GCSE Biology Practice Test 7 – 60 Questions with Answers (AQA 8461)

Q1. What is the function of ribosomes in a cell?

• (A) To make proteins
• (B) To release energy
• (C) To store genetic information
• (D) To control substances entering the cell

Q2. Which structure contains the genetic material that controls cell activities?

• (A) Chloroplast
• (B) Nucleus
• (C) Cell wall
• (D) Permanent vacuole

Q3. What is the function of the large permanent vacuole in a plant cell?

• (A) To carry out photosynthesis
• (B) To release energy by respiration
• (C) To store cell sap and help support the cell
• (D) To control cell division

Q4. A microscope image of a cell is 12 mm long. The real cell is 0.02 mm long. What is the magnification?

• (A) 600
• (B) 60
• (C) 240
• (D) 6000

Q5. Stem cells in plant meristems are able to do what?

• (A) Produce only root hair cells
• (B) Carry out photosynthesis in leaves only
• (C) Differentiate into any type of plant cell
• (D) Divide only once in the life of the plant

Q6. Why is mitosis important for a growing organism?

• (A) It produces gametes with half the chromosome number
• (B) It produces new identical cells for growth and replacement
• (C) It creates genetic variation in offspring
• (D) It reduces the number of chromosomes in body cells

Q7. How does increasing temperature usually affect the rate of diffusion?

• (A) It decreases the rate because particles slow down
• (B) It has no effect on particle movement
• (C) It increases the rate because particles move faster
• (D) It stops diffusion completely

Q8. A plant cell is placed in pure water. What happens to it?

• (A) Water enters by osmosis, the cell becomes turgid, and the cell wall prevents it bursting
• (B) Water leaves by osmosis and the cell shrinks
• (C) The cell bursts because it has no cell wall
• (D) Nothing happens because plant cells cannot absorb water

Q9. Mineral ions in soil water are at a lower concentration than inside a root hair cell. How are they taken up?

• (A) By active transport, using energy
• (B) By diffusion down a gradient
• (C) By osmosis across the membrane
• (D) By photosynthesis in the root

Q10. Why is the stomach acidic?

• (A) The acid breaks down starch into sugars
• (B) The acid neutralises bile
• (C) The acid absorbs amino acids into the blood
• (D) The acid kills many pathogens and provides the optimum pH for protease enzymes

Q11. Which adaptation of villi in the small intestine increases absorption?

• (A) A large surface area, a thin wall and a rich blood supply
• (B) A thick wall and a small surface area
• (C) The presence of a large nucleus
• (D) The ability to produce bile

Q12. Bile is stored in the gall bladder. What does bile do in digestion?

• (A) It breaks down protein
• (B) It produces insulin
• (C) It helps absorb vitamins
• (D) It emulsifies fats and neutralises stomach acid

Q13. What is meant by a double circulatory system?

• (A) Blood passes through the heart twice for each complete circuit of the body
• (B) The heart has two chambers only
• (C) Blood flows in both directions in every vessel
• (D) There are two separate hearts in the body

Q14. Capillaries are very narrow, so red blood cells pass through in single file. What advantage does this give?

• (A) Blood flows faster through narrow vessels
• (B) Each red blood cell is close to tissue cells for rapid diffusion
• (C) Pressure stays high in the tissues
• (D) Blood can clot more easily

Q15. Why does blood pressure fall as blood moves from arteries through capillaries?

• (A) Valves block the flow of blood
• (B) The heart stops beating between pulses
• (C) Blood is filtered by the kidneys
• (D) The total cross-sectional area of the vessels increases

Q16. Which vessel carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body?

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

Q17. Which plant tissue transports dissolved sugars, and in which directions?

• (A) Xylem, both up and down the plant
• (B) Phloem, both up and down the plant
• (C) Phloem, upwards only
• (D) Xylem, downwards only

Q18. How is a root hair cell adapted for absorbing water?

• (A) It contains many chloroplasts
• (B) It has a thick waterproof wall
• (C) It contains a large permanent vacuole only
• (D) Its long extension gives a large surface area

Q19. How do many bacteria damage the body?

• (A) They enter cells and use them to make copies of themselves
• (B) They block nerve impulses in the brain
• (C) They reproduce rapidly and may produce toxins
• (D) They destroy red blood cells by phagocytosis

Q20. How does a virus reproduce?

• (A) By dividing in two outside a host cell
• (B) By producing spores in the air
• (C) By feeding on dead material in the soil
• (D) By taking over a living host cell and using it to make new viruses

Q21. Athletes foot is caused by which type of pathogen?

