GCSE Combined Science Circulation & health questions by topic

This question is about the heart.

1. (a)Name the vessel that carries blood from the heart to the lungs.[1]
2. (b)Name the vessel that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body.[1]
3. (c)State which side of the heart has the thicker wall and explain why.[2]

State the job of each blood component.

1. (a)State the function of red blood cells.[1]
2. (b)State the function of white blood cells.[1]
3. (c)State the function of platelets.[1]
4. (d)Name two substances transported by plasma.[1]

This question is about blood vessels.

1. (a)Explain one way an artery’s structure suits the pressure of blood inside it.[2]
2. (b)Explain one way a capillary’s structure suits its job of exchange.[2]

This question is about coronary heart disease.

1. (a)Describe what builds up inside the coronary arteries.[1]
2. (b)Explain why this causes chest pain during exercise.[2]
3. (c)Name one treatment for coronary heart disease.[1]

A patient’s heart rate is 72 beats per minute with a stroke volume of 65 cm³.

1. (a)Calculate the cardiac output in cm³ per minute.[2]
2. (b)Convert your answer into dm³ per minute.[1]
3. (c)State what happens to cardiac output during exercise and why.[1]

A hospital audit compares two treatments in 200 similar patients.

1. (a)Calculate the percentage of stent patients who had a further heart attack.[2]
2. (b)State one advantage statins still offer this group.[1]
3. (c)State one limitation of comparing two groups of real patients.[1]

Explain how the structure of red blood cells suits their function.

1. (a)Describe two structural features of a red blood cell.[2]
2. (b)Link each feature to transporting oxygen.[2]

A country records deaths from liver disease per 100 000 people against alcohol consumption.

1. (a)Describe the trend in the data.[1]
2. (b)Calculate how many times higher the death rate is in the high band than in the low band.[1]
3. (c)Explain why the data does not prove alcohol is the only cause.[2]

A student writes: “Arteries always carry oxygenated blood.”

1. (a)State whether the claim is true.[1]
2. (b)Give the exception and describe what it carries.[2]
3. (c)Explain why the naming of arteries and veins is based on direction, not oxygen.[2]

A person’s diet is high in salt and saturated fat and they take little exercise.

1. (a)Explain two ways this lifestyle raises the risk of cardiovascular disease.[4]
2. (b)Suggest two changes that would lower the risk.[2]

A woman’s family history includes several relatives diagnosed with bowel cancer before 50.

1. (a)Name the kind of risk factor this family history represents.[1]
2. (b)Explain how inherited faulty genes can lead to cancer.[2]
3. (c)Give two lifestyle measures that would still lower her overall risk.[2]

Evaluate stents and statins for a 58-year-old with one narrowed coronary artery and high blood cholesterol.

1. (a)Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a stent for this patient.[2]
2. (b)Give one advantage and one disadvantage of statins for this patient.[2]
3. (c)State a justified conclusion.[2]