Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Mitosis and Meiosis — exam questions
9 original Incandio exam-style questions on Mitosis and Meiosis, 20 marks, about 20 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 Mitosis and Meiosis — 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
5 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
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit points of similarity or difference, each naming BOTH things
- 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
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 3.30 · 3.32 · 3.29 · 3.28. 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 — the number of chromosomes in cells taken from four places in a mammal. Cell Number of chromosomes Skin cell 38 Cell in the ovary about to divide 38 Egg cell 19 Cell of an early embryo 38 (a)
(1)Give
Give the diploid number of this mammal, using Table 1.
Table 1 — the number of chromosomes in cells taken from four places in a mammal. Cell Number of chromosomes Skin cell 38 Cell in the ovary about to divide 38 Egg cell 19 Cell of an early embryo 38 (b)
(3)Explain
Explain why the egg cell in Table 1 has half as many chromosomes as the ovary cell above it.
Table 1 — the number of chromosomes in cells taken from four places in a mammal. Cell Number of chromosomes Skin cell 38 Cell in the ovary about to divide 38 Egg cell 19 Cell of an early embryo 38 (c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest why every cell of the early embryo in Table 1 has the same number of chromosomes as a skin cell from the adult.
Table 1 — the number of chromosomes in cells taken from four places in a mammal. Cell Number of chromosomes Skin cell 38 Cell in the ovary about to divide 38 Egg cell 19 Cell of an early embryo 38 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which process produces gametes?
Process A mitosis B meiosis C fertilisation D differentiation (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give the haploid number of chromosomes in a human.
haploid number of chromosomes = ............................
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give two processes in the body that depend on mitosis.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(4)Compare
Compare mitosis with meiosis.
Figure 1 — the two kinds of cell division compared. (Total for Question 5 = 4 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why gametes must be produced by a division that halves the chromosome number.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
A drug used to treat cancer works by preventing cells from completing mitosis. Suggest why it also causes hair loss and damage to the lining of the gut.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 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 Mitosis and Meiosis to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Theodor Schwann over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Mitosis and Meiosis — Two kinds of cell division solving two opposite problems — one that must copy exactly, and one that must not.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice