Admissions Test Preparation · Practice Set 15
ESAT Biology Mock Module 1 of 3
27 a full 27-question module, the same length and shape as one sitting of the real test. Cells and transport, division and inheritance, DNA and protein synthesis, biotechnology and selection, enzymes, physiology, ecology and plants. Every question states the specification sub-topic it was written against.
How to use this set
Every question carries a target time, and no question needs a calculator. Attempt each one against the clock with the solution collapsed. If you are still setting up algebra when the target time passes, stop and open the solution: the shortcut is what the question is testing, and the arithmetic is not.
Read the Key Idea before the full breakdown. If the key idea alone lets you redo the question in under a minute, the method has landed and you can move on. If it does not, work the step-by-step breakdown and then return to the question a day later.
The Common Mistake section on each question is the slower route that still reaches the right answer. Under exam conditions that route is usually the difference between finishing the module and running out of time.
Modules in this set
Select a module below to view the questions and their step-by-step worked solutions:
Biology
27 questions, 40 minutes in the real test. Cells and transport, division and inheritance, DNA and protein synthesis, biotechnology and selection, enzymes, physiology, ecology and plants. 27 worked solutions.
Shortcut index
Use this as a revision checklist. If you can state the shortcut before opening the question, you already have the mark.
Biology
| # | Topic | Shortcut rehearsed |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | The product of mitosis | Mitosis: two cells, chromosome number unchanged |
| Q2 | Plant cells against animal cells | Ask what the animal cell also has before calling a structure plant-only |
| Q3 | Genetic engineering | Cut with restriction enzymes, join with ligase |
| Q4 | Complementary base pairing | A equals T, C equals G, and all four sum to a hundred |
| Q5 | Enzyme specificity | The active site shape decides what an enzyme can act on |
| Q6 | The product of meiosis | Meiosis: four cells, chromosome number halved |
| Q7 | What bacteria lack | Prokaryotic means no membrane-bound nucleus |
| Q8 | Stem cell potency | Potency measures how many cell types it can still become |
| Q9 | The triplet code | Three bases to one amino acid |
| Q10 | Enzymes and temperature | Rate climbs to the optimum, then collapses |
| Q11 | Asexual against sexual reproduction | One parent means identical offspring |
| Q12 | Calculating magnification | Convert both lengths to one unit before dividing |
| Q13 | Selective breeding against natural selection | Ask what does the selecting |
| Q14 | Genome, chromosome and gene | Genome contains chromosomes contain genes |
| Q15 | Enzymes and pH | Each enzyme has an optimum pH matched to where it works |
| Q16 | Sex determination | The father's gamete decides the sex, and the ratio is one to one |
| Q17 | Levels of organisation | Each level is built from many of the level below |
| Q18 | Antibiotic resistance | Variation exists first; selection acts on it afterwards |
| Q19 | Mutations that change nothing | The code is degenerate, so many base changes are silent |
| Q20 | Digestive enzymes and their products | The enzyme is named after what it breaks down |
| Q21 | Genetic terminology | Genotype is the alleles; phenotype is what you can see |
| Q22 | Osmosis and water potential | Water moves towards the more concentrated solution |
| Q23 | Genetic and environmental variation | Only genetic variation is inherited |
| Q24 | A monohybrid cross | Two heterozygotes give three to one |
| Q25 | Active transport | Only active transport goes uphill, and only it needs energy |
| Q26 | The test cross | Cross with the homozygous recessive to expose a hidden allele |
| Q27 | Surface area to volume ratio | Doubling the length halves the surface area to volume ratio |
Where to go from here
Everything on this page is free and stays free. These are the three things worth doing next.
- Take the 15-question ESAT diagnostic - Twenty minutes, scored instantly, with a worked solution for every question you miss
- Follow the dated preparation plan - Every ESAT page on this site, sequenced backwards from the October sitting
- Sitting another admissions test as well? - TMUA, PAT, MAT and STEP each have their own preparation page and free practice
- Join the ESAT preparation list - One email a week from June to October, and nothing else
- Enquire about one-to-one preparation - For candidates who want the gap closed rather than mapped
One-to-one places are limited and taken by application, not by the hour.