CIE AS Biology

Topic Questions

Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2020

Last exams 2024

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8.1 The Circulatory System

11 mark

Arteries will resist any changes of blood pressure flowing through it.

Which feature of an artery allows it to do this?

1

thick layer of muscle in the artery wall

2

thick elastic layer in the artery wall

3

smooth endothelium

  • 1, 2 and 3

  • 1 and 2

  • 1 and 3

  • 2 and 3

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21 mark

The following lists some features of the cardiovascular system.

Which is not a factor that changes blood pressure?

  • The volume of blood returning to the heart each heartbeat.

  • The systolic pressure of the heart ventricles.

  • The number of red blood cells in circulation.

  • The diameter of the blood vessels.

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31 mark

The following lists some features of blood, tissue fluid and lymph.

1

fatty acids

2

white blood cells

3

Proteins

4

carbon dioxide

Which of the above components are found in all three substances?

  • 1 and 2

  • 1, 2 and 4

  • 1, 2 and 3

  • 1 and 4

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41 mark

The majority of mammals (including humans) have a double circulatory system.

What does the term double circulatory system mean?

  • The heart has two of each chamber, the atria and the ventricles.

  • Blood passes twice through the heart during one complete circulation o of the body.

  • The blood circulates separately in the two sides of the heart.

  • Two sets of valves closing contributes to the double-sound of each heartbeat.

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51 mark

All blood vessels are made up of different tissues.

Which of the following is present in all of them?

  • smooth muscle

  • Endothelial

  • Elastic

  • Fibrous

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61 mark

An arteriole is a small blood vessel found leading to the capillary bed in tissues. One function of an arteriole is to increase or decrease the flow of blood to the tissues.

Which of the following tissues allows the arteriole to carry out this function?

1

Muscle

2

Collagen

3

Elastic

  • 1, 2 and 3

  • 1 and 3

  • 1 only

  • 3 only

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71 mark

The micrograph below shows human blood. There are four cells labelled.

cie-q7-8-1

Which row of the table below labels the cells correctly?

  W X Y Z

A

B

C

D

lymphocyte

erythrocyte

phagocyte

erythrocyte

erythrocyte

phagocyte

phagocyte

lymphocyte

phagocyte

phagocyte

lymphocyte

phagocyte

phagocyte

lymphocyte

erythrocyte

phagocyte

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81 mark

Arteries have thick elastic layers in their walls; those closest to the heart have thicker layers than the rest.

Which of the following statements about this layer is correct?

1 It reduces friction within the blood vessels.
2 It evens out the blood flow from the heart.
3 It prevents too high a pressure bursting the artery wall.

  • 1 and 2

  • 1 and 3

  • 2 and 3

  • 3 only

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91 mark

Which row shows correctly identifies the composition of tissue fluid?

  phagocytes platelets protein concentration compared to plasma

A

B

C

D

X

X

X

X

higher

higher

lower

lower

Key = present, X = absent

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101 mark

The table below shows some features of arteries, veins and capillaries:

  feature  arteries veins

capillaries

1

2

3

wall

lumen

blood pressure

thick

wide

high

thin

narrow

low

single cell

narrow

low

Which row in the table is correct?

  • 1 and 2

  • 1 and 3

  • 2 and 3

  • 1, 2 and 3

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11 mark

The graphs below show how different conditions change through blood vessels in the following sequence:

artery (art) → arterioles (a) → capillaries (c) → venules (v) → veins (vein)

Which set of graphs are correct in relation to the sequence above?

q21-cie-8-1-1

    q21-cie-8-1-2

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21 mark

Kwashiorkor is a disease caused by a lack of protein. The concentration of plasma protein is much lower in a sufferer than in a healthy individual. One symptom of kwashiorkor is oedema. 

Which statement below correctly describes Kwashiorkor patients?

  • The water potential is higher in the plasma than in the tissue fluid at the arterial end of the capillary bed.

  • The water potential is lower in the plasma than in the tissue fluid at the arterial end of the capillary bed.

  • Water is a polar molecule and is known as the ‘universal solvent; so less proteins will dissolve in the plasma.

  • The water potential of the blood plasma and tissue fluid are equal.

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31 mark

Water is the basis of blood, tissue fluid and lymph.

Which of the following statements describes properties of water that makes it useful as the fluid of the circulatory system?

1 specific latent heat of fusion
2 specific heat capacity
3 polar molecule

  • 2 and 3

  • 1, 2 and 3

  • 1 and 2

  • 1 and 3

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41 mark

A student studied the structure of a blood vessel and found:

1 an innermost layer of endothelial cells
2 a thick middle layer of smooth muscle and elastic tissue
3 an outer layer of collagen fibres


Which vessel were they studying?

  • Vein

  • Capillary

  • Venule

  • Artery

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51 mark

Dissolved materials change the oncotic pressure of a fluid, which is related to water potential, ψ.

The following table shows some changes in the oncotic pressure and hydrostatic pressure in a capillary.

Which row shows the correct changes?

  pressure (mmHg)
arterial end of capillary venous end of capillary
oncotic hydrostatic  oncotic Hydrostatic

A

B

C

D

−20

−20

20

−20

13

minus13

33

33

−20

−20

−20

−20

33

13

13

13

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61 mark

Tissue fluid is formed from blood plasma in the capillaries.

Which statement below correctly identifies why?

