CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL BIOLOGY: COURSEBOOK

Exam-style questions and sample answers have been written by the authors. In examinations, the way marks are awarded
may be different.

Coursebook answers
Chapter 13
Exam-style questions
The mark schemes, suggested answers and 1 a allows chlorophyll and other pigments to
comments that appear here were written by the be arranged into photosystems ;
author(s). In examinations, the way marks would provides a large surface area for pigments ;
be awarded to answers like these may be different.
increases efficiency of light harvesting ;
Notes about mark schemes allows electron carriers to be arranged
A or accept indicates an alternative acceptable appropriately ;
answer. provides structure for proton gradient for
R = reject. This indicates a possible answer that chemiosmosis ;
should be rejected. anchors ATP synthase ;  [max. 5]
; The bold semicolon indicates the award of b
1 mark.
/ This indicates an alternative answer for the same Structural feature Shared by chloroplast
mark. The alternatives may be separated from the and typical
rest of the answer by commas. prokaryotic cell
( ) Text in brackets is not required for the mark. circular DNA ✓
Underlining This is used to indicate essential DNA combined ✗
word(s) that must be used to get the mark. with structural
protein to form
AW means ‘alternative wording’. It is used to chromosomes
indicate that a different wording is acceptable
ribosomes about ✓
provided the essential meaning is the same, and is
18 nm in diameter
used where students’ responses are likely to vary
more than usual. complex arrange- ✗
ment of internal
AVP means ‘additional valid point’. This means membranes
accept any additional points given by the student
peptidoglycan ✗
that are not in the mark scheme, provided they
wall
are relevant. But accept only as many additional
points as indicated by the bold semicolons, e.g. size ranges over- ✓
AVP ; ; means award a maximum of 2 extra marks. lap
ORA means ‘or reverse argument’ and is used  [6]
when the same idea could be expressed in the  [Total: 11]
reverse way. For example: ‘activity increases
between pH2 and pH5 ORA’ means accept 2 a photolysis of water occurs in light ;
‘activity decreases between pH5 and pH2’. H+ released ;
max. This indicates the maximum number of accepted by DCPIP / methylene blue ;
marks that can be given. colourless when reduced ;

1 Cambridge International AS & A Level Biology © Cambridge University Press 2020

 CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL AS & A LEVEL BIOLOGY: COURSEBOOK
shows ‘reducing power’ of chloroplasts ;
 [max. 4]
b NADP ;  [1]
 [Total: 5]
3 a cyclic photophosphorylation:
electron emitted by chlorophyll of
photosystem I returns to chlorophyll by a
series of carriers ;
non-cyclic photophosphorylation:
electron emitted by chlorophyll of
photosystem II does not return to
that chlorophyll (but is absorbed by
photosystem I and electron emitted by
photosystem I is absorbed by NADP) ;[2]
b photophosphorylation:
synthesis of ATP using light energy in
photosynthesis in a chloroplast ;
oxidative phosphorylation:
synthesis of ATP using energy
released from the electron transport
chain in aerobic respiration in a
mitochondrion ; [2]
c NAD:
hydrogen carrier in respiration ;
NADP:
hydrogen carrier in photosynthesis ; [2]
 [Total: 6]
4 a and b
rubisco
CO2 (1C)
active here
RuBP (5C)
GP/PGA (3C)
triose phosphate (3C)
[Total: 5]
2 Cambridge International AS & A Level Biology © Cambridge University Press 2020
5 a limiting factor: one factor, of many
affecting a process, that is nearest its
lowest value and hence is rate-limiting ;[1]
b light intensity ;
light wavelength ;
concentration of carbon dioxide ;
temperature ;  [4]
c shows that there are two sets of reactions
in photosynthesis ;
a light-dependent photochemical stage ;
a light-independent temperature-
dependent stage ;
photochemical reactions are not affected
by temperature ;
at low light intensities, light intensity is
the rate-limiting factor ;
at high light intensities and low
temperatures, temperature is the rate-
limiting factor ; [max. 5]
 [Total: 10]
6 a absorption spectrum:
a graph of the absorbance ;
of different wavelengths of light by a
compound ;
action spectrum:
a graph of the rate of a process ;
e.g. photosynthesis at different
wavelengths of light ; [4]
b number of bubbles shows rate of
photosynthesis ;
rate similar at 450 nm (blue) and 650 nm
(red) ; these are wavelengths that are
absorbed by chlorophyll ;
rate, much lower / refer to figures, at
550 nm (green) ;
very little absorbed by any pigment ;
 [max. 4]
 [Total: 8]