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Gas exchange: AQA A‑Level Biology questions

Every AQA A-Level Biology exam question on 3.3.2 Gas exchange, 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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1,383 questions

  1. Q10.2

    June 2025 · Paper 1

    4 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 1, question 10.2: Describe and explain the adaptations of leaves that maximise gas exchange. Do not refer to organelles in your answer. [4 marks]

  2. Q06.1

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.1: Suggest two ways the scientific drawing in Figure 5 could be improved. Do not refer to adding labels or using a sharp pencil in your answer. [2 marks] 1 2

  3. Q06.2

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.2: Describe the role of structures A and B in increasing the volume in the thoracic cavity. [2 marks]

  4. Q06.3

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.3: Lung volume can be determined with a spirometer using the helium dilution method. The lung volume (V2) is calculated using the equation: V2 = V1(C1 −C2) C2 wher

  5. Q06.4

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.4: Using the information provided, suggest the other two conditions that must be met before a diagnosis of asbestosis can be made. [2 marks] 1 2

  6. Q06.5

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.5: Suggest two advantages of diagnosing asbestosis without a biopsy. [2 marks] 1 2 DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE ANSWER IN THE SPACES PROVIDED Idiopathic pulmonary fib

  7. Q06.6

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    1 mark3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.6: Suggest why neither clinical trial had a control group. [1 mark]

  8. Q06.7

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    4 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 06.7: The doctors concluded that both drugs increased life expectancy in patients with IPF compared with survival data for previous patients with IPF. Using all the i

  9. Q06.1

    June 2025 · AS Paper 1

    1 mark3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 1, question 06.1: Forced expiratory volume (FEV1) is the maximum volume of air that is breathed out in one second. FEV1 is used to measure lung health. What is the percentage dec

  10. Q06.2

    June 2025 · AS Paper 1

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 1, question 06.2: Use Figure 7 to determine the speed of exhalation, in dm3 s–1, for the person with healthy lungs at time = 2 s Show your working. [2 marks] Speed of exhalation

  11. Q06.3

    June 2025 · AS Paper 1

    3 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 1, question 06.3: The main effects of emphysema on the lungs are the breakdown of: • the walls of the alveoli • the elastic tissue in the lungs. Use this information and the data

  12. Q06.4

    June 2025 · AS Paper 1

    3 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 1, question 06.4: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung diseases that cause breathing difficulties. This includes emphysema. Figure 8 shows

  13. Q04.1

    June 2025 · AS Paper 2

    3 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 2, question 04.1: Use Figure 7 and the information provided to calculate the stomatal density of the lower leaf surface. The area of a circle can be calculated using the formula

  14. Q04.2

    June 2025 · AS Paper 2

    1 mark3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 2, question 04.2: Suggest one improvement the student could make to obtain a more reliable value for stomatal density. [1 mark]

  15. Q04.3

    June 2025 · AS Paper 2

    1 mark3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 AS Paper 2, question 04.3: Figure 8 shows a transverse section of a leaf from a xerophytic plant. Figure 8 Explain how one feature shown in Figure 8 reduces water loss from the leaf. [1 m

  16. Q03.1

    June 2024 · Paper 1

    3 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 1, question 03.1: Describe how we breathe in. [3 marks]

  17. Q03.3

    June 2024 · Paper 1

    1 mark3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 1, question 03.3: Figure 2 is an image of the lung tissue observed using an optical microscope. Figure 2 Identify the tube labelled A. [1 mark] A

  18. Q03.4

    June 2024 · Paper 3

    1 mark3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 3, question 03.4: Name two structural features of the gills of a fish that increase their surface area. [1 mark] 1 2

  19. Q01.1

    June 2024 · AS Paper 1

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 AS Paper 1, question 01.1: Figure 1 shows a diagram of the human gas exchange system. Figure 1 Structure B is muscle. The volume of the thorax is increased when structure B contracts. Nam

  20. Q01.2

    June 2024 · AS Paper 1

    2 marks3.3.2 Gas exchange
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 AS Paper 1, question 01.2: Figure 2 is a diagram of an alveolus and a blood vessel associated with the alveolus. The direction of the movement of substances is shown by the arrows labelle
All 63 questions on Gas exchange, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 1, Q10.2 (4 marks): Describe and explain the adaptations of leaves that maximise gas exchange. Do not refer to organelles in your answer. [4 marks]
  2. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.1 (2 marks): Suggest two ways the scientific drawing in Figure 5 could be improved. Do not refer to adding labels or using a sharp pencil in your answer. [2 marks] 1 2
  3. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.2 (2 marks): Describe the role of structures A and B in increasing the volume in the thoracic cavity. [2 marks]
  4. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.3 (2 marks): Lung volume can be determined with a spirometer using the helium dilution method. The lung volume (V2) is calculated using the equation: V2 = V1(C1 −C2) C2 wher
  5. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.4 (2 marks): Using the information provided, suggest the other two conditions that must be met before a diagnosis of asbestosis can be made. [2 marks] 1 2
  6. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.5 (2 marks): Suggest two advantages of diagnosing asbestosis without a biopsy. [2 marks] 1 2 DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAGE ANSWER IN THE SPACES PROVIDED Idiopathic pulmonary fib
  7. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.6 (1 mark): Suggest why neither clinical trial had a control group. [1 mark]
  8. June 2025, Paper 3, Q06.7 (4 marks): The doctors concluded that both drugs increased life expectancy in patients with IPF compared with survival data for previous patients with IPF. Using all the i
  9. June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q06.1 (1 mark): Forced expiratory volume (FEV1) is the maximum volume of air that is breathed out in one second. FEV1 is used to measure lung health. What is the percentage dec
  10. June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q06.2 (2 marks): Use Figure 7 to determine the speed of exhalation, in dm3 s–1, for the person with healthy lungs at time = 2 s Show your working. [2 marks] Speed of exhalation
  11. June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q06.3 (3 marks): The main effects of emphysema on the lungs are the breakdown of: • the walls of the alveoli • the elastic tissue in the lungs. Use this information and the data
  12. June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q06.4 (3 marks): Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the name for a group of lung diseases that cause breathing difficulties. This includes emphysema. Figure 8 shows
  13. June 2025, AS Paper 2, Q04.1 (3 marks): Use Figure 7 and the information provided to calculate the stomatal density of the lower leaf surface. The area of a circle can be calculated using the formula
  14. June 2025, AS Paper 2, Q04.2 (1 mark): Suggest one improvement the student could make to obtain a more reliable value for stomatal density. [1 mark]
  15. June 2025, AS Paper 2, Q04.3 (1 mark): Figure 8 shows a transverse section of a leaf from a xerophytic plant. Figure 8 Explain how one feature shown in Figure 8 reduces water loss from the leaf. [1 m
  16. June 2024, Paper 1, Q03.1 (3 marks): Describe how we breathe in. [3 marks]
  17. June 2024, Paper 1, Q03.3 (1 mark): Figure 2 is an image of the lung tissue observed using an optical microscope. Figure 2 Identify the tube labelled A. [1 mark] A
  18. June 2024, Paper 3, Q03.4 (1 mark): Name two structural features of the gills of a fish that increase their surface area. [1 mark] 1 2
  19. June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q01.1 (2 marks): Figure 1 shows a diagram of the human gas exchange system. Figure 1 Structure B is muscle. The volume of the thorax is increased when structure B contracts. Nam
  20. June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q01.2 (2 marks): Figure 2 is a diagram of an alveolus and a blood vessel associated with the alveolus. The direction of the movement of substances is shown by the arrows labelle
  21. June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q01.3 (2 marks): Describe and explain one adaptation of a single alveolus for gas exchange. [2 marks]
  22. June 2024, AS Paper 2, Q05.3 (2 marks): Most orchid species are found in tropical rainforests. Two common features found in many of these species are: • they grow up trees to reach the upper branches
  23. June 2023, Paper 1, Q02.2 (2 marks): Chitin keeps the tracheae open in the tracheal system of gas exchange in an insect. Gas exchange does not occur in the tracheae. Explain the importance of one a
  24. June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q02.3 (3 marks): Streptococcus bacteria can infect the lungs when air is breathed in and cause lung disease. Describe the mechanism of breathing that causes air to enter the lun
  25. June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q05.5 (3 marks): Describe how gas exchange occurs in single-celled organisms and explain why this method cannot be used by large, multicellular organisms. [3 marks]
  26. June 2023, AS Paper 2, Q09.1 (2 marks): It was not possible for the scientists to measure the length of every filament and the surface area of every lamella. Suggest how they collected data to give a
  27. June 2023, AS Paper 2, Q09.2 (2 marks): From these measurements, the scientists calculated the total surface area of the gas exchange surface on the gills of each fish species. Calculate the total sur
  28. June 2023, AS Paper 2, Q09.3 (2 marks): Table 5 shows the scientists’ data for two species of fish. Table 5 Fish species Mean fish mass / g Mean total surface area of the gills / mm2 Opsanus tau 305 4
  29. June 2022, Paper 1, Q08.3 (3 marks): The damage to the gills causes uncontrolled cell division in the cells around the capillaries in the gill filaments. Other than surface area:volume ratio, descr
  30. June 2022, AS Paper 1, Q04.1 (4 marks): Lugworms create tubes in the sand on seashores. The tubes are filled with seawater. A scientist measured the partial pressure of dissolved oxygen (pO2) in seawa
  31. June 2022, AS Paper 1, Q09.1 (2 marks): Gas exchange for the fetus occurs in the placenta (line 3). Describe how the composition of blood in the pulmonary artery of a fetus is different from the compo
  32. June 2022, AS Paper 2, Q09.1 (5 marks): Describe how the structure of the insect gas exchange system: • provides cells with sufficient oxygen • limits water loss. Explain your answers. [5 marks]
  33. June 2022, AS Paper 2, Q09.2 (5 marks): Describe how humans breathe in and out. [5 marks]
  34. November 2021, Paper 1, Q02.2 (2 marks): Suggest how the environmental conditions have resulted in adaptations of systems using Model A rather than Model B. [2 marks]
  35. November 2021, Paper 1, Q02.3 (2 marks): Figure 3 shows changes in concentration of oxygen in two gas exchange systems. Figure 3 A student studied Figure 3 and concluded that the fish gas exchange syst
  36. November 2021, Paper 1, Q02.4 (2 marks): Explain how the counter-current principle allows efficient oxygen uptake in the fish gas exchange system. [2 marks]
  37. November 2021, Paper 1, Q02.5 (3 marks): Table 1 shows features of two mammals. Bats are flying mammals; shrews are ground-living mammals. Table 1 Mammal Mean body mass / kg Mean lung volume / cm 3 Bat
  38. November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q02.1 (2 marks): Describe and explain one feature of the alveolar epithelium that makes the epithelium well adapted as a surface for gas exchange. Do not refer to surface area o
  39. November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q02.2 (2 marks): Use the information provided to determine the FEV1:FVC ratio of this man’s lungs. Go on to determine how many times greater the minimum ratio of healthy lungs i
  40. November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q02.3 (3 marks): Tidal volume is the volume of air inhaled and exhaled during a single breath when a person is resting. The tidal volume in a person with emphysema is reduced co
  41. November 2020, Paper 1, Q06.1 (3 marks): Particulate matter is solid particles and liquid particles suspended in air. Polluted air contains more particulate matter than clean air. A high concentration
  42. November 2020, Paper 1, Q06.2 (2 marks): Do the data in Figure 6 show a linear relationship between concentration of particulate matter and percentage of dead cells? Use suitable calculations to justif
  43. November 2020, Paper 1, Q09.1 (2 marks): Calculate the mean stomatal density in the three fields of view in Figure 9. Give your answer as number of stomata per mm2 Show your working. [2 marks] Stomatal
  44. November 2020, Paper 1, Q09.2 (2 marks): Give a null hypothesis for this investigation and name a statistical test that would be appropriate to test your null hypothesis. [2 marks] Null hypothesis Stat
  45. November 2020, Paper 1, Q09.3 (2 marks): From 1910 to 2000, the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere increased from 300 parts per million to 365 parts per million. Use Figure 10 to calculate
  46. November 2020, Paper 3, Q06.3 (2 marks): An increase in the intensity of exercise produces an increase in the volume of carbon dioxide produced. However, Figure 3 shows that the pCO2 in air breathed ou
  47. November 2020, AS Paper 1, Q05.1 (3 marks): Describe and explain the mechanism that causes lungs to fill with air. [3 marks]
  48. November 2020, AS Paper 1, Q05.2 (1 mark): Identify the structures labelled K and L. [1 mark] K L
  49. November 2020, AS Paper 1, Q05.4 (3 marks): Scientists investigated the link between the lung disease asthma and three risk factors. They studied a large number of people. They recorded if the people had
  50. June 2017, Paper 3, Q07.2 (25 marks): The importance of diffusion in organisms. [25 marks] Copyright Information For confidentiality purposes, from the November 2015 examination series, acknowledgem
  51. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q02.1: Suggest appropriate units the student should use to compare the distribution of stomata on leaves. [1 mar
  52. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q02.2 (2 marks): The pieces of leaf tissue examined were very thin. Explain why this was important. [2 mark
  53. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q02.3 (2 marks): Give two reasons why it was important that the student counted the number of stomata in several parts of each piece of leaf tissue. [2 mark 1 2
  54. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q02.4 (2 marks): One of the two plant species used by the student in this investigation was a xerophyte. Other than the distribution of stomata, suggest and explain two xerophyt
  55. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q03.1: Name the process by which oxygen reaches the cells inside the body of a tubife worm. [1 mar
  56. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q03.2 (2 marks): Using the information provided, explain how two features of the body of the tubifex worm allow efficient gas exchange. [2 mark 1 2
  57. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q06.1 (2 marks): Scientists determined the mean FEV1 value of 25-year-olds in the population. Suggest two precautions that should have been taken to ensure that this mean FEV1 v
  58. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q06.2 (2 marks): Explain the importance of determining a mean FEV1 value of 25-year-olds in th investigation. [2 marks
  59. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q06.3: The mean FEV1 value of non-smokers decreases after the age of 30. Use your knowledge of ventilation to suggest why. [1 mar
  60. June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q06.4 (3 marks): One of the severe disabilities that results from emphysema is that walking upstairs becomes difficult. Explain how a low FEV1 value could cause this disability.
  61. Specimen, Paper 1, Q02.1 (4 marks): [ ] This source has been removed due to third-party copyright restrictions. 5
  62. Specimen, Paper 1, Q02.2 (1 mark): Answer =
  63. Specimen, Paper 1, Q02.3 (3 marks): [ ] 6

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