3.

2 ORGANISMS AND SUBSTANCE EXCHANGE – GAS EXCHANGE (2) –

Q1. The drawing shows part of the lower leaf epidermis of sorghum.

(a) Calculate the number of stomata per mm2 of the leaf surface. Show your working.

Answer ____________________ stomata per mm2

(b) Sorghum has few stomata per mm2 of leaf surface area. Explain how this is an adaptation
to the conditions in which sorghum grows.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(3)
(Total 5 marks)

Q2. (a) Describe two differences between active transport and facilitated diffusion.

Page 1 of 22
 1. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) Explain why molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are able to diffuse across
membranes.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) Explain why ventilation of the lungs increases the efficiency of gas exchange.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (2)
(Total 6 marks)

Q3. Alpha-1-antitrypsin is a protein that reduces the activity of enzymes that can damage lung tissue.
Cigarette smoke contains hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide reduces the activity of alpha-1-
antitrypsin. Scientists investigated the effect of different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide on the
activity of alpha-1-antitrypsin. The graph shows their results.

Page 2 of 22
 (a) (i) Hydrogen peroxide reacts with two amino acids in alpha-1-antitrypsin. Explain how
this reduces activity of the protein.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(ii) Explain the results shown in the graph.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) Long-term smokers are often short of breath. Use this information to explain why.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

Q4. (a) When first hatched, the young of some species of fish are less than 2 mm long.
Explain how these young fish get enough oxygen to their cells without having gills.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) Mackerel are fast swimming fish whereas toadfish only swim slowly. The table shows
some features of the gills of these fish.

Thickness of Number of lamellae

Mackerel 5 32

Toadfish 35 8

Page 3 of 22
 Use evidence from the table to explain how mackerel are able to swim faster than
toadfish.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(3)
(Total 5 marks)

Q5. This question should be written in continuous prose, where appropriate.

(a) Explain how the ventilation mechanism of a fish and the structure of its gills result in the
efficient uptake of oxygen from water.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(6)

Table 1 compares some features of water and air.

Page 4 of 22
 Feature Water Air

Relative density 1000 1

Maximum concentration of oxygen / cm3 dm–3 9 130

Table 1

Table 2 shows some features of gas exchange in a fish and in a mammal.

Feature Fish Mammal

Percentage of oxygen extracted from water or air 80 25

Oxygen consumption at rest / cm3 kg–1 hour–1 100 200

Table 2

(b) (i) The fish has a body mass of 0.2 kg. Calculate the volume of water it will need to
pass over its gills each hour to supply the oxygen required when resting. Show your
working.

Answer ____________________ dm3 / hour–1

(ii) Ventilation in mammals involves movement of air to and from the gas exchange
surface in a tidal pattern. Using information in the tables, explain why it is easier to
move water over the gas exchange surface of a fish in one direction rather than in a
tidal pattern.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) A rise in the temperature of water decreases the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water.
As the water temperature rises, the rate of ventilation in a fish also rises. Explain the
advantage of this.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Page 5 of 22
 ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 12 marks)

Q6. (a) Describe and explain how fish maintain a flow of water over their gills.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(4)

(b) Describe and explain how the structure of the mammalian breathing system enables
efficient uptake of oxygen into the blood.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(6)
(Total 10 marks)

Page 6 of 22
Q7. (a) Describe how air is taken into the lungs.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(3)

The volume of air breathed in and out of the lungs during each breath is called the tidal volume.
The breathing rate and tidal volume were measured for a cyclist pedalling at different speeds.
The graph shows the results.

(b) Describe the two curves.

(i) Tidal volume

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Page 7 of 22
 ______________________________________________________________

(ii) Breathing rate

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) Calculate the total volume of air breathed in and out per minute when the cyclist is cycling
at 20 km h–1. Show your working.

____________________ dm3
(2)
(Total 7 marks)

Q8. (a) The photograph shows part of the gill of a fish as seen through a light microscope. It is
magnified × 400.

(i) Explain how the structure of the gill makes oxygen uptake efficient.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(ii) Water containing dissolved oxygen flows over the gill in the opposite direction to the
blood flow inside. Explain why this arrangement is important for efficient oxygen
uptake.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

Page 8 of 22
 (b) There is a one-way flow of water over the gills of a fish whereas there is a two-way flow of
air in the lungs of a mammal. Suggest one advantage to a fish of this one-way flow of
water over its gills.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (1)
(Total 5 marks)

Q9. (a) Describe the features of fish gills that give them a large surface area.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (2)

The graph shows the relationship between gill surface area and body mass for three species of
fish.

(b) (i) Describe the relationships between gill surface area, mass and swimming speed
shown in the diagram.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ (1)

(ii) Explain the relationship between gill surface area and swimming speed.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________ (2)
(Total 5 marks)

Page 9 of 22
Q10. (a) The diagram represents the flow of water and blood through the gills of a fish. The figures
give relative oxygen concentrations.

Use the information in the diagram to explain the advantage of the countercurrent flow.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) In the ventilation cycle of a fish, water enters the mouth cavity and then passes through
the gills into the opercular cavity. The graph shows the difference in pressure between the
mouth cavity and the opercular cavity.

Calculate the number of ventilation cycles per minute of the fish. Show your working.

Answer ____________________ (2)

Page 10 of 22
Q11. Figure 1 shows a single stoma and surrounding cells from the leaf of a xerophytic plant.

Figure 1

(i) Explain how the cuticle reduces water loss.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) Explain how one of the other labelled parts reduces water loss.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 3 marks)

Q12. The graph shows how pulmonary ventilation changes during a period of exercise.

Page 11 of 22
 (a) Describe how pulmonary ventilation changed during the period of exercise.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(1)

(b) After 4 minutes of exercise, the breathing rate was 20 breaths per minute. Explain how
you could use this information and the graph to calculate tidal volume.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) When a person starts to breathe out, the percentage of oxygen in the air first exhaled is
the same as the percentage of oxygen in the atmospheric air. Explain why.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 5 marks)

Q13. The drawing shows an electron micrograph of a section through part of an alveolus from a lung.

Page 12 of 22
(a) Describe the path of a molecule of oxygen from the air in the alveolus at X to the plasma
membrane of cell A.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(1)

(b) Cell A is a eukaryotic cell. Give two features that may be found in a prokaryotic cell which
are not found in cell A.

1. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) Cells A and B are biconcave discs. Explain one advantage of a biconcave disc over a
spherical cell of the same volume in transporting oxygen.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(d) The diameter of a human red blood cell is 7 µm.

(i) Calculate the magnification of the drawing. Show your working.

Magnification = ____________________

Page 13 of 22
 (2)

(ii) In calculating the magnification, what assumption did you have to make about how
the section was cut?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)
(Total 8 marks)

Q14. In the lungs, the alveoli are the site of gas exchange.

(a) A large number of small alveoli is more efficient in gas exchange than a smaller number
of larger alveoli. Explain why.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) The diagram shows part of an alveolus and a capillary.

(i) Name the type of cells in layer B.

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) What is the minimum distance a molecule of carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood
plasma to the air space in the alveolus?

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(c) Just before a person starts to exhale, the composition of the air in an alveolus differs from
the composition of the air in the trachea.

(i) Give two ways in which the composition would differ.

Page 14 of 22
 1. ____________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) Explain what causes this difference in composition between the air in the alveolus
and the air in the trachea.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(d) The partial pressure of a gas is a measure of the amount of gas that is present.
The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in blood going to the lungs is 6.3 kPa.
The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in an alveolus is 5.3 kPa.

(i) Through which vessel does blood leave the heart to go to the lungs?

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) Suggest why blood returning to the heart from the lungs contains some carbon
dioxide.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 9 marks)

Q15. Lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and coronary heart disease (CHD) are associated with smoking.
Tables 1 and 2 give the total numbers of deaths from these diseases in the UK in 1974.

