Question 1 Hard
Give one way of reducing the spread of malaria.
Show answer
Answer: mosquito nets
- Break the link between mosquitoes and people.
- Nets and controlling mosquitoes work.
Pathogens and communicable disease: GCSE Combined Science Biology practice questions
A second set of questions on pathogens and communicable disease. They are different from the ones on the topic page. Try each, then open the answer and compare your working.
More questions
Question 2 Hard
Why does rose black spot reduce growth? Give the process that is reduced.
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Answer: photosynthesis
- The leaves are damaged and fall off.
- So less photosynthesis happens.
Question 3 Hard
Give one way to reduce the spread of salmonella.
Show answer
Answer: cook food thoroughly
- Heat kills bacteria.
- Cooking and hygiene stop its spread.
Question 4 Hard
Name the type of drug used to control HIV in the body.
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Answer: antiretroviral
- The drugs slow the virus.
- They are antiretroviral drugs.
Question 5 Easy
What word describes an animal that carries a pathogen from one host to another?
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Answer: vector
- It carries the pathogen but is not the pathogen.
- It is a vector.
Question 6 Easy
Name one symptom of measles.
Show answer
Answer: red skin rash
- Measles has a typical rash and a high temperature.
- So a fever or a red rash is correct.
Question 7 Medium
What can gardeners use to kill the fungus that causes rose black spot?
Show answer
Answer: fungicide
- The pathogen is a fungus.
- A chemical that kills fungi is a fungicide.
Question 8 Medium
Name one symptom of salmonella food poisoning.
Show answer
Answer: vomiting
- Salmonella infects the gut.
- Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea.
Question 9 Medium
Which disease caused by bacteria spreads in contaminated water and causes diarrhoea?
Show answer
Answer: cholera
- The disease is spread through dirty water.
- It is cholera.
Question 10 Hard
Which bacterial disease damages the lungs and spreads in droplets when an infected person coughs?
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Answer: tuberculosis
- The lungs are damaged.
- This is tuberculosis.
Quick checks
Short questions with options. Choose one before you open the answer.
Check 1
What is a pathogen?
Show answer
A microorganism that causes disease.
Check 2
Name the four types of pathogen.
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Bacteria, viruses, fungi and protists.
Check 3
How do bacteria make us ill?
Show answer
They reproduce quickly and produce toxins that damage tissues.
Check 4
How do viruses make us ill?
Show answer
They reproduce inside cells and damage them.
Check 5
What is a vector?
Show answer
An organism that carries a pathogen from one host to another.
Check 6
What type of pathogen causes measles?
Show answer
A virus.
Check 7
What are the symptoms of measles?
Show answer
A fever and a red skin rash.
Check 8
How is HIV spread?
Show answer
By sexual contact or the exchange of body fluids, such as through shared needles.
Check 9
What does HIV attack?
Show answer
The immune system.
Check 10
What does TMV do to a plant?
Show answer
It makes a mosaic of discoloured patches on leaves, reducing photosynthesis.
Check 11
What are the symptoms of salmonella?
Show answer
Fever, stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Check 12
What type of pathogen causes gonorrhoea?
Show answer
A bacterium.
Check 13
What is rose black spot?
Show answer
A fungal disease that makes black spots on leaves and reduces photosynthesis.
Check 14
What causes malaria and how is it spread?
Show answer
A protist, spread by mosquitoes.
Check 15
How can the spread of malaria be reduced?
Show answer
Control the mosquitoes and use nets.
Check 16
How does a condom help against sexually transmitted infection?
Show answer
It acts as a barrier to stop the pathogen passing between people.
Check 17
What word describes a disease that can spread from one host to another?
Show answer
Communicable.
Check 18
How do viruses spread in the air?
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In droplets from coughs and sneezes.
Check 19
Which pathogens do antibiotics kill?
Show answer
Bacteria, but not viruses.
Check 20
What is a fungicide?
Show answer
A chemical that kills fungi.
Check 21
What drugs help to control HIV?
Show answer
Antiretroviral drugs.
Check 22
What are the symptoms of gonorrhoea?
Show answer
Pain on urinating and a thick yellow or green discharge.
Check 23
How can gardeners control rose black spot?
Show answer
Use fungicides, and strip off and burn affected leaves.
Check 24
Why does isolating an ill person help?
Show answer
It stops them passing the pathogen to other people.
Check 25
Why are many gut bacteria useful?
Show answer
Not all microorganisms cause disease. Many gut bacteria are helpful.
Check 26
How does cholera spread?
Show answer
In water or food contaminated with the faeces of an infected person.
Check 27
What does cholera cause?
Show answer
Severe diarrhoea and dehydration.
Check 28
How does tuberculosis spread?
Show answer
In droplets from the coughs of an infected person.
Check 29
Which part of the body does tuberculosis affect?
Show answer
The lungs.
Keep going with Pathogens and communicable disease
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