9700 AS & A Level Biology: past papers
597 papers from 2008 to 2025, with 64 questions sorted by syllabus topic.
Energy and respiration Paper 4 · 5 questions
ATP, glycolysis and anaerobic respiration2
Blood lactate in a diving grey seal and anaerobic respiration.
Ethanol and lactate fermentation, why they regenerate NAD, and adaptations of rice to flooded fields.
Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation3
The electron transport chain in the inner mitochondrial membrane, chemiosmosis and ATP synthesis.
Using DCPIP as a redox indicator to measure the effect of temperature on yeast respiration.
Oxygen entering the mitochondrion, the electron transport chain and ATP synthase, and mitochondrial DNA.
Photosynthesis Paper 4 · 3 questions
Light-dependent reactions3
Chromatography of chloroplast pigments, the role of accessory pigments, and the light-independent stage.
Temperature and light intensity as limiting factors, and photolysis in non-cyclic photophosphorylation.
Non-cyclic photophosphorylation, uses of Calvin cycle intermediates, and temperature as a limiting factor.
Calvin cycle and limiting factors3
Chromatography of chloroplast pigments, the role of accessory pigments, and the light-independent stage.
Temperature and light intensity as limiting factors, and photolysis in non-cyclic photophosphorylation.
Non-cyclic photophosphorylation, uses of Calvin cycle intermediates, and temperature as a limiting factor.
Homeostasis Paper 4 · 7 questions
Homeostasis and the kidney4
Ultrafiltration in the glomerulus and selective reabsorption in the proximal convoluted tubule.
Principles of homeostasis for blood glucose, and how a glycogen phosphorylase mutation affects glucagon signalling.
Osmoregulation: osmoreceptors, ADH and its effect on urine production.
ADH concentration after drinking water, and how the kidney responds.
Blood glucose control4
Obtaining human genes for recombinant proteins, and producing insulin to treat diabetes.
Principles of homeostasis for blood glucose, and how a glycogen phosphorylase mutation affects glucagon signalling.
Negative feedback in blood glucose control, glucagon action, and urine test strips for glucose.
Glucagon and the enzyme cascade in liver cells, and testing glucose with urine strips and biosensors.
Control and coordination Paper 4 · 5 questions
Nerve impulses and synapses4
Maintaining a resting potential, and how low blood potassium changes an action potential.
Structure of a motor neurone, the neuromuscular junction and the order of events in muscle contraction.
Neurones and myelin, impulse transmission, and how morphine acts at a cholinergic synapse.
Mitochondria at neuromuscular junctions and in muscle, excitatory and inhibitory synapses, and multiple sclerosis.
Muscle contraction and plant responses3
Guard cell structure, daily rhythms of stomatal opening, and how stomata open and close.
Structure of a motor neurone, the neuromuscular junction and the order of events in muscle contraction.
Mitochondria at neuromuscular junctions and in muscle, excitatory and inhibitory synapses, and multiple sclerosis.
Inheritance Paper 4 · 9 questions
Meiosis and variation4
Meiosis, fertilisation and why a zygote is diploid with homologous chromosomes.
Continuous and discontinuous variation, causes of variation, and natural selection.
Causes of phenotypic variation and how variation allows evolution.
The yeast life cycle: budding by mitosis, meiosis and spores, and why diploid cells hide harmful recessive alleles.
Monohybrid and dihybrid inheritance5
Awns on rice grains: a dihybrid cross with epistasis and a chi-squared test.
A monohybrid genetic diagram for tomato fruit colour and the ratios from a dihybrid cross.
Colour patterns in tortoise beetles: genetic diagrams, codominance and a chi-squared test.
Gene, protein and phenotype in haemophilia, and gibberellin and stem height in peas.
A dihybrid cross in fruit flies with linked genes and a chi-squared test.
Selection and evolution Paper 4 · 5 questions
Natural selection and population genetics5
How genetic drift and the founder effect change allele frequencies.
Processes that change allele frequencies, and selective breeding of maize for vigour and uniform height.
Continuous and discontinuous variation, causes of variation, and natural selection.
Causes of phenotypic variation and how variation allows evolution.
Selective breeding of wheat for disease resistance.
Classification, biodiversity and conservation Paper 4 · 6 questions
Classification and biodiversity4
Features of the kingdom Fungi, and how the partners in a lichen benefit each other.
Sampling plants with a frame quadrat, and testing for a correlation between plant height and altitude.
The yeast life cycle: budding by mitosis, meiosis and spores, and why diploid cells hide harmful recessive alleles.
Mark-release-recapture to estimate population size, and Himalayan balsam as an invasive species.
Conservation and human impact3
Why the red ruffed lemur is critically endangered, and captive breeding programmes in zoos.
An invasive toad in Madagascar, and IVF in conserving the eastern black rhino.
Mark-release-recapture to estimate population size, and Himalayan balsam as an invasive species.
Genetic technology Paper 4 · 4 questions
Recombinant DNA and PCR3
Obtaining human genes for recombinant proteins, and producing insulin to treat diabetes.
Genetic engineering and gene therapy for an inherited eye disease, and why the eye suits gene therapy.
Fluorescent marker genes in genetic engineering, and DNA microarrays for gene expression.
Genetic engineering applications4
Obtaining human genes for recombinant proteins, and producing insulin to treat diabetes.
Genetic engineering and gene therapy for an inherited eye disease, and why the eye suits gene therapy.
BRCA1 mutations, genetic screening and cancer risk, and survival data after drug treatment.
Fluorescent marker genes in genetic engineering, and DNA microarrays for gene expression.