GCSE Biology Practice Test 15 – 60 Questions with Answers (AQA 8461)

Q1. Which cell is specialised to carry oxygen around the body?

• (A) A nerve cell
• (B) A root hair cell
• (C) A palisade cell
• (D) A red blood cell

Q2. Which feature of a sperm cell helps it reach an egg?

• (A) A large vacuole
• (B) A tail for swimming and many mitochondria for energy
• (C) Chloroplasts
• (D) A thick cellulose wall

Q3. Which feature helps a nerve cell carry electrical impulses quickly over a long distance?

• (A) A long axon with insulation
• (B) A large central vacuole
• (C) Many chloroplasts
• (D) A cellulose wall

Q4. What is cell differentiation?

• (A) The process by which a cell becomes specialised for a particular function
• (B) The division of a cell into two identical cells
• (C) The loss of a nucleus from a cell
• (D) The movement of water into a cell

Q5. Which pair of structures is found in both plant and animal cells?

• (A) Chloroplast and cell wall
• (B) Nucleus and mitochondria
• (C) Large vacuole and chloroplast
• (D) Cell wall and flagellum

Q6. Why does a cell that carries out a lot of active transport have many mitochondria?

• (A) Because mitochondria store water
• (B) Because active transport needs energy released by respiration
• (C) Because mitochondria make cellulose
• (D) Because mitochondria control the nucleus

Q7. A student wants to see the nucleus of a cell clearly under a light microscope. What should they do?

• (A) Use a lower resolution lens only
• (B) Remove the cell membrane
• (C) Dry the cell completely
• (D) Use a stain to make structures stand out

Q8. What happens during interphase before mitosis?

• (A) The cell grows and its DNA is replicated
• (B) The chromosomes are pulled apart
• (C) Two nuclei form
• (D) The cell divides in half

Q9. Which statement about a yeast cell is correct?

• (A) It is a prokaryote with no nucleus
• (B) It is a multicellular plant
• (C) It is a single-celled eukaryote with a nucleus
• (D) It has chloroplasts for photosynthesis

Q10. Which digestive enzyme works best in alkaline conditions in the small intestine?

• (A) Pepsin
• (B) Trypsin
• (C) Amylase in the stomach
• (D) Bile

Q11. What happens to food in the stomach besides protein digestion?

• (A) It is absorbed into villi
• (B) It is churned and mixed with acid
• (C) Starch digestion is completed
• (D) Water is absorbed in large amounts

Q12. Which organ makes urea from excess amino acids?

• (A) The kidney
• (B) The pancreas
• (C) The liver
• (D) The spleen

Q13. What is the role of the diaphragm and ribs in breathing?

• (A) They filter pathogens from air
• (B) They produce mucus only
• (C) They carry oxygen in blood
• (D) They change the volume of the chest to move air in and out

Q14. In which part of the lung does gas exchange occur?

• (A) In the trachea
• (B) In the alveoli
• (C) In the bronchi only
• (D) In the diaphragm

Q15. Why do alveoli have a large surface area and thin walls?

• (A) To store air for a long time
• (B) To allow rapid diffusion of gases into blood
• (C) To warm the blood
• (D) To prevent water loss

Q16. Why is the small intestine very long?

• (A) To store undigested food
• (B) To produce bile
• (C) To pump blood around the body
• (D) To give more time and surface area for digestion and absorption

Q17. What is the function of the valves in the heart?

• (A) To prevent blood flowing backwards
• (B) To pump blood
• (C) To filter pathogens
• (D) To make red blood cells

Q18. Which plant structure increases water uptake from soil?

• (A) Stomata
• (B) Root hairs
• (C) Petals
• (D) Chloroplasts

Q19. How can salmonella spread?

• (A) Through mosquito bites
• (B) Through photosynthesis
• (C) Through clean water only
• (D) Through undercooked food or poor hygiene

Q20. Why are new antibiotics needed?

• (A) Because bacteria have disappeared
• (B) Because viruses need antibiotics
• (C) Because resistant strains are increasing and old antibiotics are losing effectiveness
• (D) Because all old antibiotics are toxic in all doses

Q21. In drug testing, what is tested in Phase 1 clinical trials?

• (A) Effectiveness in thousands of patients
• (B) Use in animals only
• (C) Safety and dosage in a small group of healthy volunteers
• (D) Sale to the public

Q22. What is the purpose of testing a drug on animals before human trials?

• (A) To check for toxicity and harmful side effects before people take it
• (B) To make the drug cheaper
• (C) To prove it works in all humans
• (D) To replace clinical trials

Q23. Which is a correct description of a vaccine?

• (A) A dead or weakened form of a pathogen, or part of it, that stimulates immunity
• (B) A drug that kills bacteria after infection
• (C) An antibody taken from another person only
• (D) A chemical that sterilises surfaces

Q24. Why might a person still get a mild illness after vaccination?

• (A) The immune response takes time and no vaccine is 100 percent effective in everyone
• (B) Vaccines cause the full disease in all cases
• (C) Vaccines remove white blood cells
• (D) Vaccines only work in children

Q25. Which defence helps prevent pathogens entering through the nose?

• (A) Hairs and mucus trapping particles
• (B) Stomach acid
• (C) Skin on the hands
• (D) Bile

Q26. What is phagocytosis?

• (A) The engulfing and digestion of a pathogen by a white blood cell
• (B) The production of antibodies
• (C) The clotting of blood
• (D) The division of bacteria

Q27. How do antibodies help white blood cells destroy a pathogen?

• (A) They dissolve red blood cells
• (B) They bind to antigens and mark the pathogen for destruction
• (C) They produce toxins that kill the host cell
• (D) They block nerve impulses

Q28. What is the main energy store in animals?

• (A) Glycogen in liver and muscle
• (B) Starch in leaves
• (C) Cellulose in gut
• (D) Fat in chloroplasts

Q29. Which reaction breaks down proteins in metabolism?

• (A) Proteins are built from fats
• (B) Amino acids are broken down to glucose only
• (C) Proteins are broken down to amino acids
• (D) Proteins are stored as starch

Q30. Why do athletes breathe heavily after a sprint even after stopping?

• (A) To cool the muscles only
• (B) Because the heart has stopped
• (C) To replace lost water
• (D) To repay oxygen debt and remove lactic acid

Q31. Which is a use of glucose in a plant besides respiration and storage?

• (A) Making amino acids when combined with nitrate ions
• (B) Making haemoglobin
• (C) Making bile
• (D) Making urea

Q32. What is the effect of increasing light intensity on photosynthesis up to a point?

• (A) The rate decreases
• (B) The rate stays zero
• (C) The rate increases in proportion to light intensity
• (D) The rate becomes negative

Q33. In a sealed greenhouse at night, what happens to carbon dioxide concentration?

• (A) It falls to zero
• (B) It stays constant
• (C) It is converted to oxygen
• (D) It rises because plants respire but do not photosynthesise

Q34. Which colour of light is least effective for photosynthesis?

• (A) Green light, because chlorophyll reflects it
• (B) Red light
• (C) Blue light
• (D) White light

Q35. What does a plant use oxygen for?

• (A) Photosynthesis only
• (B) Aerobic respiration in its cells
• (C) Making starch directly
• (D) Opening stomata

Q36. Which statement about exercise and metabolism is correct?

• (A) Exercise stops metabolism
• (B) Metabolism only occurs at rest
• (C) Exercise increases metabolic rate because muscles need more energy
• (D) Exercise reduces oxygen demand

Q37. Which plant hormone speeds ripening of fruit?

• (A) Auxin
• (B) Gibberellin
• (C) Ethene
• (D) Insulin

Q38. How is temperature controlled in the body?

• (A) By the kidneys only
• (B) By the pancreas
• (C) By the skin alone
• (D) By a thermoregulatory centre in the brain coordinating responses

Q39. What is the effect of thyroxine?

• (A) It controls blood water
• (B) It controls metabolic rate
• (C) It triggers ovulation
• (D) It lowers blood sugar

Q40. Which is an example of negative feedback?

• (A) Insulin lowering blood glucose back to normal after a rise
• (B) Adrenaline constantly increasing heart rate
• (C) A reflex that never stops
• (D) Auxin always increasing growth

Q41. In the menstrual cycle, what does a high level of progesterone do?

• (A) It triggers ovulation immediately
• (B) It causes menstruation at once
• (C) It stimulates sperm production
• (D) It inhibits FSH and LH and maintains the uterus lining

Q42. Why is the kidney described as part of excretion, not just waste removal?

• (A) Because it removes metabolic waste urea made in the liver
• (B) Because it digests food
• (C) Because it makes urine from food directly
• (D) Because it filters hormones only

Q43. What happens to the uterus lining if fertilisation does not occur?

• (A) It thickens further forever
• (B) It becomes muscle
• (C) It breaks down and is shed during menstruation
• (D) It is absorbed into blood

Q44. Which response helps a person cool down on a hot day?

• (A) Vasoconstriction and shivering
• (B) Goosebumps and less sweating
• (C) Vasodilation and sweating
• (D) Reduced blood flow to skin

Q45. Which classification group is the largest?

• (A) Species
• (B) Genus
• (C) Family
• (D) Kingdom

Q46. Which classification group contains organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring?

• (A) Kingdom
• (B) Phylum
• (C) Species
• (D) Class

Q47. What is the binomial name for humans?

• (A) Homo Sapiens
• (B) homo Sapiens
• (C) Homo sapiens
• (D) Human sapiens

Q48. Why are organisms given scientific binomial names?

• (A) To make names longer
• (B) To avoid confusion from common names in different languages
• (C) To hide the genus
• (D) To replace classification

Q49. Which organisms are classified in the same genus?

• (A) Organisms living in the same place only
• (B) Organisms with very similar characteristics and a recent common ancestor
• (C) All animals
• (D) Organisms with the same colour

Q50. What is meant by asexual reproduction in terms of variation?

• (A) Offspring show wide variation
• (B) Offspring are genetically identical clones with no variation from mixing genes
• (C) Offspring have half the genes from each parent
• (D) Offspring are always mutated

Q51. In sexual reproduction, why do offspring show variation?

• (A) Because offspring are clones
• (B) Because mutations never occur
• (C) Because genes are mixed from two parents and gametes vary by meiosis
• (D) Because environment changes genes

Q52. Which process in meiosis increases variation?

• (A) Mitosis
• (B) Fertilisation only
• (C) Cell growth
• (D) Independent assortment and crossing over

Q53. Why are peat bogs important for carbon?

• (A) They release oxygen only
• (B) They prevent rainfall
• (C) They are habitats for trees only
• (D) They store large amounts of carbon in undecomposed plant material

Q54. What happens when peat is burned or drained?

• (A) Carbon is stored more securely
• (B) Biodiversity increases
• (C) Water is purified
• (D) Stored carbon is released as carbon dioxide

Q55. Which action helps protect biodiversity?

• (A) Clearing more forest
• (B) Introducing non-native predators
• (C) Creating protected areas and breeding programmes
• (D) Draining wetlands

Q56. What is a captive breeding programme?

• (A) Breeding animals for food only
• (B) Keeping animals in zoos forever
• (C) Breeding endangered species in captivity to increase numbers before release
• (D) Cloning extinct species

Q57. How does recycling help the environment?

• (A) It increases landfill
• (B) It uses more fossil fuels
• (C) It has no effect on resources
• (D) It reduces raw material use, energy use and waste

Q58. What is the main reason food webs are more realistic than food chains?

• (A) Because food chains show all species
• (B) Because most organisms eat more than one type of food
• (C) Because food webs ignore decomposers
• (D) Because food chains are longer

Q59. In a pyramid of numbers, why might it be inverted?

• (A) Because numbers always decrease
• (B) Because biomass is measured
• (C) Because predators are always fewer
• (D) Because one large producer can support many small consumers

Q60. Which human impact reduces the amount of land for wildlife?

• (A) Urbanisation and building
• (B) Protecting forests
• (C) Creating nature reserves
• (D) Reducing farming