Q1.

The table shows how hydrogencarbonate indicator solution changes colour when the
concentration of carbon dioxide in it changes.

concentration of carbon dioxide colour change

increases orange to yellow

decreases orange to purple

Sunil set up the experiment shown below and put both test-tubes on a
window-sill.

Use information in the table to help you answer the questions below.

(a) The indicator in test-tube A changed from orange to yellow.

(i) What process, in the cells of the maggots, caused this colour change?

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

(ii) Explain what happens in this process to cause the colour change.

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) The indicator in test-tube B changed from orange to purple.

(i) What process, in the cells of the leaves, caused this colour change?

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

(ii) Explain what happens in this process to cause the colour change.

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

Page 1 of 22
 (c) Sunil then put two fresh leaves into test-tube C containing 30 cm3 of orange
hydrogencarbonate indicator.
He added some maggots on a piece of wire mesh as shown below.
He put the test-tube on a window-sill.

The indicator remained orange. Explain why.

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark
maximum 5 marks

Q2.
(a) Alex poured some pond water into three beakers. She then put waterweed into
each beaker. She put the beakers in different places.

(i) In which beaker did the waterweed grow best? Give the correct letter.

Page 2 of 22
 …………
1 mark

(ii) The waterweed in the box changed from dark green to pale yellow.
Why did this happen?

……………………………………….……………………………………….
1 mark

(b) In the school pond there were lots of water lilies with large leaves covering the
surface.
There were not many plants growing below the surface.
Suggest a reason for this.

……………..……………………………….……………………………………….

……………..……………………………….……………………………………….
1 mark

(c) In another experiment, Alex put similar pieces of waterweed into two more beakers
of pond water.
She added fertiliser to one of them.
She kept them both by a window.

(i) Alex added fertiliser to beaker E. Suggest the results of this experiment.

……………..……………………………….…………………..…………….

……………..……………………………….…………………..…………….
1 mark

(ii) What do fertilisers contain to help plants grow?

Tick the correct box.

fat minerals

sand sugar
1 mark
Maximum 5 marks

Q3.

Page 3 of 22
Rhododendron plants grow bigger and faster than other plants.
The drawing below shows a man cutting down rhododendron plants.

(a) (i) Scientists think the rhododendron roots might produce a chemical that stops
other plants growing nearby.
Why does this help rhododendrons to grow?

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

(ii) Give another reason why hardly any other plants can grow under the
rhododendron bushes.

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) After the rhododendrons and their roots are cleared away there will not be any of the
chemical in the soil.
What will happen to the number of other plants growing there?

.....................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) The drawing shows an insect called a weevil.

Page 4 of 22
 Weevils feed on the leaves of rhododendrons.

Draw a line from the rhododendron box to the word that describes the
rhododendron.
Draw a line from the weevil box to the word that describes the weevil.

2 marks
Maximum 5 marks

Q4.
The drawing shows a bluebell plant. The plant grows from an underground stem called a
bulb.
Each year new leaves and flowers grow from the bulb.

Page 5 of 22
(a) Describe the process by which glucose is made in the leaves.

.....................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................
3 marks

(b) Many plants make starch from glucose.

What group of nutrients do both glucose and starch belong to?

.............................................................
1 mark

(c) In the sixteenth century bluebell bulbs were dug up to obtain a starch-like
substance that was used to make collars stiff.

Page 6 of 22
 (i) Digging up bluebell bulbs has caused a decrease in the number of bluebells
growing in Britain.
It is now against the law to dig up bluebells.

Suggest one other environmental reason why the number of bluebell plants
has decreased in Britain.

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................
1 mark

(ii) Every 10 years the trees and bushes in some bluebell woods are cut down to
ground level.

What effect does this have on the number of bluebells in the woods?
Explain your answer.

.............................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................
1 mark
Maximum 6 marks

Q5.
Suzi investigated how temperature affects the number of bubbles produced by
waterweed in one minute.

She set up the experiment as shown below.

When the temperature of the water was 10°C the waterweed did not produce bubbles.

(a) Suzi increased the temperature of the water in the water-bath to 20°C.
The waterweed started to produce bubbles.
She waited two minutes before starting to count the bubbles.

Explain why she waited for two minutes before she started to count the bubbles.

......................................................................................................................

Page 7 of 22
 ......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Suzi counted the number of bubbles produced at six different temperatures.

Her results are shown on the graph below.

(i) Draw a smooth curve on the graph.

1 mark

(ii) Use your curve to find the temperature of water which produced the most
bubbles per minute.

..............°C
1 mark

(c) Suzi predicted that the higher the temperature the more bubbles would be
produced.

Which points on the graph support Suzi’s prediction?

......................................................................................................................
1 mark

(d) Suzi’s data does not show clearly the exact temperature at which most bubbles
were produced.

How could she improve the data she collects to find this temperature?

......................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................
1 mark
maximum 5 marks

Page 8 of 22
Q7.
An ecosphere is a model habitat that can last for many years.
The ecosphere below is a sealed glass ball containing sea water,
green algae, bacteria, a snail and shrimps.

not to scale

(a) The ecosphere must receive plenty of light.

Explain why light is necessary for the survival of the green algae and the animals
in the ecosphere.

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................
3 marks

(b) When organisms in the ecosphere die, they are broken down by bacteria.
Nutrients, such as nitrates, are released back into the ecosphere.

Why is this necessary for the survival of the other organisms in the ecosphere?

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) The table shows how the mass of oxygen dissolved in water changes with
temperature.

temperature of the mass of oxygen dissolved

water (°C) (mg/100 cm3)
15 10.2

17 9.7

Page 9 of 22
 19 9.3

21 9.0

23 8.7

25 8.4

27 8.1

29 7.9

This ecosphere was kept at a temperature between 17°C and 23°C.

In this ecosphere, respiration in the organisms is affected less if the temperature

falls to 15°C than if it rises to 27°C.
Use information in the table to explain this.

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................
1 mark
maximum 5 marks

Q8.
Joe bought a potted plant. He kept it well watered but some of the leaves turned
yellow.

Joe thought that the plant did not have enough light for photosynthesis. He moved the
plant closer to the window but more leaves turned yellow.

(a) He then thought that the plant did not have enough minerals.

The table below gives information about minerals.

mineral why the mineral is

needed
magnesium to make chlorophyll

nitrogen to make protein

phosphorus to grow and transfer

Page 10 of 22
 energy
potassium to make fruit

(i) Joe’s plant did not have enough of one of the minerals in the table.
Use the information in the table to suggest which mineral this was.

.............................................................
1 mark

(ii) A plant growing in a pot is more likely to be affected by a shortage of

minerals than a plant growing in a garden.
Give the reason for this.

...............................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Joe bought some fertiliser for his plant.

The names and formulae of four different fertilisers are shown below.

(i) Give the letter of one box of fertiliser, A, B, C or D, that would provide each
of the minerals in the table below.
Write the letters in the table.

mineral letter of fertiliser

magnesium

nitrogen

phosphorus

potassium
3 marks

(ii) Easy Grow is ammonium nitrate, NH4NO3.

How many different elements are present in ammonium nitrate?

.............
1 mark

(iii) How many atoms are present in the formula of ammonium nitrate?

Page 11 of 22
 .............
1 mark
maximum 7 marks

Q9.
The drawing below shows Rebekah pulling a turnip out of the ground.

(a) Which arrow, A, B, C or D, shows the direction of force of Rebekah’s hand on the
turnip?

.................
1 mark

(b) The drawing below shows root maggots eating a turnip.

The maggots damage the roots.

Damaged roots do not grow very well.

Page 12 of 22
 Complete the sentence below.

Damaged roots cannot take up as much ............................................... and

............................................... from the soil.

2 marks

(c) The drawing below shows a food chain including a rove beetle.

not to scale

Which word describes a rove beetle?

Tick the correct box.

herbivore predator

prey producer

1 mark

(d) Turnip plants make food by photosynthesis.

(i) Which part of a plant makes food?

...............................................
1 mark

(ii) What will the turnip plant use stored food for?

.............................................................................................................
1 mark
maximum 6 marks

Q12.
The diagram below shows an organism called Euglena.
It is made of only one cell. It lives in ponds and streams.
Euglena have features of both plants and animals.

Page 13 of 22
(a) Look at the diagram of Euglena.

Give two pieces of evidence which suggest it is an animal cell and not a plant cell.

1. ....................................................................................................................
1 mark

2. ....................................................................................................................
1 mark

(b) Plant cells can carry out photosynthesis.

How can you tell from the diagram that Euglena can carry out photosynthesis?

........................................................................................................................
1 mark

(c) Complete the word equation for photosynthesis.

carbon dioxide + ................................... → glucose + ...................................

2 marks
maximum 5 marks

Page 14 of 22
Mark schemes

Q1.
(a) (i) respiration
1 (L7)

(ii) carbon dioxide is produced

accept ‘maggots breathe out carbon dioxide’
1 (L7)

(b) (i) photosynthesis

1 (L7)

(ii) any one from

• carbon dioxide is used up

• carbon dioxide reacts with water in the plant

accept ‘the carbon dioxide reacts with water’
‘carbon dioxide is absorbed’ is insufficient
do not accept ‘the carbon dioxide reacts with
water in the tube’
1 (L7)

(c) any one from

• carbon dioxide produced by respiration was used up in photosynthesis

• carbon dioxide produced by the maggots is used in photosynthesis

• carbon dioxide produced by the maggots was used by the leaves

answers must refer either to respiration
or maggots and photosynthesis or leaves
‘the concentration of carbon dioxide remains
unchanged’ is insufficient
1 (L7)
[5]

Q2.
(a) (i) C
1 (L3)

(ii) any one from

• no light
accept ‘no Sun’

• it was in the dark

do not accept ‘it was in the box’
1 (L3)

(b) any one from

• less light reached the lower plants

Page 15 of 22
 • plants need light to grow
accept ‘plants need light’
accept ‘no photosynthesis could take place’

• the water lilies blocked the light

accept ‘no light’
accept ‘lilies prevented
or reduced the air getting into the water’
accept ‘plants need carbon dioxide’
do not accept ‘the water lilies used the minerals’
1 (L3)

(c) (i) any one from

• the waterweed in E will grow bigger than in D

accept ‘it will grow more or faster or better in E’

• the waterweed in E will have more leaves than in D

accept ‘it will have more leaves in E’
do not accept ‘it grew fast in E’
1 (L3)

(ii) minerals
if more than one box is ticked, award no mark
1 (L4)
[5]

Q3.
(a) (i) any one from

• reduces or stops competition

• stops other plants taking water or minerals

• they get more water or minerals or nutrients or space

1 (L4)

(ii) any one from

• not enough light

• not enough water

• less minerals or nutrients in the soil

accept ‘no Sun’ or ‘no light’
accept ‘no water’
accept ‘the bush takes all the nutrients’
accept ‘competition’
do not accept ‘no nutrients’
1 (L3)

(b) it will increase

accept ‘they will grow’
1 (L3)

Page 16 of 22
 (c)

if more than one line is drawn from either of the living things,
award no mark for that living thing
2 (L4)
[5]

Q4.
(a) any three from

• by photosynthesis

• carbon dioxide and water used

• oxygen produced
accept for two marks the second and third
marking points in a word or symbol equation,
for example ‘carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen’

• chlorophyll or chloroplasts absorb solar energy or sunlight

accept ‘solar energy transferred to chemical energy’
3 (L7)

(b) carbohydrates
1 (L6)

(c) (i) any one from

• loss of habitat
accept ‘more buildings’

• use of herbicides or weedkillers

• climate change
accept ‘global warming’

• competition with other plants

do not accept ‘growing populations’
as this answer is too vague
1 (L7)

Page 17 of 22
 (ii) it increases
because there is more light or there is more photosynthesis
both the answer and the explanation
are required for the mark
1 (L6)
[6]

Q5.
(a) any one from

• to make sure the water in the boiling tube had reached the
required temperature
accept ‘time for the water in the test-tube to heat up’

• to make sure the rate stabilised or adjusted to the new temperature

accept ‘let it settle first’; ‘the bubbles reach a steady pace’;
‘to get rid of bubbles from the liquid’;
‘to get rid of trapped bubbles’
1 (L5)

(b) (i) a smooth curve through all six points

1 (L6)

(ii) a temperature from 32 to 38

accept any reading consistent with the maximum
point on the drawn curve
1 (L6)

(c) any one from

• A, B, C
accept ‘A, B, C and D’

• the first three readings

• between 10°C and 30°C

accept ‘between 10°C and 40°C’
accept ‘10°C, 20°C and 30°C’ or ‘10, 20, 30’

• between A and C
accept ‘between A and B’ or ‘between A and D’
or ‘between B and D’
do not accept ‘between C and D’
1 (L6)

(d) any one from

• use smaller intervals of measuring the temperature

accept an example of specific intervals such as
‘do it at intervals of 2°C’

