AQA GCSE Biology, Foundation tier sample questions and answers (8461)
Guide overview All topics Sample questions Papers and weighting Look inside Questions and answers
35 sample questions and answers
Taken from every topic of AQA GCSE Biology, Foundation tier, specification 8461. The full guide has 1,322.
Paper 1
Bioenergetics
84 questions in the guide, across 6 subtopics. More from this topic
-
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.
Paper 1
Cell Biology
199 questions in the guide, across 13 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Eukaryotes and prokaryotes
What type of cell is a bacterial cell?
Show the answer
A prokaryotic cell. -
Animal and plant cells
Describe how a slide of plant cells is prepared for viewing under a light microscope.
Show the answer
Place a thin piece of tissue on a slide, add a drop of stain, then lower a coverslip onto it at an angle to avoid trapping air bubbles. -
Microscopy
Explain why an electron microscope can show structures a light microscope cannot.
Show the answer
Its higher resolving power lets two very close points be seen separately, so cells are shown in much finer detail. -
Growing bacteria and aseptic technique
Why must Petri dishes and culture media be sterilised before they are used?
Show the answer
To kill any microorganisms already on them that would otherwise grow and contaminate the culture. -
Chromosomes, mitosis and the cell cycle
Describe the order of events in the cell cycle.
Show the answer
The cell grows and copies its DNA, then the nucleus divides by mitosis, and finally the cytoplasm and membranes divide.
Paper 2
Ecology
220 questions in the guide, across 17 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Levels of organisation in an ecosystem, and what organisms need
What is an ecosystem?
Show the answer
The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment. -
Abiotic factors
Why is the direction of the wind, as well as its strength, an abiotic factor?
Show the answer
A steady wind from one direction dries and damages one side of a plant, so growth is lopsided and exposed sides support fewer plants. -
Adaptations
What is a functional adaptation?
Show the answer
A feature of the way an organism's body works, such as producing very concentrated urine or slowing its metabolism. -
Predators, prey and measuring population size
What is prey?
Show the answer
An animal that is killed and eaten by a predator. -
Decomposition
Name three conditions a gardener provides in a compost heap to speed up decay.
Show the answer
Warmth, moisture and a good supply of oxygen from turning the heap.
Paper 2
Homeostasis and Response
182 questions in the guide, across 12 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Homeostasis
Apart from enzyme action, what else does homeostasis keep at its optimum?
Show the answer
All the other functions carried out by the cells of the body. -
The nervous system and the reflex arc
Two schools each find that a caffeinated drink shortens reaction time in the ruler-drop test. What does the agreement between their results show?
Show the answer
The result is reproducible, because different investigators using different equipment obtained similar results. -
Myopia, hyperopia and how they are corrected
What is the everyday name for myopia?
Show the answer
Short sightedness. -
The brain and the control of body temperature
Name the two changes in the skin that occur when body temperature is too high.
Show the answer
The blood vessels supplying the skin dilate, and the sweat glands produce sweat. -
Insulin, glucagon and diabetes
Why is a very high blood glucose concentration harmful to cells?
Show the answer
It makes the blood plasma too concentrated, so water is drawn out of the cells by osmosis and they cannot work properly.
Paper 1
Infection and Response
138 questions in the guide, across 10 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Communicable (infectious) diseases
Describe how a pathogen carried in the air passes from one person to another.
Show the answer
An infected person coughs or sneezes out droplets containing the pathogen, and another person inhales them. -
Viral diseases
What symptoms does HIV cause when a person is first infected?
Show the answer
A flu-like illness. -
Bacterial diseases
How is the spread of Salmonella controlled in poultry in the UK?
Show the answer
Poultry are vaccinated against the bacterium. -
Fungal and protist diseases
Give two ways of treating a rose plant with black spot.
Show the answer
Spraying it with a fungicide, and removing and destroying the affected leaves. -
Human defence systems
How does the stomach defend the body against pathogens?
Show the answer
It produces hydrochloric acid, which kills pathogens that are swallowed in food or mucus.
Paper 2
Inheritance, Variation and Evolution
282 questions in the guide, across 21 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Sexual and asexual reproduction
Name the male gamete and the female gamete in animals.
Show the answer
The sperm cell is the male gamete and the egg cell is the female gamete. -
Advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction
Give an example of an organism that uses both types of reproduction, and state what each type gives it.
Show the answer
A strawberry plant produces seeds sexually, which gives variation, and spreads by runners asexually, which quickly produces many identical plants. -
Genetic terms, dominant and recessive alleles
What is meant by an organism's phenotype?
Show the answer
The characteristics that the organism actually shows. -
Inherited disorders and sex determination
How many of the pairs of chromosomes in a human body cell control characteristics only?
Show the answer
22 pairs. -
Selective breeding
Once the first generation of offspring has been produced, what is done next?
Show the answer
The offspring that show the desired characteristic are bred together.
Paper 1
Organisation
217 questions in the guide, across 12 subtopics. More from this topic
-
Levels of organisation, and how enzymes work
List the levels of organisation in a multicellular organism, from the smallest to the largest.
Show the answer
Cells, then tissues, then organs, then organ systems, then the whole organism. -
Amylase, proteases and lipases
A meal contains a large amount of starch. Name the group of enzymes that will act on it and state what it becomes.
Show the answer
Carbohydrases, which break it down into simple sugars. -
The heart, the lungs and double circulation
What is a double circulatory system?
Show the answer
One in which blood passes through the heart twice for each complete circuit of the body. -
The pacemaker, the blood vessels and the blood
What is the role of platelets?
Show the answer
They help the blood to clot at a wound. -
Health issues
Name three factors other than disease that can have a profound effect on a person's health.
Show the answer
Diet, stress and a person's life situation.
AQA GCSE Biology, Foundation tier Active Recall Guide
The other 1,287 questions, with the answers printed after each section.