Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Plant Responses, Tropisms and Auxin — exam questions
9 original Incandio exam-style questions on Plant Responses, Tropisms and Auxin, 19 marks, about 19 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 Plant Responses, Tropisms and Auxin — 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
5 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
- 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
- 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 2.84 · 2.85 · 2.83. 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 9 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 — four young shoots given light from one side only for two days. The tip of each was treated as described before the light was switched on. Shoot Treatment of the tip Result after two days 1 left intact bent strongly towards the light 2 cut off grew straight up, but only a little 3 covered with an opaque cap grew straight up 4 covered with a transparent cap bent strongly towards the light (a)
(1)Give
Give the two shoots in Table 1 that bent towards the light.
Table 1 — four young shoots given light from one side only for two days. The tip of each was treated as described before the light was switched on. Shoot Treatment of the tip Result after two days 1 left intact bent strongly towards the light 2 cut off grew straight up, but only a little 3 covered with an opaque cap grew straight up 4 covered with a transparent cap bent strongly towards the light (b)
(3)Explain
Explain what the results for shoots 2 and 3 show about where the response to light begins.
Table 1 — four young shoots given light from one side only for two days. The tip of each was treated as described before the light was switched on. Shoot Treatment of the tip Result after two days 1 left intact bent strongly towards the light 2 cut off grew straight up, but only a little 3 covered with an opaque cap grew straight up 4 covered with a transparent cap bent strongly towards the light (c)
(2)Suggest
Suggest why shoot 4 was included in the investigation.
Table 1 — four young shoots given light from one side only for two days. The tip of each was treated as described before the light was switched on. Shoot Treatment of the tip Result after two days 1 left intact bent strongly towards the light 2 cut off grew straight up, but only a little 3 covered with an opaque cap grew straight up 4 covered with a transparent cap bent strongly towards the light (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
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(1)Which
Which term describes a root growing downwards in response to gravity?
Term A positive phototropism B negative phototropism C positive geotropism D negative geotropism (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
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(1)State
State the effect auxin has on the cells in a shoot.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
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(1)Give
Give one advantage to a plant of its shoots growing towards light.
(Total for Question 4 = 1 mark)
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(4)Explain
Explain how auxin causes a shoot to bend towards light coming from one side.
(Total for Question 5 = 4 marks)
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(3)Explain
A seed germinates upside down under the soil. Explain how its root and shoot end up growing in the right directions.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
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(3)Suggest
A gardener sprays a lawn with a chemical similar to auxin. The broad-leaved weeds die but the grass survives. Suggest why.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 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 — 9 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Plant Responses, Tropisms and Auxin to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Charles Darwin over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
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Back to the lesson
- Plant Responses, Tropisms and Auxin — A plant has no eyes, no nerves and no muscles — and still gets its roots down and its shoots up every time. This is how.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice