GCSE Biology Practice Test 13 – 60 Questions with Answers (AQA 8461)

Q1. How many genetically identical daughter cells are produced by one cell dividing by mitosis?

• (A) Four
• (B) One
• (C) Eight
• (D) Two

Q2. What happens to the chromosomes before a cell divides by mitosis?

• (A) Each chromosome is copied so each daughter cell gets a full set
• (B) The chromosomes are halved
• (C) The chromosomes leave the cell
• (D) The chromosomes fuse together

Q3. During mitosis, what is the correct order of the main events after DNA replication?

• (A) Two nuclei form, then chromatids are pulled apart
• (B) Chromosomes line up, then chromatids are pulled apart, then two nuclei form
• (C) Chromatids are pulled apart, then chromosomes replicate
• (D) The cell membrane breaks down, then nuclei fuse

Q4. Why is mitosis important in a growing animal?

• (A) It produces gametes with half the chromosomes
• (B) It increases variation in offspring
• (C) It produces new cells for growth and to replace damaged cells
• (D) It removes waste from cells

Q5. A human body cell has 46 chromosomes. How many chromosomes does each daughter cell have after mitosis?

• (A) 23
• (B) 92
• (C) 46
• (D) 12

Q6. How does mitosis differ from meiosis?

• (A) Mitosis produces gametes, while meiosis produces body cells
• (B) Meiosis produces genetically identical body cells
• (C) Mitosis produces two genetically identical cells, while meiosis produces four genetically different gametes
• (D) Mitosis happens only in plants

Q7. What is meant by a specialised cell?

• (A) A cell with a structure adapted to carry out a particular function
• (B) A cell that can become any type of cell
• (C) A cell with no nucleus
• (D) A cell that never divides

Q8. What is a special property of embryonic stem cells?

• (A) They can differentiate into almost any type of cell
• (B) They can only become skin cells
• (C) They cannot divide
• (D) They are found only in plants

Q9. Where are stem cells found in a plant?

• (A) In meristems at the tips of roots and shoots
• (B) In dead xylem vessels only
• (C) In the centre of a leaf only
• (D) In seeds after germination only

Q10. From which chamber of the heart is blood pumped to the lungs?

• (A) The left atrium
• (B) The right ventricle
• (C) The left ventricle
• (D) The right atrium

Q11. What is the advantage of thick, elastic walls in arteries?

• (A) To allow diffusion of oxygen
• (B) Because they carry blood slowly
• (C) To withstand high pressure from the heart and help push blood along
• (D) To prevent backflow only

Q12. Why is blood pressure lower in veins than in arteries?

• (A) Because veins carry oxygenated blood
• (B) Because veins have thicker walls
• (C) Because blood flows faster in veins
• (D) Because veins are further from the pumping heart and blood has lost energy

Q13. Which part of the blood is responsible for transporting oxygen?

• (A) Red blood cells containing haemoglobin
• (B) White blood cells
• (C) Platelets
• (D) Plasma proteins only

Q14. What job do platelets carry out in the blood?

• (A) To fight pathogens
• (B) To help blood clot at a wound
• (C) To carry carbon dioxide
• (D) To produce antibodies

Q15. Which white blood cell action helps defend the body?

• (A) Engulfing pathogens or producing antibodies
• (B) Carrying oxygen
• (C) Making fibrin only
• (D) Producing bile

Q16. What does plasma transport?

• (A) Oxygen in red cells only
• (B) Nerve impulses
• (C) Dissolved substances such as glucose, amino acids, hormones and urea
• (D) Only water

Q17. What is an advantage of a double circulatory system?

• (A) Blood only passes through the heart once per circuit
• (B) Blood returns to the heart to be pumped at high pressure to the body
• (C) The heart does not need to pump
• (D) Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood mix together

Q18. Which tissue transports water and mineral ions up a plant?

• (A) Phloem
• (B) Xylem
• (C) Epidermis
• (D) Mesophyll

Q19. How can the spread of antibiotic resistance be reduced?

• (A) By taking antibiotics for every cold
• (B) By sharing antibiotics with others
• (C) By only using antibiotics when needed and completing the course
• (D) By stopping treatment as soon as symptoms improve

Q20. Which is a correct stage in drug development?

• (A) Selling the drug before any testing
• (B) Testing on cells and tissues in the laboratory before animal and human trials
• (C) Testing on humans first with no prior work
• (D) Skipping safety tests if the drug is natural

Q21. What is an antibiotic?

• (A) A vaccine against viruses
• (B) A type of white blood cell
• (C) A medicine that kills bacteria or stops their growth
• (D) A hormone that controls blood sugar

Q22. What is a double-blind trial?

• (A) A trial with twice as many patients
• (B) A trial testing two drugs at once only
• (C) A trial where neither patients nor doctors know who receives the drug or the placebo
• (D) A trial where results are hidden forever

Q23. How does a pathogen differ from a harmless microorganism?

• (A) A pathogen is always larger
• (B) A pathogen causes disease, while a harmless microorganism does not
• (C) A pathogen cannot reproduce
• (D) A pathogen is never a bacterium

Q24. Which plant defence is physical?

• (A) Producing antibiotics in leaves
• (B) Making antibodies
• (C) Growing faster in light
• (D) A waxy cuticle or thorns

Q25. How does the human body respond to a second infection by the same pathogen?

• (A) It produces antibodies more quickly and in larger amounts
• (B) It produces no antibodies
• (C) It relies only on skin
• (D) It makes red blood cells instead

Q26. Which disease is spread by a vector?

• (A) Measles, spread by direct touch only
• (B) Malaria, spread by mosquitoes
• (C) Salmonella, spread by cooking
• (D) Athlete’s foot, spread by air

Q27. What happens in a catabolic reaction?

• (A) Small molecules join together to make larger ones
• (B) Light energy is captured by chlorophyll
• (C) DNA is copied before cell division
• (D) Large molecules are broken down, releasing energy

Q28. Which process is part of metabolism?

• (A) Photosynthesis in animals
• (B) Converting glucose to glycogen in the liver
• (C) Absorbing light in mitochondria
• (D) Making bile in the kidney

Q29. Which factor increases the rate of photosynthesis in a greenhouse?

• (A) Decreasing light to zero
• (B) Lowering temperature to freezing
• (C) Removing all water
• (D) Increasing carbon dioxide concentration up to a point

Q30. A plant is kept in dim light with plenty of carbon dioxide and warm temperature. Which factor limits photosynthesis?

• (A) Temperature
• (B) Carbon dioxide
• (C) Water in leaves
• (D) Light intensity

Q31. Which organelle increases in number in a muscle cell that respires a lot?

• (A) Mitochondria
• (B) Chloroplasts
• (C) Vacuoles
• (D) Cell walls

Q32. Why is glucose transported in phloem as sucrose rather than glucose?

• (A) Sucrose is less reactive and easier to transport in solution
• (B) Sucrose is made only in roots
• (C) Glucose cannot dissolve
• (D) Sucrose is a protein

Q33. Which test shows the presence of starch in a leaf?

• (A) Benedict’s solution turning red
• (B) Iodine solution turning blue-black
• (C) Biuret test turning purple
• (D) Limewater turning milky

Q34. If a leaf is kept in darkness for 48 hours, what happens to its starch?

• (A) It increases rapidly
• (B) It turns to chlorophyll
• (C) It is used up by respiration
• (D) It is stored as protein

Q35. Which hormone inhibits FSH and helps rebuild the uterus lining?

• (A) Oestrogen
• (B) Progesterone only
• (C) Testosterone
• (D) ADH

Q36. On about which day of a typical 28-day cycle does ovulation occur?

• (A) Day 1
• (B) Day 28
• (C) Day 14
• (D) Day 7

Q37. What is meant by excretion?

• (A) The removal of undigested food from the gut
• (B) The breakdown of glucose in respiration
• (C) The removal of waste products of metabolism from the body
• (D) The production of urine only

Q38. Where in the kidney is blood filtered?

• (A) In the ureter
• (B) In the glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule of the nephron
• (C) In the bladder
• (D) In the renal artery wall

Q39. What happens to glucose during filtration and reabsorption in a healthy kidney?

• (A) It is filtered out then fully reabsorbed back into blood
• (B) It is excreted in urine in large amounts
• (C) It is broken down in the kidney
• (D) It is stored in the bladder

Q40. What does ADH do?

• (A) It increases urine volume
• (B) It increases water reabsorption in the kidney so less urine is produced
• (C) It lowers blood glucose
• (D) It increases sweating

Q41. When is more ADH released?

