plumiHow can we treat disease?: OCR GCSE Biology B questions
Every OCR GCSE Biology B exam question on B2.6 How can we treat disease?, 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
Paper
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Exam
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Calculations
Q1(b)
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Q9(e)
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Q1(e)
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Q6(d)
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Q9(a)
The whole paper ↗Q4(c)(ii)
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Q4(c)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q4(c)(iv)
The whole paper ↗Q11(e)
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Q3(a)
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Q3(b)
The whole paper ↗Q3(c)
The whole paper ↗Q3(d)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q3(d)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q3(e)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q3(e)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q4(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Q4(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q4(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q4(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗
All 52 questions on How can we treat disease?, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q1(b) (2 marks): Draw lines to connect each treatment to the correct named disease it is used to treat. Treatment Named disease Cardiovascular disease Antibiotics HIV Insulin Sa
- June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(e) (2 marks): Some bacteria have evolved to become resistant to antibiotics. The statements describe the steps in this process. They are not in the correct order. A Bacterium
- June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q1(e) (2 marks): Some bacteria have evolved to become resistant to antibiotics. The statements describe the steps in this process. They are not in the correct order. A Bacterium
- June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q6(d) (3 marks): Before hormone replacement therapy was available as a medicine it was tested in drug trials. The first stage of this was pre-clinical trials in which the medici
- June 2024, Paper 3 Higher, Q9(a) (3 marks): Monoclonal antibodies can be produced in the laboratory and used to treat disease. Put statements A to E in the correct order to describe how monoclonal antibod
- June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q4(c)(ii) (2 marks): Leo is worried about taking medicine to treat his CVD. Complete the table by describing how the medicine was tested. Medicine tested on Medicine tested for Pre-
- June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q4(c)(iii) (1 mark): Identify one risk for Leo if he takes the medicine. [1]
- June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q4(c)(iv) (2 marks): Without medicine and lifestyle changes, Leo may need heart surgery. Evaluate the use of lifestyle changes to treat Leo compared with the use of surgery. [2]
- June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q11(e) (3 marks): Should this treatment be used on all patients with sepsis? Give one reason why the treatment should be used and two reasons why it should not. Reason to use the
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(a) (2 marks): Beth has influenza. Which two statements explain why antibiotics will not cure Beth’s influenza? Tick (3) two boxes. Antibiotics do not work against bacteria. A
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(b) (2 marks): Leo has cardiovascular disease. Explain why antibiotics will not help to cure Leo’s cardiovascular disease. [2]
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(c) (2 marks): Many bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. Suggest why the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is dangerous. [2]
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(d)(i) (2 marks): Which antibiotic had the shortest amount of time between the discovery of the antibiotic and the appearance of resistant bacteria? Tick (3) one box. Antibiotic
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(d)(ii) (2 marks): Scientists can make changes to existing antibiotics. The scientists hope that it will take a long time for bacteria to develop resistance to the changed antibio
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(e)(i) (1 mark): The number of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 2016 was 14 800. Plot the data for 2016 on Fig. 3.1. [1]
- June 2022, Paper 2 Foundation, Q3(e)(ii) (3 marks): Four students predict what the number of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria might have been in 2019. Their predictions are shown in Table 3.2. Studen
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(a)(i) (2 marks): In the Petri dish containing antibiotic B, the bacterial culture has a radius (r) of 5 mm. Calculate the area of the bacterial culture in this Petri dish. Use t
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(a)(ii) (3 marks): Which antibiotic would be the best choice to treat a sick patient who was infected with this type of bacteria? Describe the evidence in Fig. 4.1 that supports y
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(b)(i) (3 marks): Calculate the percentage increase in the number of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria from 2017 to 2018. Give your answer to 1 significant figure. Pe
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(b)(ii) (3 marks): Predict what the number of infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria might have been in 2019. Explain your answer. Prediction Explanation [3]
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(c)(ii) (2 marks): Explain how receiving a plasmid causes a bacterium to become resistant to an antibiotic. [2]
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(c)(iii) (2 marks): Explain how a bacterium could become resistant to an antibiotic without receiving a plasmid. [2]
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q7(a)(i) (2 marks): New vaccines are tested in pre-clinical trials before they are tested in humans. Describe two ways in which a new influenza vaccine could be tested in pre-clini
- June 2022, Paper 4 Higher, Q7(a)(ii) (3 marks): The next stage of testing involves clinical trials in human volunteers. A new medicine is usually tested in two groups of people. First, it is tested in: • Grou
- November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(c)(i) (1 mark): Conjunctivitis can be caused by bacteria. What could a doctor give a patient to help kill bacteria? [1]
- November 2021, Paper 3 Higher, Q11(b) (2 marks): A group of students discuss the treatments available for gonorrhoea. Gonorrhoea is becoming resistant to the drugs that are available. Amaya 97% of countries ha
- November 2021, Paper 3 Higher, Q11(c) (2 marks): The drugs currently in development are being tested in clinical trials. They are being tested on healthy people and on people with the disease. Explain why the
- November 2021, Paper 4 Higher, Q6(c)(i) (4 marks): Explain why using antibiotics on bacteria can cause antibiotic-resistant bacteria to become more common. Use ideas about natural selection in your answer. [4]
- November 2021, Paper 4 Higher, Q6(c)(ii) (2 marks): Scientists have suggested that we should reduce our widespread use of antibiotics and only use them when absolutely necessary. Give two ways in which this could
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(a) (1 mark): The scientist concludes that Antibiotic B is the most effective. Explain how the scientist reached this conclusion. [1]
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b) (2 marks): The bacteria are resistant to one antibiotic. Which antibiotic are the bacteria resistant to? Tick (✓) one box. Antibiotic A Antibiotic B Antibiotic C Explain y
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(c) (3 marks): The statements A, B, C and D explain how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics but they are in the wrong order. A The bacterium reproduces. B The bacterium s
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q10(d) (3 marks): Scientists are continually developing new drug treatments for diseases. Many tests must be carried out before a new drug is made available for use on humans. Th
- November 2020, Paper 4 Higher, Q3(b)(ii) (2 marks): Using medicines is an alternative way to treat Jack’s cardiovascular disease. Evaluate the advantages of making changes to Jack’s lifestyle rather than him taki
- November 2020, Paper 4 Higher, Q3(b)(iii) (1 mark): State one other way to treat Jack’s cardiovascular disease. [1]
- June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q11(d)(ii) (1 mark): Doctors could prescribe some medication to treat this infection. Write down one factor that doctors will consider before prescribing this treatment. [1]
- June 2019, Paper 3 Higher, Q2(d)(ii) (1 mark): Doctors could prescribe some medication to treat this infection. Write down one factor that doctors will consider before prescribing this treatment. [1]
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q4(c) (1 mark): Most women diagnosed with cancer of the ovaries will have an operation to remove their ovaries. Before the operation, the doctor will discuss the risks of the o
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q4(e)(i) (2 marks): A placebo was not used in the trial. Explain why. [2]
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q4(e)(ii) (1 mark): The results of the trial are shown in the table. Group A Group B (Drugs 1 and 2) (Drugs 3 and 4) Number of people in the trial 305 314 Number of people still al
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q4(e)(iii) (3 marks): New drugs are tested to see how safe they are to use and how well they work (their effectiveness). Put a tick (3) in one box in each row of the table to show wh
- June 2018, Paper 2 Foundation, Q4(b)(i) (3 marks): Doctors usually start by giving a low dose of warfarin to a patient. They then increase the dose if necessary. Explain why it is better to start with a low dose
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(b)(i) (1 mark): Before the operation, the doctor will discuss the risks of the operation with the patient. This is a high risk operation. Suggest why a patient would decide to
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(b)(ii) (2 marks): Draw a line graph on the axes below to show what happens to the number of white blood cells during each cycle of chemotherapy. number of white blood cells 0 5 1
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(b)(iii) (1 mark): During the chemotherapy treatment, the patient is advised to seek urgent medical attention if they become ill and have a raised temperature. Suggest between whi
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(c)(i) (4 marks): The table shows some details of the clinical trial design. Use your knowledge of clinical trials to justify each part of the design. Design Justification Only w
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(c)(ii) (2 marks): Use the information in the table to recommend which drug combination the doctors should use. Justify your decision. [2]
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(c)(iii) (1 mark): Explain why scientists should communicate findings such as these to a range of audiences. [1]
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q5(d) (3 marks): Scientists have been developing the use of monoclonal antibodies in cancer treatment. Monoclonal antibodies specific to a cancer cell antigen are produced and a
- June 2018, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(c)(i) (4 marks): Write down two ways he could improve his method and explain why each is an improvement. Improvement 1 Explanation Improvement 2 Explanation [4] After transferri
- June 2018, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(c)(ii) (3 marks): The diameter of the clear zone around the disc soaked in antibiotic A is 23 mm. Calculate the area of this clear zone. Use the equation: area of clear zone = 3.
- June 2018, Paper 4 Higher, Q4(c)(iii) (2 marks): Table 4.1 shows Amir’s results for all four dishes. Area of clear zone (mm2) Disc soaked in Petri dish 1 Petri dish 2 Petri dish 3 Petri dish 4 Antibiotic A 363
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