Page 11 How is energy released in cells?
Page 16 Trophic levels
1. Carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and
phosphorus.
2. Single and double covalent bonds.
3. Red = three phosphates, black = sugar/ribose,
blue = adenine/base.
4. a) One phosphate group.
b) Two phosphate groups.
c) Three phosphate groups.
Page 13 Data-based question: Energy
requirements of humans
1. Synthesis of DNA/protein/large
molecules/anabolism; pumping ions/active
transport; movement/muscle contraction.
2. Body size increase/more cells.
3. a) [(14.4 – 10.6)/10.6]×100% = 35.8%
b) Muscle contraction; increase in muscle size.
4. a) Body fat deposited/spare energy
stored/becoming overweight/obese.
b) Loss of body mass/lack of energy/hunger.
5. a) Little/no significant change in females; boys’
energy requirements increase; at all energy
levels.
b) Boys in growth period (spurt) but girls are
not.
6. Energy scale on y-axis with legend; ages and sexes
indicated on x-axis; bars on chart all correctly
plotted (ten bars in total).
Page 14 Data-based question: Infrared
photography
1. Objects at different temperatures emit different
wavelengths of infrared; different wavelengths
show as different colours.
2. Hands are losing more heat; hotter objects lose
more heat than cooler ones; spider is at 22.8 °C or
less and hands are at 35.9 °C or more.
3. Palms have better blood supply than fingers;
fingers have larger surface area to volume ratio
than palms so lose heat (relatively) faster;
extremities of body are cooler.
4. Surroundings are blue in the photograph so are at
22.8 °C or less; spider is also at 22.8 °C or less; not
clear if spider was warmer or cooler than the
environment so direction of heat movement not
certain; spider was gaining heat from the hands
because they were warmer.
1
Tiger is a second consumer; monarch butterfly
caterpillar is a primary consumer; mosquito is a
second consumer; whale shark is a second consumer
(assuming the zooplankton it feeds on are primary
consumers); panda is a primary consumer; potato
aphid is a primary consumer; dog tapeworm is a
tertiary consumer; chimp is a primary consumer when
it eats plants but is a secondary consumer when it eats
monkeys/other primary consumers.
Page 17 Making a mesocosm
1. a) Light/(energy)/(heat).
b) Heat/(energy)/(light).
2. Aerobic bacteria can survive using oxygen from
photosynthesizing microbes.
3. Could be sustained as long as light continues to be
received; minerals/elements can be recycled
endlessly.
4. Larger organisms could evolve as a result of
mutation and natural selection; small size of a
mesocosm makes it unlikely that a viable
population of a large organism could be sustained.
Page 18 Data-based question: Energy flow in a
deep-water ecosystem
1. Little/no light penetrates to deep water; water
very turbid so poor light penetration.
2. Bacteria and other microbes release the most
heat.
3. a) (1705/2790)×100% = 61.1%
b) Carnivores are more active; carnivores use
energy to hunt prey.
4. Open system; both energy and materials can enter
and leave.
Page 20 Data-based question: Pyramids of energy
1. a) 87,400 – 14,150 = 73,250 kJ m-2 year-1
b) Released by respiration and lost as heat;
accumulates as extra producer biomass;
producers die and their energy passes to
decomposers.
2. a) 87,400 – 14,150 = 73,250 kJ m-2 year-1
b) Consumers take in the chemical energy in
tissues/bodies of the organisms that they
eat.
3. Not enough energy in tertiary consumers to
sustain a population of quaternary consumers.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Summative assessment: Palm oil
1. a) Chemical energy to heat energy.
b) Chemical to heat.
c) Light to chemical.
d) Chemical to kinetic.
e) Chemical to chemical/heat/kinetic.

2. a) More energy available for detritivores than herbivores; herbivores eat

living plants whereas detritivores eat dead leaves/dead organic matter;
both can get energy from plants.
b) All energy flows are reduced.
c) Smaller biomass of detritivores and primary consumers (though the
biomass of omnivores is greater).
d) Less predation by carnivores; food supplies more variable so advantage
in having a flexible diet.

3. a) i) No, orangutan areas on 1930 map do not extend to all areas shown
as forest on 2010 map.
ii) Yes, as some of industrial plantations on 2010 map are shown as
orangutan areas on 1930 map.
iii) Yes, as some areas of intact forest on 2010 map are shown with
orangutans on 1930 map.
b) Both have affected large areas shown as orangutan habitat on 1930 map;
but logged areas could regenerate as forest/ retain some trees so provide
better orangutan habitat; so industrial plantations (probably) more
harmful.

4. a) Testable hypotheses: all vegetable oils have an energy content of about 40

MJ per kg (hypothesis based on energy values in databases)/yield of palm
oil in kilograms per hectare is more than other oils so the energy content
is lower (to give an equal energy yield per hectare)/alternative reasoned
hypothesis.
b) i) Palm oil; another named oil (but if palm oil is unobtainable, two
other oils could be used in the experiment).
ii) Measure mass of a sample of oil; measure the volume of water that
will be heated; ignite and burn the oil; use the flame from the
burning oil to heat the water; measure the water temperature
before and after burning the oil; 4.2 J of energy per cm3 of water
and per degree Celsius of temperature rise (specific heat capacity
of water).
iii) Constant/known mass of oil; constant/known volume of water;
constant size/surface area of tube to hold the water.
iv) Care needed to avoid burns from flame/hot tube; care to avoid
spilling hot water and causing scalds; care with glassware to avoid
breakages and cuts.

5. a) Columns with headings on table; rows with headings on table; table

shows temperature before and after and preferably also temperature rise.
b) Bar chart; temperature rises shown with bars; y axis with temperature
scale and appropriate legend.
c) Energy yield per hectare = average yield (kg ha-1 year-1) × energy yield
per kilogram (J kg-1); correct calculations; palm oil yield per hectare is
higher.
d) More photosynthesis in palm oil crop; higher temperature so more
photosynthesis; higher light intensity so more photosynthesis; higher
proportion of energy from photosynthesis stored in oil by oil palms than
by other crops.

© Oxford University Press 2017 2

6. Analysis of tropical peat soils; identification of peat soils on which palm oil can
be grown without excessive CO2 emissions; identification of peat soils that
should be conserved; life cycle assessment of oil crops; establishment of
nature reserves in upland areas; establishment of wildlife corridors between
reserves.

7. Award marks in a range from 0 marks for invalid arguments not based on
evidence to 5 marks for a convincing argument based on evidence.

