1 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

1. What are the approximate diameters of a trachea, an alveolus, a bronchiole and a

bronchus?

2. What is an effect of inhaling tobacco smoke?

A decreased mucus production by goblet cells
B increased movement of cilia in bronchial epithelium
C reduced oxygen transport by blood
D thinning of bronchial epithelium

3. The diagram shows two alveoli.

A cigarette smoker has more alveoli like X and fewer like Y.

From which disease does he suffer?
A atherosclerosis
B chronic bronchitis
C emphysema
D lung cancer

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2 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

4. Which correctly shows the areas of the respiratory tract that contain cartilage, goblet cells,
smooth muscle and cilia (ciliated epithelium)?

5. The diagram shows stages in the development of the disease emphysema.

What is correct for 1, 2 and 3?

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3 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

6. The photomicrographs show an artery from a non-smoker and a smoker.

7. What is the reason that the smoker’s artery looks like this?
A A cancerous tumour has formed and is blocking the lumen.
B Nicotine has damaged the artery endothelium causing a plaque.
C Tar has stuck to the artery wall forming a blockage.
D The artery has become constricted due to carbon monoxide.

8. What correctly describes the cause and effect of carcinogens on lung tissue?
A Cells of the alveoli walls divide more rapidly than normal by reduction division causing a
tumour to develop.
B Cilia are paralysed, mucus accumulates in the lungs, causing DNA to change, reduction
division and a tumour to develop.
C DNA changes, causing bronchial epithelial cells to divide in an uncontrolled way by mitosis
and a tumour to develop.
D Haemoglobin carries less oxygen, causing bronchial cells to divide in an uncontrolled way by
mitosis and a tumour to develop.

9. What is a correct description of part of the respiratory system?

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4 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

10. Which statement describes the vital capacity of a human lung?

A the additional volume of air that can be exhaled after breathing out normally
B the additional volume of air that can be inhaled after breathing in normally
C the volume of air inhaled and then exhaled during a single tidal breath
D the volume of air that can be exhaled following a maximum inhalation

11. Between 1954 and 1958 many doctors read a report that linked smoking cigarettes to
deaths from lung cancer. The graph shows deaths from lung cancer among male doctors
and ‘all other men’ in England and Wales between 1954 and 1962.

Which statements best explain the changes in deaths from lung cancer between 1954 and
1962?
1 ‘All other men’ are more at risk of dying from lung cancer then male doctors.
2 Male doctors are more at risk of dying from lung cancer than ‘all other men’.
3 Proportionally more ‘all other men’ gave up smoking than male doctors.
4 Proportionally more male doctors gave up smoking cigarettes than ‘all other men’.

A 1 and 3 B 2 and 3 C 2 and 4 D 1 and 4

12. Which component of cigarette smoke makes blood platelets more sticky and therefore
increases the risk of blood clot formation?
A carbon monoxide
B carcinogens
C nicotine
D tar

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5 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

13. When a person suffers an asthma attack, the tubes of the gas exchange system narrow and
extra mucus is produced. Which of these changes occur during an asthma attack?
1 Activity of ciliated epithelium increases.
2 Endocytosis in goblet cells increases.
3 Smooth muscles respire faster.
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3

14. A person with emphysema must consciously contract muscles in order to breathe out.
What makes this muscle contraction necessary?
A constriction of the bronchioles
B excess mucus blocking the air passages
C loss of elasticity in the alveolar walls
D paralysis of cilia in the air passages

15. Which component of tobacco smoke makes the blood platelets sticky causing an increased
risk of clot formation?
A carbon monoxide
B carcinogens
C nicotine
D tar

16. The table shows a person’s lung volumes during quiet breathing and at full inspiration and
full expiration.

What is this person’s vital capacity?

A 1.7 dm3 B 2.0 dm3 C 3.7 dm3 D 5.2 dm3
17. The diagram shows a magnified section through the lung tissue.

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6 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

What are 1, 2, 3 and 4?

18. The first diagram shows a spirometer, which is an apparatus used to measure changes in
lung volume. The cover rises during exhalation and falls during inhalation, producing a trace
on the rotating drum. The second diagram shows a typical trace from a spirometer.

Which would give the vital capacity?

AX+Y BX–Y CX+Z DY+Z

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7 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

19. Some studies suggest that smoking increases the risk of developing lung cancer. The two
graphs show the percentage of smokers and the deaths from lung cancer in men of two age
groups between 1950 and 1998.

Which statement is not supported by the data in the graphs?

A Deaths from lung cancer in men 35-59 decreased by 50 % over the period of the study.
B Deaths from lung cancer in men 60-74 increased up to 1970.
C The data for men 60-74 between 1950 to 1970 suggests that lung cancer takes up to 20
years to develop.
D The number of men aged 35-59 who were smokers decreased by approximately 60 % over
the period of the study.

20. Which cells or tissues are incorrectly paired with their function?

21. The graph shows the volume of air breathed out quickly and with force, following a deep
breath in, for three different people, X, Y and Z.

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8 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

What is an explanation for the differences shown?

22. Which statement is an example of epidemiological evidence linking smoking to lung cancer?
A Chemical analysis of tar from cigarettes shows that it contains carcinogens.
B Dogs made to inhale the smoke from cigarettes develop lung tumours.
C The incidence of lung cancer increases in a population as more cigarettes are smoked.
D When tar from cigarettes is rubbed onto the skin of mice, the mice develop skin tumours.

23. The squamous epithelial cells of the alveoli form part of the gas exchange system. How do
these cells assist gas exchange?
1 They contain many mitochondria.
2 They have a large surface area.
3 They provide a short diffusion path.
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3

24. Which statements are correct effects of tar in tobacco smoke on the human gas exchange
system?

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9 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

25. The diagram shows a record of a person’s breathing. The person breathed normally at the
start, breathed in as deeply as possible and then breathed out as much as possible.

What is a valid conclusion from the graph?

A The person breathed in 1000 cm3 during the first 50 seconds.
B The person was carrying out strenuous exercise for the first 30 seconds.
C The rate of breathing for the first 30 seconds was 18 breaths per minute.
D The tidal volume was 500 cm3, the vital capacity was 3750 cm3.

26. Ciliated, goblet and squamous epithelial cells are found in various parts of the human lung
and associated structures. Where are these cells located?

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10 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

27. What would be seen in an electron micrograph of a bronchus wall?

1 cartilage cells
2 ciliated cells
3 exocytotic vesicles
A 1 and 2 B 1 and 3 C 2 and 3 D 1, 2 and 3

28. An oxygen molecule diffuses directly from the air in an alveolus to haemoglobin in a red
blood cell. What is the minimum number of cell surface membranes through which this
molecule must pass?
A2 B3 C4 D5

29. A disease damages alveoli.

Which effect does this have on the gas exchange surface area and volume of the lungs?

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11 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

Q1. Fig. 1.1 is a drawing made from an electron micrograph of a cell from the ciliated epithelium
of the bronchus.

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12 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

(a) Complete the table below by writing the appropriate letter from Fig. 1.1 to indicate the
structure that carries out each of the functions listed. The first one has been completed for you.

(b) The alveoli in the lungs are lined by a squamous epithelium.

Explain why gas exchange occurs in alveoli and not in the bronchus.

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(c) Describe the likely appearance of the lining of the bronchus in a person who has been a
heavy smoker for many years.

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Waleed Ahmad Khan A levels (ECP) Phone. 0347 – 4443879

13 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

Q2. Some components of tobacco smoke are absorbed into the blood stream and affect the
cardiovascular system.
Describe the effects of nicotine and carbon monoxide on the cardiovascular system.

nicotine ............................................................................................................................

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carbon monoxide .............................................................................................................

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Q3. Fig. 1.1 is a drawing made from an electron micrograph showing a cross-section of an
alveolus and two adjacent capillaries.

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14 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

(a) Calculate the magnification of Fig. 1.1. Show your working and express your answer to the
nearest whole number.

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(b) With reference to Fig. 1.1, describe the process of gaseous exchange in the alveolus.

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Q4. Fig. 1.1 is a drawing made from an electron micrograph of a goblet cell from the epithelium
of the gas exchange system.

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15 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

(a) Name A to C.

A .......................................................................................................................................

B .......................................................................................................................................

C ................................................................................................................................... [3]

(b) State two places in the gas exchange system where goblet cells are found.

1. ......................................................................................................................................

2. .................................................................................................................................. [1]

Mucus contains a number of different glycoproteins, called mucins. These have a protein ‘core’
that is formed by repeated sequences of amino acids, some of which have carbohydrates
attached to their side chains (R groups). A part of one of these repeated units is shown
diagrammatically in Fig. 1.2.

(c) Use label lines and the letters P and G to indicate on Fig. 1.2 the positions of:
P – a peptide bond;
G – a glycosidic bond. [2]

(d) Describe the role of mucus in the gas exchange system.

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Waleed Ahmad Khan A levels (ECP) Phone. 0347 – 4443879

16 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

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(e) Glycoproteins are found in cell surface membranes.

State one function of these glycoproteins.

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Q5. Fig. 3.1 shows some cells from the lining of the bronchus from a person who has never
smoked. Fig. 3.2 shows cells from the same area in a heavy smoker who suffers from chronic
bronchitis.

(a) Using label lines and the following letters, label the structures A to C on Fig. 3.1.
A cilia
B nuclear membrane (nuclear envelope)
C endoplasmic reticulum [3]

(b) Explain why the lungs are at an increased risk of infection when the bronchial epithelium is
damaged as is shown in Fig. 3.2.

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Waleed Ahmad Khan A levels (ECP) Phone. 0347 – 4443879

17 Cambridge AS Level Biology Section: H Gaseous Exchange and Smoking

(c) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
A student used the World Health Organisation database to investigate the link between cigarette
smoking and deaths from COPD. Fig. 3.3 shows deaths from COPD plotted against the mean
annual consumption of cigarettes in 20 countries for the period 1997
to 2002.

The student concluded that there was no link between cigarette consumption and deaths from
COPD. Use the information in Fig. 3.3 to discuss the student’s conclusion.

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Waleed Ahmad Khan A levels (ECP) Phone. 0347 – 4443879