Questions relating to year 11 Physical education
1) Copy and complete the following chart, identifying the bones which surround each of the
joints.
Joint
1 Knee
2 Elbow
3 Hip
3 Shoulder
Type of joint
Hinge
Hinge
Ball and Socket
Ball and Socket
Bones
2) Name each of the prime mover and antagonist muscles in the following:
Movement
Elbow flexion
Shoulder abduction
Elbow extension
Knee flexion
Shoulder adduction
Knee extension
Shoulder flexion
Hip extension
Prime Mover
Antagonist
3) Identify the parts of the respiratory system using the key words following:- alveolus,
bronchus, larynx, nasal cavity, pharynx, trachea
4) Identify the parts of the heart with the key words following:-pulmonary artery, left ventricle,
right ventricle, left atrium, right atrium, mitral valve, tricuspid valve, vena cava, aorta,
pulmonary vein.
5) Select the correct word for each sentence
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The heart gets larger/smaller as a result of training/exercise
The muscle gets weaker/stronger as a result of training/exercise
The blood is able to carry less/more oxygen as a result of training/exercise
The muscles get less/more blood vessels as a result of training/exercise
The lungs can breathe in a greater/lesser volume of air as a result of
training/exercise.
GCSE Physics
1) Exposure to sunlight increases your risk of developing skin cancer. List some benefits of
staying indoors and avoiding direct sunlight. List some risks as well.
2) Describe at least 3 ways that a person could reduce the risk of skin cancer while enjoying a
beach holiday.
3) Briefly describe 1 type of selective absorption that takes place in the atmosphere.
4) What effect do CFCs have on ozone?
5) What action is being taken to reduce damage to the ozone layer?
6) Glass is a weak absorber of visible light. How would you show that it does absorb some light?
7) Can glass reflect light? Explain.
8) You can choose whether or not to use a mobile phone. But, you may have no choice about
living near a phone mast. Does having a choice make a difference to your perceived risk?
9) What is the link between X-ray exposure during pregnancy and childhood cancer believed to
be a cause and not just correlation?
10) Why are medical X-rays still used for patients other than pregnant women, despite these
links?
11) Forest land can be cleared for farming by burning the trees. This is called deforestation. Why
does tree-burning increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Explain using a
diagram.
12) Do you think people should rely on technical solutions? Justify your answer.
13) Explain the difference between irradiation and contamination.
14) Why seal packets of surgical instruments before sterilizing them?
15) Does gamma radiation make them radioactive? Explain your answer.
16) Write down 3 uses of radioactive materials. Choose one of these and write the key points on
how radiation is used.
17) Alpha radiation is the most ionizing type of radiation. Explain why, in terms of what it is.
18) Why do nuclear reactors use coolants? In other words, why not circulate ordinary water and
boil the steam directly?
19) Some people say that waste should be stored above ground until a safe method is found for
permanent storage. This illustrates the precautionary principle. Explain how.
20) What does a ‘sustainable supply of energy’ mean?
21) The cost of decommissioning contributes to the price of electricity. It is much larger for
nuclear power stations than for burning fossil fuels. Explain why.
22) Write a letter to your MP expressing your views about future power stations.
23) List 4 examples of interaction pairs of forces mentioned.
24) What 3 things are always true about interaction pairs?
25) Jet engines are suitable for aircraft but not for travel in space. Explain why. How do rockets
overcome this problem?
26) List 3 everyday situations in which we try to reduce friction and 3 where we try to make
friction as large as possible.
27) An athlete trains by jogging 20m at a steady speed, then sprinting 20m. She repeats this 5
times. Sketch a speed-time graph of her motion during a training session.
28) List 3 examples from everyday life of a situation where the resultant force on an object is 0.
Explain how these are in agreement with the 1st law of motion.
29) The equation for work done by a force is similar to the equation for a change of momentum
caused by a force. But it has 1 important difference. What is it?
30) If your mass is 40kg, then your weight is roughly 400N. How much work do you have to do
each time you do upstairs – a vertical height gain of 2.5m?
Year 11 Geography – Natural Disasters/hazards
1) What is a natural hazard?
2) What is the difference between a natural hazard and a natural disaster?
3) Why are natural hazards that occur in densely populated areas more noticeable than
hazards that occur elsewhere in the country?
4) Name the 3 categories geographers use to classify the impacts of natural hazards. Give
examples of each.
5) Describe the main causes of landslides
6) What are earthquakes and how are they measured?
7) Describe the differences between a landslide and an earthquake.
8) Name three events that cause a tsunami
9) With the aid of a diagram, explain how a tsunami is formed.
10) What caused the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004?
11) Describe how a tsunami changes as it enters shallow water.
12) Write a short news report that explains the size of a landslide, the damage caused and the
impacts on local community and environment.
13) What are the main characteristics of a severe storm?
