1 The diagram shows a root hair cell from a lemon tree and some soil particles. root hair cell air spaces soil particle (a) (i) State one feature, visible in the diagram, which shows that a root hair cell is a plant cell. … [1] (ii) Describe how mineral ions pass from the soil into the root hair cell. … … … … … … [4] (b) The lemon tree has grown in the same soil for many years so the soil now lacks magnesium. Describe and explain the effect on the lemon tree of a lack of magnesium. … … … [2] [Total: 7]

1(a)(i) cell wall or large / central / sap + vacuole ; 1 1(a)(ii) any four from: dissolved in water ; through the cell wall ; carriers in membrane ; through the cell / partially permeable AW + membrane ; by active transport / diffusion ; correct reference to concentration gradient ; using energy (for active transport) ; from (aerobic) respiration (for active transport) ; 4 1(b) yellowing / chlorosis / reduced growth / cannot photosynthesise / make glucose / starch / sugar / carbohydrate ; deficiency of chlorophyll ; 2

5 The diagram shows villi in the small intestine. Outline the processes by which named molecules are absorbed from the contents of the small intestine into the blood. … … … … … … … … … … … … [6]

5 1 water + osmosis / diffusion ; 2 glucose / amino acids / fatty acids / glycerol + diffusion ; 3 glucose + active transport ; 4 correct ref. to a concentration gradient ; 5 correct ref. to energy requirement ; 6 through + membrane / epithelium ; 7 tissue fluid / capillaries / plasma ; 6 To outline the absorption processes, you need to name specific molecules (water, glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, glycerol) and state their absorption mechanisms (osmosis, diffusion, active transport), mentioning the role of concentration gradients, energy, passage through membranes, and entry into capillaries/tissue fluid.

9 (a) Outline the importance of a seed being provided with a good supply of oxygen. … … … … … … [3] (b) Outline the importance of a plant being provided with a good supply of water. … … … … … … … … … … … … … [7] [Total: 10]

8(a) externally administered / taken ; chemical / substance ; modifies / affects / alters AW + metabolism / chemical reactions in the body ; 3 8(b) named drug ; 1 any six from … reason for taking it ; tolerance / increased dosage for same effect ; dependence / addiction ; withdrawal ; crime / drink driving ; funding the habit / financial implications ; social effects, e.g. effect on family / social acceptability ; any two adverse effects on health of addict from drug / means of taking it ;; Max 6 6 9(a) aerobic + respiration ; energy released AW ; germination / radicle / plumule ; 3 9(b) water potential gradient AW ; intake + by osmosis / diffusion ; root hair ; turgor ; prevents wilting AW ; reactant / use in AW + photosynthesis ; transpiration ; cooling effect on plant ; solvent / dissolved ; sucrose / amino acids + in phloem ; mineral ions or named + in xylem ; 7

1 The tissue of a peeled potato tuber is composed of many similar cells. You are going to investigate the effect of varying concentrations of sucrose solution on some potato tissue. You are provided with some potato tissue, distilled water (A) and three sucrose solutions (B, C and D). Solutions B, C and D are different concentrations of sucrose solution. • Label four test-tubes A, B, C and D. • Cut four strips from the potato each measuring 5 mm × 5 mm in cross-section and 80 mm long. This is their starting length, which must be identical for each strip. • Place one strip in each of the four test-tubes. • Add solution A to the test-tube labelled A so that it covers the potato strip. • Do the same for test-tube B with solution B, test-tube C with solution C and test-tube D with solution D. (a) (i) Record the time. … • Leave the potato strips in the solutions for 25–35 minutes. Continue with Questions 1(b) and 2 while you are waiting. • After the strips have been in solutions A, B, C and D for 25–35 minutes, pour away the solutions. Remove the strips and place them on a white tile, making sure that you can identify each strip. Record the time. time strips were removed from solutions … Calculate how long the strips had been left in the solutions, to the nearest minute. total time that strips were left in the solutions … minutes [2] (ii) Describe what you did to make sure that, when you removed the strips from the test- tubes, you knew which potato strip had been in which solution. … … [1] (iii) Measure the lengths of strips A, B, C and D. Record the lengths of each strip at the start and end of the investigation and calculate the changes in length. Enter your results in the table. solution start length / mm end length / mm change in length / mm flexibility of strip A B C D [5] (iv) Gently bend each strip to see how flexible it is. The more easily it bends, the more flexible it is. Decide the order of decreasing flexibility and use the scale to record this in the table. Record the most flexible strip as ++++ and the least flexible as +. most flexible/bendable ++++ +++ ++ least flexible/bendable + [2] (v) Describe and explain the changes in length and flexibility in the potato strip that had been in solution A. … … … … … … … … [3] (vi) Identify two problems with the method used in this investigation that might have led to unreliable conclusions. Suggest a way in which each could have been improved to make the results more reliable. problem 1 … improvement 1 … … problem 2 … improvement 2 … … [4] (b) Another student investigated the effect of varying concentrations of sucrose solution on some potato tissue by measuring changes in the mass of the tissue. He placed five pieces of potato tissue, each with a mass of 5 g, in five separate test-tubes. The test-tubes contained either distilled water or one of four concentrations of sucrose solution. Later he poured away the solutions. (i) State two factors, apart from the mass of tissue, that should have been kept constant when using this method. 1 … 2 … [2] When he removed the pieces of tissue from the test-tubes, he carefully dried them on a paper towel. (ii) Explain why it was important to dry them. … … … … [2] The table shows the measurements at the end of the investigation. sucrose concentration / mol per dm3 mass at end of investigation / g 0.0 5.7 0.2 5.2 0.4 4.6 0.5 4.3 0.8 3.3 (iii) Construct a line graph of the data in the table on the grid below. Join your points with ruled, straight lines. [4] (iv) Use your graph to determine the concentration of sucrose which will produce no change in mass. concentration … [2] (v) Describe the method you used to determine this concentration of sucrose. … … … [1] [Total: 28]

