A Level Cambridge (CIE) Biology 30 mins 30 questions

Multiple Choice Questions

Cells as the Basic

Units of Living
Organisms
Eukaryotic Cell Structures & Functions / Animal & Plant Cells / The Vital Role of ATP
/ Prokaryotic v Eukaryotic Cells / Viruses

Easy (10 questions) /10 Scan here to return to the course

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Medium (10 questions) /10

Hard (10 questions) /10

Total Marks /30

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Easy Questions
1 The diagram shows a bacterium.

Which three structures are found in both an animal cell and this bacterial cell?

A. Cell membrane, cell wall and DNA

B. Cell membrane, DNA and ribosome
C. Capsule, DNA and ribosome
D. Capsule, cell membrane and cell wall
(1 mark)

2 Which of the following structures are found in typical eukaryotic cells?

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 1 circular DNA

2 linear DNA

3 80S ribosomes

4 70S ribosomes

A. 1 and 3
B. 1 and 4
C. 2 and 3
D. 2 and 4
(1 mark)

3 What is the role of the nucleolus?

A. The synthesis of rRNA

B. The synthesis of ribosomal proteins
C. The formation and breakdown of the nuclear envelope
D. The formation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum
(1 mark)

4 The diagram shows a cell that secretes enzymes.

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 Where are the enzymes made within the cell?

(1 mark)

5 Which feature(s) would identify an organism as a prokaryote?

1 cell wall

2 circular DNA

3 cell membrane

4 ribosomes

A. 2 and 4
B. 1 and 3
C. 1 only
D. 2 only
(1 mark)

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6 The diagram shows a drawing of an animal cell.

What is the function of the membrane system labelled Y?

A. Protein synthesis
B. Protein synthesis and transport
C. Lipid synthesis
D. Lipid synthesis and transport
(1 mark)

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7 Which of the following structures are found in all prokaryotic cells?

A. Flagella
B. Capsule
C. Ribosomes
D. Pili
(1 mark)

8 Which row shows the structures found in a typical flowering plant cell?

centrioles cilia mitochondria vacuole

A X ✓ ✓ X

B X X ✓ ✓

C ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

D X X X ✓

Key: ✓ = present, X = absent

(1 mark)

9 What is the role of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum?

A. Enzyme synthesis
B. Protein synthesis
C. Steroid hormone synthesis
D. Antibody synthesis
(1 mark)

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10 Which structure is found in all eukaryotic cells, but is not found in prokaryotic cells?

A. Chromatin
B. Cell wall
C. Plasmid
D. 70S ribosome
(1 mark)

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Medium Questions
1 The photomicrograph shows a plant cell. A student was asked to identify three
observable features from the micrograph.

Which of the following would be correct labels for this image?

A. Nucleus, permanent vacuole, capsule

B. Ribosomes, nucleus, nucleolus
C. Nucleus, chloroplasts, mitochondria
D. Nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, cell wall
(1 mark)

2 The sentence below describes a process and a cellular structure.

Cells which have a high rate of ….1…. will have many ….2….. .

Which row identifies a process and a structure that would fit correctly into the sentence?

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 1 2

A facilitated diffusion mitochondria

B DNA replication lysosomes

C exocytosis vesicles

D phospholipid production ribosomes

(1 mark)

3 The diagram shows a cell that secretes glycoproteins; proteins with attached molecules
of carbohydrate. The cell is supplied with radioactively labelled sugar, which is first
detected in the cytoplasm.

In which organelle would the radioactively-labelled glucose be detected after that?

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 (1 mark)

4 Mucus is produced in the trachea by goblet cells. The following statements describe
steps in the process of mucus production.

1 Fusion of the vesicle with the plasma membrane.

2 Secretion of a glycoprotein.

3 Separation of a vesicle from the Golgi apparatus.

4 Addition of carbohydrate to protein.

What is the correct order of these steps?

A. 1 → 4 → 2 → 3
B. 1 → 4 → 3 → 2
C. 4 → 3 → 1 → 2
D. 4 → 3 → 2 → 1
(1 mark)

5 The list below contains structures that are found in eukaryotic cells.

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 1 Nucleus

2 Endoplasmic reticulum

3 Lysosome

4 Chloroplast

5 Mitochondria

Which of these structures has a double membrane?

A. 1, 2 and 3
B. 1, 2, 4 and 5
C. 1, 4 and 5
D. 2, 3 and 4
(1 mark)

6 Membrane bound sacs containing the products of metabolism are produced by the
endoplasmic reticulum.

Where are these products used?

