Cells and microscopes questions

1. Uronema marinum is a single-celled eukaryotic organism. Figure 1 is a photograph of U.

marinum taken through an optical microscope

Figure 1

a. Explain why it is not possible to determine the identity of the structures labelled X
using an optical microscope
(2)

b. U. marinum cells ingest bacteria and digest them in the cytoplasm.

Describe the role of one named organelle in digesting these bacteria
(3)

c. Calculate the actual length of the cell shown between Y and Z in Figure 1.
The magnification of the image is × 900
Give your answer in μm and to 2 significant figures.
Show your working
(2)

2. Give two structures found in all prokaryotic cells and in all eukaryotic cells
(2)

3. All prokaryotic cells contain a circular DNA molecule and some prokaryotic cells contain
plasmids

Scientists have found that the rate of plasmid replication is faster in cells growing in a culture
with a high concentration of amino acids than in a culture with a lower concentration of
amino acids

Suggest one explanation for the faster rate of plasmid replication in cells growing in a culture
with a high amino acid concentration
(2)
4. A scientist prepared a culture of a bacterial species.

 She extracted the plasmids and the circular DNA molecules from a sample of cells
taken from this culture (A).
 She then added antibiotic X to the culture and let the cells divide for 4 hours.
 She then extracted the plasmids and the circular DNA molecules from a sample of
these cells (B).
 The scientist separated the plasmids from the circular DNA molecules in A and in B
using ultracentrifugation

Figure 2 shows her results

Figure 2

a. What can you conclude from Figure 2 about a structural difference between the
plasmids and the circular DNA?
Explain your answer
(2)

b. What can you conclude from Figure 2 about the effect of antibiotic X on plasmid
replication and on circular DNA replication?
Explain your answer
(2)
5. Figure 3 shows transmission electron micrographs of two cells, one animal cell and one
prokaryotic cell.

Figure 3

Contrast the structure of the two cells visible in the electron micrographs shown in Figure 3
(5)

6. Hepatitis B is a life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Figure 4 shows the structure of HBV

Figure 4
 HBV infects a liver cell. The liver cell is 25µm in diameter.
Use Figure 4 to calculate how many times larger in diameter this cell is than HBV. You
should use the lipid layer to measure the diameter of HBV
(2)

7. HIV-1 is the most common type of HIV. HIV-1 binds to a receptor on TH cells called CCR5.

Current treatment for HIV-1 involves the use of daily antiretroviral therapy (ART) to stop the
virus being replicated. Only 59% of HIV-positive individuals have access to ART.

Scientists have found that two HIV-1-positive patients (P and Q) have gone into remission
(have no detectable HIV-1). This happened after a blood stem cell transplant (BSCT).

 Patient P was given two BSCTs, and patient Q was given one BSCT.
 All BSCTs came from a donor with TH cells without the CCR5 receptor.
 In addition, patient P had radiotherapy, and patient Q had chemotherapy. Both of
these treatments are toxic.
 Both patients (P and Q) stopped receiving ART 16 months after BSCT.

18 months after stopping ART, both patients had no HIV-1 RNA in their plasma, no HIV-1
DNA in their TH cells and no CCR5 on their TH cells

Use the information given to evaluate the use of BSCT to treat HIV infections
(5)

8.
a. Eukaryotic cells produce and release proteins.
Outline the role of organelles in the production, transport and release of proteins from
eukaryotic cells.
Do not include details of transcription and translation in your answer
(4)

b. Figure 5 is a transmission electron micrograph of a plant cell

Figure 5
 Suggest why a nucleus is not visible in Figure 5
(1)

c. Name the organelles labelled S and T in Figure 5

(1)

d. Give one advantage of viewing a biological specimen using a transmission electron

microscope compared with using a scanning electron microscope
(1)

e. The cells in Figure 6 are part of a continuous layer of cells forming the upper surface
of a leaf.

The shaded area of cell U is 150 µm2

The total area of the upper surface of the leaf is 70.65 cm2

Figure 6

Calculate the number of cells in the upper surface of the leaf.

Give the answer in standard form.
Assume that all these cells are identical in size.
Show your working
(2)

9.
a. The nucleus and a chloroplast of a plant cell both contain DNA.
Give three ways in which the DNA in a chloroplast is different from DNA in the
nucleus.
(3)

b. Some DNA nucleotides have the organic base thymine, but RNA nucleotides do not
have thymine. RNA nucleotides have uracil instead of thymine.
Give one other difference between the structure of a DNA nucleotide and the
structure of an RNA nucleotide
(1)
10. Which sequence shows the correct order of magnitude of these measurements

(A) 50 nm < 0.5 µm < 5 × 10–2 mm < 0.5 × 10–5 m

(B) 50 nm < 0.5 µm < 0.5 × 10–5 m < 5 × 10–2 mm

(C) 0.5 µm < 50 nm < 0.5 × 10–5 m < 5 × 10–2 mm

(D) 0.5 µm < 50 nm < 5 × 10–2 mm < 0.5 × 10–5 m

(1)

11. Figure 7 is an electron micrograph of a chloroplast

Figure 7

a. Identify structures labelled D and E

(2)

b. The detail shown in Figure 7 would not be seen using an optical microscope.
Explain why
(2)

c. Name an organelle found in both a chloroplast and a prokaryotic cell

(1)
 d. A scientist determined the volume of a plant cell and the volume of organelles it
contained.

They found:

 the volume of a plant cell is 17 500 µm3

 the volume of all the mitochondria in a plant cell is 262.5 µm3
 the volume of all the mitochondria and all the chloroplasts in a plant cell is
44.1% of the volume of a plant cell.
Use this information to calculate the volume of all the chloroplasts in a plant cell
(2)
12. Table 1 shows cell wall components in plants, algae, fungi and prokaryotes.
Complete Table 1 by putting a tick where a cell wall component is present

Table 1

(3)

13. Describe the structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

(4)

14. Figure 8 shows part of a prokaryotic cell

Figure 8
 a. Name the structures labelled W to Z in Figure 8
(2)

b. Name the main biological molecule in W and X

(2)

15. Structures A to E are parts of a plant cell.

A Cell Wall
B Chloroplast
C Nucleus
D Mitochondrion
E Golgi apparatus

a. Complete Table 2 by putting the correct letter, A, B, C, D or E in the box next to each
statement

Table 2

b. Human breast milk is produced and secreted by gland cells. These gland cells have
adaptations that include many mitochondria and many Golgi vesicles. The milk
contains a high concentration of protein.
Explain the role of these cell adaptations in the production and secretion of breast
milk
(2)

16. Compare and contrast the DNA in eukaryotic cells with the DNA in prokaryotic cells
(5)

17. Mitochondrial diseases are caused by faulty mitochondria. All of a person’s mitochondria are
inherited from their mother via the egg cell. An egg cell contains approximately 3 × 10 5
mitochondria

If most of the mitochondria in a cell are faulty, this prevents many important enzyme-
catalysed reactions taking place or slows them down.

Suggest and explain one reason why

(2)
18. Table 3 shows features of a mitochondrion and a chloroplast

Table 3

a. Complete Table 3 with ticks where a feature is present

(3)

b. Give the function of a mitochondrion

(1)

19.
a. Bacteriophages are viruses that kill bacteria.
Figure 9 shows drawings of a bacteriophage and a bacterium

Figure 9

Using Figure 9 and your own knowledge, put a tick in the box next to the only
correct statement about the structures of the bacteriophage and the bacterium

A Both have ribosomes.

B Both have a cell-surface membrane.
C The bacteriophage has a capsid and the bacterium has a cell-surface membrane.
D The bacteriophage has a cell wall and the bacterium has a capsid.
 (1)

b. Using the scales in Figure 9, calculate how many times longer the bacterium is than
the bacteriophage.
Use the distance between the points labelled A and B on each drawing in your
calculations. Show your working.
(2)

20. The diagram shows a eukaryotic cell

a. Complete the table by giving the letter labelling the organelle that matches the
function

(3)

b. Use the scale bar in the diagram above to calculate the magnification of the drawing.
Show your working
(2)

21. Describe the principles and the limitations of using a transmission electron microscope to
investigate cell structure
(5)
22. The diagram shows a cholera bacterium. It has been magnified 50 000 times

a. Name A
(1)

b. Name two structures present in an epithelial cell from the small intestine that are not
present in a cholera bacterium
(2)

c. Cholera bacteria can be viewed using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) or a

scanning electron microscope (SEM)

i. Give one advantage of using a TEM rather than a SEM

(1)

ii. Give one advantage of using a SEM rather than a TEM

(1)

d. Calculate the actual width of the cholera bacterium between points B and C.
Give your answer in micrometres and show your working
(2)

23. The diagram shows a cell from a pancreas

 a. The cytoplasm at F contains amino acids. These amino acids are used to make
proteins which are secreted from the cell.
Place the appropriate letters in the correct order to show the passage of an amino acid
from the cytoplasm at F until it is secreted from the cell as a protein at K

(2)

b. There are lots of organelle G in this cell. Explain why

(2)

24. The diagram shows some components of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

a. Suggest which labelled component of the virus is most likely to act as an antigen.
Give a reason for your answer
(1)

b. A cell that HIV infects is 15 µm in diameter. Calculate how many times larger in
diameter this cell is than an HIV particle.
Show your working
(2)