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

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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.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which property is characteristic of all sensory receptors in the human body?

    • Constant impulse generation
    • Universal stimulus response
    • Specific stimulus response
    • Variable membrane potentials

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

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

  3. Where in the human body are Pacinian corpuscles mainly located?

    • Brain
    • Cochlea
    • Retina
    • Skin

  4. Which structure of a Pacinian corpuscle is deformed when pressure is applied?

    • Connective tissue lamellae
    • Myelin sheath
    • Synaptic vesicles
    • Axon terminal

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

    • Potassium influx occurs
    • Calcium efflux occurs
    • Sodium efflux occurs
    • Sodium influx occurs

  6. Which photoreceptor type is responsible for vision in low light intensities?

    • Bipolar cells
    • Cone cells
    • Rod cells
    • Ganglion cells

  7. Why do rod cells provide high sensitivity to light but low visual acuity?

    • Retinal convergence
    • High threshold potential
    • Individual neurone connection
    • Absence of rhodopsin

  8. Why do cone cells allow humans to perceive different colours?

    • Retinal convergence
    • Higher light sensitivity
    • Different iodopsin pigments
    • Single rhodopsin pigment

  9. Why does a Pacinian corpuscle stop producing a generator potential under constant steady pressure?

    • Sodium-potassium pumps fail
    • Action potentials block
    • Stretch-gated channels close
    • Neurotransmitters run out

  10. How does increasing stimulus strength affect the generator potential in a Pacinian corpuscle?

    • Increases its frequency
    • Increases its size
    • Decreases its size
    • Has no effect

  11. Unlike an action potential, how is a generator potential described?

    • Graded in size
    • Constant in size
    • Self-propagating
    • Always hyperpolarising

  12. Why do human eyes perceive vision only in shades of grey in dim light?

    • Iodopsin is active
    • Only rods function
    • Only cones function
    • Rhodopsin is destroyed

  13. Why does the fovea provide higher visual acuity than peripheral areas of the retina?

    • High rod density
    • Multiple cone summation
    • Single cone connection
    • Retinal convergence

  14. Which property of sensory receptors allows two close stimuli to be distinguished separately?

    • Temporal summation
    • Spatial summation
    • High sensitivity
    • High resolution

  15. What term describes a decreased generator potential in response to a continuous stimulus?

    • Spatial summation
    • Refractory period
    • Action potential
    • Receptor adaptation

  16. What happens when a generator potential does not reach the threshold level?

    • Continuous impulse
    • Refractory period
    • No action potential
    • Small action potential

  17. Why does a Pacinian corpuscle respond specifically to mechanical pressure rather than temperature?

    • Myelin sheath insulation
    • Voltage-gated channels
    • Ligand-gated channels
    • Stretch-gated channels

  18. Which photoreceptors in the human retina are responsible for colour vision in bright light?

    • Rod cells
    • Bipolar cells
    • Cone cells
    • Ganglion cells

  19. What is the function of the lamellae surrounding the sensory neurone in a Pacinian corpuscle?

    • Generate action potentials
    • Insulate electrical impulses
    • Transmit mechanical pressure
    • Secrete neurotransmitters

  20. Why do rod cells have high sensitivity to light in low-light conditions?

    • High visual acuity
    • Iodopsin breakdown
    • Single neurone connections
    • Retinal convergence

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