Practise Protist diseases. 11 exam-style questions 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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Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. What name is given to an animal that spreads a pathogen?
Vector
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy5 marks
Malaria is a disease that affects millions of people every year.
(a) What type of pathogen causes malaria? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
Bacterium
Fungus
Protist
Virus
(b) Malaria is spread by mosquitoes. What name is given to an animal that spreads a pathogen?[1]
(c) Give one symptom of malaria.[1]
(d) Give two ways that the spread of malaria can be controlled.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: Protist
(b)Answer: Vector
vector
(c)Answer: Recurrent episodes of fever.
(recurrent episodes of) fever
(d)
stop mosquitoes breeding, e.g. drain standing water
sleep under mosquito nets
kill mosquitoes with insecticide
use insect repellent / cover the skin
Question 2Medium6 marks
The protist that causes malaria has a life cycle that includes the mosquito. When a mosquito bites an infected person, it takes in protists with the blood. The protists develop inside the mosquito and are passed to the next person the mosquito bites. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water. Most mosquitoes that spread malaria feed at night.
(a) Explain why sleeping under a mosquito net reduces the spread of malaria.[2]
(b) Explain how draining areas of still water reduces the spread of malaria.[2]
(c) Suggest two reasons why malaria is more common in hot, wet countries than in cold, dry countries.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
mosquitoes cannot bite the person (at night)
(so) protists are not passed to the person / mosquitoes cannot take in protists from an infected person
(b)
mosquitoes cannot lay eggs / breed
(so) there are fewer mosquitoes / vectors to carry the protists to people
(c)
more still water for mosquitoes to breed in
mosquitoes survive / breed / are active all year in warm conditions
the protists develop more quickly inside mosquitoes in warm conditions
Question 3Hard7 marks
A rapid test for malaria uses a test strip. A drop of the patient's blood is added to one end of the strip.
The strip contains monoclonal antibodies attached to a coloured dye. These antibodies can move along the strip. They bind to a protein made only by the malaria protist.
At the test line, more monoclonal antibodies against the same protein are fixed to the strip.
(a) Explain why a coloured line appears at the test line only if the patient's blood contains the malaria protist.[3]
(b) A patient has a fever. Fever is the main symptom of malaria, but it is also a symptom of many other diseases. Explain why the rapid test is useful for this patient.[2]
(c) Explain how diagnosing and treating people with malaria quickly can also reduce the spread of malaria.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)
the protist's protein binds to the monoclonal antibodies with the dye, which move along the strip
at the test line the protein also binds to the fixed antibodies, so the dye is held there and a coloured line appears
if the protein is not present, the antibodies with the dye do not bind at the test line / move past it, so no coloured line appears
(b)
a fever alone does not show that the patient has malaria
the test shows whether the malaria protist is present, so the correct treatment can be started quickly
(c)
treated people no longer have the protist in their blood
so mosquitoes that bite them do not pick up the protist, and fewer mosquitoes can pass it on to other people