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Cells and Living Systems

Cells and Living Systems — Free MYP1 Sciences Practice Questions

1QuestionInterdependence of LevelsConcept Practice

5 marks~8 minCriterion C

The table below shows how two organisms carry out three life processes.

Organism — Movement — Feeding — Responding to surroundings
Euglena (one cell): moves using a tail-like part — takes in food through its outer layer — detects light with a small eyespot
Human (many cells): uses muscle cells — uses digestive cells — uses nerve cells

Name one type of specialized cell that humans use, as shown in the table. [1]

Describe what would happen to a human if all their nerve cells stopped working. Use information from the table in your answer. [2]

A scientist says: "A single-celled organism is more independent than a human." Using the table, compare how Euglena and humans carry out their life processes, and explain whether you agree or disagree with the scientist. [2]

Solutions

2QuestionImportance of Structural Organization in BiologyConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion B

A student places 5 radish seeds in soil and 5 radish seeds on a wet paper towel. After one week, she measures the height of each plant.

Identify the independent variable in this investigation. [1]

Describe what the student should keep the same to make this a fair test. [1]

Solutions

3QuestionExamples in Humans and PlantsConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion A

The diagram shows a plant cell. The arrow points to a green structure inside the cell.

Name the green structure shown by the arrow. [1]

Describe one job this structure does for the plant. [1]

Solutions

4QuestionTypes of microorganismsConcept Practice

4 marks~6 minCriterion C

A student left bread slices in three places for 5 days and counted the mold patches that appeared.

Temperature (°C)	4	20	30
Mold patches	0	15	30

Identify which temperature had the most mold patches. [1]

Describe what happens to the number of mold patches as the temperature increases. [2]

Compare how mold grows on the bread kept at 4 °C with the bread kept at 30 °C. [1]

Solutions

5QuestionDefinition and Need for SpecializationConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion B

A scientist waters one plant with sugar water and another plant with plain water. After some time, she counts the number of root hair cells on each plant.

Identify the independent variable in this investigation. [2]

Solutions

6QuestionAdaptations of Specialized CellsConcept Practice

3 marks~5 minCriterion A

The table below shows the average number of mitochondria in three types of human cells.

Cell type — Average number of mitochondria per cell

Muscle cell	2000
Skin cell	200
Fat cell	400

Identify which cell type has the most mitochondria. [1]

Describe what mitochondria do for a cell. [1]

Compare the energy needs of muscle cells and skin cells, and explain why their numbers of mitochondria are different. [1]

Solutions

7QuestionComparing Diagrams of Plant vs Animal CellsConcept Practice

4 marks~6 minCriterion A

The diagram shows a plant cell (left) and an animal cell (right).

Name one structure found in the plant cell that is not found in the animal cell. [1]

Describe what this structure does to give the plant cell its shape. [1]

Compare the shapes of the plant cell and the animal cell. Use the words rigid and flexible in your answer. [2]

Solutions

8QuestionComparing Diagrams of Plant vs Animal CellsConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion B

A student looks at diagrams of a plant cell and an animal cell to find out how having a cell wall affects the shape of the cell.

Identify the independent variable in this investigation. [1]

Identify the dependent variable in this investigation. [1]

Solutions

9QuestionComparing Diagrams of Plant vs Animal CellsConcept Practice

3 marks~5 minCriterion A

The diagram shows a plant cell and an animal cell side by side.

Name one structure that is found in the plant cell but not in the animal cell. [1]

Describe what that structure does for the plant cell. [1]

Describe how the shapes of the plant cell and the animal cell are different, and suggest why this difference exists. [1]

Solutions

10QuestionFunctions Related to Structure in Both CellsConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion C

A student makes a model of a plant cell using a cardboard box for the cell wall and a plastic bag filled with water for the cell membrane. After heavy rain, a real plant stem stays upright and does not collapse.

Describe how the cell wall helps the plant stem stay upright. Use the model in your answer. [1]

Identify one way the cardboard box is a poor model for a real cell wall. [1]

Solutions

11QuestionExamples of Bacteria Amoeba and ParameciumConcept Practice

5 marks~8 minCriterion C

The table below shows information about four tiny living things, each made of just one cell.

Organism — Number of cells — How it gets food — How it moves

Bacteria	1	Absorbs	Flagella
Amoeba	1	Engulfs	Pseudopods
Paramecium	1	Sweeps in	Cilia
Organism X	1	Engulfs	Pseudopods

Identify which organism (bacteria, amoeba, or paramecium) is most similar to organism X. [1]

Describe one way organism X is different from paramecium. [1]

Compare organism X with bacteria. State one way they are similar and one way they are different. [3]

Solutions

12QuestionComparing with Multicellular OrganismsConcept Practice

3 marks~5 minCriterion B

The table below shows the number of different cell types found in four organisms.

Organism — Number of cell types

Amoeba	1
Hydra	5
Earthworm	20
Human	200+

Identify which organism has the most cell types. [1]

Describe the pattern you can see in the data, going from amoeba to human. [1]

Describe how the number of cell types is different between the amoeba and the human, and what this tells us about how complex each organism is. [1]

Solutions

13QuestionAdvantages and Limitations of UnicellularityConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion A

The diagram shows two cells: an amoeba (a single-celled organism) and a human nerve cell. Both cells have several parts labelled.

Name one labelled part shown in the diagram. [1]

Identify the labelled part that is found in both the amoeba and the nerve cell. [1]

Solutions

14QuestionFunctions Performed by One CellConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion D

Some water filters use tiny single-celled organisms to remove harmful bacteria from drinking water instead of adding chemicals.

State one advantage of using single-celled organisms instead of chemicals to clean drinking water. [1]

Describe one limitation of using single-celled organisms to clean drinking water. [1]

Solutions

15QuestionImportance of Cell Membrane and CytoplasmConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion B

A student places onion cells in sugar water solutions of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%. After 10 minutes, she measures the size of the cytoplasm in each cell.

Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable in this investigation. [1]

Identify one controlled variable and explain why it must be kept the same. [1]

Solutions

16QuestionUnderstanding the Cell as the Basic Unit of LifeConcept Practice

3 marks~5 minCriterion C

The table below shows the number of cells in three living things.

Organism: Amoeba — Number of cells: 1
Organism: Hydra — Number of cells: about 100
Organism: Mouse — Number of cells: about 50 000 000 000

Identify the pattern in the number of cells shown in the table. [1]

Describe what all three organisms have in common, based on the data. [1]

Compare the amoeba and the mouse to explain what the data suggests about cells as the basic unit of life. [1]

Solutions

17QuestionBasic Structure of Plant and Animal CellsConcept Practice

4 marks~6 minCriterion A

The diagram below shows a plant cell and an animal cell with their parts labelled.

Name one structure that is found in the plant cell but not in the animal cell. [1]

Describe what the cell wall does for the plant cell. [1]

Give one reason why a plant cell needs a cell wall and one reason why an animal cell does not. [2]

Solutions

18QuestionSafety and Handling of MicroscopesConcept Practice

3 marks~5 minCriterion C

A group of MYP 1 students forgot safety steps during three microscope lab sessions. The number of times each step was forgotten is shown below.

Safety step	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3
Carry with two hands	8	5	2
Lower stage before storage	6	6	6
Unplug by the plug	5	3	1

Identify the safety step that was forgotten the same number of times in every session. [1]

Describe what happened to the number of times "Carry with two hands" was forgotten across the three sessions. [1]

State which safety step is most likely to be forgotten in a fourth session, and give one reason why. [1]

Solutions

19QuestionMagnification and Field of ViewConcept Practice

5 marks~8 minCriterion B

Maya uses two magnifying glasses together to look at a leaf.

Magnifying Glass A	$2\times$	$2\times$	$3\times$	$2\times$
Magnifying Glass B	$2\times$	$5\times$	$10\times$	$?\times$
Total magnification	$4\times$	$10\times$	$30\times$	$8\times$

Identify the rule that connects the two magnifying glasses to the total magnification. [1]

Describe how you can use the first three setups to check that your rule is correct. [2]

Calculate the missing magnification factor for Magnifying Glass B in the last setup. Show your working. [2]

Solutions

20QuestionMaking Temporary Slides Onion Cells etcConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion D

A doctor uses a microscope to look at cheek cells taken from a patient to check for signs of infection.

State one reason why the layer of cheek cells on the slide must be thin. [1]

Describe how a thin, clear slide helps the doctor care for the patient. [1]

Solutions

21QuestionMagnification and Field of ViewConcept Practice

2 marks~3 minCriterion A

A doctor looks at a patient's blood sample under a microscope to check for signs of infection.

Identify one type of tiny living thing a doctor might find in an infected blood sample. [1]

Describe why using the correct magnification helps the doctor make the right decision about treatment. [1]

Solutions

22QuestionExamples in Humans and PlantsAssessment Practice

4 marks~6 minCriterion D

The kidneys clean your blood by removing waste and letting clean water pass back into your body.

Name one part of the human body that removes waste. [1]

Describe how the kidneys could give someone an idea for making a water filter for a village. [1]

A city's rubbish trucks and pipes are sometimes used to explain how the body removes waste. Describe one way that a cell is different from a rubbish truck or a pipe. [2]

Solutions

23QuestionTypes of microorganismsAssessment Practice

5 marks~8 minCriterion D

A family makes yogurt at home by mixing bacteria into milk and keeping it at

40^\circ\text{C}

for several hours. The bacteria turn the milk into yogurt.

Identify one reason why making yogurt at home can be better than buying it from a shop. [1]

Describe what happens to the bacteria if the temperature rises above

50^\circ\text{C}

or drops below

30^\circ\text{C}

during yogurt-making. [2]

The family's thermometer reads

5^\circ\text{C}

higher than the real temperature. Compare what the thermometer shows with what is actually happening inside the yogurt mixture, and explain how this difference could affect the yogurt. [2]

Solutions

24QuestionImportance of Cell Membrane and CytoplasmAssessment Practice

6 marks~9 minCriterion D

A water filter uses a special membrane to clean dirty water. The membrane blocks all harmful substances but also blocks 3 out of every 10 nutrients in the water.

Name one job of the cell membrane in a living cell. [1]

Describe one way this water filter membrane is similar to a cell membrane. [2]

This filter removes all harmful substances but also removes some nutrients. Describe one benefit and one drawback of using this filter in a community where people have no other water source. [3]

Solutions