6 exam-style questions with full mark schemes and model answers. Write your own answer and the AI examiner marks it against the mark scheme.
A new infectious disease, caused by a virus, begins to spread through a country. A vaccine is developed and offered to the whole population.
Explain how vaccination protects a vaccinated person from the disease, and how vaccinating a large proportion of the population also helps to protect people who have not been vaccinated. (6 marks)
Before a new medical drug can be given to patients, it must be tested in a series of stages.
Describe how a new drug is tested and trialled before it is approved, including the purpose of each stage. (4 marks)
Diseases can be classified as communicable or non-communicable.
(a) State one difference between a communicable and a non-communicable disease. (1 mark)
(b) Give one example of each type of disease, and for the non-communicable disease, state one lifestyle risk factor that increases the chance of developing it. (2 marks)
A hospital recorded the percentage of samples of a particular bacterium that were resistant to an antibiotic over a ten-year period.
| Year | Resistant samples / % |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2017 | 12 |
| 2020 | 28 |
| 2023 | 44 |
(a) Calculate how many times greater the percentage of resistant samples was in 2023 compared with 2014. (1 mark)
(b) Explain, in terms of natural selection, why the percentage of resistant bacteria increased over this period. (2 marks)
A patient has a viral infection. A doctor explains that antibiotics will not help.
Explain why antibiotics cannot be used to treat a disease caused by a virus. (2 marks)
Pathogens are microorganisms that cause communicable disease.
Name one type of pathogen other than a virus. (1 mark)