GCSE Biology Practice Test 10 – 60 Questions with Answers (AQA 8461)

Q1. Why are light microscopes still useful in school laboratories?

• (A) They can be used to observe living cells and are simple to use
• (B) They give higher resolution than electron microscopes
• (C) They can show individual ribosomes clearly
• (D) They do not need a light source

Q2. A specimen is 0.04 mm long and viewed at a magnification of 250. How long is its image?

• (A) 0.16 mm
• (B) 10 mm
• (C) 100 mm
• (D) 6.25 mm

Q3. How does the biconcave shape of a red blood cell help it?

• (A) It increases surface area for diffusion of oxygen
• (B) It allows the cell to photosynthesise
• (C) It helps the cell divide by mitosis
• (D) It stores oxygen as a gas

Q4. How is a palisade mesophyll cell adapted for photosynthesis?

• (A) It contains many chloroplasts and is near the upper leaf surface
• (B) It has a thick waterproof cuticle
• (C) It contains no chloroplasts
• (D) It transports water from the roots

Q5. An animal cell placed in pure water bursts, but a plant cell does not. Why?

• (A) Plant cells have no cell membrane
• (B) Animal cells absorb salt instead of water
• (C) The plant cell wall resists pressure as the cell becomes turgid
• (D) Plant cells lose water faster than animal cells

Q6. Which change would increase the rate of diffusion across a membrane?

• (A) A thicker membrane
• (B) A smaller surface area
• (C) A steeper concentration gradient
• (D) A lower temperature

Q7. Sugars are loaded into phloem at a leaf. What process is used, and why?

• (A) Active transport, because sugars move against a concentration gradient into sieve tubes
• (B) Osmosis, because sugars dissolve in water
• (C) Diffusion, because sugars are small
• (D) Photosynthesis, because sugars are made there

Q8. How do embryonic stem cells differ from most adult stem cells?

• (A) Adult stem cells can become any cell type, embryonic stem cells cannot
• (B) Embryonic stem cells are found only in plants
• (C) Embryonic stem cells can differentiate into any type of cell, while adult stem cells have a more limited range
• (D) Adult stem cells divide faster than embryonic stem cells

Q9. Where does starch digestion begin in the human body?

• (A) In the mouth, by salivary amylase
• (B) In the stomach, by pepsin
• (C) In the large intestine, by bacteria
• (D) In the liver, by bile

Q10. Where is protein digestion completed?

• (A) In the stomach, by hydrochloric acid alone
• (B) In the small intestine, where proteases produce amino acids
• (C) In the mouth, by amylase
• (D) In the large intestine, by absorption

Q11. In which part of the gut are lipids mainly digested?

• (A) The stomach, by hydrochloric acid
• (B) The small intestine, by lipase with the help of bile
• (C) The mouth, by salivary enzymes
• (D) The large intestine, by bacteria

Q12. After absorption in villi, where do glucose and amino acids go?

• (A) Into lacteals only
• (B) Into blood capillaries in the villi
• (C) Back into the gut lumen
• (D) Directly into the liver through the stomach wall

Q13. What is the function of the septum in the heart?

• (A) It pumps blood to the lungs
• (B) It prevents blood flowing backwards in veins
• (C) It separates the left and right sides so oxygenated and deoxygenated blood do not mix
• (D) It carries impulses to set heart rate

Q14. Which vessel returns deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart?

• (A) The aorta
• (B) The pulmonary vein
• (C) The vena cava
• (D) The coronary artery

Q15. Why do veins need valves?

• (A) Because blood pressure in veins is very high
• (B) Because veins carry oxygenated blood
• (C) Because veins have thick muscular walls
• (D) Because blood pressure in veins is low and valves stop backflow

Q16. Why are xylem cells dead with no cytoplasm?

• (A) So they can carry out photosynthesis
• (B) So they can divide rapidly
• (C) So they can store sugars
• (D) So water can flow through them without obstruction

Q17. How is a virus different from a bacterium?

• (A) A virus is a large single cell
• (B) A virus is not a cell and is much smaller than a bacterium
• (C) A virus can reproduce on its own outside a host
• (D) A virus is always larger than a bacterium

Q18. Which of these are non-specific defences of the body?

• (A) Antibodies and memory cells
• (B) Vaccination and antibiotics
• (C) Skin, mucus and stomach acid
• (D) Phagocytes and lymphocytes only

Q19. Why are vaccines usually given before a person is exposed to a pathogen?

• (A) Because vaccines cure an infection already present
• (B) Because antibodies last only one day
• (C) So memory cells are ready and can respond rapidly on first real infection
• (D) Because vaccines only work in healthy adults

Q20. How can antibiotic use in farming contribute to resistance?

• (A) Farm antibiotics make human immune systems weaker directly
• (B) Resistant bacteria selected on farms can spread to humans through food or the environment
• (C) Farm animals pass antibiotics to humans in meat only as medicine
• (D) Antibiotics in farming kill all viruses

Q21. Why are patients monitored for side effects during drug trials?

• (A) Because a drug may harm some people even if it treats the condition
• (B) Because side effects prove the drug works
• (C) Because all drugs have the same side effects
• (D) Because monitoring replaces safety testing in animals

Q22. What is the placebo effect?

• (A) A drug works better when taken with food
• (B) A placebo always cures the disease
• (C) A placebo is a stronger dose of the drug
• (D) A patient improves because they believe they are receiving treatment, even if given an inactive substance

Q23. How do thorns help protect a plant?

• (A) They produce antibodies against pathogens
• (B) They are a physical defence that deters animals from eating the plant
• (C) They close the stomata
• (D) They attract pollinators

Q24. How can aphids spread disease between plants?

• (A) They lay eggs that hatch into fungi
• (B) They block the xylem with their bodies
• (C) They eat the roots and kill the plant directly
• (D) They act as vectors, carrying plant viruses from infected to healthy plants as they feed

Q25. How can draining standing water help control malaria?

• (A) It kills the protist directly in human blood
• (B) It makes mosquitoes immune to the protist
• (C) It cures people already infected
• (D) It removes mosquito breeding sites, reducing the number of vectors

Q26. A plant is illuminated with green light only. Why is its rate of photosynthesis low?

• (A) Green light destroys chlorophyll
• (B) Green light is too hot for the leaf
• (C) Chlorophyll reflects green light, so little is absorbed for photosynthesis
• (D) Green light cannot pass through the leaf surface

Q27. Which change would not increase the rate of photosynthesis?

• (A) Increasing light intensity
• (B) Increasing carbon dioxide concentration
• (C) Increasing temperature towards the optimum
• (D) Increasing oxygen concentration around the leaf

Q28. Why are most stomata on the lower surface of a leaf?

• (A) To increase water loss from the leaf
• (B) To reduce water loss, because the lower surface is cooler and less exposed to direct sun
• (C) To prevent carbon dioxide entering
• (D) To stop photosynthesis occurring

Q29. In which organelle does aerobic respiration mainly take place?

• (A) The mitochondrion
• (B) The chloroplast
• (C) The ribosome
• (D) The nucleus

Q30. Why is anaerobic respiration useful during a short sprint?

• (A) It releases more energy than aerobic respiration
• (B) It releases energy quickly without waiting for oxygen delivery
• (C) It produces no waste products
• (D) It does not use glucose

Q31. Where is glucose stored in animals?

• (A) As starch in the leaves
• (B) As glycogen in the liver and muscles
• (C) As cellulose in cell walls
• (D) As fat in the blood only

Q32. During exercise, how is blood glucose maintained?

• (A) Photosynthesis in muscle cells makes glucose
• (B) The stomach produces glucose directly
• (C) Fat in the blood turns into glucose instantly
• (D) Glycogen in the liver is broken down to glucose

Q33. Which statement best describes metabolism?

• (A) The sum of all chemical reactions in cells, including building up and breaking down molecules
• (B) Digestion in the stomach only
• (C) Respiration in the lungs only
• (D) The production of urine by the kidneys

Q34. What happens to yeast when oxygen is available compared with when it is absent?

• (A) With oxygen it respires aerobically; without oxygen it ferments anaerobically
• (B) It always ferments, even with oxygen
• (C) It always respires aerobically, even without oxygen
• (D) It stops respiring completely without oxygen

Q35. A hand touches a hot surface and is withdrawn before the person thinks about it. Which pathway is involved?

• (A) A hormone travelling in the blood only
• (B) A conscious decision in the brain first
• (C) A reflex arc: receptor, sensory neurone, relay neurone, motor neurone, effector
• (D) A phototropism response

Q36. What is the function of dendrites on a neurone?

• (A) To carry impulses away from the cell body
• (B) To produce hormones
• (C) To insulate the axon
• (D) To receive impulses from other cells

Q37. In withdrawing a hand from a hot object, what is the effector?

• (A) The arm muscle that contracts to move the hand away
• (B) The pain receptor in the skin
• (C) The relay neurone in the spinal cord
• (D) The sensory neurone from the skin

Q38. How do endocrine glands differ from glands with ducts?

• (A) Endocrine glands release enzymes into the gut
• (B) Endocrine glands only act on one organ
• (C) Endocrine glands release hormones directly into the blood, with no duct
• (D) Endocrine glands produce nerve impulses

Q39. After ovulation, what produces progesterone?

• (A) The corpus luteum, formed from the empty follicle in the ovary
• (B) The uterus lining
• (C) The pituitary gland
• (D) The developing egg itself

Q40. ADH is released from which gland when the body is dehydrated?

