Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Blood Vessels and the Circulation — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Blood Vessels and the Circulation, 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 Blood Vessels and the Circulation — 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 (1 mark)
- one precise fact, no justification
- 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 2.68 · 2.69. 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 — typical blood pressure measured at four points around the systemic circulation. Point in the circulation Blood pressure / kPa In the aorta 16.0 In a small artery in the leg 11.5 In the capillaries of the leg muscle 4.2 In the vena cava 0.4 (a)
(1)Calculate
Calculate the fall in blood pressure between the aorta and the capillaries of the leg muscle.
Table 1 — typical blood pressure measured at four points around the systemic circulation. Point in the circulation Blood pressure / kPa In the aorta 16.0 In a small artery in the leg 11.5 In the capillaries of the leg muscle 4.2 In the vena cava 0.4 fall = ............................ kPa
(b)
(3)Explain
Explain why the pressure falls so steeply as blood passes through the capillaries.
Table 1 — typical blood pressure measured at four points around the systemic circulation. Point in the circulation Blood pressure / kPa In the aorta 16.0 In a small artery in the leg 11.5 In the capillaries of the leg muscle 4.2 In the vena cava 0.4 (c)
(2)Suggest
The pressure in the vena cava is only 0.4 kPa. Suggest how blood from the leg still returns to the heart.
Table 1 — typical blood pressure measured at four points around the systemic circulation. Point in the circulation Blood pressure / kPa In the aorta 16.0 In a small artery in the leg 11.5 In the capillaries of the leg muscle 4.2 In the vena cava 0.4 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which blood vessel has valves along its length?
Vessel A an artery B a vein C a capillary D all three (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State
State the thickness of a capillary wall.
Figure 1 — cross-sections of an artery, a vein and a capillary, drawn to different scales. (Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(3)Explain
Explain how the structure of an artery suits it to the blood it carries.
Figure 1 — cross-sections of an artery, a vein and a capillary, drawn to different scales. (Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare a vein with a capillary.
Figure 1 — cross-sections of an artery, a vein and a capillary, drawn to different scales. (Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(2)Give
Give the vessels and chambers, in order, that a red blood cell passes through travelling from the right atrium to the aorta.
Figure 2 — the general plan of the human circulation. (Total for Question 6 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain the advantage of blood passing through the heart twice in one complete circuit of the body.
Figure 2 — the general plan of the human circulation. (Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(4)Compare
Compare the structure of an artery with that of a vein, and relate each difference to the job the vessel does.
(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 Blood Vessels and the Circulation to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Marcello Malpighi over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Blood Vessels and the Circulation — Three kinds of vessel, three different structures — and every difference between them comes down to pressure.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice