Biology Unit 1 Repeat Questions

1. Explain why water is an effective molecule for transporting other

molecules around living organisms.
 water is a solvent
 water is slightly charged
 polar molecules can dissolve in water
 water is viscous
 water as a liquid assists mass flow

2. Suggest two differences between fibrinogen and fibrin.

 fibrinogen is globular and fibrin is fibrous
 fibrinogen is soluble and fibrin is insoluble

3. Describe the blood clotting process.

 there is a cascade of events
 thromboplastin starts the cascade
 thromboplastin is an enzyme
 thromboplastin converts prothrombin into thrombin
 this needs calcium ions
 thrombin converts fibrinogen into fibrin
 mesh of fibrin forms
 platelets get trapped in the mesh

4. Describe how the structure of an artery is related to its functions.

 elastic fibres
 allow stretching to accommodate higher blood pressure
 folded endothelium
 allow stretching to accommodate higher blood pressure
 smooth muscle
 muscle can contract
 smooth lining
 reduces friction
 narrow lumen
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 to maintain high blood pressure
 collagen
 avoids rupture

5. Describe the circulation if blood in a fish.

 blood flows from heart to gills
 blood glows from gills to rest of the body
 blood flows from body back to heart
 this is single circulation

6. Suggest advantages that the human circulatory system has compared

with that of a fish.
 blood flows faster to the body
 blood flows slower to the lungs
 this reduces risk of damage to lungs
 more efficient gaseous exchange
7. Suggest why small organisms do not need a specialised gas exchange
system.
 only a short distance from surface to cells inside the body
 diffusion alone is sufficient
 they have a low activity

8. Explain why many animals need a heart and a circulatory system.

 heart is needed to pump blood around the body
 allowing mass flow
 many animals have a small surface area to volume ratio
 a circulatory system is needed to overcome limitations of diffusion
 many animals have a high metabolic rate

9. Explain why multi-cellular animals require a respiratory system.

 diffusion over external surface is not enough
 smaller surface area to volume ratio
 respiratory system has large surface area
 diffusion would be too slow

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10.Suggest how circulatory system in mammals enables efficient gas
exchange.
 mass flow is generated by heart
 moving blood helps maintain a concentration gradient
 a steep concentration gradient gives a fast rate of diffusion
 network of capillaries
 large surface area increases the rate of diffusion
 capillaries have very thin walls
 diffusion is fastest over small distances
 no organs are far away from blood
 efficiency is related to double circulation

11.Describe how the structure of the human lung is adapted for efficient
gas exchange.
 many small alveoli
 covered by extensive network of capillaries
 ensuring large surface area for gas exchange
 thin capillary walls
 increases diffusion

12.Describe the roles of the heart valves in the cardiac cycle.

 atria contract/atrial systole
 atrioventricular valves open so that blood flows from atria to ventricles
 ventricles contract/ventricular systole
 semilunar valves open so that blood leaves ventricles
 ventricles relax/ventricular diastole
 semilunar valves close to prevent backflow of blood to ventricles

13.Describe the roles of the atrioventricular valves during the cardiac cycle.
 valves separate atria from ventricles
 open during atrial systole
 so that blood can pass through ventricles
 closed during ventricular systole

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 to prevent blood being forced back/backflow
 open during diastole
 so that ventricles can start to fill up

14.Suggest why a faulty atrioventricular valve could lead to symptoms of

breathlessness and lack of energy.
 valves don’t shut properly
 some backflow of blood from ventricles to atria
 during ventricular systole
 lower blood pressure
 less efficient supply of oxygen
 blood pressure in lungs increases

15.Describe the structure of a mammalian heart.

 there are four chambers
 the atria are on the upper side and the ventricles on the lower
 septum separates the right and the left side
 the walls are muscular in nature
 the heart is made of cardiac muscle
 the ventricles walls are thicker than that of atria
 the atrioventricular valves are between the atria and ventricles
 the semilunar valves are at the base of the aorta

16.Describe how atherosclerosis develops.

 damage to endothelial cells of artery
 causes an inflammatory response
 migration of white blood cells to that area
 build up of cholesterol
 formation of atheroma
 narrowing of lumen
 the process is self-perpetuating

17.Describe the location of the following structures and explain their

functions.

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 a) Semilunar Valves
I. Location
 base of the aorta
II. Function
 prevents backflow of blood during atrial systole
b) Elastic Fibres
I. Location
 middle layer of the wall of the vessel
II. Function
 it allows stretching to prevent damage to aorta

18.Explain the difference in thickness of the wall of the right atrium and the
wall of the right ventricle
 right atrium has less muscle
 thickness is related to blood pressure required
 right atrium pumps blood to right ventricle
 right ventricle pumps blood to lungs

19.During the cardiac cycle, the changes in pressure that occur in the left
atrium and in the left ventricle are different. Explain these differences.
 pressure changes are smaller in the atrium than ventricle
 the atrium has less cardiac muscle than ventricle
 the atrium does not have to push the blood as far as the ventricle has to
 the increase in pressure begins in the atrium before the ventricle
 atrial systole has to happen before ventricular systole in order for the
ventricle to fill with blood
 increase in atrial pressure causes increase in pressure in ventricle

20.Explain why the heart is divided into a right side and a left side.
 keeps oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood separate
 this results in as much oxygen as possible being carried to tissues
 different pressures at each side of the heart

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 21.Give reasons why Daphnia is a suitable organism for investigating the
effect of chemicals on heart rate.
 heart can be seen
 Daphnia are simple organisms
 fewer ethical concerns because it is an invertebrate
 abundant
 they can absorb chemicals from the surrounding solution quickly

22.Describe the structure of starch

 alpha glucose
 glycosidic bonds
 amylose and amylopectin
 amylose has 1,4 glycosidic bonds and amylopectin has 1,4 and 1,6
glycosidic bonds
 amylose is spiralled
 amylopectin is branched
 compact molecule

23.Describe the structure of glycogen and explain why it is a suitable

molecule for storing energy.

Structure

 consists of alpha glucose

 joined by 1,4 and 1,6 glycosidic bonds
 branched structure
 compact structure

Why suitable

 easily hydrolysed
 leading to more glucose in a smaller space
 low solubility
 does not diffuse out of cells
 no osmotic effect

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24.Suggest differences between a monosaccharide and a polysaccharide.

25.Describe the structure of an amino acid.

 contains one amino group and one carboxyl group
 central carbon atom
 this binds with R groups

26.Describe the structure of a fibrous protein.

 long
 amino acid sequence repetitive
 no tertiary structure
 chains lie parallel
 joined by disulfide bridges

27.Explain why the combination of a high-fat diet and low activity levels
may lead to CVD.
 energy imbalance
 individual becoming overweight
 increased blood pressure
 obesity leads to diabetes
 increased blood cholesterol levels
 damage to endothelium
 formation of atheroma
 narrowing of lumen

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28.Explain why different enzymes are involved in the formation different
carbohydrates.
 enzymes are specific
 due to shape of active site
 only allowing certain substrates to bind

29.Suggest how mutation causes the structure to be altered.

 mutation changes the sequence of bases in DNA
 the sequence of bases is the primary structure
 the primary structure is altered
 different amino acid is made
 resulting in different bonding
 between the R groups
 changing the shape of the protein

30.Describe the three dimensional (tertiary) structure of an enzyme.

 globular
 active site
 specific shape of active site
 bonds between R groups
 such as hydrogen bonds

31.Explain how the primary structure of an enzyme determines its three-

dimensional structure and properties.
 primary structure determines the positioning of the bonds
 polar on the outside of enzymes and non-polar on the inside
 globular and soluble
 determines the shape of the active site
 enzyme substrate complex forms
 enzymes are specific
32.Describe an experiment that could be carried out to investigate the
effect of enzyme concentration on initial rate of reaction.
 range of enzyme concentrations (at least 5)
 substrate concentration not limiting

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 measure volume of oxygen evolved in every 20 seconds
 plot graph and calculate rate from linear part of graph
 control variable: pH, temperature, volume, concentration of substrate
 repeat at each enzyme concentration
 do control experiment for comparison

33.Describe the process of DNA replication.

 the process is semi-conservative
 DNA molecule unwinds
 DNA polymerase
 lines up mononucleotides
 according to the base pairing rule
 hydrogen bonds form between bases
 phosphodiester bonds form between adjacent mononucleotides
 by condensation reaction

34.Describe the process of transcription in protein synthesis.

 DNA molecule unzips
 RNA polymerase lines up RNA mononucleotides against one strand
 complementary base pairing between DNA and mononucleotides
 phosphodiester bond forms
 by condensation reaction
 mRNA detaches from DNA

35.Describe the process of protein synthesis that occurs in the cytoplasm

(translation).
 ribosome attached to mRNA
 tRNA carries an amino acid
 anticodon codon interaction between tRNA and mRNA
 formation of hydrogen bond between tRNA and mRNA
 peptide bonds form between tRNA and mRNA
 peptide bonds form by condensation reaction
 tRNA released from mRNA
 ribosome detaches from sequence on mRNA

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36.Describe the roles of the following in protein synthesis.
a) Messenger RNA
 mRNA is a copy of the genetic code
 of the protein synthesised
 moves out of the nucleus
 acts as a template for translation
b) Transfer RNA
 translation
 binds to an amino acid
 tRNA is specific to amino acid
 holds the amino acid in place

37.Distinguish between mRNA and tRNA.

 tRNA is folded and mRNA is straight
 tRNA has hydrogen bonds
 tRNA is fixed size but mRNA is not
 tRNA has codons but mRNA has anti-codons
 tRNA has an amino acid binding site

38.Describe differences between replication and transcription of DNA.

39.Describe the structure of a cell membrane.

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 phospholipid bilayer
 correct orientation and structure of the phospholipids in the bilayer
 explanation of why phospholipids are oriented this way
 proteins in membrane
 two different locations of protein: extrinsic, intrinsic, transmembrane
 glycoproteins
 cholesterol within the membrane

40.Explain how phospholipid molecules form a bilayer.

 fatty acids are hydrophobic
 and aggregate together
 phosphate groups are hydrophilic
 and associate with water
 two monolayers form a bilayer

41.Describe an experiment to investigate the effect of temperature on the

permeability of cell membrane.
 collect beetroot from the same place
 use beetroot of the same size
 wash the beetroot thoroughly
 use water bath to change temperature
 repeat at each temperature
 calibrate colorimeter to zero absorbance for water and set to blue green
filter

42.Describe the role of proteins in:

a) Active Transport Mechanism
 molecules bind to protein carriers
 protein carrier changes shape
 molecules move against a concentration gradient
 this requires ATP
b) Facilitated Diffusion
 channel proteins
 channels can open or close

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 for large molecules to pass through membrane
 molecules move down a concentration gradient

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