  • solute potential < osmotic pressure

  • hydrostatic pressure > oncotic pressure

  • oncotic pressure > hydrostatic pressure

  • osmotic pressure > hydrostatic pressure

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71 mark

Blood is made up of several different cells.

Which of the following statements about blood cells is incorrect?

  • The majority of organelles in red blood cells are broken down by hydrolysis

  • Erythrocytes develop large number of ribosomes early in their differentiation.

  • Neutrophils undergo mutation during differentiation.

  • Erythrocytes and neutrophils are derived from the same stem cells.

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81 mark

The aquatic crustacean Daphnia magna has a heart that pumps blood-like liquid called hemolymph around the body cavity

Which of the following statements about the circulatory system is correct?

  • single closed

  • single open

  • double closed

  • double open

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91 mark

Blood travels in several major blood vessels.

Which row in the table shows the correct sequence for the flow of the blood vessels after blood has passed through the vena cava?

  pulmonary artery pulmonary vein aorta 
A 3 2 1
B 1 3 2
C 2 3 1
D 1 2 3

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101 mark

Water moves between the plasma and the tissue fluid at the venule end of the capillary.

Which of the following statements correctly describes the mechanism behind this movement?

  • The hydrostatic pressure is greater than the oncotic pressure so water moves out of the capillary.

  • The oncotic pressure is greater than the hydrostatic pressure so water moves into the capillary.

  • The oncotic pressure is greater than the hydrostatic pressure so water moves out of the capillary.

  • The hydrostatic pressure is greater than the oncotic pressure so the water moves into the capillary.

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11 mark

The image below shows two structures commonly found in mammals. A light microscope was used to view the sample.

q11-cie-8-1

  X Y Feature
A vein atrium Y contains deoxygenated blood
B trachea artery the lumen of X allows air to pass through
C bronchiole vein Y contains cells with oxyhaemoglobin
D artery vein Y contains cells with haemoglobinic acid

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21 mark

When a transverse section of different blood vessels was viewed under a light microscope the following observations were made.

Which row is correct?

  outer wall of artery  layer of muscles and elastic fibres diameter of the lumen
A thinner thinner wider
B thinner thicker narrower
C thicker thinner wider
D thicker thicker narrower

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31 mark

Most mammals have a closed double circulatory system.

The diagram shows a circulatory system. The arrows indicate the direction of flow of the blood.diagram-5

Which of the following is the correct description for this type of circulation?

  • open single

  • open double

  • closed single

  • closed double

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41 mark

The table shows the features of three blood vessels in the mammalian circulatory system.

vessel 1 vessel 2 vessel 3
thin layer of smooth muscle with few elastic fibres thick layer of elastic fibres and smooth muscle no elastic fibres or smooth muscle


What are vessels 1, 2 and 3?

  vein capillary Artery
A 3 2 1
B 1 3 2
C 2 3 1
D 1 2 3

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51 mark

Venous pressure in the feet changes when a person is moving compared to standing still. Normal pressure in the feet is 3.3 kPa, when a person is standing completely still it rises to 5.0 kPa.

Which of the following is the correct description for this change in pressure?

  • Systolic blood pressure increases.

  • Muscles in the walls of the veins contract, reducing the diameter of the veins.

  • Skeletal muscles in the legs are not squeezing blood upwards in the veins.

  • The semilunar valves in the veins of the leg cease to function.

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61 mark

Which statement correct identifies similarities between blood plasma and tissue fluid?

  • White blood cells are found in both blood plasma and tissue fluid.

  • The blood plasma is under the same pressure as the tissue fluid.

  • Protein is found in the equal concentration in both blood plasma and tissue fluid.

  • The water potential of the blood plasma and tissue fluid are equal.

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71 mark

The pressure of the blood leaving the capillaries is about seven times smaller than that of blood entering the capillaries.

Which of the following statements describe this observation?

1 Veins have fewer elastic and muscle fibres in their walls than arteries.
2 Tissue fluid formation is due to a net loss of plasma from capillaries.
3 Blood pressure decreases with distance from the heart.
  • 1 and 2

  • 1, 2 and 3

  • 2 and 3

  • 1 and 3

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81 mark

Which row of the table below correctly identifies the blood vessels?

  collagen fibres present in tunica externa (adventitia) thick tunica media present squamous endothelium present
A veins veins arteries veins and capillaries
B arteries and veins arteries arteries veins and capillaries
C arteries and veins arteries veins and capillaries
D veins arteries and veins arteries and capillaries

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91 mark

The following statements compare blood tissue fluid and lymph

1 W lacks large plasma proteins and red blood cells and has a higher water potential than Z
2 X is at a lower pressure than Y and contains red blood cells and large plasma proteins
3 Y is a higher pressure than W and contains red blood cells and large plasma proteins
4 Z is at a lower pressure than Y and lacks red blood cells

Which row identifies correctly W, X, Y, and Z?

  W X Y Z
A tissue fluid blood leaving the capillary blood entering the capillary lymph
B lymph blood entering the capillary tissue fluid blood leaving the capillary
C blood leaving the capillary lymph tissue fluid blood entering the capillary
D blood entering the capillary lymph blood leaving the capillary tissue fluid

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101 mark

Which of the following is the correct sequence of layers in the vessel wall from outside to inside?

  tunica media tunica intima tunica externa
A 3 2 1
B 1 3 2
C 2 3 1
D 1 2 3

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