8. Shows that an article is based on evidence; gives academic credence; allows

information/facts to be checked; allows data analysis/statistics to be checked;
allows researchers to find other relevant sources.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

Page 34 Naming enzymes
 Nitrate reductase reduces/transfers electrons to
nitrate/converts nitrate to nitrite.
 Iodotyrosine deiodinase removes iodine from
iodotyrosine.
 Phosphoglucose isomerase converts glucose
phosphate to fructose phosphate.
Page 36 Phenyalanine to tyrosine
1. Phenylalanine has an extra OH (hydroxyl) group
on its phenyl ring.
2. In a hydroxylation reaction, a hydroxyl group (OH)
is added or removed from a molecule.
3. The concentration of phenylalanine will rise/be
too high and the concentration of tyrosine will
fall/be too low.
4. a) Give the baby a diet containing low amounts
of phenylalanine.
b) The mother’s metabolism can control
concentrations of phenylalanine and tyrosine
when the baby is in the uterus.
Page 36 Lactose to glucose and galactose
1. The OH group on the left-hand carbon (C4) is
pointing down in glucose and up in galactose.
2. Having different enzymes for synthesizing and
digesting lactose allows the body to control which
process occurs; synthesis happens by a different
pathway; synthesis involves using energy from
ATP because it is an endothermic process; lactose
is synthesized from galactose diphosphate plus
glucose whereas lactose is digested to galactose
plus glucose.
3. Lactose is not digested (by human
enzymes/digestive juices); bacteria/microbes in
the gut digest the lactose.
4. Adults that continue to secrete lactase into
adulthood have an advantage; they are better
nourished on a diet containing milk; they avoid
harmful effects of lactose intolerance; they are
healthier so produce more children; their children
inherit the trait of secreting lactase in adulthood.
Page 37 Ethanol to ethanoic acid
1. Ethanol to ethanal is an oxidation; ethanal to
ethanoic acid is also an oxidation.
2. The substrates/reactants have different
shapes/chemical properties so different active
sites are needed for them to bind and react; the
chemical reaction that occurs is different so a
different specific catalyst is needed.
1
3. No enzyme exists that does the transformation in
one step; a series of small transformations is more
likely to occur correctly than one major one.
Page 38 Alcohol flush
1. High frequency: Japan; China; South Korea;
Low frequency: any country not in East Asia.
2. Concentrations of ethanal will be much higher
after drinking alcohol than in people with non-
variant forms of ALDH1 and ALDH2.
3. People with ALDH2*504Lys have high ethanal
concentrations after drinking ethanol; causing
unpleasant effects due to the toxicity of ethanal; so
they tend to avoid alcohol; and do not become
alcoholic; vice versa for those who do not have the
variant gene.
4. Fewer alcoholics; less binge drinking; worse
hangovers; less culture of alcohol-drinking; effects
of ethanal deter drinking alcohol.
5. Yes – because they influence significant aspects of
our identity such as alcohol drinking or
abstinence.
Page 45 Data-based question: GNRH
1. Messenger RNA/mRNA moves out from the
nucleus to the cytoplasm; mRNA binds to a
ribosome; translation of RNA to
protein/polypeptide; base sequence converted to
amino acid sequence; release of GNRH from the
ribosome.
2. Ten (There is an error in the book – one nitrogen
atom in the peptide chain is shown red rather than
blue, making it harder to find the number of amino
acids by counting the number of times the
sequence N-C-C is repeated in the backbone of the
polypeptide.)
3. Easier to transport a smaller molecule; less
resources/amino acids used; receptor molecule to
which the hormone binds can be smaller.
4. All three hormones rise and fall in concentration;
four times in 15 hours; all rise and fall at about the
same times; GnRH always rises first; LH always
rises higher; FSH rises for a longer time before
falling again.
5. GnRH increases in concentration before LH and
FSH rise.
6. At the age when boys begin
puberty/10/11/12/13/14/15.
7. The boy would not enter puberty/develop
secondary sexual characteristics (unless
artificially stimulated).
© Oxford University Press 2017
Page 48 Data-based question: Metamorphosis in
the western-spadefoot toad
1. a) 1.9 – 1.2 = 0.7 grams
b) Grow to a larger size before metamorphosis
in high water.
2. More corticosterone is produced in low water;
causing production of more thyroid hormone
receptor proteins; more thyroid hormone is
produced in low water; which activates receptor
proteins by binding; and the activated receptors
bind to specific genes in the nucleus; activating
them; activated genes cause metamorphosis.
3. Metamorphosis happens before the water
disappears; but there is growth to the largest
possible size before metamorphosis.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Page 52 How does sexual reproduction change
combinations of genes?
1. a) 23 = 8
b) 24 = 16
c) 210 = 1024
d) 21000 (which is a very large number!)
2. Not likely; one sperm fuses with one egg; one
zygote produced; zygote divides by mitosis to
form an embryo; embryo splits into two parts;
each part develops as a separate embryo.
3. Offspring not all the same; no more similar than
siblings.
4. More genetic diversity.
2
Summative assessment: Heritable variation and identity
1. a) One cell contains the X and the other contains the Y chromosome; both of
these chromosomes have two strands/chromatids.
b) Two cells have X chromosomes and two have Y; each of these
chromosomes has one strand/chromatid.

2. SRY gene is transcribed; mRNA copy of base sequence produced; mRNA passes
out from nucleus to cytoplasm; mRNA binds to ribosome; translation;
ribosome converts base sequence of mRNA into amino acid sequence of TDF.

3. a) SRY gene not present; TDF not produced; genes preventing ovary
formation not activated by TDF.
b) Development of testes; scrotum; sperm duct; seminal vesicle/prostate
gland; penis.

4. a) Most plausible hypothesis is no difference between boys and girls; same

amount of starch in the diet; same need for amylase/starch digestion.
b) Same saliva collection method; same volume of saliva used in testing;
same temperature repeats/test saliva from more than one boy and girl.
c) Time taken to digest starch measured in seconds/converted to seconds;
amount of starch digested correctly calculated as volume of starch
solution (cm3) × starch concentration (mg cm–3) (1% starch is
10 mg cm–3); rate of starch digestion = mass of starch digested (mg)/time
taken (seconds); calculate average rates for girls and for boys.
d) Mean rate of starch digestion on y axis with scale and legend; boys and
girls on X axis; two bars only plotted (not a bar for each saliva sample;
range bars to show the highest and lowest rates for boys and for girls).
e) Difficult to determine whether starch is fully digested; gradual colour
change of iodine from blue-black to orange; variability of results; more
repeats needed; comment on whether the differences are significant;
other valid comment based on actual data obtained/used.

5. a) Humans have diploid nuclei/cells; two copies of chromosome 1 per

nucleus; one copy of AMY1 on each chromosome 1.
b) i) Minimum is 2 copies; maximum is 15; median is 7.5.
ii) The more copies of AMY1, the higher the concentration of amylase;
positive correlation; variation in the data/not linear relationship.
iii) AMY transcribed more often with more copies; more mRNA for
amylase; more translation of mRNA for amylase/more amylase
secreted in saliva.
c) i) Populations that eat a high starch diet have more copies of AMY1
(on average); Japanese, Hadza and European-American all show
this trend.
ii) Better starch digestion with more amylase; more glucose/energy
obtained from high starch diets; selective advantage/more
successful/more offspring produced; offspring inherit more copies
of AMY1 gene.

6. a) Helps to understand a person’s identity; helps to predict difficulties a

person may have; allows help to be given to minimize difficulties; might
suggest particular occupations should be avoided; avoid dangers due to
inability to distinguish colours; difficulty distinguishing traffic light
colours/other specific example of any of these reasons.
b) You inherited your genes from your parents; you inherited tiny
differences in one of your genes; this gene should allow you to recognize
the colour green; but because of the differences your version of the gene
tells you that the green is the same colour as red.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

 c) i) No chance of a son inheriting the condition; because the gene is on
the X chromosome and fathers pass on their Y chromosome to
their sons.
ii) Daughter will not have the condition; because they inherit a
normal version of the gene from their mother; but they will carry
one copy of the deuteranomaly gene (which they could pass on to
their children).
d) Good to be different/other positive reaction; depression/regret/other
negative reaction; reluctance to pass gene on to children; altered life
expectations/plans for the future.