1(a)(i) start and end times recorded ; between 25–35 minutes + agrees with times given ; 2 1(a)(ii) labelled tile / surface they were placed on ; place in labelled container ; 1 1(a)(iii) all start lengths entered + all 80 ; all end lengths recorded ; A length > C length ; B and D lengths between A and C ; 5 change in length all correctly calculated and with ±to indicate gain or loss ; 1(a)(iv) all flexibilities recorded using symbols from key ; A least flexible + C most flexible ; 2 1(a)(v) strip longer ; less / least flexible ; water moved in / correct reference to osmosis ; cells larger / more turgid or increase in turgor pressure ; 3 1(a)(vi) problem improvement difficult to cut correct sizes / make small measurements ; use corer / chipper / use sharper or finer blade ; not much change in lengths ; more time / longer strips ; only one strip assessed / experiment only done once ; use more strips / repeat + calculate mean ; flexibility subjective / difficult to assess ; hang masses on strip / leave for longer ; time in solutions different ; time each strip separately ; potato strips floated ; not fully immersed in solution AW / weigh down potato strips ; 4 1(b)(i) temperature ; volume of solutions ; time + investigation / pieces of potato in solution ; same potato / variety of potato ; surface area (of potato) ; 2 1(b)(ii) remove excess / surface water or solution ; only mass of potato tissue weighed ; 2 1(b)(iii) sucrose on x-axis + fully labelled with units ; linear scales + origin labelled + good use of grid ; all points plotted correctly ; straight lines connecting plotted points + touching each point ; 4 1(b)(iv) 0.27 ± 0.01 ; mol per dm3 ; 2 1(b)(v) reference to original mass of 5 g as point to interpolate line from y- axis AW ; 1

2 A piece of plant tissue is transferred from a beaker of water into a concentrated sugar solution. Which row describes what happens? movement of water volume of tissue cells A into the cells decreases B into the cells increases C out of the cells decreases D out of the cells increases

Answer: C To earn the mark, a student must correctly identify that water moves out of the cells and that the volume of the tissue cells decreases when placed in a concentrated sugar solution.

Cambridge O Level Biology · 5090

O-Level Biology (5090) Movement into and out of cells past paper questions

Revise O-Level Biology (5090) — Movement into and out of cells with real Cambridge past-paper questions grouped by topic, each shown with its marking scheme. Working one topic at a time targets exactly the skill each question tests.

75 free questions from 2017–2021, each with its marking scheme. Open the full topical bank to filter by subtopic, paper, and year.

Movement into and out of cells in O-Level Biology 5090 exams, 2020–2025

Across 2020–2025, Movement into and out of cells accounted for 88 questions worth 441 marks in Cambridge O Level Biology (5090) papers.

By year
Year	Questions	Marks
2020	16	79
2021	17	81
2022	13	41
2023	17	141
2024	12	50
2025	13	49

Most-tested subtopics

3.1 Diffusion and osmosis360 marks
3.2 Active transport55 marks

Appears in

Paper 1 · 61 qs
Paper 2 · 19 qs
Paper 3 · 6 qs
Paper 4 · 2 qs

All most-tested Biology topics

2021 May/Jun · Paper 2 · Q1 · 7 marks
Marking scheme
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2021 May/Jun · Paper 2 · Q5 · 6 marks
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2021 Oct/Nov · Paper 2 · Q9 · 10 marks
Marking scheme
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2021 Oct/Nov · Paper 3 · Q1 · 28 marks
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2021 May/Jun · Paper 1 · Q2 · 1 mark
Marking scheme
Mark scheme — 2021 Paper 1 Q2
Answer: C
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