Please write clearly in block capitals.

Centre number Candidate number

Surname

Forename(s)

Candidate signature
I declare this is my own work.

INTERNATIONAL A-LEVEL
BIOLOGY (9610)
Unit 5 Synoptic paper

Thursday 19 January 2023 07:00 GMT Time allowed: 1 hour 30 minutes

Materials
For this paper you must have: For Examiner’s Use
• a pencil
Question Mark
• a ruler with millimetre measurements
• a scientific calculator, which you are expected to use where appropriate. 1
2
Instructions
3
• Use black ink or black ball-point pen.
• Fill in the boxes at the top of this page. 4
• Answer all questions. 5
• You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write
6
outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
• If you need extra space for your answer(s), use the lined pages at the end of TOTAL
this book. Write the question number against your answer(s).
• All working must be shown.
• Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want
to be marked.
Information
• The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
• The maximum mark for this paper is 75.
• In Question 6, 2 marks will be awarded for the quality of your written communication.
You will be marked on your ability to:
– use good English
– organise information clearly
– use specialist vocabulary where appropriate.

*JAn23BL0501*
IB/M/Jan23/E7 BL05
 2
Do not write
outside the
Answer all questions in the spaces provided. box

0 1 A plant leaf is an organ containing several types of tissue.

Figure 1 shows a transverse section (TS) of a leaf from a dicotyledonous plant as

seen using the low power objective lens of a light microscope.

The scale bar represents a length of 100 μm

Figure 1

0 1 . 1 Draw a tissue map of the TS of the leaf shown in Figure 1.

[3 marks]

*02*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 3
Do not write
outside the
Figure 2 shows part of the same leaf seen using the high power objective lens of the box

same microscope.

The scale bar represents a length of 50 μm

Figure 2

0 1 . 2 The magnifying power of the high power objective lens is ×40

Using the scale bars in Figure 1 and Figure 2, calculate the magnifying power of the
low power objective lens.

Give your answer to the nearest whole number.

[3 marks]

Magnifying power of the low power objective lens =

Turn over ►

*03*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 4
Do not write
outside the
0 1 . 3 Leaves exchange gases with the air. box

Gas exchange results in loss of water from the leaves.

Explain how features you can see in Figures 1 (on page 2) and 2 (on page 3) help a
leaf:

• to exchange gases efficiently

• to reduce water loss.
[6 marks]

12

*04*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 5
Do not write
outside the
Turn over for the next question box

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE

ANSWER IN THE SPACES PROVIDED

Turn over ►

*05*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 6
Do not write
outside the
0 2 A student measures the rate of aerobic respiration in germinating barley seeds. box

Figure 3 shows the apparatus the student uses.

Figure 3

The student places the apparatus into a thermostatically-controlled water bath, as

shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4

*06*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 7
Do not write
outside the
0 2 . 1 Give two reasons why the student puts many seeds into tube B and not just one box
seed.
[2 marks]

0 2 . 2 Tubes A and B are kept in the water bath at a constant temperature of 20 °C

Give two reasons why a constant temperature is necessary.

[2 marks]

The apparatus measures the volume of oxygen taken in by the seeds.

As the seeds take in oxygen, the pressure inside tube B is reduced. This causes the
liquid in the U-tube to move upwards on the right-hand side and downwards on the
left-hand side.

The students can use the syringe to push air into tube B and return the liquid in the
U-tube to the starting level shown in Figure 3.

0 2 . 3 The potassium hydroxide solution absorbs carbon dioxide from the air in tubes
A and B.

Explain why removal of carbon dioxide is necessary.

[2 marks]

Turn over ►

*07*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 8
Do not write
outside the
0 2 . 4 Explain how tube A in Figure 3 (on page 6) cancels out the effect of any external box

changes in temperature and pressure that might occur during the investigation.
[2 marks]

The student takes measurements of oxygen consumption by the barley seeds.

The student:

1. adjusts the syringe so that the level of the fluid on each side of the U-tube is the
same
2. records the volume measurement on the syringe scale
3. repeats steps 1 and 2 at 1-minute intervals for 8 minutes.

Figure 5 shows the results.

Figure 5

*08*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 9
Do not write
outside the
0 2 . 5 Record the student’s results in a suitable table. box

[2 marks]

0 2 . 6 Draw a graph of the results from your table in Question 02.5.

Draw a line of best fit on your graph.

[4 marks]

Turn over ►

*09*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 10
Do not write
outside the
0 2 . 7 The student used 8.2 grams of seeds to obtain the results in Figure 5 (on page 8). box

Use your graph in Question 02.6 to calculate the rate of respiration of the seeds.

Give your answer in mm3 oxygen consumed per gram of seeds per hour, to
3 significant figures.
[3 marks]

Rate of respiration = mm3 oxygen g–1 h–1

0 2 . 8 The student repeats the investigation at 25 °C instead of 20 °C

Predict how the graph would be different at 25 °C

[1 mark]

*10*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 11
Do not write
outside the
0 2 . 9 The student wants to calculate the respiratory quotient (RQ) of the germinating barley box

seeds.

The student:

• uses the same apparatus as in the previous investigation

• replaces the potassium hydroxide solution in tubes A and B with water.

Explain how the student could use the apparatus, and the results shown in
Figure 5 (on page 8), to calculate the RQ of the germinating seeds.
[4 marks]

22

Turn over for the next question

Turn over ►

*11*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 12
Do not write
outside the
0 3 Eukaryotic cells that can divide have a cell cycle. box

Figure 6 shows the cell cycle.

Figure 6

0 3 . 1 Name the process that occurs in the S-phase and give the reason why this process is
important in the cell cycle.
[2 marks]

Process

Reason

0 3 . 2 In which phase does the cell not contain pairs of chromatids joined by centromeres?
[1 mark]
Tick () one box.

G1

G2

Mitosis

*12*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 13
Do not write
outside the
0 3 . 3 A typical body cell in a mouse takes about 24 hours to complete the cell cycle. box

In cells lining the ileum of the mouse, the cell cycle takes only 1 hour.

Suggest why cells lining the ileum need to divide at a rapid rate.
[1 mark]

Turn over for the next question

Turn over ►

*13*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 14
Do not write
outside the
0 4 Exenatide is a drug for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. The drug is injected under box

the skin twice each day.

Doctors carry out a trial of exenatide on 1446 patients with Type 2 diabetes:

• 480 patients receive doses of 5 μg exenatide

• 483 patients receive doses of 10 μg exenatide
• 483 patients receive a placebo.

The trial lasts for 30 weeks.

The trial is double-blind and placebo-controlled. Double-blind means that neither the
doctors nor the patients know who is given the drug, or which dose, and who is given
the placebo. The placebo is an injection of the same volume of solution as the drug
but the solution does not contain the drug.

0 4 . 1 Explain why a double-blind trial is used for testing the effectiveness of the drug.
[2 marks]

0 4 . 2 Suggest one ethical implication of this type of study.

[1 mark]

The doctors measure the concentration of a substance called HbA1c as an indicator

of the concentration of glucose in each person’s blood.

Some of the glucose in the blood combines with haemoglobin in the red blood cells to
form the compound HbA1c.

HbA1c is stable, so the percentage of HbA1c in a blood sample is a measure of the

glucose concentration during the previous few weeks.

The doctors take blood samples from each patient at intervals during the 30 weeks of
the trial.

*14*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 15
Do not write
outside the
Figure 7 shows the results at the end of the 30 weeks. box

Figure 7

0 4 . 3 The doctors state that the mean result for each concentration of exenatide has a
probability, P < 0.05

Suggest how the doctors could determine that P < 0.05

[2 marks]

0 4 . 4 Explain why the doctors prefer to measure HbA1c concentration rather than the
concentration of glucose dissolved in the blood plasma.
[2 marks]

Turn over ►

*15*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 16
Do not write
outside the
0 5 The border collie is a breed of dog. Farmers use border collies for herding sheep. box

Most border collies have black and white fur.

