Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Absorption and the Energy in Food — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Absorption and the Energy in Food, 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 Absorption and the Energy in Food — 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
8 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
- 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
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit points of similarity or difference, each naming BOTH things
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer drawn from recall or from the data
- Calculate (1–3 marks)
- a numerical answer, with working where the tariff implies steps
- 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 2.32 · 2.33. 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 — a student's results from burning a dried food sample under a boiling tube of water. Measurement Value Mass of food burned 0.75 g Mass of water in the boiling tube 24.0 g Temperature of water at the start 20.5 °C Highest temperature of water reached 42.0 °C Relationship — energy transferred (J) = mass of water (g) × 4.2 × temperature rise (°C)
(a)
(1)Give
Give the temperature rise of the water in Table 1.
Table 1 — a student's results from burning a dried food sample under a boiling tube of water. Measurement Value Mass of food burned 0.75 g Mass of water in the boiling tube 24.0 g Temperature of water at the start 20.5 °C Highest temperature of water reached 42.0 °C Relationship — energy transferred (J) = mass of water (g) × 4.2 × temperature rise (°C)
temperature rise of the water = ............................ °C
(b)
(3)Calculate
Calculate the energy released per gram of this food. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
Table 1 — a student's results from burning a dried food sample under a boiling tube of water. Measurement Value Mass of food burned 0.75 g Mass of water in the boiling tube 24.0 g Temperature of water at the start 20.5 °C Highest temperature of water reached 42.0 °C Relationship — energy transferred (J) = mass of water (g) × 4.2 × temperature rise (°C)
............................ J/g
(c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest one change to the apparatus that would bring the result closer to the true value, and say why it would help.
Table 1 — a student's results from burning a dried food sample under a boiling tube of water. Measurement Value Mass of food burned 0.75 g Mass of water in the boiling tube 24.0 g Temperature of water at the start 20.5 °C Highest temperature of water reached 42.0 °C Relationship — energy transferred (J) = mass of water (g) × 4.2 × temperature rise (°C)
(Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which vessel inside a villus absorbs fatty acids and glycerol?
Vessel A the blood capillary B the lacteal C the xylem D the vein (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)Name
Name the tiny projections on the surface of each cell covering a villus.
Figure 1 — a single villus from the lining of the small intestine. (Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(3)Describe
Describe three features of a villus that make it efficient at absorbing digested food.
Figure 1 — a single villus from the lining of the small intestine. (Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(2)Explain
Explain why glucose can still be absorbed from the small intestine when the concentration of glucose in the blood is already high.
(Total for Question 5 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why the energy value found by burning a food sample under a tube of water is always lower than the value printed on the packet.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(2)Compare
Compare the routes taken out of a villus by the products of carbohydrate digestion and the products of lipid digestion.
Figure 1 — a single villus from the lining of the small intestine. (Total for Question 7 = 2 marks)
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(4)Explain
Explain how the structure of the small intestine is adapted for the absorption of digested food.
(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 Absorption and the Energy in Food to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against William Beaumont over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Absorption and the Energy in Food — How a tube half a square metre in area absorbs an entire diet — and how to measure the energy a food actually contains.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice