plumiMammalian gametes and fertilisation: Edexcel International A Level Biology questions
Edexcel International A Level Biology past-paper questions on 3.3.3 Mammalian gametes and fertilisation, 2019–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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All 48 questions on Mammalian gametes and fertilisation, as a list
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q8(a) (3 marks): The acrosome reaction is stimulated when a sperm cell binds to the ZP3 protein on the zona pellucida of an egg cell. Describe the acrosome reaction. (3)
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q8(b)(i) (3 marks): Suggest why some sperm cells may not be able to bind to the sperm receptor on the egg cell surface membrane. (3)
- June 2025, AS Unit 2, Q8(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain how more sperm cells are prevented from entering the egg cell. (2)
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q1(a)(i) (1 mark): Complete the diagram by drawing and labelling a flagellum and an acrosome. (1)
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q1(a)(ii) (1 mark): Give the function of the mitochondria in the midpiece of the sperm. (1)
- January 2025, AS Unit 2, Q1(b)(i) (2 marks): Give two conclusions that can be drawn from these data. (2) 1 2
- October 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(a) (1 mark): A sperm cell swims by rotating its flagellum. Which of the following statements about sperm cells are correct? 1. sperm cells are diploid 2. the flagellum rotat
- October 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(b) (3 marks): Describe how the nucleus of a sperm cell enters an egg cell. (3)
- October 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(c)(ii) (3 marks): Suggest how these enzymes will prevent more than one sperm nucleus entering the egg cell. (3)
- June 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(a) (3 marks): One specialised cell is the sperm cell. Draw a mammalian sperm cell showing the acrosome, the nucleus and a mitochondrion. Label the acrosome, nucleus and mitoc
- June 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(b)(i) (1 mark): A human egg cell has a radius of 50 µm. Calculate the volume of this human egg cell. Use the formula: 4 = 3 r3 π V (1) Answer µm3
- June 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(b)(ii) (1 mark): The surface area of this egg cell is 31 416 µm2. Give the surface area to volume ratio of this egg cell. (1) Answer : 1
- June 2024, AS Unit 2, Q4(b)(iii) (3 marks): Explain three ways in which a mammalian egg cell is specialised for its functions. (3)
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q6(c)(i) (1 mark): The photograph shows some sperm cells, as seen using a microscope. ×4000 (Source: © MedicalRF.com/Alamy Stock Photo) Which of the following statements about hum
- January 2024, AS Unit 2, Q6(c)(ii) (6 marks): The photograph shows a sperm cell being injected into a human egg cell during the process of in‑vitro fertilisation (IVF). (Source: © Phanie / Alamy Stock Photo
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q7(a)(ii) (1 mark): Suggest one function of the yolk in the fertilised fish egg cell. (1)
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q8(a)(i) (1 mark): State the letter which shows the zona pellucida. (1)
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q8(a)(ii) (1 mark): The student did not include the structures that contain enzymes involved in hardening the zona pellucida. Name these structures. (1)
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q8(b)(i) (1 mark): How many of the following statements about sperm cells are correct? • The mid‑piece of the sperm cell contains many mitochondria for anaerobic respiration. • Th
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q8(b)(ii) (1 mark): Sperm cells with a larger acrosome to nucleus ratio have an increased swimming speed. Calculate the acrosome to nucleus ratio for the reed bunting sperm cell sh
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q8(b)(iii) (4 marks): The effect of the width of the helical membrane on the mean swimming speed of sperm cells from different bird species was investigated. The graph shows the resu
- October 2023, AS Unit 2, Q8(c) (3 marks): An individual organism that can produce both egg cells and sperm cells is said to be a hermaphrodite. Blue dragons (Glaucus atlanticus) are sea slugs that are h
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q5(b)(i) (1 mark): State the relationship between the mean length and swimming speed of the sperm cells of these cichlid species. (1)
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q5(b)(iii) (1 mark): Suggest one advantage for a male cichlid of producing sperm cells with a faster swimming speed. (1)
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q5(c)(i) (1 mark): Which labelled structure is an acrosome? (1) A W B X C Y D Z
- June 2023, AS Unit 2, Q5(c)(iii) (3 marks): Compare and contrast the structure and function of lysosomes and acrosomes. (3)
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q4(a)(i) (1 mark): An unfertilised egg cell is 2.3 mm in diameter. Calculate the volume of the egg cell, using the formula: 4 π 3 3 r V = Give your answer to one decimal place. (1
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q4(a)(ii) (2 marks): An unfertilised pike egg cell has a larger volume than a pike sperm cell. Explain why an egg cell has a larger volume than a sperm cell. (2)
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q4(c)(i) (2 marks): Describe the adaptations of a sperm cell that allow movement. (2)
- January 2023, AS Unit 2, Q4(c)(ii) (2 marks): Give two conclusions for this investigation. (2) 1 2
- October 2022, AS Unit 2, Q6(a)(ii) (1 mark): Which part of the sperm cell contains enzymes that are released to break down the zona pellucida? (1) A W B X C Y D Z
- October 2022, Unit 4, Q5(c) (4 marks): Albumin binds to and activates a proton channel, hHv1. This proton channel is present in the membranes of sperm cells. When the channel is activated, sperm cell
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q1(b)(ii) (4 marks): Gametes are specialised for their functions. Complete the table to show the correct statement for each structure found in gametes. (4) Propels male Modified by
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q6(a) (1 mark): The photograph shows an organelle taken from a sperm cell, as seen using an electron microscope. The diagram shows a sperm cell. W X Y Z (Source: © Science Hist
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q6(b)(ii) (1 mark): The investigation used 2500 egg cells for each sample of sperm cells. Calculate the number of egg cells that would have been fertilised by sperm cells with 2.5
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q6(b)(iii) (4 marks): Explain why a higher activity of the digestive enzyme acrosin resulted in a higher percentage of egg cells being fertilised. (4)
- June 2022, AS Unit 2, Q6(c)(ii) (3 marks): Suggest why this fertilised egg cell has three nuclei. (3)
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q8(b) (4 marks): The graph shows the speed of individual sperm compared with bundles of sperm in liquids of different resistance. 25 sperm bundles 20 individual sperm 15 Speed o
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q8(c)(i) (1 mark): When the highest sperm concentration was added to the egg cells with damaged zona pellucida, the percen
- January 2022, AS Unit 2, Q8(c)(ii) (4 marks): Explain the results of this investigation. (4)
- October 2021, AS Unit 2, Q8(a) (2 marks): Explain how an egg cell is specialised for its function. (2)
- June 2021, AS Unit 2, Q6(a) (4 marks): Explain how cortical granules ensure that the egg cell is diploid after fertilisation. (4)
- January 2021, AS Unit 2, Q4(b)(i) (1 mark): As mouse egg cells develop they accumulate small spherical lipid droplets. These lipid droplets have a mean radius of 88 µm. The volume of a sphere (V) is calcu
- January 2021, AS Unit 2, Q4(b)(iii) (3 marks): Describe the events that occur after a sperm cell enters an egg cell, until a zygote is formed. (3)
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q7(a)(i) (1 mark): How many of the labelled structures contain DNA? (1) A 1 B 2 C 3 D 4
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q7(a)(ii) (2 marks): Sperm cells contain mitochondria. Describe the function of mitochondria in the movement of sperm cells. (2)
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q7(b) (3 marks): The photograph shows a Chinese hamster. Magnification ×1 A female Chinese hamster mates with many males in a short period of time. The diagram shows the relativ
- June 2019, AS Unit 2, Q7(c) (3 marks): Explain the role of the cortical reaction in the process of fertilisation in mammals. (3)
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