ASBiologyCIETopic Questions1. Cell Structure1.2 Cells as the Basic Units of Living Organisms

Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

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Cells as the Basic Units of Living Organisms (CIE AS Biology)

Topic Questions

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11 mark

The diagram shows a bacterium.

qn1

Which three structures are found in both an animal cell and this bacterial cell?

  • Cell membrane, cell wall and DNA

  • Cell membrane, DNA and ribosome

  • Capsule, DNA and ribosome

  • Capsule, cell membrane and cell wall

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21 mark

Which of the following structures are found in typical eukaryotic cells?

1 circular DNA
2 linear DNA
3 80S ribosomes
4 70S ribosomes

  • 1 and 3

  • 1 and 4

  • 2 and 3

  • 2 and 4

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31 mark

What is the role of the nucleolus?

  • The synthesis of rRNA

  • The synthesis of ribosomal proteins

  • The formation and breakdown of the nuclear envelope

  • The formation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum

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41 mark

The diagram shows a cell that secretes enzymes.

Where are the enzymes made within the cell?

qn3

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51 mark

Which feature(s) would identify an organism as a prokaryote? 

1 cell wall
2 circular DNA
3 cell membrane
4 ribosomes

  • 2 and 4

  • 1 and 3

  • 1 only

  • 2 only

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61 mark

The diagram shows a drawing of an animal cell.

qn6

What is the function of the membrane system labelled Y?

  • Protein synthesis

  • Protein synthesis and transport

  • Lipid synthesis

  • Lipid synthesis and transport

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71 mark

Which of the following structures are found in all prokaryotic cells?

  • Flagella

  • Capsule

  • Ribosomes

  • Pili

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81 mark

Which row shows the structures found in a typical flowering plant cell? 

  centrioles cilia mitochondria vacuole
A X ✓ ✓ X
B X X ✓ ✓
C ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
D X X X ✓

Key: ✓ = present, X = absent

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91 mark

What is the role of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum?

  • Enzyme synthesis

  • Protein synthesis

  • Steroid hormone synthesis

  • Antibody synthesis

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101 mark

Which structure is found in all eukaryotic cells, but is not found in prokaryotic cells?

  • Chromatin

  • Cell wall

  • Plasmid

  • 70S ribosome

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11 mark

The table below shows some of the structures found in four different types of cell.

  1 2 3 4
chloroplast
centrioles
cell wall
Golgi apparatus
large vacuole		 ✓
X
✓
✓
✓		 X
X
✓
✓
✓		 X
✓
X
✓
X
 X
X
✓
X
X

 Key: ✓ = present, X = absent

Which option (1, 2, 3 or 4) best matches the cell types below?

  1 2 3 4
A ciliated epithelial cell prokaryotic cell root cortex cell spongy mesophyll cell
B spongy mesophyll cell root cortex cell ciliated epithelial cell prokaryotic cell
C root cortex cell spongy mesophyll cell prokaryotic cell ciliated epithelial cell
D prokaryotic cell ciliated epithelial cell spongy mesophyll cell root cortex cell

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21 mark

Which row correctly describes the structure and function of a particular cellular feature?

  structure function
A a series of flattened, membrane-bound sacs organises microtubules to produce the spindle
B non membrane-bound cylindrical structures packages hydrolytic enzymes used in cell
C membrane-bound spherical structure synthesizes polypeptides
D membrane surrounding an enclosed inner cavity synthesises lipids

 

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31 mark

The diagram shows similarities between chloroplasts, mitochondria and typical prokaryotes.

screenshot-2023-04-29-190645

Which row shows the correct relationship between these structures?

  1 2 3 4 5
A mitochondria 70S ribosomes chloroplasts 80S ribosomes prokaryotes
B mitochondria 70S ribosomes chloroplasts 80S ribosomes prokaryotes
C chloroplasts 70S ribosomes prokaryotes 80S ribosomes mitochondria
D chloroplasts 70S ribosomes prokaryotes 70S ribosomes mitochondria

 

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41 mark

A giant bacterium, Epulopiscium fishelsoni was discovered in 1985.

Which cell structure(s) would enable biologists to classify E. fishelsoni as a prokaryote?

  • Circular DNA free in the cytoplasm

  • A pair of centrioles close to the nuclear pore

  • Smooth endoplasmic reticulum throughout the cytoplasm

  • A cellulose cell wall outside the plasma membrane

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51 mark

A cell which is actively growing is supplied with radioactively labelled amino acids.

 Which cell component will show an increase in radioactivity first?

  • Rough endoplasmic reticulum

  • Golgi apparatus

  • Mitochondria

  • Nucleus

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61 mark

The basic structure of a virus is made up of a protein coat and genetic material.

 What is the name given to the protein coat?

  • Peplomer

  • Capsomere

  • Capsid

  • Virion

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71 mark

Which of the following identifies the type of molecule, or molecules, present in the genetic material of a virus.

  • DNA or RNA

  • DNA

  • RNA

  • DNA and RNA 

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81 mark

The image below is an electron micrograph of an animal cell.

golgi-micrograph

Public domain, via Flickr

Which one of the options A to D, would be the site of protein modification and packaging?

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91 mark

The image below is an electron micrograph of part of an animal cell.

29

CNX OpenStax, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Which of the following is likely to be produced in especially large quantities in this cell?

1 Glucose
2 RNA
3 ATP

  • 1 only

  • 2 and 3

  • 1 and 3

  • 1, 2 and 3

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101 mark

Some mammalian tissue was homogenised and centrifuged.

  • Homogenisation involves blending the contents of a mixture until they are evenly distributed
  • Centrifugation involves spinning a mixture at very high speeds to separate components by mass

The biochemical activity of four tissue samples, A-D, was investigated.

qn30

Which graph shows a tissue with a high synthesis of messenger RNA?

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11 mark

The photomicrograph shows a plant cell. A student was asked to identify three observable features from the micrograph.

plant-cell-electron-micrograhp-image

Which of the following would be correct labels for this image?

  • Nucleus, permanent vacuole, capsule

  • Ribosomes, nucleus, nucleolus

  • Nucleus, chloroplasts, mitochondria

  • Nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, cell wall

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21 mark

The sentence below describes a process and a cellular structure.

 Cells which have a high rate of ….1…. will have many ….2….. .

Which row identifies a process and a structure that would fit correctly into the sentence?

  1 2
A facilitated diffusion mitochondria
B DNA replication lysosomes
C exocytosis vesicles
D phospholipid production ribosomes

 

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31 mark

The diagram shows a cell that secretes glycoproteins; proteins with attached molecules of carbohydrate. The cell is supplied with radioactively labelled sugar, which is first detected in the cytoplasm.

In which organelle would the radioactively-labelled glucose be detected after that?

qn13

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41 mark

Mucus is produced in the trachea by goblet cells. The following statements describe steps in the process of mucus production.

1 Fusion of the vesicle with the plasma membrane.
2 Secretion of a glycoprotein.
3 Separation of a vesicle from the Golgi apparatus.
4 Addition of carbohydrate to protein.

What is the correct order of these steps?

  • 1 → 4 → 2 → 3

  • 1 → 4 → 3 → 2

  • 4 → 3 → 1 → 2

  • 4 → 3 → 2 → 1

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51 mark

The list below contains structures that are found in eukaryotic cells.

1 Nucleus
2 Endoplasmic reticulum
3 Lysosome
4 Chloroplast
5 Mitochondria

 

Which of these structures has a double membrane?

  • 1, 2 and 3

  • 1, 2, 4 and 5

  • 1, 4 and 5

  • 2, 3 and 4

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61 mark

Membrane bound sacs containing the products of metabolism are produced by the endoplasmic reticulum.

Where are these products used?

  • Inside lysosomes only

  • Outside the cell only

  • Inside the cell only

  • Inside and outside the cell

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71 mark

Which of the following structures are found in photosynthetic prokaryotes?

1 Cellulose wall
2 Circular chromosome
3 Ribosomes
4 Chloroplasts
5 Cell surface membrane

  • 1, 3 and 4

  • 2, 3 and 5

  • 1, 2, 3 and 4

  • 1, 2, 3 and 5

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81 mark

Which features would indicate that a student is observing a eukaryotic cell? 

  cytoplasm includes endoplasmic reticulum
 protein molecules are associated with the DNA ribosomes distributed through the cytoplasm
A X ✓ X
B X X X
C ✓ ✓ ✓
D ✓ X ✓

Key: ✓ = found in eukaryotes, X = not found in eukaryotes

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91 mark

The image below is a drawing of an electron micrograph.

qn18

Which structures are surrounded by a double membrane?

  lysosome mitochondria nucleus Golgi apparatus cytoplasm
A ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
B X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
C X ✓ ✓ X X
D ✓ X X X ✓

Key: ✓ = found in eukaryotes, X = not found in eukaryotes

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101 mark

The diagram shows a typical plant cell.

qn20

Which of the cell components A, B, C or D would be present in prokaryotes?

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