GCSE History Master class
Medicine Paper
Time = 1 hour 15 mins
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Q1 = 8 marks
Q2 = 6 marks
Q3 = 8 marks
Q4 & Q5 = 12 marks each
Q6 & Q7 =16 marks each
1) Study sources A and B below.
What do Sources A and B show about the changes in
the beliefs about the causes of disease?
Explain your answer using Sources A and B and your
own knowledge. (8 marks)
Source A – Flagellants whipping
themselves so they wouldn’t
catch the Black Death
Source B – Hand wash at
entrance of a 21st century
hospital ward.
Level 1 (1- 2 marks) – Simple statements
Level 2 (3 – 6 marks) - Developed statements
Statements made about change with support based
on detail from the sources and/or own knowledge.
Maximum of 4 marks if only use sources or own
knowledge.
Level 3 (7 – 8 marks) - Analysis
Inferences are made about the nature or extent of
change based on the use of both sources and own
knowledge.
Question Two (6 marks)
The boxes below show two different time periods.
Choose one and describe the key features of
medical training during the period.
The Later Middle
Ages.
The nineteenth
Century.
Mark scheme
Level 1 – (1 – 3 marks) General answer.
Limited or very little details included.
Level 2 – (4 – 6 marks) Key features described.
Precise and relevant details with links to key features.
Medical Training - Activity
Pick which time period you want to do in your
pairs.
• Think – on your own – 2 mins
• Pair – discuss together – 2 mins
• Share – discuss as a group / table – 2 mins.
Feedback to rest of class
Medical training in later Middle Ages
• Qualifications needed to be a doctor
• In C12th specific courses on medicine
available
• In C13th doctors had to prove they had
several years of medical study before being
allowed to practice
• Medical training at medical schools eg Salerno
or at Padua university, lasting 10 years before
introduction of specific medical degree
• Doctors practiced on the job with an
experienced doctor, like an apprenticeship.
Medical Training in the C19th.
• Theory-based training from books, usually
written by doctors and done at a university.
• Some practical work and observations done
in teaching hospitals.
• Use of microscopes and labs later on to
understand more about illnesses.
• Students carried out own dissections to learn
more about human anatomy.
• Proper training for nurses after work of
Florence Nightingale eg keeping hospital
wards and patients wounds clean.
Question 3 –How useful is this cartoon to a historian
who is investigating the fight against infectious diseases in
the C19th? Use Source C and your own knowledge to
explain your answer. (8 marks)
A cartoon showing
Koch in the 1880s
slaying the TB germ,
from a school
textbook.
Level 1 – (1 – 2 marks) Judgement based on simple
criteria.
Level 2 – (3 – 6 marks) Judgement based on the
usefulness of the source because of the content OR the
provenance (where it comes from).
Maximum of 4 marks if answer is based only on the
source or on own knowledge.
Level 3 – (7 - 8 marks) Judgement based on the
usefulness of the source because of the content AND
the provenance (where it comes from).
Use both the source AND your own knowledge.
Content:
• Useful - shows Robert Koch defeating the TB germ (shown as a
‘dragon’ and him as St. George), 2nd step towards finding cures.
• 1st step = proving germs float in air/cause diseases (Pasteur) OK used
• Picture shows the equipment he used to do this eg microscope in his
hand instead of a sword; he looks like an ordinary doctor (no
elaborate clothing/armour); investigation used to identify germ –
tested against your own knowledge.
• Not useful as only shows 1 germ being identified, not any others and
hasn’t yet produced any cures for infectious diseases. OK used
Provenance:
• Useful – a cartoon but visual to show Koch as a hero, he is the slayer
of the TB germ just like St. George slaying the dragon, showing
people’s ideas that this breakthrough was very significant
• Produced in a textbook on medicine – fully researched, factual,
symbolism in cartoon chosen deliberately
• Produced at the time (TB germ identified in 1878).
Question 4 (12 marks)
Why did it take so long for penicillin to be
produced in Britain on a large scale?
You may use the following in your answer:
• Alexander Fleming
• Howard Florey and Ernst Chain
You must include information of your own.
