Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
GM Insulin and GM Crops — exam questions
9 original Incandio exam-style questions on GM Insulin and GM Crops, 22 marks, about 22 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for GM Insulin and GM Crops — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
7 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer drawn from recall or from the data
- Describe (2–4 marks)
- developed, linked statements of WHAT happens — no reason required, but detail is Misread as: giving one bare statement where the tariff asked for a developed account
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- a causal chain — WHY it happens, each link a separate marking point Misread as: describing what happens without giving the reason it happens
- Discuss (3–6 marks)
- an account that puts more than one consideration side by side and reaches a position
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught biology to a situation not taught
- Calculate (1–3 marks)
- a numerical answer, with working where the tariff implies steps
Assessed on Paper 1 (4BI1/1B) and Paper 2 (4BI1/2B), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1) — statements 5.14 · 5.15. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 9 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
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Table 1 — results of a three-year field trial comparing a genetically modified insect-resistant maize with the unmodified variety, on neighbouring plots. Measurement GM maize Unmodified maize Yield / tonnes per hectare 9.8 7.1 Insecticide sprayed / kg per hectare 0.4 3.6 Cost of seed / £ per hectare 168 94 Insect species counted in the crop 24 17 (a)
(1)Calculate
Calculate the extra yield per hectare obtained from the GM maize.
Table 1 — results of a three-year field trial comparing a genetically modified insect-resistant maize with the unmodified variety, on neighbouring plots. Measurement GM maize Unmodified maize Yield / tonnes per hectare 9.8 7.1 Insecticide sprayed / kg per hectare 0.4 3.6 Cost of seed / £ per hectare 168 94 Insect species counted in the crop 24 17 extra yield per hectare obtained = ............................ tonnes per hectare
(b)
(3)Explain
Explain how the insecticide row and the insect species row are connected.
Table 1 — results of a three-year field trial comparing a genetically modified insect-resistant maize with the unmodified variety, on neighbouring plots. Measurement GM maize Unmodified maize Yield / tonnes per hectare 9.8 7.1 Insecticide sprayed / kg per hectare 0.4 3.6 Cost of seed / £ per hectare 168 94 Insect species counted in the crop 24 17 (c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest why a farmer might still choose the unmodified variety despite these results.
Table 1 — results of a three-year field trial comparing a genetically modified insect-resistant maize with the unmodified variety, on neighbouring plots. Measurement GM maize Unmodified maize Yield / tonnes per hectare 9.8 7.1 Insecticide sprayed / kg per hectare 0.4 3.6 Cost of seed / £ per hectare 168 94 Insect species counted in the crop 24 17 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which organism is used to manufacture human insulin on an industrial scale?
Organism A a genetically modified bacterium B a pig C a virus D yeast in bread dough (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give two ways in which a crop plant can be improved by genetic modification.
(Total for Question 3 = 2 marks)
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(3)Describe
Describe how insulin is obtained once the modified bacteria have been grown.
Figure 1 — the fermenter in which genetically modified bacteria are grown. (Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain the advantages of insulin made by genetically modified bacteria over insulin extracted from animals.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(5)Discuss
Discuss whether farmers should be allowed to grow genetically modified crops.
(Total for Question 6 = 5 marks)
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(2)Suggest
Suggest why a genetically modified bacterium is checked for the human gene before it is grown in a large fermenter.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 9 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain GM Insulin and GM Crops to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Frederick Banting over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- GM Insulin and GM Crops — The same technique used twice — once to brew a human hormone in a tank, and once to change what a field can grow.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice