Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2014
Last exams 2024
Which of the following is a correct definition of osmoconforming?
The osmolarity of an organism's body fluids matches those of other organisms around it.
Maintaining a constant body fluid osmolarity regardless of the osmolarity of the surrounding environment.
Cells with a lower osmolarity than the surrounding environment will gain water by osmosis and shrink.
The osmolarity of an organism's body fluids matches those of its surroundings.
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Which row in the table correctly identifies the structures labelled 1-4 in the diagram of a nephron?
| Â | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| A. | Glomerulus | Afferent arteriole | Loop of Henle | Collecting duct |
| B. | Glomerulus | Efferent arteriole | Proximal convoluted tubule | Collecting duct |
| C. | Bowman's capsule | Efferent arteriole | Loop of Henle | Distal convoluted tubule |
| D. | Bowman's capsule | Afferent arteriole | Proximal convoluted tubule | Renal pelvis |
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Which of the following statements about dehydration is not correct?
Dehydration can result from excessive sweating.
During dehydration more metabolic waste is removed from the body.
Symptoms of dehydration include a drop in blood pressure and concentrated urine.
Dehydration can occur if water is lost from the body and not replaced.
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Which of the following statements about excretion of nitrogenous waste are correct?
Nitrogenous waste comes from the breakdown of nucleic acids.
Excreting nitrogenous waste in the form of urea or uric acid is more energy efficient than excreting it in the form of ammonia.
I only.
I and III only.
I, II, and III.
II and III only.
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Which of the following rows correctly shows the concentration of substances in dialysis fluid compared to the blood of an otherwise healthy individual at the start of dialysis?
| Â | Ions | Glucose | Urea |
| A. | Low | Similar | Low |
| B. | High | High | Low |
| C. | Similar | Similar | Low |
| D. | Similar | Similar | High |
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Which of the following is not a reason why organisms need to maintain a safe balance of water and solutes in their cells?
Cell damage might occur due to osmosis.
Cells with a higher osmolarity than their surroundings will lose water and shrink.
Cells with a higher osmolarity than their surroundings will gain water and could burst.
Cells with a lower osmolarity than their surroundings will lose water and shrink.
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Which of the following statements correctly describes a process that takes place in the excretory systems of land insects?
Uric acid is actively transported from the haemolymph into the malpighian tubules.
Salts and nitrogenous waste are actively transported from the haemolymph into the malpighian tubules.
The malpighian tubules drain into the haemolymph.
Nitrogenous waste is converted into urea.
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Which of the following statements describe features that aid the process of ultrafiltration?
I and II only
II and III only
III only
III and IV only
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The image below shows a section through the lining of the glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule.
Identify the structures labelled 1-4 in the image above.Â
| Â |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
| A |
Podocyte |
Basement membrane |
Capillary endothelium |
Inside of capillary |
| B |
Fenestration in the basement membrane |
Capillary endothelium |
Podocyte |
Bowman’s capsule lumen |
| C |
Fenestration in the capillary endothelium |
Basement membrane |
Podocyte |
Bowman’s capsule lumen |
| D |
Fenestration in the capillary endothelium |
Basement membrane |
Podocyte |
Inside of proximal convoluted tubule |
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The table below shows the composition of blood plasma as it enters the glomerulus.
| Â | Concentration / mol dm-3 OR mg dm-3 |
| Urea | 5 |
| Na+ ions | 150 |
| Glucose | 5 |
| Protein* | 740 |
Which of the following is a possible correct composition of the glomerular filtrate of a healthy individual?
| Â | Urea | Na+ ions | Glucose | Protein |
| A | 5 | 150 | 5 | 740 |
| B | 5 | 150 | 5 | 2 |
| C | 5 | 6 | 5 | 740 |
| D | 5 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
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Water leaves the descending limb of the loop of Henlé by osmosis.
Which is the correct reason for this?
Ions are pumped out of the ascending limb of the loop of Henlé, raising the osmolarity of the surrounding medulla.
Ions are pumped out of the descending limb of the loop of Henlé, raising the osmolarity of the surrounding medulla.
Ions are pumped out of the ascending limb of the loop of Henlé, lowering the osmolarity of the surrounding medulla.
Water is reabsorbed into the vasa recta from the surrounding medulla.
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Which is the correct explanation for the relationship between urine solute concentration and relative medullary thickness shown in the graph below?
