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Gene expression is controlled by a number of features: AQA A‑Level Biology questions

Every AQA A-Level Biology exam question on 3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features, 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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1,383 questions

  1. Q08.4

    June 2025 · Paper 2

    4 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2, question 08.4: A student concluded that the number of repeats of the VNTR is associated with the risk of breast cancer occurring in women. Evaluate the student’s conclusion. [

  2. Q05.2

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    1 mark3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 05.2: Describe one effect methylation could have on CDH1 [1 mark]

  3. Q05.3

    June 2025 · Paper 3

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 3, question 05.3: Suggest and explain three reasons why the data in Figure 4 might not provide evidence for the ‘two-hit’ model. [3 marks] 1 2 3

  4. Q08.1

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 08.1: The KRAS gene codes for a protein called K-Ras. The protein relays signals from outside a cell to a cell’s nucleus, stimulating cell division. An alteration in

  5. Q08.2

    June 2023 · Paper 2

    5 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2, question 08.2: Alterations in the KRAS gene can cause colorectal cancer (CRC). Scientists investigated the survival time of the following three groups of CRC patients who had

  6. Q04.4

    June 2023 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 3, question 04.4: Suggest how production of Connexin-43 and GATA-4 could give the result seen in the c-KIT+ group in Figure 6 (on page 13). Do not include details of transcriptio

  7. Q10.1

    June 2022 · Paper 2

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2, question 10.1: BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that code for tumour suppressor proteins. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can cause cancer (lines 1–2). Explain how. [3 marks]

  8. Q10.3

    June 2022 · Paper 2

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2, question 10.3: Effective treatment of ER-positive breast cancers often involves the use of drugs which have a similar structure to oestrogen (lines 9–10). Suggest and explain

  9. Q10.4

    June 2022 · Paper 2

    2 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2, question 10.4: Blood tests can be used to test for cancers (line 11). However, the results of blood tests may not be conclusive when testing for prostate cancer. Explain why.

  10. Q10.5

    June 2022 · Paper 2

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2, question 10.5: Treatment with drugs might be able to reverse the epigenetic changes that cause cancers (lines 16–17). Suggest and explain how. [3 marks]

  11. Q06.2

    November 2021 · Paper 2

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 2, question 06.2: MDS can develop from epigenetic changes to tumour suppressor genes. In some patients, the drug AZA has reduced the effects of MDS. AZA is an inhibitor of DNA me

  12. Q06.3

    November 2021 · Paper 2

    2 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 2, question 06.3: The control patients were treated with conventional drugs. Give two reasons why. [2 marks] 1 2

  13. Q06.4

    November 2021 · Paper 2

    2 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 2, question 06.4: Use Figure 6 and the information provided to calculate the difference in the number of patients surviving at 10 months after treatment with AZA compared with co

  14. Q07.3

    November 2021 · Paper 2

    5 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 2, question 07.3: Using all the information provided, evaluate the use of the two types of RNAi in treating hepatitis B in humans. Do not refer in your answer to how RNAi reduces

  15. Q06.2

    November 2021 · Paper 3

    4 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 3, question 06.2: To study the role of SUT1 in tobacco plants, scientists reduced the expression of the SUT1 gene. When the SUT1 gene is transcribed, the SUT1 mRNA produced is ca

  16. Q02.3

    November 2020 · Paper 2

    2 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 2, question 02.3: The binding of testosterone to an AR changes the shape of the AR. This AR molecule now enters the nucleus and stimulates gene expression. Suggest how the AR cou

  17. Q02.4

    November 2020 · Paper 2

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 2, question 02.4: What can you conclude from the data in Table 1? [3 marks]

  18. Q05.1

    November 2020 · Paper 3

    2 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 3, question 05.1: In the UK in 2016, there were 525 048 deaths. Cancer caused 30.4% of all deaths. Throat cancer caused 5% of all deaths from cancer. Calculate the mean number of

  19. Q05.2

    November 2020 · Paper 3

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 3, question 05.2: Suggest how EGCG allows the production of mRNA in daughter cells. [3 marks]

  20. Q05.3

    November 2020 · Paper 3

    3 marks3.8.2 Gene expression is controlled by a number of features
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2020 Paper 3, question 05.3: A reporter who reviewed all of this work concluded that drinking green tea could be a cure for cancer. Suggest three reasons why his conclusion might not be val
All 41 questions on Gene expression is controlled by a number of features, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 2, Q08.4 (4 marks): A student concluded that the number of repeats of the VNTR is associated with the risk of breast cancer occurring in women. Evaluate the student’s conclusion. [
  2. June 2025, Paper 3, Q05.2 (1 mark): Describe one effect methylation could have on CDH1 [1 mark]
  3. June 2025, Paper 3, Q05.3 (3 marks): Suggest and explain three reasons why the data in Figure 4 might not provide evidence for the ‘two-hit’ model. [3 marks] 1 2 3
  4. June 2023, Paper 2, Q08.1 (3 marks): The KRAS gene codes for a protein called K-Ras. The protein relays signals from outside a cell to a cell’s nucleus, stimulating cell division. An alteration in
  5. June 2023, Paper 2, Q08.2 (5 marks): Alterations in the KRAS gene can cause colorectal cancer (CRC). Scientists investigated the survival time of the following three groups of CRC patients who had
  6. June 2023, Paper 3, Q04.4 (2 marks): Suggest how production of Connexin-43 and GATA-4 could give the result seen in the c-KIT+ group in Figure 6 (on page 13). Do not include details of transcriptio
  7. June 2022, Paper 2, Q10.1 (3 marks): BRCA1 and BRCA2 are human genes that code for tumour suppressor proteins. Mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can cause cancer (lines 1–2). Explain how. [3 marks]
  8. June 2022, Paper 2, Q10.3 (3 marks): Effective treatment of ER-positive breast cancers often involves the use of drugs which have a similar structure to oestrogen (lines 9–10). Suggest and explain
  9. June 2022, Paper 2, Q10.4 (2 marks): Blood tests can be used to test for cancers (line 11). However, the results of blood tests may not be conclusive when testing for prostate cancer. Explain why.
  10. June 2022, Paper 2, Q10.5 (3 marks): Treatment with drugs might be able to reverse the epigenetic changes that cause cancers (lines 16–17). Suggest and explain how. [3 marks]
  11. November 2021, Paper 2, Q06.2 (3 marks): MDS can develop from epigenetic changes to tumour suppressor genes. In some patients, the drug AZA has reduced the effects of MDS. AZA is an inhibitor of DNA me
  12. November 2021, Paper 2, Q06.3 (2 marks): The control patients were treated with conventional drugs. Give two reasons why. [2 marks] 1 2
  13. November 2021, Paper 2, Q06.4 (2 marks): Use Figure 6 and the information provided to calculate the difference in the number of patients surviving at 10 months after treatment with AZA compared with co
  14. November 2021, Paper 2, Q07.3 (5 marks): Using all the information provided, evaluate the use of the two types of RNAi in treating hepatitis B in humans. Do not refer in your answer to how RNAi reduces
  15. November 2021, Paper 3, Q06.2 (4 marks): To study the role of SUT1 in tobacco plants, scientists reduced the expression of the SUT1 gene. When the SUT1 gene is transcribed, the SUT1 mRNA produced is ca
  16. November 2020, Paper 2, Q02.3 (2 marks): The binding of testosterone to an AR changes the shape of the AR. This AR molecule now enters the nucleus and stimulates gene expression. Suggest how the AR cou
  17. November 2020, Paper 2, Q02.4 (3 marks): What can you conclude from the data in Table 1? [3 marks]
  18. November 2020, Paper 3, Q05.1 (2 marks): In the UK in 2016, there were 525 048 deaths. Cancer caused 30.4% of all deaths. Throat cancer caused 5% of all deaths from cancer. Calculate the mean number of
  19. November 2020, Paper 3, Q05.2 (3 marks): Suggest how EGCG allows the production of mRNA in daughter cells. [3 marks]
  20. November 2020, Paper 3, Q05.3 (3 marks): A reporter who reviewed all of this work concluded that drinking green tea could be a cure for cancer. Suggest three reasons why his conclusion might not be val
  21. June 2019, Paper 2, Q02.2 (3 marks): Use this information to explain how HSCT is an effective long-term treatment for SCD. [3 marks]
  22. June 2019, Paper 2, Q10.3 (3 marks): The first successful drug trial to reduce concentrations of huntingtin in the brain used single-stranded DNA molecules (lines 13–14). Suggest and explain how th
  23. June 2019, Paper 2, Q10.4 (2 marks): Scientists from the first successful drug trial to reduce concentrations of huntingtin (lines 9–11) reported that the drug is not a cure for Huntington’s diseas
  24. June 2019, Paper 2, Q10.5 (2 marks): Suggest two reasons why people had the drug injected into the cerebrospinal fluid (lines 12–13) rather than taking a pill containing the drug. [2 marks] 1 2
  25. June 2019, Paper 2, Q10.6 (2 marks): Suggest and explain one way epigenetics may affect the age when symptoms of Huntington’s disease start. [2 marks] Copyright information For confidentiality purp
  26. June 2018, Paper 2, Q02.2 (3 marks): Describe how alterations to tumour suppressor genes can lead to the development of tumours. [3 marks]
  27. June 2018, Paper 2, Q08.2 (2 marks): Explain why the antibody binds to the transcription factor. [2 marks]
  28. June 2018, Paper 2, Q08.3 (1 mark): Use Figure 8 to explain what ‘precipitated DNA’ consists of. [1 mark]
  29. June 2018, Paper 2, Q08.4 (1 mark): Suggest how single-stranded cDNA could prevent transcription of the P34 gene. [1 mark]
  30. June 2018, Paper 2, Q09.3 (2 marks): Lactase persistence is caused by a mutation in DNA. This mutation does not occur in the gene coding for lactase. Suggest and explain how this mutation causes LP
  31. June 2018, Paper 2, Q10.5 (2 marks): 1 0 Read the following passage. Complete achromatopsia is a form of complete colour blindness. It is caused by having only rods and no functional cone cells. Pe
  32. June 2018, Paper 2, Q10.6 (3 marks): 1 0 Read the following passage. Complete achromatopsia is a form of complete colour blindness. It is caused by having only rods and no functional cone cells. Pe
  33. June 2017, Paper 2, Q06.3 (2 marks): Scientists investigated the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) to treat type I diabetes in mice. The scientists used four transcription factors t
  34. June 2017, Paper 2, Q06.4 (4 marks): Using all the information provided, evaluate the use of iPS cells to treat type I diabetes in humans. [4 marks]
  35. June 2017, Paper 2, Q10.5 (2 marks): 1 0 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a non-reversible brain disorder that develops over a number of years. At the start of 2014 the number of Americans with AD was e
  36. June 2017, Paper 3, Q05.4 (3 marks): Sometimes, a mutagenic agent causes DNA to break. A different enzyme called ATM binds to the broken DNA. This leads to the activation of a protein coded for by
  37. June 2017, Paper 3, Q06.5 (3 marks): The scientists first produced transgenic poplar trees. These trees all had a length of foreign DNA inserted into them. This DNA led to the production of single-
  38. June 2017, Paper 3, Q06.6 (1 mark): The transgenic poplars still produced some PIP1. Suggest why. [1 mark]
  39. Specimen, Paper 2, Q09.1 (3 marks): [ ] This source has been removed due to third-party copyright restrictions.
  40. Specimen, Paper 2, Q09.2 (3 marks): [ ]
  41. Specimen, Paper 2, Q09.3 (2 marks): What can you conclude from these data? [2 marks] 0 9 . 3

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