Unit 1 - Digestion Past Paper Questions

Q1.

The diagram shows part of the gut wall of an animal.

(a)

(i)

Name the structure labelled X.

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(ii)

Describe the function of the layer labelled Y.

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(1)

(2)

(b)

Describe and explain how two features shown in the diagram increase the rate of
absorption of digested food.
Feature 1
Description
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
Explanation
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Feature 2
Description
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Explanation
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(4)
(Total 7 marks)

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Q2.

In the early twentieth century, Hopkins carried out an experiment to test the hypothesis
that small amounts of vitamins are essential in the diet.
In this experiment, Hopkins fed two groups of rats, A and B, on a diet containing starch,
sucrose, protein, fat and mineral salts. These substances were all pure. To the daily diet of
3
one group he added 3 cm of untreated milk. After 18 days, he exchanged the diets of the
two groups. His results are shown in the graph.
90

G ro u p A
80

M ean
m a ss o f
ra ts / g

70
G ro u p B
60

50

40
0

10
K ey

20
30
40
T im e fro m s ta r t o f e x p e rim e n t / d a y s
N o m ilk a d d e d to d ie t

50

M ilk a d d e d to d ie t

(a)

What is the dependent variable in Hopkins experiment? Give a reason for your answer.
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(b)

As a control, Hopkins exchanged the diets of the two groups after 18 days.
Explain the purpose of this control.
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(c)

Hopkins was testing the hypothesis that milk contains a substance that is essential for
growth but is required only in small quantities.
A second hypothesis is that untreated milk contains bacteria which grow and reproduce in
the small intestine, where they increase the efficiency and rate of digestion.
Explain whether or not this second hypothesis could be an explanation for the results that
Hopkins obtained.
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(2)

(1)

(2)
(Total 5 marks)

Q3.

The table shows some information about the small intestines of a mammal and a reptile of
similar size and age.

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Time taken for food to pass

through small intestine /
hours
Length of small intestine /
cm
Total surface area of small
2
intestine / cm
Efficiency of absorption as
percentage of food eaten
(a)

Mammal
5

Reptile
150

48

25

576

90

54

49

(i)

Describe two features of a mammals small intestine which might account for the
difference in surface area.
1. .......................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
2. .......................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(ii)

The absorption efficiency of the reptile is similar to that of the mammal. Use the
information in the table to explain why.
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(2)

(1)

(b)

Describe how sugars are absorbed from the small intestine into the blood of a mammal.
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(4)
(Total 7 marks)

Q4. A test for glucose relies on two enzyme-controlled reactions.

oxidase
glucose + oxygen + water glucose

gluconic acid + hydrogen peroxide
hydrogen peroxide + colourless substance peroxidase

water + coloured substance
(a)

Describe how you could use Benedicts reagent to test a urine sample for the presence of
glucose.
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(b)

Suggest two reasons why a test for glucose in urine based on glucose oxidase and
peroxidase might be preferred to one using Benedicts reagent.
1 ..................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
2 ..................................................................................................................................
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(2)

(2)
(Total 4 marks)

Q5.

(a)

Starch is an important storage substance in plants. Give two features of starch molecules

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and explain how each enables starch to act as an efficient storage substance.
1
Feature..............................................................................................................
Explanation.......................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
2
Feature..............................................................................................................
Explanation.......................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
(2)

Glucose syrup is used in the production of many human foods. It is produced from starch in a
series of enzyme-controlled reactions.
(b) One way of monitoring the progress of these reactions is to measure the amount of
reducing sugar produced.
(i)
Describe a chemical test that would enable you to show that glucose syrup
contained reducing sugar.
...........................................................................................................................
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...........................................................................................................................
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(ii)

Suggest how you could use this test to compare the amount of reducing sugar in
two solutions.
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(4)

(c)

The progress of these reactions can also be monitored by finding the dextrose equivalent
(DE).
Dextrose equivalent can be calculated from the formula:
number of glycosidic bonds hydrolised 100
DE =
number of glycosidic bonds present in starch
Explain why pure glucose obtained from starch has a dextrose equivalent of 100.
.....................................................................................................................................
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(1)
(Total 7 marks)

Q6.

10

Read the following passage.

