AQA GCSE Biology (8461), Higher tier · Homeostasis and response › Hormonal coordination in humans
Practise Control of blood glucose concentration. 14 exam-style questions plus unlimited generated ones on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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Name the hormone that is released when the blood glucose concentration is too high.
Insulin
Which type of diabetes is caused by the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin?
Type 1 diabetes
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy6 marks
The concentration of glucose in the blood is controlled by hormones.
(a) Which organ monitors and controls the blood glucose concentration? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
Kidney
Liver
Pancreas
Pituitary gland
(b) Name the hormone that is released when the blood glucose concentration is too high.[1]
(c) In liver and muscle cells, excess glucose is converted into a storage substance. Name this storage substance.[1]
(d) Type 1 diabetes is normally treated with insulin injections. What is the cause of Type 1 diabetes?[1]
(e) Which two are common treatments for Type 2 diabetes? Tick (✓) two boxes.[2]
A carbohydrate-controlled diet
A course of antibiotics
An exercise programme
A kidney transplant
A vaccination
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: Pancreas
(b)Answer: Insulin
insulin
(c)Answer: Glycogen
glycogen
(d)Answer: The pancreas does not produce enough insulin
the pancreas does not produce (enough) insulin
(e)Answer: A carbohydrate-controlled diet; An exercise programme
Question 2Medium8 marks
Two people each had a drink containing 75 g of glucose. Person A does not have diabetes. Person B has Type 1 diabetes and did not inject any insulin during the test. {fig} shows the blood glucose concentrations of both people. The solid line is person A and the dashed line is person B.
[object Object]
(a) Describe how the blood glucose concentration of person A changed between 0 and 120 minutes.[2]
(b) Explain why the blood glucose concentration of person A decreased after 30 minutes.[3]
(c) Use {fig} to give two differences between the results for person B and the results for person A.[2]
(d) What should person B do to reduce their blood glucose concentration?[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: It rose to a peak of 140 mg per 100 cm³ at 30 minutes, then fell back to 85 mg per 100 cm³ by 120 minutes
increased to a maximum / peak at 30 minutes / of 140 (mg per 100 cm³)
then decreased back to the starting value / to 85 (mg per 100 cm³) (by 120 minutes)
(b)Answer: The pancreas detected the high glucose concentration and released insulin; insulin caused glucose to move from the blood into cells, where it was stored as glycogen in liver and muscle cells
pancreas detects the high blood glucose concentration
(pancreas) releases / secretes insulin (into the blood)
(insulin) causes glucose to move from the blood into (body) cells
(in liver and muscle cells) glucose is converted to glycogen (for storage)
(c)Answer: B starts at a higher concentration; B's concentration rises higher and peaks later; B's concentration does not return to its starting value within 180 minutes
person B's concentration was higher at the start
person B's peak was higher / reached 280 compared with 140 (mg per 100 cm³)
person B's peak was later / at 90 minutes compared with 30 minutes
person B's concentration fell more slowly / did not return to the starting value
(d)Answer: Inject insulin
inject insulin
Question 3Hard8 marks
A person eats a meal that contains a lot of carbohydrate. The person then eats nothing more for the next 8 hours.
(a) Explain how the concentration of glucose in the blood is kept within normal limits during the 8 hours after the meal.[6]
(b) A person with Type 1 diabetes measures their blood glucose concentration before deciding how much insulin to inject. Suggest why.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: Level 3 answers explain the insulin response to the rise after the meal and the glucagon response to the later fall, linked as negative feedback
carbohydrate is digested and glucose is absorbed into the blood, so blood glucose rises
the pancreas monitors / detects the rise in blood glucose
the pancreas releases insulin into the blood
insulin causes glucose to move from the blood into cells
in liver and muscle cells glucose is converted to glycogen for storage
blood glucose falls back to normal
later, as glucose is used in respiration, blood glucose falls below normal
the pancreas releases glucagon
glucagon causes glycogen to be converted into glucose, which is released into the blood
blood glucose rises back to normal; insulin and glucagon act antagonistically in negative feedback
Marked with levels of response: the full level descriptors are in the app.
(b)Answer: The dose must match the glucose concentration: too little insulin leaves the glucose too high, too much makes it fall dangerously low
too little insulin would leave blood glucose too high
too much insulin would make blood glucose fall too low