Edexcel International A Level Biology

Topic Questions

Antibiotics

1a
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2 marks

Antibiotics are medicines used to treat some medical conditions.

The table shows some medical conditions and whether or not antibiotics are needed to treat the condition.

Medical condition Are antibiotics needed
to treat the condition?
  Impetigo yes
  Whooping cough yes
  Middle ear infections sometimes
  Sinus infections sometimes
  Multiple sclerosis no
  Rheumatoid arthritis no


Explain the use of antibiotics to treat these conditions.

1b
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1 mark

The graph shows the effect of three drugs, J, K and L, on the number of bacteria in a culture.
q2b-unit-4-january-2021-edexcel-ial-biology
Which row of the table describes each of these three drugs?

      drug J drug K drug L
  A   not an antibiotic   bactericidal antibiotic   bacteriostatic antibiotic
  B   not an antibiotic   bacteriostatic antibiotic   bactericidal antibiotic
  C   bactericidal antibiotic   not an antibiotic   bacteriostatic antibiotic
  D   bacteriostatic antibiotic   not an antibiotic   bactericidal antibiotic

 

1c
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8 marks

One problem of taking antibiotics is their effect on gut flora.

The diagrams show the effects of three antibiotics, P, Q and R, on the proportion of different types of gut flora.

Each section in each of the diagrams represents a different type of gut flora.

q2c-unit-4-january-2021-edexcel-ial-biology

(i)

Explain the role of gut flora in protecting the body from infection.

(2)

(ii)

Explain why antibiotics can affect gut flora.

(2)

(iii)

The number of type A in gut flora in the absence of antibiotics is 6 000 000.

Estimate the number of type B in gut flora in the absence of antibiotics.

Give your answer in standard form.

(1)

(iv)

Deduce the effects of antibiotics P, Q and R on gut flora.

(3)

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