AQA GCSE COMBINED SCIENCE: TRILOGY
8464/B/1H BIOLOGY PAPER 1H PAPER
& MARK SCHEME CERTIFICATION
SCRIPT 2026 QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ What are stents?.
Answer: -Tubes that are inserted inside arteries to keep them open which
allows the blood to pass through to the heart muscles-They lower the risk of
a heart attack in people with coronary heart disease-They are effective for a
long time-There is a risk of infection from surgery and the patient could
develop a blood clot near the stent - thrombosis
◍ Cilia as a defence.
Answer: Hair-like structures which waft the mucus up to the back of your
throat where it can be swallowed (and used to trap pathogens)
◍ Name the three ways whites blood cells defend against pathogens.
Answer: Phagocytosis, antibody production, antitoxin production
◍ What are the three things that new drugs should be tested for?.
Answer: Toxicity, efficacy, dose
◍ How can bacteria make a person feel ill?.
Answer: By producing toxins that damage cells and tissues
◍ What is 'centi' in standard form?.
Answer: 10 to the power of -2
◍ Name three specialised animal cells.
Answer: Sperm, Nerve, Muscle
,◍ What are sperm cells specialised for and how are they specialised?.
Answer: Reproduction - they transport the male DNA to the female DNA-It
has a flagella and a streamlined head to help it swim towards the egg-There
are lots of mitochondria in the cell to provide the energy needed-It carries
enzymes in its head to help digest through the egg cell membranes
◍ Greenhouses - light intensity.
Answer: Artificial light is used after the sun goes down - gives the plant
more quality photosynthesis time
◍ Is respiration endothermic or exothermic?.
Answer: Exothermic - transfers energy to the environment
◍ What is transpiration?.
Answer: The loss of water from a plant by evaporation and diffusion
◍ How is measles spread?.
Answer: By inhalation droplets from sneezes and coughs
◍ What is binary fission?.
Answer: A type of simple cell division used by prokaryotic cells to
reproduce & split into two
◍ Name the four defence systems in the human body.
Answer: Skin, nose, trachea and bronchi, stomach
◍ Drug testing - Stage 2.
Answer: Drugs are tested on live animals - at least two different
mammalsTests for efficacy (whether it works), toxicity (how harmful it is)
and to determine the right dosage
◍ What are antibiotics?.
Answer: Drugs that kill or prevent the growth of bacteria without killing
healthy body cells
◍ Spongy mesophyll tissue.
Answer: Contains big air spaces to allow gases to diffuse in and out of cells
,◍ T-lymphocytes - white blood cells.
Answer: Produce antitoxins that neutralise any toxins produced by bacteria
◍ Rose Black Spot.
Answer: Fungus that causes purple/black spots to appear on leaves of rose
plants - the leaves then turn yellow and fall offInhibits the process of
photosynthesis and growthSpread via the environment e.g. water or
windTreatment: fungicides and stripping the plant of its affected leaves and
then burning the leaves so the virus doesn't spread
◍ What process moves substances into and out of a cell across a cell
membrane?.
Answer: Diffusion
◍ What are the symptoms of salmonella poisoning?.
Answer: Fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea
◍ Smoking as a risk factor.
Answer: Causes cardiovascular disease, lung disease and lung cancer. It
damages the walls of arteries and the cells in the lining of the lungs
◍ Iodine Solution - testing for starch.
Answer: 1) Make a food sample & transfer 5cm³ of it to a test tube2) Add a
few drops of iodine solution & gently shake the tube to mix the contents - if
the sample contains starch, the colour of the solution will change from
browny-orange to blue-black
◍ What is salmonella?.
Answer: Food poisoning spread by bacteria ingested in food or on food
prepared in unhygienic conditions
◍ What do cell walls do?.
Answer: They are made of cellulose and they support and strengthen the cell
◍ Microscopy Practical - Drawing Observations.
Answer: 1) Draw what you see under the microscope using a pencil with a
sharp point2) Make sure your drawing takes up at least half of the space
, available & that it is drawn with clear, unbroken lines3) Your drawing
should not include any colouring or shading4) If you are drawing cells, the
subcellular structures should be drawn in proportion5) Include a title &
write down the magnification that it was observed under6) Label the
important features of your drawing using straight, uncrossed lines
◍ What is xylem?.
Answer: A hollow tube that takes water and mineral ions up to the stem and
leaves from the roots
◍ Where does penicillin come from?.
Answer: The penicillium mould (discovered by Alexander Fleming)
◍ Where is amylase found?.
Answer: It's made in the salivary gland and the pancreas and it works in the
small intestine
◍ Examples of active transport.
Answer: Plants = Root hairs absorb minerals and water. Each branch of a
root will be covered in tiny hairs, therefore increasing the surface area for
the absorption of minerals and water. The concentration of minerals is
usually higher in the root hair cells than in the soil around them, therefore
they can't use diffusion for this process.Animals = Glucose is taken in from
the gut and from kidney tubules.
◍ What is the optimum pH for enzymes?.
Answer: The pH level that they are most active at. E.g., pepsin has an
optimum pH of 2
◍ Why might you need an artificial pacemaker?.
Answer: To correct irregularities in the heart rate
◍ Calculation - Rate of Reaction.
Answer: Rate = 1000/time
◍ What is epidermal tissue?.
