Lesson 4.6.3.3

4.6.3.3 The understanding of genetics (biology only) Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.6.3.3, The understanding of genetics (biology only): 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Biology (8461), Unit 6: Inheritance, variation and evolution, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Who carried out breeding experiments on plants in the mid-19th century?

    • Gregor Mendel
    • Carl Linnaeus
    • Alfred Russel Wallace
    • Charles Darwin

  2. What did Gregor Mendel call the factors that determine inherited characteristics in plants?

    • Genes
    • Units
    • Chromosomes
    • Alleles

  3. When was the behaviour of chromosomes during cell division first observed?

    • Early 21st century
    • Late 19th century
    • Early 19th century
    • Mid-20th century

  4. When was it observed that chromosomes and Mendel's units behaved in similar ways?

    • Mid-19th century
    • Early 20th century
    • Late 19th century
    • Mid-20th century

  5. What were Mendel's units later called?

    • Chromosomes
    • Genes
    • Alleles
    • Nucleotides

  6. When was the structure of DNA determined?

    • Mid-20th century
    • Early 21st century
    • Early 20th century
    • Late 19th century

  7. Which structures had not yet been linked to Mendel's inherited units during his lifetime?

    • Chromosomes
    • Ribosomes
    • Chloroplasts
    • Mitochondria

  8. Where did early 20th-century scientists discover that Mendel's units, or genes, are located?

    • Within cell membranes
    • Inside cytoplasm
    • On chromosomes
    • In cell walls

  9. How was our modern scientific understanding of genetics and gene theory developed?

    • In ancient times
    • By many scientists
    • By one scientist
    • Through single experiments

  10. What was worked out in the mid-20th century alongside the structure of DNA?

    • Structure of atoms
    • System of classification
    • Theory of speciation
    • Gene function mechanism

  11. What are Mendel's inherited units now known as in modern biology?

    • Gametes
    • Chromosomes
    • Phenotypes
    • Genes

  12. What similarity led scientists in the early 20th century to link Mendel's units to chromosomes?

    • Similar behaviour
    • Equal total number
    • Same physical size
    • Identical chemical structure

  13. Which of these key events in genetics happened first in history?

    • Mendel's plant experiments
    • DNA structure determination
    • Gene function mechanism
    • Chromosome behaviour observation

  14. In which century were Gregor Mendel's plant breeding experiments carried out?

    • Mid-19th century
    • Late 19th century
    • Early 20th century
    • Mid-20th century

  15. Which cellular process was observed in the late 19th century to help understand inheritance?

    • Protein synthesis
    • Active transport
    • Aerobic respiration
    • Cell division

  16. Which discovery in the mid-20th century fully explained how Mendel's inherited units worked?

    • Classification system
    • Microscope invention
    • DNA structure
    • Natural selection

  17. In which time period was the structure of DNA determined by scientists?

    • Mid-20th century
    • Late 19th century
    • Mid-19th century
    • Early 20th century

  18. Where are genes located according to early 20th-century genetic research?

    • In cell membranes
    • On chromosomes
    • In cytoplasm
    • Inside ribosomes

  19. What name is now given to the inherited 'units' identified by Gregor Mendel?

    • Chromosomes
    • Proteins
    • Plasmids
    • Genes

  20. Which scientist's inheritance units were later linked to chromosomes?

    • Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
    • Charles Darwin
    • Gregor Mendel
    • Carl Linnaeus

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