plumiViruses: Edexcel A‑Level Biology B questions
Every Edexcel A-Level Biology B exam question on 2.2 Viruses, 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
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Calculations
Q3(a)
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Q3(b)
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Q3(c)
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Q7(a)
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Q7(b)
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Q7(c)(i)
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Q7(c)(ii)
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Q7(c)(iii)
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Q7(d)
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Q3(a)
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Q3(b)(i)
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Q3(b)(ii)
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Q6(a)
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Q6(c)
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Q4(a)
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Q4(d)(ii)
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Q4(a)
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Q4(c)(ii)
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Q4(a)
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Q4(c)(i)
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All 56 questions on Viruses, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q3(a) (1 mark): State why specifically-selected cell types have to be grown in Step 1. (1)
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q3(b) (2 marks): Explain why the flask has to be incubated at an appropriate temperature for a few days in Step 3. (2)
- June 2025, Paper 1, Q3(c) (3 marks): Explain why the viruses and not the cells will be present in the filtrate in Step 5. (3)
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q7(a) (1 mark): Which of the following statements are correct for Ebola? 1. It contains DNA 2. It has an envelope 3. It is a retrovirus (1) A 1 only B 2 only C 1 and 3 only D 2
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q7(b) (2 marks): Explain why diseases caused by viruses are difficult to treat. (2)
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q7(c)(i) (2 marks): State two conclusions that can be made about the outbreaks of Ebola in this time period. (2) 1 2
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q7(c)(ii) (2 marks): Give two reasons why the figures presented in this graph are likely to be an underestimate. (2) 1 2
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q7(c)(iii) (1 mark): In October 2014, 10 141 cases and 4 922 deaths were reported. Calculate the ratio of cases to deaths. Give your answer in whole numbers. (1) Answer
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q7(d) (6 marks): The Ebola virus can spread between animals and humans and between humans. The virus is present in bodily fluids of both infected animals and humans. It can be p
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q3(a) (2 marks): Explain why viruses have to be cultured with ‘appropriate cells’. (2)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q3(b)(i) (3 marks): Explain why the number of viruses did not start to increase until after 20 minutes. (3)
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate how many more viruses are present at 70 minutes than at 50 minutes. Give your answer to three significant figures. (2) Answer
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q6(a) (1 mark): The influenza virus has a helical capsid. Which virus also has a helical capsid and an envelope? (1) A Ebola B human immunodeficiency virus C λ (lambda) phage D
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q6(c) (6 marks): The host cells of the influenza virus are the cells lining the airways. These cells are coated in mucus. Neuraminidase and haemagglutinin are glycoproteins pres
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q4(a) (1 mark): The influenza virus is an RNA virus and has an envelope. Which pair of viruses also have RNA and an envelope? (1) A Ebola and human immunodeficiency virus B Ebo
- June 2023, Paper 1, Q4(d)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why antibiotics should not be taken by people with viral infections. (2)
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q4(a) (1 mark): This virus is classified as an enveloped RNA virus with a helical capsid structure. Which virus is also classified in the same way? (1) A Ebola B human immunode
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q4(c)(ii) (3 marks): Lectins are molecules that bind to polysaccharides. Some lectins bind to the spikes of this virus. Explain why scientists are hoping that lectins can be used to
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q4(a) (1 mark): Which is a description of a λ phage? (1) A DNA virus with a complex protein capsid B DNA virus with a helical protein capsid C RNA virus with a complex protein
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q4(c)(i) (3 marks): Explain why there was a delay before the number of lysed cells started to increase. (3)
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q4(c)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the mean rate of increase in the actual number of lysed cells between 50 minutes and 90 minutes. (2) Answer cells min–1
- June 2022, Paper 1, Q4(c)(iii) (2 marks): A sketch has been made of this growth curve. Log10 number of lysed cells Time after adding viruses to cells Complete this sketch to predict the shape of the gro
- November 2021, Paper 1, Q8(a) (3 marks): Compare and contrast the structure of a bacterial cell with the structure of HPV. (3)
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q5(b)(i) (2 marks): Analyse the graph to determine the approximate mutation rate for tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). (2) Answer
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(a)(i) (1 mark): Which virus has both a polyhedral capsid and an envelope? (1) A Ebola B human immunodeficiency virus C λ (lambda) phage D tobacco mosaic virus
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(a)(ii) (1 mark): State what the genes in the DNA of EBV code for, other than glycoproteins. (1)
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(a)(iii) (2 marks): Describe the role of the glycoproteins in EBV. (2)
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(b) (2 marks): Complete the graph to show the shape of the growth curve of EBV as a result of one lytic cycle after infection of a cell. (2) Number of viruses in the cell numb
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(c)(i) (2 marks): There were 47% boys in this group of children. Calculate the number of girls in this group of children. (2) Answer
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(c)(ii) (2 marks): Determine the effect of age on the proportion of children with non-typical symptoms of EBV. (2)
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q5(c)(iii) (3 marks): Describe how this investigation could be improved. (3)
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q6(a) (3 marks): The table shows some features used to classify viruses. Which box in each row shows how these viruses are classified? (3) Classification of viruses Virus DNA DN
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q6(b) (3 marks): One study into the causes of gastroenteritis involved 162 patients. This study found that 24.7% of these gastroenteritis cases were caused by viruses. The pie c
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q6(c) (3 marks): Norovirus is usually spread through the faecal-oral route. The diagram shows the pathway that norovirus takes through the body. 1 The norovirus is transmitted
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q6(d)(i) (3 marks): Animals infected with stealth spheres develop gastroenteritis very quickly and with severe symptoms. Animals infected with individual noroviruses develop gastro
- October 2020, Paper 1, Q6(d)(ii) (2 marks): Scientists are hoping that new treatments for norovirus infections can be developed to target the stealth sphere. Analyse the information to explain how targeti
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q3(a) (1 mark): Which of the following viruses contains RNA and the enzyme reverse transcriptase? (1) A Ebola virus B human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) C λ (lambda) phage D to
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q3(b)(i) (2 marks): Describe the lytic cycle of a virus. (2)
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): Some doctors believe that the Ebola virus may undergo latency within body cells. State what is meant by the term latency. (2)
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q3(c) (4 marks): An experimental drug called Zmapp was used to treat patients during this outbreak of Ebola virus. Patients with Ebola virus were randomly split into two groups.
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q4(a)(ii) (1 mark): Which virus contains DNA? (1) A Ebola B HIV C λ (lambda) phage D tobacco mosaic
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q2(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why viruses are not affected by antibiotics. (2)
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q8(a) (2 marks): Explain why viruses are dependent on living cells. (2)
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q8(b)(i) (6 marks): Analyse the information in the graph and maps to comment on the spread of Ebola in West Africa. (6)
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q8(b)(ii) (3 marks): Describe the methods used to prevent the spread of Ebola. (3)
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q8(c) (4 marks): During this outbreak of Ebola, no vaccine had been developed. The World Health Organisation recommended that untested antiviral drugs could be used to treat pat
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q3(b)(i) (1 mark): The following four statements are features of viruses: 1. have envelopes 2. contain reverse transcriptase 3. surrounded by a protein coat 4. have a helical stru
- June 2017, Paper 1, Q3(b)(ii) (1 mark): Which of the following groups of viruses are also RNA viruses? (1) A Ebola virus, human immunodeficiency virus and tobacco mosaic virus B Ebola virus, Ȝ phage a
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q6(a) (2 marks): Calculate the percentage increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly in 2015 compared with 2014. (2) Answer %
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q6(b)(i) (2 marks): Explain why another type of drug, rather than antibiotics, has to be used to treat Zika virus infections. (2)
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q6(b)(iii) (2 marks): Explain why the Brazilian government has advised people to use mosquito nets, even if they have already contracted the Zika virus. (2)
- June 2017, Paper 3, Q6(c)(ii) (2 marks): Unlike human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Zika is not a retrovirus. Describe what happens to the Zika RNA once it is in the cell. (2)
- June 2017, AS Paper 1, Q6(a)(i) (1 mark): Which of the following pairs of viruses both have an envelope? (1) A Ebola and λ (lambda) phage B human immunodeficiency virus and Ebola C λ (lambda) phage and
- June 2017, AS Paper 1, Q6(a)(ii) (1 mark): Which of the following pairs of viruses both have a helical capsid? (1) A Ebola and tobacco mosaic virus B λ (lambda) phage and Ebola C human immunodeficiency v
- June 2017, AS Paper 1, Q6(b)(i) (3 marks): Describe the lytic cycle of a virus. (3)
- June 2017, AS Paper 1, Q6(b)(ii) (3 marks): The multiplicity of infection (MOI) is one factor that determines whether a virus enters the lytic cycle or latency. MOI = number of infectious virus particles
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