Understanding how to approach exam questions helps to boost exam performance. Question types will include multiple choice, structured, mathematical and practical questions.
Multiple choice questions are perhaps the easiest to complete - you simply put a cross in a box - however, the questions often have two answers that could, at first glance, be correct. Don't make the mistake of reading the first answer and thinking this is correct without checking all the others.
If it says 'Tick one box', you must tick one box. If you leave it blank or tick two or more boxes you will get zero marks. These multiple choice questions will not start with command words like 'Describe...' or 'Explain...'. They will be written in the form of a question like 'What...?' or 'Why...?'.
There will be more multiple choice questions on the Foundation paper.
These questions have been written by Bitesize consultants as suggestions to the types of questions that may appear in an exam paper.
How is carbohydrate stored in plants? Tick one box. [1 mark]
| A | Cellulose |
|---|---|
| B | Starch |
| C | Protein |
| D | Lipids |
| A | Cellulose | |
|---|---|---|
| B | Starch | ✔ |
| C | Protein | |
| D | Lipids |
Plants build up cellulose, but it is used to produce their cell walls, and it is not a storage compound.
Plants can store proteins and lipids - in particular, in their seeds - but these are not carbohydrates.
Which of the following are true of gas exchange in plants? Tick two boxes. [2 marks]
| A | Plants take up oxygen at night |
|---|---|
| B | There is a net production of oxygen during the day |
| C | Uptake and output of carbon dioxide is balanced during the day |
| D | Carbon dioxide is produced during the night only |
| A | Plants take up oxygen at night | ✔ |
|---|---|---|
| B | There is a net production of oxygen during the day | ✔ |
| C | Uptake and output of carbon dioxide is balanced during the day | |
| D | Carbon dioxide is produced during the night only |
Plants are photosynthesising and respiring during the day, but there is a net production of oxygen and uptake of carbon dioxide.
At night, plants respire only, taking up oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
Which one of the following molecules is the storage form of carbohydrate in humans? Tick one box. [1 mark]
| A | Glycogen |
|---|---|
| B | Starch |
| C | Glucose |
| D | Lipid |
| A | Glycogen | ✔ |
|---|---|---|
| B | Starch | |
| C | Glucose | |
| D | Lipid |
Lipids are also stored in humans - under the skin and around some body organs - but they are not carbohydrates. Starch is not stored in humans. Glucose is a carbohydrate but it is very difficult to store.
Which two of the following would increase the rate of photosynthesis? Tick two boxes. [2 marks]
| A | Increasing the temperature from 40°C to 60°C |
|---|---|
| B | Increasing the light intensity from 100 lux to 400 lux |
| C | Increasing the carbon dioxide concentration from 0.4 per cent to four per cent |
| D | Decreasing the temperature from 20°C to 10°C |
| A | Increasing the temperature from 40°C to 60°C | |
|---|---|---|
| B | Increasing the light intensity from 100 lux to 400 lux | ✔ |
| C | Increasing the carbon dioxide concentration from 0.4% to 4% | ✔ |
| D | Decreasing the temperature from 20°C to 10°C |
Increasing the light intensity and carbon dioxide concentration will speed up the rate of photosynthesis.
Increasing the temperature from 40°C to 60°C will denature the enzymes involved in photosynthesis, while decreasing it from 20°C to 10°C will slow down the collisions between the enzymes and substrates involved in photosynthesis, lowering the rate of reaction.