ROOTS IVY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

RIVERVIEW CAMPUS
MID TERM DEC 2020

A2 BIOLOGY
PAPER 4
TIME ALLOWED MAX
MARKS

1 Hr. 50
Arsal Masood
 1. (a) The aye-aye, Daubentonia madagascariensis, is a primate native to Madagascar. Aye-ayes are
nocturnal (active at night) and make their nests high up in trees. They feed on insect larvae in th
e trunks of trees.
Fig. 1.1 shows an aye-aye.

Fig. 1.1

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s largest global environmental
organisation. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ evaluates the conservation status of plant
and animal species.

The aye-aye is categorised as endangered on the IUCN Red List, which means that it faces a very hig
h risk of becoming extinct in the wild.

(i) Name the domain to which the aye-aye belongs.

...Eukarya....................................................................................................................................[1]

(ii) Suggest one reason why aye-ayes have become endangered.

...Deforestation........................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[1]

(iii) Suggest ways in which zoos may help to protect this species from extinction.

...Captive breeding can be done. Awareness can be raised through education. Or they could just be
released into the wild where there natural habitat is.
.......................................................................................................................................[3]
(b) There are two main aye-aye populations on the island of Madagascar, one in the west and on
e in the east.

Fig. 1.2 is a map of Madagascar showing the location of the two main populations.

A study into the variation in the DNA nucleotide sequence of aye-ayes showed that there is a large ge
netic difference between the west and east populations. The two populations of aye-ayes may be evol
ving into separate species.

(i) With reference to Fig. 1.2, suggest why there is a large genetic difference between the two po
pulations.

...There are geographical barriers like rivers and mountains due to which there is no gene flow. So
they do not interact and interbreed. There are also different selection pressures and environmental
conditions acting on the populations. Different mutations may be present as well between the two
populations so different alleles are selected.
.......................................................................................................................................[4]
(ii) Name the type of speciation that may be occurring.

....allopatric..............................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................[1]

(iii) Suggest and explain a pre-zygotic isolating mechanism that could prevent successful reprodu
ction between aye-ayes of the two populations.

..Physical. Reproductive features do not match, therefore they are unable to

mate...............................................................................................................................
.
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

[Total: 12]

Q.2 Structures and compounds involved in respiration include:

1 coenzyme A

2 cytoplasm

3 pyruvate

4 NAD

5 outer mitochondrial membrane

6 carrier protein

7 inner mitochondrial membrane

8 intermembrane space of mitochondrion

9 ADP

10 acetyl group

Match each of the descriptions with one number chosen from 1 to 10, to show the correct structure or
compound.

You may use each number once, more than once or not at all.

location of ATP synthase .....7...............

transports hydrogen atoms .....4...............

nucleotide with a purine base ......9..............

location of substrate-linked phosphorylation ........2............

enters the Krebs cycle .......10.............

produced by oxidation of triose phosphate .......3.............

[Total: 6]

Q.3 Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) is an important enzyme involved i

n the light independent stage (Calvin cycle) of photosynthesis. It fixes carbon by combining carbon
dioxide with RuBP.

In certain situations, the active site of rubisco becomes occupied by a sugar phosphate, making the e
nzyme inactive. Rubisco can become active again in the presence of another enzyme, rubisco activas
e.

(a) Name all the bonds that are likely to hold a molecule of rubisco in shape.

..Covalent, hydrogen, disulphide, ionic and Vander Walls forces………………………………………….

...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(b) Suggest how rubisco activase can activate rubisco.

…By removing sugar phosphates from the active sites……………………………………………………..

...............................................................................................................................................[1]

C . C4 plants such as maize have adaptations that allow them to have high rates of carbon fixation
at high temperatures. Without these adaptations, some plants (C3 plants) are affected at high temper
atures by a process known as photorespiration. In photorespiration, rubisco combines oxygen with Ru
BP. This leads to a decrease in the rate of photosynthesis.

(i) Describe and explain how the anatomy of the leaves of C4 plants such as maize allows them t
o have high rates of carbon fixation at high temperatures.

…RuBP and rubisco enzyme is present in bundle sheath cells. The mesophyll cells surround the
bundle sheath cells and therefore stop oxygen getting to the bundle sheath cells. Therfore oxygen can
not react with rubisco……………………………………………………………………………

............................................................................................................................................[3]

(ii) In C3 plants, the rate of photorespiration increases at high light intensities as well as at high temp
eratures.

Suggest why the rate of photorespiration increases at high light intensities in C3 plants.

….There is increase in rate of photosynthesis therefore there is increase in production of oxygen

which leads to an increase in oxygen to carbon ratio. So it favours rubisco to combine with oxygen.
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

ii. Explain why the rate of photosynthesis decreases as a result of photorespiration in C3 plants.

…There is less RuBP available to combine with carbon dioxide. There is reduction in the rate of calvin
cycle as well.
.......................................................................................................................................[2]

[Total: 10]
 Q. 4 (a) Describe the process of cyclic photophosphorylation and the structure of the photosystem
involved.

In cyclic photoshosphorylation, only photosystem I is involved. There are photosynthetic pigments

arranged in light-harvesting clusters in a photosystem. Several hundred accessory pigment molecules
surround a primary pigment molecule and the energy of light absorbed by the different pigments is
passed to the primary pigments or reaction centres. First light energy is absorbed which results in an
electron from the chlorophyll getting excited to a higher energy level. Due to this excitation, the
electron is emitted from the chlorophyll molecule. This is called photoactivation. The excited electron
is then captured by an electron acceptor and is passed back to a chlorophyll molecule via a chain of
electron carriers. During this process, enough energy is released to synthesise ATP from ADP and a
phosphate group through chemiosmosis.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[9]

(b) Explain how non-cyclic photophosphorylation produces reduced NADP and how reduced NA
DP is used in the light independent stage

.
…Both photosystems are involved. Reduced NADP is formed in stroma. Photosystem II includes a
water splitting enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of water i.e. photolysis. H+ ions are released
from photosystem II. The hydrogen ions combine with electrons from photosystem I and the carrier
molecule NADP to give reduced NADP. Reduced NADP passes to the light independent reactions
and is used in the synthesis of carbohydrate………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………[6]

[Total :15]

Q 5.  The Hardy-Weinberg principle may be used to calculate allele and genotype frequencies for a
gene, within a population.
The Hardy-Weinberg principle uses these equations:
p2  +  2pq  +  q2  =  1
p  +  q  =  1

(a)  Within a population of butterflies, the allele for brown wing colour, B, is dominant to the allele for
white wing colour, b.
40% of the butterflies in this population are white.
Use the Hardy-Weinberg principle to calculate the percentage of butterflies in the population that are
heterozygous for the gene controlling wing colour.
Show your working.

...q^2 = 0.4
…p = 0.37

answer :
…47……%

[3]

(b)  Describe four situations where the Hardy-Weinberg principle does not apply.

…When there is mutation or migration. When non random mating occurs. When the population is
small. And when the reproduction is asexual………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[Total: 7]

THE END