Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
Dogs have an exceptionally good sense of smell. They can detect molecules in the air with a concentration of one part per trillion (10¹²).
Fig. 7.1 shows two chromosomes in one stage of meiosis. The letters G to M represent the dominant alleles of seven genes and the letters g to m rep...
Fig. 8.1 shows a transmission electron micrograph of a mitochondrion. [Figure 8.1]
Students at a college often took a shortcut between the library and the tennis courts across an area of open land. The area of open land was covere...
Indigo carmine is a water-soluble indicator. When oxygen is bubbled through a solution of this indicator, the colour changes from colourless to blu...
Which cell organelles are clearly visible when viewed with a light microscope at high power (×400)? [Figure 1.1]
Microvilli and root hairs are characteristic structures of some cell types. Which row identifies some features of a microvillus and a root hair? [F...
The photomicrograph is of a plant cell. The cell is 25 µm in width from X to Y. What is the magnification of the photomicrograph? [Figure 3.1]
Which eukaryotic cell structures all contain nucleic acids?
Which statements about viruses are correct? 1 They contain DNA or RNA. 2 They use host cells to synthesise virus proteins. 3 They can have a protec...
What are features of prokaryote cells, chloroplasts and mitochondria? [Figure 6.1]
A student used Benedict's solution to test a sample known to contain carbohydrate. At the end of the test the solution was blue. Which carbohydrate...
Which row matches each molecule to a type of bond that is present? [Figure 9.1]
Which row shows features of a carbohydrate polymer found inside animal cells? [Figure 10.1]
The statements describe the structure of a polysaccharide found in the cell walls of certain plants. 1 The polysaccharide is composed of two differ...
The general formula for a saturated fatty acid is CnH2nO2. Which of these fatty acids are unsaturated? 1 C10H19COOH 2 C15H31COOH 3 C17H31COOH 4 C18...
What enables triglycerides to perform their functions in living organisms? 1 Triglycerides have hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. 2 Triglyceride...
The diagrams show three examples of different bonds. Which bonds can hold the quaternary structure of proteins together? [Figure 14.1]
Which row correctly describes the primary structure, secondary structure, tertiary structure and quaternary structure of some proteins? [Figure 15.1]
Which relationships could be investigated using a colorimeter? 1 the effect of light intensity on the rate at which a solution of a light-sensitive...
Which transport mechanism does not require a concentration gradient to be present in order to take place?
High concentrations of ethanol disrupt cell membrane structure by denaturing proteins and increasing the separation of adjacent phospholipid molecu...
In an investigation, a plant cell was placed in pure water. The initial rate at which water molecules entered the cell, R, was greater than the ini...
The protein p53 is produced in a cell in response to DNA damage. This protein stops the cell cycle for a short time just before the DNA is replicat...
Some parts of a typical human chromosome are more numerous than others. Which parts are listed in order from the most numerous to the least numerous?
Which row correctly describes a stage of mitosis? [Figure 22.1]
The diagram represents a nucleotide containing adenine. Which statements about this nucleotide are correct? 1 The carbohydrate is a pentose. 2 The ...
Which row is correct for the replication of a DNA molecule? [Figure 24.1]
Some students were asked to look at the photomicrograph of a cross-section of unfamiliar material and describe what they could see. The students de...
The diagram shows the relationship between phloem sieve tube elements, xylem vessel elements and companion cells. Which row correctly identifies wh...
Why does an air bubble in a xylem vessel element stop the flow of water? 1 loss of adhesion 2 loss of cohesion 3 collapse of xylem vessel element
Which changes to the water potential and the volume of solution in a phloem sieve tube occur when amino acids are moved into a sink from the phloem...
Which feature of some xerophytic leaves reduces the rate of transpiration by decreasing the water potential gradient between the internal leaf surf...
The diagram shows a cross-section through a mammalian heart. Which chambers of the heart are represented by G and H? [Figure 30.1]
Blood entering the heart from the vena cava passes through, or past, several structures before entering the lungs. Five of these structures are inc...
The bar charts show the quantity of endothelial tissue, elastic tissue and muscle tissue in the walls of three blood vessels, P, Q and R. Which row...
The maximum pressure in each of the four chambers of a healthy human heart was recorded during one cardiac cycle. The maximum pressures recorded we...
The graph shows the pressure changes in three structures of the right side of the heart during the cardiac cycle. What is represented by the line l...
Which statement helps to explain why there is no cartilage in the walls of the bronchioles?
The photomicrograph shows a cross-section of part of the gas exchange system of a mammal. What is shown by the line labelled V? [Figure 36.1]
Which feature of the disease cholera decreases the spread of the pathogen Vibrio cholerae?
Which row shows how penicillin kills bacteria? [Figure 38.1]
In the hybridoma method, what is grown by cell culture to produce monoclonal antibodies?
Which type of immunity does a baby have at birth?
(a) Table 1.1 shows three of the processes by which substances in solution can move across cell membranes. It also lists five statements that may a...
(a) Fig. 2.1 shows a cell at one of the main stages of mitosis in the mitotic cell cycle. [Figure 2.1] (b) State the role of telomeres during DNA r...
(a) Enzymes are polymers of amino acids. Complete Fig. 3.1 to show the general structure of an amino acid. [Figure 3.1] (b) When bananas are peeled...
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of ill health worldwide. (a) State the name of a bacterium that causes TB in humans. (b) Fig. 4.1 is a scanning ...