• (A) After drinking a large volume of water
• (B) When body temperature falls
• (C) When the body is dehydrated and blood water concentration is low
• (D) When blood glucose rises

Q42. After drinking a lot of water, what happens to ADH levels and urine?

• (A) ADH falls, so more dilute urine is produced
• (B) ADH rises, so less urine is produced
• (C) ADH stays the same and urine stops
• (D) ADH rises and urine becomes concentrated

Q43. Fossil evidence shows a species gradually changing over millions of years. What process does this best illustrate?

• (A) Selective breeding
• (B) Cloning
• (C) Extinction
• (D) Evolution

Q44. What can cause a mutation?

• (A) Eating protein
• (B) Radiation or certain chemicals
• (C) Exercise
• (D) Photosynthesis

Q45. How does natural selection change a population over time?

• (A) The deliberate breeding of animals by humans
• (B) The extinction of all species
• (C) Random mating only
• (D) The process where organisms better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce

Q46. Which is the correct order in evolution by natural selection?

• (A) Variation, competition, survival of the fittest, reproduction, inheritance
• (B) Reproduction, extinction, variation
• (C) Competition, mutation, cloning
• (D) Inheritance, variation, extinction

Q47. Why did antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more common?

• (A) Because antibiotics created resistance in all bacteria at once
• (B) Because resistant bacteria survived treatment and reproduced
• (C) Because bacteria learned to avoid drugs
• (D) Because patients stopped taking drugs

Q48. In selective breeding, what do humans do to produce the next generation?

• (A) Choosing organisms with desired traits to breed together
• (B) Waiting for natural selection only
• (C) Genetically modifying DNA in a lab
• (D) Cloning identical animals

Q49. Which is an example of selective breeding?

• (A) Vaccinating cattle
• (B) Feeding cows more grass
• (C) Keeping cows indoors
• (D) Breeding cows for higher milk yield

Q50. What is an advantage of selective breeding for farmers?

• (A) It increases genetic diversity
• (B) It creates a new species immediately
• (C) Crops or animals with desired characteristics can be produced more reliably
• (D) It prevents all disease

Q51. What happens during genetic modification of an organism?

• (A) Changing the genes of an organism by inserting a gene from another organism
• (B) Crossing two plants by pollination only
• (C) Selecting the best offspring
• (D) Cloning by cell division

Q52. How does deforestation reduce biodiversity?

• (A) By increasing rainfall
• (B) By creating new habitats for all species
• (C) By reducing carbon dioxide
• (D) By destroying habitats and food sources for many species

Q53. What is a major cause of deforestation?

• (A) Planting trees
• (B) Protecting habitats
• (C) Reducing farming
• (D) Clearing land for farming, timber and building

Q54. How does planting more trees help reduce the greenhouse effect?

• (A) Trees reflect all sunlight back into space
• (B) Trees stop all respiration in the soil
• (C) Trees produce oxygen that destroys methane
• (D) Trees absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, reducing the amount in the air

Q55. How does large-scale deforestation affect the water cycle?

• (A) More water is stored inside trees
• (B) Rivers stop flowing completely
• (C) Evaporation from the oceans stops
• (D) Less water is returned to the air by transpiration, so rainfall may decrease

Q56. What is meant by global warming of the climate?

• (A) A fall in sea level
• (B) An increase in biodiversity
• (C) A rise in average global temperature due to increased greenhouse gases
• (D) A change in day length

Q57. Which gas is the main greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels?

• (A) Oxygen
• (B) Carbon dioxide
• (C) Nitrogen
• (D) Hydrogen

Q58. What is a consequence of global warming?

• (A) Decreased rainfall everywhere
• (B) More stable climates
• (C) Fewer extreme weather events
• (D) Melting ice caps and rising sea levels

Q59. How does pollution by sewage affect rivers?

• (A) It cleans the water
• (B) It increases fish numbers permanently
• (C) It increases nutrients, causing algal blooms that reduce oxygen when algae die
• (D) It removes all bacteria

Q60. Why do algal blooms harm fish?

• (A) Because algae eat fish
• (B) Because algae block sunlight for fish gills
• (C) Because algae produce oxygen only
• (D) Because decomposers use up oxygen breaking down dead algae