Cambridge Past Paper Questions
Browse 23,045questions from 25 years of O-Level & A-Level exams. Click any question to practice.
A vaccine is used to create artificial active immunity. After being given a vaccine, it will take a period of time before a person develops long-te...
Fig. 1.1 is an electron micrograph of part of a eukaryotic cell. [Figure 1.1]
The main cause of tuberculosis (TB) in humans is the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Most cases of the disease involve the lungs. The bacteri...
The unicellular fungus Kluyveromyces lactis is found in dairy products. It is a safe microorganism to culture for the extraction of the enzyme lact...
Fig. 4.1 is a diagram of a section through part of a young root. [Figure 4.1]
The sinoatrial node (SAN) and the atrioventricular node (AVN) are two regions of the heart. Fig. 5.1 shows features that are observed in transverse...
In a dividing cell, DNA replication occurs before mitosis. Steps in DNA replication are outlined in Fig. 6.1. [Figure 6.1]. Fig. 6.2 is a photomicr...
Mung bean seeds contain an enzyme that is used to hydrolyse (break down) sucrose into reducing sugars. This enzyme is essential to provide the redu...
P1 is a slide of a stained transverse section through a plant leaf. You are not expected to be familiar with this specimen. You are required to: • ...
The aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis, is a primate native to Madagascar. Aye-ayes are nocturnal (active at night) and make their nests high up...
Motor neurones are cells within the nervous system.
The ẞ-globin gene codes for the ẞ-globin polypeptide of haemoglobin. It has two alleles, HbA (normal) and Hbs (sickle cell). The sickle cell allele...
Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) is an important enzyme involved in the light independent stage (Calvin cycle) of photosyn...
The contraction of striated muscle is explained by the sliding filament model.
The black pigment melanin, which contributes to hair, skin and eye colour, is produced by cells known as melanocytes.
Fig. 7.1 shows a red deer, Cervus elaphus. Red deer are herbivores that feed on a wide range of plants. [Figure 7.1] The number of red deer in the ...
Structures and compounds involved in respiration include: 1 coenzyme A 2 cytoplasm 3 pyruvate 4 NAD 5 outer mitochondrial membrane 6 carrier protei...
Biological washing liquids are solutions that contain enzymes to help remove stains caused by biological molecules. One of these enzymes is lipase....
The eye has sensory receptors that convert light energy into nerve impulses. The ability of the human eye to detect separate stimuli one after anot...
The diagram below was drawn from an electron micrograph of an animal cell. [Figure shows an electron micrograph of an animal cell.] Which diagram w...
The diameter of a red blood cell in a diagram was measured as 2.5 cm. The actual diameter of the red blood cell was 7 µm. Which calculation would g...
The diagram shows a fin whale drawn to scale. [Figure shows a fin whale with a scale bar of 3m.] A student made three statements about the diagram....
Which structures are found in both chloroplasts and mitochondria? 1 70S ribosomes 2 80S ribosomes 3 circular DNA
Radioactively labelled amino acids are introduced into a cell that is actively secreting an enzyme. In which cell structure will the radioactivity ...
Ribosomes exist as separate subunits that are bound together during protein synthesis. What do these subunits consist of?
Four solutions were tested with Benedict's solution. The table shows the colour of the solutions after testing. [Table with solution number and col...
The diagram shows a molecule of three hexose sugars. [Figure shows diagrams of three hexose sugars labelled 1, 2, 3] Which row correctly shows exam...
Which feature of glycogen distinguishes glycogen from starch?
A student wrote four statements about what happens during hydrolysis of a carbohydrate. 1 Disaccharides are formed from monosaccharides. 2 Glycosid...
The table compares three molecules, X, Y and Z, which contain the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen only. The percentage of carbon, hydrogen and...
Which statements about the differences between phospholipids and triglycerides are correct? 1 Phospholipids have hydrophobic regions but triglyceri...
An investigation was carried out into the effect of different treatments on the permeability of the cell surface membranes and tonoplasts of beetro...
Which levels of protein structure can determine the specificity of an enzyme? 1 primary 2 secondary 3 tertiary 4 quaternary
The graph shows the effect of substrate concentration on the initial rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction. The enzyme concentration is constant. [F...
The diagram represents the reversible interaction between the active site of an enzyme and different inhibitors, X and Y. [Figure shows an enzyme w...
Which statements about the movement of water in and out of cells are correct? 1 Water moves from regions of more negative water potential to region...
The diagram shows part of a cell surface membrane. [Figure shows a fluid mosaic model of a cell membrane with components labelled 1 to 6] Which row...
During mitosis in animal cells, which process occurs after prophase?
Embryonic stem cells are able to replicate continuously. What happens to the telomeres during repeated mitotic cell cycles of embryonic stem cells?
A length of DNA was analysed and sequenced. 24% of its nitrogenous bases were adenine. Which percentage of the bases will be cytosine?
Rifampicin is an antibiotic used to treat tuberculosis (TB). It works by inhibiting RNA polymerase in bacteria. Which processes are directly inhibi...
Which terms describe the method by which water is transported within xylem vessel elements? 1 mass flow 2 cohesion-tension 3 osmosis
Which combination of features is characteristic of a phloem sieve tube element as it is loaded from a source?
The diagrams show transverse sections of parts of a plant with some transport tissues labelled from 1 to 6. [Figure shows transverse sections of a ...
Which properties of lignin are important for the function of xylem vessels in the stem of a tall plant, such as a tree? 1 It is inflexible so does ...
A heating sleeve was placed around the trunk of a small tree at a height of 1 m above the ground. This allowed a narrow region of the tree trunk to...
The photomicrograph shows a section through a structure found in mammals viewed using a light microscope. [Figure shows a cross-section of an arter...
Which row correctly identifies the locations in which a type of molecule or cell can be present? [Table with molecule/cell type and locations: bloo...