Bioenergetics | AQA GCSE Biology, Foundation tier (8461)
Bioenergetics
- 84 questions
- 6 subtopics
- Paper 1
- Paper 1
Bioenergetics is examined in Biology Paper 1.
It covers the photosynthesis reaction and the uses of glucose, the rate of photosynthesis, why organisms respire and how aerobic and anaerobic respiration differ, the equations for respiration and fermentation, the response to exercise, and metabolism.
Sample questions from Bioenergetics
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The photosynthesis reaction and the uses of glucose
Into which structures of a plant cell is energy transferred by light during photosynthesis?
Show the answer
The chloroplasts. -
The photosynthesis reaction and the uses of glucose
Glucose is used by a plant to produce amino acids. What are those amino acids then used for?
Show the answer
Protein synthesis, that is building the plant's proteins. -
Rate of photosynthesis
When results for photosynthesis rate against light intensity are graphed, which variable goes on the horizontal axis and how should the scale be chosen?
Show the answer
Light intensity, because it is the variable that was changed, and the scale should rise in equal steps that spread the points across most of the grid. -
Rate of photosynthesis
Give one reason why counting bubbles is not a reliable way of measuring the rate of photosynthesis.
Show the answer
The bubbles may be different sizes, and at high rates they are produced too quickly to count accurately. -
Why organisms respire, and aerobic versus anaerobic
Explain why an organism cannot survive if respiration stops in its cells.
Show the answer
Respiration supplies all the energy for its living processes, and those processes cannot continue without it. -
Why organisms respire, and aerobic versus anaerobic
Give one advantage of anaerobic respiration to a muscle cell, even though it transfers less energy.
Show the answer
It can keep transferring energy when oxygen cannot be delivered to the muscle fast enough. -
The equations for respiration, and fermentation
State the word equation for anaerobic respiration in muscle cells.
Show the answer
Glucose → lactic acid. -
The equations for respiration, and fermentation
Give one way in which anaerobic respiration in a yeast cell differs from anaerobic respiration in a human muscle cell.
Show the answer
Yeast produces ethanol and carbon dioxide, whereas muscle produces lactic acid.
The 6 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The photosynthesis reaction and the uses of glucose | The word equation and chemical formulae for photosynthesis, why it is endothermic and needs light energy transferred to the chloroplasts, how glucose is used for respiration, starch, fat or oil, cellulose and amino acids, and the nitrate ions needed to make proteins. | 14 |
| Rate of photosynthesis | How light intensity, carbon dioxide, temperature and chlorophyll affect the rate, calculating and graphing a rate from bubble counts, what a limiting factor is, the pondweed investigation with lamp distance, sodium hydrogencarbonate, a heat shield, a gas syringe and hazards, writing and testing a hypothesis, and rates from tangents. | 19 |
| Why organisms respire, and aerobic versus anaerobic | Respiration as a continuous exothermic reaction in all living cells, the energy it supplies, aerobic against anaerobic respiration in oxygen use, energy transferred and products, why muscles respire anaerobically, and energy used for building molecules, movement and keeping warm. | 13 |
| The equations for respiration, and fermentation | The word equation and formulae for aerobic respiration, anaerobic respiration in muscle producing lactic acid and why it transfers less energy, anaerobic respiration in yeast and plant cells producing ethanol and carbon dioxide, and fermentation in bread and alcoholic drinks. | 14 |
| Response to exercise | Why energy demand rises during exercise, the extra glucose and oxygen delivered, increases in heart rate, breathing rate and breath volume, anaerobic respiration and lactic acid, the oxygen debt it creates, and muscle fatigue. | 10 |
| Metabolism | The building blocks of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, metabolism as the sum of enzyme-controlled reactions powered by respiration, glucose converted to starch, glycogen and cellulose, lipids from glycerol and fatty acids, amino acids from glucose and nitrate, and excess protein broken down to urea. | 14 |
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
AQA GCSE Biology, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 1,322 questions with their answers.