Evaluation
OCR A-Level Biology B H422
The Developing Cell: Cell Division and Cell Differentiation
The Developing Individual: Meiosis, Growth and Development
The Development of Species: Evolution and Classification
Cells and Microscopy
Topic overviewMicroscopy and the cell theoryBlood smears, staining and microscope drawingsBlood cells and their structureMagnification and measuring cellsHaemocytometer cell counts and dilutionsFlow cytometry in blood analysisUltrastructure of the animal cellPlant and prokaryotic cellsMembrane lipids and the fluid mosaic modelMovement of molecules across membranesThe roles of membranes and the secretion of proteins
Water and Its Importance in Plants and Animals
Proteins and Enzymes
Nucleic Acids
Patterns of Inheritance
Population Genetics and Epigenetics
Gene Technologies
The Principles and Importance of Homeostasis
The Hormonal Control of Blood Glucose and the Management of Diabetes
Kidney Functions and Malfunctions
Topic overviewExcretion and the gross structure of the kidneyThe nephron: ultrafiltration and selective reabsorptionInvestigating the composition of urine, plasma and filtrateOsmoregulation and the action of ADHThe kidney as an endocrine gland and kidney failureDialysis, transplantation and the future of transplant surgery
The Cellular Basis of Cancer and Treatment
Respiratory Diseases and Treatment
Cellular Respiration
Metabolism and Exercise
Topic overviewThe consequences of exercise on the bodyAerobic fitness and VO₂ maxTraining, F.I.T.T. factors and investigating fitnessEnhancing athletic performanceHaemoglobin and the transport of oxygenOxygen dissociation curves of different respiratory pigmentsOxygen deficit and oxygen debtThe structure of skeletal muscleThe sliding filament theory of muscle contraction
Pathogenic Microorganisms
The Immune System
Controlling Communicable Diseases
Photosynthesis, Food Production and Management of the Environment
Topic overviewChloroplast ultrastructure and photosynthetic pigmentsThe light-dependent stage of photosynthesisThe Calvin cycleInvestigating the factors affecting photosynthesisThe Hill reaction and DCPIPUsing TP and GP to build carbohydrates, lipids and amino acidsThe compensation point and crop productionMicroorganisms, the nitrogen cycle and biosensorsBiomass transfer and efficiency in food productionRuminants in the human food chainFarms as ecosystems and the conflict with conservationDeflected succession and measuring biodiversity
The Impact of Population Increase
Planning and Implementing Practical Work
Analysing and Evaluating Practical Results
Practical Skills, Apparatus and Techniques
Topic overviewInvestigative approaches and working safelyFollowing instructions, recording and presenting dataResearch, referencing and processing data with softwareMeasuring mass, volume, time, temperature, length and pHColorimeters and potometersLaboratory glassware and serial dilutionsLight microscopy, graticules and biological drawingQualitative reagents for biological moleculesChromatography and electrophoresisAseptic technique and dissectionWhole-organism responses, fieldwork sampling and data logging
Fertility and Assisted Reproduction
The Effects of Ageing on the Reproductive System
Plant Reproduction
The Nervous System and the Identification and Consequences of Damage
Topic overviewOrganisation of the nervous system and nervous tissueThe structure and function of the human brainThe structure of motor, sensory and relay neuronesResting potential and the action potentialSynapses and the integration of responsesReflexes, reaction times and their investigationBrain scans and the consequences of nervous system damageDrugs, brain function and dependency
Monitoring Visual Function
The Effect of Ageing on the Nervous System
The Heart and Monitoring Heart Function
Transport Systems in Mammals
Gas Exchange in Mammals and Plants
Metabolism and Exercise
- 9 subtopics
- 27 things to know
- Components 01, 02 and 03
What Metabolism and Exercise covers
Metabolism and Exercise is examined in all three written papers — the specification states that Components 01, 02 and 03 can each assess content from any of the five modules, so nothing is confined to one paper. It covers the consequences of exercise on the body, aerobic fitness and VO₂ max, training, F.I.T.T. factors and investigating fitness, enhancing athletic performance, haemoglobin and the transport of oxygen, oxygen dissociation curves of different respiratory pigments, oxygen deficit and oxygen debt, the structure of skeletal muscle and the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction.
Where it is assessed
Components 01, 02 and 03
Every module can be assessed on any of the three papers.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 9 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The consequences of exercise on the bodyRecall questions on the immediate changes in breathing, cardiac output, blood distribution and venous return during exercise, creatine phosphate and lactate in muscle, long-term respiratory, cardiovascular and muscle adaptations to training, reduced heart disease risk, and the harm of excessive exercise.Open →
- Aerobic fitness and VO₂ maxRecall questions on aerobic fitness and VO₂ max, its units and calculation, direct laboratory measurement and indirect shuttle run and step tests, submaximal prediction, the effects of age, sex, training and inheritance, and why VO₂ max alone does not predict race performance.Open →
- Training, F.I.T.T. factors and investigating fitnessRecall questions on the frequency, intensity, type and time of the F.I.T.T. factors, progressive overload, measuring resting heart rate, recovery time and breathing rate, controlling a step test, primary and secondary data, the t-test, and ethical requirements for human volunteers.Open →
- Enhancing athletic performanceRecall questions on carbohydrate loading and its drawbacks, recombinant erythropoietin and its health risks, blood doping and why it is hard to detect, anabolic steroids and their side effects, and the arguments over which methods of enhancing performance are allowed.Open →
- Haemoglobin and the transport of oxygenRecall questions on the structure of haemoglobin, loading and unloading of oxygen, the S-shaped dissociation curve, the Bohr effect, carbonic anhydrase and the chloride shift, the effects of pH and temperature on oxygen release, and carbon monoxide poisoning.Open →
- Oxygen dissociation curves of different respiratory pigmentsRecall questions on reading oxygen dissociation curves, fetal haemoglobin and its higher affinity, myoglobin's structure, hyperbolic curve and role as an oxygen store, diving mammals, the effect of a right shift, and adaptation to high altitude.Open →
- Oxygen deficit and oxygen debtRecall questions on the oxygen deficit at the start of exercise and how ATP is supplied meanwhile, the oxygen debt and what its oxygen is used for, the fate of lactate, reaching a steady state, and how fitness and exercise intensity change the deficit and debt.Open →
- The structure of skeletal muscleRecall questions on muscle fibres, the sarcolemma, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic reticulum and T-tubules, the sarcomere and its A band, I band and H zone, thick and thin filaments, slow and fast twitch fibres, and preparing, measuring and testing chicken muscle fibres with ATP.Open →
- The sliding filament theory of muscle contractionRecall questions on the sliding filament theory and banding changes, calcium ion release, troponin and tropomyosin, actomyosin cross-bridges and the power stroke, the roles of ATP, relaxation and antagonistic muscles, rigor after death, and creatine phosphate.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Describe how a piece of muscle from a chicken leg can be prepared to show its striations under a light microscope.
Key term
Explain why the cross-bridge cycle repeats many times during a single contraction.
Key term
Explain why breathing rate rises during exercise.
Key term
What is meant by aerobic fitness?
Key term
State what each letter of F.I.T.T. stands for.
Key term
Which part of a haemoglobin molecule binds oxygen, and how many oxygen molecules can one haemoglobin carry?
Key term
Which chains replace the beta chains of adult haemoglobin in fetal haemoglobin?
Key term
Explain why an oxygen deficit develops at the beginning of exercise.
Key term
Explain how blood is redistributed during exercise.
Key term
Define VO₂ max.
Key term
What does frequency mean in an exercise programme, and why must rest days be included?
Key term
Explain how carbohydrate loading improves endurance performance.
Key term
Write in words what happens when haemoglobin loads oxygen in the lungs.
Key term
Explain why fetal haemoglobin must have a higher affinity for oxygen than the mother's.
Key term
Which two sources supply ATP while the oxygen deficit is building up?
Key term
Name the cell surface membrane and the cytoplasm of a muscle fibre.
Key term
State the central idea of the sliding filament theory.
Key term
State two immediate effects of exercise on skeletal muscle.
Numbers
An athlete of mass 70 kg has a maximum rate of oxygen consumption of 4.2 dm³ min⁻¹. Calculate their VO₂ max in cm³ kg⁻¹ min⁻¹.
Key term
Explain why intensity must be neither too low nor too high.
Key term
What is erythropoietin, and where is it normally produced?
Key term
Define the terms loading and unloading as applied to haemoglobin.
Key term
Place adult haemoglobin, fetal haemoglobin and myoglobin in order of increasing affinity for oxygen.
Key term
Define the term oxygen debt.
Key term
What is a sarcomere?
Key term
Describe what happens to the length of the A band, the I band and the H zone when a sarcomere contracts.
Take Metabolism and Exercise further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Oxygen deficit vs Oxygen debt
Oxygen deficit: the amount by which uptake falls short of aerobic demand in the first minute or two of exercise, made up by creatine phosphate and glycolysis. Oxygen debt: the extra amount consumed above resting level after exercise has finished, used to oxidise the lactate and rebuild the creatine phosphate stores.
Actin vs Myosin
Actin: the protein of the thin filament, two twisted chains of globular subunits carrying the binding sites for the thick filament. Myosin: the protein of the thick filament, whose projecting heads attach to the thin filament and swivel to pull it past.
Troponin vs Tropomyosin
Troponin: the globular protein of the thin filament that binds calcium ions and changes shape as soon as they arrive. Tropomyosin: the long fibrous protein winding around the thin filament, covering the binding sites until it is pulled aside.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Describe the immediate changes in breathing that occur at the start of exercise.
Model answer
Both the rate and the depth of breathing increase, so the volume of air moved through the lungs each minute rises sharply.
- 2
Explain why breathing rate rises during exercise.
Model answer
Respiring muscle produces more carbon dioxide, which lowers the pH of the blood; chemoreceptors detect this and the medulla increases the frequency of impulses to the intercostal muscles and diaphragm.
- 3
Define cardiac output and state how it changes at the onset of exercise.
Model answer
Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped by one ventricle each minute, and it increases during exercise because both heart rate and stroke volume rise.
- 4
Explain how blood is redistributed during exercise.
Model answer
The arterioles supplying skeletal muscle dilate while those supplying the gut and other non-essential organs constrict, so a much greater proportion of the cardiac output is delivered to working muscle.
- 5
How does contraction of skeletal muscle help to increase venous return during exercise?
Model answer
Contracting muscles squeeze the deep veins running between them, and the valves in those veins ensure the blood is pushed only towards the heart.
- 6
State two immediate effects of exercise on skeletal muscle.
Model answer
The rate of respiration in the muscle fibres increases to meet the higher demand for ATP, and the muscle produces more heat.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Metabolism and Exercise revision questions
- What does Metabolism and Exercise cover in OCR A-Level Biology B?
- 9 subtopics: the consequences of exercise on the body, aerobic fitness and vo₂ max, training, f.i.t.t. factors and investigating fitness, enhancing athletic performance, haemoglobin and the transport of oxygen, oxygen dissociation curves of different respiratory pigments, oxygen deficit and oxygen debt, the structure of skeletal muscle and the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Metabolism and Exercise organised?
- By the OCR H422 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Metabolism and Exercise, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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