Lesson 2.1.6c

2.1.6c Stem cells and their uses Quiz: OCR Biology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2.1.6c, Stem cells and their uses: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR Biology (H020), Unit 1: Foundations in biology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which term describes stem cells capable of forming an entire organism, including extra-embryonic tissues?

    • Unipotent
    • Multipotent
    • Pluripotent
    • Totipotent

  2. Which type of stem cell can differentiate into all body cells, but not placental tissue?

    • Multipotent
    • Totipotent
    • Pluripotent
    • Unipotent

  3. Which term describes adult stem cells that can only differentiate into a limited cell range?

    • Multipotent
    • Pluripotent
    • Omnipotent
    • Totipotent

  4. Which plant tissue contains undifferentiated stem cells?

    • Meristem
    • Epidermis
    • Xylem
    • Mesophyll

  5. What does it mean for a stem cell to be undifferentiated?

    • Incapable of division
    • Fully specialised
    • Not specialised
    • Genetically modified

  6. Which branch of biology uses stem cells to study tissue development?

    • Developmental biology
    • Evolutionary biology
    • Molecular genetics
    • Forensic science

  7. Which therapeutic application relies on stem cells to replace damaged tissue?

    • Passive immunity
    • Vaccine design
    • Tissue repair
    • Antibiotic production

  8. Why are specific growth factors added to stem cell cultures?

    • To induce mutation
    • To prevent division
    • To trigger apoptosis
    • To direct differentiation

  9. Stem cells can renew themselves by division. This property is called:

    • Self-renewal
    • Apoptosis
    • Transcription
    • Differentiation

  10. What major risk arises when transplanting stem cells from a donor?

    • Organ hypertrophy
    • Viral replication
    • Immune rejection
    • Gene silencing

  11. How does gene expression in differentiated cells differ from stem cells?

    • Selective gene expression
    • Total gene silencing
    • Loss of DNA
    • Uncontrolled expression

  12. A stem cell culture doubles every 12 hours. How many cells are present after 36 hours, starting from 1000?

    • 8000
    • 36000
    • 4000
    • 3000

  13. Why does human embryonic stem cell research raise ethical concerns?

    • Embryo destruction
    • Viral transmission
    • Bacterial contamination
    • DNA loss

  14. What process causes a stem cell to differentiate into a specialised cell?

    • Chromosome duplication
    • Cell shrinkage
    • Selective gene activation
    • DNA replication

  15. Why might transplanted stem cells form tumour-like growths in a patient?

    • Rapid apoptosis
    • Uncontrolled proliferation
    • Immune tolerance
    • Bacterial infection

  16. Which stem cells can form an entire organism including extra-embryonic tissue?

    • Pluripotent
    • Multipotent
    • Unipotent
    • Totipotent

  17. What happens to a tissue if its stem cells lose the ability to self-renew?

    • Enhanced repair rate
    • Rapid cell division
    • Increased pluripotency
    • Loss of regeneration

  18. What division type produces one stem cell and one differentiating cell?

    • Symmetric division
    • Asymmetric division
    • Reduction division
    • Binary fission

  19. What term describes adult stem cells restricted to forming a few cell types?

    • Multipotent
    • Unipotent
    • Pluripotent
    • Totipotent

  20. Which stem cell application is an example of research rather than direct treatment?

    • Repairing spinal cords
    • Replacing damaged heart
    • Testing drug safety
    • Treating leukaemia

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