AQA GCSE COMBINED SCIENCE: TRILOGY
CERTIFICATION SCRIPT 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ What is the function of the vein?.
Answer: carries blood to the heart
◍ What is the optimum pH for enzymes?.
Answer: 7
◍ What happens when halogens react with metals?.
Answer: They form ionic compounds. When any halogen reacts with a
metal, the halogen atom gains one electron and forms an ion with a -1
charge.
◍ How do we show that the atom is now an ion and what ions to metals form?.
Answer: Draw square brackets around it and write its overall charge in the
top right corner. Metals always form positive ions.
◍ What are the properties of group 1 metals?.
Answer: Soft, low density, very reactive
◍ What happens when group 7 elements need to achieve a full outer shell?.
Answer: The two atoms overlap their outer shells and they share a pair of
electrons (covalent bonding).
◍ What are ions?.
Answer: Atoms which have an overall charge. That is because ions have lost
or gained electrons.
◍ How does the difference in reactivity affect the reactions of the halogens?.
Answer: A more reactive halogen can replace a less reactive halogen from
an aqueous solution of its salt.
,◍ How is crystallisation carried out?.
Answer: 1. A solution is placed in an evaporating basin and heated with a
Bunsen burner.2. As the solution heats up, the liquid will begin to
evaporate.3. When crystals begin to form, leave the rest of the liquid to
evaporate and then pat the crystals dry.
◍ What is the function of xylem in plants?.
Answer: To transport water and minerals
◍ How can you work out the surface area to volume ratio?.
Answer: By working out the total surface area using the equation: length x
width, and by working out the volume using the equation: length x width x
height, then put your answer into the ratio x:y (with x being the surface area
and y being the volume)
◍ What is a mixture?.
Answer: A combination of two or more substances that are not chemically
combined.
◍ How is salmonella spread?.
Answer: Through contaminated food
◍ What are the two phases in chromatography?.
Answer: Mobile - SolventStationary - Paper
◍ What is meant by metabolism?.
Answer: All chemical reactions occurring in the body
◍ What is a risk factor?.
Answer: Things that linked to an increase in the likelihood that a person will
develop a certain disease during their lifetime
◍ What are the differences between the modern periodic table and
Mendeleev's periodic table?.
Answer: In the modern periodic table, the elements are arranged in order of
atomic number. When Mendeleev came up with his table, protons hadn't
been discovered so he ordered the elements by atomic weight. Also, the
, modern periodic table has group 0 but these elements hadn't been fully
discovered when Mendeleev developed his table.
◍ Where does photosynthesis take place?.
Answer: Chloroplast
◍ Give two examples of eukaryotic cells.
Answer: Plant & Animal cells
◍ What does the number of electrons in the outer shell tell us?.
Answer: The group number of the element in the periodic table.
◍ What is meant by a partially permeable membrane?.
Answer: A membrane with very small holes in it, which allows tiny
molecules to pass through
◍ What controls the resting heart rate?.
Answer: A group of cells in the right atrium act as a pacemaker
◍ Why do the villi increase the surface area?.
Answer: So that digested food is absorbed much more quickly into the blood
◍ What do we represent covalent bonds between atoms as?.
Answer: A stick between the 2 atoms e.g: Cl - Cl
◍ Describe the steps to prepare a slide [Required Practical].
Answer: 1) Add a drop of water to the middle of a clean slide2) Cut up an
onion and separate it out into layers. Use tweezers to peel off some
epidermal tissue from the bottom of one the layers3)Using the tweezers,
place the epidermal tisse into the water on the slide4) Add a drop of iodine
solution. Iodine solution is a stain which is used to highlight objects in the
cell by adding colour to them5) Place a cover slip on top. To do this, stand
the cover slip upright on the slide, next to the water droplet. Then carefully
tilt and lower it so it covers the specimen. Try not to get any air bubbles
underneath it - they'll obstruct your view of the specimen
◍ What are noble gases reactivity like and why?.
Answer: They're not reactive because they have full outer shells so they're
, stable and won't react.
◍ What is the nuclear model of the atom?.
Answer: A positively charged (protons) nucleus with electrons orbiting in
shells at certain distances from the nucleus. Several years later, Chadwick
discovered that the nucleus also contains neutrons.
◍ Name the two types of cells.
Answer: Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic
◍ How are muscle cells specialised?.
Answer: For contraction: these cells are long so that they have space to
contract and have lots of mitochondria to generate the energy needed for
contraction
◍ How do group 1 metals react with oxygen and water?.
Answer: As we move down group 1 they react more rapidly because when
they react, they lose their outer shell electron and as we go down the group,
it becomes more and more easy to lose their outer shell's electrons. This is
because as we move down the group, the radius of the atoms increases and
the outer electron is repelled by electrons in the internal energy levels so the
outer electron is less attracted to the positive nucleus.
◍ What is the most important part of the immune system?.
Answer: White blood cells (lymphocytes and phagocytes)
◍ What do gills have to help gas exchange?.
Answer: A large surface area
◍ What are isotopes?.
Answer: Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.
◍ How do you calculate the relative atomic mass?.
Answer: (mass number of isotope 1 x percent abundance of isotope 1) +
(mass number of isotope 2 x percent abundance of isotope 2) / 100
◍ What is chromatography?.
Answer: A method used to separate substances based on their solubility.
CERTIFICATION SCRIPT 2026 QUESTIONS
WITH SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◍ What is the function of the vein?.
Answer: carries blood to the heart
◍ What is the optimum pH for enzymes?.
Answer: 7
◍ What happens when halogens react with metals?.
Answer: They form ionic compounds. When any halogen reacts with a
metal, the halogen atom gains one electron and forms an ion with a -1
charge.
◍ How do we show that the atom is now an ion and what ions to metals form?.
Answer: Draw square brackets around it and write its overall charge in the
top right corner. Metals always form positive ions.
◍ What are the properties of group 1 metals?.
Answer: Soft, low density, very reactive
◍ What happens when group 7 elements need to achieve a full outer shell?.
Answer: The two atoms overlap their outer shells and they share a pair of
electrons (covalent bonding).
◍ What are ions?.
Answer: Atoms which have an overall charge. That is because ions have lost
or gained electrons.
◍ How does the difference in reactivity affect the reactions of the halogens?.
Answer: A more reactive halogen can replace a less reactive halogen from
an aqueous solution of its salt.
,◍ How is crystallisation carried out?.
Answer: 1. A solution is placed in an evaporating basin and heated with a
Bunsen burner.2. As the solution heats up, the liquid will begin to
evaporate.3. When crystals begin to form, leave the rest of the liquid to
evaporate and then pat the crystals dry.
◍ What is the function of xylem in plants?.
Answer: To transport water and minerals
◍ How can you work out the surface area to volume ratio?.
Answer: By working out the total surface area using the equation: length x
width, and by working out the volume using the equation: length x width x
height, then put your answer into the ratio x:y (with x being the surface area
and y being the volume)
◍ What is a mixture?.
Answer: A combination of two or more substances that are not chemically
combined.
◍ How is salmonella spread?.
Answer: Through contaminated food
◍ What are the two phases in chromatography?.
Answer: Mobile - SolventStationary - Paper
◍ What is meant by metabolism?.
Answer: All chemical reactions occurring in the body
◍ What is a risk factor?.
Answer: Things that linked to an increase in the likelihood that a person will
develop a certain disease during their lifetime
◍ What are the differences between the modern periodic table and
Mendeleev's periodic table?.
Answer: In the modern periodic table, the elements are arranged in order of
atomic number. When Mendeleev came up with his table, protons hadn't
been discovered so he ordered the elements by atomic weight. Also, the
, modern periodic table has group 0 but these elements hadn't been fully
discovered when Mendeleev developed his table.
◍ Where does photosynthesis take place?.
Answer: Chloroplast
◍ Give two examples of eukaryotic cells.
Answer: Plant & Animal cells
◍ What does the number of electrons in the outer shell tell us?.
Answer: The group number of the element in the periodic table.
◍ What is meant by a partially permeable membrane?.
Answer: A membrane with very small holes in it, which allows tiny
molecules to pass through
◍ What controls the resting heart rate?.
Answer: A group of cells in the right atrium act as a pacemaker
◍ Why do the villi increase the surface area?.
Answer: So that digested food is absorbed much more quickly into the blood
◍ What do we represent covalent bonds between atoms as?.
Answer: A stick between the 2 atoms e.g: Cl - Cl
◍ Describe the steps to prepare a slide [Required Practical].
Answer: 1) Add a drop of water to the middle of a clean slide2) Cut up an
onion and separate it out into layers. Use tweezers to peel off some
epidermal tissue from the bottom of one the layers3)Using the tweezers,
place the epidermal tisse into the water on the slide4) Add a drop of iodine
solution. Iodine solution is a stain which is used to highlight objects in the
cell by adding colour to them5) Place a cover slip on top. To do this, stand
the cover slip upright on the slide, next to the water droplet. Then carefully
tilt and lower it so it covers the specimen. Try not to get any air bubbles
underneath it - they'll obstruct your view of the specimen
◍ What are noble gases reactivity like and why?.
Answer: They're not reactive because they have full outer shells so they're
, stable and won't react.
◍ What is the nuclear model of the atom?.
Answer: A positively charged (protons) nucleus with electrons orbiting in
shells at certain distances from the nucleus. Several years later, Chadwick
discovered that the nucleus also contains neutrons.
◍ Name the two types of cells.
Answer: Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic
◍ How are muscle cells specialised?.
Answer: For contraction: these cells are long so that they have space to
contract and have lots of mitochondria to generate the energy needed for
contraction
◍ How do group 1 metals react with oxygen and water?.
Answer: As we move down group 1 they react more rapidly because when
they react, they lose their outer shell electron and as we go down the group,
it becomes more and more easy to lose their outer shell's electrons. This is
because as we move down the group, the radius of the atoms increases and
the outer electron is repelled by electrons in the internal energy levels so the
outer electron is less attracted to the positive nucleus.
◍ What is the most important part of the immune system?.
Answer: White blood cells (lymphocytes and phagocytes)
◍ What do gills have to help gas exchange?.
Answer: A large surface area
◍ What are isotopes?.
Answer: Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.
◍ How do you calculate the relative atomic mass?.
Answer: (mass number of isotope 1 x percent abundance of isotope 1) +
(mass number of isotope 2 x percent abundance of isotope 2) / 100
◍ What is chromatography?.
Answer: A method used to separate substances based on their solubility.
