This document is a comprehensive list of essay questions dating from 2004 to the present day. They are essay titles that are great for practicing and useless for anybody who does biology at whatever level. They cover all topics and lead to a wide range of essays that if practiced will greatly help ...
Titles in italics are on topics that are no longer included in the current CIE syllabus.
Year Series
1 2004 June (a) Explain how a synapse functions. [9]
(b) Describe the role of glucagon in regulating blood glucose. [6]
2 (a) Outline the main features of the Calvin Cycle. [9]
(b) Explain the role of NADP in photosynthesis. [6]
3 2004 November (a) Describe the main features of the Krebs Cycle. [9]
(b) Explain the role of NAD in aerobic respiration. [6]
4 (a) Describe the use of recombinant DNA technology in the synthesis of human insulin by bacteria. [9]
(b) Explain the advantages of treating diabetics with human insulin produced by genetic engineering. [6]
5 2005 June (a) Describe the role of auxins in apical dominance. [6]
(b) Explain the role of gibberellins in the germination of wheat or barley. [9]
6 (a) Describe why variation is important in natural selection. [6]
(b) Explain the role of isolating mechanisms in the evolution of new species. [9]
7 2005 November (a) Describe how the structure of a dicotyledonous leaf is related to its functions in photosynthesis. [7]
(b) Discuss the effects that variations in carbon dioxide concentration and light intensity have on the rate of photosynthesis. [8]
8 (a) Describe how nitrogenous waste products are formed and explain why they need to be removed from the body. [6]
(b) Describe how the kidney removes metabolic wastes from the body. [9]
9 2006 June (a) Explain the meaning of the term homeostasis with specific reference to the control of raised blood glucose concentration in mammals. [8]
(b) Describe the role played by ADH in osmoregulation in mammals. [7]
10 (a) Describe the role of natural selection in evolution. [8]
(b) Explain, using named examples, how mutation can affect phenotype. [7]
11 2006 November (a) Describe how the structure of neurones speeds up the transmission of action potentials. [6]
(b) Explain, using a named example, how sensory receptors in mammals convert energy into action potentials. [9]
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, 12 (a) Describe the transfer of light energy to chemical energy in ATP during photosynthesis. [6]
(b) Describe the process of oxidative phosphorylation. [9]
13 2007 June (a) Describe how a nerve impulse crosses a cholinergic synapse. [9]
(b) Explain the roles of synapses in the nervous system. [6]
14 (a) Describe the structure of a chloroplast. [9]
(b) Explain how the palisade mesophyll cells of a leaf are adapted for photosynthesis. [6]
15 2007 November (a) Describe the structure of photosystems and explain how a photosystem functions in cyclic photophosphorylation. [9]
(b) Explain briefly how reduced NADP is formed in the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis and is used in the light-independent stage. [6]
16 (a) Explain how meiosis and fertilisation can result in genetic variation amongst offspring. [7]
(b) Explain, using examples, how the environment may affect the phenotype of an organism. [8]
17 2008 June (a) Describe the process of oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondrion. [9]
(b) Explain the roles of NAD in anaerobic respiration in both plants and animals. [6]
18 (a) Compare the roles of the endocrine and nervous systems in control and coordination in animals. [8]
(b) Describe the part played by auxins in apical dominance in a plant shoot. [7]
19 2008 November (a) Describe the structure of a motor neurone. [7]
(b) Explain how an action potential is transmitted along a motor neurone. [8]
20 (a) Explain the role of isolating mechanisms in the evolution of new species. [8]
(b) Describe and explain, using an example, the process of artificial selection. [7]
21 2009 June (a) Explain how changes in the nucleotide sequence of DNA may affect the amino acid sequence in a protein. [7]
(b) Explain how natural selection may bring about evolution. [8]
22 (a) Describe the part played by the proximal convoluted tubules in the functioning of the kidneys. [8]
(b) Explain how the collecting ducts in the kidneys may reduce the loss of water from the body. [7]
23 2009 November (a) Describe the process of glycolysis. [7]
(b) Describe the structure and synthesis of ATP and its universal role as the energy currency in all living organisms. [8]
24 (a) Describe a reflex arc and explain why such reflex arcs are important. [7]
(b) Describe the structure of a myelin sheath and explain its role in the speed of transmission of a nerve impulse. [8]
25 (a) Outline the main features of the Krebs cycle. [9]
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