1. What is produced as a result of mitosis?

A. Two cells, each containing half the number of chromosomes of the original cell

B. Two cells, each containing the same number of chromosomes as the original cell

C. Four cells, each containing the same number of chromosomes as the original cell

D. Four cells, each containing half the number of chromosomes of the original cell
(Total 1 mark)

2. Which of the following is a feature of exocytosis but not endocytosis?

A. Shape changes of a membrane

B. Vesicle formation

C. Use of ATP

D. Secretion
(Total 1 mark)

3. What is a difference between a cell in the G1 phase and a cell in the G2 phase of the cell cycle?

A. A cell in the G2 phase would be smaller than a cell in the G 1 phase.

B. A cell in the G2 phase would have more mitochondria than a cell in the G 1 phase.

C. A cell in the G1 phase would have more DNA in its chromosomes than a cell in the G 2
phase.

D. DNA replication occurs in the G1 phase but not in the G2 phase.

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 1
4. The DNA of a particular cell is damaged, so that the cell continues to divide uncontrollably.
What is the possible result?

A. Coronary heart disease

B. AIDS

C. Tumour formation

D. Down syndrome
(Total 1 mark)

5. In viewing an electron micrograph of a cell, ribosomes, pili and a single circular chromosome
are observed. What other structure is likely to be present?

A. The rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER)

B. Mitochondria

C. A nuclear membrane

D. A plasmid
(Total 1 mark)

6. Which of the following structures are present in both plant and animal cells?

I. Cell wall

II. Chloroplast

III. Mitochondrion

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. I and III only

D. III only
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 2
7. What is the correct order of increasing size for the following biological structures?

I. The width of a virus

II. The width of a bacterium

III. The thickness of a cell surface membrane

IV. The diameter of a eukaryotic cell

A. I  III  II  IV

B. I  III  IV  II

C. III  I  II  IV

D. III  II  I  IV
(Total 1 mark)

8. What does therapeutic cloning involve?

A. Developing genetically identical cultures of human cells for use in drug testing

B. Helping infertile couples to conceive by injecting the father’s sperm into the mother’s egg

C. Producing embryonic stem cells for medical use

D. Replacing a mutant allele in an embryo to prevent genetic disease

(Total 1 mark)

9. During reproduction in flowering plants an embryo sac is produced, containing one haploid
nucleus.
This haploid nucleus divides by mitosis three times. What is produced?

A. One diploid nucleus

B. Four diploid nuclei

C. Four haploid nuclei

D. Eight haploid nuclei

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 3
10. Cells in the adrenal gland produce the hormone epinephrine and store it in vesicles. To release
epinephrine these vesicles are carried to the plasma membrane and fuse with it. What process is
occurring?

A. Expulsion

B. Exchange

C. Excretion

D. Exocytosis
(Total 1 mark)

11. What feature do plant cells have but not animal cells?

A. Plasma membranes

B. Mitochondria

C. Cell walls

D. 80S ribosomes
(Total 1 mark)

12. Which of the following structures does Escherichia coli have?

I. 70S Ribosomes
II. Pili
III. Nucleus

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. II and III only

D. I, II and III
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 4
13. If a Sequoia sempervirens tree is 100 m tall and a drawing of it is 100 mm tall, what is the
magnification of the drawing?

A. ×0.001

B. ×0.1

C. ×1.0

D. ×1000
(Total 1 mark)

14. Which of the following is not a function performed by a membrane protein?

A. Hormone binding sites

B. Cell adhesion

C. Enzyme synthesis

D. Pumps for active transport

(Total 1 mark)

15. Which of these processes require mitosis?

A. Embryological development

B. Reducing surface area to volume ratio

C. Maintaining cell size

D. Cell growth
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 5
16. The diagram below shows a plasma membrane. What is molecule X?

A. Cholesterol

B. Peripheral protein

C. Glycoprotein

D. Polar amino acid

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 6
17. Below is a micrograph of an E. coli bacterium undergoing reproduction.

[Source: www.bio.mtu.edu/campbell/prokaryo.htm]

In the diagram what does label X identify?

A. Nucleoid region

B. Chromatin

C. Histones

D. Endoplasmic reticulum
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 7
18. Below is a micrograph of an E. coli bacterium undergoing reproduction.

[Source: www.bio.mtu.edu/campbell/prokaryo.htm]

The scale bar represents 0.5 μm. How long are both cells in total?
–6
A. 5.0 × 10 m
–9
B. 5.0 × 10 m
–6
C. 2.5 × 10 m
–9
D. 2.5 × 10 m
(Total 1 mark)

19. By what process do most bacteria divide?

A. Mitosis

B. Meiosis

C. Conjugation

D. Binary fission
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 8
20. What is the difference between simple diffusion and facilitated diffusion?

Simple diffusion Facilitated diffusion

Rate decreases with increasing
A.
concentration gradient
B. Faster movement of molecules
C. Always involves a membrane
D. Uses any part of a membrane
Rate increases with increasing
concentration gradient
Slower movement of molecules
Never involves a membrane
Uses channels in the membrane
(Total 1 mark)

21. Which of the following structures are found in all cells?

A. Mitochondria

B. Cell walls

C. Chloroplasts

D. Ribosomes
(Total 1 mark)

22. The graph below represents the amount of DNA during the cell cycle. Which part of the graph
represents metaphase?

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 9
23. During which phase of the cell cycle do chromosomes duplicate?

A. G1

B. S

C. G2

D. Mitosis
(Total 1 mark)

24. What can the extracellular matrix of cells be made of?

I. Polysaccharide
II. Glycoprotein
III. Phospholipid

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. II and III only

D. I, II and III
(Total 1 mark)

25. How do prokaryotic cells divide?

A. By mitosis

B. By meiosis

C. By budding

D. By binary fission
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 10
26. How does the surface area to volume ratio change with an increase in cell size?

(Total 1 mark)

27. When observing the behaviour of a vesicle in a cell, what identifies it as a vesicle only involved
in exocytosis?

A. Adhesion between two lipid bilayers

B. Fusion of two membranes

C. Secretion of material

D. Invagination of a plasma membrane

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 11
28. What does facilitated diffusion across a cell membrane require?

A pore protein ATP A concentration gradient

A. yes no no
B. no no yes
C. yes no yes
D. no yes no
(Total 1 mark)

29. What is the difference between the structure of all prokaryotes and all eukaryotes?

Prokaryotes Eukaryotes
A. cell wall no cell wall
B. chloroplasts no chloroplasts
C. flagellum no flagellum
D. nucleoid nuclear envelope
(Total 1 mark)

30. What is the sequence of stages during the cell cycle?

A. G1 → S → G2 → mitosis → cytokinesis

B. mitosis → G1 → G2 → cytokinesis → S

C. G 1 → G2 → S → mitosis → cytokinesis

D. G1 → G2 → mitosis → cytokinesis → S
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 12
31. What is the function of the cytoplasmic (plasma) membrane of this bacterium?

A. To produce ADP

B. To form the only protective layer preventing damage from outside

C. To control entry and exit of substances

D. To synthesize proteins
(Total 1 mark)

32. Which of the following take(s) place during either interphase or mitosis in animal cells?

I. Re-formation of nuclear membranes

II. Pairing of homologous chromosomes
III. DNA replication

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. II and III only

D. I and III only

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 13
33. What happens during the G2 stage of interphase?

A. Homologous chromosomes pair

B. Synthesis of proteins

C. Homologous chromosomes separate

D. Replication of DNA
(Total 1 mark)

34. The diagram below shows a bacterium.

What structure does the part labelled X identify?

A. Nucleus

B. Nucleoid

C. Nucleolus

D. Nuclear membrane
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 14
35. What do prokaryotic cells have that eukaryotic cells do not?

A. Mitochondria

B. 70S ribosomes

C. Histones

D. Internal membranes
(Total 1 mark)

36. How can cells in a multicellular organism differentiate?

A. They express some of their genes but not others.

B. They all have a different genetic composition.

C. Different cells contain a different set of chromosomes.

D. Different cells do not have some of the genes.

(Total 1 mark)

37. Which statement is part of the cell theory?

A. Cells are composed of organic molecules.

B. Cells have DNA as their genetic material.

C. Cells have cytoplasm surrounded by a membrane.

D. Cells come from pre-existing cells.

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 15
38. In a cell, what is the effect of a large surface area to volume ratio?

A. Slower rate of exchange of waste materials

B. Faster heat loss

C. Faster rate of mitosis

D. Slower intake of food

(Total 1 mark)

39. Which events occur during the G1 phase and S phase of the cell cycle?

G1 phase S phase
A. DNA replicates cell grows
B. mitosis begins cell divides
C. cell divides mitosis begins
D. cell grows DNA replicates
(Total 1 mark)

40. What route is used to export proteins from the cell?

A. Golgi apparatus → rough endoplasmic reticulum → plasma membrane

B. Rough endoplasmic reticulum → Golgi apparatus → plasma membrane

C. Golgi apparatus → lysosome → rough endoplasmic reticulum

D. Rough endoplasmic reticulum → lysosome → Golgi apparatus

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 16
41. Which of the following are features of prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

DNA associated
70S ribosomes 80S ribosomes Naked DNA
with proteins
A. prokaryote eukaryote prokaryote eukaryote
B. eukaryote prokaryote eukaryote prokaryote
C. eukaryote prokaryote prokaryote eukaryote
D. prokaryote eukaryote eukaryote prokaryote
(Total 1 mark)

42. Which of the following does not occur during interphase?

A. Replication

B. Translation

C. Cytokinesis

D. An increase in the number of mitochondria

(Total 1 mark)

43. Which functions of life are found in all unicellular organisms?

A. growth, response and nutrition

B. differentiation, response and nutrition

C. metabolism, meiosis and homeostasis

D. growth, metabolism and differentiation

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 17
44. This question refers to the following micrograph of a liver cell.

In which organelle does the production of ATP, due to chemiosmosis, occur?

A. A

B. B

C. C

D. D
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 18
45. The electron micrograph below shows an organelle in a eukaryotic cell. What is the area
labelled X and what is the type of reaction occurring there?

[Source: http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/11/cell_structure.php]

X Reaction
A. matrix photolysis
B. stroma Krebs cycle
C. stroma photolysis
D. matrix Krebs cycle
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 19
46. This question refers to the following micrograph of a liver cell.

Structure X is the Golgi apparatus. What process occurs in this organelle?

A. Post-transcriptional modification of mRNA

B. Translation

C. mRNA production

D. Vesicle formation
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 20
47. In which of the following cells can more than one nucleus be found?

A. An unfertilized egg

B. Neuron

C. Sertoli cell

D. Muscle fibre
(Total 1 mark)

48. A red blood cell is 8 μm in diameter. If drawn 100 times larger than its actual size, what
diameter will the drawing be in mm?

A. 0.08 mm

B. 0.8 mm

C. 8 mm

D. 80 mm
(Total 1 mark)

49. If a mitochondrion has a length of 5 µm and a student’s drawing of the mitochondrion is 10 mm,
what is the magnification of the drawing?

A. ×0.0005

B. ×0.5

C. ×200

D. ×2000
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 21
50. Which of the following will contribute to the cell theory?

I. Living organisms are composed of cells.

II. All cells come from pre-existing cells by mitosis.

III. Cells are the smallest units of life.

A. I only

B. II only

C. I and III only

D. I, II and III
(Total 1 mark)

51. Which pair of features is correct for both a human liver cell and an Escherichia coli cell?

Human liver cell Escherichia coli cell

A. contains DNA associated with protein contains naked DNA
B. has 70S ribosomes has 80S ribosomes
C. contains mitochondria contains mitochondria
D. contains DNA enclosed by a membrane contains DNA associated with protein
(Total 1 mark)

52. What do diffusion and osmosis have in common?

A. They only happen in living cells.

B. They require transport proteins in the membrane.

C. They are passive transport mechanisms.

D. Net movement of substances is against the concentration gradient.

(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 22
53. Which of the following does not occur during interphase?

A. Replication

B. Translation

C. Cytokinesis

D. An increase in the number of mitochondria

(Total 1 mark)

54. Which of the following characteristics found in a structure necessarily indicates that it is alive?

A. The presence of genetic material

B. The presence of a lipid bilayer

C. Metabolism

D. Movement
(Total 1 mark)

55. A cell has cytoplasm, a cell wall, naked DNA and ribosomes. Based on this information, what
type of cell could this be?

A. A cell from a pine tree

B. A grasshopper cell

C. A human red blood cell

D. A bacterium
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 23
56. The diagram below shows a cell during mitosis.

What are the structures and stage of mitosis?

Stage of mitosis Structure I Structure II

A. metaphase chromatid nuclear membrane
B. anaphase centromere plasma membrane
C. anaphase chromatid nuclear membrane
D. metaphase centromere plasma membrane
(Total 1 mark)

IB Questionbank Biology 24