14) Describe the atmospheric processes that form severe storm.
15) What does the tern ‘latent heat’ refer to? How does it contribute to the formation of severe
storms?
16) What is flash flooding? Why are urban areas especially vulnerable to this type of flooding?
17) How does flooding vary between inland and coastal river systems?
18) Design a brochure warning about flash flooding.
19) Discuss the influence of dams on inland rivers and the possible impacts they may have on
flooding.
20) Prepare a brief weather forecast for Melbourne for the next 24 hours
21) Which location, Auckland or Wellington, would have the strongest winds? Give reasons for
your answer.
22) What is a drought?
23) What kind of weather conditions does a high-pressure system bring? How does this
contribute to drought?
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How often does El Nino usually occur?
What groups of people suffer most severely from a drought?
Why do fresh food prices often go up during times of drought?
Outline some of the social impacts of drought on farmers.
What are ‘exceptional circumstances’ in drought?
What sorts of things can farmers do to prepare for drought?
Draw a simplified map of your home and suggest ways in which you could make it more
water efficient.
Year 11 Geography – Urban growth and decline
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What is meant by the term ‘urban sprawl’?
What is meant by a highly urbanised country?
What factors have influenced the location of New Zealand’s capital city?
What is population density and how is it related to urban sprawl?
How to New Zealand cities compare to other cities in the world in terms of population
density?
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in a detached style housing estate
compared to apartment living
Name 2 important characteristics that enabled the expansion of Auckland
What impact is globalisation having on the employment structure of Auckland?
What is a world city? What evidence suggests that Auckland is a world city?
Imagine you have to consult members of your local community on their views about
development. Prepare a questionnaire and administer it to 5 people.
Discuss the views that long-time residents of a city might have about the redevelopment of
the area. Make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of the redevelopment project in
terms of changes it has made to their lifestyle.
What advantages does urban consolidation have in terms of sustainability?
Describe the methods the local residents could use to influence the decision-making
processes in regard to the development of a water police site.
What is a green ban? Why would it have been a strategy that influenced the decision making
processes in regard to development on the site?
Outline the process the Auckland city Council has undertaken in the development of the site.
History – The cold war
1) Why did the USA develop the policy of containment?
2) Explain the role of economic rivalry in the growing tension between the USA and the USSR
during the period 194509.
3) What methods did the USR use to impose their control over Eastern Europe?
4) What challenges were there to Soviet domination over Eastern Europe during the period
1950-80?
5) How did the USR deal with these challenges?
6) Make a list of the factors that led to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe.
Which of these factors do you consider to be the most important?
7) What impact did the communist takeover of China in 1949 have on US foreign policy?
8) Why did the UN send troops to the war in Korea?
9) At the end of the Korean War both sides ended up more or less back at the 38th Parallel.
What, if anything, did each side gain from the war?
10) Why did the USA intervene in the Vietnam War between 1954-1968?
11) What was the significance of the Gulf of Tonkin Incident?
12) Explain the military tactics used by the USA in Vietnam. How successful were they in the
period 1965-8?
13) What was the significance of the Tet offensive for the Vietnam War?
14) Why did Nixon introduce Vietnamisation?
15) Why did it take so long for a peace settlement to be reached?
16) Why did the USA fail to save South Vietnam from communism?
17) Why did antagonism occur between USA and Cuba between 1959 and 1963?
18) What were the consequences of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
History – Origins of the First World War
1) Why was the decline of Ottoman power such a cause for concern to both AustriaHungary and Russia?
2) What was Great Britain’s interest in the ‘Eastern question?
3) Why did Russia feel humiliated in the Balkans by the end of 1913?
4) Why was Serbia to grow between 1870 and the end of 1913?
5) Explain the rivalry between Russia and Austria-Hungary, 1890-1913.
6) Why were France and Great Britain colonial rivals before 1904?
7) Did colonial rivalries change international relations between 1890 and 1913?
8) What were the pressures within Germany which encouraged a policy of war? How real
were the pressures?
9) For what domestic reasons did Austria-Hungary feel it was necessary to go to war in
1914?
10) How important was the pre-war arms race in leading to war in 1914?
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Why did Germany commit itself to an alliance with Austria-Hungary?
Why did Russia fight in 1914 having chosen not to risk war in earlier crises?
Did war in 1914 result from muddled responses by the great powers?
Was Germany responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914?
‘War was not inevitable after the Archduke died; it was the decisions of the powers to
be that made it so.’ Discuss.
16) How significant was the absence of Russia from the traditional political balance of power
after 1919?
17) Why was France unable to gain agreement to its desire to punish Germany permanently?
18) Why was the impact of the United States’ decision not to ratify the Treaty of Versailles?
GCSE, Level 1 Biology
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What structures are usually present in cells, whether they are from an animal or plant?
