Question 1 Medium
In which chamber does the blood from the vena cava arrive?
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Answer: right atrium
- The vena cava brings blood from the body.
- It arrives in the right atrium.
The heart and blood vessels: GCSE Combined Science Biology practice questions
A second set of questions on the heart and blood vessels. They are different from the ones on the topic page. Try each, then open the answer and compare your working.
More questions
Question 2 Medium
Name the group of cells that controls the resting heart rate.
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Answer: pacemaker
- They are in the right atrium.
- They are the pacemaker.
Question 3 Medium
A heart beats 70 times each minute. How many times does it beat in 5 minutes?
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Answer: 350
- Heart rate is beats per minute.
- 70 × 5 = 350.
Question 4 Medium
Which type of blood vessel carries blood at the highest pressure?
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Answer: arteries
- Blood leaves the heart in these vessels.
- They have thick walls to cope with the pressure.
Question 5 Hard
200 cm³ of blood flows through an artery in 4 minutes. Calculate the rate of blood flow in cm³ per minute.
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Answer: 50 cm³ per minute
- Rate = volume ÷ time.
- 200 ÷ 4 = 50.
Question 6 Hard
1260 cm³ of blood is pumped in 3 minutes. Calculate the rate of blood flow in cm³ per minute.
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Answer: 420 cm³ per minute
- Rate = 1260 ÷ 3.
- The rate is 420 cm³ per minute.
Question 7 Hard
Which blood vessels supply the heart muscle with oxygen?
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Answer: coronary arteries
- The heart needs its own blood supply.
- These are the coronary arteries.
Question 8 Hard
Name the type of blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart.
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Answer: pulmonary artery
- The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs.
- It leaves in the pulmonary artery.
Question 9 Hard
A heart has a stroke volume of 60 cm³ and a heart rate of 80 beats per minute. Calculate the cardiac output in cm³ per minute.
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Answer: 4800 cm³ per minute
- Cardiac output = stroke volume × heart rate.
- 60 × 80 = 4800.
Quick checks
Short questions with options. Choose one before you open the answer.
Check 1
What is a double circulatory system?
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The blood passes through the heart twice in each circuit: once to the lungs and once to the body.
Check 2
How many chambers does the heart have?
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Four: two atria and two ventricles.
Check 3
What do the atria do?
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They receive blood.
Check 4
What do the ventricles do?
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They pump blood out of the heart.
Check 5
What is the job of valves in the heart?
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To stop blood flowing backwards.
Check 6
Why is the left ventricle wall thicker?
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It pumps blood at high pressure to the whole body.
Check 7
Which vessel brings blood from the body to the heart?
Show answer
The vena cava.
Check 8
Which vessel carries blood from the heart to the lungs?
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The pulmonary artery.
Check 9
Which vessel brings oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart?
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The pulmonary vein.
Check 10
Which vessel carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the body?
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The aorta.
Check 11
How are arteries adapted?
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They have thick, elastic, muscular walls and a narrow lumen to cope with high pressure.
Check 12
How are veins adapted?
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They have thin walls, a wide lumen and valves.
Check 13
How are capillaries adapted?
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Their walls are one cell thick, so diffusion is fast.
Check 14
What is the natural pacemaker of the heart?
Show answer
A group of cells in the right atrium.
Check 15
What supplies the heart muscle with oxygen?
Show answer
The coronary arteries.
Check 16
What is the equation for the rate of blood flow?
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rate of flow = volume ÷ time.
Check 17
What is the lumen of a blood vessel?
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The space inside, through which blood flows.
Check 18
What is heart rate?
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The number of heartbeats per minute.
Check 19
Why does heart rate rise during exercise?
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So more oxygen reaches the muscles.
Check 20
Why do capillaries have a large total surface area?
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There are very many of them.
Check 21
What does an artificial pacemaker do?
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It corrects the heart rate if the natural pacemaker does not work properly.
Check 22
Which side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs?
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The right side.
Check 23
What happens if the coronary arteries are blocked?
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The heart muscle gets too little oxygen, which can cause a heart attack.
Check 24
Which artery is the exception that carries deoxygenated blood?
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The pulmonary artery.
Check 25
Why does blood pass through the heart twice on each circuit?
Show answer
The pressure falls in the lungs, so the blood is pumped again.
Check 26
What name is given to the vessels that link arteries and veins?
Show answer
The capillaries.
Check 27
What is cardiac output?
Show answer
The volume of blood pumped by the heart each minute: stroke volume × heart rate.
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