This free quiz has all 15 multiple choice questions from Section A of the OCR A Level Biology A Biological Processes paper (H420/01), June 2022. It marks itself, so you get your score as soon as you finish.
What the multiple choice section covers
Cholesterol and triglycerides (2.1.2)
Effects of enzyme concentration and temperature on reaction rate (2.1.4)
The mechanism of ventilation (3.1.1)
Chloroplast structure and links between photosynthesis and respiration (5.2.1)
Analysing chloroplast counts and choosing statistical analysis (1.1.3)
Cell signalling and homeostasis (5.1.1)
Respiratory substrates and respiratory quotient (5.2.2)
Muscle fatigue and respiration in erythrocytes (5.1.5, 5.2.2)
How to use it
Section A is worth 15 of the 100 marks in 2 hours 15 minutes, so aim to spend roughly 20 minutes on it. Several questions ask which option is not correct or ask you to judge numbered statements, so read the stem carefully and decide on each statement individually. Paper 1 tests modules 1, 2, 3 and 5, so expect Year 12 and Year 13 content side by side.
Where students lost marks on this paper (from the OCR examiners' report and mark scheme)
These points cover the whole paper, not just the multiple choice section. Each is followed by wording that gained marks.
Whole plants have low SA:V: Some candidates said multicellular plants have a large surface area to volume ratio, named glucose rather than sucrose as transported in phloem, or gave examples without source and destination.
✔ Gains credit: large plants have a low surface area to volume ratio and long transport distances so diffusion is too slow, with examples naming the substance and where it moves, such as water and ions from roots or sucrose from source to sink.
Pits are not plasmodesmata: Some candidates identified xylem in the micrograph as phloem and mistook pits in vessel walls for plasmodesmata.
✔ Gains credit: each visible feature matched to its explanation, such as lignin preventing collapse, spiral thickening allowing flexibility, hollow vessels reducing resistance to flow and pits allowing lateral movement of water.
ATP breaks cross-bridges: Many candidates thought ATP is needed to form cross-bridges or attach myosin heads, or simply called ATP the energy currency.
✔ Gains credit: ATP is needed to break cross-bridges and detach myosin from actin, so without it the filaments stay linked and the muscle cannot relax.
Steroid receptors are inside cells: Some candidates placed steroid hormone receptors on the membrane, or thought lipid solubility stops steroids crossing it.
✔ Gains credit: receptors are inside the cell, in the cytoplasm or nucleus, because lipid-soluble steroids can cross the phospholipid bilayer of the cell surface membrane.
Pluripotent versus multipotent: Many candidates gave the definition of multipotent stem cells, or did not refer to types of cell or tissue.
✔ Gains credit: pluripotent cells can differentiate into any adult cell or tissue type but cannot form a whole organism or extra-embryonic tissues such as the placenta.
Evaluate both sides: Evaluation questions were found challenging: many answers were one-sided, ignored error or SD bars and means, or did not name an anomalous result as an anomaly.
✔ Gains credit: a balanced answer with points for and against, comparing groups directly using means and error bars, identifying anomalies, and noting limits such as the range of conditions tested or no statistical test.
Calvin cycle names: Common errors were 'ribulose biphosphate', 'glycerol phosphate', confusing RuBP with RuBisCO, writing NADH instead of NADPH, and giving glucose as the transported product.
✔ Gains credit: carbon dioxide combines with ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP) to make glycerate phosphate (GP), which is reduced using ATP and reduced NADP, and sucrose is the form in which carbohydrate is transported; using the abbreviations reduces spelling errors.
Keep practising
Try the multiple choice sections of the June 2022 AS paper and June 2022 Biological Diversity paper, or practise by topic with the Transport in Animals, Plant and Animal Responses, Photosynthesis, Enzymes quizzes. You can also browse all our OCR A Level Biology quizzes. Our OCR A masterclasses (Year 12 on Wednesdays at 5.15pm, Year 13 on Tuesdays at 6.30pm) work through real exam questions on one topic each week.
Practising recall is so important for retention and learning. Try this quiz without books first !
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