If you are lactose intolerant, drinking cows milk will make you ill. This is the case for about
half of the worlds adult human population. These people lack an enzyme called lactase.
Lactase is a digestive enzyme normally found on the plasma membranes of epithelial cells in
the small intestine. The enzyme hydrolyses lactose, the sugar found in milk, breaking it down
to the two six-carbon sugars, galactose and -glucose. These separate sugars are then
absorbed from the intestine, a process which involves active transport.
In people who are lactose intolerant, lactose is not digested. Instead it stays in the intestine
where it affects the water potential of the intestinal contents. This results in diarrhoea.
Bacteria in the intestine ferment the lactose, producing carbon dioxide, methane and other
gases. It is the build up of these gases which produce the other embarrassing symptoms of
lactose intolerance - loud abdominal rumblings and lots of wind.
Use information from the passage and your own knowledge to answer the following questions.
(a) The diagram shows a lactose molecule.

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O
H H

H O

H O

(i)

Use the diagram to explain why lactose is described as a disaccharide

...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(ii)

On the diagram, draw a ring round the chemical bond which is hydrolysed by
lactase

(iii)

The molecular formula of galactose is C6H12O6. What is the molecular formula of

lactose
...........................................................................................................................

(1)

(1)

(2)

(b)

Galactose and glucose are absorbed by epithelial cells lining the small intestine but some
other monosaccharides are not. Use your knowledge of active transport to explain this
difference
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(c)

Diarrhoea involves the production of large amounts of watery faeces. Explain the link
between the presence of lactose in the intestine and diarrhoea.
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(2)

(3)

(d)

The bacteria in the intestine are prokaryotic cells. The epithelial cells which line the small
intestine are eukaryotic cells. Describe the ways in which prokaryotic cells and
eukaryotic cells differ
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(6)
(Total 15 marks)

Q7.S In an investigation, the storage tissue in a plant root was tested for the presence of reducing
sugar. Four cylinders were cut from the plant root with a cork borer. Each cylinder was exactly
3 cm long.
These cylinders were washed thoroughly.
3
They were then treated as shown in the table, before being put into 5 cm of distilled water in a
test tube.
After 5 minutes, a sample of the water from each tube was tested with Benedicts solution. The
results are shown in the table.
Tube
Treatment of cylinders of root
Colour after testing with
Benedicts solution
A
Cut into 5 equal lengths
Greenish yellow
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B
C
D
(a)

Cut into 10 equal lengths

Cut into 15 equal lengths
Uncut

Reddish yellow
Brick red
Blue

(i)

Explain the results for tubes A, B and C.

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(ii)

Explain the result for tube D.

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(2)

(1)

(b)

To estimate the concentration in each sample, standard solutions of reducing sugar were
used.
Describe how standard solutions could be used to estimate the concentration of reducing
sugar in the samples.
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(c)

Tube D was placed in a bath of boiling water. After 5 minutes another sample of water
was removed from the tube and tested with Benedicts solution.
What result would you expect? Explain your answer.
Result: .........................................................................................................................
Explanation: ................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
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(d)

In autumn the shoots of the plants die, leaving the root as a storage organ in the soil. New
shoots grow from the storage organ in spring.
When the storage organs were tested after the shoots had died in late autumn, they were
found to contain large amounts of storage polysaccharide and very little reducing sugar.
When tested in spring as the new shoots were developing, much higher concentrations of
reducing sugar were found.
Suggest an explanation for the high concentration of reducing sugar in the spring.
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(3)

(2)

(2)
(Total 10 marks)

Q8. (a)

The graph shows the energy changes which take place during a chemical reaction.

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R e a c ta n ts
E n e rg y

P ro d u c ts
R e a c tio n tim e

(i)

Use the graph to explain what is meant by the term activation energy.
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(1)

(ii)

Draw a curve on the graph to show the energy changes which would take place if
the same chemical reaction were catalysed by an enzyme.
(2)

The flow chart shows the way in which fructose is produced from starch in the food industry.
s ta rc h
100C

- a m y la s e

m o d ifie d sta rc h ,
d e x trin s a n d
g lu c o s e
g lu c o a m y la s e

55 C
g lu c o s e
50 C

g lu c o s e is o m e ra s e

g lu c o s e a n d
fru c to s e
(b)

Describe a biochemical test which could be used to show that reducing sugars were
produced in the first stage of this process.
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(2)

(c)

Acid could have been used in place of the -amylase in the first stage of this process.
Suggest why:
(i)
acid could have been used;
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...........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)

acid was not used.

...........................................................................................................................
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(1)

(d)

In the laboratory, the optimal conditions for bacterial -amylase are a pH of 7 and a
temperature of 80C.
In terms of your knowledge of the way in which enzymes work, explain why the rate of
reaction would change if:
(i)
the temperature fell by 10C;
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(2)

(ii)

the pH changed substantially.

