Mini practice paper: 8 questions
Mixed-difficulty questions from across the Combined Science (Trilogy) syllabus. Tap "Show answer" after each to check yourself.
Q1 · Difficulty 1/3
A car travels at constant velocity along a straight road. The driving force is 3000 N. What is the resultant force acting on the car?
- A: 3000 N in the direction of travel
- B: 6000 N opposing the direction of travel
- C: 0 N
- D: 1500 N in the direction of travel
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — C: 0 N
At constant velocity, the acceleration is zero. By Newton's first law, a zero resultant force is required to maintain constant velocity, so the driving force and resistive forces are balanced.
Q2 · Difficulty 1/3
On a displacement–distance graph of a transverse wave, what does the amplitude represent?
- The distance between two adjacent crests
- The total distance from the highest to lowest point of the wave
- The maximum displacement from the equilibrium position
- The number of waves per metre
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: C — The maximum displacement from the equilibrium position
Amplitude is the maximum displacement of a particle from its equilibrium (rest) position. It is not the total peak-to-trough distance (which would be twice the amplitude), nor the wavelength or frequency.
Q3 · Difficulty 1/3
To focus a light microscope, you should first use the:
- Lowest power objective lens
- Highest power objective lens
- Eyepiece only
- Mirror only
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Lowest power objective lens
Always start with the lowest power objective to locate the specimen, then increase magnification and fine-focus.
Q4 · Difficulty 1/3
How many chromosomes does a normal human body cell contain?
- 46
- 23
- 92
- 2
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — 46
Human body cells contain 46 chromosomes (23 pairs). Gametes contain 23 (one of each pair).
Q5 · Difficulty 1/3
Stopping distance is made up of:
- Thinking distance + braking distance
- Only braking distance
- Only thinking distance
- Speed + time
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Thinking distance + braking distance
Stopping distance = thinking distance (during reaction time) + braking distance (while braking).
Q6 · Difficulty 1/3
A sperm cell has a tail (flagellum). This adaptation helps it to:
- Swim towards the egg
- Carry oxygen
- Absorb water
- Photosynthesise
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Swim towards the egg
The sperm cell's tail allows it to swim to the egg cell for fertilisation; many mitochondria provide the energy needed.
Q7 · Difficulty 1/3
Vectors are usually represented on a diagram by:
- Arrows
- Dots
- Circles
- Crosses
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Arrows
An arrow shows a vector — its length represents the magnitude and its direction shows the vector's direction.
Q8 · Difficulty 1/3
Diffusion is the net movement of particles from a region of:
- Higher concentration to lower concentration
- Lower concentration to higher concentration
- High pressure to low temperature
- Solid to gas only
Show answer & explanation
✓ Answer: A — Higher concentration to lower concentration
Diffusion is the spreading of particles from where they are more concentrated to where they are less concentrated, down a concentration gradient.
AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) FAQ
What does the AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) exam look like?
The AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) exam is structured across 3 components. Paper 1: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 1-4 of the specification. Paper 2: Approximately 1 hour 30 minutes, ~70-100 marks. Covers Topics 5-8 of the specification. Paper 3: Where applicable — e.g. Combined Science, Languages. Includes synoptic and applied questions. Total exam time: ~3 hours across two or three papers.
Can I download a free AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) past paper?
Real AQA past papers are published directly by AQA on their official website. Kramizo doesn't redistribute copyrighted past papers, but we do generate free AI-written practice papers in the exact same style — same command words, same difficulty tier, same mark conventions. Use this practice paper as warm-up, then time yourself on official past papers before exam day.
How is AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy) graded?
Grades: 9 (highest) to 1 (lowest), with U (ungraded). A grade of 4 is a standard pass; 5 is a strong pass. Kramizo's practice questions are tagged with difficulty 1-3 mapping roughly to the lower, middle, and top grade boundaries you'll encounter in the real exam.