3
© Oxford University Press 2017 4
Page 64 Using a dichotomous key 3. Recognizably different; do not interbreed; have
1. There is an error in the key in the book: the separate ecological niches; so could be regarded as
number at the end of the first line of the key separate species; but very similar in form/
should be 2, not 1. differences rather superficial; not separated for
A: Cedrus deodara – this may key out as Cedrus very long/not enough time for speciation; would
libani because the photos have been printed at probably produce fertile offspring if they bred
two-thirds life size, rather than life size. If possible together; perhaps not yet separate species.
use real specimens for this exercise. 4. Trout from Lough Eske overlap in characteristics
B: Cedrus atlantica with Sonaghen and Gillaroo; suggesting they have
C: Very hard to discern from the photo – there are common ancestry; less likely that the Lough
no translucent glands, the foliage has white Melvin trout really are separate species yet.
streaks and the smell was of pineapple so this is
Thuja plicata – see question 5. Page 67 Data-based question: Asymmetric form
D: Cryptomeria japonica
1. Central photo is normal; photo on left shows only
2. Genus name is Thuja and species name is plicata. right side; photo on right shows only left side.
3. Cedrus species or Thuja species; species in a genus 2. Right cheek hollower; wart/cyst/protuberance to
are closely related/are similar in their traits. left of mouth; fold /protuberance on right side of
4. a) They all have light, strong, durable wood that forehead.
is resistant to pests, decay and fire and has 3. It is asymmetrical; it changed during his lifetime
been used in similar ways. due to random events.
b) They are not all closely related; they show 4. a) Right arm thicker than left/vice versa for left-
significant differences in traits other than dominant people; right/left breast larger/
their wood. lower; leg length difference; right testis larger
5. Smell is rather subjective; smell cannot be than left; left testis hangs lower than right.
detected in photographs; smell may fade over time b) Left side of heart stronger; left and right sides
in museum specimens. of heart connected to different blood vessels;
bulk of liver on right side; pancreas/spleen
Page 65 Same or different? on left; ascending colon/appendix on left
side; descending colon on right; right kidney
 All five species are in Kingdom Animalia; Phylum
higher.
Chordata; Class Reptilia.
 Komodo dragon and eastern brown snake are
both in Order Squamata. Page 68 How much do humans differ in form?
 Spectacled caiman and green turtle are both in 1. Differences in form seem significant to us because
Order Testudines. we spend much time looking at each other; but
 All five species are in different families. objectively they are very small; levels of genetic
variation indicate that there is more difference in
Varanus Pseudo- Podocnemis
Binomial komo- naja
Caiman
sextuber-
Chelonia form in other species such as chimps which to us
crocodilus mydas
doensis textilis culata all look rather similar.
Kingdom Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia 2. More similarities – we don’t differ as much as we
Phylum Chordata Chordata Chordata Chordata Chordata think we do.
Class Reptilia Reptilia Reptilia Reptilia Reptilia 3. Personality, relationships/family/community,
profession/hobbies/skills, nationality, race,
Order Squamata Squamata Crocodylia Testudines Testudines
language, memories etc.
Alligator- Podocne- Cheloni-
Family Varanidae Elapidae
idae mididae idae

Page 69 Which animals are most similar in form

Page 66 Data-based question: Lough Melvin trout
1. Same body shape; same arrangement of fins; all
have scales/gill slits/eyes; all have spots.
2. No interbreeding; no overlap between features in
the ordination.
to humans?
1. Palm and five digits; thumb and four fingers;
finger nails; two joints in each finger and one at
the base; creases in the palm.
2. Human hands are the smallest; palm relatively
shorter in human hands.

1 © Oxford University Press 2017

3. More similarities than differences. 4. Should be placed together in a phylum with other
4. Assessment of the similarities/differences; no vertebrates/chordates; but should not be in the
objective method of deciding. same class because there are significant
differences; sharks have always lived in water
whereas whales evolved from terrestrial
Page 70 Data-based question: Splitting and mammals that returned to water.
lumping 5. Elephants, manatees and whales should all be
1. 25 species per genus. classified together; because they are similar in
2. Both have internal skeleton/endoskeleton; both characteristics such as limb bone structure; they
have individual units in the skeleton; bone in have all evolved from ancestors on land but
flipper and cartilage in fin; fewer bones in flipper manatees and whales have returned to the water.
than plates/rods/rays in fin. 6. Both have navels; because they are mammals; they
3. have placentas and the fetus is connected to the
whale whale shark placenta by an umbilical cord; navel is a scar
diaphragm   where the umbilical cord was attached.
gills  
intestines   Page 74 Monocot or dicot?
kidneys    Tradescantia virginiana and Erythronium
lungs   grandiflorum are monocots.
mammary glands    Syringa vulgaris and Hibiscus waimeae are dicots.
nostrils  
navel  
toes  
vertebrae  

© Oxford University Press 2017

2
Summative assessment: Human hands
1. Three bones in the thumb; three bones in each finger; five metacarpals in
the palm (2 + 3 × 4 + 5 + 8 = 27).

2. Organ; because it consists of a group of tissues that together perform a

function.

3. Should not be classified together; because that would be an artificial

classification based only on one character; other characteristics show that
animals with opposable thumbs are not all closely related; koalas not closely
related to apes and monkeys; opposable thumbs have evolved more than
once.

4. Not useful for assessing closeness of relationship; only a single

characteristic; classification should be based on comparison of many
characteristics; fingerprints have evolved repeatedly; animals with
fingerprints may not have common ancestry.

5. Form of an organism is its shape; and its structure; forms of a species are
different varieties.

6. a) Suitable hypothesis is suggested; hypothesis is testable; hypothesis is

based on scientific reasoning.
b) Design should include clear statement of independent, dependent and
control variables, rationale for the method and practical details,
consideration or ethics and risks with marks awarded on a scale from 0
marks for a completely inadequate design to ten marks for an
exemplary design.
c) Marks should be awarded on a scale from 0 marks for no valid data
collected or analysed up to ten marks for sufficient valid and reliable
data collected, displayed in a results table and then analysed to obtain
means and ranges, with an appropriate chart to display them.
d) Marks should be awarded on a scale from 0 where the results are not
considered in the light of the hypothesis, up to four marks where there
is a careful and full assessment of whether the data provides support
for the hypothesis or not.

7. Marks should be awarded on a scale from 0 for invalid diagrams to 5 marks

for polydactyly shown due to programmed cell death occurring in more
than four regions and syndactyly to fewer than four such regions where
programmed cell death occurs.

8. Unrestricted sale of thalidomide in Germany was unsafe; prescription of

thalidomide by doctors in the UK was a mistake; willingness of the drug
company to allow thalidomide use in pregnant women was a mistake;
refusal of the drug company to undertake trials in pregnant women was a
mistake; the assumption without evidence that thalidomide could not cross
the placental barrier was a mistake.

9. Durer drawing conveys human emotion to us; Durer drawing conveys the
changes that occur to us with age; Durer drawing conveys the beauty of
human form to us; sensory homunculus shows how much sensation we get
from different parts of the body; sensory homunculus shows that
hands/lips/tongue contain many sensory nerve endings; sensory
homunculus shows that legs/arms are relatively insensitive.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

Page 90 How do cells specialize for particular
functions?
1. a) Microvilli, vesicles, pseudopodia.
b) Lysosomes, actin and myosin filaments,
pseudopodia.
c) Vesicles.
d) Keratin fibres, microtubules.
2. I is nerve endings/synapses in a neuron.
II is a white blood cell that has engulfed disease-
causing microbes.
III is a cell that is developing into cornified skin.
IV is cells in the lining of the small intestine that
absorb digested food.
Page 92 What is the function of a cheek lining
cell?
1. a) Protection against acid/chemicals is helped
by features I and III.
b) Smooth surface is helped by I and II.
c) Protection against hard foods is helped by IV
and V.
d) Preventing bacterial infection is helped by III
and V.
Page 93 How do cells communicate with other
cells?
1. Every hormone/neurotransmitter has a different
molecule/structure/form; specific receptors avoid
confusion between different
hormones/neurotransmitters.
2. Neurotransmitters have a more rapid effect than
hormones; because they only have to cross a
synapse; whereas hormones have to be carried
around the blood stream; and neurons initiate
impulses very rapidly after receiving a
neurotransmitter.
3. Hormones have a more widespread effect;
because the blood stream carries hormones every-
where in the body; whereas neurotransmitters
only convey a message across one synapse.
4. Enzymes are another group; they have an active
site; to which specific substrates/reactants bind.
5. Depends on our understanding of function; we
have to consider the differences between
functions, purposes and roles; debatable whether
small molecules such as glucose have an inherent
function or are used by living organisms for a
purpose; calcium ions are used as messengers in
muscle/neurons which is a function; perhaps a
molecule/ion must have a specific role (in all
organisms) for this to be its function.
1 © Oxford University Press 2017
Page 94 Data-based question: Life reduced to the
minimum
1. [(473 – 324)/473] × 100% = 31.5%
2. Eliminate a gene artificially; attempt to culture the
microbe lacking the gene; if the gene isn’t vital the
bacterium will grow and multiply to form a visible
colony.
3. Each of the 473 genes is vital; implying that they
all have a function.
4. Some of the extra genes might be needed to cope
with different/varying conditions; a gene that has
lost its function would presumably be eliminated
eventually; but this might take a long time if the
disadvantage of having an extra gene was small;
extra genes give variation; so allow evolution; so
there may be benefits in having extra genes even if
they do not currently have a function.
Page 96 What type of organization works best?
1. Perform the function more efficiently.
2. Fewer cell types/organs needed; less
communication/coordination needed; less
transport needed.
3. Supermarket/superstore sells many different
types of goods; greengrocer sells only fruits and
vegetables.
4. Conditions can be kept ideal for one specific
function; one process cannot interfere with
another; mutually incompatible functions can be
performed at the same time.
5. Back-up; if one compartment fails there should
still be other ones working.
6. Less movement/transport needed between
compartments.
7. Bees store honey is cells rather than in one
undivided space; main concourse of Grand Central
Terminal in New York as a large open-plan space.
8.  Oil is stored in multiple tanks rather than one
large tank at a refinery so different types of
oil can be kept separate; so failure of one tank
has less catastrophic consequences; because
smaller tanks are structurally stronger.
 Enclosed fields allow grazing to be controlled
more precisely; allow fields to be set aside for
hay/silage making; open hill grazing involves
less work in moving stock; allows stock to
find the best grazing themselves; allows stock
to move in response to weather conditions;
allows stock to spread out more/develop
territories.
  Cells in a penitentiary protect prisoners from
each other; make it easier to control
prisoners; give prisoners more privacy.
 Open dormitories in a pilgrim’s hostel allow
the maximum number of pilgrims to be
accommodated; discourage impropriety.
Page 98 Data-based question: Total parenteral
nutrition
1. Carbohydrates are the main component; lipids are
the second largest component; vitamins/mineral
elements are included.
2. a) Starch in FDA diet but not TPN.
b) Amino acids in TPN but proteins in FDA diet.
c) More vitamins in FDA diet than TPN.
d) Dietary fibre in FDA diet but not in TPN.
3. Bacteria in food ingested by mouth are killed by
stomach acid; bacteria in TPN fluid entering into a
vein would cause septicemia/infection of the
blood.
4. Gut surgery which stops the intestines from
working; ulcerative colitis where absorption is
ineffective; blockages to the intestines; coma;
chronic diarrhea.
5. Non-essential amino acids are made by conversion
from other amino acids.
6. Debatable - depends on meaning of ‘function’;
amino acids are naturally occurring substances;
which living organisms use to provide a range of
chemical properties in proteins.
Page 100 Why are the organs of the digestive
system in sequence rather than in parallel?
1.  Absorption of digested foods – small
intestine;
 Absorption of water – colon;
 Chewing of food – mouth cavity;
Digestion of starch in neutral conditions -

