Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
What Makes Something Alive — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on what Makes Something Alive, 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 What Makes Something Alive — 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
- Name (1–2 marks)
- the correct term, spelled recognisably
- State what is meant by (1–2 marks)
- the definition
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer drawn from recall or from the data
- 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
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught biology to a situation not taught
- 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
Assessed on Paper 1 (4BI1/1B) and Paper 2 (4BI1/2B), against AO1, AO2.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1) — statement 1.1. 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 10 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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A biologist studying a hot spring describes a single-celled organism found in the water. It takes in dissolved substances through its cell membrane, releases carbon dioxide into the water, and divides into two roughly every forty minutes.
(a)
(1)Give
Give the characteristic of living organisms shown when the organism divides into two.
A biologist studying a hot spring describes a single-celled organism found in the water. It takes in dissolved substances through its cell membrane, releases carbon dioxide into the water, and divides into two roughly every forty minutes.
(b)
(2)Describe
Describe how the organism obtains the materials it needs in order to increase in size.
A biologist studying a hot spring describes a single-celled organism found in the water. It takes in dissolved substances through its cell membrane, releases carbon dioxide into the water, and divides into two roughly every forty minutes.
(c)
(3)Explain
Explain why the release of carbon dioxide into the water is evidence that the organism is respiring.
A biologist studying a hot spring describes a single-celled organism found in the water. It takes in dissolved substances through its cell membrane, releases carbon dioxide into the water, and divides into two roughly every forty minutes.
(Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which characteristic of living organisms is shown when a plant shoot grows towards a window?
Characteristic A nutrition B sensitivity C excretion D reproduction (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the characteristic of living organisms that means removing the waste products of the body's own chemical reactions.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)State what is meant by
State what is meant by nutrition in living organisms.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(2)Give
Give one way in which movement in a flowering plant differs from movement in a mammal.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
A car takes in fuel, releases waste gases and moves. Explain why a car is not a living organism.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
Deep in a cave, pale structures slowly increase in size, take in minerals from dripping water, and occasionally break apart into two smaller structures. Suggest what further evidence would be needed before they could be described as living.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(4)Explain
A virus can reproduce, but only inside a host cell. Explain why biologists disagree about whether a virus is alive.
(Total for Question 8 = 4 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 — 10 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain what Makes Something Alive to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Aristotle over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
Completely free. No subscriptions, no paywalls, no account needed to start.
Back to the lesson
- What Makes Something Alive — The eight processes every living organism carries out — and why a fire, which seems to do several of them, is not alive.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice