Candidate name

Centre number Candidate number

BIOLOGY 0610/4
Practice exam-style Paper 4 1 hour 15 minutes

Candidates answer on the Question Paper.

No Additional Materials are required.

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your Centre number, candidate number and name on all the work you hand in.
Write in dark blue or black pen.
You may use a pencil for any diagrams or graphs.
Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid.
DO NOT WRITE IN ANY OF THE BARCODES.

Answer all questions.

Electronic calculators may be used.

You may lose marks if you do not show your working or if you do not use appropriate units.

At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

0610/3 Practice exam-style Paper [Turn over]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 1

1 Fig. 1.1 is a photograph, taken using a light microscope, of some cells in a plant root.
The DNA has been stained with a dark stain. The chromosomes, which contain the
DNA, are visible in some of the cells.

Fig. 1.1

a Name the part of the cell in which the chromosomes are present.
[1]

b Outline the functions of DNA in a plant cell.

[2]

c Some of the cells in the photograph are dividing. This is how the root grows.

i Name the type of cell division taking place in these cells.

[1]

ii State how the number of chromosomes in each of the new cells will compare
with the number in the original cell.

[1]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 2

 d The bases, A, C, G and T making up the DNA in one of the cells were analysed.
It was found that 29% of the bases were base G.

i State the percentage of the bases that would be base C.

[1]

ii Calculate the percentage of the bases that would be base A. Show your working.

[2]

iii If the bases from another cell taken from the leaf of the same plant were analysed,
how would you expect the percentage of bases to compare with your answers
to i and ii above?
Explain your answer.

[2]

e i Name the cell organelles where protein production takes place.

[1]

ii Outline how proteins are produced in a cell.

[5]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 3

2 Two identical groups of plant cells, A and B, were placed into identical solutions
containing nitrate ions. Oxygen was bubbled through the solution in which the group A
cells were placed. No oxygen was bubbled through the solution in which the group B cells
were placed.
The concentrations of nitrate ions in samples taken from each group of cells were
measured every 10 minutes for one hour. The results are shown in Fig. 2.1.
60

50

40 group A

Concentration of nitrate ions

30
inside cells / arbitrary units

20

10 group B

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time / minutes

Fig. 2.1

a Describe the change in nitrate concentration in the group A cells during the
experiment.
Use figures from Fig. 2.1 in your answer.

[3]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 4

 b Describe how the results for the group B cells differ from the results for the
group A cells.

[3]

c Suggest reasons for the differences between the two groups of cells. Explain your
answer fully.

[5]

d Explain why plant cells need nitrate ions.

[2]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 5

3 Fig. 3.1 shows a kidney tubule (nephron).
B
A C

Fig. 3.1

a Give the letter of the part of the kidney tubule where each of these processes
takes place.

i filtration of the blood [1]

ii reabsorption of glucose from the filtrate [1]

iii reabsorption of most of the water from the filtrate [1]

b i List four substances that are filtered from the blood into the kidney tubule.

4 [2]

ii List two substances or structures that remain in the blood and do not pass into the
kidney tubule.

2 [1]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 6

 c People with kidney failure can be treated with dialysis, or may be able to have a kidney
transplant.

i Outline how dialysis is done, using a kidney machine. You may use a labelled
diagram as part of your answer if you wish.

[5]

ii Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of kidney transplants, compared

with dialysis.

[3]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 7

4 Polio is a serious viral disease that can be fatal, and that often leaves an infected person
with permanent paralysis. The World Health Organization (WHO) is using a vaccination
campaign to try to eradicate polio. Polio has already been eradicated in most countries, but
there are still some places where children are at risk from the disease.

a Polio vaccinations are normally given in two phases – a first vaccination and then a
booster vaccination several weeks later. The vaccine contains weakened polio viruses.
Fig. 4.1 shows the concentration of antibody in the blood of a baby after the first
vaccination and after the booster vaccination.
secondary
response

concentration of
antibody in blood
primary
response

0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
delay
first second
vaccine vaccine
time / days

Fig. 4.1

i Explain why there is delay between the time of the first administration of vaccine
and the first appearance of polio antibodies in the blood.

[2]

ii Describe two ways in which the secondary response differs from the primary
response.

[2]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 8

 iii Explain the reasons for the differences you have described in your answer to (ii).

[2]

b The WHO collects data from every country about the number of confirmed cases
of polio. Table 4.1 shows the number of cases of polio, and the percentage of children
who were immunised, in 10 countries in the first 11 months of 2013.
Table 4.1

country percentage of children number of polio

immunised in or before 2012 cases in 2013
Argentina 90 0
Bangladesh 95 0
Botswana 98 0
Brazil 99 0
Kazakhstan 99 0
Kenya 82 14
Nigeria 77 52
Somalia 47 184
Syria 52 13

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 9

Blank page
 i Describe the relationship between the percentage of children immunised and the
number of polio cases.

[2]

ii Suggest why, even though 5% of children in Bangladesh were not immunised,

there were no cases of polio.

[2]

c There is no cure for polio, but some infectious diseases, such as rabies, can be treated
by giving an infected person antibodies that have been produced in another organism.
This provides passive immunity.

i Explain why passive immunity does not last as long as the type of immunity
provided by a vaccination using weakened viruses.

[2]

ii State one way, other than an injection of antibodies, that a young child
can be given passive immunity.

[1]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 11

5 a Molluscs are a type of invertebrate that have shells made of calcium carbonate. Some
students investigated the effect on empty mollusc shells of immersion in normal sea
water, and in sea water in which sulfur dioxide had been dissolved.
Their results are shown in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1

mollusc in normal sea water, pH 8.0 in sea water plus sulfur dioxide, pH 6.5
shell
initial mass / g final mass / g initial mass / g final mass / g
mussel 2.32 2.32 2.49 2.46
limpet 1.18 1.18 1.04 1.02
cockle 0.95 0.95 0.94 0.93

a i Compare the results in sea water plus sulfur dioxide with the results in normal
sea water.
Use figures from Table 5.1 in your answer.

[3]
ii Suggest an explanation for the differences you have described in (i).

[2]
b Sulfur dioxide is one of the gases that can cause acid rain. Outline the measures
that can be taken to reduce pollution and damage caused by acid rain.

[4]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 12

 c Scallops are molluscs that are harvested and eaten as food in many parts of the world.
Scallops feed on phytoplankton. Scallops are predated by rays, which in turn are eaten
by sharks. Overfishing has reduced the populations of several species of shark off the
east coast of North America, and this has resulted in such a large reduction in the
scallop population that the harvesting of scallops in this area is not sustainable.

i State the position of sharks in the food chain described in the paragraph above.

[1]

ii Define the term population.

[2]

iii Explain what is meant by ‘not sustainable’.

[2]

iv Explain why a large drop in the population size of a species can put the species
at risk of extinction.

[3]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 13

6 Cacti are plants that, through evolution, have become able to survive in very dry
climates. One of the features that enables them to do this is that their leaves are
reduced to spines.

a Define the term evolution.

[3]

b State the term used to describe a plant that can survive in a dry climate.

[1]

c Explain how having leaves reduced to spines can help a plant survive in a dry
climate.

[3]

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE Biology Practice exam-style Paper 4 14