A Level Biology (9700) Past Papers – Cambridge International

Which structures are found in palisade mesophyll cells and photosynthetic prokaryotes?

1. cell surface membrane
2. cellulose wall
3. ribosomes
4. chloroplasts

Monoclonal antibodies are used to test for the presence of the hormone HCG in the urine of a
human female during early pregnancy.
Which statements describe how the monoclonal antibodies used in this test are produced?

1. HCG is injected into a mouse, and plasma cells in the mouse produce antibodies
   specific to HCG.
2. Antibodies are extracted from the mouse and then fused with cancer cells to
   produce hybridoma cells.
3. Single hybridoma cells are cultured and they divide by mitosis to produce a clone of
   hybridoma cells.

How many times must a molecule of carbon dioxide pass through a cell surface membrane as it
diffuses from the plasma, through a cell in the capillary wall, into an alveolus?

Which features are required to allow for efficient diffusion?

1. a large surface area
2. a short diffusion pathway
3. maintenance of a constant diffusion gradient

RNA polymerase and peptidyl transferase are both enzymes involved in protein synthesis.
Which statements describe similarities between these two enzymes?

1. They are both globular proteins.
2. They both have the same tertiary structure.
3. They are both intracellular enzymes.

A country introduced a measles vaccination during a measles epidemic.
Later, it was realised that vaccinated children were more likely to survive childhood than
unvaccinated children, even when there were no measles epidemics.
The vaccine had given the children some protection against other pathogenic infections.
Which statement could account for this extra protection?

Which molecules contain at least two double bonds?

Why are spleen cells fused with myeloma cells during monoclonal antibody production?

A student carries out a semi-quantitative test with Benedict’s solution.
Which statement about this procedure is correct?

Which statement about collagen is correct?

Which features contribute to the function of a cellulose molecule?

1. Long chains of glucose molecules coil into a helix.
2. Many hydrogen bonds form between adjacent chains.
3. It is insoluble in water.

Which statements about the human gas exchange system are correct?

1. The absence of cartilage in small bronchioles allows them to expand.
2. The walls of the alveoli are made of cuboidal epithelium.
3. Alveoli secrete a substance which reduces surface tension.
4. The trachea and bronchi are supported by rings of cartilage.

What will happen as a result of the blood pressure in the right ventricle becoming higher than the
blood pressure in the right atrium?

At which stages of mitosis are chromosomes composed of two chromatids that are held together
by a centromere?

Why is it difficult to control the spread of tuberculosis?

1. Global air travel for commerce and tourism has increased.
2. The bacterium that causes tuberculosis has evolved resistance to some antibiotics.
3. The bacterium that causes tuberculosis shows great antigenic variability.
4. Civil unrest and poverty result in overcrowded living conditions

Which processes use energy in the form of ATP?

1. endocytosis
2. exocytosis
3. facilitated diffusion

Which cell type causes the secondary immune response to be much faster than the primary
immune response?

A bacterial circular DNA molecule is 2 600 150 base pairs long. 26% of the bases are adenine.
How many cytosine bases would be in the DNA molecule?

Which events listed are part of the cell cycle?

1. interphase
2. prophase
3. cytokinesis

A scientist studying the structure of a protein reported that it consists of two polypeptide chains
joined by disulfide bonds.
Which feature of protein structure does this describe?

A piece of double-stranded DNA containing 12 × 10³ nucleotides is transcribed and translated to
produce a single polypeptide.
What is the maximum number of amino acids in this polypeptide?

Carbon dioxide is continually produced by respiring cells. It diffuses into red blood cells and
dissociates into hydrogen ions (H⁺) and hydrogen carbonate ions (HCO₃^–). HCO₃^– then diffuses
out of the cell in exchange for chloride ions (Cl^–) in the chloride shift.
What is the importance of the chloride shift?

Cholera and tuberculosis are infectious diseases that can spread when people have to live in
overcrowded conditions.
Which strategies would help control the spread of cholera and tuberculosis?

1. covering food to prevent flies landing on it
2. providing chlorinated drinking water
3. treating severe cases with antibiotics

There are two main classes of antibiotics, broad spectrum and narrow spectrum.
Broad spectrum antibiotics affect a wide range of bacteria, while narrow spectrum antibiotics
affect specific types of bacteria.
Which uses of antibiotics may result in antibiotic-resistant bacteria?

1. a broad spectrum antibiotic given to reduce the effects of the influenza virus
2. a broad spectrum antibiotic to treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis in humans
3. a narrow spectrum antibiotic to treat diarrhoea and sickness in cattle

Which statements about a peptide bond are correct?

1. It joins two monomers which are always identical to each other.
2. It contains four different atoms.
3. It can be broken by the addition of water at room temperature.
4. It is important in the primary structure of proteins