• (A) A bacterium
• (B) A virus
• (C) A fungus
• (D) A protist

Q22. Tobacco mosaic virus affects plants by doing what?

• (A) It causes roots to rot in wet soil
• (B) It makes leaves produce extra chlorophyll
• (C) It increases the rate of transpiration only
• (D) It discolours leaves and reduces photosynthesis, stunting growth

Q23. What do antitoxins do?

• (A) They neutralise toxins produced by bacteria
• (B) They engulf pathogens whole
• (C) They produce antibodies against viruses
• (D) They kill fungi on the skin

Q24. After infection, some lymphocytes remain as memory cells. What is their role?

• (A) They engulf pathogens
• (B) They make the skin thicker
• (C) They recognise the same pathogen quickly on reinfection and trigger fast antibody production
• (D) They produce antibiotics

Q25. How is measles mainly spread between people?

• (A) By drinking contaminated water
• (B) By mosquito bites
• (C) By droplets breathed out by an infected person and inhaled by others
• (D) By contact with soil

Q26. Penicillin was discovered from which source?

• (A) A bacterium found in soil
• (B) A virus that infects fungi
• (C) A mould of the genus Penicillium
• (D) A plant root extract

Q27. In a clinical trial, why is a placebo used?

• (A) To compare the effect of the drug with no active treatment and check for real improvement
• (B) To make the drug taste better
• (C) To double the dose given to patients
• (D) To replace the need for safety testing

Q28. If carbon dioxide concentration is increased, what usually happens to the rate of photosynthesis at first?

• (A) It decreases immediately
• (B) It increases, until another factor becomes limiting
• (C) It stays the same at all concentrations
• (D) It stops because carbon dioxide is toxic to leaves

Q29. What is the role of chlorophyll in photosynthesis?

• (A) It stores glucose as starch
• (B) It absorbs light energy for photosynthesis
• (C) It opens the stomata
• (D) It transports water in the xylem

Q30. Glucose made in photosynthesis can be used to make which storage carbohydrate in plants?

• (A) Cellulose
• (B) Starch
• (C) Protein
• (D) Fat

Q31. Which statement about aerobic and anaerobic respiration is correct?

• (A) Anaerobic respiration releases more energy than aerobic respiration
• (B) Both release exactly the same amount of energy
• (C) Aerobic respiration releases much more energy per glucose molecule than anaerobic respiration
• (D) Aerobic respiration produces lactic acid

Q32. During anaerobic respiration in muscles, what is produced in addition to a small amount of energy?

• (A) Ethanol and carbon dioxide
• (B) Lactic acid
• (C) Glucose and oxygen
• (D) Water only

Q33. Which of these is part of metabolism?

• (A) Digesting starch in the mouth only
• (B) Converting glucose to glycogen in the liver
• (C) Absorbing water in the large intestine
• (D) Pumping blood around the body

Q34. A lamp is moved so it is twice as far from a pondweed plant. What happens to light intensity at the plant?

• (A) It falls to one quarter of its previous value
• (B) It doubles
• (C) It halves
• (D) It stays the same

Q35. Why does bread dough rise when yeast is added?

• (A) Yeast produces oxygen for the dough
• (B) Yeast breaks down starch into lactic acid
• (C) Yeast respires anaerobically and releases carbon dioxide gas
• (D) Yeast absorbs water and swells up

Q36. How do nervous and hormonal responses differ?

• (A) Nervous responses travel in the blood; hormonal responses travel along neurones
• (B) Hormonal responses are always faster than nervous responses
• (C) Nervous responses affect the whole body; hormonal responses affect one cell only
• (D) Nervous responses are fast and short-lived; hormonal responses are slower and longer-lasting

Q37. Which receptor detects light?

• (A) Receptors in the retina of the eye
• (B) Receptors in the skin
• (C) Receptors in the ear
• (D) Receptors in the tongue

Q38. What is an effector in a nervous response?

• (A) A receptor that detects a stimulus
• (B) A neurone in the spinal cord
• (C) A hormone in the blood
• (D) A muscle or gland that carries out the response

Q39. In the menstrual cycle, what triggers ovulation?

• (A) A fall in progesterone
• (B) A rise in testosterone
• (C) A surge in insulin
• (D) A surge in luteinising hormone (LH)

Q40. What happens if progesterone levels fall at the end of the menstrual cycle?

• (A) The uterus lining breaks down and is lost during menstruation
• (B) Ovulation occurs immediately
• (C) The uterus lining thickens further
• (D) An egg is released from the ovary

Q41. What is a main function of the kidney?

• (A) To produce insulin
• (B) To digest proteins
• (C) To store urine until it is released
• (D) To filter blood and remove urea, excess ions and excess water

Q42. How does shivering help maintain body temperature in the cold?

• (A) It increases heat loss from the skin
• (B) It stops blood flowing to muscles
• (C) Muscle contractions generate heat
• (D) It causes sweating

Q43. Which plant hormone causes fruit to ripen?

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

Q44. In DNA, which bases pair together?

• (A) Adenine with guanine, and cytosine with thymine
• (B) Adenine with cytosine, and guanine with thymine
• (C) All bases pair with any other base
• (D) Adenine with thymine, and cytosine with guanine

Q45. How many chromosomes are there in a normal human body cell and in a gamete?

• (A) 23 in a body cell and 46 in a gamete
• (B) 46 in a body cell and 23 in a gamete
• (C) 46 in both body cells and gametes
• (D) 23 in both body cells and gametes

Q46. A homozygous dominant parent (AA) is crossed with a homozygous recessive parent (aa). What are all the offspring genotypes?

• (A) All AA
• (B) All aa
• (C) All Aa
• (D) Half AA and half aa

Q47. For a child to have cystic fibrosis, what must be true about the parents?

• (A) Only the mother needs to carry the allele
• (B) Each parent must pass on a recessive allele for cystic fibrosis
• (C) Only the father needs to carry the allele
• (D) Neither parent needs to carry the allele

Q48. A plant with genotype Tt has tall stems, where T is tall and t is dwarf. What does this show about the T allele?

• (A) T is dominant because its effect shows with only one copy
• (B) T is recessive because it is hidden by t
• (C) T is codominant with t
• (D) T has been changed by mutation

Q49. Most mutations have no noticeable effect on an organism. Which outcome is also possible?

• (A) Every mutation kills the organism
• (B) Mutations always improve survival
• (C) Mutations are always passed to offspring
• (D) A mutation can occasionally give an advantage that natural selection favours

Q50. Which of these is caused by the environment only, not by genes?

• (A) Eye colour
• (B) A scar from an injury
• (C) Blood group
• (D) Natural hair colour

Q51. What evidence from fossils supports the theory of evolution?

• (A) Fossils prove that all species appeared at the same time
• (B) Fossils show that organisms never change
• (C) Fossils contain DNA from living species only
• (D) Fossils show species that no longer exist and gradual changes in organisms over time

Q52. In the food chain grass -> rabbit -> fox, what is the rabbit?

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

Q53. In a food chain, grass is eaten by rabbits and rabbits are eaten by foxes. If fox numbers fall sharply, what is the likely short-term effect on rabbits?

• (A) Rabbit numbers fall because foxes protect them
• (B) Rabbit numbers stay exactly the same
• (C) Rabbit numbers rise because fewer are eaten, and then grass decreases
• (D) Grass increases forever

Q54. Which processes return water vapour to the atmosphere in the water cycle?

• (A) Evaporation and transpiration
• (B) Condensation and precipitation
• (C) Filtration and absorption
• (D) Photosynthesis and respiration only

Q55. How does decay contribute to the carbon cycle?

• (A) Decomposers respire and release carbon dioxide
• (B) Decomposers absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis
• (C) Decay stores carbon permanently in soil
• (D) Decay converts carbon dioxide into oxygen

Q56. Why is biodiversity important in an ecosystem?

• (A) It guarantees no species will ever become extinct
• (B) It increases the number of predators only
• (C) It prevents all disease
• (D) Greater variety makes ecosystems more stable and resilient to change

Q57. Peat bogs are important for the carbon cycle because they do what?

• (A) They release oxygen for photosynthesis
• (B) They store large amounts of carbon in partly decayed plant material
• (C) They absorb methane from cattle
• (D) They prevent rainfall reaching rivers

Q58. Acid rain is caused mainly by which pollutant from burning fossil fuels?

• (A) Carbon monoxide
• (B) Sulfur dioxide
• (C) Methane
• (D) Oxygen

Q59. What is the purpose of a captive breeding programme?

• (A) To breed animals for food production
• (B) To increase numbers of an endangered species so individuals can later be released
• (C) To keep animals in zoos permanently
• (D) To introduce new predators to an area

Q60. When would a scientist use a transect rather than a single quadrat?

• (A) To study how distribution changes along a gradient, such as down a seashore
• (B) To count every organism in a habitat
• (C) To measure the height of trees
• (D) To sample animals that move quickly