Practice Paper 1 (Cambridge International IGCSE Biology)

Which diagram shows a flower from a monocotyledon?

The diagram shows some of the blood vessels and other structures in the human body.

The blood vessels shown are all parts of the same

How does a water vapour molecule move out of the air space of a leaf into the atmosphere on a dry day?

Which drawing represents the general structure of an amino acid molecule that would be found in Nature?

A student wrote some notes about enzymes.

She wrote:

‘The …1… of an enzyme is …2… to an area on the substrate.

This area on the substrate can fit into it to form an …3… complex’.

Which words correctly complete gaps 1, 2 and 3?

The diagram below shows a palisade mesophyll cell found in the leaves of plants.

In which region of the cell would starch be stored?

What are the products when proteins are broken down?

The diagram shows an onion plant that has been grown from a seed. Each onion plant takes two years to flower and produce more seeds.

What is the onion bulb acting as in stage 3 and in stage 6?

In which list of the following do all three blood vessels carry deoxygenated blood?

The graph shows the response of the body to vaccination.

Which word should be used to replace the letter X, to complete the label on the y-axis?

Below are statements about the features of gas exchange surfaces in humans.

1. Gas exchange surfaces have a large surface area to maximise the rate of diffusion
2. Gas exchange surfaces have a thick surface to prevent damage from the constant movement of air
3. Gas exchange surfaces have a good blood supply to remove gases that have diffused across the surface
4. Gas exchange surfaces are well ventilated to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the alveoli

Which statements are correct?

What is the balanced chemical equation for anaerobic respiration in yeast?

Extended only

Each kidney contains one million kidney tubules called nephrons. A nephron is shown in the image below.

Which row of the table below correctly shows where filtration and selective reabsorption occur?

A group of students set up an experiment to investigate growth responses in plants.

In one of the experiments, they placed a plant shoot in a box with a small window allowing light to fall on one side of the shoot only.

Which of the following options correctly describes and explains what happened in the student’s experiment?

The data in the graph shows the effect of an antibiotic on the population of bacteria in the blood.

What can be concluded from the data in the graph?

What is an example of sexual reproduction?

When gametes are produced, cells undergo division by

An island’s entire population of a species of butterfly are descended from just two parents. These were introduced from the mainland.

Which of the following statements about this species of butterfly, compared with that of the mainland, is correct?

What is an example of a population?

The following statements refer to plastic pollution.

1. Animals will often try to eat the plastic or become entangled in it
2. It breaks down into micro particles that wash away into nearby rivers
3. As plastic breaks down, it releases toxins into the surrounding environment
4. It enters the food chain when filter feeders such as mussels ingest micro particles

Which of these statements applies to both marine and terrestrial (land) habitats?

The following statements describe biofuel.

1. Yeast respires to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide
2. It is a renewable energy source since it is made from living organisms instead of fossil fuels
3. Waste parts of crop plants can be used to produce biofuels
4. In some parts of the world, crops are grown specifically for use as biofuels

Which of these statements could be considered an advantage of biofuel?

Woodlice were used to investigate their sensitivity to different conditions. A choice chamber was set up with four different compartments: light and dry, light and moist, dark and dry, dark and moist.

A student placed 15 woodlice into the choice chamber and then recorded the number of woodlice in each compartment after a period of 10 minutes. They then removed all the woodlice and repeated the experiment twice more.

Choice chambers allow us to know what environmental conditions animals prefer when looking for suitable habitats.

Fig. 1 shows the experimental set up of the choice chamber used.

Fig. 1

(i)

Explain why the student left the woodlice in the choice chamber for 10 minutes before counting the woodlice in each chamber.

(ii)

State two variables that should be kept constant throughout the investigation.

(iii)

For one of the variables stated in part (ii), describe how to keep this constant.

Extract:

Woodlice were used to investigate their sensitivity to different conditions. A choice chamber was set up with four different compartments: light and dry, light and moist, dark and dry, dark and moist.

A student placed 15 woodlice into the choice chamber and then recorded the number of woodlice in each compartment after a period of 10 minutes. They then removed all the woodlice and repeated the experiment twice more.

