Respiration (Edexcel International A Level Biology)

Exam Questions

46 mins5 questions
1a
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2 marks

In cells, energy can be released from substrates by anaerobic and aerobic respiration.

Most eukaryotic cells can respire anaerobically.

(i)

Which of the following describes a step in the process of anaerobic respiration?

(1)

  A decarboxylation of lactate
  B phosphorylation of hexoses
  C oxidation of pyruvate
  D removal of phosphate groups from glucose

(ii)


What happens to the lactate concentration during a period of anaerobic respiration?

(1)

  A decreases, causing a decrease in blood pH
  B decreases, causing an increase in blood pH
  C increases, causing a decrease in blood pH 
  D increases, causing an increase in blood pH
1b
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8 marks

Most eukaryotic cells are also able to respire aerobically.

(i)

How do respiratory substrates enter the Krebs cycle?

(1)

  A as molecules containing 2 carbon atoms produced by the link reaction
  B as molecules containing 3 carbon atoms produced by the link reaction
  C as molecules containing 2 carbon atoms produced by RUBISCO
  D as molecules containing 3 carbon atoms produced by RUBISCO

(ii)


Draw a diagram of a mitochondrion.

Label only the part of the mitochondrion where the Krebs cycle occurs.

(2)

(iii)

Describe the role of chemiosmosis in the synthesis of ATP.

(5)

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2
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6 marks

Inherited mitochondrial diseases affect muscle function.

The diagram shows the electron transport chain in a mitochondrion.

q4b-unit-5-january-2021-edexcel-ial-biology

In an investigation, samples of muscle tissue from healthy individuals and from four individuals with mitochondrial disease were collected.

The function of mitochondria, when these samples were treated with different substrates, was investigated.

Treating muscle tissue from healthy individuals with:

  • Pyruvate and malate increases the production of reduced NAD
  • Succinate increases the production of reduced FAD
  • Reduced TMPD increases the reduction of cytochrome c.

The oxygen consumption of the muscle tissue samples from healthy individuals and from four individuals with mitochondrial disease were recorded.

The results are shown in the table.

  Sample taken from

Oxygen consumption in the presence of each treatment / pmol O2 min-1 mg-1 of muscle tissue

pyruvate and malate succinate reduced TMPD
  Individual 1 3.0 3.5 13.0
  Individual 2 18.0 10.0 60.0
  Individual 3 6.5 14.0 51.0
  Individual 4 7.5 6.0 40.0
  Healthy individuals 21.0 ± 5.0 13.5 ± 4.5 63.0 ± 20.0


The results of this investigation can be used to identify the defects in the electron transport chain of individuals with mitochondrial disease.

Comment on the defects in the electron transport chain in the individuals with mitochondrial disease.

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3a3 marks

Aerobic respiration involves four main stages:

glycolysis, link reaction, Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation.

One product of all three stages shown in the table is ATP (adenosine triphosphate).

Complete the table to show one other product of each stage.

Stage One other product
glycolysis  
Krebs cycle  
oxidative phosphorylation  

3b2 marks

An incomplete equation for the aerobic respiration of a substrate is shown below.

Complete the equation by inserting the numbers on the dotted lines to balance it.

C57H104O6 + ...................... O2 → ...................... CO2 + 52 H2O

3c5 marks

One molecule of glucose contains 2867.48 kJ of energy.

One molecule of glucose generates a maximum of 38 molecules of ATP in aerobic respiration.

A molecule of ATP contains 30.51 kJ of usable energy. Usable energy is available for chemical reactions in the cell.

(i)

Which reaction releases energy from ATP?

(1)

  A the conversion of ADP to ATP
  B the phosphorylation of ADP 
  C the hydrolysis of ATP 
  D the removal of adenosine molecules from ATP 

(ii)

Calculate the maximum percentage of energy in a glucose molecule that can be converted to usable energy in ATP.

(2)

(iii)

Describe what happens to the energy that is not converted to usable energy in a muscle cell.

(2)

3d2 marks

Describe how oxygen is involved in the production of ATP on the cristae in the mitochondria.

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4a3 marks

Animals use aerobic and anaerobic respiration to produce ATP.

Aerobic respiration has three stages where reactions occur between enzymes and substrates.

(i)

Which row of the table shows the location of each stage?

(1)

      Glycolysis Link reaction Krebs cycle
  A  cytoplasm  cytoplasm  cytoplasm
  B  cytoplasm   mitochondrial matrix  mitochondrial matrix
  C  mitochondrial matrix   cytoplasm  cytoplasm
  D  mitochondrial matrix   mitochondrial matrix  mitochondrial matrix

(ii)

A student calculated the volume of oxygen used by a cockroach as 1.7cm3 hour-1 . The same cockroach produced 1.3cm3 hour-1 of carbon dioxide in the same time.

What is the respiratory quotient (RQ) of this cockroach?

(1)

  A 0.7
  B 0.8 
  C 1.3 
  D 2.2 

(iii)

Hydramethylnon is an insecticide that is used to treat termite infestations.

Hydramethylnon inhibits the electron transport chain.

Which row of the table shows the expected changes caused by hydramethylnon?

(1)
      Oxygen consumption Lactate production
  A decreases decreases
  B decreases increases
  C increases  decreases
  D increases  increases
4b2 marks

The table shows the oxygen consumption and body mass of two animals.

Animal Oxygen consumption
/ cm3h-1
Body mass
/g
Southern elephant seal 1.82 × 104 5.00 × 106
Field mouse 20.00 10.00

These figures can be used to calculate the metabolic rate of each animal in cm3 g-1h-1 .

Calculate how many times greater the metabolic rate of the field mouse is compared with that of the southern elephant seal.

Answer .............................................

4c6 marks

The photograph shows a crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) that lives in saltwater habitats.

saltwatercrocodilemaximo

Obtained from Molly Ebersold of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

An investigation measured the lactate production rate of these crocodiles when they were active.

The graph shows the results of this investigation.

q5c-2-unit-5-oct-2021-edexcel-ial-biology

Each plotted point on the graph represents a single crocodile.

Discuss the roles of the different types of respiration in these active crocodiles.

Use the information in the graph and your own knowledge to support your answer.

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5a
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2 marks

The photograph shows a transmission electron micrograph of a mitochondrion and surrounding cytoplasm.

A ruler that measures in cm has been included for scale. 

image-for-edexcel-ial-jan-22-unit-5-q1a

The mitochondrion shown in the diagram is 2000nm in length. The length of the image of the mitochondrion is 75mm.

Calculate the width of this mitochondrion between X and Y.

5b
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3 marks

Describe how ATP is synthesised by oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondrion.

5c
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2 marks

Describe how ATP is used to supply energy for biological processes.

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