Lesson 3.6.2.1.2

3.6.2.1.2 Refractory period and transmission of nerve impulses Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.6.2.1.2, Refractory period and transmission of nerve impulses: 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. What prevents a neurone from firing continuously in one direction?

    • Refractory period
    • Resting potential
    • Threshold potential
    • Myelin sheath

  2. What feature of transmission ensures action potentials pass along a neurone as discrete signals?

    • Spatial summation
    • Refractory period
    • Saltatory conduction
    • Threshold potential

  3. What parameter of nerve impulse transmission is directly restricted by the refractory period?

    • Maximum firing frequency
    • Axon conduction speed
    • Action potential amplitude
    • Resting membrane potential

  4. What prevents an action potential from travelling backwards along an unmyelinated axon?

    • Myelin sheath barrier
    • Potassium channel blockade
    • Refractory period behind
    • Synaptic vesicle depletion

  5. Which factor increases the speed of nerve impulse conduction along an axon?

    • Decreased temperature
    • Larger axon diameter
    • Absence of myelin
    • Lower axon diameter

  6. What term describes action potentials jumping between nodes along a myelinated axon?

    • Continuous conduction
    • Saltatory conduction
    • Spatial summation
    • Temporal summation

  7. A neurone has a refractory period of 2 ms. What is the maximum frequency of impulse transmission?

    • 500 impulses per second
    • 200 impulses per second
    • 2 impulses per second
    • 0.002 impulses per second

  8. A neurone has a refractory period of 5 ms. What is the maximum frequency of impulses?

    • 200 impulses per second
    • 5 impulses per second
    • 500 impulses per second
    • 50 impulses per second

  9. An impulse travels 1.5 m along an axon in 5 ms. What is the speed of conduction?

    • 3000 m per second
    • 7.5 m per second
    • 0.3 m per second
    • 300 m per second

  10. An impulse takes 10 ms to travel 2 m along a neurone. What is its speed?

    • 0.2 m per second
    • 200 m per second
    • 5 m per second
    • 20 m per second

  11. A neurone conducts at 50 m per second. How long does an impulse take to travel 0.5 m?

    • 1 ms
    • 100 ms
    • 10 ms
    • 25 ms

  12. Which combination of axon conditions yields the fastest nerve impulse conduction?

    • Myelinated and cold
    • Unmyelinated and cold
    • Myelinated and warm
    • Unmyelinated and warm

  13. How does an increased refractory period duration affect maximum impulse frequency?

    • Prevents action potentials
    • Has no effect
    • Lowers maximum frequency
    • Increases maximum frequency

  14. Why does lower temperature slow nerve impulse conduction speed along an axon?

    • Decreased axon diameter
    • Slower ion diffusion
    • Thicker myelin sheath
    • Faster ion diffusion

  15. Where are action potentials regenerated during saltatory conduction along a neurone?

    • Axon hillock only
    • Schwann cell membranes
    • Synaptic terminals only
    • Nodes of Ranvier

  16. Why is a neurone unable to generate another action potential during absolute refractoriness?

    • Closed potassium channels
    • Hyperpolarised membrane state
    • Inactivated sodium channels
    • Depleted neurotransmitter stores

  17. Calculate the maximum frequency of impulses for a neurone whose refractory period is 0.25 ms.

    • 0.25 impulses per second
    • 250 impulses per second
    • 40 impulses per second
    • 4000 impulses per second

  18. What sets the shortest possible time interval between consecutive action potentials?

    • Refractory period length
    • Action potential size
    • Axon membrane thickness
    • Synaptic cleft width

  19. A neurone fires at its maximum frequency of 250 impulses per second. What is the minimum time between successive impulses?

    • 4 ms
    • 250 ms
    • 40 ms
    • 0.25 ms

  20. What state are sodium channels in during the absolute refractory period?

    • Inactivated state
    • Resting state
    • Open state
    • Hyperpolarised state

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