ExpertAQA GCSE
AQA GCSE Biology Foundation Tier Paper 1
60 free questions · No sign-up required to browse
AQA Foundation Tier Exam-style past paper with complete mark schemes, hints, AI assistance and detailed explanations.
60
Questions
Medium
Difficulty
60%
Pass mark
Difficulty breakdown
Easy(35)
Medium(14)
Hard(1)
Sample questions
Q01.1Easy1 mark
HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a pathogen.
How is HIV spread from one person to another person?
Tick (✔) one box.
Q01.2Medium2 marks
Table 1 shows information about new cases of HIV diagnosed in the UK.
Describe what happened to the number of new cases of HIV from 2010 to 2018.
Q01.3Easy1 mark
What could cause a decrease in the number of new HIV cases in the future?
Tick (✔) one box.
Q01.4Medium3 marks
Scientists have been working to produce a vaccine for HIV for many years.
How could a vaccine work to prevent a person being infected with HIV?
Write the stages A, B, C, D and E in the correct order. The first stage has been completed for you.
A Antibodies attach to the inactive virus.
B Antibodies destroy the inactive virus.
C An inactive form of the virus is injected into the body.
D If the active virus enters the body, antibodies are produced quickly.
E White blood cells produce antibodies to the inactive virus.
C → ___ → ___ → ___ → ___
Q01.5Easy1 mark
When scientists produce a vaccine for a disease the vaccine is tested on live animals.
What is the next stage in testing the vaccine?
Tick (✔) one box.
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All questions (50)
Free to browse · no sign-up requiredQ01.1HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) is a pathogen.
How is HIV spread from one person to another person?
Tick (✔) one...EasyQ01.2**Table 1** shows information about new cases of HIV diagnosed in the UK.
Describe what happened to the number of ne...MediumQ01.3What could cause a **decrease** in the number of new HIV cases in the future?
Tick (✔) one box.EasyQ01.4Scientists have been working to produce a vaccine for HIV for many years.
How could a vaccine work to prevent a pers...MediumQ01.5When scientists produce a vaccine for a disease the vaccine is tested on live animals.
What is the next stage in tes...EasyQ01.6A vaccine for HIV is important because it is difficult to develop safe drugs to destroy viruses.
Why is it difficult...EasyQ01.7.1Some drugs originated from plants.
Which plant does the drug **Aspirin** originate from?EasyQ01.7.2Some drugs originated from plants.
Which plant does the drug **Digitalis** originate from?EasyQ02.1The diagram shows some animal cells. Some of the cells are dividing by mitosis for growth and repair.
What fraction ...EasyQ02.2The cells which are **not** dividing in the diagram each contain 10 chromosomes.
One of these cells divides by mitos...EasyQ02.3Cells divide in a series of stages called the cell cycle.
Complete the sentences. Choose answers from the box.
**co...MediumQ02.4**Figure 2** shows the time taken to complete different stages of the cell cycle.
Which stage of the cell cycle take...EasyQ02.5What percentage of time in the cell cycle is stage **A**?EasyQ02.6Stem cells divide by mitosis.
Scientists can use stem cells from an embryo to create heart cells in a laboratory.
Wh...EasyQ02.7Name **one** medical condition that could be treated using heart cells created from an embryo.EasyQ02.8Give **one** reason why a patient may **not** want to be treated with heart cells created from an embryo.EasyQ03.1A scientist investigated the rate of photosynthesis of one type of tomato plant. The tomato plants were grown in a gr...MediumQ03.2Which range of carbon dioxide concentrations caused the rate of photosynthesis to change the most?EasyQ03.3How could the scientist have improved the validity of the results?EasyQ03.4Explain the change in the rate of photosynthesis when the concentration of carbon dioxide increased between 0.00% to ...MediumQ03.5A farmer decided **not** to use a concentration of carbon dioxide higher than 0.08% to grow tomato plants.
Suggest *...MediumQ04.1.1The diagram shows a simplified microscope.
What is the function of part **A**?EasyQ04.1.2The diagram shows a simplified microscope.
What is the function of part **B**?EasyQ04.1.3The diagram shows a simplified microscope.
What is the function of part **C**?EasyQ04.2A student prepared some onion cells and viewed them using a microscope. The method included adding three drops of iod...EasyQ04.3Why was a **thin** layer of onion cells used?EasyQ04.4.1The student was worried about using a sharp knife to cut the onion. The student wrote a risk assessment for using a k...EasyQ04.4.2The student was worried about using a sharp knife to cut the onion. The student wrote a risk assessment for using a k...EasyQ04.5**Figure 4** shows what the student saw using the microscope at a magnification of ×400. Line **A–B** in **Figure 4**...MediumQ04.6How would onion cells look different if they were seen using an electron microscope?
Tick (✔) **two** boxes.MediumQ05.1Plants take up water from the soil through their roots. Some of the water is used for photosynthesis.
Complete the w...EasyQ05.2Water and dissolved substances are transported through a plant.
Complete the sentences. Choose answers from the box....MediumQ05.3**Table 3** shows the rate of transpiration in four different plant species.
Calculate how many times greater the ra...MediumQ05.4Which factor could cause species **A** to have a higher rate of transpiration than species **B**?EasyQ05.5Which environmental change would cause an **increase** in the rate of transpiration?EasyQ05.6Which plant species in **Table 3** is most likely to live in a dry desert?EasyQ05.7Some plants have adaptations that help them survive. **Figure 6** shows part of a gorse plant.
How will the sharp sp...EasyQ05.8Animals also have adaptations to help them survive. A harmless hoverfly looks very similar to a wasp, which can sting...MediumQ06.1**Table 4** shows information about four jellyfish. The jellyfish are listed in order of increasing size.
Calculate ...MediumQ06.2Describe the relationship between the size of a jellyfish and its surface area to volume ratio. Use **Table 4**.EasyQ06.3The jellyfish in **Table 4** take oxygen into their cells by diffusion.
Name **one** other substance that enters cel...EasyQ06.4Suggest **two** factors that affect the rate of diffusion of oxygen into a jellyfish.MediumQ06.5Some organisms take in oxygen using a respiratory system.
In humans, gas exchange takes place in the lungs.
Name th...EasyQ06.6**Figure 8** shows parts of the human breathing system.
Explain how the human breathing system is adapted to maximis...HardQ07.1This question is about cells and transport.
Complete **Table 5**.EasyQ07.2Cells in potatoes are plant cells. Cells in potatoes do **not** contain chloroplasts.
What is the function of chloro...EasyQ07.3Name **one** type of cell in a potato plant that does **not** contain chloroplasts.EasyQ07.4A student investigated the effect of salt concentration on pieces of potato. The method involved repeating the experi...EasyQ07.5Why did the student dry the surface of each potato piece with a paper towel in step 5?EasyQ07.6The student calculated the percentage change in mass of each potato piece.
For one potato piece:
• the starting mass ...Medium