Mark Scheme
• Level 1 (1 – 4 marks) Simple generalised
comments
• Level 2 (5 – 8 marks) Developed statements
with relevant support from own knowledge
• Level 3 (9 – 12 marks) Clear focus on the
question with relevant support from own
knowledge
Level 2 (5 – 8 marks) Developed statements with
relevant support from own knowledge
Student offers relevant detail mainly describing
the work of Fleming or of Florey and Chain.
EG Describes Fleming’s discovery of penicillin or
the work of Florey and Chain
OR Describes the failure of Fleming’s attempt to
get funding and the availability of government
funding during WW2
Level 3 (9 – 12 marks) Clear focus on the question
with relevant support from own knowledge
The response shows understanding of the focus of the
question and deploys sufficient accurate and relevant
material to support the points the student makes.
EG Explains why Fleming did not develop penicillin and
the factors inhibiting its mass production.
AND Explains the factors leading to Florey and Chain’s
success by giving the combination of factors which
made it possible for penicillin to be mass produced
during WW2.
Question 5 – 12 marks
Why have science and technology been so
important in improving medical understanding of
illness since 1850?
You may use the following in your answer:
• Louis Pasteur published his Germ Theory in 1861
• Crick and Watson discovered the structure of
DNA in 1953
You must include information of your own.
Activity
Step 1 - Match up the discoveries since 1850 with the correct
discoverer.
Step 2 – Draw a timeline on the sugar paper from 1850 to
1960.
Step 3 - Place these onto the timeline in the correct
chronological order.
Step 4 – Write down the scientific/technological advances
which helped each discovery. You can use the list of examples
given.
Step 5 – Give a few sentences of explanation of how these
examples have helped improve medical understanding of
illness.
• Level 1 (1 – 4 marks) Simple generalised
comments
• Level 2 (5 – 8 marks) Developed statements
with relevant support from own knowledge
• Level 3 (9 – 12 marks) Clear focus on the
question with relevant support from own
knowledge
Level 2 (5 – 8 marks) Developed statements with
relevant support from own knowledge
Student offers relevant detail about an example of
science /technology linked to medicine
Eg describes Pasteur’s work on the germ theory and
relates it to medicine in general terms.
Germ theory explained as a scientific development,
disproving the theory of spontaneous generation, and so
improving scientific understanding of the cause of
disease. Improvements in microscopes in the work of
Pasteur and Koch in identifying individual microbes and
in Franklin’s photograph of the DNA double helix.
Level 3 (9 – 12 marks) Clear focus on the question with
relevant support from own knowledge
The response shows understanding of the focus of the
question and deploys sufficient accurate and relevant
material to support the points the student makes.
Answer shows how scientific /technological advances
since 1850 have improved understanding of illness.
Eg Pasteur’s work leading to the identification of different
germs for specific diseases; X Rays/CAT/MRI/ ultrasound
scans helping to identify internal problems not just
broken bones; improvements in microscopes leading to
work by Koch or Crick and Watson; DNA discovery leading
to a better understanding of genetic illness.
6 – ‘The
Roman withdrawal from Britain was a turning point in
medicine and public health’. How far do you agree with this
statement? Explain your answer. (16 marks)
Step 1 – What is meant by a ‘turning point?’
Step 2 – Key terms of ‘stagnation’, ‘progression’, ‘regression’.
Step 3 – List the main ideas about public health, care of the sick and the ideas
about the causes and cures of diseases in both Roman times and Medieval times.
You can create a table like the one below.
Causes
Roman times
Medieval times
Stagnation?
Progression?
Regression?
Cures
Public Health
Care of the Sick
Step 4 - Colour code those that show stagnation,
progression and regression.
Step 5 – Assess whether or not each section is a turning
point (these will be your main paragraphs and should
refer back to the question each time).
Step 6 – Overall assessment of a ‘turning point’ based on
your analysis.
NB There is a sample answer to this question on the
school website – June 2012 ‘Turning point’.
Level 2 (5 -8 marks) - Statements are developed with
support from material which is mostly relevant and
accurate.
Answer offers information about the Roman contribution
to medicine and public health and/or information about
medicine in the Middle Ages/Medieval period.
E.G. describes treatment during Roman and /or the
Middle Ages/Medieval period – Theory of Opposites,
herbal or folk remedies;
Describes the decay of public health structures;
Describes medical knowledge and training.
