plumiCarbohydrates: OCR A‑Level Biology A questions
OCR A-Level Biology A past-paper questions on 2.1.2.3 Carbohydrates, 2016–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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All 44 questions on Carbohydrates, as a list
- June 2025, AS Paper 1, Q9 (1 mark): Which row of the table correctly compares the properties of glycogen and amylose? Glycogen Amylose A Branched Branched B Insoluble Soluble C Insoluble Insoluble
- June 2025, AS Paper 2, Q1(a) (3 marks): The table describes features of molecules. Complete the table. Use ticks (3) to identify if the feature describes starch or cellulose. Description Starch Cellul
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q16(a) (3 marks): The table lists some biological molecules. Complete the table by putting a tick (✓) in the appropriate box or boxes on each line to show whether the correspondi
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q16(b) (2 marks): Describe the bond between the two glucose monomers in maltose. [2]
- June 2024, Paper 1, Q16(c)(i) (2 marks): Complete the equation for the conversion of maltotriose to glucose. CH2OH CH2OH CH2OH CH2OH O O O O H H H H H H H H H + 3 OH H OH H OH H OH H HO OH HO OH O O H
- June 2024, AS Paper 1, Q9 (1 mark): Lactose is a carbohydrate. Which feature describes the structure of lactose? A Lactose contains glycosidic bonds that are broken by a condensation reaction B La
- June 2024, AS Paper 2, Q6(b) (2 marks): Which statements about biological molecules are true and which are false? Tick (✓) one box in each row. Statement True False Breaking one ester bond in a trigly
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q10 (1 mark): Which of the molecules contains the highest proportion of 1-6 glycosidic bonds? A Amylopectin B Amylose C Cellulose D Glycogen Your answer [1]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q11 (1 mark): Which of the molecules is not used for energy storage? A Amylopectin B Amylose C Cellulose D Glycogen Your answer [1]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q21(c)(i) (3 marks): Write on the diagram to show the complete structure of alpha glucose. [3]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q21(c)(ii) (2 marks): Explain how the structure of glucose allows it to move from the plant to the bacterium. [2]
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q13 (1 mark): Which description of the structure of a glucose molecule is correct? A It contains 5 OH groups and has a C:O ratio of 1:1. B It contains 6 OH groups and has a C
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q14 (1 mark): Which description of the structure of cellulose is correct? A Alternate α-glucose monomers rotate 180° B Branched polymer forms from β-glucose monomers C Hydrog
- June 2023, AS Paper 1, Q28(b) (4 marks): Starch and glycogen are polysaccharides. Starch is present in plant cells, and glycogen is present in animal cells. Glucose is a monosaccharide present in both
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q9 (1 mark): Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls. Which option is not a property of cellulose? A High tensile strength B Inflexible C Insoluble in water D Re
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q10 (1 mark): Glycogen is a large polysaccharide. Which option describes the structure and function of glycogen? A 1–6 glycosidic bonds are more accessible to enzymes than 1–
- June 2022, AS Paper 2, Q3(a)(i) (2 marks): Name the type of bond broken by the enzyme lactase and describe what happens when this bond is broken. [2]
- November 2021, Paper 3, Q3(a) (2 marks): Callose is formed from β-glucose monomers. The figure below shows a section of callose. OH O CH2OH HO O O carbon 1 CH2OH CH2OH CH2OH CH2OH CH2OH O O O O O HO HO
- November 2021, Paper 3, Q5(a) (1 mark): Amylose is formed from the glucose molecules produced in photosynthesis. Table 5.1 shows three statements about amylose, which may be true or false. Complete Ta
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q8 (1 mark): The molecule below is the disaccharide sucrose. CH2OH CH2OH O O H H H H OH H H OH O CH2OH HO H OH OH H Which row, A to D, shows the type of reaction that occurs
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q9 (1 mark): Sucrase is the enzyme that breaks down sucrose. Which of the bonds, A to D, is broken by sucrase? A alpha glycosidic B beta glycosidic C ester D peptide Your an
- November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q1(a)(i) (1 mark): State one property of glucose that allows it to be easily transported in animals. [1]
- November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q1(a)(ii) (3 marks): Explain how the structure of glycogen differs from that of amylopectin to make it better suited as an energy store in animals. [3]
- November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q1(a)(iii) (1 mark): Fig. 1.1 shows the molecular structure of beta glucose. CH2OH O H OH H OH H HO H H OH Fig. 1.1 Describe how the structure of alpha glucose would be different fr
- November 2021, AS Paper 2, Q1(b) (1 mark): Fig. 1.2 shows the start of the ring structure of ribose. Complete the diagram to show the position of the carbon atoms. There is no need to include the –H and
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q20(b)(i) (3 marks): In plants the glucose produced by photosynthesis is changed into starch for storage. Glucose and starch are both carbohydrates. ()Ctamplete the table below to s
- June 2019, AS Paper 1, Q5 (1 mark): The structure of a biological molecule is shown below. CH2OH O OH H H H H OH OH Which of the following options, A to D, correctly describes the molecule? A hexo
- June 2019, AS Paper 1, Q25(b)(ii) (2 marks): Lysozyme is also known as a glycoside hydrolase. Suggest the type of chemical bond that lysozyme breaks and name the molecule other than the substrate that is n
- June 2019, AS Paper 2, Q1(b)(i) (1 mark): Explain why starch is not transported in the sap. [1]
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q18(b) (3 marks): Plant cell walls are made of cellulose. Cellulose is a polymer of β-glucose. Give three properties of cellulose that make it suitable as the basis of plant cell
- June 2018, Paper 1, Q19(b) (4 marks): Chitin is a polysaccharide found in insects. It is used to form the hard outer casing of their bodies. Fig. 19.2 shows the chemical structure of chitin. CH2OH C
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q4 (1 mark): The image below shows isomaltulose, a disaccharide formed from α-glucose and fructose. CH2OH O H H H OH H O HO H O OH H OH H H OH H CH2OH OH H Name the bond tha
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q11 (1 mark): The hydroxyl (-OH) group of carbohydrates is polar and makes the molecule soluble in water. The greater the number of free hydroxyl groups as a proportion of th
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q2 (1 mark): Which of the statements, A to D, about amylopectin is correct? A it contains 1-4 and 1-6 glycosidic bonds between α-glucose monomers B it is an unbranched chain
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q20(a)(i) (2 marks): State two other structural similarities between lactose and maltose. 1 2 [2]
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q20(a)(ii) (3 marks): Complete the table below to identify differences between the structures of lactose and maltose. The first one has been completed for you. Lactose Maltose one gl
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q20(b)(i) (3 marks): Explain how the structure of galactose allows it to be used as a respiratory substrate. [3]
- June 2017, AS Paper 1, Q8 (1 mark): Which of the options, A to D, is a correct statement about polysaccharides of glucose? A Cellulose microfibrils are formed by hydrogen bonding between adjacent
- June 2017, AS Paper 1, Q22(a) (3 marks): Explain why mammals store glycogen instead of glucose. [3]
- June 2017, AS Paper 2, Q6(c)(ii) (1 mark): Glucose is an important biological molecule required by cells for cellular respiration. State the physical property of glucose that allows it to be easily trans
- June 2016, AS Paper 1, Q2 (1 mark): Carbohydrates, such as starch, are made from monosaccharides joined together. Which of the bonds, A to D, joins monosaccharides together? A ester B glycosidic C
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q3(a)(i) (1 mark): How does the composition of N-acetylglucosamine differ from the composition of a monosaccharide sugar? [1]
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q3(a)(ii) (2 marks): Which monosaccharide sugar does N-acetylglucosamine most closely resemble? [2]
- June 2016, AS Paper 2, Q3(a)(iii) (4 marks): Using your knowledge of the formation of structural polysaccharides, describe the formation of the chitin molecule from its monomer and predict its structure. [
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