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GCSE BiologyAQA, Edexcel and OCR

Health, disease and medicines: GCSE questions with answers

40 biology questions on health, disease and medicines. Pick your answer, then tap to see if you were right and why. Every answer comes from the Show Working science bank, checked against the GCSE content every board in England teaches.

Quiz yourself: 40 questions 4 6-mark questions

01 / Quiz yourselfTry it, then tap to check

Health, disease and medicines questions to try

Choose your answer before you open it. Then read why, so it sticks.

01 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which of these best describes good health?

  1. APhysical, mental and social wellbeing
  2. BSimply having no disease
  3. CBeing physically fit and strong
  4. DNever needing to take medicine
Show the answer

Answer: A Physical, mental and social wellbeing

Health means feeling well in body and mind, and being able to get on with life. It is more than just not having a disease: someone with no disease can still be in poor health.

Checked against World Health Organization: Constitution (definition of health)

02 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Apart from disease, which of these can also cause ill health?

  1. AEnough sleep
  2. BStress
  3. CA balanced diet
  4. DRegular exercise
Show the answer

Answer: B Stress

Diseases are a major cause of ill health, but not the only one. Diet, stress and difficult life situations can all harm physical and mental health.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 27

03 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What causes a communicable disease?

  1. ASmoking
  2. BA pathogen
  3. CA faulty gene
  4. DA poor diet
Show the answer

Answer: B A pathogen

A communicable (infectious) disease is caused by a pathogen and can be passed from one person, animal or plant to another. Heart disease, diabetes and most cancers cannot be caught.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 31

04 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What makes a disease non-communicable?

  1. AIt is always caused by lifestyle
  2. BIt never needs any treatment
  3. CIt is caused by a virus
  4. DIt cannot pass between people
Show the answer

Answer: D It cannot pass between people

A non-communicable disease is not passed from one person to another. Lifestyle can raise the risk of some of them, but genes and the environment play a part too, so “caused by lifestyle” is not what the word means.

Checked against Pearson Edexcel GCSE Biology (1BI0) specification, page 20

05 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which of these is not a type of pathogen?

  1. ABacterium
  2. BFungus
  3. CAntibody
  4. DVirus
Show the answer

Answer: C Antibody

Pathogens are microorganisms that cause disease. They can be viruses, bacteria, fungi or protists. Antibodies are proteins made by our own white blood cells to fight pathogens.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 31

06 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Why are people with untreated HIV more likely to catch other infections?

  1. AHIV stops antibiotics working
  2. BHIV kills their red blood cells
  3. CHIV makes their skin thinner
  4. DTheir immune system is damaged
Show the answer

Answer: D Their immune system is damaged

HIV attacks white blood cells, so the immune system gets weaker. A person with a weak immune system is more likely to suffer from other infections, such as tuberculosis.

Checked against NHS website: HIV and AIDS

07 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Infection with the virus HPV can lead to which disease?

  1. AType 2 diabetes
  2. BCystic fibrosis
  3. CCervical cancer
  4. DMalaria
Show the answer

Answer: C Cervical cancer

Some viruses living inside cells can trigger cancer. High-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer, which is why girls and boys are offered the HPV vaccine.

Checked against NHS website: HPV

08 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Severe, long-term physical illness can raise the risk of:

  1. ACystic fibrosis
  2. BDepression
  3. CColour blindness
  4. DMeasles
Show the answer

Answer: B Depression

Different types of disease can interact. Living with a serious or long-lasting physical illness can lead to depression and other mental illness.

Checked against NHS website: Causes of depression

09 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How are cold and flu viruses mainly spread?

  1. ABites from mosquitoes
  2. BDrinking contaminated water
  3. CEating undercooked meat
  4. DDroplets from coughs and sneezes
Show the answer

Answer: D Droplets from coughs and sneezes

Pathogens can be passed on by direct contact, in water or through the air. Cold and flu viruses travel in tiny droplets that infected people cough and sneeze out, and others breathe in.

Checked against NHS website: Flu

10 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

In malaria, what is the mosquito?

