plumiMagnification, resolution and staining: Edexcel International A Level Biology questions
Edexcel International A Level Biology past-paper questions on 3.2.1 Magnification, resolution and staining, 2019–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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All 53 questions on Magnification, resolution and staining, as a list
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q1(b)(iii) (2 marks): A student measured the width of one part of the organelle in the photograph as 3.2 cm. The actual width was 0.95 µm. Calculate the magnification of the photogra
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q2(c)(i) (1 mark): The electron microscope had a resolution of 2 nm. State what is meant by the term resolution. (1)
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q2(a)(iii) (2 marks): The actual length of the mitochondrion between X and Y in the photograph is 2.7 μm. Calculate the magnification of this mitochondrion. Give your answer in stand
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q8(a)(i) (1 mark): Name the type of microscope that would be used to produce the image before paragraph 1. (1)
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q8(a)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the ratio of the length of the X chromosome to the Y chromosome in this image. Give your answer to one decimal place. (2) Answer : 1
- June 2025, Unit 6, Q2(a) (1 mark): The photograph shows earthworms collected from the soil of a pineapple plantation in North East India. A (Source: © Wirestock, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo) The act
- January 2025, AS Unit 1, Q7(e) (2 marks): Robertson implied that there was no space between the phospholipid layers and that the thickness of the membrane could be measured. The photograph shows part of
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q5(b) (2 marks): The photograph shows pollen grains on part of a leg of a bee. hair on leg of bee X pollen grain Y (Source: © Susumu Nishinaga / Science Photo Library) The actua
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q7(a)(i) (1 mark): Name the type of microscope that would be used to produce this image. (1)
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q7(a)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the actual width of this mitochondrion between points A and B. Give your answer in µm to three significant figures. (2) Answer µm
- October 2024, AS Unit 2, Q1(c) (1 mark): The photograph shows a lysosome, as seen using an electron microscope. X Y (Source: © Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo) Magnification ×250 000 Calcula
- October 2024, AS Unit 2, Q3(b)(ii) (1 mark): State what is meant by the term magnification. (1)
- October 2024, Unit 4, Q3(b)(i) (1 mark): Calculate the resolution of this electron microscope in nanometres. (1) Answer nm
- October 2024, Unit 4, Q3(b)(ii) (1 mark): State what is meant by a resolution of 3.7 Å (1)
- October 2024, Unit 4, Q8(b)(ii) (3 marks): Some of the plates produced by E. huxleyi are shed into the ocean water. Scientists have discovered that plates shed into the water can attach to other E. huxle
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q6(a)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of this photograph. Give your answer in standard form. (2) Answer
- June 2024, AS Unit 2, Q2(a)(iii) (1 mark): Calculate the magnification of photograph W. Use the scale bar to help you. (1) Answer
- June 2024, AS Unit 3, Q2(a) (1 mark): Calculate the actual length of this fish between X and Y. Give your answer in metres. (1) Answer m
- June 2024, Unit 6, Q3(a) (1 mark): Calculate the magnification of this photograph. (1) Answer
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(a)(ii) (1 mark): State how to calculate the actual length of one of the pollen tubes in the photograph. (1)
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q5(a)(ii) (2 marks): Name the type of microscope used for this photograph. Give one reason for your answer. (2) Name Reason
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q2(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of this photograph. Give your answer in standard form. (2) Answer
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q2(b)(ii) (1 mark): Name a type of microscope that would be used to obtain this image. (1)
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q2(a) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of this photograph. Give your answer to two significant figures. (2) Answer
- October 2023, AS Unit 3, Q1(a)(iii) (2 marks): An onion cell is 0.2 mm in length. Calculate the ratio of the length of an onion cell to the diameter of a cheek cell. (2) Answer
- October 2023, Unit 4, Q1(e) (2 marks): The length of a cell was measured. It was found to be 0.0085 cm long. The ratio of the length of this cell to the length of a chloroplast was 11.7 : 1. Calculat
- June 2023, AS Unit 1, Q4(a)(i) (1 mark): Which is the magnification of this drawing? (1) A 3.75 × 10–2 B 3.75 × 10–1 C 2.67 × 100 D 2.67 × 101
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q5(c)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of the sperm cell shown in the diagram. Give your answer to two significant figures. (2) Answer
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q4(b)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of this image. Give your answer in standard form. (2) Answer
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q3(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of the chloroplast shown in photograph B. Give your answer to two significant figures. (2) Answer
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why the microscope used for photograph B shows more detail than the microscope used for photograph A. (2)
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q3(b)(i) (1 mark): State the type of microscope used to produce this image. (1)
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): Calculate the thickness of the connective tissue layer between the points X and Y. Give your answer in micrometres (µm). (2) Answer µm
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q6(c)(i) (1 mark): State how to calculate the actual size of this egg cell. (1)
- June 2022, Unit 4, Q6(a)(iv) (1 mark): The diameter of HIV is 120 nm. Which is the approximate magnification of this drawing? (1) A × 500 B × 5 000 C × 50 000 D × 500 000
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q7(a) (2 marks): The diagram shows a mitochondrion. A B The actual length of the mitochondrion between A and B was 0.75 µm. Calculate the magnification of the mitochondrion show
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q2(a) (1 mark): The photograph shows some xylem vessels, as seen using a light microscope. xylem vessel (Source: © STEVE GSCHMEISSNER / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY) A stain was added
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q5(a)(i) (1 mark): Calculate the magnification of this image. (1) Answer
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q5(a)(ii) (1 mark): State why a light microscope cannot be used to view these bacteria. (1)
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q1(a) (2 marks): The mitochondrion shown in the diagram is 2000 nm in length. Calculate the width of this mitochondrion between X and Y. (2) Answer nm
- October 2021, AS Unit 2, Q5(b)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the width of the phloem vessel along the line XY in micrometres. Give your answer in standard form. (3) Answer µm
- October 2021, Unit 4, Q1(a)(iii) (1 mark): The length of this chloroplast is 7.5 µm. Calculate the magnification of this diagram. (1) Answer
- June 2021, AS Unit 1, Q8(a)(i) (1 mark): The magnification of this diagram is 1 × 107. The structure labelled T is 2 units long. What is this unit? (1) A cm B mm C µm D nm
- June 2021, AS Unit 2, Q2(a)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of this photograph. Give your answer in standard form to two significant figures. (2) Answer
- June 2021, AS Unit 2, Q2(a)(ii) (2 marks): Explain which type of microscope was used to take this photograph. (2)
- January 2021, AS Unit 2, Q2(b)(i) (1 mark): State the type of microscope used to view this organelle. (1)
- January 2021, AS Unit 2, Q7(a) (1 mark): Calculate the magnification of the Anopheles mosquito in this photograph. Give your answer to one decimal place. (1) Answer
- January 2021, AS Unit 3, Q1(c)(i) (1 mark): Calculate the volume of a haemoglobin molecule. The equation for the volume of a sphere (V) is 4 = V π r 3 3 (1) Answer nm3
- January 2021, AS Unit 3, Q1(c)(ii) (2 marks): A human red blood cell has a volume of 80 μm3. Calculate how many times larger the volume of a red blood cell is than the volume of a haemoglobin molecule. Give
- October 2020, AS Unit 2, Q2(b)(i) (2 marks): The diameter of this cell is 25 µm. Calculate the magnification of the diagram. (2) Answer
- January 2020, AS Unit 2, Q7(a)(iii) (2 marks): A student measured the length of the structure labelled U as 52 mm. The actual length of this structure is 3.0 μm. Calculate the magnification of this electron
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q4(a)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why this organelle cannot be seen using a light microscope. (2)
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q7(a)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the magnification of the sperm cell shown in the diagram. (2) Answer
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