• use temperatures between 30°C and 40°C

accept ‘take more measurements’
accept ‘take a reading at 35°C’

Page 18 of 22
 answers must refer to the collection of data rather
than to the presentation of data ‘repeat the test’
is insufficient but may be accepted with additional
measurements
1 (L6)
[5]
1 (L3)
[7]

Q7.
(a) any three from

• plants or algae need light for photosynthesis

accept ‘for photosynthesis’

• photosynthesis or algae or plants supply or produce oxygen

• plants or animals need oxygen

accept ‘oxygen is used for respiration’

• photosynthesis supplies glucose or carbohydrate or biomass

accept ‘glucose is a source of energy for the plant’
accept ‘the herbivores eat the plants’ or ‘animals eat plants’
or ‘snails eat plants’

• carbon dioxide is produced by plants or animals

3 (L7)

(b) any one from

• materials can be recycled

• makes nutrients available

• makes minerals available

1 (L7)

(c) any one from

• at 27°C the oxygen concentration would drop too low

accept ‘the higher the temperature the less oxygen is
dissolved’
accept ‘at a higher temperature they would suffocate’

• at 15°C there is more oxygen

accept ‘the lower the temperature the more oxygen there is’
‘there would be more oxygen’ is insufficient
1 (L6)
[5]

Q8.
(a) (i) magnesium
1 (L6)

Page 19 of 22
 (ii) any one from

• a potted plant has a limited amount of soil or minerals

accept the converse
answers must indicate that the soil available to the
potted plant is limited or may not be replenished

• less chance of minerals being returned to the soil by dying

or decaying plants or by microbes or fungi or bacteria
or worms
‘the garden has more minerals’ is insufficient
‘lack of sunlight’ is insufficient

• no room for roots to extend and find more minerals

accept ‘no room for roots to grow’
1 (L6)

(b) (i)
letter of
mineral
fertiliser

magnesium B

nitrogen A or C

phosphorus D

potassium C

accept ‘Epsom Salts’ or ‘MgSO4’ or ‘magnesium sulphate’

accept ‘A and C or ‘Easy Grow’ or ‘NH4NO3’
or ‘ammonium nitrate’ or ‘Saltpetre’ or ‘KNO3’
or ‘potassium nitrate’
accept ‘Superphosphate’ or ‘Ca(H2PO4)2’
accept ‘Saltpetre’ or ‘KNO3’ or ‘potassium nitrate’
if all four answers are correct, award three marks
if three answers are correct, award two marks
if one or two answers are correct, award one mark
3 (L6)

(ii) 3
1 (L6)

(iii) 9
1 (L6)
[7]

Q9.
(a) • A
accept ‘up’
1 (L3)

(b) any two from

• water

Page 20 of 22
 accept ‘H2O’
‘rain’ is insufficient
accept ‘moisture’

• minerals
accept a named mineral
award two marks for two different named minerals
accept ‘nutrients’ or ‘salts’ or named examples
do not accept ‘food’
award one mark for ‘mineral’ and a named mineral or
nutrient or salt
accept ‘oxygen’
answers may be in either order
2 (L4)

(c) • predator
if more than one box is ticked, award no mark
1 (L4)

(d) (i) • leaf or leaves

accept ‘stem’
accept ‘chloroplast’ or ‘chlorophyll’
1 (L4)

(ii) any one from

• growth or to grow
accept ‘to produce new cells’

• energy
accept ‘respiration’
accept ‘to survive winter’
1 (L4)
[6]

Q12.
(a) any two from

• it has a flagellum or tail to help it move

accept ‘can move or swim’
accept ‘it has a tail’
‘whip’ is insufficient

• it does not have a (cell) wall

accept ‘it does not have a fixed shape’ or ‘it changes shape’
do not accept ‘it does not have a membrane’
‘it only has a cell membrane’ is insufficient

• it does not have a vacuole

• it has a reservoir (for taking in food)

accept ‘it takes in or eats food’
accept ‘it has a mouth-like structure’

Page 21 of 22
 ‘it has a mouth’ is insufficient
2 (L6)

(b) • it has chloroplasts

accept ‘chlorophyll’
‘it makes food’ is insufficient
1 (L6)

(c) • water
accept ‘H2O’
1 (L6)

• oxygen
accept ‘O2’
answers must be in the correct order
1 (L6)
[5]

Page 22 of 22