Cambridge O Level

COMBINED SCIENCE 5129/11

Paper 1 Multiple Choice October/November 2023
1 hour

You must answer on the multiple choice answer sheet.

*8465717250*

You will need: Multiple choice answer sheet

Soft clean eraser
Soft pencil (type B or HB is recommended)

INSTRUCTIONS
• There are forty questions on this paper. Answer all questions.
• For each question there are four possible answers A, B, C and D. Choose the one you consider correct
and record your choice in soft pencil on the multiple choice answer sheet.
• Follow the instructions on the multiple choice answer sheet.
• Write in soft pencil.
• Write your name, centre number and candidate number on the multiple choice answer sheet in the
spaces provided unless this has been done for you.
• Do not use correction fluid.
• Do not write on any bar codes.
• You may use a calculator.

INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 40.
• Each correct answer will score one mark.
• Any rough working should be done on this question paper.
• The Periodic Table is printed in the question paper.

This document has 16 pages.

IB23 11_5129_11/3RP
© UCLES 2023 [Turn over
 2

1 Which pair of cell structures is found only in plant cells?

A cell membrane and nucleus

B cellulose cell wall and mitochondria
C chloroplasts and sap vacuole
D mitochondria and cytoplasm

2 The enzyme amylase breaks down starch into maltose.

Which row correctly describes amylase?

speeds up
made of acts as a chemical
protein catalyst reactions in
living cells

A    key
B     = correct
C     = not correct
D   

3 The diagram shows a transverse section of part of a leaf.

Which tissue contains the most chloroplasts?

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 3

4 Which row correctly describes functions of the stomach, ileum and liver?

stomach ileum liver

A absorption digestion ingestion

B digestion absorption storage
C egestion absorption digestion
D digestion egestion storage

5 The diagram shows a body outline with some of the organs labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Which row correctly shows where urea and carbon dioxide are excreted from the body?

urea carbon dioxide

A 2 1
B 2 4
C 3 1
D 3 4

6 What are the substances needed for anaerobic respiration and which substances are produced
by anaerobic respiration?

substances needed for substances produced by

anaerobic respiration anaerobic respiration

A glucose and oxygen carbon dioxide and water

B glucose and oxygen water only
C glucose only carbon dioxide and lactic acid
D glucose only lactic acid only

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23 [Turn over

 4

7 Which statements explain why ventricles have a thicker wall of muscle compared to the atria?

1 The atria pump blood over a short distance.

2 The atria pump blood through atrioventricular valves.
3 The ventricles pump blood around the body and to the lungs.
4 The ventricles pump blood through semilunar valves.

A 1 and 3 B 2 and 3 C 2 and 4 D 3 and 4

8 Long-term exposure to air pollution damages alveoli, causing a lung disease called emphysema.

Which statement about a person suffering from emphysema is correct?

A The concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood is higher than normal.

B The concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood is lower than normal.
C The concentration of oxygen in the blood is higher than normal.
D The concentration of oxygen in the blood is normal.

9 Which statement is correct for a reflex arc?

A The electrical impulse in the motor neurone is travelling away from the sensory neurone.
B The electrical impulse in the relay neurone is travelling towards the motor neurone.
C The electrical impulse in the sensory neurone is travelling away from the motor neurone.
D The electrical impulse in the sensory neurone is travelling towards the receptor.

10 The diagram shows the male reproductive system.

Which label identifies the prostate gland?

A
B

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 5

11 Inserting the human insulin gene into bacterial DNA allows the mass production of insulin.

Which row explains why bacteria are used for this process?

no ethical
bacteria have a
concerns are
rapid rate of
linked to using
reproduction
bacteria

A   key
B    = correct
C    = not correct
D  

12 The diagram represents a simplified carbon cycle.

carbon dioxide
in atmosphere

1 2

carbon compounds 3 carbon compounds

in animals in plants

Which row identifies processes 1, 2, and 3?

1 2 3

A respiration photosynthesis feeding

B feeding photosynthesis respiration
C photosynthesis respiration feeding
D respiration feeding photosynthesis

13 What is the source of energy for a food chain?

A photosynthesis
B plants
C respiration
D the Sun

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23 [Turn over

 6

14 The pressure on a sample of oxygen in a container at constant temperature is increased.

Which statement about the sample of oxygen is correct?

A The molecules move faster.

B The molecules bond together.
C Each molecule collides with the container walls with more kinetic energy.
D The spaces between the molecules get smaller.

15 Which statements about a chromatography experiment are correct?

1 Draw an ink base line on the chromatography paper near the bottom.
2 Put a spot of the solution on to the base line.
3 Dip the chromatography paper into a suitable solvent so that the solvent just covers
the base line.
4 Allow the solvent to rise up through the paper until it reaches near the top.

A 1 and 3 B 1 and 4 C 2 and 3 D 2 and 4

16 An ion of an element contains two electrons, three protons and four neutrons.

In which group of the Periodic Table is this element placed?

A Group I
B Group II
C Group III
D Group VII

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 7

17 Element Q and element R combine to form a covalent compound.

Atoms of element Q have four outer electrons.

Atoms of element R have six outer electrons.

Which dot-and-cross diagram for the compound of Q and R is correct?

A B

Q R Q R Q R

C D

Q R Q R

Q R Q R

18 Aqueous copper sulfate reacts with aqueous sodium carbonate.

The equation is shown.

CuSO4 + Na2CO3 → CuCO3 + Na2SO4

Which mass of copper carbonate is formed when a solution containing 16 g of copper sulfate is
reacted with excess aqueous sodium carbonate?

A 12.4 g B 14.2 g C 26.6 g D 124 g

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23 [Turn over

 8

19 Which statements about physical and chemical changes are correct?

1 After a chemical change, the products have the same formulae as the reactants.
2 Physical changes are easily reversed.
3 During a physical change, new substances are made.

A 1 and 2 B 1 and 3 C 2 only D 3 only

20 Which statements about a redox reaction are correct?

1 Both oxidation and reduction take place simultaneously.

2 The substance being reduced gains oxygen.
3 Oxidation involves the loss of oxygen.

A 1 and 2 B 1 only C 2 and 3 D 3 only

21 Which statement about all acids is correct?

A They contain both hydrogen and oxygen.

B They give ammonia with an ammonium salt.
C They have a pH value below 7.
D They react with all metals to form hydrogen.

22 The equation for the preparation of copper sulfate from copper oxide is shown.

CuO(s) + H2SO4(aq) → CuSO4(aq) + H2O(l)

How is solid copper sulfate obtained?

A adding an excess of copper oxide to dilute sulfuric acid, filtering and evaporating the filtrate
to the point of crystallisation
B adding an excess of dilute sulfuric acid to copper oxide, filtering and evaporating the filtrate
to the point of crystallisation
C adding dilute sulfuric acid to copper oxide and filtering off the precipitate formed
D dissolving copper oxide in water to make copper oxide solution and reacting with dilute
sulfuric acid

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 9

23 An element X from Period 2 in the Periodic Table is heated in air.

It forms an oxide that dissolves in water.

Universal indicator added to the solution turns blue.

Which row describes element X?

metal or non-metal position in the period

A metal on the left side

B metal on the right side
C non-metal on the left side
D non-metal on the right side

24 Four different metals are reacted separately with cold water, steam and dilute hydrochloric acid.

The results are shown.

reaction with reaction with reaction with dilute

metal
cold water steam hydrochloric acid

W no reaction reacts slowly reacts vigorously

X no reaction no reaction reacts slowly
Y reacts slowly reacts vigorously reacts explosively
Z reacts slowly reacts slowly reacts vigorously

What is the order of reactivity of the four metals?

least reactive most reactive

A X W Z Y
B X Z W Y
C Y W Z X
D Y Z W X

25 How does filtration and chlorination make river water safer to drink?

filtration chlorination

A removes dissolved impurities destroys harmful bacteria

B removes dissolved impurities improves the taste of the water
C removes solid impurities destroys harmful bacteria
D removes solid impurities improves the taste of the water

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23 [Turn over

 10

26 Bitumen is obtained from petroleum by fractional distillation.

What is a use of bitumen?

A fuel for aircraft

B fuel for cars
C lubricants
D making roads

27 An equation for the manufacture of ethene from decane, C10H22, is shown.

C10H22 → 2C2H4 + 2C3H6 + H2

What is this process called?

A combustion
B cracking
C fractional distillation
D polymerisation

28 The graph shows the speed of a car for the first 10 seconds of a journey.

15
speed
m/s

10

5.0

0
0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10
time / s

Which statement about the acceleration of the car between 3.0 s and 5.0 s is correct?

A The acceleration decreases.

B The acceleration increases.
C The acceleration is zero.
D The acceleration is 10 m / s.

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 11

29 What is a definition of gravitational field strength?

A the gravitational acceleration of an object in free fall divided by its mass

B the gravitational acceleration of an object in free fall divided by its weight
C the gravitational force on an object divided by its mass
D the gravitational force on an object divided by its weight

30 The diagram shows a cylinder with a length of 1.5 cm and a cross-sectional area of 2.0 cm2.

area of face
2.0 cm2

1.5 cm

The mass of the cylinder is 6.0 g.

What is the density of the material used to make the cylinder?

A 0.50 g / cm3 B 2.0 g / cm3 C 3.0 g / cm3 D 4.0 g / cm3

31 A model car has a mass of 0.40 kg.

Which resultant force gives the car an acceleration of 2.0 m / s2?

A 0.20 N B 0.80 N C 2.0 N D 8.0 N

32 Which energy source is used in a nuclear power station?

A coal
B hydrogen
C natural gas
D uranium

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23 [Turn over

 12

33 The diagram shows electricity cables hanging between two poles.

cables

pole

When first put up, the cables are allowed to hang loosely between the poles.

Which statement explains this?

A The cables contract in cold weather.

B The cables contract in hot weather.
C The cables expand in cold weather.
D The cables expand in hot weather.

34 The diagram shows an electronic component that has fins attached to transfer thermal energy to
the surroundings.

electronic component

fins

Which combination of material and surface colour for the fins transfers the thermal energy most
quickly?

A copper painted black

B copper painted white
C glass painted black
D glass painted white

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 13

35 A ray of light changes direction as it is reflected by a mirror.

reflected ray

30°
incident direction of
ray incident ray
without mirror
plane mirror

The ray changes direction by 30°.

Which statement is correct?

A The angle of incidence is 15° and the angle of reflection is 15°.

B The angle of incidence is 30° and the angle of reflection is 30°.

C The angle of incidence is 60° and the angle of reflection is 60°.

D The angle of incidence is 75° and the angle of reflection is 75°.

36 Which electrical quantity is measured in coulombs?

A charge
B current
C voltage
D resistance

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23 [Turn over

 14

37 Which circuit may be used to measure the resistance of a fixed resistor?

A B

A
A

V V

C D

A V

38 An electrical device of power 4500 W transfers energy for a time of 10 hours.

How much energy is transferred?

A 0.45 kW h B 45 kW h C 450 kW h D 45 000 kW h

39 A nucleus has a nucleon number A and a proton number Z.

Which equation gives the number of neutrons N in the nucleus?

A Z
A N= B N= C N=A+Z D N=A–Z
Z A

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 15

40 The diagram shows the penetrative powers of three types of radiation P, Q and R.

R
paper aluminium lead

Which row correctly identifies each radiation?

P Q R

A beta alpha gamma

B beta gamma alpha

C gamma alpha beta

D gamma beta alpha

Permission to reproduce items where third-party owned material protected by copyright is included has been sought and cleared where possible. Every
reasonable effort has been made by the publisher (UCLES) to trace copyright holders, but if any items requiring clearance have unwittingly been included, the
publisher will be pleased to make amends at the earliest possible opportunity.

To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced online in the Cambridge
Assessment International Education Copyright Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download
at www.cambridgeinternational.org after the live examination series.

Cambridge Assessment International Education is part of Cambridge Assessment. Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of the University of Cambridge
Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is a department of the University of Cambridge.

© UCLES 2023 5129/11/O/N/23

 The Periodic Table of Elements
Group

© UCLES 2023
I II III IV V VI VII VIII
1 2
H He
hydrogen helium
Key 1 4
3 4 atomic number 5 6 7 8 9 10

Li Be atomic symbol B C N O F Ne
lithium beryllium name boron carbon nitrogen oxygen fluorine neon
7 9 relative atomic mass 11 12 14 16 19 20
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Na Mg Al Si P S Cl Ar
sodium magnesium aluminium silicon phosphorus sulfur chlorine argon
23 24 27 28 31 32 35.5 40
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
K Ca Sc Ti V Cr Mn Fe Co Ni Cu Zn Ga Ge As Se Br Kr
potassium calcium scandium titanium vanadium chromium manganese iron cobalt nickel copper zinc gallium germanium arsenic selenium bromine krypton
39 40 45 48 51 52 55 56 59 59 64 65 70 73 75 79 80 84
37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
Rb Sr Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Ru Rh Pd Ag Cd In Sn Sb Te I Xe
rubidium strontium yttrium zirconium niobium molybdenum technetium ruthenium rhodium palladium silver cadmium indium tin antimony tellurium iodine xenon
16

85 88 89 91 93 96 – 101 103 106 108 112 115 119 122 128 127 131
55 56 57–71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86

5129/11/O/N/23
lanthanoids
Cs Ba Hf Ta W Re Os Ir Pt Au Hg Tl Pb Bi Po At Rn
caesium barium hafnium tantalum tungsten rhenium osmium iridium platinum gold mercury thallium lead bismuth polonium astatine radon
133 137 178 181 184 186 190 192 195 197 201 204 207 209 – – –
87 88 89–103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118
actinoids
Fr Ra Rf Db Sg Bh Hs Mt Ds Rg Cn Nh Fl Mc Lv Ts Og
francium radium rutherfordium dubnium seaborgium bohrium hassium meitnerium darmstadtium roentgenium copernicium nihonium flerovium moscovium livermorium tennessine oganesson
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71
lanthanoids La Ce Pr Nd Pm Sm Eu Gd Tb Dy Ho Er Tm Yb Lu
lanthanum cerium praseodymium neodymium promethium samarium europium gadolinium terbium dysprosium holmium erbium thulium ytterbium lutetium
139 140 141 144 – 150 152 157 159 163 165 167 169 173 175
89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103
actinoids Ac Th Pa U Np Pu Am Cm Bk Cf Es Fm Md No Lr
actinium thorium protactinium uranium neptunium plutonium americium curium berkelium californium einsteinium fermium mendelevium nobelium lawrencium
– 232 231 238 – – – – – – – – – – –

The volume of one mole of any gas is 24 dm3 at room temperature and pressure (r.t.p.).