iGCSE Biology Math Practice

Q1.

A student carries out an experiment to investigate the effect of different concentrations of a food dye on
diffusion.

(a) Describe what is meant by the term diffusion.

(1)
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(b) The student adds a different concentration of coloured food dye to each of five wells in an agar plate.
The diagram shows the agar plate at the beginning of the experiment and after 24 hours.

The student does the experiment using three plates.

For each plate he measures the diameter of each circle to see how far the food dye has diffused.
The table shows his results.

(i) Calculate the average diameter for 0.2% concentration of food dye.
(2)

average diameter = ........................................................... cm

Q2.

One of the largest land mammals ever known is an extinct species of rhino that lived in Mongolia.

The diagram compares the size of the extinct rhino with an existing rhino.

(a) Using the scale on the diagram, calculate the shoulder height of the extinct (large) rhino.
Give your answer in metres.
(2)

height of shoulder = ........................................................... metres

(b) Some people think that the large rhino became extinct because of global warming.
Suggest how global warming could have made it difficult for the large rhino to maintain a constant
body temperature.
(2)
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Q3.

A student carries out an experiment to investigate the factors affecting the rate of diffusion.

(a) In her first experiment

 she makes three agar jelly cubes, one with sides of 4.0 cm, one with sides of 2.0 cm and one with
sides of 1.0 cm
 she covers each cube in a solution of a coloured dye for three minutes
 she then cuts the cubes to see how far the dye has diffused
The diagram shows a cross-section through the largest cube after three minutes.

(i) Describe what is meant by the term diffusion.

(1)
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(ii) Measure the distance that the dye has diffused into the large cube.
(1)

distance = ........................................................... mm
(iii) Complete the diagram below to show how far the dye will have diffused in the smallest cube after
three minutes.
(1)
(b) The student then carries out a second experiment but this time she leaves the cubes in the dye for six
minutes.
Draw the results you would expect to see when the largest cube is cut open after six minutes.
(1)

(c) Other factors may affect the rate of diffusion of the dye.
Explain two factors that the student should keep constant in her investigation.
(4)
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(d) Explain how the results of the student's investigation support the idea that large organisms need a
circulation system.
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(Total for question = 11 marks)
Q4.

The diagram shows some ciliated cells and goblet cells lining the wall of the bronchioles in the lungs.

The small hairs on the surface of the ciliated cells are called cilia.

The goblet cells produce mucus. This mucus is moved by the cilia.

(a) Suggest how ciliated cells and goblet cells protect the lungs from infection.
(2)
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(b) Chemicals in cigarette smoke reduce the movement of the cilia.

Suggest why people who smoke cigarettes often have to cough.
(1)
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(c) A scientist investigates the effect of two brands of cigarette, brand A and brand B, on the movement
of cilia.

He uses a single-celled organism called Paramecium as a model for cilia movement.

The diagram shows a Paramecium, which uses cilia on the outside of its body to move through water.
The scientist obtains solutions for each brand of cigarette by placing the tobacco into test tubes of water
for 20 minutes.

Chemicals in the tobacco dissolve in the water.

 he places a Paramecium in the solution from brand A

 he places a Paramecium in the solution from brand B
 he also places a Paramecium in a control solution
 he uses a light microscope to observe the movement of the Paramecium

The graph shows his results.

(i) Describe the effects of the solutions on the movement of the cilia.
(2)
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(ii) What should the scientist use as a control solution?
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 (iii) The scientist concludes that smoking reduces the movement of cilia in human lungs.
Another scientist suggests this may not be a valid conclusion.
Give four reasons why this conclusion may not be valid.
(4)
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(Total for question = 10 marks)

Q5.

A scientist uses this apparatus to find out if body size affects the rate of respiration in hamsters, which are
small mammals.
She puts a small hamster into a bell jar and measures the time taken for the hydrogen-carbonate indicator
to change colour in flask Y.

She then repeats the experiment with a bigger hamster.

(a) (i) State the colour that the hydrogen-carbonate indicator would be in flask X and flask Y at the end of
each experiment.
(2)
flask X ..................................................................................................................

flask Y ..................................................................................................................
(ii) Explain the colour change of the hydrogen-carbonate indicator in flask Y at the end of each
experiment.
(1)
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(b) The table shows the scientist's results.

(i) Hamsters need to maintain a constant body temperature.

Use this information and your knowledge to explain the difference in these results.
(2)
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(ii) Explain why hamsters need to maintain a constant body temperature.
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Q6.

Lipase is an enzyme that digests lipid into fatty acids and glycerol.

(a) Name a part of the digestive system where lipase is released.

(1)
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(b) A drug, X, that inhibits lipase is used to help people lose weight.
Explain how inhibition of lipase helps people to lose weight.
(2)
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(c) A scientist wants to investigate the inhibition of human lipase using different concentrations of drug X.
The diagram shows the apparatus the scientist uses.

In the investigation one concentration of drug X is added to food containing lipid.

The percentage inhibition of lipase is measured after 10 minutes.
This is repeated using different concentrations of drug X.
Explain which temperature of water should be used in the apparatus throughout the investigation.
(2)
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(d) A chemical extracted from dandelion plants also inhibits lipase.
The scientist repeats his experiment using the same range of concentrations of this chemical.
The graph shows the scientist's results for drug X and the chemical from dandelion plants.

