Cells | AQA A-Level Biology (7402)

Cells

313 questions
24 subtopics
Paper 1, and available on Paper 3
Paper 1 and Paper 3

Cells is examined on Papers 1 and 3 of AQA Biology, which draw on topics 1 to 4.

287 recall questions across 24 subtopics.

Sample questions from Cells

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Cell-surface membrane, nucleus and mitochondria

What are chromosomes composed of?

Show the answer
Linear DNA bound to proteins.
Cell specialisation, levels of organisation and organelle roles

What is the correct sequence of organisation from cells to organ systems?

Show the answer
Specialised cells → tissues → organs → organ systems.
Scanning electron microscopes, magnification and graticules

Are electron microscope images naturally coloured?

Show the answer
No, images are produced in black and white; colour is added artificially.
The cell cycle, interphase and the stages of mitosis

What happens during prophase of mitosis?

Show the answer
Chromosomes condense and become visible, the nuclear envelope breaks down, and spindle fibres begin to form.
Mitotic index, mitosis stages and size calculations

What is cytokinesis and when does it occur?

Show the answer
Cytokinesis is the division of the cytoplasm to form two separate daughter cells; it occurs after telophase.
Osmosis, water potential and active transport

What is the water potential of pure water?

Show the answer
Pure water has a water potential of zero.
Antigens, cell recognition and phagocytosis

Can the immune system recognise toxins? If so, how?

Show the answer
Yes, toxins have surface molecules that can be recognised as foreign by the immune system.
Memory cells, vaccination and active and passive immunity

What happens to memory cells upon re-exposure to the same antigen?

Show the answer
They divide rapidly into plasma cells.

The 24 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Cell-surface membrane, nucleus and mitochondria	Recall questions on the structure and function of the cell-surface membrane, the nucleus with its chromosomes, nucleolus and nuclear envelope, and the membranes and role of mitochondria.	9
Chloroplasts, Golgi apparatus and lysosomes	Recall questions on the DNA and ribosomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts, the internal membranes of chloroplasts, the functions of the Golgi apparatus and its vesicles, lysosomes and ribosomes.	10
Ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, cell walls and vacuoles	Recall questions on ribosome structure and location, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, the cell walls of plants and fungi, and the structure and functions of the plant cell vacuole.	9
Cell specialisation, levels of organisation and organelle roles	Recall questions on how cells specialise and form tissues, organs and organ systems, what distinguishes eukaryotic from prokaryotic cells, and applying organelle functions to unfamiliar cases.	11
Prokaryotic cell structure and virus particles	Recall questions on the size, ribosomes, circular DNA, murein cell wall, plasmids, capsule and flagella of prokaryotic cells, and the capsid, genetic material and attachment proteins of viruses.	19
Optical and transmission electron microscopes	Recall questions on how optical microscopes form images, their magnification, resolution and practical advantages, and how a transmission electron microscope forms an image and what it resolves.	9
Scanning electron microscopes, magnification and graticules	Recall questions on the scanning electron microscope, the limitations of electron microscopy, resolution and magnification, the magnification formula, and calibrating an eyepiece graticule with a stage micrometer.	23
Cell fractionation, homogenisation and ultracentrifugation	Recall questions on cell fractionation, why the homogenising solution is cold and buffered, filtration, and how ultracentrifugation separates organelles into pellet and supernatant.	10
Order of sedimentation, artefacts and fractionation conditions	Recall questions on the order in which organelles sediment in differential centrifugation, artefacts in microscopy, and why the homogenate must be cold, isotonic and buffered.	14
The cell cycle, interphase and the stages of mitosis	Recall questions on the cell cycle, DNA replication in interphase, and what happens to chromosomes, the nuclear envelope and spindle fibres in prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.	23
Spindle fibres, cytokinesis and uncontrolled cell division	Recall questions on the role of spindle fibres, cytokinesis, how uncontrolled cell division leads to cancer, how some cancer drugs stop cells dividing, and binary fission.	8
Binary fission, viral replication and root tip squashes	Recall questions on how circular DNA and plasmids are shared in binary fission, how viruses replicate inside host cells, and preparing stained root tip squashes to find the mitotic index.	11
Mitotic index, mitosis stages and size calculations	Recall questions on calculating the mitotic index, the events of each stage of mitosis, and working with standard form, significant figures and estimates when calculating cell size and magnification.	23
The fluid-mosaic model and cholesterol	Recall questions on the fluid-mosaic model of membranes, intrinsic and extrinsic proteins, glycoproteins and glycolipids, and how cholesterol affects membrane fluidity at high and low temperatures.	9
Simple diffusion, facilitated diffusion and membrane proteins	Recall questions on simple diffusion through the phospholipid bilayer and its limits, facilitated diffusion, and how channel and carrier proteins move specific molecules across membranes.	11
Osmosis, water potential and active transport	Recall questions on osmosis and water potential, the water potential of pure water and solutions, and active transport by carrier proteins using energy from ATP hydrolysis.	8
Co-transport in the ileum and adaptations for rapid transport	Recall questions on co-transport of sodium ions and glucose into ileum epithelial cells, how glucose reaches the blood, and how surface area, protein numbers and gradients speed transport across membranes.	9
Transport rates, dilution series and membrane permeability	Recall questions on what limits the rates of diffusion, facilitated diffusion and osmosis, finding the water potential of plant tissue with a dilution series, and investigating membrane permeability.	9
Antigens, cell recognition and phagocytosis	Recall questions on how surface molecules let the immune system identify pathogens, foreign cells, abnormal cells and toxins, antigens and antigen variability, and how phagocytes engulf pathogens.	12
Antigen-presenting cells, T cells and clonal selection	Recall questions on lysozymes, the cellular response, antigen-presenting cells, how helper T cells activate cytotoxic T cells, B cells and phagocytes, and clonal selection in the humoral response.	12
Antibody structure, agglutination and antigen-antibody complexes	Recall questions on the heavy and light chains, variable and constant regions of an antibody, antigen-binding sites, antigen-antibody complexes, and how agglutination helps phagocytes destroy pathogens.	11
Memory cells, vaccination and active and passive immunity	Recall questions on plasma cells and memory cells, the primary and secondary immune responses, how vaccines give protection and herd immunity, and natural and artificial active and passive immunity.	14
HIV structure and replication	Recall questions on the lipid envelope, glycoprotein spikes, RNA and reverse transcriptase of HIV, how it infects helper T cells and integrates into the host genome, and how new particles leave.	12
AIDS, monoclonal antibodies, ELISA and clinical trials	Recall questions on how HIV causes AIDS, why antibiotics do not work on viruses, monoclonal antibodies in targeted drugs and diagnosis, the ELISA test, and the ethics and design of vaccine and antibody trials.	27

Cells is 313 of the 1,977 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.