Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Variation and Mutation — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Variation and Mutation, 25 marks, about 25 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 Variation and Mutation — 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
- 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
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit points of similarity or difference, each naming BOTH things
- 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 3.34 · 3.31 · 3.33. 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 — two characteristics measured in the same group of 200 people. Characteristic Number of categories Distribution Height continuous, from 1.48 m to 1.97 m most people near the middle, few at either extreme Blood group four: A, B, AB and O each person is in exactly one group (a)
(1)Give
Give the characteristic in Table 1 that shows continuous variation.
Table 1 — two characteristics measured in the same group of 200 people. Characteristic Number of categories Distribution Height continuous, from 1.48 m to 1.97 m most people near the middle, few at either extreme Blood group four: A, B, AB and O each person is in exactly one group (b)
(3)Explain
Explain why height varies continuously while blood group does not.
Table 1 — two characteristics measured in the same group of 200 people. Characteristic Number of categories Distribution Height continuous, from 1.48 m to 1.97 m most people near the middle, few at either extreme Blood group four: A, B, AB and O each person is in exactly one group (c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest why the height range in Table 1 would be different if the 200 people had all been badly nourished as children.
Table 1 — two characteristics measured in the same group of 200 people. Characteristic Number of categories Distribution Height continuous, from 1.48 m to 1.97 m most people near the middle, few at either extreme Blood group four: A, B, AB and O each person is in exactly one group (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which statement about mutation is correct?
Statement A Mutations happen when an organism needs a new characteristic. B Mutations are random changes in genetic material. C Mutations are always harmful. D Mutations only occur in gametes. (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State what is meant by
State what is meant by a mutation.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give two sources of the genetic variation found between the offspring of the same two parents.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why two children of the same parents are not genetically identical.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare genetic variation with environmental variation, using an example of each.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
A student says that bacteria mutate in order to survive antibiotics. Explain why this is wrong.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(6)Discuss
Discuss why most mutations have no effect at all, while a very small number are the reason evolution is possible.
(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 Variation and Mutation to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Marie Curie 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
- Variation and Mutation — Three sources of difference between individuals — two that reshuffle what already exists, and one that makes something new.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice