Unit 1 Review Questions
Use this to check your knowledge and then complete some past exam questions. Found at
http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/science/gcse/biology-4401/past-papers-and-mark-schemes
1 – Keeping Healthy
1. Name the main food groups
2. Define metabolic rate
3. What are the health implications of obesity?
4. What are the health implications of malnourishment?
5. What causes an individual to ‘put on’ weight?
6. Which foods contain high levels of cholesterol?
7. Define pathogen
8. Name 4 types of microorganism
9. How do bacteria and viruses make you feel ill?
10. Which Doctor discovered that infection could be transmitted from person to person
within a hospital?
11. What are the 3 ways in which white blood cells can defend the body from pathogens
12. What is a memory cell?
13. What is the difference between primary and secondary immune response?
14. Draw a labelled diagram containing the following: antibody, antigen, white blood
cell, pathogen
15. What treatment is used for bacterial infections?
16. Explain how a culture of bacteria can be grown, including how you would prevent
contamination
17. Explain how antibiotic resistance arises
18. Explain why it is important for patients to complete their courses of antibiotics
19. What is contained within a vaccine?
20. How does a vaccine lead to a patient becoming immune to a particular pathogen
21. What are the advantages and disadvantages of vaccination?
2 – Coordination & Control
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Name the 5 sense organs and the stimuli they detect
What is a receptor?
What makes up the Central Nervous System?
What does the sensory neuron do?
What does the motor neuron do?
Define a reflex
Describe the stages in a reflex
What is a synapse? How are messages transmitted across a synapse?
What is a hormone?
10. Which 3 hormones are important in the control of the menstrual cycle?
11. What are the 2 sites of hormone production for the control of the menstrual cycle?
12. What is the sequence of events leads to ovulation?
13. How does the contraceptive pill work?
14. What are the advantages and disadvantages of IVF?
15. What is the sequence of events involved in IVF?
16. Name 4 internal conditions which must be controlled by the human body
17. What is the name given to maintaining a constant internal environment?
18. Name 2 organs involved in controlling conditions within the human body. What do
they control?
19. Name 2 environmental conditions which a plant can respond to
20. What do you call a plant response to environmental conditions? Can you think of
any examples?
21. Draw a diagram to illustrate how a plant grows towards a light source
22. Describe 4 uses of plant hormones
3 – Medicine & Drugs
1. Give 2 reasons for testing new drugs
2. Define a placebo
3. How are placebos used to test new drugs in a ‘double-blind trial’?
4. How did the use of the drug Thalidomide trigger more rigorous drug testing?
5. What are statins?
6. Define a drug
7. Define an addictive drug
8. Describe 3 health concerns caused by the use of legal drugs
9. Describe 3 problems associated with the use of illegal drugs
10. What is the evidence that cannabis use can lead to the use of ‘harder’ drugs?
11. Describe 3 health concerns associated with the use of cannabis
12. Describe 4 types of drugs which can be used to enhance the performance of athletes
13. Why does the use of legal drugs in the UK produce more health problems than the
use of illegal drugs?
4 – Adaptation & Competition
1. Define a species
2. What do adaptations increase an organism’s chance of?
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Name 3 things which could lead to the extinction of a species
Describe 3 adaptations of a polar bear
Describe 3 adaptations of a camel
Define the term extremophile and give 2 examples
7. What is likely to happen to the population of slugs if the population of thrushes
decreases? (see above)
8. What is likely to happen to the population of foxes if the population of frogs
increases? (see above)
9. What could cause the extinction of the thrush based on this food web? (see above)
10. Explain the term ‘indicator species’.
11. Name two indicator species of clean water and two of polluted water.
12. The following are data samples:
(a) Which sample appears to be the most polluted?
(b) Sample A and Sample C are from the same location but taken at different times of the year,
describe any differences and suggest what may have caused this change?
5 – Energy in Biomass
1. Define a producer
2. Define a carnivore, omnivore and herbivore
3. If 10 000J of energy came into a level of the food chain, and 1000J were
transferred to the next level, what is the percentage efficiency?
4. Give 3 ways in which energy can be ‘lost’ at each stage of the food chain
5. How is carbon ‘removed’ from the atmosphere?
6. Name 2 ways in which carbon can be ‘returned’ to the atmosphere
7. Explain why the sun is essential to life on earth
8. What do plants use carbon dioxide (CO2) for?
9. What are fossil fuels and what is the name for burning them?
10. Define decomposer and detritivore
11. Define biomass
12. Draw an example of a pyramid of biomass and a pyramid of numbers
13. Explain the role of microorganisms in decay and explain the factors that can affect
this
6 - Variation, Reproduction & New Technology
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What is a chromosome?
Where are chromosomes found within a cell?
How many chromosomes does a normal human body cell contain?
Which human cells would contain a different number of chromosomes and why?
What is a gamete?
What is a gene?
Describe 3 differences between asexual and sexual reproduction?
Why is it an advantage for an organism to be able to reproduce sexually?
Apart from genes, what other factors can affect the appearance and
characteristics of someone?
10. If you clone 10 plants, describe 3 reasons why they will not all appear identical
after 6 months
11. What are the differences between taking plant cuttings and growing plants in
tissue culture?
12. What are the benefits of cloning plants or animals?
13. Describe the process by which Dolly the Sheep was cloned. You could use a
diagram to help
14. What is genetic engineering?
15. How can bacteria be used to produce human insulin?
16. Describe 3 advantages of genetic engineering
17. Describe 3 disadvantages of genetic engineering
7 – Evolution
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What is meant by the term ‘evolution’?
Describe Lamarck’s theory of acquired characteristics
What is meant by the term ‘survival of the fittest’?
Where did Darwin visit to collect evidence for his theory of ‘natural selection’?
Give 3 reasons why Darwin’s ideas weren’t immediately accepted at the time
We can use VSRG to help remember the stages that lead to the evolution of an
organism over time. What do these letters stand for? Use this to help describe
the process of natural selection.
7. Which part of this explanation would Darwin not have included and why?
8. Why will one species show variation in its characteristics?
9. Suggest 2 changes which could happen to an environment and the
characteristics which would be favourable if this change was to occur e.g. the
climate changes and it becomes much colder, it will be an advantage to have
thick fur and a small surface area to volume ratio
10. Explain what evolutionary trees show