plumiVariation: OCR A‑Level Biology A questions
OCR A-Level Biology A past-paper questions on 4.2.2.5 Variation, 2016–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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Q19(c)
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All 21 questions on Variation, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q19(c) (6 marks): The Farne Islands are a group of small islands off the coast of Northern England. The Farne Islands are a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific
- June 2025, AS Paper 2, Q5(a)(i) (1 mark): Using the axes, sketch the shape of the graph you would expect the student to find. Number of clownfish 0 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Length (cm) [1]
- June 2025, AS Paper 2, Q5(a)(ii) (1 mark): Individuals in a population show variation. Name two causes of variation. Cause 1 Cause 2 [1]
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q19(a)(i) (5 marks): In the space provided, plot the results from the table as a suitable graph. [5]
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q19(a)(ii) (2 marks): Variation can be caused by genetic and environmental factors. Explain why your graph shows that at least some of the variation in body length in Atlantic cod is
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q12 (1 mark): Brassica rapa is a plant that occurs in wild-type and dwarf varieties. A student investigated the growth of B. rapa. Seeds of both varieties were planted and th
- November 2021, AS Paper 1, Q16 (1 mark): The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, has many different distinct forms, two of which can be seen below. Which of the terms, A to D, best describes this ty
- November 2020, AS Paper 1, Q20 (1 mark): There are four different human blood groups: A, B, AB and O. This is because there are three different alleles coding for different proteins in red blood cells.
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q7 (1 mark): The adult wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans, has wingspans that range from 2.5 m to 3.5 m. Which of the following describes the variation in wingspan of the
- June 2019, AS Paper 1, Q16 (1 mark): The two histograms represent the frequency distribution for the two different types of variation. Q R number of number of organisms organisms characteristic cha
- June 2019, AS Paper 2, Q3(a)(ii) (2 marks): The information above states that ‘the isolated population of wildcats in the British Isles developed slightly different characteristics from the mainland popul
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q20(a)(i) (2 marks): At between 2.5 and 4 years old, the mean length of female cheetahs is less than that of males. Calculate how much shorter than males female cheetahs are. Show y
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q20(a)(ii) (2 marks): Using only Fig. 20.1 and your answer to (i), what can be concluded about the significance of the difference between the length of male and female cheetahs aged
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q20(a)(iii) (1 mark): A student looked at Fig. 20.1 and wrote: “The longest male cheetah that was measured was 1.52 m long”. Explain whether the information in Fig. 20.1 supports the
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q20(a)(iv) (2 marks): State the likely causes of variation in body length in cheetahs. [2]
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q25(a) (1 mark): State the pattern of variation shown by leaf hair density. [1]
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q25(b) (3 marks): Leaf hair density can be measured in the laboratory. Outline a practical method that could be used to determine the density of hairs on the underside of a leaf.
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q25(c)(i) (2 marks): Complete Table 25 by calculating the difference between the ranks and then squaring the difference. [2] [Answer on Table 25]
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q25(c)(ii) (2 marks): Use the formula below to calculate Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient for this data. 2 6 d R r 1 = - s 2 n n ( 1 ) - [2]
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q25(d)(i) (2 marks): Suggest reasons for this positive correlation. [2]
- June 2018, AS Paper 1, Q25(e) (2 marks): Another group of students repeated this investigation and calculated rs = 0.589. The critical value of rs at the 5% level for 9 degrees of freedom is 0.600. The
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