Practise 39 exam-style questions on The brain (biology only) for AQA GCSE Biology. Write your answer as you would in the exam and get it marked in seconds against the mark scheme, point by point, with an AI tutor on hand if you get stuck.
39 questions
1–4 marks each
Instant marking
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20 questions, marked as you go
Sample questions with model answers
Here are 4 of the questions in this topic, each with a model answer, an explanation of why it earns the marks and the mark scheme an examiner would use.
Question 1
2 marks
A patient had damage to their motor cortex and cannot move their right hand. Which hemisphere of the brain is damaged and why?
Model answer
left hemisphere damaged, because motor cortex controls movement of the opposite side of the body (contralateral control)
Explanation
Motor cortex in one hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body. Damage to the left motor cortex commonly causes paralysis of the right hand/arm.
Mark scheme
1 mark
left hemisphere
Which side asked.
1 mark
because motor control is contralateral (left controls right)
Reason required.
Question 2
3 marks
Explain how neuroscientists can map regions of the brain to particular functions using patients with brain damage.
Model answer
study patients with damage to specific brain areas and see which functions are lost or altered; correlation of damaged region and lost function suggests that region controls that function
Explanation
When a patient loses a function after a specific area is damaged, scientists infer that the damaged area was involved in that function. Repeating this across patients helps map brain-function relationships.
Mark scheme
1 mark
study patients with brain damage
General idea of using patients required.
1 mark
observe which functions are lost / impaired
Need linking to observation of function.
1 mark
correlate damaged area with lost function to infer role of that region
Causative correlation described.
Question 3
3 marks
Why is it difficult to restore high-level cognitive functions (e.g., language) after extensive cortical damage compared with simpler sensory recovery?
Model answer
high-level cognitive functions are widely distributed, involve complex networks and specialised circuits; they depend on precise connectivity and learned patterns, making rerouting or compensation harder than for simpler sensory pathways
Explanation
High cognitive functions rely on distributed, highly specific circuits and learned integrations, so damage disrupts complex processing that's harder to compensate for, unlike some sensory functions with more redundancy.
require precise connectivity and learned patterns (hard to re-establish)
Specificity and learning.
1 mark
simpler sensory pathways may be more localised and/or redundant allowing better recovery
Contrast with sensory recovery.
Question 4
4 marks
Design a simple controlled experiment to test whether driving while talking on a mobile phone affects reaction time. Include the independent variable, dependent variable, one control and how to make results reliable.
Model answer
IV: phone use (no phone / hands-free / handheld); DV: reaction time measured by ruler drop or computer reaction test; control: same participant baseline without phone, same lighting/distraction/alertness; reliability: repeat trials and calculate mean, use several participants, randomise order
Explanation
A well-controlled experiment varies only phone condition while measuring reaction time; repeating trials, using multiple participants and randomising order improves reliability and reduces bias.
Mark scheme
1 mark
independent variable identified: mobile phone use (e.g., none vs hands-free vs handheld)
IV required.
1 mark
dependent variable identified: reaction time (e.g., ms or ruler drop distance/time)
DV required.
1 mark
control variable: same person baseline / same environment / same distraction levels / same lighting / time of day
One control required.
1 mark
reliability: repeat trials, use multiple participants, randomise order and take mean
Method to improve reliability required.
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