Year 11 Paper 6: Full Topic Review
Covers cell structure and transport, digestion and the circulatory system, pathogens and communicable disease, photosynthesis, the nervous system and reflexes, hormones and homeostasis, genetics and inheritance, and ecosystems and material cycles.
Year 11 here means a typical teaching order, not a syllabus rule. No exam board defines what belongs to Year 11, and schools sequence the course differently. Check it against your own scheme of work before using it to decide what a class has covered.
Questions
Question 1 [4 marks]
Cell Structure and Transport
A student views a cheek cell using a light microscope.
The image of the cell measured on the photograph is 24 mm wide.
The actual width of the cheek cell is 60 micrometres.
Calculate the magnification of the image. Give your answer as a whole number.
Question 2 [4 marks]
Genetics and Inheritance
In snapdragon plants, flower colour shows codominance. The allele for red flowers (R) and the allele for white flowers (W) are both expressed if present together, producing pink flowers.
A red-flowered plant (RR) is crossed with a white-flowered plant (WW). Use a genetic diagram to determine the genotype and phenotype of all the offspring, and explain why this phenotype appears.
Question 3 [4 marks]
Photosynthesis
A student measures the volume of oxygen gas collected from pondweed using a gas syringe. In 5 minutes, 20 cm^3 of oxygen was collected.
Calculate the mean rate of photosynthesis in cm^3 of oxygen per minute, then calculate how long it would take to collect 50 cm^3 of oxygen at this rate.
Question 4 [5 marks]
Ecosystems and Material Cycles
In a food chain, a pesticide has a concentration of 0.002 mg/kg in algae. Each time an organism eats the trophic level below, the pesticide concentration in its body becomes 10 times more concentrated.
Calculate the pesticide concentration, in mg/kg, in the small fish that eat the algae, and in the large fish that eat the small fish.
Question 5 [5 marks]
The Nervous System and Reflexes
Some drugs work by blocking the receptor molecules on the postsynaptic neurone at a synapse, so that a neurotransmitter cannot bind to them.
Explain the effect this type of drug would have on the transmission of nerve impulses across that synapse.
Question 6 [5 marks]
Hormones and Homeostasis
Explain how insulin and glucagon work together as an antagonistic pair of hormones to keep blood glucose concentration within a narrow range.
Question 7 [5 marks]
Pathogens and Communicable Disease
In a village of 2000 people, 800 mosquito nets were distributed, each protecting 2 people.
Calculate the percentage of the village population protected by the nets, and calculate how many more nets would be needed to protect the whole village, assuming each net still protects 2 people.
Question 8 [6 marks]
Hormones and Homeostasis
A person with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes has a blood glucose concentration that is often much higher than normal.
Explain two ways in which persistently high blood glucose concentration could damage the body over time.
Question 9 [6 marks]
The Nervous System and Reflexes
A study investigated whether practice improves reaction time. Ten participants completed a reaction time test on Day 1 (mean 0.35 s) and again after five days of daily practice (mean 0.24 s). A control group of ten participants who did not practise had a mean reaction time of 0.34 s on Day 1 and 0.33 s on Day 5.
Calculate the decrease in mean reaction time, in seconds, for each group, and calculate how many times greater the decrease was in the practice group than in the control group. Then explain why including the control group makes this a fair test of whether practice improves reaction time.
Question 10 [6 marks]
Digestion and the Circulatory System
A patient's heart rate is 72 beats per minute and their stroke volume (the volume of blood pumped by the heart with each beat) is 70 cm^3.
Calculate the patient's cardiac output in cm^3 per minute, using cardiac output = heart rate x stroke volume. Then calculate the cardiac output in dm^3 per minute (1 dm^3 = 1000 cm^3), and explain what would happen to cardiac output during exercise and why this is useful.
Question 11 [6 marks]
The Nervous System and Reflexes
Explain, in terms of the lens and ciliary muscles, how the eye focuses on a near object rather than a distant object.
Question 12 [6 marks]
Pathogens and Communicable Disease
Before a hand-washing campaign in a hospital, 40 out of 800 patients developed a healthcare-associated infection in one month. After the campaign, 12 out of 750 patients developed an infection in one month.
Calculate the percentage of patients infected before and after the campaign, and explain, in terms of pathogen transmission, why improved hand hygiene reduces the spread of infection.
Question 13 [6 marks]
Digestion and the Circulatory System
At rest, a person's cardiac output is 5 dm^3 per minute, and the oxygen content of their blood is 200 cm^3 of oxygen per dm^3 of blood.
During exercise, cardiac output rises to 20 dm^3 per minute, and the oxygen content of the blood remains the same.
Calculate the volume of oxygen delivered to the body per minute at rest and during exercise, and calculate how many times greater the oxygen delivery is during exercise.
Question 14 [6 marks]
Photosynthesis
Lamp X has a light intensity of 8 arbitrary units at a distance of 10 cm, and light intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Lamp Y is a stronger lamp; at a distance of 10 cm it has a light intensity of 32 arbitrary units.
Calculate the distance from lamp Y at which its light intensity would equal 8 arbitrary units (the same as lamp X at 10 cm), and comment on what this tells you about the rate of photosynthesis in pondweed placed at these respective distances from each lamp.
Question 15 [6 marks]
Digestion and the Circulatory System
Large food molecules such as starch, proteins and fats are insoluble and cannot pass through the wall of the digestive system into the blood.
Explain how carbohydrase, protease and lipase enzymes allow these large molecules to be absorbed into the blood, naming the products each enzyme produces.
Model solutions
| Question 1[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| converting the actual width to the same units as the image: 60 micrometres = 0.06 mm | M1 |
| using magnification = image size / actual size | M1 |
| substituting 24 / 0.06 | M1 |
| magnification = x400 | A1 |
| Final answer: x400 | |
| Question 2[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| a correctly completed genetic diagram (Punnett square) crossing RR with WW | M1 |
| all offspring having the genotype RW | A1 |
| all offspring having a pink phenotype | A1 |
| explaining that because R and W are codominant, both alleles are expressed together in a heterozygous plant, producing a blended pink phenotype rather than a plant being purely red or white | B1 |
| Final answer: All offspring have the genotype RW and a pink phenotype, because in codominance both the red and white alleles are expressed together | |
| Question 3[4 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| using rate = volume / time | M1 |
| substituting 20 / 5 | M1 |
| 4 cm^3 per minute | A1 |
| time = 50 / 4 = 12.5 minutes | A1independent |
| Final answer: Rate = 4 cm^3 of oxygen per minute; it would take 12.5 minutes to collect 50 cm^3 | |
| Question 4[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| using concentration = previous level's concentration x 10 | M1 |
| small fish concentration = 0.002 x 10 | M1 |
| 0.02 mg/kg | A1 |
| large fish concentration = 0.02 x 10 | M1 |
| 0.2 mg/kg | A1 |
| Final answer: The small fish have a concentration of 0.02 mg/kg and the large fish have a concentration of 0.2 mg/kg | |
| Question 5[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| normally, a neurotransmitter released from the presynaptic neurone diffuses across the synapse and binds to specific receptor molecules on the postsynaptic neurone | B1 |
| this binding normally triggers a new electrical impulse in the postsynaptic neurone | B1 |
| if the drug blocks (occupies) the receptor molecules, the neurotransmitter can no longer bind to them | B1 |
| without the neurotransmitter binding to a receptor, a new impulse cannot be triggered in the postsynaptic neurone | B1 |
| the drug would therefore prevent (or reduce) transmission of the nerve impulse across that synapse | B1 |
| Final answer: Blocking the postsynaptic receptors stops the neurotransmitter binding to them, so a new impulse cannot be triggered in the postsynaptic neurone, preventing transmission of the nerve impulse across that synapse | |
| Question 6[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| if blood glucose concentration rises too high (e.g. after a meal), the pancreas releases insulin | B1 |
| insulin causes cells to take up glucose from the blood (and the liver to store it as glycogen), lowering blood glucose concentration | B1 |
| if blood glucose concentration falls too low, the pancreas releases glucagon instead | B1 |
| glucagon causes the liver to break down glycogen into glucose, releasing it into the blood, raising blood glucose concentration | B1 |
| because insulin and glucagon have opposite effects, and each is released when blood glucose moves in the opposite direction, together they form a negative feedback system that returns blood glucose towards normal | B1 |
| Final answer: Insulin is released when blood glucose is too high and lowers it by promoting glucose uptake/storage; glucagon is released when it is too low and raises it by releasing stored glucose; as an antagonistic pair with opposite effects, they form a negative feedback system keeping blood glucose within a narrow range | |
| Question 7[5 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| people protected = 800 x 2 = 1600 | M1 |
| percentage protected = (1600 / 2000) x 100 | M1 |
| 80% | A1 |
| remaining people = 2000 - 1600 = 400, nets needed = 400 / 2 | M1 |
| 200 more nets | A1 |
| Final answer: 80% of the village is protected; 200 more nets would be needed to protect everyone | |
| Question 8[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| persistently high blood glucose concentration can damage blood vessels over time | B1 |
| damage to blood vessels can reduce blood supply to organs, and increases the risk of conditions such as heart disease or poor circulation to the limbs | B1 |
| high blood glucose concentration can also damage nerves over time | B1 |
| nerve damage can cause loss of sensation, particularly in the extremities such as the feet, meaning injuries may go unnoticed | B1 |
| high blood glucose can damage the small blood vessels in the eyes (the retina) | B1 |
| this eye damage can gradually impair vision and, if untreated, cause blindness | B1 |
| Final answer: Persistently high blood glucose can damage blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease and poor circulation, and can damage nerves and the small vessels in the eyes, causing loss of sensation and, over time, damage to vision | |
| Question 9[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| the practice group's decrease = 0.35 - 0.24 = 0.11 s | M1 |
| the control group's decrease = 0.34 - 0.33 = 0.01 s | M1 |
| using ratio = practice group decrease / control group decrease | M1 |
| 11 times greater | A1 |
| the control group experiences the same test conditions and the same time gap, but without the daily practice, so it shows what change in reaction time (if any) happens without practice | B1 |
| since the control group's reaction time barely changed while the practice group's fell much more, the difference is likely due to practice rather than another factor, such as simply becoming more familiar with the test | B1 |
| Final answer: The practice group's reaction time fell by 0.11 s compared with only 0.01 s in the control group, an 11 times greater decrease; the control group holds other factors constant, showing the improvement is due to practice rather than repeating the test alone | |
| Question 10[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| using cardiac output = heart rate x stroke volume | M1 |
| substituting 72 x 70 | M1 |
| cardiac output = 5040 cm^3 per minute | A1 |
| converting to 5.04 dm^3 per minute | A1 |
| during exercise, cardiac output increases because both heart rate and stroke volume increase | B1 |
| a higher cardiac output delivers oxygen and glucose to respiring muscles faster and removes carbon dioxide more quickly, meeting the increased demand | B1 |
| Final answer: Cardiac output = 5040 cm^3 per minute (5.04 dm^3 per minute); during exercise cardiac output increases, as heart rate and stroke volume both rise, delivering oxygen and glucose to muscles faster | |
| Question 11[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| to focus on a near object, the ciliary muscles contract | B1 |
| this reduces the tension in the suspensory ligaments (they become slack) | B1 |
| the lens, no longer being pulled taut, becomes fatter/more rounded, increasing its power to refract (bend) light | B1 |
| this greater refraction is needed to focus light from a nearby object (which diverges more) onto the retina | B1 |
| to focus on a distant object, the ciliary muscles instead relax and the suspensory ligaments become taut | B1 |
| this pulls the lens thin, reducing its power, which is enough to focus the more parallel light rays from a distant object | B1 |
| Final answer: For a near object, ciliary muscles contract, slackening the suspensory ligaments so the lens becomes fatter and more powerful, refracting light strongly enough to focus it on the retina; for a distant object the ciliary muscles relax, the ligaments pull the lens thin, and its lower power is enough to focus the more parallel light | |
| Question 12[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| before percentage = (40 / 800) x 100 | M1 |
| 5% | A1 |
| after percentage = (12 / 750) x 100 | M1 |
| 1.6% | A1 |
| pathogens can be transferred from a contaminated hand to another person, or to a surface then another person, causing infection | B1 |
| washing hands removes/kills pathogens, reducing the chance of pathogens being transferred between patients (or between staff and patients) | B1 |
| Final answer: Infection rate fell from 5% to 1.6%; hand hygiene reduces spread because pathogens are transferred between people (or via surfaces) on contaminated hands, and washing removes or kills them before they can be passed on | |
| Question 13[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| using oxygen delivered per minute = cardiac output x oxygen content of blood | M1 |
| substituting the resting values, 5 x 200 | M1 |
| 1000 cm^3 of oxygen per minute at rest | A1 |
| substituting the exercise values, 20 x 200 | M1 |
| 4000 cm^3 of oxygen per minute during exercise | A1 |
| oxygen delivery during exercise being 4 times greater than at rest | B1independent |
| Final answer: 1000 cm^3 of oxygen is delivered per minute at rest and 4000 cm^3 per minute during exercise, 4 times greater during exercise | |
| Question 14[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| finding lamp Y's constant of proportionality, k = 32 x 10^2 = 3200 | M1 |
| setting 3200 / d^2 = 8 | M1 |
| rearranging to d^2 = 3200 / 8 = 400 | M1 |
| d = 20 cm | A1 |
| lamp Y can be placed twice as far away (20 cm compared with 10 cm) as lamp X and still provide the same light intensity, because it is a stronger lamp | B1 |
| since light intensity is the same in each case, pondweed placed at these respective distances from each lamp would be expected to photosynthesise at the same rate (assuming no other factor is limiting) | B1 |
| Final answer: Lamp Y would need to be 20 cm away to give the same intensity as lamp X at 10 cm; because lamp Y is stronger, it can be placed twice as far away and still produce the same rate of photosynthesis in the pondweed, assuming light remains the limiting factor | |
| Question 15[6 marks] | |
|---|---|
| Answer or working | Marks |
| carbohydrase enzymes (such as amylase) break down starch into simple sugars, such as glucose | B1 |
| protease enzymes break down proteins into amino acids | B1 |
| lipase enzymes break down fats (lipids) into fatty acids and glycerol | B1 |
| these smaller products (glucose, amino acids, fatty acids and glycerol) are soluble | B1 |
| being soluble and small allows them to diffuse across the wall of the small intestine into the blood | B1 |
| the products then being used by cells around the body, for example for respiration or to build new proteins | B1 |
| Final answer: Carbohydrase breaks starch into glucose, protease breaks proteins into amino acids, and lipase breaks fats into fatty acids and glycerol; these smaller, soluble molecules can diffuse into the blood and be used by cells | |