Answer: Tissue that covers the whole plant
8464/B/1H BIOLOGY PAPER 1H PAPER
& MARK SCHEME CERTIFICATION
SCRIPT 2026 QUESTIONS WITH SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ What are stents?.
Answer: -Tubes that are inserted inside arteries to keep them open which
allows the blood to pass through to the heart muscles-They lower the risk of
a heart attack in people with coronary heart disease-They are effective for a
long time-There is a risk of infection from surgery and the patient could
develop a blood clot near the stent - thrombosis
◍ Cilia as a defence.
Answer: Hair-like structures which waft the mucus up to the back of your
throat where it can be swallowed (and used to trap pathogens)
◍ Name the three ways whites blood cells defend against pathogens.
Answer: Phagocytosis, antibody production, antitoxin production
◍ What are the three things that new drugs should be tested for?.
Answer: Toxicity, efficacy, dose
◍ How can bacteria make a person feel ill?.
Answer: By producing toxins that damage cells and tissues
◍ What is 'centi' in standard form?.
Answer: 10 to the power of -2
◍ Name three specialised animal cells.
Answer: Sperm, Nerve, Muscle
,◍ What are sperm cells specialised for and how are they specialised?.
Answer: Reproduction - they transport the male DNA to the female DNA-It
has a flagella and a streamlined head to help it swim towards the egg-There
are lots of mitochondria in the cell to provide the energy needed-It carries
enzymes in its head to help digest through the egg cell membranes
◍ Greenhouses - light intensity.
Answer: Artificial light is used after the sun goes down - gives the plant
more quality photosynthesis time
◍ Is respiration endothermic or exothermic?.
Answer: Exothermic - transfers energy to the environment
◍ What is transpiration?.
Answer: The loss of water from a plant by evaporation and diffusion
◍ How is measles spread?.
Answer: By inhalation droplets from sneezes and coughs
◍ What is binary fission?.
Answer: A type of simple cell division used by prokaryotic cells to
reproduce & split into two
◍ Name the four defence systems in the human body.
Answer: Skin, nose, trachea and bronchi, stomach
◍ Drug testing - Stage 2.
Answer: Drugs are tested on live animals - at least two different
mammalsTests for efficacy (whether it works), toxicity (how harmful it is)
and to determine the right dosage
◍ What are antibiotics?.
Answer: Drugs that kill or prevent the growth of bacteria without killing
healthy body cells
◍ Spongy mesophyll tissue.
Answer: Contains big air spaces to allow gases to diffuse in and out of cells
,◍ T-lymphocytes - white blood cells.
Answer: Produce antitoxins that neutralise any toxins produced by bacteria
◍ Rose Black Spot.
Answer: Fungus that causes purple/black spots to appear on leaves of rose
plants - the leaves then turn yellow and fall offInhibits the process of
photosynthesis and growthSpread via the environment e.g. water or
windTreatment: fungicides and stripping the plant of its affected leaves and
then burning the leaves so the virus doesn't spread
◍ What process moves substances into and out of a cell across a cell
membrane?.
Answer: Diffusion
◍ What are the symptoms of salmonella poisoning?.
Answer: Fever, abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhoea
◍ Smoking as a risk factor.
Answer: Causes cardiovascular disease, lung disease and lung cancer. It
damages the walls of arteries and the cells in the lining of the lungs
◍ Iodine Solution - testing for starch.
Answer: 1) Make a food sample & transfer 5cm³ of it to a test tube2) Add a
few drops of iodine solution & gently shake the tube to mix the contents - if
the sample contains starch, the colour of the solution will change from
browny-orange to blue-black
◍ What is salmonella?.
Answer: Food poisoning spread by bacteria ingested in food or on food
prepared in unhygienic conditions
◍ What do cell walls do?.
Answer: They are made of cellulose and they support and strengthen the cell
◍ Microscopy Practical - Drawing Observations.
Answer: 1) Draw what you see under the microscope using a pencil with a
sharp point2) Make sure your drawing takes up at least half of the space
, available & that it is drawn with clear, unbroken lines3) Your drawing
should not include any colouring or shading4) If you are drawing cells, the
subcellular structures should be drawn in proportion5) Include a title &
write down the magnification that it was observed under6) Label the
important features of your drawing using straight, uncrossed lines
◍ What is xylem?.
Answer: A hollow tube that takes water and mineral ions up to the stem and
leaves from the roots
◍ Where does penicillin come from?.
Answer: The penicillium mould (discovered by Alexander Fleming)
◍ Where is amylase found?.
Answer: It's made in the salivary gland and the pancreas and it works in the
small intestine
◍ Examples of active transport.
Answer: Plants = Root hairs absorb minerals and water. Each branch of a
root will be covered in tiny hairs, therefore increasing the surface area for
the absorption of minerals and water. The concentration of minerals is
usually higher in the root hair cells than in the soil around them, therefore
they can't use diffusion for this process.Animals = Glucose is taken in from
the gut and from kidney tubules.
◍ What is the optimum pH for enzymes?.
Answer: The pH level that they are most active at. E.g., pepsin has an
optimum pH of 2
◍ Why might you need an artificial pacemaker?.
Answer: To correct irregularities in the heart rate
◍ Calculation - Rate of Reaction.
Answer: Rate = 1000/time
◍ What is epidermal tissue?.
Answer: Tissue that covers the whole plant