• (A) The thyroid gland
• (B) The adrenal gland
• (C) The pituitary gland
• (D) The pancreas

Q41. Where does filtration of blood occur in the kidney?

• (A) In the bladder
• (B) In the ureter
• (C) In the renal artery
• (D) In the glomerulus, a knot of capillaries under high pressure

Q42. Which part of the brain monitors blood temperature and coordinates temperature control?

• (A) The cerebrum
• (B) The cerebellum
• (C) The medulla only
• (D) The hypothalamus

Q43. A root grows downwards in response to gravity. What is this called?

• (A) Positive phototropism
• (B) Negative gravitropism
• (C) Chemotropism
• (D) Positive gravitropism

Q44. During meiosis, homologous chromosomes separate. How many chromosomes does each resulting gamete contain compared with a body cell?

• (A) Half as many
• (B) Twice as many
• (C) The same number
• (D) None at all

Q45. In peas, tall (T) is dominant to dwarf (t). A heterozygous tall plant (Tt) is crossed with a dwarf plant (tt). What phenotypes are expected?

• (A) 50% tall and 50% dwarf
• (B) 100% tall
• (C) 75% tall and 25% dwarf
• (D) 100% dwarf

Q46. Why does a son inherit his Y chromosome from his father?

• (A) Because the mother also carries a Y chromosome
• (B) Because Y chromosomes are made in the uterus
• (C) Because sons receive all chromosomes from the father
• (D) Because only males have a Y chromosome to pass on

Q47. Identical twins have the same genes but may differ in some characteristics. Why?

• (A) Their DNA changes completely after birth
• (B) Environmental factors can affect phenotype
• (C) They inherit different alleles
• (D) One twin has more chromosomes

Q48. Darwin observed finches on the Galapagos Islands with different beak shapes. What did this suggest?

• (A) Finches changed their beaks during their own lifetimes
• (B) All finches originally had identical diets
• (C) Beak shapes had evolved by natural selection to suit different food sources
• (D) Beak shape is determined only by the environment

Q49. Selective breeding can produce wheat that is resistant to disease. How is this achieved?

• (A) Wheat is exposed to disease until it becomes immune in one season
• (B) Genes are removed from all wheat plants
• (C) Plants showing resistance are repeatedly chosen as parents over generations
• (D) Resistant wheat is cloned from a single leaf only

Q50. How can a herbicide-resistant genetically modified crop help farmers?

• (A) The crop produces its own herbicide
• (B) Weeds can be sprayed without harming the crop
• (C) The crop no longer needs water
• (D) The crop becomes resistant to all diseases

Q51. In the binomial name Homo sapiens, what does Homo represent?

• (A) The species
• (B) The genus
• (C) The family
• (D) The kingdom

Q52. When is a species considered extinct?

• (A) When its numbers fall below one hundred
• (B) When it moves to a new habitat
• (C) When it stops reproducing for one year
• (D) When no living individuals of that species remain anywhere

Q53. In the food chain grass -> mouse -> snake -> owl, what is the owl?

• (A) A producer
• (B) A tertiary consumer
• (C) A primary consumer
• (D) A secondary consumer

Q54. Why is a pyramid of energy always upright?

• (A) Because top predators are always largest
• (B) Because energy is lost at each transfer, so less is available at higher levels
• (C) Because producers are always smallest
• (D) Because decomposers add energy at the top

Q55. Animals in the same habitat may compete for which resources?

• (A) Food, water, mates, territory and shelter
• (B) Light and mineral ions only
• (C) Carbon dioxide and oxygen only
• (D) Sunlight for photosynthesis

Q56. How can low light intensity affect plant distribution?

• (A) All plants grow equally well in shade
• (B) Low light increases photosynthesis in all plants
• (C) Light intensity does not affect where plants grow
• (D) Shade plants that tolerate low light grow where light is limited, while others cannot

Q57. How can disease act as a biotic factor in an ecosystem?

• (A) It increases light intensity
• (B) It changes soil pH directly
• (C) It can reduce the population of a species, affecting its predators and prey
• (D) It always increases biodiversity

Q58. Which processes release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?

• (A) Photosynthesis and feeding
• (B) Decay only
• (C) Condensation and precipitation
• (D) Respiration and combustion

Q59. How does quarrying damage an ecosystem?

• (A) It increases biodiversity in the quarry
• (B) It creates new forests automatically
• (C) It destroys habitats and removes vegetation and soil
• (D) It improves water quality downstream

Q60. How do nature reserves help conserve species?

• (A) They protect habitats from development and disturbance so populations can recover
• (B) They allow unlimited hunting inside
• (C) They move all species into zoos
• (D) They prevent any species entering the area