OCR GCSE Biology B (Twenty First Century)
OCR GCSE Biology B B2.6 How can we treat disease? Exam Questions
Free OCR GCSE Biology B exam questions for B2.6 How can we treat disease?, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers medicines, antibiotics, antivirals, drug discovery and testing, clinical trials, placebos, double-blind trials, treating cardiovascular disease and cancer.
B2.6 How can we treat disease? exam questions
2 question packs of real past exam questions, each with its mark scheme. Do not stop after a few: answer as many as you can without notes, then mark every answer 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 OCR GCSE Biology B B2.6 How can we treat disease?
B2.6 completes Keeping Healthy by looking at how diseases are treated and how new medicines are developed and tested. You need to know what antibiotics and other drugs do, the stages of drug development from discovery through preclinical testing to clinical trials, and why placebos and double-blind trials are used. Treatment options for cardiovascular disease, from lifestyle changes and statins to stents and surgery, are also included. It draws on pathogens and immunity from earlier in B2. Examiners favour questions on trial design, evaluating treatments using data, and weighing benefits against risks.
What you need to know
- Antibiotics and antivirals Antibiotics kill bacteria or stop them growing but do not affect viruses. Antivirals slow viral replication. Painkillers relieve symptoms but do not kill pathogens.
- Drug discovery Many drugs were first found in plants or microorganisms, such as penicillin from mould. Modern drugs are often designed to target a specific molecule.
- Preclinical testing New drugs are tested on cells, tissues and then animals to check toxicity, efficacy and dosage before human use.
- Clinical trials Low doses are first given to small numbers of healthy volunteers to check safety, then to patients to find the optimum dose and effectiveness, then to large numbers of patients.
- Trial design A placebo group allows comparison with no active drug. In a double-blind trial neither patients nor doctors know who has the drug, removing bias.
- Cardiovascular disease treatments Options include lifestyle change, statins to reduce blood cholesterol, drugs to lower blood pressure, stents to keep arteries open, bypass surgery and transplants. Each has benefits and risks.
Common mistakes in B2.6 How can we treat disease?
- Saying antibiotics can cure colds. Colds are caused by viruses, which antibiotics do not affect.
- Confusing placebo with a different drug. A placebo looks like the medicine but contains no active ingredient.
- Describing double-blind as the patient not knowing. In double-blind trials the doctors also do not know.
- Saying animal testing proves a drug is safe for humans. It indicates toxicity but humans may react differently, so clinical trials are still needed.
- Stating that statins unblock arteries. Statins lower cholesterol; stents physically hold arteries open.
Try three B2.6 How can we treat disease? exam-style questions
1. Explain why a doctor will not prescribe antibiotics for flu. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Flu is caused by a virus; antibiotics do not affect viruses.
2. In a trial, 12 out of 400 patients on a new drug had side effects. Calculate the percentage. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
12 / 400 x 100; = 3%.
3. Explain why new drugs are tested in double-blind trials that include a placebo. (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
The placebo group shows any effect not caused by the drug (placebo effect); results from the drug group can be compared with this; doctors and patients do not know who receives the drug; this removes bias in reporting or assessing results.
B2.6 How can we treat disease? FAQs
What does OCR GCSE Biology B B2.6 cover?
It covers how antibiotics and other medicines work, how new drugs are discovered and tested in clinical trials, and treatments for cardiovascular disease.
Which paper is B2.6 examined in?
J257 has two papers at each tier, Breadth in Biology and Depth in Biology, and content from any chapter, including B2, can be assessed on either one. Expect it to be linked to ideas about science and to other chapters.
What should I learn about clinical trials?
Learn the order of testing, why each stage is done, and the meaning of placebo, double-blind, efficacy, toxicity and dosage, so you can evaluate a trial described in a question.