Choice chambers allow us to know what environmental conditions animals prefer when looking for suitable habitats.

(i)

Identify one possible hazard associated with carrying out the experiment.

(ii)

Describe the safety precautions associated with the hazard identified in part (i).

(iii)

Describe the ethical considerations when using living organisms such as woodlice.

Extract:

Woodlice were used to investigate their sensitivity to different conditions. A choice chamber was set up with four different compartments: light and dry, light and moist, dark and dry, dark and moist.

A student placed 15 woodlice into the choice chamber and then recorded the number of woodlice in each compartment after a period of 10 minutes. They then removed all the woodlice and repeated the experiment twice more.

Create a table in which the student could record their results

Extract:

Woodlice were used to investigate their sensitivity to different conditions. A choice chamber was set up with four different compartments: light and dry, light and moist, dark and dry, dark and moist.

A student placed 15 woodlice into the choice chamber and then recorded the number of woodlice in each compartment after a period of 10 minutes. They then removed all the woodlice and repeated the experiment twice more.

Choice chambers allow us to know what environmental conditions animals prefer when looking for suitable habitats.

Describe how you could adapt this experiment to investigate the sensitivity of woodlice to temperature changes.

Fig. 1.1 is a dichotomous key. It can be used to identify different types of tree by using their leaves.

Fig. 1.2 shows leaves from six different trees.

Use the key in Fig. 1.1 to identify the six different types of tree.

Write the name of each tree on the lines in Fig. 1.2.

Fig. 1 shows a cross section through a beetroot.

Image courtesy of Joergens.mi. Original image located at: //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beetroot_jm27958.jpg. Licenced under CC-BY-SA-3.0 under conditions found at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.

Fig. 1

(i)

Draw a large diagram of the beetroot in Fig. 1. Do not label your drawing or include line AB.

(ii)

The magnification of the beetroot in Fig. 1 is x2.

The length of line AB is 10 cm.

Calculate the actual width of the beetroot using the formula and the measurement of line AB.

$\mathrm{magnification}=\frac{\mathrm{length} \mathrm{of} \mathrm{line} \mathrm{AB}}{\mathrm{actual} \mathrm{width} \mathrm{of} \mathrm{beetroot}}$

Show your working.

Students conducted an experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on plant cell membranes. They followed the experimental procedure described below.

• Beetroot cores were cut using a cork borer.
• They used a scalpel to cut each core into 2 cm sections.
• Students used six beakers to set up water baths at different temperatures (0°C, 20°C, 40°C, 60°C, 80°C and 100°C).
• The temperature of each water bath was monitored using a thermometer and manually adjusted using cold or hot water.
• 5 cm³ of distilled water was added to each of six test tubes and one test tube was placed in each water bath and left for 5 minutes.
• After 5 minutes, one 2 cm beetroot section was added to each test tube and left for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, the contents of each test tube was placed in a colorimeter and the percentage transmission of light was measured at each temperature.
• The experiment was repeated two more times.

Table 1 shows the results of the investigation.

Table 1

(i)

Identify the independent and dependent variable for this investigation.

(ii)

State two safety precautions that should be followed during the experimental procedure.

Extract:

Table 1

temperature / °C | transmission of light / % | trial 1 | trial 2 | trial 3 | mean | | 0 | 100 | 99.4 | 99.1 | 99.5 | | 20 | 95.6 | 97.0 | 96.3 | 96.3 | | 40 | 79.3 | 80.7 | 78.9 | 79.6 | | 60 | 31.1 | 30.6 | 29.7 | | | 80 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | | 100 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |

(i)

Use the data in Table 1 to calculate the mean percentage of light transmitted at a temperature of 60°C.

Give your answer to three significant figures.

(ii)

Use the grid below to plot a line graph of temperature against the mean percentage of light transmitted from Table 1.

Extract:

The experiment was repeated two more times. Table 1 shows the results of the investigation. | temperature / °C | transmission of light / % | trial 1 | trial 2 | trial 3 | mean | ... (data table showing three trials for each temperature) ...

Explain the importance of repeating the experiment several times.