Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things | Edexcel A-Level Biology B (9BI0)

Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things

243 questions
16 subtopics
Topics 1 to 4, examined on all three papers
Paper 1, Paper 2 and Paper 3

Cell structure in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, how microscopes reveal it, the nature of viruses and whether they count as alive, the cell cycle and the difference between mitosis and meiosis, and sexual reproduction in mammals and flowering plants..

It covers cell theory and eukaryotic cell structure, prokaryotic cells and Gram staining, microscopy, magnification and resolution, significant figures, estimates and mathematical symbols, virus structure and classification, the lytic cycle and latency, treating viral disease and the ethics of untested drugs, the cell cycle and its regulation, mitosis and the behaviour of chromosomes, mitosis in growth, repair and root tip squashes, meiosis, genetic variation and chromosome mutations, gametogenesis in mammals, fertilisation and early embryo development, pollen and embryo sac formation, double fertilisation in flowering plants and investigating pollen tube growth.

Sample questions from Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things

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

Cell theory and eukaryotic cell structure

What is the size of eukaryotic ribosomes and what is their function?

Show the answer
Eukaryotic ribosomes are 80S in size, larger than prokaryotic ribosomes, and are the site of protein synthesis.
Microscopy, magnification and resolution

Why must magnification be stated on a biological drawing?

Show the answer
Magnification must be stated to indicate how much larger the drawing is compared to the actual specimen.
Virus structure and classification

What type of nucleic acid does tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) contain?

Show the answer
RNA.
Treating viral disease and the ethics of untested drugs

What outbreak exemplifies the importance of preventing viral spread through public health measures?

Show the answer
The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Mitosis and the behaviour of chromosomes

What stage of mitosis comes after metaphase?

Show the answer
Anaphase.
Meiosis, genetic variation and chromosome mutations

What does meiosis II achieve?

Show the answer
Meiosis II separates sister chromatids, similar to mitosis, producing four haploid cells.
Fertilisation and early embryo development

What is the outcome of pronuclear fusion?

Show the answer
Fusion of the male and female pronuclei restores the diploid chromosome number and forms the zygote.
Double fertilisation in flowering plants

What is the function of the tube nucleus in a pollen grain?

Show the answer
It controls the growth of the pollen tube.

The 16 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Cell theory and eukaryotic cell structure	Recall questions on cell theory and the levels of organisation from cells to organ systems, and on the structure and function of the nucleus, ribosomes, mitochondria, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, centrioles, cell wall, vacuole and tonoplast.	18
Prokaryotic cells and Gram staining	Recall questions on how prokaryotic cells differ from eukaryotic, the bacterial cell wall, and what Gram staining distinguishes.	8
Microscopy, magnification and resolution	Recall questions on magnification and resolution, light, scanning and transmission electron microscopes, staining, calibrating an eyepiece graticule with a stage micrometer, using and rearranging the magnification formula, and the conventions of biological drawing.	36
Significant figures, estimates and mathematical symbols	Recall questions on giving biological calculations to an appropriate number of significant figures, standard form, estimating a result to check a calculation, spotting an implausible cell size, and the symbols <, <<, >> and ~.	12
Virus structure and classification	Recall questions on classifying viruses by structure and nucleic acid, lambda phage as a DNA virus, tobacco mosaic virus and Ebola as RNA viruses, and HIV as a retrovirus that uses reverse transcriptase to integrate into the host genome.	11
The lytic cycle and latency	Recall questions on the attachment, penetration, replication, assembly and lysis stages of the lytic cycle, and on latency, when viral DNA integrates into the host genome and is replicated with it.	10
Treating viral disease and the ethics of untested drugs	Recall questions on why viruses are not living cells and are hard to treat, prevention during the 2014 Ebola outbreak, and the ethical arguments for and against using untested drugs in an epidemic, from mortality and lack of alternatives to consent, equity and exploitation.	15
The cell cycle and its regulation	Recall questions on the cell cycle, interphase and its G1, S and G2 phases, the replication of chromosomes into sister chromatids, mitosis producing two genetically identical diploid cells, and cytokinesis.	10
Mitosis and the behaviour of chromosomes	Recall questions on the order of prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase, and on what happens to the chromosomes, spindle fibres and nuclear envelope in each stage.	8
Mitosis in growth, repair and root tip squashes	Recall questions on mitosis in growth, repair and asexual reproduction, preparing a root tip squash by fixing, hydrolysing, staining and squashing, identifying the stages of mitosis, and calculating the mitotic index.	15
Meiosis, genetic variation and chromosome mutations	Recall questions on meiosis I as the reduction division and meiosis II, what separates in each, crossing over and independent assortment as sources of variation, and chromosome mutations such as translocation and non-disjunction in Down's and Turner's syndromes.	24
Gametogenesis in mammals	Recall questions on spermatogenesis from spermatogonia to spermatozoa, oogenesis from oogonia, arrest at prophase I and metaphase II, polar bodies and unequal division of the cytoplasm, and how the timing of the two processes differs.	17
Fertilisation and early embryo development	Recall questions on the sperm binding the zona pellucida, the acrosome reaction, the cortical reaction that blocks polyspermy, pronuclear fusion to form the zygote, and cleavage to a morula and a blastocyst with its trophoblast and inner cell mass.	17
Pollen and embryo sac formation	Recall questions on the anther and ovule, meiosis in each, and the structure of a mature pollen grain and embryo sac.	14
Double fertilisation in flowering plants	Recall questions on the pollen tube, the two male nuclei, and the formation of the zygote and the triploid endosperm.	13
Investigating pollen tube growth	Recall questions on investigating how sucrose concentration affects pollen tube growth: preparing the solutions and medium, why too little or too much sucrose stops germination, the variables to control, and measuring tube length or germination percentage.	15

Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things is 243 of the 2,073 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.