GCSE

BIOLOGY A
Biology A Unit 1 Modules B1, B2, B3
Specimen Paper
Candidates answer on the question paper:
F A221/01

40 mins

Additional materials: ruler (cm/mm), calculator

Candidate
Name

Centre Candidate
Number Number

TIME 40 mins
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
• Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the boxes above.
• Answer all the questions.
• Write your answers on the dotted lines unless the question says otherwise.
• Use blue or black ink. Pencil may be used for graphs and diagrams only.
• Read each question carefully and make sure you know what you have to do before starting your answer.
• There is a space after most questions. Use it to do your working. In many questions marks will be given
for a correct method even if the answer is incorrect.
• Do not write in the bar code. Do not write in the grey area between the pages.
• DO NOT WRITE IN THE AREA OUTSIDE THE BOX BORDERING EACH PAGE. ANY WRITING IN
THIS AREA WILL NOT BE MARKED.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

• The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
• The total number of marks for this paper is 42.

This specimen paper consists of 25 printed pages.

© OCR 2005 Registered Charity Number: 1066969

 BLANK PAGE

Specimen paper: Biology A

 1

Answer all questions.

1. Chris and Joe are brothers.

They have the same parents.

(a) Chris and Joe look different from each other.

Choose the best explanation for this.

Put a tick (!) in the correct box.

They are twins.

They have different combinations of alleles.

They are both boys.

[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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(b) Complete the following sentences about the inheritance of ear shape.

Choose from this list.

a gene a protein chromosomes a cell recessive

Ear shape is determined by......................................................... with two different alleles.

One allele is dominant, the other is .....................................................................................

The alleles are carried by ......................................................................inside the nucleus.

[3]

[Total: 4]

2. (a) Gardeners often make new plants by taking cuttings from a plant that they already have.

Each cutting grows into a new plant identical in appearance to the original plant.

The new plants are clones of the original plant.

Which of these statements explain why the new plants are identical to the original plant?

Put a tick (!) in the box next to the best answer.

Each new plant has been given identical fertiliser to the

original plant.

Each new plant has been grown in identical soil to the

original plant.

Each new plant has identical genes to the original plant.

[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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(b) It is possible to make clones of humans.

Put a tick (!) in the box next to a process that could produce human clones.

A fertilized egg splits into two.

Two eggs are released at the same time and both are
fertilized.

An egg is fertilized by sperm outside the body and the

embryo returned to the mothers womb.

[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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(c) Human embryos could be made by cloning. They could then be used to supply stem
cells. These stem cells could be used to treat illnesses. Five people were asked if they
thought cloning of human embryos to make stem cells should be allowed.

I am not against all

cloning, but I don’t want Thousands of John
this to be allowed. It will people suffer
be difficult to stop from these
someone producing a diseases and
cloned baby. could be helped

Kate

Reshma

An embryo is
not a person
and many
embryos die
naturally
anyway.
Lucy Gary

A human embryo is Killing a human

a person and has embryo lowers
the same rights as the value of life.
an adult.

Microsoft ©

These people have different views about cloning embryos to make stem cells. Which
people agree and which people disagree?
Write the names of the people in the correct columns in the table.

people who agree with cloning of people who disagree with cloning
embryos to make stem cells of embryos to make stem cells

[3]

[Total: 5]

Specimen paper: Biology A

 5

3. Greg and Anita are expecting a baby.

Anita has a test to check the baby.

The test takes fluid from around the developing baby (fetus).

The fluid contains skin cells from the fetus.

The cells are specially treated to show their chromosomes.

The chromosomes look like this.

Use information from the diagrams to help you answer these questions.

(a) How many chromosomes are present?

........................................................................................................................................[1]

(b) Which pair of chromosomes tells Anita that the baby will be a boy?

........................................................................................................................................[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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(c) Which human sex cell carries a Y chromosome?

Put a tick (!) in the correct box.

egg cell

sperm cell

either egg or sperm cell

[1]

(d) When he grows up the baby will not look exactly like Greg.

Which of these statements explain why?

Put a tick (!) in the two correct boxes.

The baby’s appearance may be changed by environmental

factors.

The baby’s genes may only have alleles from Anita.

The baby’s genes will have some alleles from Anita and
some alleles from Greg.

The alleles in the baby’s genes may change after it is born.

[2]

[Total: 5]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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4. Microorganisms enter our bodies and cause diseases.

(a) Which of these parts of the body helps to keep out microorganisms?

Put a ring around the best answer.

eyelashes fingernails hair skin

[1]

(b) White blood cells destroy microorganisms that invade the body.

The stages in this process are shown in the diagrams below.

The stages are in the wrong order.

Write a letter in each box to show the correct order.

One has been done for you.

[2]

Specimen paper: Biology A

 8

(c) White blood cells can also destroy microorganisms in another way.

What do the white blood cells make to do this?

Put a ring around the best answer.

antibodies toxins vaccine

[1]

(d) Scientists can help protect individuals from microorganisms by giving vaccinations.

New vaccines against diseases such as influenza have to be developed regularly.

Put a tick (!) in the box next to the statement that is the best explanation for this.

The vaccine does not keep for very long.

The vaccine causes side-effects in some people.

The virus changes very quickly.

The virus can only be killed by using several vaccines at the

same time.

[1]

[Total: 5]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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5. The table shows how many people die each year from coronary heart disease in four different
countries.

country deaths per million people

Scotland 5000

England and Wales 4000

France 1500

Japan 500

(a) (i) There are 5 million people living in Scotland.

How many people die each year in Scotland from coronary heart disease?

Put a ring around the correct answer.

1000 5000 25 000 50 000

[1]

(ii) How does the death rate from coronary heart disease in Scotland compare with
that in Japan?

Put a ring around the correct answer.

the same higher lower

[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

 10

(b) Use the following information to help you answer the questions below.

• Eating food that contains saturated fat increases the cholesterol in your blood.

• Eating food that contains unsaturated fat reduces the cholesterol in your blood.
• Many people in Scotland, England and Wales eat food containing a lot of
saturated fat.
• Most people in France and Japan eat food containing a lot of unsaturated fat.

(i) Put a tick (!) in the box next to the statement that is the best conclusion.

What people eat is not a factor in causing heart disease.

Eating unsaturated fat is a factor that causes heart disease.

There is a correlation between where people live and their

risk of getting heart disease.

Living in some places may cause people to have heart

disease.

[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

 11

(ii) What is the best thing someone in Scotland could do to reduce the risk of
coronary heart disease?
Put a tick (!) in the box next to the correct answer.

Move to England

Move to Japan

Eat less saturated fat

Eat more saturated fat

[1]

[Total: 4]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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6. (a) Antibiotics work by killing bacteria or by slowing down their reproduction.

Jerry did experiments with two different antibiotics.
He added each antibiotic to some bacteria.
Jerry then counted the number of living bacteria over a period of time.
He also did a third experiment by adding pure water instead of antibiotic.
Exp. A Jerry added an antibiotic that kills bacteria.

Exp. B Jerry added an antibiotic that stops bacteria reproducing.

Exp. C Jerry added only pure water.

Jerry's results are shown on the graph.

Number
of
living
bacteria

Each line on the graph shows the results of one of Jerry's three experiments, A, B and
C.
Write the letters A, B and C in the correct boxes on the graph.

[2]

Specimen paper: Biology A

 13

(b) Antibiotics cannot be used to cure AIDS.

Put a tick (!) in the box next to the best explanation for this.

AIDS is caused a bacterium

AIDS is caused by a virus

AIDS is caused by a fungus

AIDS is a genetic disorder.

[1]

(c) In recent years ‘superbugs’ have developed.

These statements describe how a superbug can be produced.

The antibiotic kills the non-resistant bacteria but leaves the resistant strain to
A
multiply and spread.
Some people stop taking the antibiotic when they begin to feel better, and so do
B
not complete the course.
C A random change in a bacterium makes a strain that is resistant to the antibiotic.
When someone is infected with the resistant strain they cannot be cured by the
D
antibiotic
E An antibiotic is over-prescribed and so used by too many people.

The statements are in the wrong order. Write a letter in each box to show the correct

order. The first two have been done for you.

E B

[2]

[Total: 5]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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7. These pictures show how early humans changed over time.

Complete the following sentences.

Choose words from this list.

artificial evolution extinction natural

These changes to early humans show an example of ..................................................................

These changes happened mainly due to the process of .......................................... selection. [2]

[Total: 2]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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8. This question is about responding to stimuli. A person touches a pin.

The diagram shows part of a person's nervous system.

(a) (i) Write an R in the box nearest to a receptor cell. [1]

(ii) Write an E in the box nearest to an effector cell. [1]

(b) The spinal cord is part of the central nervous system.

Name the organ which forms the other part of the central nervous system.

........................................................................................................................................[1]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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(c) Look at the following observations about different responses.

A Uses electrical impulses.

B Involves chemicals in the blood.
C Lasts a long time.
D Does not last long.
E Happens quickly.
F Happens slowly.

Some of these statements are about the nervous system, some are about hormones.

Write the letters A, B, C, D, E and F in the correct columns of the table.

nervous system hormones

[3]

[Total: 6]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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9. (a) Scientists made the following observations about a group of rabbits living in cold
conditions.

A A large number of rabbits were born.

B The rabbits had different length ears.
C Short-eared rabbits tend to give birth to rabbits with short ears.
D In cold conditions, long ears lose more heat than short ears.

Charles Darwin used observations similar to these as evidence to support his idea of
evolution by natural selection.

Match the scientists' observations about the rabbits to Darwin's observations by placing
the correct letters A, B, C and D in the table.
One has been done for you.

Darwin’s observation letter

Some variations are inherited C

All populations show variation

Those best adapted to the environment survive

Natural populations over-produce

[2]

Specimen paper: Biology A

 18

(b) Here is part of an article about Charles Darwin's ideas on evolution.

For thousands of years, people have been producing animals with particular
features. They do this by selecting those animals that have the desired
features. They allow only the selected animals to breed. In the next
generation, more of the animals have the desired features. This is called
selective breeding.

Darwin noticed the same thing happening in nature:

Some animals have features that help them survive.

More of these animals survive long enough to breed.

More of the animals in the next generation have the

features that help survival.

When Darwin published his ideas in 1859 not everybody agreed with him.

Some people thought: Other people thought:

All the different species living
organisms living on Earth were
created by God.
Humans have more advanced
skills than other animals, so
God must have created
humans in His image.
The Earth could not be older than
100 million years or it would not still
be hot inside.
Therefore the Earth cannot be old
enough for natural selection to
have happened.

Look at the following sentences.

A Living organisms have been separately created by God.

B Humans have advanced skills.
C Humans were made in God’s image.
D The Earth cannot be older than 100 million years.
E The Earth is still hot inside.
F There are many different types of living organisms alive.

Specimen paper: Biology A

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(i) Some of these sentences are observations and some are explanations.

Write the letters A, B, C, D, E and F in the correct columns in the table.

observations explanations

[3]

(ii) Write down the letter of a sentence that is part of a scientific explanation why
people did not believe in Darwin’ ideas.

.......................................................................[1]

[Total: 6]

Specimen paper: Biology A

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BLANK PAGE

Specimen paper: Biology A

GCSE

BIOLOGY A
Biology A Unit 1 Modules B1, B2, B3
Specimen Mark Scheme
Maximum mark for this paper is [42]
F A221/01

40 mins

This specimen mark scheme consists of 3 printed pages.

© OCR 2005 Registered Charity Number: 1066969

 2

Question Max
Answer
Number Mark

1(a) They have different combinations of alleles. [1]

1(b) a gene; [1]
recessive; [1]
chromosomes [1]
Total marks [4]

2(a) Each new plant has identical genes to the original plant [1]
2(b) A fertilized egg splits into two; [1]
2(c) agree: Reshma; John;
disagree: Lucy; Kate; [3]
4 correct for 3 marks, 3 or 2 correct for 2 marks,
1 correct for one mark
Total marks [5]

3(a) 46 [1]
3(b) XY [1]
3(c) sperm cell [1]
3(d) The baby’s appearance may be changed by environmental factors; [1]
The baby’s genes will have some alleles from Anita and some alleles from Greg [1]
Total marks [5]

4(a) skin [1]

4(b) B (A) D C
one mark each for: B before A, D before C [2]
4(c) antibodies [1]
4(d) The virus changes very quickly. [1]
Total marks [5]

5(a)i 25 000 [1]

5(a)ii higher [1]
5(b)i Living in some places may cause people to have heart disease. [1]
5(b)ii Eat less saturated fat [1]
Total marks [4]

Specimen mark scheme: Biology A

 3

6(a) all three lines correctly labelled = 2

one line correctly labelled = 1 [2]
6(b) AIDS is caused by a virus [1]
6(c) (E B) C A D
one mark each for: C before A; A before C [2]
Total marks [5]

7 evolution; [1]
natural [1]
Total marks [2]

8(a)i R in box next to receptor cell [1]

8(a)ii E in box next to effector cell [1]
8(b) the brain [1]
8(c) nervous system A hormones B; [1]
nervous system D hormones C; [1]
nervous system E hormones F [1]
Total marks [6]

9(a) BDA [2]

3 correct for 2 marks; 2 or 1 correct for 1 mark
9(b)i observations B E F
explanations A C D [3]
6 or 5 correct = 3, 4 or 3 correct = 2, 2 or 1 correct = 1
9(b)ii D [1]
Total marks [6]

Overall mark [42]

Specimen mark scheme: Biology A