Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Photosynthesis — exam questions
13 original Incandio exam-style questions on photosynthesis, 34 marks, about 34 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 Photosynthesis — 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.
- Name (1–2 marks)
- the correct term, spelled recognisably
- Complete (1–5 marks)
- the missing entries in a table, diagram or sentence
- 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
- State (1 mark)
- one precise fact, no justification
- 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
- Compare (2–4 marks)
- explicit points of similarity or difference, each naming BOTH things
- Design (4–6 marks)
- a workable method: variables, control, measurement, repeats
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 2.18 · 2.19 · 2.22. 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 13 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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Two identical seedlings are grown with their roots in nutrient solutions. Solution A contains every mineral ion a plant needs. Solution B contains all of them except nitrate ions. Everything else about the two seedlings is kept the same. After four weeks the seedling grown in solution B is much smaller than the other.
(a)
(1)Give
Give the use a plant makes of nitrate ions.
Two identical seedlings are grown with their roots in nutrient solutions. Solution A contains every mineral ion a plant needs. Solution B contains all of them except nitrate ions. Everything else about the two seedlings is kept the same. After four weeks the seedling grown in solution B is much smaller than the other.
(b)
(3)Explain
Explain why the seedling grown in solution B is much smaller than the one grown in solution A.
Two identical seedlings are grown with their roots in nutrient solutions. Solution A contains every mineral ion a plant needs. Solution B contains all of them except nitrate ions. Everything else about the two seedlings is kept the same. After four weeks the seedling grown in solution B is much smaller than the other.
(c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest one measurement other than height that would give a better comparison of the growth of the two seedlings, and say why it is better.
Two identical seedlings are grown with their roots in nutrient solutions. Solution A contains every mineral ion a plant needs. Solution B contains all of them except nitrate ions. Everything else about the two seedlings is kept the same. After four weeks the seedling grown in solution B is much smaller than the other.
(Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Name
Name the green pigment that absorbs light for photosynthesis.
(Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(2)Complete
Complete the word equation for photosynthesis: carbon dioxide + water → __________ + __________
(Total for Question 3 = 2 marks)
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(2)Give
Give the balanced symbol equation for photosynthesis.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
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(3)Explain
Explain why photosynthesis is important to organisms that cannot photosynthesise.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
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(1)State
State why plants need magnesium ions.
(Total for Question 6 = 1 mark)
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(3)Suggest
A grower notices that the older leaves of her tomato plants have turned yellow between the veins while the newest leaves are still green. Suggest which mineral ion the plants are short of, and explain the yellowing.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
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(2)Calculate
A leaf produces 0.36 g of glucose in one hour. Calculate the mass of carbon dioxide the leaf must have used, given that 264 g of carbon dioxide is needed to make 180 g of glucose.
............................ g
(Total for Question 8 = 2 marks)
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(3)Compare
Compare photosynthesis and aerobic respiration in terms of their reactants, their products and their effect on energy.
(Total for Question 9 = 3 marks)
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(5)Design
A gardener claims that adding magnesium to the soil makes tomato plants grow taller. Design an investigation to test this claim.
(Total for Question 10 = 5 marks)
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(6)Design
Design an experiment to show that light is needed for a plant to make starch.
(Total for Question 11 = 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 — 13 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain photosynthesis to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Joseph Priestley 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
- Photosynthesis — How a plant builds itself out of air, where the energy for that comes from, and the one job the soil is actually doing.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice