A study involving a brain-training exercise was carried out on more than a thousand adults aged 65 and over, some of whom later developed dementia. Results showed that the benefits of the five-week mental agility course undertaken by some of the adults lasted for at least five This led to an improvement in everyday activities such as money management and the ability to do housework. If those with trained brains developed dementia, they did so later than those in the control group. The results also showedthat, for those people in the study who developed dementia, after the diagnosis their mental decline occurred faster than for those who had not undertaken the training.
Which one of the following can be drawn as a conclusion from the above passage?
All over-65s who undertake brain training live for at least five years afterwards.
Older people do not perform mentally challenging tasks unless forced to do
Keeping the mind active delays the onset of
People do a decreasing amount of housework as they grow
It is preferable to have swift mental decline once dementiaDeseleziona risposta

Once again it has become fashionable for householders to replace their carpets with wooden floors. Sales of laminate and solid floors, such as oak, have seen a massive increase in the last ten years. This trend seems more in tune with our eco-friendly aspirations: carpets are often plastic-based and use vast quantities of underlying material, or underlay, made from For this reason, it seems unlikely that wooden floors will go out of fashion in the near future.
Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the above argument?
Not all wooden floors need a layer of underlay
Carpets can harbour dust mites and allergens
Sales of carpets made of synthetic materials have decreased in the last ten years while woollen carpets have seen an increase
Most types of laminate and wood floors use petrochemicals in their manufacture
Wooden floors may look longer-lasting but can be more easily damaged than carpetsDeseleziona risposta

According to the current mainstream scientific view, Near Death Experiences (NDEs) are explicable in purely physiological terms. Specifically, they are caused by cerebral anoxia (oxygen deficiency in brain tissue), which occurs in a dying brain. On the other hand, recent research on hundreds of successfully resuscitated cardiac patients found that only twenty per cent reported NDEs. If NDEs had purely medical causes then most of the patients should have experienced them, since they had all been clinically dead and experienced cerebral anoxia.  NDEs therefore do not have purely physiological
Which one of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the above passage?
Not all clinically dead patients have NDEs
NDEs are a physical property of the human brain
NDEs are not necessarily caused by physical events alone
NDEs are caused by oxygen deficiency in the brain
Not all successfully resuscitated cardiac patients have NDEsDeseleziona risposta

Increasingly, the quality of a teacher, and of his or her lessons, is to be judged by feedback from their pupils. This is dangerous, as pupils have a tendency to focus too much on whether or not they enjoyed the lesson, in other words, on how much ‘fun’ they found The purpose of education, however, is not to keep children entertained; it is not to make their lives more fun. Arguably, it is not even to make them happier, per se. The purpose of schools is to make their pupils better, more educated people. This is all that matters, and therefore it is whether the teacher succeeds at this – not at being a children’s entertainer – that counts.
Which one of the following is a flaw in the above argument?
It fails to consider that enjoying lessons could result in pupils ending up better educated
By simply asserting that the purpose of education is not even to make people happier, the argument rests on a questionable contention
It patronises young people by thinking that their judgement will be based solely on how much fun they found the lesson
It doesn’t specify precisely what it means by making someone a better, more educated person.
The comparison with being a children’s entertainer is an unfair exaggeration of what a teacher tries to do by making lessons more funDeseleziona risposta

Researchers have tried to establish reasons for a recent drop in the catch of marlin near the Madeira coast. This drop cannot be explained by environmental conditions; there was no significant change in the temperature or composition of the region’s Nor could one blame the human factor, because the size of the fishing fleet, catch quotas and pollution levels have been strictly observed. The environmentalists then analysed the records of the fishing catch of marlin over the last six centuries. This research identified that regular five-year periods of significant decrease in the catch alternated with fifteen-year periods of gradual growth of the catch. In view of this, the study concluded that the current drop in the marlin catch is part of a long-term cycle related to fish migration and food-chain balance.
Which one of the following is an underlying assumption of the above argument?
The change in fishing technology has affected the change in the fishing catch
There is no correlation between the fishing catch today and the deep-sea stock of marlin in the sixteenthcentury
The fishing catch of marlin around Madeira does not depend on the condition of the water around the island
Climate change did not affect the temperature of ocean water off the Madeira coast
The records provide accurate information about the catch of marlin off the Madeira coastDeseleziona risposta

A student packs books into a box which is 20 cm high, 30 cm wide, and 40 cm long. She ties string around the box in the pattern shown. A further 20 cm of string is needed for a knot.

What length of string is needed to tie up her box?
5.4 m
3.8 m
2.0 m
2.6 m
2.9 mDeseleziona risposta

The plan of a domestic lawn with dimensions in metres is shown below.

The lawn area is to be reseeded. Seed must be applied at the rate of 50 grams per square metre. Appropriate grass seed is available only in the following quantities:



What is the least amount of money that needs to be spent to buy sufficient seed to reseed the lawn?
£16.00
£13.50
£14.00
£16.50
£22.00Deseleziona risposta

Five girls competed in five events at their sports day. The following scoring system was used for each event:

Before the events started, each girl nominated the event in which they wished to play their joker card – this doubled the number of points gained in that event. The table below shows the results of each event and the athletes’ final points scores:

How many of the girls won the event in which they had elected to play their joker?
1
5
4
2
3Deseleziona risposta

At the Shawilde Theatre, tickets are priced as follows:

Front stalls £35
Centre stalls £28
Rear stalls £20

Every row in the theatre contains 30 seats.

Last night’s performance was a sell-out and the ticket sales were £21 000. Exactly 60% of this income came from tickets for the centre stalls, and the rest was split equally between the front stalls and the rear stalls.
How many rows of seats make up the centre stalls at the Shawilde Theatre?
11
15
19
22
26Deseleziona risposta

Four of the following five pieces can be fitted together to make the above pattern.



Which one of the pieces is NOT needed?




Deseleziona risposta

Which one of the following literary works does NOT originate in the corresponding country?
The Divine Comedy – Italy
The Tale of Genji – Japan
Oedipus Rex – Greece
The Poems of Rumi – China
Don Quixote – SpainDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following composed the opera Madama Butterfly?
Giuseppe Verdi
Gioachino Rossini
Georges Bizet
Richard Wagner
Giacomo PucciniDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following plays by William Shakespeare is NOT set in Italy?
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
The Taming of the Shrew
Romeo and JulietDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following writers is the author of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?
Georges Simenon
Iris Murdoch
Harper Lee
Elena Ferrante
Ernest HemingwayDeseleziona risposta

The 'prisoner’s dilemma' is a common example analysed in the field of
Chaos theory
Asymptotic theory
Network theory
Quantum theory
Game theoryDeseleziona risposta

Who was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize?
Mother Teresa
Grazia Deledda
Selma Lagerlöf
Marie Curie
Doris LessingDeseleziona risposta

Which one of these events in world history happened most recently?
The fall of the Western Roman Empire
The October Revolution in the Russian Empire
The Taiping Rebellion in China
The building of the Taj Mahal
The crowning of CharlemagneDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following religions is NOT considered to have been revealed to or founded by anindividual?
Confucianism
Hinduism
Islam
Christianity
BuddhismDeseleziona risposta

The governance of modern states is often based on the separation of which three powers?
Legislative – elective – jurisprudential
Electoral – regulatory – jurisprudential
Regulatory – executive – judicial
Legislative – executive – judicial
Legislative – elective – executiveDeseleziona risposta

The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted on 22 December 1947 by
The Constituent Assembly
The Supreme Court
The Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Defence
The GovernmentDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following is NOT a stated purpose of the United Nations?
To encourage peaceful trade between nations
To maintain international peace and security
To develop friendly relations among nations
To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems
To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nationsDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following countries did NOT adopt the coins and banknotes of the Euro as its currency on 1 January 2002?
Austria
Sweden
Portugal
Luxembourg
FinlandDeseleziona risposta

Which of the following rows are correct about these naturally occurring biological molecules?


1, 2 and 3 only
1, 3 and 4 only
2, 3 and 4 only
1, 2, 3 and 4
1, 2 and 4 onlyDeseleziona risposta

Which of the following is/are tissues?

1. cartilage
2. skin
3. endothelium
1, 2 and 3
1 and 2 only
1 and 3 only
2 and 3 only
1 onlyDeseleziona risposta

Which of the following statements about the metabolism of plants is/are correct?

1. CO2 is produced during the day.
2. CO2 is produced at night.
3. The CO2 produced can be used by the plant.
1, 2 and 3
1 only
2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 2 onlyDeseleziona risposta

Which one of the following occurs during anaphase of mitosis in a healthy human liver cell?
Chromatin condenses so that the chromosomes are visible under the microscope
Chromosomes move towards the equator of the cell and attach to the spindle fibres
DNA replicates so that each chromosome is made up of two sister chromatids
Centrioles migrate to opposite poles of the cell and help to assemble the spindle fibres
Sister chromatids are pulled by the spindle fibres towards opposite poles of the cellDeseleziona risposta

Which row shows a correct component of each of the three structures listed?


row 2
row 3
row 4
row 1
row 5Deseleziona risposta

Beetroot is a root vegetable with cells that contain a red Normally the pigment cannot pass out of the cells because it cannot diffuse through their cell surface membranes. An investigation was carried out into the effect of various chemicals on the permeability of the cell surface membranes of beetrootcells.
1 cm³ samples were cut from the beetroot and washed in running water for 20 minutes to remove any pigment that was released from the damaged cells.
Five experiments were carried out. In each experiment, one cube of beetroot was placed in liquid P and one cube placed in liquid Q, and the results were observed.



Which row shows the correct results and conclusions?
row 2
row 1
row 4
row 3
row 5Deseleziona risposta

If a cell divides by mitosis ten times, what is the number of cells at the end of the process?
[Assume that all cells remain alive.]
10
100
1024
64
11Deseleziona risposta

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an inherited disease caused by a dominant allele. People with FH have high concentrations of cholesterol in the blood, which can lead to an increased risk of coronary heart disease.
The family tree shows the inheritance of this disease in one family.

Which row shows the number of individuals in the family tree with each genotype?

row 5
row 3
row 1
row 2
row 4Deseleziona risposta

The diagrams show some pathways between the central nervous system and effector organs in a healthy human.
Which pathway is a possible route for impulses passing along a parasympathetic neuron?




Deseleziona risposta

An electron microscope (EM) was used to view a cell.
The maximum dimension of the cell was observed at a magnification ×30 000. The image on the EM screen showed a maximum length of 30 mm.
Which of the following mature healthy cells was being magnified?
one lymphocyte from a human
one mature human red blood cell
one sensory neuron from a human
one palisade cell from a wheat plant
one coccus bacterium in a Staphylococcus clusterDeseleziona risposta

Which statement about an enzyme involved in genetic modification is correct?
A ligase causes phosphodiester bonds to be broken
A restriction enzyme causes phosphodiester bonds to be broken
A restriction enzyme causes H-bonds to form between sticky ends
A restriction enzyme causes only H-bonds to be broken
A ligase causes H-bonds to form between sticky ends onlyDeseleziona risposta

Which statement is correct in healthy humans?
Blood leaving active muscles that are respiring aerobically will contain hydrogencarbonate ions and raised levels of lactic acid
At a low partial pressure of oxygen, myoglobin is less saturated with oxygen than haemoglobin
Increasing the partial pressure of oxygen makes it more likely that haemoglobin will release its oxygen
In active tissues where the carbon dioxide concentration is high, haemoglobin has a low affinity for oxygen
The majority of carbon dioxide transported in the blood is in the form of carbaminohaemoglobinDeseleziona risposta

Which of the following regions within a sarcomere remain UNCHANGED in length when a healthy human muscle cell contracts?

1. A-band
2. I-band
3. H-zone/band

2 only
1 only
3 only
1 and 3 only
2 and 3 onlyDeseleziona risposta

Which row is correct for the three given features of typical human B lymphocytes?


row 2
row 5
row 1
row 4
row 3Deseleziona risposta

Which of the following processes involve ions?
1. contraction of a muscle
2. transmission of a nerve impulse across a synapse
3. transfer of light energy into chemical energy in photosynthesis
4. oxidative phosphorylation in a mitochondrion
1, 2, 3 and 4
2 and 3 only
3 and 4 only
1, 2 and 3 only
1 and 2 onlyDeseleziona risposta

An animal has a coat that has some patches of white hair and some patches of black hair. Cells that make up a hair follicle form a single hair, which is either white or black.
Assume that there are no mutations following formation of the zygote. A student wrote the following statements:

1. The cells in all the hair follicles contain the same genes.
2. The alleles in a hair follicle forming a white hair are different from the alleles in the hair follicle forming a black hair.
3. Each white hair follicle cell contains two recessive alleles.

Which statement(s) is/are correct?
2 only
1 and 2 only
1 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3Deseleziona risposta

The diagram shows a nephron with collecting duct from a healthy human.

Which of the regions (1- 4) contain a liquid with no urea?
1 only
1 and 2 only
none of them
2 and 3 only
2, 3 and 4 onlyDeseleziona risposta

The same section of an allele coding for five amino acids from two different individuals, P and Q, is shown.

 P              ATTCCGGGATTCCCT
Q              ATTCCGGATTGCACT

Which of the following types of mutation could explain the differences between P and Q?
1. addition
2. deletion
3. substitution

1 only
1 and 3 only
2 and 3 only
none of them
1, 2 and 3Deseleziona risposta

Which statement about a positive ion explains why it is positively charged?
The ion has more protons than electrons
The ion has more electrons than neutrons
The ion has more electrons than protons
The ion has more protons than neutrons
The ion has the same number of protons and neutronsDeseleziona risposta

A few drops of universal indicator solution were added to exactly 50 mL of sodium hydroxide solution, NaOH, of concentration 1 mol / L. Exactly 50 mL of hydrochloric acid, HCl , of concentration 1 mol / L, was added drop by drop to the sodium hydroxide solution containing the universal indicator solution.
What colour changes would be observed as the hydrochloric acid was added?
red → orange → yellow → green
violet → blue → green → yellow → orange → red
blue → red
violet → blue → green
red → orange → yellow → green → blue → violetDeseleziona risposta

A student observed that when powdered sugar at –1 °C was added to ice at –1 °C all of the ice melted.
Which of the following statements explain this observation?

1. Sugar has given the water molecules energy.
2. The melting point of the mixture is higher.
3. The melting point of the mixture is lower.

2 only
3 only
1 only
1 and 2 only
1 and 3 onlyDeseleziona risposta

Which of the following pairs of structural formulae represent structural isomers?

1. CH₃CH₂OH and CH₃OCH₃
2. CH₃CH(CH₃)CH₂CH₂CH₃ and CH₃CH₂CH₂CH(CH₃)CH₃
3. CH(OH)=CHCH₂OH and CH₃CH₂COOH

2 only
1 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3Deseleziona risposta

Element Z reacts with water at room temperature and hydrogen gas is released.
The oxide of element Z is a solid at room temperature and does not conduct electricity. The oxide reacts with acids and has the formula ZO.
To which group/part of the Periodic Table does element Z belong?
Group I
Group III
Transition metals
Group II
Group VIIDeseleziona risposta

Which of the following equations represent(s) a redox reaction?

1. 4LiH + AlCl  ₃ → 3LiCl + LiAl  H₄
2. N₂O₃ + 3H₂O → 2H₃O+ + 2NO₂^-
3. NH₄NO₃ → 2H₂O + N₂O

2 only
3 only
1 and 2 only
1 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3Deseleziona risposta

Which of the following molecules have an overall permanent dipole moment?

1.CO₂
2. H₂O
3.NH₃

[C is in Group IV, N is in Group V, O is in Group VI]
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1 and 3 only
none of them
1, 2 and 3Deseleziona risposta

Why does hydrogen iodide (HI) have a higher boiling point than hydrogen bromide (HBr)?
[Atomic numbers: bromine = 35; iodine = 53]
The permanent dipole-permanent dipole forces between HI molecules are stronger than those between HBr
The induced dipole-induced dipole (dispersion) forces between HI molecules are stronger than those between HBr
There are hydrogen bonds between HI molecules but not between HBr
The H – I covalent bond is stronger than the H – Br covalent
The iodide ions in HI are larger than the bromide ions in HBrDeseleziona risposta

What is the minimum mass of sulfur dioxide needed to make 500 mL of a solution of concentration0 mol/L?
[Ar  values: O = 16; S = 32]
48 g
32 g
96 g
192 g
384 gDeseleziona risposta

A compound consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen only.
8 g of this compound contains 3 g of carbon and 1 g of hydrogen.
Which one of the following could be the molecular formula of the compound?
[Ar  values: C = 12; H = 1; O = 16]
CH₄O
CH₂O
C₂H₄O
C₂H₈O
C₃HO₄Deseleziona risposta

Hydrogen has a radioactive isotope called Tritium atoms have two neutrons.
The most abundant naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen has a relative atomic mass of 1.0.
What is the value for the relative atomic mass of a sample of hydrogen gas that has an equal amount of these two isotopes of hydrogen?
1.0
1.5
3.0
4.0
2.0Deseleziona risposta

Consider the following reversible reaction at temperature T.
A  +  2B  ⇌  2C  + D
At equilibrium, there are 0.5 moles of A, 0.2 moles of B, 0.5 moles of C and 0.8 moles of D, all in a vessel of volume V.
What is the value of the equilibrium constant, Kc, at this temperature?
10
4
2
0.25
0.1Deseleziona risposta

Which of the following expressions is equal to \( \frac{8^{2n}× 4^n}{2^n}\) for all integers n?
2⁶ⁿ
2⁶ⁿ⁺¹
2⁷ⁿ
2²ⁿ⁺⁵
2¹⁴ⁿDeseleziona risposta

The mean mass of three babies is 2.1 kg. The range of their masses is 0.7 kg. The lightest baby has a mass of 1.8 kg.
What is the median mass of the three babies?
1.95 kg
2.1 kg
2.15 kg
2.3 kg
2.0 kgDeseleziona risposta

What is the highest common factor of 360, 500 and 700, given as the product of powers of its primefactors?
2 × 5
2³ × 5³
2² × 3² × 5 × 7
2² × 5
2³ × 3² × 5³ × 7Deseleziona risposta

What is the sum of the solutions to the equation \( \frac{3}{x} + \frac{2}{x-2} = 1\), where x is a real number and x≠0 and x≠2?
5
7
-7
2.4
-3Deseleziona risposta

A car, which is initially stationary, accelerates for 5.0 seconds at 4.0 m/s² along a straight road. It then continues in the same direction for 20 seconds at a constant speed.
What is the maximum speed of the car, and what is the distance travelled by the car in the final 20 seconds of its motion?
maximum speed = 20 m / s; distance = 400 m
maximum speed = 20 m / s; distance = 80 m
maximum speed = 9.0 m / s; distance = 180 m
maximum speed = 9.0 m / s; distance = 200 m
maximum speed = 24 m / s; distance = 480 mDeseleziona risposta

A stone of density 5.20 g / cm³ and volume 200 cm³ is completely submerged in a liquid of density 1.20 g / cm³.
What is the magnitude of the upthrust acting on the stone?
[gravitational field strength = 10.0 N / kg]
6.40 N
8.00 N
10.4 N
2.40 N
2.00 NDeseleziona risposta

Two charged particles P and Q are 0.10 m apart. The charge on P is 1.50 × 10^–7  C and the charge on Q is 1.50 × 10^–7 Particle P experiences an electrostatic force of magnitude Fbecause it is near to the charge on particle Q.
The distance between the two particles is increased to 0.20 m. The charge on P is increased to 4.50 × 10^–7 C and the charge on Q is increased to 6.00 × 10^–7 C.
What is the magnitude of the force that particle P experiences now?
3F
12F
6F
\(\frac{F}{4}\)
\(\frac{3F}{4}\)Deseleziona risposta

A fixed mass of an ideal gas is compressed at constant temperature. The pressure is recorded continuously as the volume decreases. The pressure ( y-axis) and volume (x-axis) are plotted on a linearly scaled graph.
Which statement describes the plotted line?
a straight line of positive gradient starting at the origin of the graph
a curved line with negative gradient of decreasing magnitude
a straight line parallel to the pressure axis
a straight line parallel to the volume axis
a curved line of increasing positive gradient starting at the origin of the graphDeseleziona risposta