plumiHow can we treat disease?: OCR GCSE Combined Science B questions
Every OCR GCSE Combined Science B exam question on B2.5 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
Q5(a)
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Q5(b)
The whole paper ↗Q5(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q5(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q6(b)(iv)
The whole paper ↗Q4(c)(i)
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Q4(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q5(c)(iv)
The whole paper ↗Q4(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗
Q3(a)
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Q3(b)
The whole paper ↗Q3(c)
The whole paper ↗Q3(d)
The whole paper ↗Q2(a)
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Q2(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q2(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q2(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q2(b)(iv)
The whole paper ↗Q9(c)(i)
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Q9(c)(ii)
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All 44 questions on How can we treat disease?, as a list
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(a) (3 marks): Calculate the area of the clear zone around disc F. Use the equation: area = 3.14 × r2 Area = cm2 [3]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(b) (2 marks): Explain which antibiotic is the best to treat an infection caused by these bacteria. Antibiotic Explanation [2]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c)(i) (1 mark): Suggest one reason why the scientist’s conclusion may be correct. [1]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c)(ii) (1 mark): Suggest one reason why the scientist’s conclusion may be incorrect. [1]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q6(b)(iv) (2 marks): State two reasons why new medical treatments are tested on animals during their development. 1 2 [2]
- June 2025, Combined Science Paper 4 Foundation, Q4(c)(i) (1 mark): Suggest one health-related question the patient may ask the doctor before they begin taking this drug. [1]
- June 2025, Combined Science Paper 4 Foundation, Q4(c)(ii) (1 mark): Suggest one question the doctor should ask the patient before they prescribe them this drug. [1]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q5(c)(iv) (2 marks): All new treatments must be tested before they are made widely available. Clinical drug trials can be classed as blind or double blind. Describe what is meant by
- June 2024, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q4(c)(ii) (2 marks): A doctor reports that people living with HIV/AIDS have had access to better medicines for their condition over the last 20 years. Identify evidence from the tab
- June 2024, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q3(a) (1 mark): Draw a line to the least effective antibiotic disc and label it A. [1]
- June 2024, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q3(b) (1 mark): Measure the diameter of the clear zone for antibiotic disc B. Give your answer in mm. Diameter = mm [1]
- June 2024, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q3(c) (3 marks): Calculate the area of the clear zone for antibiotic disc B. Use the equation: area = 3.14 × r 2 Area = mm2 [3]
- June 2024, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q3(d) (3 marks): The area of the clear zone for disc C is 52 mm2. The area of the clear zone for disc D is 113 mm2. Calculate the percentage difference in area of the clear zone
- June 2023, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(a) (2 marks): Complete the sentences to explain the use of medicines in the treatment of disease. Use words from the list. All No Some medicines kill pathogens. medicines tre
- June 2023, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b)(i) (1 mark): What is the median number of times medicine had to be taken in Group 1? Put a ring around the correct answer. 4 7 8 10 [1] Table 2.2 shows the mean for each gro
- June 2023, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b)(ii) (3 marks): Complete the bar chart of the data in Table 2.2. Make sure you: • complete the scale on the y-axis • plot the two missing means. Mean number of times medicine h
- June 2023, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b)(iii) (1 mark): What is a correct conclusion from the data? Tick (3) one box. Mean of group 1 < Mean of group 2 Mean of group 2 = Mean of group 3 Mean of group 3 > Mean of grou
- June 2023, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q2(b)(iv) (2 marks): All the students in these groups are 16 years old. They are all girls. They are a small sample of all of the 16-year-olds in the UK. Describe two ways you could
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(c)(i) (1 mark): Suggest why only people who did not have CVD were involved in the study. [1]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(c)(ii) (2 marks): Give two reasons why we can have confidence in conclusions drawn from this study. 1 2 [2]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(c)(iii) (1 mark): Suggest one more piece of information that would be useful to know about the people in the study. [1]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(c)(iv) (1 mark): Why do the conclusions of this study not apply to the whole population? [1]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(d)(i) (1 mark): Describe what a placebo is. [1]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(d)(ii) (1 mark): Suggest why a placebo was used. [1]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(d)(iii) (1 mark): Which statement best explains why it was ethical to use a placebo in this study? Tick (3) one box. Placebos do no harm. Placebos make people feel involved. No o
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(d)(iv) (2 marks): Suggest two conclusions that can be made from the results. 1 2 [2]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q9(d)(v) (2 marks): Group C and group D each had 3000 people in them. Calculate how many more people would have developed CVD in group D than in group C. Number of people = [2]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(b) (2 marks): Statins are medicines which reduce blood cholesterol levels. Different medicines, called ACE inhibitors, can reduce blood pressure. Suggest why statins and ACE
- June 2022, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(c)(i) (1 mark): Suggest one more piece of information that would be useful to know about the people in the study. [1]
- June 2022, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(c)(ii) (2 marks): The people taking part in the study were put in two groups. One group was given a placebo. The other group was given statins and ACE inhibitors. Explain why it
- June 2022, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(d)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate, for every 1000 people taking the placebo, how many more people would have survived if they had been taking the statins and ACE inhibitors. Number of
- June 2022, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(d)(iii) (3 marks): The cost of statins and ACE inhibitors for one person for a year can be less than £30. Evaluate the use of statins and ACE inhibitors for people with average bl
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b)(iii) (2 marks): Salmonella infections can be treated with antibiotics. Which two statements explain why doctors do not usually give antibiotics to people infected with Salmonel
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(c)(i) (1 mark): Which concentration of antibiotic, A, B, or C, was the most effective? [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(c)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the cross-sectional area of the clear zone (including the area of the disc) for the most effective concentration of antibiotic. Use a clear zone diame
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(d) (1 mark): Some antibiotics work by attacking bacterial cell walls. Why do these antibiotics not attack human cells? Tick (3) one box. Human cells do not have a cell wall.
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(e)(i) (3 marks): Drug companies are trying to develop new medicines. The four stages in the testing of a new medicine are given below, but are not in the correct order. A Animal
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(e)(ii) (1 mark): Which stage, A, B, C or D, only assesses the safety of the new medicine? Stage [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(c)(ii) (2 marks): Suggest two reasons why doctors do not usually give antibiotics to people with Salmonella. 1 2 [2]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(d) (2 marks): Give two advantages of treating communicable diseases with medicines. 1 2 [2]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(e)(i) (3 marks): A researcher tested the effectiveness of three different concentrations of antibiotic on the growth of Salmonella bacteria. Paper discs were soaked in each anti
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(e)(ii) (1 mark): Why does the scientist put a control paper disc on the agar plate? [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(f) (4 marks): Drug companies regularly develop new medicines. Each new medicine must pass four stages of testing before doctors can prescribe them to patients. Complete the t
- June 2018, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c)(i) (2 marks): Use the diagram to explain the cause of the problem and how the bypass operation would help him. [2]
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