Peg at 6 answers which only cover Galen’s ideas
Level 3 (9 -12 marks) - Answer shows understanding of
the focus of the question and deploys sufficient accurate
and relevant material to support the points made.
Answer identifies and explains examples of change and/or
continuity in order to analyse the effects of the Roman
withdrawal.
E.G. explains continuity in treatment based on Galen’s
theories was because medical training was based on
Galen;
Shows the collapse of some aspects of public health /
medicine;
Shows change in the people or institutions providing care
and treatment.
Level 4 (13 – 16 marks) A sustained analysis is supported
by precisely selected and accurate material and with
sharply focused development of points made. The
answer as a whole will focus well on the question.
Answer evaluates nature/extent of change (agrees that it
was a turning point) and continuity (disagrees that it was
a turning point) in order to reach a judgement.
E.G. answer will cover a range of material on both change
and continuity in order to weigh the significance of the
Roman withdrawal.
Reserve top of level for answers covering both medicine
and public health.
Able students could identify elements of continuity in medicine which led them
to evaluate the extent to which the Roman withdrawal was an overall turning
point. In most cases the opinion was that there was a decline in the
infrastructure of public health, but continuity and stagnation in medicine
through the preservation of Galen’s texts, or even progress in some areas and
therefore the Roman withdrawal was not completely a turning point. It was
interesting to see that a small number of candidates queried the allegedly high
standard of Roman public health and pointed out that the standard of public
health in villas was not typical of the general standard, or that public baths
often contained unhealthy bacteria – this was then used to challenge the idea
of decline and turning point in public health. Other points used to good effect
were that Roman hospitals were only for the army, not the public; that the
Church developed organised training and care during the Middle Ages; that
hygiene in monasteries and the use of medieval stewes meant that cleanliness
did not decline completely; that people living in villages were largely unaffected
by the Roman withdrawal; and that responsibility for care within the home
passed from the father to the mother.
Change = RED
Continuity = GREEN
(From the Examiner’s Report)
Question 7
“Discoveries made during the Renaissance made
little practical difference to medical treatments
between 1500 and 1750.” How far do you agree
with this statement? (16 marks)
• Medical treatments
• William Harvey
Level 2 (5 -8 marks) - Statements are developed with
support from material which is mostly relevant and accurate.
• Describes the discoveries made by Vesalius and
Harvey
• Describes new developments such as a better
understanding of human anatomy
• Describes the improvements in technology eg
printing press, microscopes
• Describes the treatments and medical training
available, based on the work of Galen and the
continued importance of the theory of the 4
humours.
Level 3 (9 -12 marks) - Answer shows understanding of
the focus of the question and deploys sufficient accurate
and relevant material to support the points made.
• Explains how the discoveries related to developments
in anatomical/physiological knowledge and not the
understanding of illnesses or treatments
• Explains that the influence of the Church on education
and medical training meant it only used Galen’s ideas
and doctors/medical students weren’t encouraged to
deviate from accepted practice
Level 4 (13 – 16 marks) A sustained analysis is supported by
precisely selected and accurate material and with sharply
focused development of points made. The answer as a whole
will focus well on the question.
• Explains that the discoveries were both a breakthrough
and a ‘dead end’
• Limited or no impact on medical treatments as
discoveries didn’t help anyone get better
• Needed work of Pasteur and germs for advances in
causes of disease and then cures
• Medical knowledge advanced but not important until
years later
• Evaluates importance of proving Galen wrong
Questions 6 and 7 – key features
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Evaluates nature (type) and extent of change.
Focus on question throughout.
Detailed knowledge
Clearly structured, giving a balanced
argument, both sides needed.
• Range of examples.
There are sample answers to Qs 6 and
7 on the website, along with other
sample answers to 16 mark questions.
WHERE TO GO FOR EXAM INFO
• Your own notes (exercise books, revision notes)
• VTLE (My Courses – GCSE Medicine) here you will find a
copy of the textbook, videos, power points, mindmaps,
revision sheets and quizzes.
• Student Shared area – Departments –History – GCSE
• History website – GCSE – Medicine – here you will find
sample answers to past questions, including the ‘mock’
exam in January, knowledge tests (with answers to test
yourself) and podcasts.
history.ossettacademy .com