(i) Calculate the difference between the concentration of drug X and the concentration of chemical
from dandelion plant extract that produces 50% inhibition.
Show your working.
(2)

difference = ........................................................... μg per cm3

(ii) Explain how the scientist could use the apparatus from part (c) to tell if the lipase had been inhibited.
(3)
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(iii) Why is drug X used at a maximum concentration of 8 μg per cm3?
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(Total for question = 11 marks)

Q7.

The table shows the concentration of sodium ions and chloride ions inside a plant root hair cell and in the
water in the soil.

(a) The ratio for the concentration of sodium ions in the root hair cell compared to the water in the soil is
71:1
(i) Calculate the ratio for the concentration of chloride ions in the root hair cell compared to the water
in the soil.
(1)

ratio = ...........................................................
(ii) Adding too much water to soil will fill all the air spaces in the soil with water.
Suggest why this will prevent root hair cells from absorbing sodium or chloride ions.
(3)
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Q8.

The world supply of wild fish is decreasing.

Fish farming provides an alternative method of supplying fish.

(a) The graph shows the change in total supply of fish and the supply of wild fish between 1950 and
2017.
The graph also shows the predicted total supply of fish and supply of wild fish from 2017 to 2050.

(i) The total supply of fish is the sum of the supply of wild fish and the supply of farmed fish.
Describe the change in the supply of wild fish and the supply of farmed fish between 1950 and 2017.
(2)
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(ii) Calculate the predicted rate of increase in the total supply of fish in tonnes per year between 2017
and 2050.
Give your answer in tonnes per year.
Show your working.
(2)

rate of increase = ........................................................... tonnes per year

Q9.

Methods of fish farming have changed as more countries become involved in the industry.

(a) Suggest two reasons why more of our fish are supplied by fish farming rather than from traditional
fishing.
(2)
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(b) This photograph shows a new type of fish farm which has been developed in Denmark.

This new type of fish farm differs from traditional fish farms because

 it uses water from under the ground instead of from rivers

 it uses fewer antibiotics
(i) Suggest one advantage of using water from under the ground rather than from rivers.
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(ii) Suggest the advantage of using fewer antibiotics in fish farms.
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(c) Another advantage of the new type of fish farm is the reduction in waste discharge.
The figures for a new type of fish farm and a traditional fish farm are shown in the table.

(i) Calculate the total phosphate in the waste from the new type of farm as a percentage of the total
phosphate in the waste from the traditional farm.
Show your working.
(2)

percentage = ........................................................... %
Q10.
Untreated sewage entering a river affects the numbers of organisms living in the river.
The graph shows the changes in the numbers of fish, algae and bacteria in a river before the sewage
outlet and after the sewage outlet.

Algae are protoctists that can carry out photosynthesis.

Explain the changes in the numbers of fish and algae from the point at which sewage enters the river.
(6)
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(Total for question = 6 marks)

Q11.

The diagram shows a food chain.

(a) (i) How many consumers are shown in this food chain?
(1)
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(ii) What term describes the trophic level of the snake?
(1)
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(b) Light is an abiotic (non-living) factor that affects the growth of maize.
(i) Explain the role of light in helping the growth of maize.
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(ii) Scientists measured the average (mean) daily increase in mass of maize in a square metre of a
field in two different regions of the world.
They also measured the daily light energy available in a square centimetre of each of the two
regions.
The table shows their results.

The scientists expected that the same light energy would produce the same average daily increase
in mass of maize in each region of the world.
However, the results show that the average daily increase in mass of maize produced in the UK was
less than they expected.
Calculate the average daily increase in mass the scientists expected to be produced in the UK.
(2)

average increase in mass = ........................................................... g

Q12.
Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are all greenhouse gases.
(a) (i) Name a source of nitrous oxide.
(1)
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(ii) Name one other greenhouse gas.
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(b) The table shows the masses of three different greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere in the
United Kingdom from 1990 to 2010.

(i) Calculate the percentage decrease in the mass of carbon dioxide released between 1990 and
2010.
Show your working.
(2)

percentage decrease in mass = ........................................................... %

(ii) Suggest why the mass of carbon dioxide released has decreased from 1990 to 2010.
(3)
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 (iii) Describe the changes in the mass of methane released between 1990 and 2010.
(2)
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Q13.

A student investigates the effect of pesticide on the number of insects living in soil.

The student collects 5 cm3 soil samples from a wheat field where pesticide is not used.

She also collects 5 cm3 soil samples from a wheat field where pesticide is used.

The table shows the student's results.

(a) Calculate the percentage change in the number of insects when pesticide is used.
Show your working.
(2)

percentage change = ...........................................................

(b) Name the dependent variable in the student's investigation.

(1)
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(c) Describe a method the student could use to obtain a valid comparison of the number of insects in
each wheat field.
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Q14.

A student investigates the populations of two plant species in two fields, A and B.

The student uses a 0.5 m × 0.5 m quadrat to count the number of plants of each species in each field. He
takes five quadrat samples for each field.

The tables show the student's results.

Field A

Field B

(a) (i) Calculate the average (mean) number of plantain per m2 in field B.
Show your working.
(2)

average number of plantain per m2 = ...........................................................

 (ii) Explain how the student should decide where to place the quadrats in each field.
(2)
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(iii) Describe the differences in the plant populations shown by the student's results.
(3)
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