mouth cavity and small intestine;
Digestion of lipids in neutral conditions –

small intestine;
Digestion of proteins in acid conditions –

stomach;
 Digestion of proteins in neutral conditions –
small intestine;
 Killing bacteria – stomach;
 Temporary storage of food – stomach;
 Swallowing and vomiting – esophagus.
2. 1) Chewing of food
2) Swallowing
3) Killing bacteria and digestion of proteins
in acid conditions
4) Temporary storage of foods
5) Digestion of proteins, lipids and starch
in neutral conditions
6) Absorption of digested foods
7) Absorption of water
3. Food has to be chewed first so it is small enough to
swallow; swallowing gets food through the thorax
© Oxford University Press 2017
to reach the abdomen where most of the digestive
system is located; important to kill bacteria (with
acid) near the start; acid hydrolysis of protein can
be carried out at the same time; digestion of other
macromolecules can then be accomplished with
suitable gut flora; followed by absorption of
digested foods; and then absorption of water.
4. a) Mouth cavity and small intestine both used
for digestion of starch; salivary glands and
pancreas both produce amylase.
b) Appendix has no (clear/discovered) function.
Page 101 Data-based question: CT scan of
abdominal organs
1. a) Liver (red); gall bladder (green).
b) Kidneys.
2. One vertebra (lower centre) four ribs (near body
surface in lower half of scan).
3. Many separate circular or ovoid sections; intestine
is a tubular structure which twists and turns so
passes through the plane of the scan repeatedly.
4. Intercostal muscle (between the ribs); wall of
intestine; back muscle/muscle for bending or
straightening the back; diaphragm; abdomen
wall/rectus muscle.
Page 103 What is the advantage of locating all
the main sense organs in the head?
1. Insects, birds and mammals are examples of
groups with a head; sea anemones, flatworms and
sponges are examples of animal groups without a
head.
2. The head is a region where co-ordination happens,
with a concentration of sense organs providing in-
puts, a relatively large body of nerve tissues in the
form of a brain or cerebral ganglia, many synapses
between neurons; also a mouth for ingestion of
food.
3. Anterior/highest/most protruding part of body;
close to mouth; sense organs can be grouped
together in the ideal position for sensation; short
distance for impulses to pass from sense organs to
brain/CNS/cerebral ganglia.
4. Longer distance for impulses to travel to brain/
CNS/cerebral ganglia; less useful for coordinating
eating/ingestion; further from eye/other sense
organs so not as easy to combine sensory inputs.
Page 104 Where are sensory receptors located in
the eye?
1. Rods are most useful in dim light; at dawn and
dusk; at night; cones are most useful in bright
light; most useful for producing detailed/high
definition images.
2. Most cones in the fovea/yellow spot/centre of
retina; most rods around/close to (but not in) the
fovea.
2
3. Iris controls the amount of light passing through
the pupil into the eye; cornea refracts light to help
produce a focused image; pupil allows light to pass
into the eye; ciliary muscle controls the shape of
the lens; lens adjusts the amount of refraction to
focus an image on the retina; suspensory
ligaments transmit tension to the lens; vision
would be much poorer without these other
tissues.
4. Sensory receptor is a cell type that detects a
stimulus; sense organ contains receptor cells; and
other tissues to help the receptors to function
effectively.
Page 105 What is the function of the eye and the
structures around it?
1. Drawing should consist of sharp, continuous,
easily visible lines; the seven structures should
each be indicated by a clear ruled labelling line
and the name.
2. No light emerges from the eye through the pupil
so it appears black; there is a tissue called the
choroid behind the retina that absorbs any light
passing unabsorbed through the retina;
preventing reflection back out through the pupil.
3. Brightly illuminated room; the pupils are
constricted; the reflection of a fluorescent strip
light can be seen in the baby’s corneas.
4. Brown eyes in Africa/India/South East Asia;
where there is high intensity sunlight; so brown
irises are needed to protect the retina from
excessive light.
3 © Oxford University Press 2017
5. Eye closes when we are asleep; when we do not
use our vision; and closing the eye protects it
while we are unconscious; eyes close when we
blink; to lubricate the eye; when
dust/dirt/insects/foreign bodies have got onto the
cornea/conjunctiva; to clear foreign bodies off the
surface of the eye; eye closes if an insect
approaches; to prevent it from entering the eye.
6. Eyelashes help to prevent foreign bodies from
getting into the eye; eyebrow stops sweat from
running down into the eye from the forehead.
7. Gives stereoscopic vision; allows
depth/distance/perspective to be judged; allows
the size of objects to be judged.
Page 107 Where are the sensory receptors that we
use for hearing?
1. a) Outer ear; ear drum; middle ear; ossicles in
middle ear; oval window; cochlea; round
window.
b) Outer ear is gas-filled; ear drum is solid;
ossicles in middle ear are solid; oval window
is solid; cochlea is liquid; round window is
solid.
2. Oval window allows sounds to pass from the
ossicles/middle ear into the cochlea; oval window
helps to amplify sounds; round window carries
out compensatory movements; to allow the fluid
in the cochlea to vibrate; because fluids are
incompressible.
3. Middle ear amplifies the sound; by the
arrangement of the ossicles; by the oval window
being smaller than the ear drum; muscles can
move the ossicles when sound is loud; to reduce
the transmission of sound through them.
Summative assessment: Food in the gut
1. a) Carries pancreatic juice/enzymes secreted by the pancreas to the
small intestine.
b) Reduces growth; more than 25% of CF patients are below the 25th
percentile; fewer than 25% of CF patients are above the 75%
percentile.
c) Less secretion of enzymes from the pancreas into the small intestine;
less digestion of foods/protein/starch/lipids; less digested food
absorbed/carried to cells by the blood stream; more respiratory tract
infections.
d) Canada; because the reductions in growth shown by the percentile
data are less; better treatment of CF patients by the Canadian than US
health care systems; enzyme replacement capsules; better diet;
better treatment of respiratory infections.

2. a) Colon removed due to cancer.

b) Both receive wastes from the small intestine; colon absorbs water
from the wastes and returns it to the blood stream but ileostomy bag
does not.
c) Less fibre in diet (initially); drink plenty of fluid to replace water
losses; vitamin supplement/vitamin B12 which is mostly made in the
colon; avoid foods that cause flatulence/dietary gas; avoid
fizzy/carbonated drinks.
d) Smaller volume of urine because of water losses to the ileostomy bag

3. Undigested food molecules are too large/insoluble; for absorption; so

must be broken down into smaller/more soluble molecules.

4. Design should include clear statement of independent, dependent and

control variables, rationale for the method and practical details,
consideration of ethics and risks, with marks awarded on a scale from 0
marks for a completely inadequate design to eight marks for an exemplary
design.

5. Details of testing for glucose; starch; amino acids (by pH); casein/protein.

6. Column headings; row headings; each result in a separate cell on the table.

7. Interpretation should explain what the results show about the

permeability of the membrane to larger and smaller molecules, with
marks awarded on a scale from 0 marks for an incorrect/invalid
interpretation to 3 marks for a convincing interpretation based on
scientific reasoning.

8. Evaluation should state clearly whether the results actually obtained

falsify the hypothesis or provide evidence in support of it, together with
an assessment of the strength of the evidence, awarding marks on a scale
from 0 marks for an incorrect/invalid evaluation to 3 marks for a
convincing evaluation based on the results of the investigation.

9. Evaluation should state clearly to what extent the method allowed the
hypothesis to be tested fully, partially tested or not tested at all, with
marks awarded on a scale of 0 marks for an incorrect/invalid evaluation
to 3 marks for a convincing evaluation of the method.

10. Marks should be awarded on a scale from 0 marks for

trivial/invalid/impractical suggestions to 3 marks for a convincing
explanation of two or more extensions/improvements.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
11. a) Informed consent always needed; unethical to carry out procedures
without permission; volunteers must be aware of any potential
risks/issues; and have given permission knowing about these
risks/issues.
b) To convince others that ingestion of new genes in GM foods is not a
risk; because the scientists might be wrong in thinking that the
procedure is safe; because some risks are unexpected; because the
precautionary principle states that those introducing a new
procedure have a duty to demonstrate that it is safe.
c) A small percentage/3.7% to 0.00001% of epsps genes passed
through the gut to the end of the small intestine; 99.99999 to 96.3%
of epsps genes broken down in the small intestine; all remaining
epsps genes were broken down in the large intestine; feeding on GM
food with epsps genes did not lead to an increase in gut bacteria
carrying the epsps gene.
d) Marks should be awarded on a scale from 0 marks for an account that
is incomprehensible or misleading to 6 marks for an exemplary
account explaining complex ideas in simple terminology and in
phraseology that encourages the reader to continue to the end of the
article.

5 © Oxford University Press 2017

Page 118 Experiment
1. Meters per second (m s–1).
2. Wind is moving air; transpiration is movement of
water molecules from the plant to the atmosphere;
water lost by transpiration is replaced within the
plant by water moving up the xylem; water uptake
by the plant causes water movement in the
photometer.
3. Stomata close to prevent/reduce water loss by
transpiration at high wind speeds.
Page 121 Data-based question: The limits to tree
height
1. a) 150 – 250 millimetres
b) 40 - 50 millimetres
c) 700 – 740 millimetres
d) 10 – 12 millimetres
2. a) Maximum leaf length decreases.
b) Minimum leaf length increases.
c) Variation in leaf length decreases.
3. Amount of phloem tissue; pressure gradient in
phloem between source and sink; availability of
water for producing phloem sap/for dissolving
sugars produced by photosynthesis.
4. More light collected for photosynthesis by a large
leaf; more surface area over which carbon dioxide
can be absorbed for photosynthesis; more water
loss by transpiration from a large leaf.
5. Data in the graph suggests that there is a
maximum height for trees; because the lines for
maximum and minimum leaf length will meet; at
about 110 meters; and above that the lines would
cross implying that there is no viable leaf length.
1
Page 129 Data-based question: The impact of
exposure to traffic on indicators of asthma
1. pH changed after walking both along Oxford Street
and through Hyde Park; pH increases after walks
in Hyde Park and decreases after walks along
Oxford Street; 3 hours is one hour after exercise
was completed. Hyde Park walkers are in oxygen
debt recovery mode; so ventilation is raised and
carbon dioxide levels in exhaled breath are
therefore particularly low; Oxford St. walkers are
still working to release carbon dioxide build-up
from the two-hour walk.
2. [(43 – 6)/6] × 100% = 617%
3. Breathing polluted air on Oxford Street causes
swelling (of airways/bronchioles); making
ventilation/gas exchange more difficult; so carbon
dioxide concentrations in the lungs increase; and
exhaled air contains higher carbon dioxide
concentrations; converse for Hyde Park.
Page 131 Data-based question: Darwin’s
phototropism experiment
1. [(473 – 324)/473] × 100% = 31.5%
2. a) 20 minutes
b) 60 – 70 minutes
c) Sigmoid curve; no increase until 20 minutes
after light stimulus; then increasingly rapid
curvature; until 70 minutes after which
curvature slows; little more curvature after
140 minutes.
3. a) The top of the shoot detects the light
stimulus.
b) No curvature; upwards growth away from
gravity; rapid growth to try to reach light.
c) Only absorption of blue light causes
phototropism; the pigment absorbing the
blue light will be red in colour.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Summative assessment: Transpiration and climate
1. a) 530 mm yr–1
b) 40 years: 557;
60 years: 563;
100 years: 470;
140 years: 433.
Plot a line graph with all points plotted correctly; x-axis for age with
suitable scale and legend; y-axis for evaporation rate with suitable
scale and legend.
c) For example, with birch and aspen, evaporation rate increases until
60 years old; then decreases slightly.
d) Surface area of leaves/leaf area index increases as forest grows older;
more transpiration with more leaf area; decrease in evaporation in
oldest forests due to loss of ground flora/decrease in water transport
to the top of tall trees/slower water transport in older wood.
e) Water uptake by trees; loss of water from trees by transpiration;
evaporation of water from soil/trunks/rocks/surfaces; rainfall;
percolation of water into soils; drainage of water through soil.

2. Design should include clear statement of independent, dependent and

control variables, rationale for the method and practical details,
consideration of ethics and risks, with marks awarded on a scale from 0
marks for a completely inadequate design to eight marks for an exemplary
design.

3. Evaluation should state clearly to what extent the method allowed

transpiration to be measured with accuracy and precision, whether it
allowed the dependent variable to be controlled effectively and whether
other variables were successfully controlled, with marks awarded on a
scale of 0 marks for an incorrect/invalid evaluation to 5 marks for a
convincing evaluation of the method.

4. Less transpiration; less water vapour/humidity in atmosphere; less water

vapour carried up to heights in the atmosphere where it is cooled; less
water vapour condensing and therefore falling as rain; less drop in
atmospheric pressure; less wind bringing in dry air that can evaporate
more water.

5. More evaporation from forest; larger total surface area from which water
can evaporate; many leaves; large area of spongy mesophyll inside leaves;
water only evaporates from the surface of an ocean; leaves at higher
temperature than ocean surface; more heat energy for evaporation.

6. Water lost from forest by transpiration; warm air from forest rises; water
vapour condenses as air cools on rising; condensed water falls as rain;
drop in pressure due to condensation draws in winds from the adjacent
ocean; so rain falls upstream of where water is lost by transpiration;
increasing river flows.

7. Rates of transpiration; convection currents; air pressures; cloud density;

rainfall; wind speed; wind direction; river flow rates; for areas of intact
rainforest; and areas where forest has been cleared.

8. Discussion should include arguments for and against urbanization and

development of agriculture that are based on science and the global
context of fairness and development, with marks awarded on a scale from
0 marks for a discussion with no useful content to 10 marks for an
exemplary discussion with many detailed arguments and convincing
overall balance.

© Oxford University Press 2017

2

Page 141 How does a nerve fibre transmit a
signal?
1. Examples of answers:
 All or nothing - Japanese deer scarers/geyser
eruptions/starting flow through a siphon (for
example flushing a lavatory).
 One-way – non-tidal river flows/blood flow in
the human circulation system/time.
 Domino – movement of waves/peristalsis in
the esophagus/spread of rot in stored apples.
2. Infectious disease is similar in that disease is
passed from an individual that has it to another
that doesn’t and a nerve impulse is passed from a
region of a nerve fibre undergoing a nerve impulse
to another region that has not yet received it;
different in that nerve impulses are carried
linearly along a nerve fibre and not to multiple
other fibres whereas disease transmission can be
to many different individuals.
3. Reaction - because one point along the neuron
influences the next region but is not itself
influenced by that next region.
Page 143 What is a reflex action?
1. a) A reflex action happens without us being
aware of it; it can happen even when we are
unconscious; it is controlled by unconscious
parts of the brain; we do not have to think
consciously about the reflex for it to happen.
b) We cannot override the reflex consciously; it
does not happen through our free will/we
cannot exert conscious choice over whether it
happens or not; we do not carry out the reflex
deliberately.
2. It is faster; fewer synapses have to be crossed;
shorter distances for impulses to travel if the
receptors and effectors are closer to the spinal
cord than the brain.
3. Reaction - because the hot water causes the leg to
be withdrawn whereas the leg does not influence
the hot water.
4. A reflex action does not occur through conscious
intention; but previous acts that lead to a reflex
action and the harm that it causes could make the
action culpable.
Page 143 Experiment
1. Iris moves/extends inwards; pupil is constricted.
2. a) Circular muscle cells contracted; radial
muscle cells relaxed.
1
b) Radial muscle cells contracted; circular
muscle cells relaxed.
3. a) Increase the amount of light entering the eye
through the pupil; more photons of light
reach the retina/rod cells; clearer image
formed; useful in dim light conditions.
b) Reduce the amount of light entering the eye
through the pupil; reduce the number of
photons reaching the retina; protect the
retina from damage due to an excess of light;
useful in bright light conditions.
Page 145 How are decisions made by the nervous
system?
1. a) Probably not; because there was no post-
synaptic impulse when only A sent
neurotransmitter.
b) No post-synaptic impulse because D sends an
inhibitory neurotransmitter.
c) There will probably be a post-synaptic
impulse because B + D = no and B + D + C =
yes.
d) Definite post-synaptic impulse because three
neurons send stimulatory neurotransmitter.
e) A + C; B + C; A + B + C + D
2. a) Distance between prey and predator
increasing/prey accelerating; predator tiring;
another stronger predator catches the prey.
b) Distance between prey and predator
decreases/prey decelerating; prey is running
towards an impasse; predator is very hungry.
3. Interaction - because the actions of predator and
prey influence each other.
Page 146 Experiment
1. a) Scale for response time on the y-axis with
units and a legend; individuals on x-axis with
legend; gaps between bars on the chart;
range bars showing highest and lowest times
for each individual.
b) The smaller the range bars the more reliable
the mean response times; the larger the
overlap between response times of
individuals and the larger the range bars the
less likely that differences are significant.
2. Variation in concentration/distraction; chance
effects; cheating by anticipation; variation in
visual clues about when the ruler will be dropped.
3. Withdrawal reflexes are instinctive; due to neural
pathways already developed; catching a dropping
ruler is not a natural reflex; involves thinking;
longer pathways of neurons needed to carry out
the response.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Page 147 Chain reaction
1. Time taken will probably decrease over the first
few trials and then reach a minimum.
2. Divide the total time by the number of people in
the chain minus one (because the first person
starts the process rather than reacting).
3. Not known; but there are synapses between touch
receptors, sensory neurons, association neurons,
motor neurons and muscle fibres so even without
thought processes in the brain there are four
synapses per person.
4. Not really appropriate because a chain is a linear
sequence of links whereas a chain reaction in
chemistry involves spread to more and more
particles.
Page 148 Data-based question: Taking penalties
1. Velocity of ball is 31.11 meters per second; time
taken is 11/31.11 seconds = 0.35 seconds.
2. Possible to run 100 meters in 10 seconds and
therefore 3.5 meters in 0.35 seconds; but not from
a standing start; so time taken would be more
than 0.35 seconds.
3. 85% of penalties scored; 12% saved.
4. Impossible to see which way the ball is being
kicked and then jump in the correct direction in
time to catch it; goalkeeper has to guess which
way the ball will be kicked; even if the goalkeeper
jumps the correct way he/she may fail to catch the
ball; if goalkeeper jumps to left and right and the
ball is kicked to the middle of the goal he/she will
miss it.
5. Impossible to see which way the ball is being
kicked and then jump in the correct direction in
time to catch it; goalkeeper has to guess which
way the ball will be kicked; even if the goalkeeper
jumps the correct way he/she may fail to catch the
ball; if goalkeeper jumps to left and right and the
ball is kicked to the middle of the goal he/she will
miss it.
6. Goalkeeper looks lazy/indecisive.
Page 149 Can past experiences influence reflexes?
1. Modified reaction; the stimulus alters; the new
stimulus causes a reaction in the animal; but the
reaction doesn’t affect the stimulus.
2. New connections between neurons; new
synapses; growth of nerve fibres; pruning of
synapses; plasticity of the nervous system.
3. Cat hears larder door opening/closing; responds
by going to food bowl.
4. Animal’s behaviour becomes attuned to its
environment; appropriate responses happen more
rapidly; anticipation of opportunities/threats;
learning how to fit behaviour to patterns in the
environment/in events.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Page 151 Data-based question: Red and grey
squirrels
1. Predation, competition or parasitism could have
caused the effect; but not mutualism.
2. Parasite uses another organism to provide
services; that it cannot provide for itself; unrelated
organism more likely to be able to provide
services that the parasite is unable to;
cuckoo/cowbird is a nest parasite; using another
bird to raise its young;
broomrape/toothwort/ghost orchid is parasitic on
another plant.
3. Competition more likely to cause extinction; no
advantage to a predator in driving prey to
extinction; no benefit to a competitor if the species
it competes with persists.
4. Do not introduce alien species; unless their effects
on native species have been rigorously
investigated; and unless it can be shown that they
will not become invasive; precautionary principle.
Page 152 Data-based question: Canada lynx and
snowshoe hare
1. a) Nine.
b) 1935 – 1845 = 90 years; 90 years/9 cycles =
10 years per cycle.
2. a) Increases in the availability of hares/more
food for lynx.
b) Increases in the predation of hares/more
lynx catching hares.
c) Decreases in the availability of hares/less
food for lynx.
d) Decreases in the predation of hares/fewer
lynx catching hares.
3. a) Competition; interspecific.
b) Extra food source; reduces competition from
lynx for prey.
4. Availability of food/plants; severity of weather
conditions; prevalence of disease.
5. a) Lynx prevent hare population rising as high
as it otherwise might; reduces competition
among hares for food; eliminates slowest
hares/hares least able to escape from their
predator; enables evolution of hares.
b) Size of hare population limits the lynx
population; fast-running hares cause natural
selection for fast-running lynx.
c) Yes - it’s an interaction as the predator and
prey both affect each other.
2
Page 153 What are the differences between
predators and parasites?
1. A predator is an animal that hunts/kills another
animal for food.
2. a) Both harm their prey/their host; both obtain
food from their prey/host.
b) Predator lives on or in its host but parasite
does not; parasite is usually smaller than its
host but predator is usually larger; predator
usually kills its prey but parasite often does
not kill its host.
3. Reduce the health/growth rate of host; reduce the
breeding rate of host; cause hosts to move to other
areas with fewer parasites; intensity of parasitism
increases as density of host increases (density-
dependent).
4. Tapeworm is a parasite;
mosquito is not a typical parasite because it does
not live on or in its host; but it isn’t obviously a
predator either as it doesn’t kill its prey;
castor bean tick is a parasite;
cockroach is neither a predator not a parasite of
humans; cockroach is a pest in certain
circumstances;
hookworm is a parasite;
vampire bat does not live on or in its host so does
not satisfy that part of the definition of a parasite;
but a predator is expected to kill and eat its prey
which the vampire bat does not do.
5. Parasites are influenced by the density of the
population of its host; the behaviour of the host
can influence whether a parasite can spread to a
new host; for example a ring of repugnance
around cattle feces prevents transmission of gut
parasites from one cow’s feces to another cow’s
gut; defensive mechanisms in the host lead the
parasite to evolve so that it can evade these
defences.
3
Page 155 What types of relationship are possible
between members of a species?
1. Territoriality and sexual conflict are competitive
relationships;
group defence and parental care are co-operative
relationships;
monogamy is a co-operative relationship between
the male and female and prevents competition
from other potential partners;
predation is neither competitive nor co-operative;
infanticide by one male prevents competition
between his offspring and the other male’s
offspring.
2. Answers to this question depend very much on
personality.
Page 156 Can social animals prevent cheating?
1. Low levels of cheating can be tolerated by a social
group/community; but beyond a certain level co-
operation between members of the community
will break down.
2. Identification of cheats; ostracization/punishment
of cheats.
3. a) Tax-avoidance/insurance fraud/stealing
from shops/ignoring a red stop traffic
light/selling cars that breach emissions
limits.
b) Laws; policing; strong moral values;
regarding cheating as unacceptable;
education.
4. a) Competition for food becomes too intense.
b) Shoals of fish feeding together; flocks of
starlings at roosting time; herds of wildebeest
migrating; Christmas Island red crabs in the
breeding season.
5. Both; genes will influence the predilection to cheat
or co-operate; learning/experience will affect
whether an individual becomes more of a cheat or
co-operator.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Summative assessment: Whales
1. a) Predation on squid, octopus and rays; competition with other species
that feed on the same prey; predation by orcas and pilot whales when
sperm whales are young/weakened/injured.
b) Competition for food; co-operation/communication between
individuals within family groups; parental care; courtship between
males and females.

2. Protection; co-operation over finding food; co-operation over feeding

calves; shared vigilance and warning of threats.

3. Less food available due to a larger sperm whale population; possible

negative feedback mechanism in breeding behaviour so fewer young are
produced if the population is already strong; possibility of
territoriality/intolerance of other family groups in an area so some
individuals fail to breed; other harmful influences that by chance
correspond with the end of whaling might have had an impact on
breeding.

4. Large brain size needed for large body; sperm whales are intelligent; large
brain needed for higher order tasks such as vocalization and
communication.

5. Lungs not ventilated during the dive; therefore no oxygen absorbed into
the blood stream; so pumping blood does not carry oxygen to the tissues;
pumping blood through respiring tissues might cause too much carbon
dioxide to enter the blood.

6. Immersion of face in cold water might give same stimulus as whole-body

immersion; body therefore responds as though it is diving; and therefore
no ventilation of the lungs is occurring.

