No.
2/1
Student Personal
Marker Code Identification Number (SPIN)
Pacific Senior Secondary Certificate
BIOLOGY
2011
QUESTION AND ANSWER BOOKLET
Time allowed: Three hours
INSTRUCTIONS
1. There are three sections to the paper. ALL SECTIONS ARE COMPULSORY. Answer
ALL questions.
Recommended time allowances for each section:
Section A: Multiple Choice Questions 45 minutes 40 marks
Section B: Short Answer Questions 105 minutes 140 marks
Section C: Extended Response Questions 30 minutes 20 marks
3 hours 200 marks
2. Write your answers to Section A on the Answer Sheet on the FOLD-OUT FLAP on the last
page. Write your answers to Sections B and C in the spaces provided in this booklet.
3. Write your Student Personal Identification Number (SPIN) in the top right-hand corner of
this page and on the fold-out flap.
4. If you use extra sheets of paper, be sure to write clearly the number of the question being
answered. Write your SPIN on the top right hand corner of each sheet, and tie it securely at
the appropriate place in this booklet.
NOTE: You may not have seen or studied any of the organisms used as examples in this paper.
You are expected to apply the principles and knowledge learned during your Biology
course to the questions.
Check that this booklet contains pages 2-33 in the correct order and that none of these pages is
blank. Page 34 has been left blank deliberately.
YOU MUST HAND THIS BOOKLET TO THE SUPERVISOR AT THE END OF THE
EXAMINATION.
TOTAL MARKS
200
2
SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE
(40 marks)
ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
Write the LETTER of the best answer in the boxes on the fold-out flap. If you change your
answer, put a line through the first answer and write your new choice beside the box.
1. The correct description of the groups of organisms below is
A. i. Ecosystem
B. ii. Community
C. iii. Population
D. iv. Species
2. Which of the following is the correct order of metabolic processes that convert nutrients
consumed by an organism into cell parts?
A. digestion, absorption, circulation, diffusion, synthesis.
B. absorption, circulation, digestion, diffusion, synthesis.
C. digestion, synthesis, diffusion, circulation, absorption.
D. synthesis, absorption, digestion, diffusion, circulation.
3. Mitosis is the division which involves
A. germ cells to create new genetically different cells.
B. germ cells to create new genetically identical cells.
C. somatic cells to create new genetically identical cells.
D. somatic cells to create new genetically different cells.
4. Which of these statements about simple diffusion and active transport is true?
A. Simple diffusion requires energy input from the cell while active transport does not.
B. Simple diffusion does not use transport proteins while active transport uses carrier
proteins for transport.
C. Simple diffusion and active transport both use the concentration gradient for their
direction of movement.
D. Simple diffusion and active transport are both classified as active methods of moving
materials across the cell membrane.
3
5. The production of organic molecules in a crop is reduced when leaves begin to wilt because
A. the chlorophyll of wilting leaves decompose.
B. the stomata close and prevent the entry of carbon dioxide.
C. the flaccid mesophyll cells of the leaves are not capable of photosynthesis.
D. carbon dioxide accumulates in the leaf and inhibits the enzymes required for
photosynthesis.
6. The letters in the diagram below show the processes that occur in the Carbon cycle.
Which statement below describes correctly the processes in the Carbon cycle?
Letter Description
A. W Combustion - fossil fuel returns carbon dioxide into the air.
B. X Photosynthesis - plants absorb carbon dioxide from atmosphere.
C. Y Decomposition - fungi and bacteria break down dead organic matter.
D. Z Respiration - plants and animals release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
7. In radishes, the gene that controls color exhibits incomplete dominance. Pure-breeding red
radishes crossed with pure-breeding white radishes make purple radishes. What will be the
phenotypes of the radishes produced when a purple radish is crossed with a white radish?
A. All the radishes produced will be white and none will be purple.
B. Half of the radishes produced will be white and half will be purple.
C. A quarter of the radishes produced will be white and three quarter will be purple.
D. A quarter of the radishes produced will be purple and three quarter will be white.
8. An advantage of an earthworm’s digestive system over a sea anemone’s digestive system
is that
A. it takes a short time for digestion to occur.
B. it does not allow for a sequential digestive process.
C. different nutrients are broken down at specific sites by the same enzyme during the
course of digestion.
D. the animal can feed continuously without waiting for the digested food to be
removed before digestion of new food.
4
Use the information below to answer Questions 9 and 10.
In beans, the alleles for tall plant [T] and round seed [R] are dominant to the alleles for dwarf [t]
plant and wrinkled seed [r].
A cross between a tall bean plant with round seeds and a dwarf bean plant with round seeds
produced the following:
• 121 tall plants with round seeds
• 124 dwarf plants with round seeds
• 42 tall plants with wrinkled seeds
• 37 dwarf plants with wrinkled seeds.
9. What are the genotypes of the parents?
A. Ttrr x ttrr
B. TtRr x ttRr
C. TrTr x TTRr
D. TTRR x TtRr
10. What is the expected ratio of the phenotypes of the resulting offspring?
Tall – Round Dwarf – Round Tall – Wrinkled Dwarf - Wrinkled
A. 3 3 1 1
B. 3 1 3 9
C. 1 3 3 1
D. 3 1 9 3
5
11. Which organelle below processes and packages large molecules for secretions or for use
within the cells?
12. The diagram below shows how a cover slip should be lowered onto a microscope slide of
garlic cells during the preparation of a wet mount.
Which of the following gives a reasonable explanation as to why this is the preferred
procedure?
A. The cell will be more evenly distributed.
B. The possibility of trapping air bubbles is reduced.
C. The possibility of breaking the coverslip is reduced.
D. The coverslip will prevent the microscope slide from breaking.
6
13. The transpiration rate was measured in three groups of plants as shown in the diagram
below.
X Y Z
Moisture level in soil: High Medium Low
The graph below shows the results of the experiment.
It is reasonable to conclude that
A. no water was lost between 8.00 pm and midnight in group Z.
B. stomata were closed between 8.00 am and 4.00 pm in group Z.
C. the rate of water loss through stomata was greatest in group X.
D. at 12.00 noon, water loss in group X was four times greater than water loss in group
Y.
14. The symbiotic relationship between a flower and an insect that feeds on its nectar is an
example of mutualism because
A. the insect lives off the nectar from the flower.
B. neither the flower nor the insect benefit from the relationship.
C. the flower provides the insect with food and the insect pollinates the flower.
D. the insect does not harm the flower but the flower benefits from the relationship.
7
15. The graph below shows the relationship between the Body Mass Index [BMI kg/m2] and
the mortality risk of groups of smokers and non-smokers.
Which of the following statements is true about the effect of smoking and increasing Body
Mass Index on the mortality risks for individuals whose Body Mass Index is greater than
26 kg/m2?
A. The mortality risk increases as body mass index increases.
B. There is a decrease in mortality risk for smokers and non-smokers.
C. Non-smokers with BMI at 36 have lower mortality risk than smokers at 26 BMI.
D. The mortality risk for non-smokers is at least twice as much (or less) than that for
smokers.
16. Which of the following statements is true about the role of the placenta in maintaining fetal
development?
A. Facilitates diffusion of carbon dioxide and urea from mother’s blood into fetal blood.
B. Contains capillaries where exchange of materials between fetus and mother takes place.
C. Contains umbilical artery which carries oxygenated blood from the placenta to the
fetus.
D. Facilitates diffusion of oxygen, nutrients, antibodies and hormones from fetal blood
into mother’s blood.
8
17. The light phase and the light independent phase of photosynthesis can be summarised in a
diagram as shown below.
Which of the following describes the diagram above correctly?
A. Output X is oxygen and Output Y is sugar.
B. Both light phase and light independent phase occur in the mitochondria.
C. Both light phase and light independent phase occur in the stroma of the chloroplast.
D. Output X from light phase is used by light independent phase to produce Output Y.
18. The graph below shows the changes in two populations of herbivores in a grassy field.
A possible reason for these changes is that
A. all of the plant populations in this habitat decreased.
B. population A consumed the members of population B.
C. population A produced more offspring than population B.
D. population B competed more successfully for food than population A.
9
19. Study the diagram below and use it to answer the question that follows.
Which statement best describes the relationship between the three structures represented
above?
A. Cells make DNA by digesting protein.
B. DNA controls the production of protein in the cell.
C. DNA is produced from protein absorbed by the cell.
D. Protein is composed of DNA that is produced in the cell.
20. A slide was prepared from a leaf epidermis and the structures labelled X below were
observed under the microscope at high power.
When structure X is open, the leaf is most likely to be
A. absorbing water and oxygen.
B. absorbing carbon dioxide and water.
C. giving off water vapour and oxygen.
D. giving off oxygen and carbon dioxide.
10
SECTION B
(140 marks)
ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION.
Write your answers in the spaces provided.
QUESTION B1 (20 marks)
1. The food web below is from a grassland habitat.
a. Define the term habitat.
(1 mark)
b. Identify the trophic level of the bird.
(1 mark)
c. Which consumer receives the least amount of energy? Explain why.
(2 marks)
d. Construct a food chain from the food web above and draw a labelled pyramid of energy
to represent the proportion of energy in each trophic level of your food chain.
(2 marks)
11
2. Study the diagram below and use it to answer the questions that follow.
a. Identify the cell Organelles A and B.
A= B=
(2 marks)
b. Name the raw material that produces Product Y.
(1 mark)
c. Describe the importance of oxygen to the reaction that occurs inside Organelle B.
(1 mark)
d. Name the high-energy compound produced during the process that occurs in Organelle
B.
(1 mark)
e. Write a balance chemical equation to represent the reaction that occurs in Organelle B.
(1 mark)
f. For Organelle B:
i. name the part labeled Z.
____________________________________________________________________
(1 mark)
12
ii. name the process that occurs in Part Z.
____________________________________________________________________
(1 mark)
g. Describe TWO differences between Organelles A and B.
i. __________________________________________________________________
ii. __________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
3. Study the following sequence of bases on a DNA molecule.
Left – C C A C G T T A C T T C – Right
a. Complete the complementary bases for the sequence of mRNA transcribed from the
DNA bases shown above.
(1 mark)
b. Where does the transcription of mRNA from DNA occur in the cell?
(1 mark)
c. The translated amino acid sequence for the above codons is as follows:
Left - Glycine/ alanine/ methionine/ lysine - Right
Name the cell organelle where the translation process occurs.
(1 mark)
d. Name the bond that joins the amino acids together to form the protein.
(1 mark)
QB1
20
13
QUESTION B2 (20 marks)
1. The diagram below represents a transverse section through a root.
a. Describe TWO features shown in the diagram that confirms this to be a transverse
section through a root.
(2 marks)
b. Explain how the structure and function of the root hairs are related to their role in
transport.
(2 marks)
c. Water enters the outermost cells of the root by osmosis. What does this tell you about
the solute concentration in the cell sap of these outermost cells?
(1 mark)
d. Water is essential for photosynthesis. Briefly outline how water from the soil reaches
the leaf.
_______________________________________________________________________
(3 marks)
14
e. Complete the table below to compare the vascular tissues labeled Y and Z. (3 marks)
Structure Y Structure Z
Name of vascular tissue i. ii.
Function transports nutrients iii.
2. The diagram below shows an area labeled X, defended and protected by birds during the
nesting season.
a. State the ecological term for the area labeled X.
(1 mark)
b. Since the boundaries between the species are invisible in water, suggest how these birds
may defend their boundaries.
(1 mark)
c. Birds in the open water have to regularly explore new areas in search of food. What is
the ecological term given to the area that they explore daily?
(1 mark)
15
d. If the area of the pond is 140 m2, calculate the density of the whole bird population in
the pond.
(2 marks)
3. The diagram below illustrates a property of enzyme.
Explain how the diagram above illustrates enzyme specificity.
(2 marks)
4. Explain ONE application of genetic modification to produce organisms or substances that
meet human needs or demands.
(2 marks)
QB2
20
16
QUESTION B3 (20 marks)
1. The diagram below shows a grasshopper’s gas exchange system.
a. Identify the parts labeled A and B.
A= B=
(2 marks)
b. Label the tracheoles on the diagram above and describe their role in gas exchange.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
c. Explain how the gas exchange system of the grasshopper facilitates the exchange of
respiratory gases.
(2 marks)
d. Give ONE disadvantage of this type of gas exchange system.
(1 mark)
17
2. Clams are marine animals that live on rocky sea shores, attached to rocks. They feed by
filtering plankton from seawater. Clams are picked by people for consumption. The shore is
covered by seawater twice a day because the sea rises and falls between the low-water and
high-water marks. Clams living near the low-water mark are covered by seawater for a
longer time than the clams living near the high-water mark.
a. Name the phylum which clams belong to.
(1 mark)
b. State TWO abiotic factors that influence the distribution of clams on the rocky shore.
i. ii.
(2 marks)
c. An experiment was carried out to find the rate at which clams from different places on
the shore filter plankton out of seawater. The clams were put into beakers containing
plankton and the percentage of plankton remaining in the water was measured every
hour for four hours. The results are shown in the table below.
Percentage of plankton remaining in beakers
Clams near high-water mark Clams near low-water mark
Time in hours
0 100 100
1 82 88
2 60 76
3 39 62
4 20 50
i. Over the four-hour period, the clams from near the high-water mark removed
plankton at the rate of 20% per hour. Calculate the rate at which the clams from
near the low-water mark removed plankton from the water.
(2 marks)
ii. Suggest a conclusion for the relationship between the place where the clams live on
the shore and their filtering rate.
(1 mark)
18
3. The diagram below shows the structure of a nucleotide.
a. Name the parts of the nucleotide labeled X and Y.
X = _______________________________ Y = _______________________________
(2 marks)
b. Describe THREE structural details that distinguish DNA and RNA from each other.
(3 marks)
4. Use an example to explain the genetic condition co-dominance.
__________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
QB3
20
19
QUESTION B4 (20 marks)
1. An experiment was conducted to investigate the water content of potato chips left in test
tubes containing different concentrations of sodium chloride solutions. A cork borer was
used to cut the chips from the same potato into cylindrical shapes. Then the chips were
weighed and placed in test tubes containing 50 mls of distilled water, 1%, 10% and 20%
sodium chloride solution. The test tubes were covered with rubber bungs and kept in the
refrigerator.
After 12 hours, the potato chips were weighed again and the results were tabulated as given
below.
Solution Original mass [g] Final mass [g] Change in mass [%]
Distilled water 2.80 2.87
1% Sodium chloride 2.75 2.80 +1.82
10% Sodium chloride 2.82 2.81 -0.35
20% Sodium chloride 2.71 2.63 -2.95
a. Calculate the change in mass [in grams] for the potato cylinder placed in distilled water.
(2 marks)
b. Calculate this change as a percentage of the original mass. Show your workings.
(2 marks)
c. Construct a graph to show the relationship between the percentage of sodium chloride
and the percentage mass change. Label the axes clearly.
(5 marks)
20
d. Draw a labeled diagram of what the cell would look like, if a potato cell from the potato
chip placed in the 20% sodium chloride is observed under the microscope.
(2 marks)
e. It was concluded that the potato chips gained mass in the test tubes with water and low
sodium chloride concentration but lost mass in the test tubes with high sodium chloride
concentration. Justify this conclusion.
(3 marks)
2. Name the nitrogenous waste excreted by fish and explain how it is suitable for the fish in
terms of its environment and habitat.
Name _____________________________________________________________________
Explanation ________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
3. State TWO advantages of insect’s nitrogenous waste.
i. ________________________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
4. State the cause of kidney stones and explain how kidney stones affect normal body
functioning.
Cause ______________________________________________________________________
Explanation
___________________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
QB4
20
21
QUESTION B5 (20 marks)
1. The diagrams below show two types of circulatory systems.
a. Identify the type of blood circulatory system for:
i. Organism A
(1 mark)
ii. Organism B
(1 mark)
b. Explain how organism B is adapted to efficiently obtain oxygen to be circulated in its
blood system.
(2 marks)
c. Describe THREE differences between the two types of circulatory systems above.
Organism A Organism B
1.
2.
3.
(3 marks)
22
2. The diagram shows a milkweed plant and some of the insects that live on it or visit it.
a. Give TWO characteristics of these organisms that classify them as insects.
i. _________________________________________________________________
ii. _________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
b. State the ecological term that describes all the different organisms in the diagram above.
Give a reason to support your answer.
Term __________________________________________________________________
Reason ________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
c. The Ichneumon wasps lay their eggs in the larvae of the Milkweed beetle and feed from
them. Which ecological relationship exists here?
(1 mark)
3. A student investigated the effect of different nitrate ion concentrations on the growth rate of
bean seedlings. Before the experiment, the length between the shoot tip and the root tip of
each seedling was measured and taken as initial length. The experiment was set up as follows:
Test tube 1 Test tube 2 Test tube 3 Test tube 4 Test tube 5 Test tube 6 Test tube 7
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
mmol/dm mmol/dm mmol/dm mmol/dm mmol/dm mmol/dm mmol/dm
The seedlings were left in a greenhouse. After two weeks, the length between the shoot tip
and the root tip of each seedling was measured again. This was the final length. The
difference between the final length and initial length of each bean seedling was calculated
and a graph was plotted as shown on page 23.
23
a. Give a suitable aim for this investigation.
(1 mark)
b. Name the process in which nitrate ions were taken in by the seedlings roots.
(1 mark)
c. Name the dependent and independent variable in the experiment.
Dependent _____________________________________________________________
Independent ____________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
d. Explain why the student used a greenhouse during the experiment.
(2 marks)
e. Use evidence from the graph to suggest a conclusion for the investigation.
(2 marks)
QB5
20
24
QUESTION B6 (20 marks)
1. Ferns exhibit an alternation of two free living generations as shown below.
a. Explain the meaning of alternation of generation.
(1 mark)
b. Name the TWO free living generations A and B.
i. Generation A _________________________________________ (1 mark)
ii. Generation B _________________________________________ (1 mark)
c. Describe how and where structure X is produced.
How __________________________________________________________________
Where _________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
d. Describe what is happening in process Y.
______________________________________________________________________
(1 mark)
25
e. Asexual reproduction occurs through extensively spreading and branching rhizomes.
Describe TWO advantages of asexual reproduction.
(2 marks)
f. Describe TWO disadvantages of asexual reproduction.
(2 marks)
2. The diagram below represents a replicated pair of homologous chromosomes during
meiosis.
a. State where meiosis occurs in animals.
_________________________________________ (1 mark)
b. Draw diagrams to represent the chromosomes in the gametes produced at the end of
meiosis when crossing over occurs at point Y.
(2 marks)
26
c. Describe the difference between a chromosome and a chromatid.
(2 marks)
d. Give TWO reasons why crossing over is an advantage to a population.
i. ___________________________________________________________________
ii. ___________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
3. The diagram below shows the number of native bird species and exotic (introduced) species
found in native and exotic forests.
a. Explain, with reasons, the type of competition that is occurring in each of the zones X,
Y and Z in the diagram above.
(3 marks)
QB6
20
27
QUESTION B7 (20 marks)
1. The diagram below shows a certain type of community pattern.
a. Name the type of community pattern shown in the diagram above.
(1 mark)
b. State the main environmental factor that is responsible for this vertical distribution of
vegetation.
(1 mark)
c. Explain how the different layers of vegetation determine biological diversity.
(2 marks)
d. Describe TWO ways in which the plants in layer 20 m and 30 m affect the plants on
ground layer.
i. ___________________________________________________________________
ii. ___________________________________________________________________
(2 marks)
28
2. The diagram below shows the variations in the level of two hormones that are involved in
the menstrual cycle.
a. Identify hormones A and B.
A = ______________________________ B = ________________________________
(2 marks)
b. What is the effect of hormone B on the ovary around Days 13-14 of the menstrual
cycle?
(1 mark)
c. Describe ONE role of hormone A in the menstrual cycle.
(1 mark)
d. Describe the events that lead to the successful implantation of the embryo.
(3 marks)
29
3. A wealthy man with blood type A and his wife with blood type O were victims of the
tsunami in Japan. They left behind an estate of five million dollars. Six months after their
death, a man claimed that he was their long lost son. A blood test revealed this man to have
blood type A.
a. Based on the blood test result, is it possible that this man could be the heir to this
couple’s fortune of five million dollars? Explain your answer.
(2 marks)
4. The diagram below shows some of the processes in the nitrogen cycle.
a. Name the process labeled E.
______________________________________________ (1 mark)
b. Identify the substance labeled C.
______________________________________________ (1 mark)
c. Discuss at least THREE things that would happen if decomposers were unavailable or
inactive in the nitrogen cycle.
i. ___________________________________________________________________
ii. ___________________________________________________________________
iii. ___________________________________________________________________
(3 marks)
QB7
20
30
SECTION C: EXTENDED RESPONSE QUESTION
(20 marks)
Answer BOTH questions in the spaces provided. The amount of space provided is a guide to the
length of response needed. Marks will be given for answers that show clear, accurate expressions of
ideas and the ability to develop a discussion or an argument in a logical and cohesive manner.
Marking criteria are provided at the end of each question.
QUESTION C1 (10 marks)
Discuss the reasons for diversity in the structure of gas exchange systems of fish and humans
AND explain how they allow each group to survive in their environment.
31
Criteria Marks Allocated Marks Awarded
Introduction 1
A description of the structures 2
How structures work 2
Adaptations 2
Reasons for diversity 2
Conclusion 1
TOTAL 10
32
QUESTION C2 (10 marks)
Discuss the effect of pH, temperature and surface area on the rate of enzyme-controlled
reactions, with reference to optimum conditions, enzyme specificity and denaturing.
33
Criteria Marks Allocation Marks Awarded
Introduction 1
Effect of factors 2
Optimum conditions 2
Enzyme specificity 2
Denaturing 2
Conclusion 1
Total 10
34
This page has been left blank deliberately.
35
Student Personal
Identification Number
ANSWER SHEET – Section A (SPIN)
Write the letter of the correct answer only.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
BIOLOGY
1. 11.
2011
2. 12.
Marker Check Marker
3. 13.
40
A 40
4. 14.
20
B1 20
5. 15.
20
B2 20
6. 16.
20
B3 20
7. 17.
20
B4 20
8. 18.
9. 19. 20
B5 20
10. 20. 20
B6 20
20
B7 20
Number 2 =
Correct 40 10
C1 10
10
C2 10
200 200
