Monitoring Visual Function | OCR A-Level Biology B (Advancing Biology) (H422)
Monitoring Visual Function
- 53 questions
- 3 subtopics
- Further biology content, examined on all three papers
- Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03
Monitoring Visual Function is examined in all three written papers — the specification states that Components 01, 02 and 03 can each assess content from any of the five modules, so nothing is confined to one paper.
It covers the structure of the eye, the retina and its role as a transducer and assessing visual function by routine eye tests.
Sample questions from Monitoring Visual Function
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The structure of the eye
Describe the structure of the iris.
Show the answer
The iris is a pigmented disc of muscle in front of the lens, containing a ring of circular muscle and a set of radial muscles arranged like the spokes of a wheel. -
The structure of the eye
Where is the aqueous humour found, and what does it do?
Show the answer
The aqueous humour is the watery fluid filling the space between the cornea and the lens, and it supplies nutrients and oxygen to the avascular cornea and lens, removes their waste and keeps the front of the eye firm. -
The retina and its role as a transducer
What is the function of the bipolar cells of the retina?
Show the answer
Bipolar cells connect the rods and cones to the ganglion cells and pass on the graded change in potential produced by the photoreceptor. -
The retina and its role as a transducer
Describe what happens to rhodopsin when light strikes a rod cell.
Show the answer
The light changes the shape of the retinal, which no longer fits the opsin, so the rhodopsin splits into its two parts in a process called bleaching. -
Assessing visual function by routine eye tests
What is the purpose of repeating an acuity test with the patient looking through a pinhole?
Show the answer
A pinhole excludes light that needs focusing, so if the acuity improves the problem is a refractive error correctable by lenses, and if it does not the problem lies in the retina or the nerve pathway. -
Assessing visual function by routine eye tests
Suggest why a colour vision test is included in a routine eye examination even when the patient can see well.
Show the answer
It detects an inherited deficiency that may matter for certain occupations, and a newly acquired loss of colour vision can be an early sign of disease of the optic nerve.
The 3 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The structure of the eye | Recall questions on the sclera, conjunctiva and cornea, the iris muscles and the pupil in bright light, the lens, ciliary body and suspensory ligaments in focusing on near and distant objects, the aqueous and vitreous humours, and the pigmented, blood-rich choroid. | 17 |
| The retina and its role as a transducer | Recall questions on the layers of the retina, rods in dim light and their poor acuity, the three types of cone and colour vision, bipolar and ganglion cells, the fovea and blind spot, the retina as a transducer, bleaching of rhodopsin and hyperpolarisation of rods, and dissecting an eye. | 18 |
| Assessing visual function by routine eye tests | Recall questions on visual acuity measured with Snellen and logMAR charts, 6/6 and 6/18 results, pinhole testing, the fovea, the Ishihara test and inherited red-green colour deficiency, and optical coherence tomography in macular degeneration and glaucoma. | 18 |
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.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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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.
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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.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Biology B (Advancing Biology) Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,895 questions with their answers.