Edexcel GCSE Biology: Combined Science

Topic Questions

7.2 Homeostasis

1a4 marks

Complete the following sentence.

Choose answers from the box.

Regulation          External          Homeostasis          Optimum

__________ is the __________ of the internal conditions of a cell or organism to maintain __________ conditions for function in response to internal and __________ changes

1b2 marks

Identify which statements are not examples of homeostasis.

  1. Red blood cells bursting when placed in a beaker of water

  2. A person shivering after swimming in the sea

  3. A person urinating frequently as they have drank lots of water. 

  4. Pulling your hand away after touching a hot object

     

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2a
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1 mark

The diagram below shows some of the events that take place during the regulation of blood glucose.  

U0lTCNSq_1-2

Identify organ X.

2b
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2 marks

Insulin is released when organ X detects a rise in blood glucose levels.

Describe the effects of insulin that restore blood glucose to normal levels.

2c
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2 marks

Higher Tier Only

When blood glucose levels fall after exercise organ X releases another hormone, hormone Y

(i)

Name hormone Y.

(1)

(ii)

State one mechanism by which hormone Y causes blood glucose levels to return to normal. 

(1)

2d
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2 marks

The table below shows some doctor’s notes for a patient with diabetes.

  Patient age:   9
  Patient symptoms:

  More thirsty than usual

  Increased urine production

  Weight loss

  Fatigue

  White blood cell activity:   High
  Suggested treatment:

  Monitoring blood glucose levels

  Insulin injections

Identify, with a reason, whether the patient is likely to have type I or type II diabetes.

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1a3 marks

Describe how the pancreas responds to a rise in blood glucose concentration

1b4 marks

Higher Tier Only

(i)

An athlete takes part in a marathon race and only consumes water during the race.

State what would most likely happen to the athlete’s blood glucose concentration during the race.

(1)
(ii)

Describe how the athlete's body would most likely responds to any changes in blood glucose concentration during the race.

(3)
1c4 marks

Individuals with diabetes cannot control their blood glucose levels.

There are two types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Explain the causes of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and how they can be controlled.  

1d2 marks

Figure 1 shows the results of a blood glucose tolerance test for two people (A and B).

blood-glucose-2c

Figure 1

Explain which patient has diabetes.

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2a
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2 marks

Insulin is produced by an endocrine gland and is transported in the blood.

(i)

Which row shows the endocrine gland and the target organs for insulin?

(1)

      endocrine gland target organs
  A adrenal liver and muscles
  B adrenal small and large intestines
  C pancreas liver and muscles
  D pancreas small and large intestines

(ii)

Which part of the blood transports insulin to its target organs?

(1)

  A plasma
  B red blood cells 
  C white blood cells 
  D platelets
2b
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2 marks

Figure 1 shows the blood glucose and blood insulin concentration for a healthy person during one day.

fig-1-1bio-2f-june18-qp-gcse-bio

Figure 1

The blood glucose concentration increases after a meal.

Explain why the blood glucose concentration then decreases.

2c
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1 mark

State one cause of type 1 diabetes.

2d
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2 marks

Explain how controlling the diet can be used to treat type 2 diabetes.

2e
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2 marks

A scientist is planning to test a new treatment for type 2 diabetes.

She selects 300 volunteers who have type 2 diabetes.

State two other factors that the scientist should consider when selecting the 300 volunteers.

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3
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2 marks

Explain why it is important to control the internal temperature of the human body.

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4
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3 marks

A person had symptoms including difficulty passing urine, aching in the lower abdomen, constant thirst and fainting.

A sample of their urine was tested.

The results are shown in Figure 1.

test result acceptable range
Glucose 200 mg per dl 0 to 130 mg per dl
Albumin (protein) 16 mg per dl 0 to 3 mg per dl
pH 3 5 to 7
Leukocytes (white blood cells) 40 2 to 5


Figure 1

(i)

A doctor analysed the results and asked the person to have further tests for type 2 diabetes.

Give a reason why the doctor came to this conclusion.

(1)

(ii)

Explain why the doctor also concluded that the person had a kidney infection.

(2)

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5a
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2 marks

A hospital patient was tested for diabetes.

A nurse recorded his mass and height.

Figure 1 shows these measurements.

mass in kg height in metres
124  1.8

Figure 1

Calculate the BMI of this patient using the information in Figure 1.

5b
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9 marks

Blood samples were taken from this patient every four hours.

The glucose concentrations were recorded in Figure 2.

time in hours blood glucose concentration
in milligrams per decilitre
0 100
4 131
8 139
12 90
16 92
20 134
24 137


Figure 2

(i)

Describe the trends shown in this data.

(3)

(ii)

This patient was diagnosed as being type 2 diabetic.

Explain why the blood glucose concentration of this patient remained high from 4 hours to 8 hours.

(3)

(iii)

This patient did some exercise during these 24 hours.

Explain how the data in Figure 2 shows that this exercise occurred after 8 hours but before 12 hours.

(3)

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6a
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1 mark

Endocrine glands make hormones.

Which endocrine gland is situated in the head and is attached to the brain?

  A adrenal
  B pancreas
  C pituitary
  D thyroid 
6b
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2 marks

Diabetics cannot effectively control the concentration of glucose in their blood.

Person A has type 1 diabetes.

Person B has type 2 diabetes.

Draw one straight line from each person to the cause of their type of diabetes.

q4b-1bio-2f-nov2021-qp-gcse-bio

6c
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4 marks

A scientist investigated how the waist to hip ratio affected the probability of developing type 2 diabetes.

The scientist chose 100 females in each of five waist to hip ratio groups and recorded if they developed type 2 diabetes.

Figure 1 shows the results.

fig-7-1bio-2f-nov2021-qp-gcse-bio

Figure 1

(i)

Describe the trend shown in Figure 1.

Use data from Figure 1 in your answer.

(2)

(ii)

A female has a waist measurement of 78.3 cm and a hip measurement of 90.0 cm.

Calculate the waist to hip ratio for this female and use Figure 7 to estimate the probability that she will develop type 2 diabetes.

(2)

6d
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3 marks
(i)

The scientist also measured the BMI of the females.

BMI and waist to hip ratio are two factors that affect the probability of females developing type 2 diabetes.

State two other factors about the females in the study that would affect the probability of them developing type 2 diabetes.

(2)

(ii)

State why an athlete may have a high BMI but still have a low probability of developing type 2 diabetes.

(1)

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7
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3 marks

Urease is an enzyme that breaks down urea into smaller molecules.

Explain why urease will not break down starch into smaller molecules.

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