Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Sexual and Asexual Reproduction — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Sexual and Asexual Reproduction, 24 marks, about 24 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 Sexual and Asexual Reproduction — 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
9 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Name (1–2 marks)
- the correct term, spelled recognisably
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught biology to a situation not taught
- Discuss (3–6 marks)
- an account that puts more than one consideration side by side and reaches a position
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 3.1 · 3.2 · 3.7. 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 commercial grower propagates strawberry plants in two ways. Some are grown from seed produced after insects have visited the flowers. Others are grown from runners — horizontal stems that root where they touch the soil and then separate from the parent.
(a)
(1)Name
Name the type of reproduction that produces the plants grown from runners.
A commercial grower propagates strawberry plants in two ways. Some are grown from seed produced after insects have visited the flowers. Others are grown from runners — horizontal stems that root where they touch the soil and then separate from the parent.
(b)
(3)Explain
Explain the advantage to the grower of propagating from runners rather than from seed.
A commercial grower propagates strawberry plants in two ways. Some are grown from seed produced after insects have visited the flowers. Others are grown from runners — horizontal stems that root where they touch the soil and then separate from the parent.
(c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest why the grower nevertheless keeps some plants grown from seed each year.
A commercial grower propagates strawberry plants in two ways. Some are grown from seed produced after insects have visited the flowers. Others are grown from runners — horizontal stems that root where they touch the soil and then separate from the parent.
(Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which statement about asexual reproduction is correct?
Statement A It involves two parents. B It produces genetically identical offspring. C It involves the fusion of gametes. D It always produces seeds. (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by fertilisation.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give one natural method and one artificial method of asexual reproduction in plants.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare sexual and asexual reproduction.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why a population that reproduces only asexually is more vulnerable to a new disease.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(2)Describe
Describe what happens between fertilisation and the formation of an embryo.
(Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(6)Discuss
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of asexual reproduction for a population of plants growing in a changing environment.
(Total for Question 8 = 6 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 Sexual and Asexual Reproduction to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 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
- Sexual and Asexual Reproduction — Two ways to make a new organism — one produces copies, the other produces something that has never existed before. Why any species would want both.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice