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CAIE A Level Biology 9700

Cell membranes and transport questions

Exam-style questions on Cell membranes and transport, ordered from foundation to challenge. Pick one, write your answer the way you would in the exam, and it comes back marked against the mark scheme, point by point.

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Written by Markquill to follow the Cambridge International syllabus. Markquill is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cambridge International.

  1. Describe5 marksStandardA student investigated the water potential of potato tissue using a series of sucrose solutions of known concentration. Cylinders of potato tissue were blotted dry, weighed, then placed in the solutions for 24 hours…
  2. Describe5 marksStandardIn an animal, a signalling molecule produced by an endocrine gland travels to its target cells. Describe the sequence of events that occurs from the secretion of the signalling molecule to the final response in the…
  3. Explain4 marksStandardGlycoproteins are present in cell surface membranes. Explain how the structure of glycoproteins allows cells to recognise each other.
  4. Explain4 marksStandardIn a marine alga, iodide ions are taken up by the cells from seawater where the concentration of iodide is lower than inside the cell. Glucose molecules enter the same cells by facilitated diffusion, moving down their…
  5. Explain4 marksStandardA researcher compares the cell surface membranes of human red blood cells and liver cells. Both cells have glycoproteins in their membranes, but the immune system can distinguish between them. Using the fluid mosaic…
  6. Explain5 marksStandardA student investigated the effect of the surface-area-to-volume ratio on the rate of diffusion using cubes of agar containing a pH indicator. The agar cubes were placed in a solution of dilute hydrochloric acid. The…
  7. Outline4 marksStandardA scientist uses freeze-fracture electron microscopy to study the structure of a cell surface membrane. The image reveals a bilayer with embedded proteins, some spanning the membrane and others on the surface. Outline…
  8. Describe4 marksStandardThe table below lists four components of a cell surface membrane. Describe the role of each component in the membrane. Component Role Phospholipid Cholesterol Glycoprotein Channel protein
  9. Outline4 marksStandardThe cell surface membrane of a human intestinal epithelial cell contains both carrier proteins and channel proteins. For example, glucose is transported into the cell by facilitated diffusion via a carrier protein…
  10. Explain5 marksStandardA student investigated the effect of surface area to volume ratio on the rate of diffusion. She prepared colourless agar blocks containing a pH indicator. She cut cubes of different sizes and placed each into a beaker…
  11. Describe4 marksStandardA student is studying the structure of a cell surface membrane using the fluid mosaic model. The table below lists four components of this membrane. Component Phospholipids Cholesterol Glycoproteins Channel proteins…
  12. Describe5 marksStandardA signalling molecule (ligand) is released from a secretory cell and travels to a target cell, where it triggers a response. Describe the main stages of this cell signalling process, from the secretion of the ligand to…
  13. Outline5 marksStandardA biologist examines the cell surface membrane of a deep-sea bacterium that lives at 80 °C and high pressure. Its membrane contains a high proportion of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol-like molecules (hopanoids)…
  14. Outline5 marksStandardThe cell surface membrane of an animal cell is described by the fluid mosaic model. Outline the key features of this model, including: how the phospholipid bilayer is formed by hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions…
  15. Explain5 marksStandardThe fluidity of cell surface membranes can be measured using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). In an experiment, the lateral diffusion of a fluorescent lipid probe was measured in normal human red…
  16. Describe4 marksStandardA student prepares three agar cubes containing a pH indicator, with side lengths of 1 cm, 2 cm, and 3 cm. The cubes are placed in a solution of hydrochloric acid. The acid diffuses into the cubes from all surfaces…
  17. Explain4 marksStandardRoot hair cells absorb nitrate ions from the soil. The concentration of nitrate ions in the soil solution is lower than that in the cytoplasm of the root hair cells. Explain the differences between active transport and…
  18. Compare4 marksStandardA student placed potato tissue (plant cells) and red blood cells (animal cells) into separate beakers containing a 0.5 mol dm⁻³ sucrose solution. The water potential of this solution is lower than that of the cell…
  19. Compare5 marksStandardA student filled four lengths of Visking tubing with 10 cm³ of distilled water and sealed them. Each tubing was placed in a beaker containing 200 cm³ of a sucrose solution of a different concentration. After 30…
  20. Outline4 marksStandardOutline the fluid mosaic model of cell surface membranes. In your answer, describe the roles of phospholipids, cholesterol, and glycoproteins, and explain the difference between carrier proteins and channel proteins.
  21. Describe5 marksStandardA student measured the change in mass of potato cylinders after immersion in sucrose solutions of different concentrations. The table shows the results. Sucrose concentration / mol dm^-3 Percentage change in mass 0.0…
  22. Explain5 marksStandardIn mammals, cell surface membranes contain cholesterol. Explain how cholesterol affects membrane fluidity at both low and high temperatures. In your answer, refer to the interactions between cholesterol and…
  23. Outline5 marksStandardThe cell surface membrane is described by the fluid mosaic model. Outline the key features of this model, referring to the roles of phospholipids, cholesterol, and proteins (including glycoproteins) in membrane…
  24. Describe4 marksStandardA student prepared agar cubes containing phenolphthalein indicator. The cubes had side lengths of 1 cm, 2 cm, and 3 cm. They were placed in dilute hydrochloric acid, which diffuses into the agar and turns the indicator…
  25. Compare4 marksStandardA student placed samples of onion epidermal cells (plant) and human red blood cells into two different solutions: Solution A (distilled water) and Solution B (concentrated sucrose solution, water potential lower than…
  26. Compare5 marksStandardA student set up two experiments using Visking tubing to investigate osmosis. Experiment 1: A Visking tubing bag containing distilled water was placed in a beaker of 0.6 M sucrose solution. Experiment 2: A Visking…
  27. Describe5 marksStandardDescribe the fluid mosaic model of the cell surface membrane. In your answer, include the roles of the membrane components in cell signalling.
  28. Compare5 marksStandardA student investigated osmosis using Visking tubing, which is a partially permeable membrane. Three lengths of Visking tubing were each filled with 10 cm³ of sucrose solution of different concentrations and tied at…
  29. Compare4 marksStandardA student places a plant leaf cell and a red blood cell into separate beakers of distilled water. Compare the effects on each cell. Explain your answer in terms of water potential.
  30. Explain5 marksStandardA student prepared agar blocks of different sizes, each containing a pH indicator that turns colourless in acid. They placed each block into a dilute acid solution and recorded the time taken for the entire block to…
  31. Explain4 marksStandardIn the immune system, macrophages must distinguish between 'self' cells and foreign cells. This ability relies on glycoproteins present in the cell surface membrane of the macrophage. Explain how the structure and…
  32. Describe5 marksStandardA student investigated the water potential of potato tissue by cutting cylinders of potato, measuring their initial mass, then immersing them in sucrose solutions of different concentrations for 30 minutes. After…
  33. Describe5 marksChallengeA research student analysed the composition of a cell surface membrane and identified four key components: phospholipids, cholesterol, glycoproteins, and channel proteins. Describe the role of each of these components…
  34. Describe5 marksChallengeDescribe the fluid mosaic model of cell surface membrane structure and the ordered stages of cell signalling from the secretion of a signalling molecule to the response in a target cell. In your answer, you should…
  35. Describe5 marksChallengeA student investigates the effect of surface area to volume ratio on the rate of diffusion using agar cubes. Cubes of different sizes are cut from an agar gel containing a pH indicator that turns from blue to yellow in…
  36. Outline7 marksChallengeOutline the fluid mosaic model of cell surface membranes. In your answer, you should: describe the arrangement of phospholipids, cholesterol, glycolipids, glycoproteins, and proteins in the membrane explain the roles…
  37. Explain6 marksChallengeA student investigates the uptake of nitrate ions by root cells of a plant. Root tissue is placed in two different concentrations of nitrate solution. At an external concentration of 0.2 mmol dm-3, uptake is rapid and…
  38. Explain6 marksChallengeCholesterol is an important component of animal cell surface membranes. The fluidity of normal membranes and membranes from which cholesterol has been removed was measured at different temperatures using fluorescence…
  39. Describe5 marksChallengeA researcher is investigating how a newly discovered signalling molecule, named Factor X, coordinates responses in an animal. Factor X is released from endocrine cells and travels in the blood to target cells, where it…
