Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Protein Synthesis — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Protein Synthesis, 23 marks, about 23 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 Protein Synthesis — 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
6 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
- 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
- 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.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1) — statements 3.17 · 3.18. 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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Table 1 — the amino acid coded for by five mRNA codons. Codon Amino acid GCA alanine GUU valine AAG lysine CCU proline UGG tryptophan (a)
(1)Give
Give the amino acid coded for by the mRNA codon CCU, using Table 1.
Table 1 — the amino acid coded for by five mRNA codons. Codon Amino acid GCA alanine GUU valine AAG lysine CCU proline UGG tryptophan (b)
(2)Give
Give the anticodon on the tRNA that delivers lysine, using Table 1.
Table 1 — the amino acid coded for by five mRNA codons. Codon Amino acid GCA alanine GUU valine AAG lysine CCU proline UGG tryptophan (c)
(3)Suggest
A length of mRNA reads GCA GUU AAG. Suggest what would happen to the protein if the second codon became GUG, which codes for valine as well.
Table 1 — the amino acid coded for by five mRNA codons. Codon Amino acid GCA alanine GUU valine AAG lysine CCU proline UGG tryptophan (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which base is found in RNA but not in DNA?
Base A adenine B cytosine C thymine D uracil (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the organelle at which translation takes place.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give two differences between an RNA molecule and a DNA molecule.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Describe
Describe what happens during transcription.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain the part played by tRNA during translation.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why a cell makes an mRNA copy of a gene rather than sending the DNA itself to a ribosome.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(4)Describe
Describe how the information in a gene is used to build a protein.
(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 Protein Synthesis to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Rosalind Franklin over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Protein Synthesis — The instructions cannot leave the nucleus and the factory cannot go in — so a copy is sent out. Transcription, translation, and the code that connects them.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice