OCR GCSE Biology B (21st Century) Breadth in Biology Foundation November 2021 question paper J257/01

Different substances are transported into and out of the human body to help keep its cells alive.

Complete the table to describe how each substance is related to the requirements of cells.

Tick (✓) at least one box in each row.

It is important that the water content of the body remains constant.

Which organ is responsible for maintaining the water balance of the human body?

Heart Kidney Skin Stomach

State two ways in which the human body loses water.

If the amount of water in the blood increases, more water could enter cells.

What is the name of the process that moves water into these cells?

Active transport Diffusion Excretion Osmosis

If too much water enters a cell what could happen to the cell?

Tick (✓) one box.

The diagram shows the human eye.

Which letter shows the lens?

Tick (✓) one box.

Which letter shows the part of the eye that controls the size of the pupil?

Tick (✓) one box.

Poor vision can be caused by a defect in the eye.

Draw lines to connect each common defect with what it is caused by.

Common defect
Caused by

Conjunctivitis is an infection of the eye. People with conjunctivitis often have red eyes with a sticky substance covering the eye.

The eyes are also itchy.

Conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria.

What could a doctor give a patient to help kill bacteria?

Conjunctivitis is a communicable disease.

Suggest how a person with conjunctivitis could prevent spreading the disease to another person.

Some bacteria can respire anaerobically.

Which statement about anaerobic respiration in bacteria is correct?

Tick (✓) one box.

This question is about plants.

Select the correct word from the list to match each statement.

You can use each word once, more than once, or not at all.

auxin gravitropism meiosis meristem mitosis

photosynthesis phototropism stomata

The name of a plant hormone........

A growth response to gravity........

A growth response to light........

Unspecialised plant cells........

Cell division that results in the formation of gametes........

Humans have many non-specific defences to protect them from pathogens.

Name one physical defence.

Name one chemical defence.

Salmonella are bacteria that can cause illness in humans.

Explain how Salmonella can be spread.

A Salmonella infection can cause the body’s temperature to rise higher than normal.

Describe two changes that will take place in the skin to help bring the body’s temperature back down to normal.

Scientists investigated samples of chicken on sale in the UK to see how many contained Salmonella bacteria.

The data are shown in Table 4.1.

Calculate the mean percentage of samples that tested positive for Salmonella in the UK.

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

Which country had a higher percentage of samples that tested positive for Salmonella than the mean?

Use your answer to (c)(i).

The scientists compared the data collected in the UK with data from other countries.

The results are shown in Table 4.2.

Write down two conclusions that could be drawn from the data.

Use Table 4.2.

Which reagent would be used to test for starch?

Tick (✓) one box.

A positive test for starch results in the reagent turning black/blue.

Shade the leaf in Fig. 5.2 to show the area that would turn black/blue.

Complete the sentences to explain why the student placed the plant in the dark for a day, in Step 1 of their method.

The plant was placed in the dark so that it would not grow / photosynthesise / respire.

In the dark it will use up all of its existing stores of carbon dioxide / starch / water.

The student was investigating only one factor that is required in photosynthesis.

Which one factor was being investigated?

Multiple sclerosis is a disease which currently does not have a cure. Scientists have conducted a trial with patients to see if stem cells could help cure this disease.

What is a stem cell?

Stem cells can be taken from embryos.

Give one reason why people are against the use of these stem cells.

Trials using stem cells are not risk free.

Give one benefit and one risk of taking part in the trial.

Benefit........

Risk........

This research was published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Describe what happens during peer review.

Publishing research in peer-reviewed journals is one way of communicating the scientists’ findings.

Identify who else would be interested in finding out about this research, other than scientists.

Fig. 7.1 shows an animal called a Tasmanian devil.

Tasmanian devils are only found on an island off the coast of Australia. They look very similar to other small animals in Australia but have been classified as a different species.

What evidence from their cells could have been used to classify them as a different species?

Fig. 7.2 shows the estimated population of Tasmanian devils from 1995 to 2008.

How many Tasmanian devils were there in 1995?

In 2008 there were fewer Tasmanian devils.

Calculate the difference in the population from 1995 to 2008.

The decrease in population is because of a disease called Devil Facial Tumour disease.

Explain why scientists are concerned about the population of Tasmanian devils.

Use data from Fig. 7.2 to support your answer.

Devil Facial Tumour is a form of cancer. It is spread from one Tasmanian devil to another when they bite each other.

How is the Devil Facial Tumour cancer different from cancers found in humans?

Scientists have recently discovered that some Tasmanian devils have developed resistance to Devil Facial Tumour disease.

This resistance can be passed on to offspring and is becoming more common in each generation of the population.

Which process is causing the resistance to become more common?

Tick (✓) one box.

As the human population is increasing, we need to provide more food.

Explain how farmers selectively breed cows that produce more meat.

Humans use technology to help increase food production.

Draw lines to connect each technology with the statement which explains how this improves food production.

Technology
Improved food production

Give one way in which pesticides can reduce biodiversity.

Biofuel is now used in some vehicles as a fuel. It is made from plants.

Burning biofuel releases carbon dioxide. However, biofuel is described as carbon neutral.

Suggest why biofuel is described as carbon neutral.

Use ideas about photosynthesis in your answer.

Catalase is an enzyme. It breaks down hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.

The action of this enzyme can be investigated using the equipment shown in Fig. 9.1.

The catalase and hydrogen peroxide are placed in the conical flask. The oxygen produced by the reaction is collected in the measuring cylinder.

Amir wants to investigate how enzyme concentration affects this reaction.

Amir uses a beaker to measure out the hydrogen peroxide solution.

Suggest one piece of equipment that Amir could use instead of a beaker and why this would improve his experiment.

Piece of equipment........

Reason for choice........

Describe how Amir could use the equipment in Fig. 9.1 to investigate the effect of enzyme concentration on the rate of this reaction.

Temperature is one variable that needs to be controlled in this experiment.

State two other variables that would need to be controlled.

Fig. 9.2 shows the effect of temperature on the rate of reaction for the enzyme catalase.

What is the optimum temperature for catalase?........ °C

How could this investigation be improved to find a more accurate optimum temperature?

Enzyme molecules start to become denatured at temperatures above the optimum temperature.

What was the lowest temperature at which all of the catalase molecules became denatured?

Use Fig. 9.2.

Tick (✓) one box.

Plants and animals use small organic molecules to make larger organic molecules.

Draw lines to connect the small organic molecules with the large organic molecules that they are used to make.

Small organic molecules
Large organic molecules

Plants obtain important substances from their environment.

Which list of elements must plants obtain from the environment?

Tick (✓) one box.

Tay-Sachs disease is an inherited disease caused by a recessive allele.

The symptoms of the disease start when a child is 3–6 months old. The disease is usually fatal.

Charlie and Eve decide they want to have a child. They do not have the disease, but they are concerned that they may be carriers of this disease and will pass it on to their child.

Describe how Charlie and Eve could find out if they are carriers.

Charlie and Eve find out they both have the genotype Tt.

What word is used to describe this genotype?

Charlie and Eve still want to have a child.

Complete the Punnett square to find out the probability of their child having Tay-Sachs

Charlie and Eve decide that they do not want to risk their child inheriting Tay-Sachs disease.

Suggest two ways in which they can have a child that does not have the disease.

The diagram shows a pyramid of biomass for the following food chain.

Food chain

Pyramid of biomass Dry weight (g / m²)

Which organism in the food chain would you place in bar A of the pyramid of biomass?

Describe the general change in biomass that occurs between the trophic levels shown in the pyramid and give two reasons for this change.

The percentage efficiency of the biomass transfer between trophic levels can be calculated using the efficiency equation:

Calculate the percentage efficiency of the biomass transfer between trophic levels 2 and 3.

Give your answer to 1 significant figure.