Exampro GCSE Biology Name:

B3.3 Homeostasis Class:

Higher tier

Author:

Date:

Time: 83

Marks: 83

Comments:

Page 1 of 26
Q1. The pancreas and the liver are both involved in the control of the concentration of
glucose in the blood.

The liver has two veins:

• the hepatic portal vein taking blood from the small intestine to the liver

• the hepatic vein taking blood from the liver back towards the heart.

Scientists measured the concentration of glucose in samples of blood taken from the
hepatic portal vein and the hepatic vein. The samples were taken 1 hour and 6 hours
after a meal.

Graph 1 shows the concentration of glucose in the two blood vessels 1 hour after the meal.

Graph 1

Blood vessel

(a) The concentration of glucose in the blood of the two vessels is different.
Explain why.

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(3)

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(b) Graph 2 shows the concentration of glucose in the two blood vessels 6 hours after the
meal.

Graph 2

Blood vessel

(i) The concentration of glucose in the blood in the hepatic portal vein 1 hour after the
meal is different from the concentration after 6 hours.

Why?

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(1)

(ii) The person does not eat any more food during the next 6 hours after the meal.

However, 6 hours after the meal, the concentration of glucose in the blood in the
hepatic vein is higher than the concentration of glucose in the blood in the hepatic
portal vein.

Explain why.

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(3)
(Total 7 marks)

Page 3 of 26
Q2. A walker falls through thin ice into very cold water.

The walker’s core body temperature falls. He may die of hypothermia (when core body
temperature falls too low).

(a) (i) Which part of the brain monitors the fall in core body temperature?

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(1)

(ii) How does this part of the brain detect the fall in core body temperature?

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(2)

(b) While in the water the walker begins to shiver.

Shivering helps to stop the core body temperature falling too quickly.

Explain how.

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(2)

(c) The walker had been drinking alcohol.

Alcohol causes changes to the blood vessels supplying the skin capillaries, making the
skin look red.

(i) Describe the change to the blood vessels.

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(1)

Page 4 of 26
 (ii) The walker is much more likely to die of hypothermia than someone who has not
been drinking alcohol.

Explain why.

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(2)
(Total 8 marks)

Q3. Urine consists of water, ions and other substances such as urea.
Urine is formed in the kidney by filtering the blood.
The diameter of the pores in the filter is about 6 nanometres.

The table shows the diameters of the molecules of some of the substances in the blood.

Diameter of molecule
Substance
in nanometres

A 10 to 20

B 1.0

C 0.6

D 0.5

E 0.2

Use information from the table and your own knowledge to answer the questions.

(a) (i) Which substance, A, B, C, D or E, is protein?

(1)

(ii) Explain why protein is not found in the urine of a healthy person.

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(1)

Page 5 of 26
 (b) Haemolytic anaemia is a disease in which some of the red blood cells burst open.

Small amounts of haemoglobin may be found in the urine of a person suffering from
haemolytic anaemia.
The diameter of a haemoglobin molecule is 5.5 nanometres.

Haemoglobin is not found in the urine of a healthy person, but can be found in the urine of
a person with haemolytic anaemia.

Explain why.

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(3)
(Total 5 marks)

Q4. The temperature in a sauna is much hotter than core body temperature.

A woman sits in a sauna.

The high temperature of the sauna causes the woman’s core body temperature to rise.

(a) When the woman’s core body temperature rises, the woman’s rate of sweating increases.

Explain why.

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(2)

Page 6 of 26
 (b) The woman comes out of the sauna.
The woman’s skin looks redder than when she went into the sauna.

Describe what happened to the blood circulation in her skin to cause this change in colour.

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(2)

(c) After coming out of the sauna the woman gets into a bath of icy water.
This makes the woman shiver.

(i) What process brings about shivering?

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(1)

(ii) Shivering increases body temperature.

Explain how.

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(2)
(Total 7 marks)

Q5. Blood plasma is a solution of glucose, and many other substances, in water.

The urine of a healthy person contains water but does not contain glucose.

(a) Name two more substances found in the urine of a healthy person.

1 ..................................................................

2 ..................................................................
(2)

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(b) (i) Describe what happens to the glucose in the blood of a healthy person when the
blood enters the kidney.

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(3)

(ii) A diabetic person’s blood often contains a high concentration of glucose.

The urine of a diabetic person may contain glucose.

Suggest an explanation why.

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(2)
(Total 7 marks)

Page 8 of 26
Q6. One group of scientists is working in a hot desert and another group is working in a tropical
rainforest.

The table shows information about the scientists and the conditions in the desert and the
rainforest.

Information Hot desert Rainforest

Mean core body temperature of 37.3 38.9

scientists in °C

Air temperature in °C 36.0 35.5

Mean percentage concentration 9.0 92.0

of moisture in the air

Mean wind speed at ground level 12.0 3.0

in metres per second

(a) Both groups of scientists are doing similar jobs. The jobs cause the scientists to sweat a
lot.

Use information from the table to explain the difference in the mean core body temperature
of the two groups of scientists.

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(2)

(b) Changes to blood vessels in the skin help to decrease body temperature.

Explain how.

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(2)
(Total 4 marks)

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Q7. Use your knowledge of how the kidney works to answer the following questions.

(a) Blood plasma contains mineral ions, glucose, urea and proteins.

Explain why urine contains mineral ions and urea, but no glucose or protein.

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(4)

(b) A man ate and drank the same amounts of the same substances and he did the same
amount of exercise on two different days. On one of the two days the weather was hot and
on the other day the weather was cold.

The man’s urine contained a higher concentration of mineral ions and urea on the hot day
than on the cold day.

Explain why.

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(4)
(Total 8 marks)

Page 10 of 26
Q8. Blood is part of the circulatory system.

(a) (i) Give one function of white blood cells.

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(1)

(ii) Which of the following is a feature of platelets?

Tick ( ) one box.

They have a nucleus.

They contain haemoglobin.

They are small fragments of cells.

(1)

(b) Urea is transported by the blood plasma from where it is made to where the urea is
excreted.

Complete the following sentence.

Blood plasma carries urea from where it is made in the ....................................

to the .................................... where the urea is removed from the blood.

(2)

(c) The illustration shows a section through the human heart.

Structure X is a valve. If valve X stops working, it may need to be replaced.

A scientist is designing a new heart valve. The scientist knows that the valve must be the
correct size to fit in the heart.

Page 11 of 26
 Suggest two other factors the scientist needs to consider so that the newly designed valve
works effectively in the heart.

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(2)
(Total 6 marks)

Q9. Humans maintain an almost constant body temperature.

(a) Describe the role of blood vessels in the control of body temperature.

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(4)

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 (b) An athlete can run a marathon in 2 hours 15 minutes on a dry day in outside temperatures
up to 35 °C.

If the air is dry, his body will not overheat.

In humid conditions the same athlete can run the marathon in the same time.
However, in humid conditions, if the outside temperature goes over 18 °C then his body
will overheat.

Suggest an explanation for the athlete overheating in humid conditions.

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(3)
(Total 7 marks)

Q10. Urine consists of water, ions and other substances such as urea.
Urine is formed in the kidney by filtering the blood.
The diameter of the pores in the filter is about 6 nanometres.

The table shows the diameters of the molecules of some of the substances in the
blood.

Diameter of molecule
Substance
in nanometres

A 10 to 20

B 1

C 0.6

D 0.5

E 0.2

Use information from the table and your own knowledge to answer the questions.

(a) (i) Which substance, A, B, C, D or E, is protein?

(1)

Page 13 of 26
 (ii) Protein is not found in the urine of a healthy person.

Explain why.

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(2)

(b) Substance B is not found in the urine of a healthy person.

Suggest an explanation for this.

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(2)

(c) Haemolytic anaemia is a disease in which some of the red blood cells burst open.

Small amounts of haemoglobin may be found in the urine of a person suffering from
haemolytic anaemia.
The diameter of a haemoglobin molecule is 5.5 nanometres.

Haemoglobin is not found in the urine of a healthy person, but haemoglobin can be
found in the urine of a person with haemolytic anaemia.

Explain why.

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(3)
(Total 8 marks)

Page 14 of 26
Q11. The graph shows the core body temperature and the skin surface temperature of a cyclist
before, during and after a race.

Start
of race

(a) (i) When the cyclist finished the race, his core body temperature started to decrease.

How long did the race last?

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(1)

(ii) Describe and explain the different patterns shown in the core body temperature and
skin surface temperature between 09.15 and 10.15.

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(6)

Page 15 of 26
 (iii) After 10.30, the core body temperature decreased.

Explain how changes in the blood vessels supplying the skin caused the skin surface
temperature to increase.

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(2)

(b) During the race, the cyclist’s blood glucose concentration began to decrease.

Describe how the body responds when the blood glucose concentration begins to
decrease.

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(3)
(Total 12 marks)

Q12. (a) Which organ in the body monitors the concentration of glucose (sugar) in the blood?

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(1)

Page 16 of 26
(b) In a healthy person, insulin prevents high levels of glucose in the blood.
To make insulin, cells in the pancreas need amino acids.

Amino acids cannot be stored in the body.

Describe, as fully as you can, what happens to amino acids that cannot be stored in the
body.

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(3)
(Total 4 marks)

Page 17 of 26
M1. (a) (concentration high) in the hepatic portal vein is blood with glucose absorbed from the
intestine
1

concentration is lower in the hepatic vein because insulin

1

(has caused) glucose to be converted into glycogen

1

or

allows glucose into liver cells

(b) (i) (after 6 hours) most of the glucose has been absorbed from the intestine or
from food into the blood
1

(ii) because glucagon (made in the pancreas) causes

if biological terms incorrectly spelt they must be phonetically
accurate
do not accept glucagon made / produced by the liver
1

glycogen to be converted into glucose

1

glucose released into blood

allow the liver maintains the correct / constant level of glucose in
the blood
1
[7]

M2. (a) (i) thermoregulatory centre

allow thermoregulation centre
allow hypothalamus
1

(ii) it has receptors

ignore receptors in skin
1

reference to temperature of blood

allow plasma for blood
1

(b) muscles contract

ignore relax / expand
1

increased respiration or more heat released

allow more heat produced
if more not given allow respiration releases / produces heat
1

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 (c) (i) (blood vessels / arteries / arterioles) dilate / widen
do not accept capillaries dilate
ignore blood vessels get bigger / expand
do not accept idea of blood vessels moving
1

(ii) more blood close to / near surface

allow blood is closer to the surface
do not accept idea of blood vessels moving
1

more heat lost or heat lost faster or cools faster

do not allow for idea of evaporation
1
[8]

M3. (a) (i) A

1

(ii) (protein molecule is) too large to pass

through the filter / cannot pass through the filter
1

(b) RBC is too big to / cannot pass through filter

1

haemoglobin released when RBC bursts

or
haemoglobin inside RBC in a healthy person
1

haemoglobin is small enough to / can pass through filter

or
haemoglobin diameter < pore diameter
or
haemoglobin only 5.5 nanometres
1
[5]

M4. (a) any two from

• reference to role of thermoregulatory centre detecting rise in

temperature (of blood or skin) or / causing increase in sweating

• more evaporation
need to refer to more at least once to gain both marks

• more cooling / heat loss

without reference to more only award max 1 mark if both ideas
given, eg cooling alone gets no marks
2

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 (b) blood vessels supplying (skin) capillaries
do not accept capillaries / veins
1

or

arteries

or

arterioles
1

dilate / widen
allow vasodilation
do not accept idea of blood vessels moving
note: marks are awarded independently
accept shunt vessels close for 2 marks
1

(c) (i) muscle contraction

ignore relaxing
do not allow vasoconstriction
1

(ii) respiration

(respiration) releases / produces heat

reference to respiration is required for this mark
1
[7]

M5. (a) any two from:

allow 2 correctly named substances for 2 marks
ignore water

• urea

• ions / salt(s) / correct named example

ignore minerals

• second correct named example

• hormones / named example

• allow ammonia

• allow creatinine

• allow uric acid

• allow bile pigment

2

Page 20 of 26
 (b) (i) glucose filtered (into kidney tubule)
accept Bowman’s capsule
1

glucose reabsorbed or glucose taken back into blood

1

all glucose taken back into blood / all reabsorbed

1

(ii) not all glucose reabsorbed

1

because not enough time / length or too high

a concentration in tubule / not enough carriers
1
[7]

M6. (a) in rainforest:

accept converse

(water from) sweat does not evaporate (as much)

max 1 if not clear whether desert or rainforest
1

any one from:

• (due to) less wind / higher moisture / humidity

• less cooling effect

ignore references to temperature
1

(b) blood vessels supplying capillaries dilate / widen or vasodilation

do not award mark if candidate refers only to blood vessels dilating
or to capillaries dilating.
accept ‘arteries’ or ‘arterioles’ for ‘blood vessels supplying,
capillaries’ but do not accept ‘veins’.
ignore expand / get bigger / relax / open
do not accept idea of blood vessels moving
1

more blood (through skin / surface capillaries) leads to greater heat loss
1
[4]

