Biology 9700/13 October/November 2024: question paper and mark scheme
Cambridge AS & A Level Biology (9700), Paper 1 Multiple Choice, October/November 2024. Read both free below, or download them. Done the paper? Get it marked by AI against this mark scheme.
Which steps are needed to find the actual width of a xylem vessel viewed in transverse section using a ×10 objective lens?
1 Convert from mm to μm by multiplying by 10–3.
2 Calibrate the eyepiece graticule using a stage micrometer on a ×4 objective lens.
3 Measure the width of the xylem vessel using an eyepiece graticule.
4 Multiply the number of eyepiece graticule units by the calibration of the eyepiece graticule.
A 1, 2, 3 and 4
B 1 and 2 only
C 2, 3 and 4 only
D 3 and 4 only
Which statements are correct for a typical prokaryotic cell?
1 It contains 70S ribosomes.
2 It contains a cellulose cell wall.
3 It contains circular DNA.
4 It is up to 5 μm in diameter.
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1, 2 and 4 C 1, 3 and 4 D 2, 3 and 4
The diagram shows a typical animal cell.
X
What is the function of the membrane system labelled X?
A lipid synthesis only
B protein synthesis and transport
C protein synthesis only
D protein transport only
What describes a lysosome?
A a vesicle containing enzymes, enclosed by a double membrane, that is budded off the endoplasmic reticulum
B a vesicle containing hydrolytic enzymes and surrounded by a single membrane, found only in phagocytes
C a vesicle enclosed by a single membrane, containing several different hydrolytic enzymes that may act inside or outside the cell
D a vesicle surrounded by a double membrane, containing enzymes which can hydrolyse damaged organelles in a cell
The diagram shows a triglyceride.
O H H H H H H H H H
H C C C C C C C C C C H
H C O H H H H H H H H H
O H H H H H H H H H
C C C C C C C C C C H
H C O H H H H H H H H H
O H H H H H H
H
H
C C C C C C C H
C
C
H C O H H H H H C
H H
H H
What will be the products after hydrolysis of this triglyceride?
A 1 molecule of glycogen, 3 unsaturated fatty acids and 3 molecules of water
B 1 molecule of glycerol, 2 saturated fatty acids and 1 unsaturated fatty acid
C 1 molecule of glycogen, 2 saturated fatty acids and 1 unsaturated fatty acid
D 1 molecule of glycerol, 1 saturated fatty acid, 2 unsaturated fatty acids and 3 molecules of water
Which description lists all the components of a human haemoglobin molecule?
A four polypeptides that are all the same and one haem group
B four polypeptides that are not all the same and one haem group
C four polypeptides that are all the same and four haem groups
D four polypeptides that are not all the same and four haem groups
HIV-1 protease is an enzyme produced by the HIV virus.
Two identical chains of 99 amino acids form the enzyme. In each chain, amino acids 25, 26 and
27 in the sequence form part of the active site.
Which orders of protein structure control the shape of the active site?
A primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary
B primary, secondary and tertiary only
C primary and quaternary only
D quaternary only
Which statements are correct reasons for how animals cool down in hot environments using latent heat of vaporisation of water?
1 Some animals lie down and roll in wet soil.
2 Fish move into deeper water.
3 Some animals lick their fur to make it wet.
4 Some animals breathe quickly with a wet tongue hanging out of their mouth.
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1, 2 and 4 C 1, 3 and 4 D 2, 3 and 4
Two different enzymes, P and Q, are investigated to find the optimum pH for each enzyme. The results show that P works only in acidic conditions. Q has an optimum pH which is slightly alkaline.
Which graph shows the correct results for P and Q?
A B
Q P Q
substrate rate of
P concentration reaction at 1 minute
0 7 14 0 7 14 pH pH
C D
14 7
Q
pH 7 P pH P
Q
0 0 product concentration rate of reaction at 1 minute
A student investigated the effect of substrate concentration on the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction.
The student plotted the results in a graph.
40
30
reaction rate
20
/ mol dm–3 s–1
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50
substrate concentration / mol dm–3
What is the Km for this enzyme-catalysed reaction?
A 12 mol dm–3
B 15 mol dm–3 s–1
C 30 mol dm–3 s–1
D 50 mol dm–3
Which statements could be used to describe enzyme molecules and antibody molecules?
1 Hydrogen bonds stabilise the structure of the protein and are important for it to function efficiently.
2 Hydrophilic R-groups point in to the centre of the molecule and cause it to curl into a spherical shape.
3 The tertiary structure of the protein molecule plays an important role in the functioning of the protein.
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1 and 2 only C 1 and 3 only D 2 and 3 only
Which description identifies a reversible, non-competitive enzyme inhibitor?
A It can attach to the active site.
B It can attach to a site other than the active site.
C It can attach to the active site and another site simultaneously.
D It can attach to either the active site or another site.
Before mitochondria are extracted from cells for microscopy, they are usually kept in a
0.25 mol dm–3 sucrose solution.
Why is the sucrose solution used?
A to act as a solvent
B to enable the rate of reaction of the mitochondria to be determined
C to prevent the mitochondria from changing in dimension
D to provide a source of energy
The photomicrograph shows a type of blood cell.
Which statements about these cells are correct?
1 Oxygen diffuses through the phospholipid bilayer.
2 Sodium ions diffuse through the phospholipid bilayer.
3 Water passes in and out of these cells by osmosis.
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1 and 2 only C 1 and 3 only D 2 and 3 only
Which row is correct for parts of a phospholipid molecule?
can be saturated can also be found or unsaturated in a triglyceride
A head tail
B tail head
C head head
D tail tail
A student filled dialysis tubing with a sucrose solution and knotted both ends. This formed a cylinder with a length of 5.0 cm and a radius of 2.0 cm.
What is the surface area to volume ratio for this cylinder of dialysis tubing?
A 0.7 : 1.0 B 1.0 : 1.0 C 1.4 : 1.0 D 2.5 : 1.0
Which process does not involve mitosis?
A asexual reproduction
B growth of unicellular organisms
C repair of tissues by cell replacement
D replacement of damaged or dead cells
The photomicrograph shows cells in an onion root tip.
X
Y
Z
Which labelled cells are in anaphase, metaphase and prophase?
anaphase metaphase prophase
A X Y Z
B Y Z X
C Z X Y
D Z Y X
The diagram shows an outline of the mitotic cell cycle.
1
2 cytokinesis
3
Which numbered stages of the cell cycle include a period of time when each chromosome consists of sister chromatids joined by a centromere?
A 1 and 2 B 1 and 3 C 2 and 3 D 2 only
The diagram shows part of a nucleic acid molecule.
A
X
G
U
C
What is the name of bond X?
A glycosidic bond
B hydrogen bond
C peptide bond
D phosphodiester bond
XNA is a laboratory-made nucleic acid. XNA is made of nucleotides in which one component has been replaced by chemical X. The chemical X is organic but is not found in nature. The part of the molecule responsible for coding is not changed.
Which component of a DNA or RNA nucleotide has been replaced by the organic chemical X?
A five-carbon sugar
B phosphate group
C purine base
D pyrimidine base
Which processes occur during the formation of messenger RNA?
1 condensation
2 polymerisation
3 replication
4 transcription
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1, 2 and 4 C 1, 3 and 4 D 2, 3 and 4
The anticodon for the amino acid tryptophan is ACC.
What shows a template DNA sequence that includes the DNA triplet for tryptophan?
A UGG CGU CCG
B GCU GAC ACG
C CTT TGG ATG
D CCT ACC CAT
A student drew a plan diagram of some plant tissue.
The diagram is shown. It contains a mistake in the way that it is drawn.
R
The maximum width of R is 15 mm on the diagram and its actual width is 250 μm.
The student was asked to draw a scale bar on their diagram.
Which row is correct?
length of scale bar part of the location of in mm to correctly plant drawn drawing mistake represent 100 μm
A root phloem 6
B root xylem 170
C stem phloem 170
D stem xylem 6
Four students have drawn and labelled part of a structure seen on an electron micrograph.
Which student has labelled their drawing correctly?
A B
vacuole mitochondria mitochondria
sieve plate sieve plate
thin cytoplasm
C D
nucleus chloroplast
sieve plate sieve plate
thin cytoplasm thin cytoplasm
The diagram shows some structures used for transport in the phloem.
cell Y
companion cell Z cell
direction of phloem sieve tube transport
long distance
Which statement is correct?
A Cell Y is the sink cell.
B Cell Z can be above or below cell Y in the plant.
C Cell Z must be in a photosynthetic tissue.
D Cell Y allows glucose to move to the sieve tube via the companion cell.
The diagram shows a section through a root of a dicotyledonous plant.
soil particle
root hair root cell xylem cell vessel Casparian strip
Which statement correctly describes the movement of water and solutes through this root?
A A layer of suberin causes water and solutes to move from the apoplast pathway into the symplast pathway.
B A layer of suberin causes water and solutes to move from the symplast pathway into the apoplast pathway.
C The tonoplast causes water and solutes to move from the symplast pathway into the apoplast pathway.
D The tonoplast causes water and solutes to move from the apoplast pathway into the symplast pathway.
The graph shows the effect of different partial pressures of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the oxygen dissociation curve for haemoglobin.
100
80 partial pressure CO2
1.0 kPa
60 percentage partial pressure CO2 saturation of 1.5 kPa haemoglobin with oxygen
40
20
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
partial pressure of oxygen / kPa
What is the change in percentage oxygen saturation of haemoglobin at a partial pressure of oxygen of 6 kPa as the partial pressure of carbon dioxide changes from 1.0 kPa to 1.5 kPa?
A –26% B –20% C 20% D 46%
What happens in the heart at the start of ventricular diastole?
A The semilunar valves open.
B The atrioventricular valves open.
C The pressure in the atria rises above the pressure in the ventricles.
D The pressure in the left atrium rises more than the pressure in the right atrium.
The electron micrograph shows a longitudinal section through a blood vessel.
blood vessel
Which type of blood vessel is shown?
A arteriole
B capillary
C vein
D venule
A student drew a sketch to show the formation of tissue fluid.
Which label is correct?
A D blood enters higher volume capillary and capillary of blood pressure increases returns to vein
tissues
B C red blood cells higher water potential in and water move tissue fluid so water moves into tissues back into the capillary
Which structures are present in the trachea and also in all bronchioles?
1 cartilage
2 smooth muscle
3 epithelial cells
A 1, 2 and 3 B 1 only C 2 and 3 only D 2 only
The photomicrograph shows a section through part of the gas exchange system.
Which tissue can be seen?
A cartilage
B ciliated epithelium
C smooth muscle
D squamous epithelium
What is the function of the goblet cells in the gas exchange system?
A to increase the surface area
B to move mucus
C to release mucus
D to trap dust and pathogens
Each year, there are 462 000 deaths from malaria in children under 5 years old globally.
Insecticide-treated nets could prevent 50% of malaria cases and reduce deaths of children under
5 years old by 18%.
How many children could be saved by using insecticide-treated nets?
A 41 580 B 83 160 C 231 000 D 332 640
Which row is correct?
involved in secrete phagocytosis antibodies
A T-lymphocytes B-lymphocytes
B T-lymphocytes T-lymphocytes
C B-lymphocytes B-lymphocytes
D B-lymphocytes T-lymphocytes
Four steps that occur during the primary immune response to a pathogen are listed.
P B-lymphocytes divide by mitosis.
Q T-helper cells interact with macrophages that have digested pathogens.
R Plasma cells secrete antibodies.
S T-helper cells activate other lymphocytes.
These steps can be arranged in the sequence in which they occur.
Which step occurs third in the sequence?
A P B Q C R D S
Answer
A
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On this page, free: the mark scheme for AS & A Level Biology 9700/13, October/November 2024 (9700_w24_ms_13), and the question paper (9700_w24_qp_13), to read or download, with each question's marking points written out underneath.
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Biology 9700/13 for October/November 2024 is out of 40 marks, with 1 hour 15 minutes to answer it.
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Yes. Upload your answers to 9700/13/O/N/24 as a PDF or photos, and CIE Buddy marks every question against this paper's official mark scheme, using Cambridge's marking rules. You get your score, each lost mark explained on your own script, and the topics to revise. It's a guide, not an official Cambridge grade.