AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Biology, Higher tier sample questions and answers (8464)
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35 sample questions and answers
Taken from every topic of AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Biology, Higher tier, specification 8464. The full guide has 1,080.
Biology Paper 1
Bioenergetics
95 questions in the guide, across 6 subtopics. More from this topic
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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?
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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?
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Protein synthesis, that is building the plant's proteins. -
Rate of photosynthesis
On a bright, warm summer afternoon, which factor is most likely to be limiting photosynthesis in a field crop? Explain your answer.
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Carbon dioxide concentration, because light intensity and temperature are both already high so neither is holding the rate back. -
Rate of photosynthesis
How can the heat from the lamp be stopped from warming the pondweed during this investigation?
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Place a glass tank or beaker of water between the lamp and the pondweed to absorb the heat. -
Why organisms respire, and aerobic versus anaerobic
Explain why an organism cannot survive if respiration stops in its cells.
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Respiration supplies all the energy for its living processes, and those processes cannot continue without it.
Biology Paper 1
Cell Biology
172 questions in the guide, across 11 subtopics. More from this topic
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Eukaryotes and prokaryotes
What type of cell is a bacterial cell?
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A prokaryotic cell. -
Animal and plant cells
What is made at the ribosomes?
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Proteins. -
Cell specialisation and differentiation
How is a root hair cell adapted to its function?
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It has a long thin extension giving a large surface area for absorbing water and mineral ions from the soil. -
Microscopy
Explain why an electron microscope can show structures a light microscope cannot.
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Its higher resolving power lets two very close points be seen separately, so cells are shown in much finer detail. -
Chromosomes, mitosis and the cell cycle
Describe the order of events in the cell cycle.
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The cell grows and copies its DNA, then the nucleus divides by mitosis, and finally the cytoplasm and membranes divide.
Biology Paper 2
Ecology
140 questions in the guide, across 11 subtopics. More from this topic
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Levels of organisation in an ecosystem, and what organisms need
What is an ecosystem?
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The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment. -
Competition, interdependence and stable communities
Why do plants compete for mineral ions?
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They need mineral ions such as nitrate from the soil to make the proteins needed for growth. -
Abiotic factors
Why is the direction of the wind, as well as its strength, an abiotic factor?
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A steady wind from one direction dries and damages one side of a plant, so growth is lopsided and exposed sides support fewer plants. -
Biotic factors
Grey squirrels are introduced into a wood containing red squirrels. Explain what may happen to the red squirrel population.
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Grey squirrels compete for the same food and shelter and carry a disease the reds cannot resist, so red squirrel numbers fall. -
Adaptations
What is a functional adaptation?
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A feature of the way an organism's body works, such as producing very concentrated urine or slowing its metabolism.
Biology Paper 2
Homeostasis and Response
138 questions in the guide, across 8 subtopics. More from this topic
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Homeostasis
Apart from enzyme action, what else does homeostasis keep at its optimum?
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All the other functions carried out by the cells of the body. -
The nervous system and the reflex arc
What is the job of the motor neurone in a reflex arc?
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It carries the impulse from the central nervous system to the effector. -
Human endocrine system
A hormone travels all round the body, so why does it affect only certain organs?
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Only its target organs respond to it. -
Insulin, glucagon and diabetes
What goes wrong in the pancreas in Type 1 diabetes?
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It fails to produce enough insulin. -
Hormones in human reproduction
What is the main male reproductive hormone, and where is it produced?
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Testosterone, produced by the testes.
Biology Paper 1
Infection and Response
117 questions in the guide, across 8 subtopics. More from this topic
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Communicable (infectious) diseases
Describe how a pathogen carried in the air passes from one person to another.
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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?
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A flu-like illness. -
Bacterial diseases
How is the spread of Salmonella controlled in poultry in the UK?
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Poultry are vaccinated against the bacterium. -
Fungal and protist diseases
Give two ways of treating a rose plant with black spot.
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Spraying it with a fungicide, and removing and destroying the affected leaves. -
Human defence systems
How does the stomach defend the body against pathogens?
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It produces hydrochloric acid, which kills pathogens that are swallowed in food or mucus.
Biology Paper 2
Inheritance, Variation and Evolution
201 questions in the guide, across 15 subtopics. More from this topic
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Sexual and asexual reproduction
Name the male gamete and the female gamete in animals.
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The sperm cell is the male gamete and the egg cell is the female gamete. -
Meiosis
How do the four gametes formed from one cell compare with each other genetically?
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They are all genetically different from each other. -
Genetic terms, dominant and recessive alleles
What is meant by an organism's phenotype?
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The characteristics that the organism actually shows. -
Punnett squares, probability and genetic crosses
A cross gives 3 tall plants for every 1 short plant. Out of 60 offspring, how many are expected to be tall?
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45 plants. -
Variation
Why do the offspring of the same two parents differ from one another?
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Each inherits a different mixture of the parents' genes, and they may also develop in different conditions.
Biology Paper 1
Organisation
217 questions in the guide, across 12 subtopics. More from this topic
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Levels of organisation, and how enzymes work
List the levels of organisation in a multicellular organism, from the smallest to the largest.
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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.
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Carbohydrases, which break it down into simple sugars. -
The heart, the lungs and double circulation
What is a double circulatory system?
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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?
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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.
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Diet, stress and a person's life situation.
AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy Biology, Higher tier Active Recall Guide
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