AQA GCSE Combined Science Foundation (8464), Foundation tier · Biology › Organisation › Animal tissues, organs and organ systems
Practise Health issues. 6 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.
What health is, the difference between communicable and non-communicable diseases, how different diseases can interact, and how to handle disease data using tables, charts, histograms, scatter diagrams and samples. Questions are usually short explanations and calculations from data.
Key facts
Health = the state of physical and mental well-being
Communicable = caused by pathogens, can spread
Non-communicable = cannot be passed from person to person
Immune system defect → more infectious diseases
Virus living in cells → can trigger cancer
Immune reaction to a pathogen → can trigger an allergy (rash, asthma)
Severe physical illness → depression and other mental illness
Rate per 1000 = number of cases ÷ population × 1000
Good sample: large, random, representative
Notes
Health and disease
Health is the state of physical and mental well-being.
Diseases, both communicable and non-communicable, are major causes of ill health.
Communicable (infectious) diseases are caused by pathogens and can spread, e.g. measles. Non-communicable diseases cannot be passed on, e.g. coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Other factors, including diet, stress and life situations (such as poverty, poor housing or lack of access to healthcare), can have a profound effect on both physical and mental health.
How diseases interact
Defects in the immune system make a person more likely to suffer from infectious diseases (e.g. people with HIV).
Viruses living in cells can be the trigger for cancers (e.g. HPV infection can lead to cervical cancer).
Immune reactions first caused by a pathogen can trigger allergies, such as skin rashes and asthma.
Severe physical ill health can lead to depression and other mental illness.
Working with health data
diagram
Disease incidence is often given as a rate, e.g. cases per 1000 or per 100 000 people, so that populations of different sizes can be compared.
Use a bar chart (with gaps) for categories, e.g. different diseases. Use a histogram (bars touching) for continuous data in classes, e.g. age groups.
Plot one variable against the other on a scatter diagram to see whether they are correlated (positive, negative or no correlation).
Scatter diagrams showing positive, negative and no correlation
Scientists usually study a sample rather than a whole population. A good sample is large, random and representative (a range of ages, sexes and backgrounds), so the conclusions apply to the whole population.
How to answer each type of question
Suggest how other factors affect health
2 marksGrade 5
Think about both physical and mental health.
Give a specific link, not just 'it is bad for you'.
Example. Suggest how long-term stress at work could affect a person's health.
Show the model answerHide the model answer
It could affect mental health, e.g. cause anxiety or depression (1). It could affect physical health, e.g. poor sleep or a poor diet, making illness more likely (1).
Don’t lose marks
Defining health as 'not having a disease'. It is the state of physical and mental well-being.
Saying non-communicable means 'not serious' or 'not caused by anything'. It means it cannot be passed from person to person.
Misreading a graph scale, or forgetting 'per 1000' when working out a total number of people.
Drawing bar charts with touching bars for categories, or histograms with gaps for continuous data.
Saying a small sample 'is not accurate'. Say it may not be representative, so the conclusion may not be valid.
Per 1000: divide the cases by the population, then multiply by 1000. The answer must be less than 1000.
Sampling checklist: Big, Random, Representative.
Exam technique
When a question gives a table or graph, use numbers from it in your answer.
Use the words 'random' and 'representative' when commenting on samples.
In 'suggest' questions on disease interactions, apply the idea to the example in the question rather than just repeating a rule.
What each grade needs
What you need to be able to do, from the first marks up to the top grade.
Grade 3
Define healthHealth is the state of physical and mental well-being.
Grade 4
Tell communicable and non-communicable diseases apartCommunicable diseases are caused by pathogens and can spread; non-communicable diseases cannot be passed from one person to another.
Grade 5
Give factors other than disease affecting healthDiet, stress and life situations can have a big effect on both physical and mental health.
Sample questions
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