1. The diagram shows part of a nephron from a mammalian kidney.

Blood entering
via afferent
arteriole

Glomerulus

Cavity of renal
(Bowman's) Blood leaving
capsule via efferent
arteriole

Filtrate passing
to rest of nephron

(a) Name the region of the kidney in which the renal capsules are found.

……………………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

(b) Describe and explain the process of ultrafiltration.

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(4)

(c) Name one substance, filtered from the blood, that would be completely reabsorbed as the
filtrate passes through the nephron.

……………………………………………….………………………………………
(1)
(Total 6 marks)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 1

2. The diagram below shows some of the effects that follow the secretion of FSH (follicle
stimulating hormone).

FSH secreted from

anterior pituitary
gland

Follicles develop in
the ovaries

Gradual rise in
oestrogen secretion
from ovaries

FSH secretion
inhibited

(a) State the type of mechanism, shown by the diagram, that controls the secretion of FSH
and oestrogen.

……………………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

(b) Explain why hormones, such as, FSH and oestrogen, only affect the activity o specific
target organs.

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……………………………………………….………………………………………
(2)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 2

 (c) With reference to the differences between nervous and hormonal coordination,
suggest why the development of the follicles is coordinated by hormones and not by
the nervous system.

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(3)
(Total 6 marks)

3. Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) is a hydrogen acceptor that can be used as a redox
indicator. TTC is colourless when oxidised and red when reduced.

Oxidised TTC Reduced TTC

(colourless) (red)

An investigation was carried out into the effect of temperature on oxidoreductase activity in
yeast cells.

Four water baths were set up at 20 °C, 30 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C. A test tube containing 10cm3 of
active yeast suspension was placed into each water bath. A test tube containing 1 cm3 TTC was
also placed into each water bath.

After 5 minutes, the TTC was poured into the yeast suspension at each temperature. The time
taken for a red coloration to appear in each tube was recorded.

The results of this investigation are shown in the table.

Temperature Time for red coloration to appear

/°C /minutes

20 19
30 11
40 5
50 8

(a) Suggest why the tubes containing the yeast suspension and TTC were placed into the
water baths 5 minutes before their contents were mixed.

……………………………………………….………………………………………

……………………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 3

 (b) Explain how the results indicate that the activity of the yeast cells involves
(oxidoreductase) enzymes.

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(4)

(c) (i) Name a hydrogen acceptor that would be found in active yeast cells.

…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

(ii) Give an example of a metabolic pathway in which this hydrogen acceptor

is involved.

…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(1)
(Total 7 marks)

4. In an investigation into the effect of a drug on the nervous system, the reaction time of four
volunteers was tested by timing how long it took for them to push a button after seeing a
lamp light up.

Volunteer A drank 50 cm3 of water. Volunteers B, C and D each drank 50 em’ of a solution
containing different concentrations of the drug. The reaction time of each volunteer was then
tested every ten minutes during the next hour.

Concentration Reaction time / seconds

of drug/
Volunteer arbitrary units 0 min 10 min 20 min 30 min 40 min 50 min 60 min

A 0 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

B 1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3

C 2 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.4

D 3 0.3 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 4

 (a) Suggest what the data indicate about the absorption of the drug into the bloodstream.
Give a reason for your answer.

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(2)

(b) Describe the effects that the drug had upon the reaction times of the volunteers during
the 60 minutes of the investigation.

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(3)

(c) This drug is known to affect synaptic transmission. Suggest how the drug might cause the
effects you have described in (b).

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(3)

(d) Give three factors, other than the concentration of the drug, that would need to be
taken into account in this investigation.

1 …………………………………………….………………………………………

2 …………………………………………….………………………………………

3 …………………………………………….………………………………………
(3)
(Total 11 marks)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 5

5. Give an account of the stages of respiration that take place in the mitochondrion, stating
the location of each stage.

(Allow three lined pages)

(Total 10 marks)

6. The diagram below shows the structure of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Phospholipid
bilayer

Nucleic acid

Enzyme

(a) Explain what is meant by the term latency with reference to HIV infection.

……………………………………………….………………………………………

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(2)

(b) Name the enzyme found in this virus

……………………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

(c) Describe the role of this enzyme in latency

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(2)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 6

 (d) Complete the table by giving two structural differences between HIV and tobacco
mosaic virus (TMV).

HIV TMV

1.

2.

(2)
(Total 7 marks)

7. An infection is caused when pathogenic microorganisms enter the tissues of the host organism
and multiply. The symptoms of the infection may result from the production of toxins by the
microorganism or from the destruction of host tissue.

(a) Food poisoning can be caused by a number of pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella
and Staphylococcus.

(i) Name the type of toxin produced by Salmonella.

…..…………………………………….………………………………………

(ii) The symptoms of food poisoning caused by Salmonella occur 1–2 days after eating
contaminated food. However the symptoms resulting from infection by
Staphylococcus occur within a few hours after infection.

Explain why this difference occurs.

…..…………………………………….………………………………………

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…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(2)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 7

 (b) Salmonella is Gram negative whereas Staphylococcus is Gram positive. Describe how the
colour of these bacteria would differ after Gram staining had been carried out.

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(2)
(Total 5 marks)

8. (a) Explain the meaning of the term antibiotic.

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……………………………………………….………………………………………
(2)

(b) An experiment was performed to study the effect of the antibiotic penicillin on the growth
of two species of bacteria: Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Escherichia coli.

Each bacterial species was cultured in a flask containing 20 cm3 of liquid medium
and penicillin.

Control cultures without penicillin were also set up. At the start of the experiment each
flask contained 1 × 106 bacterial cells per cm3 of culture medium.

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 8

 At intervals of two hours, the number of bacterial cells in each culture was determined.
The results are shown in the graph below.

E. coli +
14
penicillin

13
E. coli only
12
Log 10 number of bacteria per cm3 culture

L. bulgaricus
11 only

10

5 L. bulgaricus +
penicillin
4

3
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Time / hours

(i) Compare the growth of the control cultures of E. coli and L. bulgaricus over the
24 hour period.

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…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(3)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 9

 (ii) Describe and explain the effect of penicillin on the growth of L. bulgaricus.

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(4)
(Total 9 marks)

9. A student wanted to determine the density of cells in a bacterial cell suspension and decided to
use a counting chamber (haemocytometer).

The bacterial suspension was diluted to 1/200 and a sample of this dilution was placed in the
counting chamber. The diagram below shows part of the grid from the counting chamber, with
the sample of bacteria in it. The volume of the sample over this area of the grid is 0.0004 mm3.

Bacterial
cells

(a) State one precaution the student must take, before introducing the sample into the
counting chamber, to ensure a reliable result.

……………………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

(b) Using the diagram, calculate the number of bacteria per mm3 in the original, undiluted,
bacterial suspension. Show your working.

Answer. …………………. cells per mm3

(3)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 10

 (c) (i) Name one other method that the student could have used to determine the density
of bacteria in the culture.

…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(1)

(ii) State one advantage and one disadvantage of the method you have named,
compared with using the counting chamber.

Advantage ……………………………………………………………………

…..…………………………………….………………………………………

Disadvantage …………………………………………………………………

…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(2)

(iii) Explain how the result obtained with this method would differ from the result
obtained with the counting chamber.

…..…………………………………….………………………………………

…..…………………………………….………………………………………

…..…………………………………….………………………………………

…..…………………………………….………………………………………
(2)
(Total 9 marks)

Edexcel Unit 4A January 2003 11