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Paper 6 style practice paper: Alternative to practical — question paper

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QQ/IGCSE-BIO/P6S

IGCSE · Cambridge IGCSE Biology (Extended)

Paper 6 style practice paper

Alternative to practical

Duration: 60 minutes
Total: 40 marks
Name:
Class:
Register No.:
Date:

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

  • Answer all questions.
  • Write your answers in the spaces provided.
  • The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
  • The total mark for this paper is 40.
  • You are not expected to have performed the experiments yourself; you answer from the descriptions, diagrams and results given.

Original practice material written against the Cambridge IGCSE Biology syllabus. It is not an official Cambridge examination paper. Practical skills across the 0610 syllabus: food tests, osmosis, enzymes, photosynthesis, transpiration, breathing, yeast, germination and sampling.

For Examiner’s Use
Section A/ 20
Section B/ 20
Total/ 40

Section A: Practical skills questions[20 marks]

Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

  1. 1

    A student tests four unknown food solutions, P, Q, R and S, using iodine solution, Benedict’s solution, Biuret solution and ethanol.

    1. (a)

      Copy and complete the table by naming the food tested by each reagent and its positive result: iodine solution; Benedict’s solution; Biuret solution; ethanol.

      [4]
    2. (b)

      State two safety precautions the student should take when heating Benedict’s solution.

      [2]
  2. 2

    A student investigates osmosis using strips of potato. Five identical strips are weighed, then each is placed in a sugar solution of a different concentration for one hour, then blotted dry and re-weighed.

    1. (a)

      Explain why the strips are blotted dry before re-weighing.

      [1]
    2. (b)

      In the 0.4 mol per dm³ solution, a strip loses 0.6 g (from 5.0 g). Calculate the percentage change in mass.

      [2]
    3. (c)

      Explain, in terms of water potential, why the strips gain mass in dilute solutions but lose mass in concentrated solutions.

      [3]
    4. (d)

      State the solution concentration at which the strips would show no change in mass, and explain why.

      [1]
  3. 3

    A student investigates the effect of temperature on the activity of the enzyme pectinase in producing apple juice.

    1. (a)

      Describe how the student should carry out this investigation, including two variables that must be controlled.

      [4]
    2. (b)

      The results show the most juice at 40 °C and very little at 60 °C. Explain these results.

      [3]

Section B: Practical skills questions[20 marks]

Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

  1. 4

    A student sets up pondweed in water with hydrogencarbonate indicator to investigate photosynthesis. Bright light is shone on the weed from different distances, and the number of bubbles produced per minute is counted.

    1. (a)

      State the gas in the bubbles and explain why it is released.

      [2]
    2. (b)

      Predict and explain what happens to the bubble rate as the lamp is moved closer to the pondweed.

      [2]
    3. (c)

      State two variables the student should keep constant.

      [2]
    4. (d)

      The indicator around pondweed kept in the dark turns yellow. Explain why.

      [1]
  2. 5

    A student investigates the conditions needed for germination using four jars of cress seeds on cotton wool.

    1. (a)

      Jar 1: water, room temperature, open to air — seeds germinate. Predict the outcome in each of the other jars and name the missing condition.

      [3]
    2. (b)

      Explain why water and oxygen are each needed for germination.

      [3]
  3. 6

    A class samples a school field to estimate the population of daisies using quadrats.

    1. (a)

      A quadrat of side 1 m is thrown ten times at random positions. The counts of daisies are: 4, 6, 3, 5, 2, 7, 4, 5, 4, 6. Calculate the mean number of daisies per quadrat.

      [2]
    2. (b)

      The field measures 20 m × 30 m. Estimate the total population of daisies. Show your working.

      [2]
    3. (c)

      Explain why the quadrats must be thrown at random, and state one source of error in this method.

      [2]
    4. (d)

      Suggest one reason why the class would get a different daisy count if they sampled the shaded side of a field.

      [1]

— End of paper —