Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Anaerobic Respiration — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Anaerobic Respiration, 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 Anaerobic Respiration — 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
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer drawn from recall or from the data
- State (1 mark)
- one precise fact, no justification
- 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
- Calculate (1–3 marks)
- a numerical answer, with working where the tariff implies steps
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 2.38 · 2.36 · 2.39. 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 temperature inside three insulated vacuum flasks over four days. Each flask held the same volume of seeds, soaked in disinfectant before use, and each was plugged with cotton wool. Flask Contents Day 0 / °C Day 4 / °C 1 germinating seeds 20.4 31.7 2 seeds killed by boiling, then cooled 20.4 20.6 3 empty 20.4 20.5 (a)
(1)Calculate
Calculate the temperature rise in flask 1 over the four days.
Table 1 — the temperature inside three insulated vacuum flasks over four days. Each flask held the same volume of seeds, soaked in disinfectant before use, and each was plugged with cotton wool. Flask Contents Day 0 / °C Day 4 / °C 1 germinating seeds 20.4 31.7 2 seeds killed by boiling, then cooled 20.4 20.6 3 empty 20.4 20.5 temperature rise = ............................ °C
(b)
(3)Explain
Explain why the temperature inside flask 1 rose so much more than the temperature inside flask 2.
Table 1 — the temperature inside three insulated vacuum flasks over four days. Each flask held the same volume of seeds, soaked in disinfectant before use, and each was plugged with cotton wool. Flask Contents Day 0 / °C Day 4 / °C 1 germinating seeds 20.4 31.7 2 seeds killed by boiling, then cooled 20.4 20.6 3 empty 20.4 20.5 (c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest why every batch of seeds was soaked in disinfectant before the flasks were set up.
Table 1 — the temperature inside three insulated vacuum flasks over four days. Each flask held the same volume of seeds, soaked in disinfectant before use, and each was plugged with cotton wool. Flask Contents Day 0 / °C Day 4 / °C 1 germinating seeds 20.4 31.7 2 seeds killed by boiling, then cooled 20.4 20.6 3 empty 20.4 20.5 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which substance is produced when a human muscle respires anaerobically?
Substance A ethanol B lactic acid C carbon dioxide and ethanol D glucose (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(2)Give
Give the two products of anaerobic respiration in a yeast cell.
(Total for Question 3 = 2 marks)
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(1)State
State one condition in which a muscle cell respires anaerobically.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(3)Compare
Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration in a human muscle cell.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why a sprinter continues to breathe deeply for several minutes after finishing a race.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
A brewer keeps her fermentation vessels sealed. Suggest why letting air into the vessel would reduce the amount of ethanol produced.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(4)Compare
Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration in human muscle, in terms of oxygen, products and energy released.
(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 Anaerobic Respiration to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Louis Pasteur over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Anaerobic Respiration — The backup that runs without oxygen — why it is worth having, why it cannot last, and why bread and beer both depend on it.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice