate the volume of urine that will be produced by this person on this day.

Volume of urine =........ litres

The same person runs a marathon race the next day.

Explain how the kidney will maintain the water balance within this person’s body during the race.

A student investigates the effect of pH on an enzyme called catalase. Catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

The student collects the oxygen produced by the reaction. The table shows their results.

Plot a graph of the results.

Draw a line of best fit.

Write down a conclusion for the student’s results. Include data in your answer.

When collecting data, it is important that it is accurate, valid and repeatable.

Draw lines to link each improvement the student could make to the effect this improvement has on the data.

The student wants to increase their confidence in finding the correct optimum pH for catalase.

What should the student do?

Tick (✓) one box.

20* A student plans to investigate photosynthesis using this apparatus.

Describe how the student could use this apparatus to investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis.

In your answer you should include:

• how to change the light intensity

• the variables that need to be kept constant

• the measurements that should be taken.

Three people each make a comment about this diet.

Person A: People who are very overweight could lose weight if they went on this diet and this may make them feel better about themselves.

Person B: This diet could be harmful to people with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes.

Person C: There are dangers to following this diet but being very overweight also causes many health issues.

Which person is discussing both the risks and benefits of following this diet? Explain your answer.

Person........

Explanation........

A class is discussing how to test food to see if it contains carbohydrates. A student says ‘You need to do two different named tests to see if carbohydrates are present’.

Explain why this student is correct.

The graph shows the percentage of unintended pregnancies while using different types of contraception.

Key

Compare the effectiveness of the different types of contraception in preventing pregnancies. Include data from the graph.

Some females produce low levels of progesterone after an egg has been fertilised.

Suggest how this may affect the uterus lining.

The image is of a mitochondrion.

Draw the mitochondrion in the box. Your drawing should be a scientific drawing.

What type of microscope was used to create the image of the mitochondrion?

Explain your answer.

Type of microscope........

Reason........

Name one structure found in both an animal cell and a prokaryotic cell.

Arteries, capillaries and veins are blood vessels found in the human circulatory system.

Put ticks (✓) in each row to identify which blood vessels have each feature.

Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a condition caused by faulty valves found in some blood vessels in the legs.

Describe how CVI will affect the person’s blood circulation. Suggest one symptom of this condition.

Effect on blood circulation........

Symptom........

The volume of blood pumped from the left ventricle into the aorta during one contraction is 70 ml.

Calculate the volume of blood that will be pumped into the aorta in one hour if a person has a resting heart rate of 76 beats per minute.

Volume =........ ml / hour

Red blood cells contain haemoglobin to transport oxygen.

Give one other feature of red blood cells. How does this other feature allow the cell to perform its function?