  1. AThe antigen
  2. BThe toxin
  3. CThe pathogen
  4. DThe vector
Show the answer

Answer: D The vector

Malaria is caused by a protist. Mosquitoes carry it from person to person when they bite, so the mosquito is the vector, not the pathogen. Malaria causes repeated bouts of fever and can kill.

Checked against NHS website: Malaria

11 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Spores of a fungal plant disease usually spread to other plants by:

  1. AWind and rain splash
  2. BMosquito bites
  3. CInfected blood
  4. DSexual contact
Show the answer

Answer: A Wind and rain splash

Fungal plant pathogens make tiny spores. The spores are carried to new plants by the wind or in splashing water, which is why these diseases spread quickly in wet, windy weather.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 32

12 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How do many bacteria make us feel ill?

  1. AThey release toxins
  2. BThey make antibodies
  3. CThey destroy our antigens
  4. DThey release antibiotics
Show the answer

Answer: A They release toxins

Bacteria can reproduce quickly in the body and many give out poisons called toxins that damage tissues. Viruses can only reproduce inside living cells, and they damage the cells as they do.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 31

13 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How is HIV spread?

  1. ASharing cups and plates
  2. BMosquito bites
  3. CCoughs and sneezes
  4. DSex or sharing needles
Show the answer

Answer: D Sex or sharing needles

HIV is passed on in body fluids: through sex without a condom, by drug users sharing needles, or from mother to baby. It is not spread by coughs, kissing, sharing cups or insect bites.

Checked against NHS website: HIV and AIDS

14 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How does the skin defend the body against pathogens?

  1. AIt makes antibodies
  2. BIt engulfs bacteria
  3. CIt makes memory cells
  4. DIt forms a barrier
Show the answer

Answer: D It forms a barrier

Unbroken skin is a tough physical barrier that pathogens cannot easily get through. This is a non-specific defence: it works the same way against every kind of pathogen.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 33

15 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What traps pathogens in the nose, trachea and bronchi?

  1. APlatelets
  2. BPlasma
  3. CCilia
  4. DMucus
Show the answer

Answer: D Mucus

Sticky mucus in the nose and airways traps pathogens and dust. Tiny hairs called cilia then sweep the mucus up to the throat, where it is swallowed. The cilia move the mucus; it is the mucus that traps.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 33

16 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What does the stomach make that kills most swallowed pathogens?

  1. ABile
  2. BAmylase
  3. CHydrochloric acid
  4. DAntibodies
Show the answer

Answer: C Hydrochloric acid

The stomach makes hydrochloric acid, which kills most of the pathogens we swallow in food and drink. It is a non-specific defence, not part of the immune system.

Checked against Pearson Edexcel GCSE Biology (1BI0) specification, page 21

17 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What is phagocytosis?

  1. AAntibodies sticking to antigens
  2. BRed blood cells carrying oxygen
  3. CWhite blood cells engulfing pathogens
  4. DPlatelets forming a blood clot
Show the answer

Answer: C White blood cells engulfing pathogens

In phagocytosis, a type of white blood cell called a phagocyte surrounds a pathogen, takes it inside and digests it. It is one of three ways white blood cells defend us, with making antibodies and antitoxins.

Checked against OpenStax Biology 2e, 42.1 Innate immune response

18 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which cells make antibodies?

  1. APlatelets
  2. BLymphocytes
  3. CPhagocytes
  4. DRed blood cells
Show the answer

Answer: B Lymphocytes

Lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) make antibodies. Each antibody has a shape that is complementary to one particular antigen, so it binds only to pathogens carrying that antigen.

Checked against OpenStax Biology 2e, 42.3 Antibodies

19 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What is an antigen?

  1. AA cell that engulfs pathogens
  2. BA drug that kills bacteria
  3. CA molecule on a pathogen’s surface
  4. DA protein made by white blood cells
Show the answer

Answer: C A molecule on a pathogen’s surface

Antigens are molecules, usually proteins, on the surface of a pathogen. White blood cells recognise them as foreign. Antibodies are the proteins our lymphocytes make to fit those antigens.

Checked against Pearson Edexcel GCSE Biology (1BI0) specification, page 21

20 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Why are you rarely ill twice from the same pathogen?

  1. AAntibiotics stay in your blood
  2. BThe pathogen becomes immune to you
  3. CMemory cells make antibodies quickly
  4. DAntigens stay in your blood to fight it
Show the answer

Answer: C Memory cells make antibodies quickly

After an infection, memory lymphocytes stay in the blood. If the same pathogen gets in again, they make the right antibodies much faster and in larger amounts, so the pathogen is destroyed before you feel ill.

Checked against Pearson Edexcel GCSE Biology (1BI0) specification, page 21

21 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What does a vaccine contain?

  1. AAntibodies from a donor
  2. BA dead or inactive pathogen
  3. CAntibiotics
  4. DLive white blood cells
Show the answer

Answer: B A dead or inactive pathogen

A vaccine contains small amounts of a dead or inactive form of a pathogen. White blood cells respond by making antibodies and memory cells, so if the real pathogen gets in later the body responds fast enough to prevent illness.

Checked against UKHSA Green Book, chapter 1: Immunity and how vaccines work (gov.uk)

22 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Why does vaccinating most of a population also protect people who are not vaccinated?

  1. AThe pathogen becomes a harmless virus
  2. BVaccinated people give off antibodies
  3. CThe pathogen spreads much less
  4. DUnvaccinated people make antibiotics
Show the answer

Answer: C The pathogen spreads much less

If a large proportion of people are immune, an infected person meets few people the pathogen can infect, so it cannot spread far. This protects those who cannot be vaccinated, such as young babies.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 33

23 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Why are antibiotics no use against a cold?

  1. AAntibiotics only treat fungi
  2. BColds are caused by protists
  3. CColds are caused by viruses
  4. DColds are caused by bacteria
Show the answer

Answer: C Colds are caused by viruses

Antibiotics kill bacteria (or stop them growing) inside the body without harming our own cells. They cannot kill viruses, which live inside our cells, so they do not help with colds or flu.

Checked against NHS website: Antibiotics

24 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Using antibiotics when they are not needed leads to more:

  1. AWhite blood cells in the blood
  2. BAntibiotic-resistant viruses
  3. CAntibodies against bacteria
  4. DAntibiotic-resistant bacteria
Show the answer

Answer: D Antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Every time antibiotics are used, any bacteria that happen to be resistant survive and multiply. Overusing antibiotics means resistant strains become more common, so doctors avoid prescribing them for mild or viral infections.

Checked against NHS website: Antibiotics

25 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Why are healthy volunteers given very low doses first?

  1. ATo set the price of the drug
  2. BTo check the drug is safe
  3. CTo see if it cures the disease
  4. DTo make them immune
Show the answer

Answer: B To check the drug is safe

Preclinical testing uses cells, tissues and then live animals. Clinical trials start with very low doses in healthy volunteers to check safety, then move to patients to find the best dose and see if the drug works.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 34

26 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What is a placebo in a drug trial?

  1. AA drug already tested on animals
  2. BA dummy treatment with no drug
  3. CA drug with fewer side effects
  4. DThe highest safe dose
Show the answer

Answer: B A dummy treatment with no drug

In a double blind trial some patients get a placebo, which looks the same but has no drug in it. Neither the patients nor the doctors know who has which until the end, so their expectations cannot affect the results.

Checked against NHS website: Clinical trials

27 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

When testing a new drug, what does efficacy mean?

  1. AHow cheap it is to make
  2. BHow quickly it is made
  3. CHow well the drug works
  4. DHow harmful the drug is
Show the answer

Answer: C How well the drug works

New drugs are tested for toxicity (is it harmful?), efficacy (does it work?) and dose (how much should be given?). Efficacy is about how well it works, which is not the same as efficiency.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 34

28 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which of these helps stop malaria spreading?

  1. ASleeping under mosquito nets
  2. BWashing hands often
  3. CBoiling drinking water
  4. DCovering coughs and sneezes
Show the answer

Answer: A Sleeping under mosquito nets

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes, so it is controlled by stopping people being bitten (nets, insect repellent) and by stopping mosquitoes breeding, for example by draining standing water. Hand washing and boiling water do not stop a vector.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 33

29 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which method helps prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections?

  1. ADrinking boiled water
  2. BUsing condoms
  3. CHaving a flu vaccine
  4. DTaking the contraceptive pill
Show the answer

Answer: B Using condoms

Condoms are a barrier, so they stop body fluids passing between partners and reduce the spread of STIs. The contraceptive pill prevents pregnancy but gives no protection against STIs.

Checked against NHS website: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

30 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which is a good way to stop a plant disease spreading through a crop?

  1. ACompost the infected leaves
  2. BRemove and destroy infected plants
  3. CPlant the crop closer together
  4. DWater the leaves more often
Show the answer

Answer: B Remove and destroy infected plants

Removing and destroying infected plants takes away the source of the pathogen. Growers also use chemicals such as fungicides, control insect vectors and rotate crops so pathogens do not build up.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 32

31 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How does washing your hands reduce the spread of disease?

  1. AIt makes antibodies
  2. BIt removes pathogens
  3. CIt kills viruses inside cells
  4. DIt builds memory cells
Show the answer

Answer: B It removes pathogens

Good hygiene, such as hand washing, removes pathogens before they reach new hosts. Isolating infected people (or animals) stops them passing the pathogen on.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 31

32 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What is a risk factor for a disease?

  1. ASomething that always causes it
  2. BA treatment for the disease
  3. CThe pathogen that causes it
  4. DSomething that makes it more likely
Show the answer

Answer: D Something that makes it more likely

Many non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease, many cancers, some lung and liver diseases and type 2 diabetes, are caused by several factors interacting. A risk factor raises the chance of getting a disease but does not make it certain.

Checked against AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, page 28

33 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Which risk factor is most strongly linked to type 2 diabetes?

  1. AA cold virus
  2. BSunburn
  3. CObesity
  4. DShort sight
Show the answer

Answer: C Obesity

Being overweight or obese is the biggest risk factor for type 2 diabetes. A healthy diet and regular exercise lower the risk.

Checked against NHS website: Type 2 diabetes

34 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Drinking too much alcohol for many years mainly damages which organ?

  1. AThe liver
  2. BThe lungs
  3. CThe bladder
  4. DThe eyes
Show the answer

Answer: A The liver

The liver breaks down alcohol. Heavy drinking over many years damages it and can lead to cirrhosis, where scar tissue replaces healthy liver tissue. Alcohol also affects the brain.

Checked against NHS website: Alcohol-related liver disease

35 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Smoking is the main cause of which disease?

  1. ALiver cirrhosis
  2. BType 1 diabetes
  3. CLung cancer
  4. DMalaria
Show the answer

Answer: C Lung cancer

Smoking causes most cases of lung cancer and damages the heart and blood vessels. A diet high in saturated fat, lack of exercise and smoking all raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Checked against NHS website: Lung cancer: causes

36 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Worldwide, which group of diseases causes the most deaths?

  1. ANon-communicable diseases
  2. BFood poisoning
  3. CInfectious diseases
  4. DSexually transmitted infections
Show the answer

Answer: A Non-communicable diseases

Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes cause most deaths worldwide. How common they are in a town, a country or the world depends a lot on lifestyle: diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking.

Checked against World Health Organization: Noncommunicable diseases fact sheet

37 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How does regular exercise lower the risk of cardiovascular disease?

  1. AIt narrows the arteries
  2. BIt makes the blood thicker
  3. CIt helps lower blood pressure
  4. DIt raises blood cholesterol
Show the answer

Answer: C It helps lower blood pressure

Regular exercise helps keep a healthy weight, lowers blood pressure and improves cholesterol levels. All of these lower the chance of fatty deposits narrowing the arteries.

Checked against NHS website: Cardiovascular disease

38 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

How do statins help prevent heart disease?

  1. AThey lower blood cholesterol
  2. BThey break down fatty deposits
  3. CThey hold arteries open
  4. DThey replace faulty valves
Show the answer

Answer: A They lower blood cholesterol

Statins lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which slows the build-up of fatty material in arteries. They do not remove deposits already there. They are usually taken long term and can have side effects such as muscle pain.

Checked against NHS website: Statins

39 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

What does a stent do?

  1. AHolds a narrowed artery open
  2. BDissolves blood clots
  3. CReplaces a faulty heart valve
  4. DLowers cholesterol in the blood
Show the answer

Answer: A Holds a narrowed artery open

A stent is a small mesh tube put inside a narrowed coronary artery to hold it open, so blood can reach the heart muscle again. It works quickly, but fitting it carries small risks such as bleeding or a clot.