A. Inside lysosomes only

B. Outside the cell only
C. Inside the cell only
D. Inside and outside the cell
(1 mark)

7 Which of the following structures are found in photosynthetic prokaryotes?

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 1 Cellulose wall

2 Circular chromosome

3 Ribosomes

4 Chloroplasts

5 Cell surface membrane

A. 1, 3 and 4
B. 2, 3 and 5
C. 1, 2, 3 and 4
D. 1, 2, 3 and 5
(1 mark)

8 Which features would indicate that a student is observing a eukaryotic cell?

cytoplasm includes protein molecules are ribosomes distributed

endoplasmic reticulum associated with the DNA through the cytoplasm

A X ✓ X

B X X X

C ✓ ✓ ✓

D ✓ X ✓

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 Key: ✓ = found in eukaryotes, X = not found in eukaryotes
(1 mark)

9 The image below is a drawing of an electron micrograph.

Which structures are surrounded by a double membrane?

lysosome mitochondria nucleus Golgi apparatus cytoplasm

A ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

B X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

C X ✓ ✓ X X

D ✓ X X X ✓

Key: ✓ = surrounded by a double membrane, X = not surrounded by a double membrane

(1 mark)

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10 The diagram shows a typical plant cell.

Which of the cell components A, B, C or D would be present in prokaryotes?

(1 mark)

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Hard Questions
1 The table below shows some of the structures found in four different types of cell.

1 2 3 4

chloroplast ✓ X X X
centrioles
cell wall X X ✓ X
Golgi apparatus
large vacuole ✓ ✓ X ✓

✓ ✓ ✓ X

✓ ✓ X X

Key: ✓ = present, X = absent

Which option (1, 2, 3 or 4) best matches the cell types below?

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 1 2 3 4

A ciliated epithelial prokaryotic cell root cortex cell spongy mesophyll

cell cell

B spongy mesophyll root cortex cell ciliated epithelial prokaryotic cell

cell cell

C root cortex cell spongy mesophyll prokaryotic cell ciliated epithelial

cell cell

D prokaryotic cell ciliated epithelial spongy mesophyll root cortex cell

cell cell

(1 mark)

2 Which row correctly describes the structure and function of a particular cellular feature?

structure function

A a series of flattened, membrane-bound organises microtubules to produce the

sacs spindle

B non membrane-bound cylindrical packages hydrolytic enzymes used in

structures cell

C membrane-bound spherical structure synthesizes polypeptides

D membrane surrounding an enclosed synthesises lipids

inner cavity

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 (1 mark)

3 The diagram shows similarities between chloroplasts, mitochondria and typical

prokaryotes.

Which row shows the correct relationship between these structures?

1 2 3 4 5

A mitochondria 70S ribosomes chloroplasts 80S ribosomes prokaryotes

B mitochondria 70S ribosomes chloroplasts 80S ribosomes prokaryotes

C chloroplasts 70S ribosomes prokaryotes 80S ribosomes mitochondria

D chloroplasts 70S ribosomes prokaryotes 70S ribosomes mitochondria

(1 mark)

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4 A giant bacterium, Epulopiscium fishelsoni was discovered in 1985.

Which cell structure(s) would enable biologists to classify E. fishelsoni as a prokaryote?

A. Circular DNA free in the cytoplasm

B. A pair of centrioles close to the nuclear pore
C. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum throughout the cytoplasm
D. A cellulose cell wall outside the plasma membrane
(1 mark)

5 A cell which is actively growing is supplied with radioactively labelled amino acids.

Which cell component will show an increase in radioactivity first?

A. Rough endoplasmic reticulum

B. Golgi apparatus
C. Mitochondria
D. Nucleus
(1 mark)

6 The basic structure of a virus is made up of a protein coat and genetic material.

What is the name given to the protein coat?

A. Peplomer
B. Capsomere
C. Capsid
D. Virion
(1 mark)

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7 Which of the following identifies the type of molecule, or molecules, present in the
genetic material of a virus.

A. DNA or RNA
B. DNA
C. RNA
D. DNA and RNA
(1 mark)

8 The image below is an electron micrograph of an animal cell.

Public domain, via Flickr

Which one of the options A to D, would be the site of protein modification and
packaging?

(1 mark)

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9 The image below is an electron micrograph of part of an animal cell.

CNX OpenStax, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Which of the following is likely to be produced in especially large quantities in this cell?

1 Glucose

2 RNA

3 ATP

A. 1 only
B. 2 and 3
C. 1 and 3
D. 1, 2 and 3

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 (1 mark)

10 Some mammalian tissue was homogenised and centrifuged.

Homogenisation involves blending the contents of a mixture until they are evenly
distributed

Centrifugation involves spinning a mixture at very high speeds to separate

components by mass

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The biochemical activity of four tissue samples, A-D, was investigated.

Which graph shows a tissue with a high synthesis of messenger RNA?

(1 mark)

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