AQA A Level Biology (7402) · Paper 2 and Paper 3
AQA A Level Biology 3.6 Responding to Change Exam Questions
Free AQA A Level Biology exam questions by topic for 3.6 Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers receptors, control of heart rate, nerve impulses, synapses, muscle contraction and homeostasis.
3.6 Responding to Change exam questions by subtopic
9 question packs covering every part of the specification, with thousands of real past exam questions between them. Do not stop after a few: answer as many as you can, without notes, and mark each one with the mark scheme. The more questions you do, the more quickly you will spot how examiners ask about each idea.
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About AQA A Level Biology topic 3.6
Topic 3.6 is the largest topic in Paper 2. It covers how organisms detect stimuli, how nerve impulses are generated and passed across synapses, how muscles contract, and how blood glucose and blood water potential are kept within narrow limits.
What you need to know for 3.6 Responding to Change
- 3.6.1.1 Taxes, kineses and tropisms, the role of IAA in plant growth, and the simple reflex arc.
- 3.6.1.2 The Pacinian corpuscle and generator potentials, and rods and cones in the retina: sensitivity, visual acuity and retinal convergence.
- 3.6.1.3 Myogenic heart beat controlled by the SAN, AVN, bundle of His and Purkyne tissue, and how the medulla uses chemoreceptors and baroreceptors to change heart rate.
- 3.6.2.1 Resting potential, action potentials, the all-or-nothing principle, refractory period, and the factors affecting speed of conduction, including saltatory conduction in myelinated axons.
- 3.6.2.2 Cholinergic synapses, spatial and temporal summation, inhibitory synapses, neuromuscular junctions, and the effects of drugs on synapses.
- 3.6.3 Skeletal muscle structure, the sliding filament theory, the roles of calcium ions, ATP and phosphocreatine, and slow and fast twitch fibres.
- 3.6.4.1 Homeostasis and negative feedback.
- 3.6.4.2 Control of blood glucose by insulin, glucagon and adrenaline, the second messenger model, glycogenesis, glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, and type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- 3.6.4.3 Control of blood water potential: osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus, ADH from the posterior pituitary, the nephron and the loop of Henle.
Common mistakes in 3.6 Responding to Change
- Saying sodium ions are pumped in during depolarisation. Voltage-gated sodium ion channels open and sodium ions diffuse in.
- Describing the refractory period only as a rest. It means action potentials are discrete, travel in one direction and have a maximum frequency.
- Getting IAA backwards. In shoots it moves to the shaded side and causes cell elongation, so the shoot bends towards light.
- Mixing up glycogenesis, glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis.
- Saying ADH changes the amount of urea. It adds aquaporins to the collecting duct, so more water is reabsorbed by osmosis.
Try three 3.6 Responding to Change exam-style questions
1. Explain how a resting potential is maintained in a neurone. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
The sodium-potassium pump actively transports three sodium ions out for every two potassium ions in; the membrane is more permeable to potassium ions, which diffuse out; so the inside is more negative than the outside.
2. Explain why rods give lower visual acuity than cones. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Several rods connect to a single bipolar neurone; so the brain cannot tell apart light from separate points.
3. Describe how ADH reduces the volume of urine produced. (3 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
ADH binds to receptors on cells of the collecting duct; more aquaporins are inserted into the membrane; more water is reabsorbed by osmosis.
Want more? Every pack above has many more past exam questions on responding to change.
3.6 Responding to Change FAQs
What does AQA A Level Biology topic 3.6 cover?
Topic 3.6, Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments, covers receptors, control of heart rate, nerve impulses, synapses, muscle contraction and homeostasis.
Which AQA A Level Biology paper is topic 3.6 on?
Topic 3.6 is examined in Paper 2, which covers topics 3.5 to 3.8. Paper 3 can also include questions on any topic, so it is worth revising for that paper too.
Are these AQA A Level Biology 3.6 exam questions free?
Yes. Every question pack and mark scheme on this page is a free PDF download, with no sign-up needed.
