OCR GCSE Biology A (Gateway) Paper 3 Higher June 2023 question paper J247/03

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

Single-celled algae found in the ocean absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide.

Which process inside the cells of the algae uses this carbon dioxide?

A Homeostasis

B Photosynthesis

C Respiration

D Temperature regulation

Water passes through a plant and is lost in transpiration.

What is the correct route for water to move in this process?

A From the phloem to the stomata

B From the stomata to the phloem

C From the stomata to the xylem

D From the xylem to the stomata

How are mineral ions absorbed by plant roots?

A By active transport

B By diffusion

C By osmosis

D By translocation

Which hormone can be used as a selective weedkiller?

A Auxin

B Ethene

C Gibberellin

D Thyroxine

The diagram shows the main structures in the heart.

Blood flows from the lungs back to the heart and is then pumped to the body.

Which order of structures does blood go through?

In an enzyme experiment, a student tries to measure pH by dipping universal indicator paper into a solution.

They then use a pH chart in their textbook. They find it difficult to compare the indicator paper with the pH chart and cannot read the pH numbers on the chart.

Which statement could explain why?

A The student is colour blind.

B The student is colour blind and long-sighted.

C The student is colour blind and short-sighted.

D The student is short-sighted.

A cell divides by mitosis every 20 minutes.

How many cells will there be after 3 hours?

A 9

B 18

C 60

D 512

A drug is used to treat cancer. The drug stops the formation of microtubules that move chromosomes in cells.

Which statement explains how the drug stops more cancer cells being made?

A Chromosomes will be replicated but the chromosomes will not separate in mitosis.

B Dividing cells will not replicate their chromosomes.

C Four cells will be produced at the end of mitosis.

D New cells formed will only have half the number of chromosomes.

What is the correct sequence in a reflex arc?

A Effector receptor sensory neurone relay neurone motor neurone

B Motor neurone sensory neurone relay neurone effector receptor

C Receptor sensory neurone relay neurone motor neurone effector

D Receptor relay neurone sensory neurone effector motor neurone

In a keto diet, people eat foods that consist mainly of proteins and lipids.

What will they lack in their diet?

A Amino acids, fatty acids and glucose

B Glucose

C Glucose and fatty acids

D Glycerol and amino acids

Which molecules are all polymers?

A DNA, amino acids and starch

B Fatty acids, glycerol and amino acids

C RNA, glucose and fatty acids

D Starch, protein and DNA

Which blood vessels have a valve at the junction between the blood vessel and the heart?

A Aorta and pulmonary artery

B Aorta and vena cava

C Aorta, pulmonary artery and pulmonary vein

D Aorta, pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein and vena cava

Synapses are junctions between neurones. For an impulse to be generated in another neurone, a neurotransmitter chemical diffuses across the gap and binds to receptor sites.

This process is shown in the diagram.

Which direction can an impulse pass across a synapse?

A Only from the neurone that contains the vesicles to the neurone that contains the receptor sites

B Only from the neurone that has the receptor sites to the neurone that contains the vesicles

C Either way across a synapse because the neurotransmitter can diffuse either way

D Either way across a synapse because the neurotransmitter is produced by both neurones

The contents of sub-cellular structures found in eukaryotic cells enable the structure to perform its function.

Draw lines to connect each sub-cellular structure to its contents. Then draw lines to join each of the contents to its correct function within the cell.

Sub-cellular Contents Function

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?

The colour of a person’s urine changes depending on the concentration of their blood.

Complete the sentences below to describe why a person will have urine that is dark in colour.

Use the words in the list.

ADH FSH glucagon hypothalamus

medulla
pituitary gland

If a person has not consumed enough water, the concentration of the blood increases.

This is detected by receptors in the........

These receptors send a message to the........

This causes more........ to be released into the bloodstream.

Give one factor, other than lack of water intake, that could cause a person to have concentrated urine.

Nephritis is a condition where part of the kidney tubule becomes inflamed. The result of this is that proteins can enter the tubule and pass out in the urine.

Describe a test that could be used to determine if a patient has nephritis.

Why did the student remove the skin from the aubergine before placing it in the sugar solution?

Calculate the percentage change in mass for the piece of aubergine placed in 0.8mol / dm³ (b)

Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

Describe how you could improve the method to determine the concentration of the cells in the aubergine with greater accuracy.

Another student evaluates the method used in the experiment. This student finds that two errors were made.

For each error, decide if it is a random error or a systematic error.

Tick (✓) one box for each error.

Explain why the jelly made with fresh pineapple does not set but the jelly made with tinned pineapple does set.

Use your knowledge of enzymes.

The graph shows the rate of an enzyme catalysed reaction as the concentration of substrate is changed.

Draw an X on the graph to show where approximately 50% of the enzymes’ active sites are occupied with substrate.

Explain your decision.

IVF is a fertility treatment which involves egg cells being fertilised by sperm in a laboratory before transferring embryos into a female’s uterus.

In this procedure a female’s natural menstrual cycle is controlled using hormones.

Four hormones are used:

• GnRHα – a hormone that prevents the development of eggs

• hCG – a hormone that triggers the final stage of egg development

• FSH

• progesterone.

Complete the table to identify the hormone that should be used at each stage of this procedure. One has been filled in for you.

In IVF, the number of egg cells collected from each female differs.

This table shows the number of eggs collected from 10 females.

Write down two conclusions about the number of eggs produced by females in this process.

Only 60–80% of the eggs collected from a female will be mature and therefore able to be used for IVF.

Of the mature eggs collected, only 70–80% will be fertilised.

Calculate the maximum number of eggs that can be fertilised if a female produces 10 eggs in one cycle.

Give your answer to the nearest whole number.

The graph shows the birth rate per embryo transferred for some different age groups of females between 1990 and 2017.

Give two conclusions that can be made from the graph.

A student investigates the rate of photosynthesis in two different species of plant.

The student’s method:

• Cut 10 leaf discs from a leaf of one of the plants.

• Place the discs into a syringe containing sodium hydrogen carbonate solution.

• Repeat this using a leaf from the other plant.

• Record the time it takes for the leaf discs to rise to the top of each syringe.

Give three variables that the student must control to ensure that data collected for the two species of plant is valid.

Explain why the leaf discs rise to the top of the syringes.

Describe how the student could change their investigation to find the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis for one type of leaf.

Hormones are released when an athlete is preparing for and running a marathon.

Complete the sentences below to describe the hormones involved before and during the race.

Use the words from the list.

adrenaline digestive endocrine glucagon glucose

glycogen insulin nervous thyroxine

Before the race, the athlete’s body needs to prepare for action. The body responds by

secreting the hormone........

This hormone causes blood to be diverted from the........ system to the muscles.

During the race, blood sugar levels will decrease, so another hormone called

........ will be released.

This results in stores of........ being used to maintain the blood sugar levels

allowing the athlete to complete the marathon.

Hormones are part of the endocrine system.

Describe two differences between the endocrine system and the nervous system.

The graph shows the percentage of people with type 2 diabetes between 1996 and 2005.

Suggest reasons for the changes in the percentage of people with type 2 diabetes shown in the graph.

* Beta thalassaemia is a genetic disorder caused by a mutation in DNA.

In this mutation, some bases are inserted into the gene that codes for the production of the haemoglobin protein.

Explain how this mutation causes a different haemoglobin protein to be produced.

Use your knowledge of DNA and protein synthesis.

The haemoglobin in the red blood cells of a person with beta thalassaemia does not function correctly.

Suggest one symptom that a person with beta thalassaemia may have.

Beta thalassaemia can be treated with stem cells. Stem cells are taken from a donor and placed in the vein of the patient.

Explain why using stem cells from a donor can be used as a treatment for this disease.

Two students are discussing respiration.

One student says, ‘I know all animals respire but I don’t think plants need to.’

Explain why the student’s statement is not correct.

Scientists researching how mitochondria produce ATP came up with a theory.

Their theory said:

• Hydrogen ions are transported into the space between the two membranes surrounding the mitochondria, shown in Fig. 25.1.

• The ions become concentrated in this space.

• The ions diffuse back into the mitochondria making ATP.

To test this theory the scientists removed the outer membrane of the mitochondria, as shown in Fig. 25.2.

Fig. 25.1
Fig. 25.2

The result of their experiment showed that less ATP is formed.

Explain how this result shows that their theory is correct.