Cambridge & Pearson Edexcel Past Paper Questions
Browse 35,704 questions from Cambridge O-Level & A-Level and Pearson Edexcel IGCSE & IAL exams. Click any question to practice.
Many substances can move through cell surface membranes between the cytoplasm of animal cells and the extracellular environment. (a) A student made...
Collagen is a fibrous protein found in many tissues in animals. Fig. 2.1 shows the composition of a collagen fibre.
(a) Describe the induced-fit hypothesis of enzyme action. (b) Many marine organisms can become attached to hard surfaces such as rocks or the surfa...
(a) Fig. 4.1 shows a phosphorylated nucleotide which is one of the monomers that is used to synthesise DNA during replication. (b) Fig. 4.2 shows a...
Inhibitors are substances that prevent biological processes in a variety of different ways. Table 5.1 shows some antibiotics, their modes of action...
(a) A student studied the structure of a mammalian heart. The student took a photograph of the left side of a dissected heart as shown in Fig. 6.1....
The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae is commonly found in the throat. S. pneumoniae produces hydrogen peroxide as it grows. A sample can be taken...
Dialysis tubing is a partially permeable membrane. Glucose molecules can diffuse through the dialysis tubing. You are required to investigate the d...
K1 is a slide of a stained transverse section through a root.
Guinea pigs, Cavia porcellus, vary in the length and colour of their fur. Fig. 1.1 shows a guinea pig with short black fur. [Figure 1.1] Two genes ...
Exserohilum turcicum is a fungal pathogen. The growth of the mycelium of the fungus damages the leaves of maize plants, Zea mays. Leaf damage reduc...
Plants have several different photosynthetic pigments in their chloroplasts. (a) A student separated and identified the chloroplast pigments presen...
The wolf, Canis lupus, lives in North America. Wolves may have a grey or a black coat colour. The colour of an individual wolf depends on the DNA i...
The endocrine system and the nervous system both coordinate responses in mammals. (a) Complete Table 5.1 to show the features of three cell-signall...
The distribution of the large blue butterfly, Phengaris arion, extends across Europe and Asia. It is assessed by the International Union for Conser...
In aerobic respiration, most ATP is produced by oxidative phosphorylation. (a) Outline the features of ATP that make it suitable as the universal e...
LibertyLink® soybean is a genetically modified crop. It was first grown in 1996 and used in food products from 1998. It has been grown in 6 countri...
(a) Fig. 9.1 shows a longitudinal section of a human kidney. [Figure 9.1] Name the regions of the kidney labelled X and Y in Fig. 9.1. X Y (b) A bi...
Explain the relationship between genes, proteins and phenotype, with reference to two examples of genetic diseases in humans.
Rice, Oryza sativa, is a crop plant that has adapted to grow in flooded fields. Fig. 1.1 outlines the effects on rice plants of growing in flooded ...
Explain the terms gene, genotype and phenotype. gene genotype phenotype
The lac operon is present in the genome of the bacterium Escherichia coli. When glucose is not available, the presence of lactose in the extracellu...
The evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria has occurred as a result of natural selection.
Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a genetic disease that affects the nervous system. MLD is caused by mutations in the ARSA gene located on chr...
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (PKB) are enzymes involved in the regulation of blood glucose concentration. Fig. 6.1 shows a...
The Venus fly trap, Dionaea muscipula, is a plant that can capture insects. Each leaf of a Venus fly trap is modified to form 2 lobes. Fig. 7.1 sho...
Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable oil. It is obtained from the African oil palm, Elaeis guineensis. Oil palms are the highest yielding veg...
Fig. 9.1 shows an absorption spectrum for chlorophyll a and the corresponding action spectrum for a species of plant. Explain what is meant by an a...
Nerve impulses can be transmitted along a myelinated motor neurone to a neuromuscular junction at fast speeds of up to 100ms⁻¹. Outline how a trans...
The endocrine system and the nervous system both coordinate responses in mammals.
In aerobic respiration, most ATP is produced by oxidative phosphorylation.
Fig. 9.1 shows a longitudinal section of a human kidney.
Juglone is a chemical produced by plants in the genus Juglans, which includes different species of walnut tree. Fig. 1.1 shows a black walnut tree....
Compounds containing nitrite ions (NO₂⁻) are present in many foods eaten by humans. Scientists tested the effect of different concentrations of nit...
The plantain lily, Hosta plantaginea, as shown in Fig. 1.1, is a flowering plant found in Asia. [Figure 1.1] The hydrostatic pressure increases ins...
Scientists investigated the effect of abscisic acid (ABA) on reducing water loss in plants. The scientists predicted that ABA, as well as stimulati...
Seeds of the common stork's-bill, Erodium cicutarium, are shown in Fig. 3.1. [Figure 3.1] The awn is an extension on the E. cicutarium seed. The se...
Compounds containing nitrite ions (NO₂⁻) are present in many foods eaten by humans. Scientists tested the effect of different concentrations of ni...
Find the coefficients of x⁴ and x⁵ in the expansion of (1 – 2x)⁵.
A curve for which dy/dx = 3x² - 2/x² passes through (-1, 3). Find the equation of the curve.
The 12th term of an arithmetic progression is 17 and the sum of the first 31 terms is 1023. Find the 31st term.
Solve the equation sin⁻¹(3x) = −π/6, giving the solution in an exact form.
Two points have coordinates A (5, 7) and B (9, −1).
A vacuum flask (for keeping drinks hot) is modelled as a closed cylinder in which the internal radius is r cm and the internal height is h cm. The ...
The diagram shows a pyramid OABC with a horizontal triangular base OAB and vertical height OC. Angles AOB, BOC and AOC are each right angles. Unit ...
The function f is such that f(x) = a²x² – ax + 3b for x ≤ 1/(2a), where a and b are constants.
(a) [Figure 1] In Fig. 1, OAB is a sector of a circle with centre O and radius r. AX is the tangent at A to the arc AB and angle BAX = α. (b) [Figu...
The diagram shows part of the curve y = 1/16 (3x – 1)², which touches the x-axis at the point P. The point Q (3, 4) lies on the curve and the tange...
Find the set of values of k for which the equation 2x² + 3kx + k = 0 has distinct real roots.
In the expansion of (1/ax + 2ax²)⁵, the coefficient of x is 5. Find the value of the constant a.