Lesson 3.6.1.2.1

3.6.1.2.1 Receptors and the Pacinian corpuscle Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 3.6.1.2.1, Receptors and the Pacinian corpuscle: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Biology (7402), Unit 6: Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which is a property of receptors according to the specification?

    • They produce hormones directly
    • They respond to every type of stimulus equally
    • They respond only to specific stimuli
    • They are found only in the brain

  2. What is produced in a Pacinian corpuscle when stimulated?

    • A lactate molecule
    • A generator potential
    • A synaptic vesicle
    • A chloroplast

  3. Where are Pacinian corpuscles found in the human body?

    • In the retina
    • In the lungs
    • In the stomach wall
    • In the skin

  4. What structure in a Pacinian corpuscle is deformed by pressure?

    • Layers of connective tissue surrounding the sensory neurone ending
    • The retina of the eye
    • The synapse at the neuromuscular junction
    • The chloroplast membranes

  5. What happens when stretch-mediated sodium ion channels in a Pacinian corpuscle are deformed?

    • Acetylcholine is released into a synapse
    • Oxygen is released from the membrane
    • Potassium ions leave and the cell hyperpolarises
    • Sodium ions enter and a generator potential is established

  6. Rods and cones differ in their sensitivity to light. Which statement is correct?

    • Rods detect colour and cones detect dim light
    • Cones are more sensitive to dim light than rods
    • Rods are more sensitive to dim light, while cones are needed for colour vision
    • Rods and cones are equally sensitive to all light levels

  7. Why do rods give high sensitivity but low visual acuity?

    • Many rods connect to one neurone in the optic nerve, so signals are summed but fine detail is lost
    • Rods have many more pigments than cones
    • Rods are connected to individual neurones with one-to-one contact
    • Rods contain chloroplasts that amplify light

  8. Why does colour vision depend on cones rather than rods?

    • Cones are found only in the optic nerve
    • Cones contain more light-sensitive pigment than rods
    • Cones contain different optical pigments that respond to different wavelengths of light
    • Cones respond only to dim light

  9. A Pacinian corpuscle does not respond to a constant steady pressure once it has been applied for some time. What explains this?

    • The corpuscle loses its sodium ions permanently
    • Pressure stops the corpuscle from having a resting potential
    • Deformation must change for sodium channels to keep producing generator potentials
    • Pressure causes the corpuscle to release acetylcholine

  10. Which best describes the link between stimulus strength and generator potential in a Pacinian corpuscle?

    • Stimulus strength has no effect on the generator potential
    • A greater deformation produces a larger generator potential
    • A greater deformation produces a smaller generator potential
    • Generator potentials are the same size for all stimuli

  11. What is the main difference between a generator potential and an action potential?

    • A generator potential is graded in size, whereas an action potential is all-or-nothing
    • A generator potential is always larger than an action potential
    • Action potentials occur only in receptors, and generator potentials only in neurones
    • An action potential is graded in size, whereas a generator potential is all-or-nothing

  12. A night-time scene appears only in shades of grey. Which explanation is most accurate?

    • The optic nerve is blocked at night
    • Only rods are active in dim light, and rods contain one type of optical pigment
    • Rods have a higher visual acuity than cones at night
    • Cones are active in dim light and detect only grey

  13. Why does the fovea have higher visual acuity than the periphery of the retina?

    • The fovea contains many more rods than the periphery
    • The fovea does not contain any cones
    • Cones in the fovea have fewer neurones connecting them to the brain, so fine detail is preserved
    • The fovea is connected to many rods that sum their signals

  14. Two points touched at the same time on the fingertip can be distinguished, but the same two points on the back cannot. Which concept is illustrated?

    • Generator potential frequency
    • Synaptic summation
    • Habituation of touch receptors
    • Resolution of touch receptors

  15. Habituation of touch receptors is best described as:

    • The loss of the sodium pump during repeated stimulation
    • A change in colour sensitivity of the receptor
    • An increase in response when a stimulus is repeated many times
    • A decrease in response when a stimulus is repeated many times

  16. A receptor produces a generator potential below the threshold for an action potential. What happens?

    • The generator potential is converted into a synapse
    • An action potential is produced at a lower size
    • No action potential is produced, although the generator potential may still be present
    • The receptor is destroyed by the stimulus

  17. Explain why a Pacinian corpuscle can detect pressure but not temperature. Which statement is most accurate?

    • It responds to all stimuli because it has many membranes
    • It contains heat-sensitive proteins that respond only to pressure
    • It is connected to the eye and so responds to light
    • Its sodium channels respond to deformation, so it is specific to mechanical stimuli

  18. Which statement describes receptor specificity in the retina?

    • Rods respond to sound, and cones respond to touch
    • Cones respond to temperature and rods respond to chemicals
    • Rods respond to light and cones respond to colour, so each receptor type has its own role
    • Rods and cones respond equally to all stimuli

  19. What is the role of the layers of connective tissue in a Pacinian corpuscle?

    • They make the corpuscle sensitive to light
    • They absorb sodium ions from the surroundings
    • They transmit pressure to the sensory neurone ending, deforming its membrane
    • They produce neurotransmitter for a synapse

  20. Which feature makes rods suitable for detecting movement in dim light?

    • Large numbers of mitochondria in each rod
    • A direct one-to-one connection to the brain for each rod
    • Colour pigments that respond to movement
    • High sensitivity, because signals from many rods are summed onto one neurone

All AQA Biology quizzes