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AQA GCSE Biology — Infection and Bioenergetics flashcards

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Topics 4.3 and 4.4 of AQA GCSE Biology: pathogens and named diseases, human defences, vaccination, drugs and trials, monoclonal antibodies, plant disease, photosynthesis and limiting factors, respiration and metabolism. Higher Tier and Biology-only cards are marked.

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Learn deck · part of AQA GCSE Biology · written against: AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, version 1.0; Higher Tier and separate-science-only cards marked on the front. Updated 2026-10-10.

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  1. What is a pathogen, and which four groups of organism can pathogens belong to?
    A microorganism that causes infectious disease; the four groups are viruses, bacteria, protists and fungi.

    Example: they can infect both plants and animals.
    Infection and Response › Communicable Diseases
  2. Name three ways in which pathogens can be spread from one host to another.
    By direct contact, by water and by air.

    Example: measles spreads through the air in droplets; Salmonella is caught from contaminated food.
    Infection and Response › Communicable Diseases
  3. How do bacteria make a person feel ill?
    They reproduce rapidly inside the body and may produce toxins (poisons) that damage tissues.

    Watch out: viruses cause illness differently, by damaging the cells they live in.
    Infection and Response › Communicable Diseases
  4. How do viruses cause disease?
    They live and reproduce inside cells, which damages the cells.

    Why: new virus particles leave the host cell, often bursting it, and go on to infect more cells.
    Infection and Response › Communicable Diseases
  5. How is measles spread, and why are most young children vaccinated against it?
    By breathing in droplets from coughs and sneezes; children are vaccinated because measles is serious and can kill if complications develop.

    Example: its symptoms are a fever and a red skin rash.
    Infection and Response › Communicable Diseases
  6. What is the word equation for photosynthesis?
    carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen, using light energy.

    Why: it takes place in the chloroplasts of plants and algae.
    Bioenergetics › Photosynthesis
  7. What is the balanced symbol equation for photosynthesis?
    6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

    Watch out: C₆H₁₂O₆ is glucose; light is a condition, not a reactant.
    Bioenergetics › Photosynthesis
  8. Why is photosynthesis described as an endothermic reaction?
    Light carries energy from the surroundings into the chloroplasts, so the reaction takes in energy overall.

    Watch out: respiration is the opposite: an exothermic reaction.
    Bioenergetics › Photosynthesis
  9. Which four factors affect the rate of photosynthesis?
    Temperature, light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration and the amount of chlorophyll.

    Example: a plant with yellowing leaves has less chlorophyll, so it photosynthesises more slowly.
    Bioenergetics › Photosynthesis
  10. Why does the rate of photosynthesis fall at high temperatures?
    The enzymes that control photosynthesis are denatured.

    Watch out: at low temperatures the rate is slow for a different reason: the enzymes and molecules have little kinetic energy.
    Bioenergetics › Photosynthesis

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About these cards

Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.

Checked against:

  • Topic outline follows the AQA GCSE Biology (8461) specification, version 1.0 (outline only; no specification text reproduced).
  • OpenStax Biology 2e and OpenStax Microbiology, consulted as references; no text copied.
  • Also checked against the NICE glossary and the Royal Horticultural Society's aphid guide (reference only; no text copied).

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