Figure 8 shows four varieties of border collie, with different coloured fur.

Figure 8

The colour of the fur is determined by two pairs of alleles:

B = allele for black fur N = allele for normal, full colour of the fur
b = allele for brown fur n = allele for a lighter colour of fur

A dog breeder crossed a male with black fur and a female with brown fur.
The breeder repeated the cross 4 times in 5 years using the same 2 parent dogs.

Table 1 shows the results.

Table 1

Number of offspring in each cross

Cross number
Black Blue Brown Lilac
1 2 2 3 –
2 3 – 1 1
3 2 1 2 1
4 3 1 2 –
Total 10 4 8 2

The total number of offspring in Table 1 is 24

The breeder expected a ratio of black:blue:brown:lilac = 3:1:3:1

*16*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 17
Do not write
outside the
0 5 . 1 Complete Table 2 to show the total number of dogs of each colour the breeder had box

expected in the 24 offspring.

[1 mark]
Table 2

Expected total number of dogs of each colour

Black Blue Brown Lilac

0 5 . 2 Complete the genetic diagram to explain why the breeder had expected the
3:1:3:1 ratio.
[4 marks]

Parental phenotypes: Black male Brown female

Parental genotypes:

Male gametes

Female gametes

Phenotype Genotypes of offspring

Black

Blue

Brown

Lilac

Question 5 continues on the next page

Turn over ►

*17*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 18
Do not write
outside the
0 5 . 3 The breeder wants to produce a population of pure-breeding (homozygous) blue box

border collies. He will only use dogs selected from the offspring shown in
Table 1 (on page 16).

There are males and females of each variety.

Outline a breeding programme that could be used to produce a population of

pure-breeding blue border collies.
[5 marks]

10

*18*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 19
Do not write
outside the
You are reminded that 2 marks will be awarded box
for the quality of your written communication in Question 6.

0 6 Homeostasis is the maintenance of relatively constant conditions for the body’s cells.
This means that the chemical reactions of metabolism can function at optimal levels.

0 6 . 1 Describe the principles used in homeostatic mechanisms in the human body.

Use examples of different homeostatic mechanisms in your answer.

[6 marks]

Question 6 continues on the next page

Turn over ►

*19*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 20
Do not write
outside the
0 6 . 2 Hydrogen peroxide is a harmful by-product of many metabolic reactions. box

The enzyme catalase breaks down hydrogen peroxide into oxygen and water:

2H2O2 catalase 2H2O + O2

hydrogen
peroxide

Design an experiment to find the optimum pH for the action of catalase.

[7 marks]

*20*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 21

Do not write
outside the
0 6 . 3 Other enzymes are involved in the breakdown of food molecules in the digestive box

system.

Describe how carbohydrates are broken down by enzymes in the human digestive
system.
[5 marks]

20

Quality of written communication [2 marks]

END OF QUESTIONS

*21*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 22
Do not write
outside the
There are no questions printed on this page box

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE

ANSWER IN THE SPACES PROVIDED

*22*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 23
Do not write
outside the
box
Question Additional page, if required.
number Write the question numbers in the left-hand margin.

*23*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05
 24
Do not write
outside the
box
Question Additional page, if required.
number Write the question numbers in the left-hand margin.

Copyright information

For confidentiality purposes, all acknowledgements of third-party copyright material are published in a separate booklet. This booklet
is published after each live examination series and is available for free download from www.oxfordaqaexams.org.uk.

Permission to reproduce all copyright material has been applied for. In some cases, efforts to contact copyright-holders may have
been unsuccessful and Oxford International AQA Examinations will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you
have any queries please contact the Copyright Team.

Copyright © 2023 Oxford International AQA Examinations and its licensors. All rights reserved.

*231xBL05*

*24*
IB/M/Jan23/BL05