OCR GCSE Biology B (Twenty First Century)
OCR GCSE Biology B B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working? Exam Questions
Free OCR GCSE Biology B exam questions for B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working?, with a mark scheme for every pack. Covers type 1 and type 2 diabetes, kidney failure, dialysis, transplants, correcting eye defects and damage to the nervous system.
B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working? 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 B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working?
B5.6 looks at what happens when the systems studied in the rest of B5 go wrong, and how problems are treated. You need to compare the causes and treatments of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, explain how kidney failure is treated by dialysis or transplant, and describe how common eye defects are corrected. Damage to the brain and nervous system, and why it is hard to repair, may also be assessed. The topic draws together homeostasis in B5.4, the nervous system in B5.2 and lifestyle risk factors from B2.5. Examiners like comparing treatments and evaluating their benefits and drawbacks.
What you need to know
- Type 1 diabetes The pancreas produces little or no insulin, so blood glucose rises dangerously high. It is treated with insulin injections, along with monitoring diet and blood glucose.
- Type 2 diabetes Body cells no longer respond properly to insulin, or not enough is produced. Obesity is a major risk factor. It is treated with a carbohydrate-controlled diet, exercise and sometimes drugs.
- Kidney failure Failed kidneys cannot remove urea or balance water and ions. Dialysis uses a partially permeable membrane and dialysis fluid with the same concentration of useful substances as normal blood, so urea and excess ions diffuse out.
- Kidney transplants A transplant removes the need for dialysis, but needs a matched donor and lifelong immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection.
- Eye defects In short sight (myopia) light focuses in front of the retina, corrected with concave (diverging) lenses. In long sight (hyperopia) it focuses behind the retina, corrected with convex (converging) lenses. Laser surgery can reshape the cornea.
- Nervous system damage Damage to the brain or spinal cord is difficult to treat because neurones do not easily regenerate and the tissue is delicate and hard to reach.
Common mistakes in B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working?
- Saying type 2 diabetes means no insulin is produced. In type 2 cells become resistant to insulin.
- Writing that dialysis fluid contains no glucose. It contains glucose and ions at normal blood concentrations so they are not lost.
- Confusing which lens corrects which defect. Short sight needs a concave lens; long sight needs a convex lens.
- Stating that a transplanted kidney is never rejected once matched. Matching reduces risk, but immunosuppressants are still needed.
- Saying diabetes is caused by eating sugar. Type 1 is not caused by diet; type 2 is linked to obesity and lifestyle.
Try three B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working? exam-style questions
1. State the type of lens used to correct short sight. (1 mark)
Show the mark scheme answer
Concave (diverging) lens.
2. A patient has dialysis for 4 hours, 3 times a week. Calculate the total hours of dialysis in a year of 52 weeks. (2 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
4 x 3 = 12 hours per week; 12 x 52 = 624 hours.
3. Compare the treatment of kidney failure by dialysis with a kidney transplant. (4 marks)
Show the mark scheme answer
Dialysis is available without waiting for a donor; but takes many hours each week and restricts diet and lifestyle; a transplant gives a long-term cure and normal lifestyle; but needs a matched donor, surgery and lifelong immunosuppressants that increase infection risk.
B5.6 What can happen when organs and control systems stop working? FAQs
What does OCR GCSE Biology B B5.6 cover?
It covers diabetes, kidney failure and its treatment, correcting eye defects with lenses and surgery, and why damage to the nervous system is hard to treat.
Which paper is B5.6 examined in?
J257 has two papers at each tier, Breadth in Biology and Depth in Biology, and content from any chapter, including B5, can be assessed on either one. Expect it to be linked to ideas about science and to other chapters.
How should I compare treatments in B5.6?
For each treatment give how it works, at least one advantage and one disadvantage, then make a direct comparison using words like whereas, and finish with a judgement if asked to evaluate.