  40. Compare7 marksChallengeA biologist places cylinders of potato (plant tissue) and a sample of red blood cells into a beaker of concentrated sucrose solution. The solution has a lower water potential than the cytoplasm of both the potato cells…
  41. Outline7 marksChallengeOutline the fluid mosaic model of membrane structure. In your answer, describe the contribution of hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions to the formation and stability of the phospholipid bilayer, the arrangement…
  42. Outline7 marksChallengeThe cell surface membrane is composed of a phospholipid bilayer with proteins, cholesterol, glycolipids and glycoproteins. Outline the structure of the membrane according to the fluid mosaic model, explaining the roles…
  43. Describe5 marksChallengeA researcher is studying a cell surface membrane and has identified the components listed in Table 1. For each component, describe how its molecular structure (including hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions and its…
  44. Outline7 marksChallengeA newly discovered toxin, toxA, binds specifically to a membrane protein that allows the passive movement of K⁺ ions down their concentration gradient. Cells exposed to toxA show a significant reduction in K⁺ uptake…
  45. Describe5 marksChallengeThe table below lists components of a cell surface membrane and a proposed role. Each proposed role is incorrect or incomplete. Component Proposed role Phospholipid Forms a rigid barrier Cholesterol Prevents any…
  46. Describe5 marksChallengeA student prepared agar cubes of three different sizes. Each cube contained a pH indicator that changes from purple to yellow in acidic conditions. The cubes were immersed in a beaker of dilute hydrochloric acid. The…
  47. Explain6 marksChallengeIn a species of freshwater fish, every individual carries a unique set of glycoproteins on the surface of its red blood cells. These glycoproteins are embedded in the cell surface membrane and are encoded by a highly…
  48. Explain6 marksChallengeThe cell surface membrane of a human cell contains many glycoproteins. Using your knowledge of the fluid mosaic model, explain how these glycoproteins enable cell recognition and the initial stages of cell signalling.
  49. Explain6 marksChallengeA student investigated the effect of surface area to volume ratio on the rate of diffusion. They prepared agar blocks of different sizes (cubes with side lengths 0.5 cm, 1.0 cm, 2.0 cm and 3.0 cm). Each block was…
  50. Describe5 marksChallengeA student prepared three agar cubes of side lengths 1 cm, 2 cm, and 3 cm. Each cube contained a pH indicator that changes from blue to yellow in acidic conditions. The cubes were placed in a beaker of hydrochloric…
  51. Describe5 marksChallengeA student investigated the water potential of potato tissue. Cylinders of potato were cut and their mass recorded. Each cylinder was placed in a different concentration of sucrose solution. After 24 hours, each…
  52. Compare7 marksChallengeA student set up four Visking tubing bags, each containing 10 cm³ of a sucrose solution at a different concentration. Each bag was placed in a separate beaker of distilled water for 30 minutes. The initial and final…
  53. Compare7 marksChallengeA student investigates osmosis using Visking (dialysis) tubing to model a cell membrane. Three lengths of tubing are each filled with 10 cm³ of 10% sucrose solution and tied at both ends. Each tubing is placed in a…
  54. Explain6 marksChallengeA researcher prepared two types of artificial lipid bilayers: one consisting only of phospholipids, and the other containing phospholipids and cholesterol. The fluidity of each bilayer was measured at 10°C and 40°C. At…
  55. Compare7 marksChallengeA student conducted an investigation using samples of potato tissue (plant cells) and mammalian red blood cells (animal cells). She placed each sample into a beaker containing a sucrose solution of unknown…
  56. Describe5 marksChallengeA student investigated the water potential of potato tissue by cutting identical cylinders and immersing them in sucrose solutions of different concentrations. After 24 hours, the cylinders were removed, blotted dry…
  57. Explain6 marksChallengeA researcher investigated the uptake of a sugar, glucoside X, into root cells of a plant. The rate of uptake was measured under different conditions. The results are shown in the table: Condition Rate of uptake…
  58. Explain6 marksChallengeA researcher investigates the effect of cholesterol on membrane fluidity using artificial phospholipid bilayers. Two types of liposomes are prepared: Type A (phospholipids only) and Type B (phospholipids with 30%…