Q1.Figure 1 shows photographs of some animal cells at different stages during the cell cycle.

Figure 1

A © Ed Reschke/Photolibrary/Getty Images
B © Ed Reschke/Oxford Scientific/Getty Images
C © Ed Reschke/Photolibrary/Getty Images

(a) Which photograph in Figure 1 shows a cell that is not going through mitosis?

Tick one box.

A B C

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 (b) Describe what is happening in photograph A.

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(2)

(c) A student wanted to find out more about the cell cycle.

The student made a slide of an onion root tip.

She counted the number of cells in each stage of the cell cycle in one field of view.

The table below shows the results.

Stages in the cell cycle

Non-dividing cells Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Total

Number of cell
20 9 4 2 1 36
s

Each stage of the cell cycle takes a different amount of time.

Which stage is the fastest in the cell cycle?

Give a reason for your answer.

Stage ..........................................

Reason ...............................................................................................................

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(2)
(d) The cell cycle in an onion root tip cell takes 16 hours.

Calculate the length of time Stage 2 lasts in a typical cell.

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

............(4/36)x16x60 = 106.6666 = 107 or 106.7 minutes .....................................

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Time in Stage 2 = .................................................. minutes

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 (e) Bacteria such as Escherichia coli undergo cell division similar to mitosis.

Figure 2 shows a growth curve for E. coli grown in a nutrient broth.

Figure 2

What type of cell division causes the change in number of E. coli cells at P?

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(f) Suggest why the number of cells levels out at Q.

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(Total 11 marks)

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Q6. (a) How many pairs of chromosomes are there in a body cell of a human baby?

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(b) Place the following in order of size, starting with the smallest, by writing
numbers 1 – 4 in the boxes underneath the words.

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(c) For a baby to grow, its cells must develop in a number of ways.

Explain how each of the following is part of the growth process of a baby.

(i) Cell enlargement

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(ii) The process of cell division by mitosis

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(d) Why is cell specialisation (differentiation) important for the development and growth of a healthy baby
from a fertilised egg?

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(2)
(Total 8 marks)

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Q7. Read the information about stem cells.

Stem cells are used to treat some human diseases.

Stem cells can be collected from early embryos. These stem cells have not begun to
differentiate, so they could be used to produce any kind of cell, tissue or organ. The
use of embryonic stem cells to treat human diseases is new and, for some diseases,
trials on patients are happening now.

Stem cells can also be collected from adult bone marrow. The operation is simple but
may be painful. Stem cells in bone marrow mainly differentiate to form blood cells.
These stem cells have been used successfully for many years to treat some kinds of
blood disease. Recently there have been trials of other types of stem cell from bone
marrow. These stem cells are used to treat diseases such as heart disease.

Evaluate the use of stem cells from embryos or from adult bone marrow for treating human
diseases.

You should give a conclusion to your evaluation.

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(5)
(Total 5 marks)

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Q8. Cells in the human body are specialised to carry out their particular function.

(a) The diagram shows a sperm cell.

The sperm cell is adapted for travelling to, then fertilising, an egg.

(i) How do the mitochondria help the sperm to carry out its function?

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(1)

(ii) The nucleus of the sperm cell is different from the nucleus of body cells.

Give one way in which the nucleus is different.

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(1)

(Total 2 marks)

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