How does a cell membrane differ from a cell wall?
Why do you think it is essential for us to include proteins in our diet?
What additional elements are needed to convert a carbohydrate into a protein? Where do
you think plants get these elements from?
What chemical changes can occur in a plant cell that do not take place in animal cells?
What are the main differences between aerobic and anaerobic respiration?
Why do you think your breathing rate and heart rate stay high for some time after
completing a spell of vigorous exercise?
What substances must a plant take in, in order to carry on photosynthesis? Where does it
get each of these substances from?
What provides a plant with energy for photosynthesis? What chemical process provides a
plant with energy to carry on all other living activities?
Measurements on a leaf show that it is giving out carbon dioxide and taking in oxygen. Does
this prove that photosynthesis is not going on in the leaf? Explain your answer.
In some plants, the stomata close for a period at about midday. Suggest some possible
advantages and disadvantages of this to the plant.
Make a list of the types of cells or tissues you would expect to find in a vascular bundle.
What structures help to keep the stem’s shape and upright position?
What kind of climate and weather conditions do you think will cause a high rate of
transpiration?
In what 2 ways does sunlight increase the rate of transpiration?
Transpiration has been described as if it took place only in leaves. What other parts of a
plant might transpire?
If root hairs take up water from the soil by osmosis, what would you expect to happen if so
much nitrate fertiliser was put on the soil that the soil water became a stronger solution
than the cell sap of the root hairs?
18) Why do you think that, in a deciduous tree in spring, transpiration is negligible before bud
burst?
19) Working from outside to inside, list the parts of a bisexual flower.
20) What features of flowers might attract insects?
21) Draw up a table to contrast the features of a typical insect pollinated flower with those of a
typical wind pollinated flower.
22) What are the advantages of a plant dispersing its seeds over a wide area? What
disadvantages might there be?
23) Which methods of dispersal are likely to result in seeds travelling the greatest distances?
Explain your answer.
24) Plants can be propagated from stems but rarely from roots. What features of shoots account
for this difference?
25) The plants which survive a heath fire are often those which have a rhizome. Suggest a
reason why this is so.
IGCSE Chemistry – Level 1
1) When a jar of coffee is opened, people in all parts of the room soon notice the smell. Use
the kinetic theory to explain how this happens.
2) Describe, with the aid of diagrams, the diffusion of nickel sulphate solution.
3) When a gas is heated the particles move more quickly. Explain what will happen to the
volume of the heated gas if the pressure is kept constant.
4) Write the word and balanced chemical equations for the reactions which take place
between calcium and oxygen.
5) Iron is extracted from iron oxide in a blast furnace by a redox reaction. What does the tern
‘redox reaction’ mean?
6) What is the difference between simple and fractional distillation?
7) Devise a method for obtaining salt from sea water in the school laboratory.
8) How many electrons may be accommodated in the first 3 energy levels?
9) Explain the difference between ionic and covalent bonding. Discuss in what ways the
electronic structure of the noble gasses is important in both of these theories of bonding.
10) Compare the structures of silicon oxide and diamond, and describe their physical properties
in terms of these structures.
11) Explain why metals are able to conduct heat and electricity
12) Explain why the melting point of magnesium is much higher than the melting point of
sodium.
13) Suggest a reason for only roughly twice as much hydrogen gas being produced at the
cathode as oxygen gas at the anode in the electrolysis of water.
14) Why it is important to remove compounds of calcium, strontium and magnesium before
brine is electrolysed?
15) Devise an experiment that you could carry out in the laboratory to establish whether or not
powdered limestone is better at curing soil acidity than calcium oxide.
16) Write word and balanced chemical equations to show the effect of heat on cobalt carbonate
and nickel carbonate/
17) Make a list of the main methods of softening hard water. In each case write a suitable
equation to summarise the chemical reactions involved.
18) 1 of the substances formed in some temporary hard waters is magnesium hydrogen
carbonate. Write word and balanced chemical equations to show the effect of heat on this
substance in aqueous solution.
19) List the important uses of carbon dioxide and for each use you have given in your answer
explain why carbon dioxide is used.
20) Describe an experiment that you could carry out to show that carbonic acid is a weak acid.
21) Write the general equation to represent the formation of polystyrene from its monomer.
22) Draw the structure of the repeating units found in nylon and ethylene.
23) Explain the differences between an addition polymer and a condensation polymer.
24) Give 2 advantages and disadvantages of plastic waste.
25) Write a word and balanced chemical equation for the combustion and oxidation of butane.
26) What do you understand by the term biotechnology? In your answer make reference to the
making of bread
27) What is the main advantage of detergents over soaps?
28) Which 2 functional groups do amino acids represent?
29) How many amino acids have to be involved before the biopolymer is called a protein?
30) Explain how DNA fingerprinting may be used in paternity suits.