Question Round-up
Every Friday for the past month, we’ve published a series of GCSE and A-Level mock exam questions sourced from official exam board past papers like OCR, AQA, and EDEXCEL.
Your interactions and support on these posts have been amazing to see, and we are so glad that we are able to help contribute to your learning! If you missed any questions last month, we’re thrilled to announce our new monthly mini-exam-style blog post, a roundup that will offer you an additional revision resource to aid your exam preparations.
At the very end of this post, you will find the answers to this mini exam. DO NOT look at these answers before beginning this mini exam. For an authentic revision experience, it is best to review these answers AFTER completing all the questions below.
There are four sections: GCSE Chemistry, GCSE Biology, A-Level Chemistry & A-Level Biology, each with 4 questions to answer (16 overall!)
For a more authentic experience, try and complete these questions within a 15/20-minute timer!
Let us know in the comments below what you manage to score at the end!
Good luck!
GCSE Chemistry
- Metal can be extracted from ores found in the Earth’s crust.
Explain why aluminium cannot be extracted from its ore by heating with carbon but can be extracted by electrolysis. - Below shows diagrams that represent different structures.
Which diagram represents graphite?
3. When sodium is added to water, hydrogen gas is produced.
Which observation shows that a gas has been produced?
A) A white precipitate forms
B) Effervescence is seen
C) The sodium sinks in the water
D) The water changes to a pink colour
4. Solutions of soluble salts can react together to form an insoluble salt.
What name is given to this type of reaction?
A) Combustion
B) Neutralisation
C) Precipitation
D) Separation
GCSE Biology
- The rapid growth in human population means that more waste substances are box released into the environment. The release of substances into the environment can cause pollution.
Name 3 harmful substances that could cause water pollution without referring to plastic or litter. - Hornets are insects that sting other animals and cause pain. Hornet moths do not sting other animals.
Explain why animals avoid eating the hornet moth.
3. Which of these is an adaptation of white blood cells?
A) The ability to make clotting enzymes
B) They can change their shape to pass out of capillaries
C) They can synthesise antibiotics
D) They lack a nucleus
4. The diagram below shows an eye of a short-sighted person looking at a distant object.
Explain how the lens being the wrong shape can cause short-sightness.
A-Level Chemistry
- Acids can be classified as weak or strong acids.
A mixture of concentrated sulfuric and nitric acids is used in the nitration of benzene. The following equilibrium is set up:
Which statement about this equilibrium is correct?
A) HNO3 and H2NO3- are a conjugate acid-base pair
B) The nitric acid acts as an acid
C) The nitric acid acts as an oxidising agent
D) The sulfuric acid acts as a dehydrating agent
2. The common oxidation numbers of chromium are +2, +3 and +6.
Give a reason, in terms of ionisation energies, why chromium can show variable oxidation numbers.
3. The list below shows the structural formulae of some halogenalkanes.
Choose from this list the letter of the halogenoalkane that is extremely unreactive.
4. What is the name of the compound below?
A) 3-Propylpent-2-ene
B) 3-Propylpent-3-ene
C) 3-Ethylhex-2-ene
D) 4-Ethylhex-4-ene
A-Level Biology
- Laboratory techniques are used by workers in various professions and by scientists.
A patient has been coughing blood, and it is suspected that bacteria will be found in the blood.
A medical technician cultures the blood on an agar plate.
What measures should the technician take to keep the agar plate culture sterile? - Some diseases are linked to a failure in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER).
Cells of people with these diseases contain proteins that are folded incorrectly. Some of these proteins ar enzymes.
Protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells occurs in which of the below?
A) 70S ribosomes in the nucleus
B) 70S ribosomes on the endoplasmic reticulum
C) 80S ribosomes in the nucleus
D) 80S ribosomes on the endoplasmic reticulum - Which of the following statements about differential staining is not true?
A) Differential staining can distinguish between different organelles
B) Differential staining can distinguish between different types of cell
C) Differential staining can distinguish between different types of organism
D) Differential staining is a common feature of electron microscopy - The diagram below represents one process that occurs during protein synthesis.
Name the process shown.
Mini Exam Answers
Congratulations, you made it!
How do you think you have gotten on? Now is a great opportunity to asses your answers, flagging areas you feel you’re not confident on, questions you were unable to answer and specific questions that you may need additional support in. After this, you may even surprise yourself with answering flagged questions correctly! It’s important to flag these areas of the mini exam before reviewing the answers below.
GCSE CHEMISTRY:
- Aluminium cannot be extracted from its ore by heating with carbon becasue aluminium is more reactive than carbon. However, it can be extracted by electrolysis because it’s a highly reactive metal.
- C
- B
- C
GCSE BIOLOGY:
- Heavy metals, pesticides and herbicides and petroleum products
- Animals will think it is a hornet, therefore animals will avoid the risk of being stung.
- B
- The lens is too rounded and it focuses light before the retina / bends or refracts light too much
A-LEVEL CHEMISTRY
- C
- There is only a gradual or steady increase in successive ionisation energies
- N
- D
A-LEVEL BIOLOGY
- Work in a clean environment like a laminar flow hood / Wear sterile gloves and other PPE / Sterilise equipment before use / Practice aseptic technique while handling the agar plate and blood sample
- D
- D
- Translation
