AQA GCSE Biology (8461), Higher tier · Organisation › Animal tissues, organs and organ systems
Practise Health issues. 11 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.
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy4 marks
Diseases are major causes of ill health.
(a) What is meant by health?[1]
(b) Which two of these are non-communicable diseases? Tick (✓) two boxes.[2]
Coronary heart disease
Measles
Salmonella food poisoning
Type 2 diabetes
(c) Other than disease, give one factor that can affect a person's physical and mental health.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
the state of physical and mental well-being
(b)Answer: Coronary heart disease; Type 2 diabetes
(c)
diet / stress / life situations
Question 2Medium5 marks
Different types of disease can interact with each other.
(a) Explain why a person with a defect in their immune system is more likely to suffer from communicable diseases.[2]
(b) Give one way in which a virus can lead to a non-communicable disease.[1]
(c) An immune reaction first caused by a pathogen can trigger an allergy. Give one example of an allergy that can be triggered in this way.[1]
(d) Suggest how severe physical ill health can affect a person's mental health.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
the immune system / white blood cells cannot destroy pathogens effectively
so pathogens can reproduce in the body and cause disease
(b)
viruses living in cells can trigger cancer
(c)
skin rash / asthma
(d)
it can lead to depression / other mental illness
Question 3Hard6 marks
A man has HIV, which has damaged his immune system. Over several years he developed tuberculosis (TB), a type of cancer that is triggered by a virus, and depression. After recovering from a chest infection, he also developed asthma.
Use the information and your own knowledge to explain how different types of disease can interact. You should refer to communicable and non-communicable diseases in your answer.[6]
Show the answer and mark scheme
HIV is a communicable disease caused by a virus that damages the immune system / white blood cells
defects in the immune system make a person more likely to suffer from infectious (communicable) diseases, e.g. TB
TB is a communicable disease caused by a bacterium
viruses living in cells can trigger cancers, which are non-communicable
an immune reaction first caused by a pathogen (e.g. the chest infection) can trigger allergies such as asthma or skin rashes
severe physical ill health can lead to depression and other mental illness
health is the state of physical and mental well-being, so each disease affects overall health
other factors, e.g. diet, stress and life situations, can also affect both physical and mental health
Marked with levels of response: the full level descriptors are in the app.