Table 1 Men

Age/years Number of deaths

coronary heart
lung cancer chronic bronchitis
disease

35 - 64 11.5 4.2 31.7

65 - 74 12.6 8.5 33.3

75+ 5.8 8.1 29.1

Total (35 - 75+) 29.9 20.8 94.1

Table 2 Women

Page 15 of 22
 Age/years Number of deaths
(in thousands)

coronary heart
lung cancer chronic bronchitis
disease

35 – 64 3.2 1.3 8.4

65 – 74 2.6 1.9 18.2

75+ 1.8 3.5 42.3

Total (35 – 75+) 7.6 6.7 68.9

(i) Using an example from the tables, explain why it is useful to give data for men and
women separately.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(ii) Data like these are often given as percentages of people dying from each cause.

Explain the advantage of giving these data as percentages.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 4 marks)

Q16. (a) Describe the part played by the diaphragm in causing air to enter the lungs during breathing.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(3)

Seals are mammals. They have lungs and must breathe air. They can dive and remain under

Page 16 of 22
water for a long time. The table shows the flow of blood to the lungs and to the diaphragm in a
seal when it is on land and when it is under water.

Organ Blood flow / cm3 min–1 g–1

On land Under water

Lungs 0.88 0.52

Diaphragm 0.21 0.02

(b) Explain why the figures in the table are given per gram of tissue.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) Calculate the percentage by which blood flow to the lungs is reduced when a seal is
swimming under water. Show your working.

Answer ____________________
(2)

(d) There is a greater percentage reduction in blood flow to the diaphragm than to the lungs
during a dive. Explain the advantage to a diving seal of

(i) blood continuing to flow to the lungs;

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) a large reduction in blood flow to the diaphragm.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 10 marks)

Page 17 of 22
Q17. A person was sitting at rest and breathing normally. A recording was made of the changes in
the volume of air in his lungs over a ten-second period. The diagram shows this recording.

(a) Describe the part played by muscles in bringing about the change between 3 and 4
seconds.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (1)

(b) Describe how an increase in lung volume leads to air entering the lungs.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (1)
(Total 2 marks)

Q18. In an investigation, a locust was given alternating supplies of atmospheric air and pure
carbon dioxide. The rate of pumping movements of the insect’s abdomen was measured.

The graph shows the results.

Page 18 of 22
 (a) Explain what caused

(i) the rise in the rate of abdominal pumping movements between 1.5 and 2.0 minutes,

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) the fall in the rate of abdominal pumping movements between 2.0 and 3.0 minutes.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) The rate of abdominal pumping movements increases between 3.0 and 3.5 minutes.
Suggest the advantage of this change to the locust.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(1)
(Total 4 marks)

Q19. The electron micrograph shows a section through a fish gill. The directions of flow of water and of
blood are indicated by arrows.

Page 19 of 22
 Source: www.ucdavis.edu/mjguinan

(a) Calculate the minimum distance that a molecule of oxygen would have to travel from the
water to a red blood cell. Give your answer in micrometres and show your working.

Answer ____________________ µm. (2)

(b) Explain how the relationship between the direction of flow of water and of blood shown in
the micrograph is useful to a fish.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (3)
(Total 5 marks)

Q20. Many insects release carbon dioxide in short bursts even though they produce it at a constant rate.
The diagram shows how this is achieved in one particular insect.

(a) Using information from the diagram, suggest what stimulates the spiracles to open.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________ (1)

Page 20 of 22
 (b) Explain what causes the oxygen concentration in the tracheae to fall when the spiracles
are closed.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)

(c) The insect lives in dry conditions. Suggest an advantage of the pattern of spiracle
movements shown in the diagram.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
(2)
(Total 5 marks)

Q21. The graph shows airflow into and out of the lungs during a normal breath.

(a) (i) How will the concentration of carbon dioxide in the airflow differ at times A and B?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)

(ii) Describe the role of diffusion in producing this difference.

______________________________________________________________

Page 21 of 22
 ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(2)

(b) Use information from the graph to sketch a curve on the axes below to show how the
volume of air in the lungs changes during inspiration.

(2)

(c) The intercostal muscles are between the ribs. In normal breathing, describe the part
played by the intercostal muscles

(i) during inspiration;

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(3)

(ii) during expiration.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(1)
(Total 9 marks)

Page 22 of 22