Checked against NHS website: Coronary heart disease: treatment

40 / Health, disease and medicinesBoth tiers

Why must people with a heart transplant take drugs for life?

  1. ATo stop the heart being rejected
  2. BTo make the new heart beat faster
  3. CTo kill pathogens in the new heart
  4. DTo grow new blood vessels
Show the answer

Answer: A To stop the heart being rejected

A transplanted heart comes from a donor, so the immune system may attack it; drugs that suppress the immune system are needed for life. Mechanical valves last a long time but raise the risk of clots, so anticoagulants are needed for life.

Checked against NHS website: Aortic valve replacement

02 / Longer answersMarked by levels

6-mark questions on this topic

Write your answer first, on paper. Then open it and tick off the points you made. How 6-mark questions are marked.

6 marks / How a vaccine protects youBoth tiers

Explain how a vaccine stops a person becoming ill if they later catch the disease it protects against.

What a full answer includes
  • The vaccine contains a dead or inactive form of the pathogen (or part of it), which carries its antigens.
  • The antigens stimulate white blood cells called lymphocytes.
  • The lymphocytes make antibodies that are specific to (fit) those antigens.
  • Memory cells are also made, and they stay in the blood for a long time.
  • If the live pathogen enters the body later, the memory cells recognise its antigens.
  • Antibodies are made much faster and in much larger amounts than the first time.
  • The pathogens are destroyed before they can multiply enough to cause symptoms.
  • If most people are vaccinated, the pathogen cannot spread easily, which also protects people who are not vaccinated.

Model answer

A vaccine contains a dead or inactive form of the pathogen, or part of it. It cannot cause the disease, but it still carries the pathogen’s antigens. When the vaccine is injected, the antigens are detected by white blood cells called lymphocytes. The lymphocytes that can make the matching antibody are stimulated to make antibodies that are specific to these antigens. Some of the lymphocytes also become memory cells, which stay in the blood for many years. If the person later catches the real pathogen, the memory cells recognise its antigens straight away. This means the right antibodies are made much more quickly and in much larger amounts than the first time the body met the antigen. The antibodies stick to the antigens and help the white blood cells destroy the pathogens before they can multiply enough to make the person ill. When a large proportion of the population is vaccinated, the pathogen also struggles to spread, so even people who have not been vaccinated are less likely to catch it.

Where marks slip

Saying the vaccine contains antibodies, or that antibodies “kill” the pathogen on their own. The vaccine contains antigens, and it is the memory cells that give long-lasting protection by making antibodies quickly.

6 marks / Testing a new medicineBoth tiers

Describe how a possible new medicine is tested before doctors are allowed to prescribe it.

What a full answer includes
  • Preclinical testing is done in a laboratory on cells and tissues, and then on live animals.
  • The tests check for toxicity (whether it is harmful), efficacy (whether it works) and the right dose.
  • Clinical trials then start with very low doses given to a small number of healthy volunteers, to check that it is safe in people.
  • If it is safe, it is tested on patients who have the illness, to see whether it works and to find the optimum dose.
  • Patients are put into groups at random: some are given the new medicine and others a placebo or the existing treatment.
  • In a double-blind trial neither the patients nor the doctors know who has the medicine, so the results are not biased.
  • The results are checked by other scientists (peer review) before the medicine can be approved for use.

Model answer

First the medicine goes through preclinical testing in a laboratory. It is tested on human cells and tissues, and then on live animals, to check that it is not toxic, that it has an effect on the disease, and to get an idea of the dose. If it passes these tests it moves on to clinical trials in people. At first, very low doses are given to a small number of healthy volunteers to check that it is safe and to look for side effects. If it is safe, it is then tested on patients who have the illness. These trials check whether the medicine works, which is its efficacy, and find the optimum dose. The patients are split into groups at random. One group gets the new medicine and another gets a placebo, which looks the same but contains no drug, or the best existing treatment. The trial is usually double blind, so neither the patients nor the doctors know who is getting which, which stops their expectations affecting the results. Finally, the results are published and checked by other scientists before the medicine can be approved and prescribed.

Where marks slip

Mixing up preclinical and clinical testing. Preclinical is on cells, tissues and animals; clinical trials are on people. A placebo is a dummy with no drug in it, not a smaller dose.

6 marks / Treating coronary heart diseaseBoth tiers

A 58-year-old patient has coronary heart disease: fatty material has narrowed one of the coronary arteries, and the patient gets chest pain when walking uphill. The doctor offers two treatments: taking statins every day, or having a stent fitted in the narrowed artery. The patient smokes and eats a lot of fatty food.

Evaluate these two treatments for this patient, and give a conclusion.

What a full answer includes
  • Statins lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which slows down the build-up of fatty material in the arteries.
  • Statins need no operation, but they must be taken every day for life, can have side effects and do not remove the fatty material already there.
  • A stent is a small mesh tube that holds the narrowed coronary artery open, so more blood reaches the heart muscle straight away.
  • Fitting a stent needs a procedure, which carries risks such as bleeding, infection or a blood clot, and the artery can narrow again.
  • A stent only treats the narrowed section, so fatty material can still build up in other arteries.
  • Stopping smoking and eating less fatty food would help with either treatment and have no side effects, but they rely on the patient changing habits.
  • A justified conclusion, for example: a stent to relieve the pain quickly, together with statins and lifestyle changes to stop the disease getting worse.

Model answer

Statins are drugs that lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, which slows down the build-up of fatty material in the coronary arteries. An advantage is that no operation is needed. However, they have to be taken every day for the rest of the patient’s life, they can cause side effects such as muscle aches, and they do not remove the fatty material that is already narrowing the artery, so the chest pain may not go away quickly. A stent is a mesh tube placed inside the narrowed artery to hold it open. This lets more blood, and so more oxygen, reach the heart muscle almost at once, so it should stop the chest pain. But fitting a stent is a procedure with risks such as bleeding, infection or a blood clot forming, and it only treats one section of artery, so other arteries can still become blocked. Neither treatment deals with the causes, so the patient should also stop smoking and eat less fat. In my view the best choice is a stent to treat the pain quickly, together with statins and these lifestyle changes so the disease does not get worse.

Where marks slip

Describing each treatment without weighing them up or giving a conclusion. An evaluate question needs points on both sides and a judgement with a reason. And statins do not dissolve fatty material; they slow its build-up.

6 marks / Making monoclonal antibodiesHigher only · separate only

Describe how monoclonal antibodies are produced.

What a full answer includes
  • A mouse is injected with the antigen that the antibody needs to bind to.
  • This stimulates the mouse’s lymphocytes to make antibodies against that antigen.
  • Lymphocytes that make the right antibody are collected from the mouse.
  • Lymphocytes make antibodies but do not divide in culture, whereas tumour cells divide quickly but do not make antibodies.
  • A lymphocyte is fused with a tumour cell to make a hybridoma cell.
  • The hybridoma cell divides again and again to make many identical cells (a clone).
  • All the cells in the clone make the same antibody, which is collected and purified.
  • The antibodies are called monoclonal because they all come from one clone, so they all bind to the same antigen.

Model answer

First a mouse is injected with the antigen that the antibodies need to target. The antigen stimulates the mouse’s lymphocytes, and some of them start making antibodies that are specific to that antigen. These lymphocytes are then taken from the mouse. Lymphocytes can make the antibody, but they do not divide in culture, so they cannot be grown in large numbers. Tumour cells are the opposite: they divide quickly and keep on dividing, but they do not make antibodies. So a lymphocyte making the right antibody is fused with a tumour cell. The cell that forms is called a hybridoma cell, and it has both properties: it makes the antibody and it divides rapidly. The hybridoma cell is cloned, which means it is allowed to divide many times to make a large number of genetically identical cells. Every cell in the clone makes exactly the same antibody, so large amounts of it can be collected and purified. They are called monoclonal antibodies because they all come from a single clone of cells, and so they all bind to just one kind of antigen.

Where marks slip

Saying the antibody is fused with the tumour cell. It is the lymphocyte, the cell that makes the antibody, that is fused with a tumour cell to make a hybridoma.

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