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(3)
(Total 12 marks)

Q9.

10

15

20

Read the following passage.

Proteins have many different functions. These include catalysing chemical
reactions and transporting substances across membranes. Many of these functions
rely on the specific shape of their molecules. Molecules of a particular protein
always fold into the same shape.
Although different proteins have different shapes, they share a number of
structural features. They are formed from 20 different types of amino acid, each
containing the same four chemical elements. Unlike triglycerides, proteins are
polymers. Their chains are linear and never branched. The primary structure is
the term used to refer to the sequence of amino acids which makes up a particular
protein. These amino acids are linked by peptide bonds. The side-chains or
R-groups of different amino acids may form chemical bonds with each other. It
is these bonds which allow the formation of protein molecules with specific
tertiary shapes.
The amino acid sequences of over 100000 proteins are known but, so far, we only
know the tertiary structure of about 5000 of these. We have recently discovered
that the folding of polypeptide chains is controlled by a group of proteins called
chaperones. Chaperones bind to unfolded regions of polypeptide chains as they
are being synthesised and prevent them from binding to other proteins. Once
folded, the protein and chaperone separate allowing the chaperone to affect the
folding of more polypeptide chains.

Use information from the passage and your own knowledge to answer the following questions.
(a) (i)
What are the same four chemical elements found in all amino acids (line 7)?
...........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)

Explain why unlike triglycerides, proteins are polymers (lines 7 8).

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(2)

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(iii)

Glycogen is also a polymer. Explain how many different sorts of protein can be
produced but only one sort of glycogen.
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(2)

(b)

Describe two ways in which chaperones (line 17) are similar to enzymes.
1...................................................................................................................................
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2...................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................

(c)

(i)

Explain what causes molecules of a particular protein always to fold into the same
shape.
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...........................................................................................................................
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(ii)

Describe how molecular shape is important in explaining the way in which

enzymes may be affected by inhibitors.
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(2)

(2)

(6)
(Total 15 marks)

Q10. A tripeptide is made up of three amino acids. The diagram shows the molecular structure of a
tripeptide.
C H 3O
C H3O
C H 2O H
O
X
C
C
N
C
C
N
C
C
O H
H
H
H
H
H
(i)

Give the formula of the chemical group at position X on the molecule

.....................................................................................................................................

(ii)

Give one piece of evidence from the diagram that this molecule is made up from three
amino acids
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(1)

(1)
(Total 2 marks)

Q11. Sucrase is an enzyme. It hydrolyses a molecule of sucrose to give a molecule of glucose and a
molecule of fructose. This is shown in the equation.
sucrose + water sucrase
glucose + fructose
(a)

The molecular formula of fructose is C6H12O6. What is the molecular formula of sucrose?
.....................................................................................................................................
(2)

A solution containing the enzyme sucrase was added to a sucrose solution. The mixture was
incubated in a test tube at 40C for 1 hour. Sample A was removed from the tube at the start.
Sample B was removed after 1 hour.
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(b)

A biuret test was carried out on sample A. It gave a positive result.

(i)
Describe what you would expect to see if the biuret test gave a positive result.
..........................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................
(1)

(ii)

Explain why the biuret test gave a positive result with sample A.
..........................................................................................................................
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(1)

(c)

Describe how you would use a biochemical test to show that sample B contained
reducing sugar.
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(2)
(Total 6 marks)

Q12. Insulin is a protein. It is made in the cells of the pancreas from a larger molecule called proinsulin. An enzyme breaks the pro-insulin into insulin and a short polypeptide.
This is shown in the diagram.

E nzym e
'c u t s '
h ere
S
A r g in in e

S
S

E nzym e
'c u t s ' h e r e

(a)

Name the type of monomer which forms insulin.

.....................................................................................................................................

(b)

Describe the result you would expect if the enzyme were tested with biuret reagent.
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................

(c)

If the amino acid arginine is replaced by glycine in a molecule of pro-insulin, insulin will
not be produced. Explain why the enzyme will no longer break down pro-insulin.
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(1)

(1)

(3)
(Total 5 marks)

Q13. (a)

A protein is formed from 300 amino acids. The diagrams show the primary, secondary
and tertiary structures of this protein.

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P rim a ry s tr u c tu re . L e n g th = 3 0 0 n m

S e c o n d a ry s tru c tu r e . L e n g th = 4 5 n m

T e rtia ry s tru c tu r e . L e n g th = 8 .6 n m

(i)

Explain what causes the secondary structure to differ in length from the primary
structure.
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(ii)

Explain what is meant by the tertiary structure of a protein.

...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(1)

(1)

(iii) Heating may affect the tertiary structure of a protein. Explain how.
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(2)

(b)

The first step in investigating the primary structure of a protein is to break it into shorter
lengths with enzymes. The table shows some of the enzymes used and the position of the
peptide bonds they break.
P o s itio n o f p e p tid e b o n d th a t e n z y m e b r e a k s
E n zym e
F ir s t a m in o a c id
S e c o n d a m in o a c id
T r y p s in
C h y m o try p s in
V 8 p ro te a s e

L y s o r A rg

any

P he , T rp o r T y r

any

G lu

any

The diagram shows a polypeptide chain. The sequence of amino acids should be read
from left to right.

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11

Lys

Val

A rg

S er

Lys
A la
Phe

Val
T rp

Ile

Ile

G lu

Val

P ro

Lys

(i)

How many amino acid fragments will be produced from this polypeptide if it is
incubated with a mixture of trypsin and V8 protease?
...........................................................................................................................

(ii)

Explain why trypsin and chymotrypsin break peptide bonds between different
amino acids.
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(1)

(3)
(Total 8 marks)

Q14. The diagram represents an enzyme molecule and three other molecules that could combine with
it.
A
A c tiv e
s ite

C
E nzym e
(a)

Which molecule is the substrate for the enzyme? Give a reason for your answer.
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................

(b)

Use the diagram to explain how a non-competitive inhibitor would decrease the rate of
the reaction catalysed by this enzyme.
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(c)

Lysozyme is an enzyme. A molecule of lysozyme is made up of 129 amino acid

molecules joined together. In the formation of its active site, the two amino acids that are
at positions 35 and 52 in the amino acid sequence need to be close together.

(1)

(3)

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12

(i)

Name the bonds that join amino acids in the primary structure.
...........................................................................................................................

(ii)

Suggest how the amino acids at positions 35 and 52 are held close together to form
the active site.
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................

(1)

(2)
(Total 7 marks)

Q15. The diagrams show five molecules A to E.

B
C H 2O H

R
H 2N

H
CO O H

O
H

O H

O H

O H
H

O H
D

H
H

O H

O H

O H

H
E

Which molecule, A to E,
(a) is one of the monomers which combine to form starch;
(b) contains peptide bonds:
(c) could be an oil;
(d) is one of the molecules that form a triglyceride?

....................
....................
....................
....................
(Total 4 marks)

Q16. Grasses store carbohydrate as fructans, which are polymers of a monosaccharide called fructose.
The diagram shows the structural formula of each of two fructose molecules.
H O C H 2 O
O H
H O C H 2 O
O H

O H

H
C H 2O H

O H
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O H

C H 2O H
O H

H
13

(a)

(i)

Draw a box round the parts of the two fructose molecules that would be removed
when the two molecules are joined together.

(ii)

Name the process in which monosaccharides join together.

...........................................................................................................................

(iii)

How many carbon atoms does a molecule of fructose contain?

...........................................................................................................................

(1)

(1)

(1)

(b)

The table shows the percentage of carbohydrates in the dry mass of a sample of young
grass.
Carbohydrate
Content of dry mass of
grass sample / %
Monosaccharides &
disaccharides
9
Fructans
18
Cellulose
25
Other polysaccharides
21
(i)

The sample of young grass contains 80% water.

Calculate the mass of cellulose in 1 kg of this grass. Show your working.
.................. g
(2)

(ii)

Cellulose, is a constituent of the cell walls of the grass

Explain how the structure of cellulose molecules gives strength to the cell walls
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(2)
(Total 7 marks)

Q17. Ethylene glycol is a substance used in car anti-freeze. If it is accidentally swallowed it enters the
liver cells where it is converted to poisonous oxalic acid. Ethanol inhibits the production of
oxalic acid and can be used to treat patients who have swallowed anti-freeze.
In an investigation, the rate of reaction of an enzyme that makes oxalic acid was measured with
and without ethanol present. The graph shows the results.
W ith o u t e th a n o l
W ith e th a n o l
R a te o f
re a c tio n

X
E th y le n e g ly c o l c o n c e n tra tio n

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14

(i)

Increasing the concentration of ethylene glycol above X without ethanol present does not
increase the rate of the reaction. Explain why.
.....................................................................................................................................
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.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................

(ii)

Use the information in the graph to explain how ethanol prevents oxalic acid production.
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................

(2)

(2)
(Total 4 marks)

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