A thicker medulla provides space for more kidney nephrons.
A thicker medulla allows for longer kidney nephrons.
A thicker medulla allows for longer loops of Henlé.
A thicker medulla allows more blood to be filtered by the kidney.
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The image below shows the appearance of the cells that line the collecting duct when a healthy human has high blood water content (A) and low blood water content (B). Note that aquaporins are transport proteins that allow the passage of water molecules.
Which of the following correctly explains the difference between the collecting duct cells of individual A and individual B?
There is more ADH in the blood of individual B.
There is less ADH in the blood of individual B.
Individual B has a longer loop of Henlé.
The collecting duct of individual B descends further into the medulla where the concentration gradient is steepest.
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Animals excrete nitrogenous waste in various forms.
Which of the following is not a correct statement relating to the excretion of nitrogenous waste?
Insects excrete uric acid via a system of malpighian tubules.
Less water is needed for the excretion of uric acid than for ammonia or urea.
All mammals excrete nitrogenous waste in the form of urea.
Nitrogenous waste comes only from the breakdown of excess protein.
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The table below shows the composition of normal blood plasma and the dialysis fluid used in haemodialysis.
| Â | Normal blood plasma / mmol L-1 | Dialysis fluid / mmol L-1 |
| Na+ ions | 145 | 145 |
| HCO3- ions | 20 | 35 |
| Glucose | 5 | 5 |
| Urea | 25 | 0 |
Which of the following diagrams shows the correct movement for each of the substances shown? An arrow represents the direction of movement while a line indicates no overall movement.
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The following statements describe the events taking place in the malpighian tubules of insects.
Useful ions are reabsorbed.
Which row correctly shows the order in which these events occur?
|  | First | → | → | → | Last |
| A. | IV | I | V | III | II |
| B. | III | IV | I | V | II |
| C. | IV | III | I | V | II |
| D. | IV | V | III | II | I |
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The graph below shows the filtration, reabsorption, and excretion of glucose by the kidneys at different plasma glucose concentrations. Note that a healthy blood glucose concentration is around 100 mg 100 ml-1. 
Which of the following is not a correct conclusion from the graph?
The maximum rate at which the kidneys can reabsorb glucose is 300 mg min-1.
Glucose in the urine can be normal for a healthy individual.
At plasma glucose concentrations higher than 300 mg 100 ml-1:
filtration rate - reabsorption rate = excretion rate.
At a plasma glucose concentration of around 200 mg 100 ml-1 the glucose transporters in the proximal convoluted tubule become fully saturated.
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The graph below shows the effect of environmental temperature on water balance in kangaroo rats. Kangaroo rats are nocturnal, desert-living rodents that spend the daylight hours in underground burrows. Day-time temperatures in the underground burrows can reach 40 °C.
Which of the statements relating to kangaroo rats are correct?
Kangaroo rats can survive in their natural habitat on a diet of seeds alone.
Kangaroo rats are able to minimise water loss in urine due to their thick medullary region.
Kangaroo rats lose less than 0.25 g day-1 of water in their faeces.
I, II, and III only.
I, II, III, and IV.
II and III only.
II, III, and IV only.
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Nephrogenic syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (NSIAD) is a rare condition that can be caused by a gain-of-function mutation in the gene that codes for ADH receptor proteins.
Which of the following will not be true for sufferers of NSIAD?
The kidney cells will respond to ADH even when ADH levels are low.
The body cells will swell up.
The kidney cells will have more water transport proteins in their cell surface membranes than normal.
Large amounts of dilute urine will be produced.
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The image below shows a test strip used for drugs testing. Unlike the hormone in a pregnancy test, the substances tested for in this kind of drugs test are too small to bind to more than one antibody at the same time. This type of test is known as a competitive binding assay.
The components of the test contain the following:
Conjugate pad - antibodies complementary to the drug being tested for. The antibodies are attached to a coloured bead.
Test line - bound molecules of the drug being tested for.
Control line - bound antibodies complementary to the antibody from the conjugate pad.
Which of the following correctly explains the appearance of a positive result?
The drug binds to antibodies on the conjugate pad, preventing them from binding to the test line.
The antibodies from the conjugate pad bind to the test line, causing the beads to form a visible band.
Unbound antibodies from the conjugate pad bind to antibodies on the control line, forming a visible band.
The drug binds to antibodies on the conjugate pad and to antibodies on the test line.
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