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1
AQA Level 1/2 Certificate
June 2015
2
3
Biology
8401/1
4
5
Paper 1
6
Tuesday 12 May 2015
1.30 pm to 3.00 pm
7
For this paper you must have:
 a ruler.
You may use a calculator.
8
9
Time allowed
 1 hour 30 minutes
A
TOTAL
Instructions
 Use black ink or black ball-point pen.
 Fill in the boxes at the top of this page.
 Answer all questions.
 You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write
outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
 Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want
to be marked.
Information
 The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
 The maximum mark for this paper is 90.
 You are expected to use a calculator where appropriate.
 You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in
your answers.
 Question 5(c) should be answered in continuous prose.
In this question you will be marked on your ability to:
– use good English
– organise information clearly
– use specialist vocabulary where appropriate.
Advice
 In all calculations, show clearly how you work out your answer.
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Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
1
The human body is organised to carry out many different functions.
1 (a)
Use words from the box to complete Figure 1 by putting the parts of the body in order
of size from smallest to largest.
The smallest one has been done for you.
[2 marks]
cell
organ system
organ
tissue
Figure 1
cell
Smallest
Largest
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1 (b)
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The stomach is made of different types of tissue.
Draw one line from each type of stomach tissue to the correct description.
[3 marks]
Type of stomach tissue
Description
Allows food to be churned around the stomach
Epithelial tissue
Covers the outside and the inside of the stomach
Glandular tissue
Produces digestive juices
Muscular tissue
Coordinates nerve impulses
1 (c)
Animals can react to their surroundings because they have nervous systems.
A student investigated the behaviour of small animals called woodlice.
The student set up the investigation as shown in Figure 2.
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The student covered one half of a Petri dish with black paper to make that side of
the Petri dish dark.
The other side had no cover.
The student put five woodlice into each side of the dish and then put the clear
Petri dish lid back on the dish.
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Figure 2
Light side
Dark side
Woodlice
After 30 minutes, all the woodlice had moved to the dark side of the Petri dish.
1 (c) (i)
In this investigation, what is the stimulus that the woodlice responded to?
[1 mark]
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1 (c) (ii) In this investigation, what is the response that the woodlice made?
[1 mark]
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1 (c) (iii) The student concluded that woodlice prefer dark conditions.
Give two ways in which the student could improve the investigation to be sure that his
conclusion was correct.
[2 marks]
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2 (a)
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In humans there are two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis.
Table 1 gives statements about cell division.
Tick () one box in each row to show if the statement is true for mitosis only, for
meiosis only, or for both mitosis and meiosis.
The first row has been done for you.
[4 marks]
Table 1
Statement
How cells are replaced
Mitosis only
Meiosis only
Both mitosis
and meiosis

How gametes are made
How a fertilised egg undergoes cell division
How copies of the genetic information are made
How genetically identical cells are produced
2 (b)
Stem cells can be taken from human embryos.
In therapeutic cloning, an embryo is produced that has the same genes as the patient.
2 (b) (i)
Name one source of human stem cells, other than human embryos.
[1 mark]
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2 (b) (ii) Stem cells from embryos can be transplanted into patients for medical treatment.
Give one advantage of using stem cells from embryos, compared with cells from the
source you named in part (b)(i).
[1 mark]
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3
This question is about hormones.
3 (a) (i)
Hormones carry messages.
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What type of messenger is a hormone?
Draw a ring around the correct answer.
[1 mark]
chemical
electrical
environmental
3 (a) (ii) Which part of the brain secretes hormones?
Draw a ring around the correct answer.
[1 mark]
cerebellum
3 (b)
medulla
pituitary gland
Figure 3 shows the level of a pregnancy hormone over a 40-week pregnancy.
This hormone can be detected in a pregnancy test.
Figure 3
Hormone
level
0
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
Weeks of pregnancy
32
36
40
A woman takes a pregnancy test.
In which week of pregnancy is the test most likely to give a positive result?
Use information from Figure 3.
[1 mark]
Write the correct answer in the box.
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3 (c)
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Figure 4 shows the levels of three other hormones during pregnancy.
The baby is usually born at about 40 weeks.
Figure 4
Oxytocin
Progesterone
Hormone
level
Oestrogen
0
3 (c) (i)
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
Weeks of pregnancy
32
36
40
Describe the patterns in the levels of oestrogen and progesterone from 0 to 36 weeks.
[4 marks]
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3 (c) (ii) Which hormone is likely to stimulate contractions of the uterus (womb) when the baby
is born?
Use information from Figure 4 to give a reason for your answer.
[2 marks]
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9
10
4
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Figure 5 shows an epithelial cell from the lining of the small intestine.
Figure 5
Direction in which
food is absorbed
Highly folded surface
Mitochondria
A
4 (a) (i)
In Figure 5, the part of the cell labelled A contains chromosomes.
What is the name of part A?
[1 mark]
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4 (a) (ii) How are most soluble food molecules absorbed into the epithelial cells of the small
intestine?
Draw a ring around the correct answer.
[1 mark]
diffusion
4 (b)
osmosis
respiration
Suggest how the highly folded cell surface helps the epithelial cell to absorb soluble
food.
[1 mark]
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4 (c)
Epithelial cells also carry out active transport.
4 (c) (i)
Name one food molecule absorbed into epithelial cells by active transport.
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[1 mark]
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4 (c) (ii) Why is it necessary to absorb some food molecules by active transport?
[1 mark]
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4 (c) (iii) Suggest why epithelial cells have many mitochondria.
[2 marks]
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4 (d)
Some plants also carry out active transport.
Give one substance that plants absorb by active transport.
[1 mark]
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5
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The parts of the blood can be separated from each other by spinning the blood in a
centrifuge.
Figure 6 shows the separated parts of a 10 cm3 blood sample.
Figure 6
10 cm3
Plasma
5 cm3
White blood cells and platelets
Red blood cells
5 (a)
Calculate the percentage of the blood that is made up of plasma.
[2 marks]
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Answer = .............................. %
5 (b)
Name three chemical substances transported by the plasma.
[3 marks]
1 .........................................................................................................................................
2 .........................................................................................................................................
3 .........................................................................................................................................
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5 (c)
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In this question you will be assessed on using good English, organising
information clearly and using specialist terms where appropriate.
White blood cells are part of the immune system. White blood cells help the body to
defend itself against pathogens.
Describe how pathogens cause infections and describe how the immune system
defends the body against these pathogens.
[6 marks]
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6
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Figures 7 and 8 show battery chickens and free-range chickens.
Figure 7
Battery chickens
Figure 8
Free-range chickens
Battery chickens are kept in cages indoors. Free-range chickens can walk around
outside.
6 (a)
Give one way in which food production might be more efficient from battery chickens
than from free-range chickens. Give a reason for your answer.
[2 marks]
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6 (b)
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Some farms use waste from chickens to produce biogas in an anaerobic digester.
Microorganisms in the digester break down the waste by anaerobic respiration.
6 (b) (i)
What does anaerobic mean?
[1 mark]
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6 (b) (ii) One product of anaerobic respiration is methane.
Name two other products of anaerobic respiration.
[2 marks]
1 .........................................................................................................................................
2 .........................................................................................................................................
6 (c)
The best temperature for anaerobic digesters is about 35 °C.
Explain why the volume of biogas produced would be less at higher temperatures.
[2 marks]
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6 (d)
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Figure 9 shows other types of waste that can be used in an anaerobic digester to
produce biogas.
Figure 9
1000
900
800
700
600
Volume of biogas
produced in m3
500
per tonne of waste
400
300
200
100
te
as
w
as
w
C
ow
g
Pi
w
as
te
te
s
ng
C
hi
ck
en
cu
tti
as
w
ss
ra
Fo
od
G
Fa
ta
nd
gr
ea
se
te
0
Type of waste
6 (d) (i)
What is the volume of biogas produced by a tonne of grass cuttings?
[1 mark]
.............................. m3
6 (d) (ii) Biogas is 60% methane.
Calculate the volume of methane gas produced per tonne of grass cuttings.
[1 mark]
.............................. m3
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6 (e)
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Why should biogas not be allowed to escape into the atmosphere?
[2 marks]
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7
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A potometer is a piece of apparatus that can be used to measure water uptake by a
leafy shoot.
Figure 10 shows a potometer.
Figure 10
Leafy shoot
Rubber bung
Capillary tube
with a scale
Water level
Tubing filled with water
Clamp stand
Some students used a potometer like the one shown in Figure 10.



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They measured the water taken up by a shoot in normal conditions in a classroom.
As the water was taken up by the shoot, the level of water in the capillary tube went
down.
The students recorded the level of the water in the capillary tube at 2-minute
intervals for 10 minutes.
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Table 2 shows the students’ results.
Table 2
Time in minutes
Level of water (on scale) in
capillary tube in mm
0
2
4
6
8
10
2.5
3.6
4.4
5.4
6.5
7.5
The area of the cross section of the capillary tube was 0.8 mm2.
7 (a) (i)
Complete the following calculation to find the volume of water taken up by the
shoot in mm3 per minute.
[3 marks]
Distance water moved along the scale in 10 minutes
= .............................. mm
Volume of water taken up by the shoot in 10 minutes
= ..............................mm3
Therefore, volume of water taken up by the shoot in 1 minute = ..............................mm3
7 (a) (ii) The students repeated the investigation but this time placed the potometer next to a fan
blowing air over the leafy shoot.
Suggest how the results would be different. Give a reason for your answer.
[2 marks]
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7 (b)
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The students repeated the investigation at different temperatures.
The results are shown in Table 3.
Table 3
Temperature
in °C
Rate of water uptake
in mm3 per minute
10
0
15
0.4
20
1.0
25
2.1
30
3.2
35
4.0
40
4.4
Plot the data from Table 3 on the graph paper in Figure 11.
Choose suitable scales, label both axes and draw a line of best fit.
[5 marks]
Figure 11
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7 (c)
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What would happen to the leaves if the potometer was left for a longer time at 40 °C?
Explain your answer.
[3 marks]
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8
Photosynthesis needs light.
8 (a)
Complete the balanced symbol equation for photosynthesis.
[2 marks]
6CO2 + ...............................................
8 (b)
light
................................................ + 6O2
A green chemical indicator shows changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2)
in a solution.
The indicator solution is green when the concentration of CO2 is normal.
The indicator solution turns yellow when the concentration of CO2 is high.
The indicator solution turns blue when the concentration of CO2 is very low or when
there is no CO2.
The indicator solution does not harm aquatic organisms.
Students investigated the balance of respiration and photosynthesis using an aquatic
snail and some pondweed.
The students set up four tubes, A, B, C and D, as shown in Table 4.
The colour change in each tube, after 24 hours in the light, is recorded in Table 4.
Table 4
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Tube A
Tube B
Tube C
Tube D
Indicator solution
only
Indicator solution
+ pondweed
Indicator solution
+ snail
Indicator solution
+ pondweed
+ snail
Stays green
Turns blue
Turns yellow
Stays green
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8 (b) (i)
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What is the purpose of Tube A?
[1 mark]
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8 (b) (ii) Explain why the indicator solution in Tube C turns yellow.
[2 marks]
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8 (b) (iii) Predict the result for Tube D if it had been placed in the dark for 24 hours and not in
the light.
Explain your prediction.
[3 marks]
Prediction ...........................................................................................................................
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Explanation ........................................................................................................................
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9
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Figure 12 shows the stages in the transmission of the malaria parasite by mosquitoes
to humans.
Figure 12
Stage 2: gametocytes
develop into sporozoites
Stage 1: mosquito takes
a blood meal and
ingests gametocytes
Stage 3: sporozoites
are passed to humans
when the mosquito bites
again
Organ A
Stage 7: some merozoites
become gametocytes
Stage 6
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Stage 4: sporozoites
enter Organ A where
they divide into many
merozoites
Stage 5
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9 (a)
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Where in the mosquito does Stage 2 happen?
Draw a ring around the correct answer.
[1 mark]
brain
9 (b)
salivary glands
stomach
What is Organ A in the human?
Draw a ring around the correct answer.
[1 mark]
liver
9 (c)
pancreas
small intestine
What happens in the human at Stages 5 and 6?
[4 marks]
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9 (d)
Sickle-cell anaemia is an inherited disease caused by a mutation in the
haemoglobin gene.
9 (d) (i)
Genes are small pieces of DNA. The DNA in a gene consists of a sequence of bases.
Figure 13 shows part of the base sequence in the DNA of a normal haemoglobin gene
and the same section in the sickle-cell gene. A, C, G and T represent the different
bases.
Figure 13
Normal gene
GGACTCCTC
Sickle-cell gene
GGACACCTC
Describe how the mutation causes a change in the shape of the haemoglobin
protein molecule.
[4 marks]
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9 (d) (ii) Sickle-cell anaemia is caused by a recessive allele, a. The normal haemoglobin allele
is dominant, A.
Use a genetic diagram to find the probability that two heterozygous parents will produce
a child who is homozygous for sickle-cell anaemia.
[4 marks]
Probability = ..............................
9 (d) (iii) What is the benefit of the heterozygous genotype in areas where malaria is common?
[1 mark]
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Acknowledgement of copyright-holders and publishers
Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders have been unsuccessful and
AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements in future papers if notified.
Question 3: Figure 4 Adaptation by kind permission of Biozone International
Question 6: Figure 7 © Getty Images
Question 6: Figure 8 © Getty Images
Copyright © 2015 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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