AQA A Level Biology: Year 2 - The
Kidneys Exam Question and Answers
2022
How does blood enter the kidney? - ANSWER Renal artery
What is the function of the kidney? - ANSWER Filter out urea and excess water/ions
from the blood
What is osmoregulation? - ANSWER The regulation of the water potential of the blood
What is ultrafiltration? - ANSWER The filtering of substances out of the blood
What is selective reabsorption? - ANSWER The reabsorption of useful substances and
the right volume of water into the blood
What is a nephron? - ANSWER Long tubules with bundles of capillaries where the
blood is filtered
What happens during ultrafiltration? - ANSWER 1. Blood enters from the renal artery
into smaller arterioles
2. The afferent arteriole takes blood to the glomerulus
3. High pressure forces out liquid and small molecules into the Bowman's capsule
4. The efferent arteriole transports the blood away which now contains only large
proteins/blood cells
Why is there a high pressure in the glomerulus? - ANSWER The efferent arteriole is
smaller in diameter than the afferent arteriole
What is the glomerular filtrate? - ANSWER The substances from the blood that enter
the Bowman's capsule
Which substances are not filtered out of the blood and why? - ANSWER Blood cells
Proteins
Too large to pass through capillary endothelium
What cells makes up the epithelium of the Bowman's capsule? - ANSWER Podocytes
What happens during reabsorption in the proximal convoluted tubule? - ANSWER 1.
Glucose and solutes are reabsorbed into the blood by active transport
Kidneys Exam Question and Answers
2022
How does blood enter the kidney? - ANSWER Renal artery
What is the function of the kidney? - ANSWER Filter out urea and excess water/ions
from the blood
What is osmoregulation? - ANSWER The regulation of the water potential of the blood
What is ultrafiltration? - ANSWER The filtering of substances out of the blood
What is selective reabsorption? - ANSWER The reabsorption of useful substances and
the right volume of water into the blood
What is a nephron? - ANSWER Long tubules with bundles of capillaries where the
blood is filtered
What happens during ultrafiltration? - ANSWER 1. Blood enters from the renal artery
into smaller arterioles
2. The afferent arteriole takes blood to the glomerulus
3. High pressure forces out liquid and small molecules into the Bowman's capsule
4. The efferent arteriole transports the blood away which now contains only large
proteins/blood cells
Why is there a high pressure in the glomerulus? - ANSWER The efferent arteriole is
smaller in diameter than the afferent arteriole
What is the glomerular filtrate? - ANSWER The substances from the blood that enter
the Bowman's capsule
Which substances are not filtered out of the blood and why? - ANSWER Blood cells
Proteins
Too large to pass through capillary endothelium
What cells makes up the epithelium of the Bowman's capsule? - ANSWER Podocytes
What happens during reabsorption in the proximal convoluted tubule? - ANSWER 1.
Glucose and solutes are reabsorbed into the blood by active transport