M7. (a) proteins are not filtered

1

Page 21 of 26
 glucose is filtered and (re)absorbed
allow glucose (completely) reabsorbed
1

ions are filtered and some (re)absorbed

allow some ions are reabsorbed
1

urea is filtered [and some / none (re)absorbed]

allow some / no urea is reabsorbed
1

(b) more / a lot of sweating occurred

accept converse arguments for cold day
1

more / a lot of water loss (by sweating)

1

more / a lot of water reabsorption / more water absorption by the kidney

1

lower volume of urine

allow less urine / less water in urine
1
[8]

M8. (a) (i) defence against or destroy pathogens / bacteria / viruses / microorganisms
do not allow ‘destroy disease’
accept engulf pathogen / bacteria / viruses / microorganism
accept phagocytosis
accept produce antibodies / antitoxins
allow immune response
1

(ii) they are small fragments of cells

1

(b) liver
in this order only
1

kidney(s)
1

Page 22 of 26
 (c) any two from:

• that it doesn’t cause an immune response or isn’t rejected / damaged by white

blood cells
• whether it is a long lasting material / doesn’t decompose / corrode / inert
• if it is strong (to withstand pressure)
• it will open at the right pressure
• that it doesn’t cause clotting
• that it doesn’t leak or it prevents backflow
• non toxic
ignore correct size
2
[6]

M9. (a) if body temperature too high blood vessels supplying skin (capillaries) dilate / widen
do not accept capillaries / veins dilate/constrict
1

if body temperature is too low blood vessels supplying skin (capillaries) constrict /
narrow
do not accept idea of blood vessels moving (through skin)
1

ignore expand
accept arteries / arterioles for ‘blood vessels’
if no reference to skin allow blood vessels dilate and blood vessels
constrict for one mark

so more / less blood flows through skin (capillaries) or nearer the surface of the skin
must correctly relate to dilation or constriction
1

so more / less heat is lost (from the skin by radiation)

must correctly relate to dilation or constriction
1

(b) sweat released

1

cannot evaporate because of high humidity / all the water vapour in the air
1

so less heat lost / less cooling

or

it is evaporation of sweat that cools the body

1
[7]

M10. (a) (i) A

1

(ii) (protein) molecule is large

ignore letters
1

Page 23 of 26
 cannot pass through filter
(protein is) too big to get through the filter = 2 marks
1

(b) B is taken back into the blood or

B is reabsorbed
1

reabsorbed completely

or reabsorbed after filtration

1

(c) RBC is too big to pass through filter

1

Haemoglobin is inside red blood cells

or haemoglobin released when RBC bursts
1

Haemoglobin is small enough to pass through filter

or haemoglobin diameter < pore diameter

1
[8]

M11. (a) (i) 1 hour 15 mins / 1.25 hours / 75 mins

allow 1:15
ignore 1.15 hours
1

(ii) increase in (core / body) temperature

ignore numbers
1

(due to an) increase in respiration or more muscle contraction

1

releasing energy (as a waste product)

allow produces ‘heat’
do not allow making energy
1

skin temperature decreases

1

(because there is) sweating

1

(which) evaporates and cools the skin

ignore references to vasodilation or vasoconstriction
1

Page 24 of 26
 (iii) (there is) dilation of vessels (supplying skin capillaries)
allow vasodilation
allow blood vessels widen
ignore expand
do not accept dilating capillaries or moving vessels
1

(so) more blood flows (near skin) (surface) or blood is closer (to the skin)
ignore ref to heat
1

(c) pancreas detects (low) blood glucose

1

produces glucagon
do not allow glucagon made in the liver
1

(so) glycogen is converted to glucose

allow adrenaline released which increases conversion of glycogen
to glucose
or
reduced insulin production so less glucose into cells / less glucose
converted to glycogen
for 1 mark
1
[12]

M12. (a) Pancreas

allow phonetic spelling
1

(b) any three from:

max 2 if any one process goes on in wrong organ

• (amino acids) broken down

• (amino acids) form urea

• (amino acids broken down / converted or urea formed) in liver

• (urea / broken down amino acids) removed / filtered by kidney

do not allow amino acids filtered / removed by kidney

• (urine / urea / broken down amino acids) stored / held in bladder

do not allow amino acids stored / held in bladder
3
[4]

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