7. Design should include clear statements of independent, dependent and

control variables, a rationale for the method, practical details of the
method including the number of people to be used in the trial and how
they will be selected, awarding marks on a scale from 0 marks for a
completely inadequate design to six marks for an exemplary design.

8. Explanation should include how the experiment will be carried out

without any risk to the people used as subjects and how it will be ethically
acceptable, including how informed consent will be obtained, with marks
awarded on a scale from 0 for an entirely inadequate explanation to 3 for a
detailed and convincing explanation.

9. No narwhals have been kept alive in captivity; no narwhal’s age is known

with certainty; therefore methods of deducing age have not been
correlated with known ages.

10. Method uses a known chemical process; which should allow a wide age
range to be determined; but the ages cannot be checked against known
ages of the sample individuals; relatively few older individuals could be
included in the trial.

11. a) 110-115 years

b) 0-9 years
c) Too young/had not yet reached puberty.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
12. a) Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an age pyramid without
merit up to three marks for a clear and accurate pyramid.
b) Hunting of narwhal causes lower life expectancy/steeper decline in
numbers with increasing age; human life expectancy is increased by
health care/good nutrition/lack of competition for food/fewer
physical dangers; any reasonable reason for larger numbers of male
than female narwhal.

13. Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an inadequate attempt at a

reference up to 3 marks for a reference without any errors of style, such as
Eva Garde, Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, Steen H Hansen, Gosta Nachman
and Mads C. Forchhammer, Age-specific growth and remarkable longevity
in narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from West Greenland as estimated by
aspartic acid racemization. Journal of Mammalogy, 88, 49-58 (Feb 2007)

14. Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an

incomprehensible/misleading account up to 3 marks for a clear and
informative account written in scientific language that non-scientists
could understand.

15. a) Not a true predator-prey relationship; low numbers of narwhal

cannot cause the Inuit population to decrease; not a true interaction
between two populations.
b) Hunting with high-velocity rifles is not a cultural tradition; sales of
tusks to collectors is not a cultural tradition; narwhal not now needed
as food to sustain the Inuit population; Inuit should not be allowed to
hunt narwhal unless it is done sustainably.
c) Precautionary principle states that it is up to those pursuing a policy
to demonstrate that it does not have harmful effects; nothing/almost
nothing is known about the effects of narwhal hunting on family
groups/populations of narwhal; so it should not be permitted.

© Oxford University Press 2017

5
Page 168 How is blood sugar concentration kept
in balance?
1. a) Glucagon.
b) Insulin.
2. Insulin.
3. a) Fasting/no food consumed during the night;
cell respiration/use of glucose during the
night by cells.
b) Sugary breakfast causes a rapid rise in blood
sugar; which causes secretion of insulin;
which causes blood sugar to drop; which
causes feelings of hunger.
4. Glucagon is secreted; causing release of glucose by
the liver; from breakdown of glycogen/from
conversion of amino acids to glycogen; adrenalin
is secreted; adrenalin also causes glucose
production from glycogen/from amino acid
conversion; glucose released into the blood stream
from liver cells.
Page 171 Experiment
1. 10 micrometres/µm to 10 nanometres/nm; 10
micrometres = 10,000 nanometres; ratio is 1,000
to 1.
2. 20 micrometres x 1,000 = 20,000 micrometres; =
20 millimetres.
3. Scale model; more realistic; more likely to behave
like the thing being modelled.
Page 173 How is the solute concentration of the
blood kept in balance?
1. a) Water removed.
b) Removed.
c) Added.
d) Removed.
e) Added.
f) Removed
2. Seawater has a higher solute concentration than
blood plasma/body fluids; therefore seawater in
the gut causes water to be removed from the wall
of the gut/body tissues by osmosis; so the
concentration of solutes in the plasma is
increased.
3. Dissolved proteins in blood plasma help excess
water to be drawn out of tissues; by osmosis; so
fluid does not accumulate in body tissues; without
these plasma proteins the solute concentration of
blood plasma is reduced; so excess water remains
in the tissues; and they become swollen.
4. (5 litres/100) x 20 = 1 litre
1
5. a) (1 litre/100) x 10 = 0.1 litre
b) 0.1 litre x 60 x 24 = 144 litres
6. (1.5/144) x 100% = 1% not reabsorbed; 100% –
1% = 99% reabsorbed.
7. Less urine produced during the night; less need to
get up to empty the bladder.
Page 176 How does feedback control work?
1. a) Negative feedback.
b) Positive feedback.
c) Positive feedback.
d) Negative feedback.
2. Negative feedback; but with the set point raised to
a higher temperature.
Page 177 Data-based question: How can salmon
adapt from fresh water to seawater?
1. a) Gills gain water.
b) Gills lose water.
2. a) Water absorbed by gills; must be removed to
avoid blood becoming hypotonic.
b) Some sodium and chloride ions are lost in
urine; and must be replaced to avoid body
fluids becoming hypotonic.
3. a) Water lost by gills; must be replaced to avoid
blood becoming hypertonic.
b) Active transport from gills to seawater;
removal in urine; urine must be hypertonic.
4. Increase in drinking rate; decrease in volume of
urine produced; increase in salt/solute
concentration of urine; pumps for active transport
installed in gills; sodium ions pumped from blood
to water in gills; active transport.
Page 178 What factors can cause the exponential
growth of a population?
1. Years on the x-axis; UK population on y-axis;
points plotted correctly on graph; points joined
with a series of ruled lines/a curve passing
through all the points.
2. a) Second graph arranged as first one but with
log population values on the y-axis.
b) Yes – was exponential or very close to
exponential; straight line can be drawn
passing through/close to all points; perhaps
increase is slowing at the end.
3. Rose from 4 to 18,855; 4 → 8 → 16 → 32 → 64 →
128 → 256 → 512 → 1024 → 2048 → 4096 →
8192 → 16384; so the population doubled twelve
times.
© Oxford University Press 2017
4. a) No – the population will remain constant.
b) No – the population will fall.
c) Yes – the population will rise exponentially.
5. There is exponential growth if the birth rate
remains higher than the death rate.
6. Ample means of subsistence is a good diet; so the
population will be healthy and therefore be able to
reproduce; poor diet can reduce the birth rate;
early marriage means there can be more years of
child-bearing; more children born to each mother;
unless contraception/family planning is practiced.
Page 182 How are supplies of mineral elements
sustained in an ecosystem?
1. a) Rotation of wheat with other crops; because
yields are higher in the two trials with 3-year
rotation.
b) Little difference; both increase growth by a
similar amount above yields with no fertilizer
is applied.
2. Yields increased; as long as fertilizer was applied;
yields doubled approximately.
3. There must be sources of nutrient elements other
than fertilizers; supply of minerals/P/K from
underlying rock; nitrogen from atmospheric
deposition.
Page 184 What processes keep atmospheric CO2
in balance?
1. Gains and losses are balanced; respiration =
photosynthesis; release from oceans = dissolving
in oceans.
2. Cycle diagram should show as a minimum: CO2 in
the atmosphere; absorption of CO2 for use in
photosynthesis; carbon in the biomass of
trees/plants/producers; producer respiration
returning CO2 to the atmosphere; consumers
eating producers; carbon in the biomass of
consumers; consumer respiration returning CO2 to
the atmosphere; death and decomposition of
producers and consumers; carbon in the biomass
of decomposers; decomposer respiration
returning CO2 to the atmosphere.
3. Carbon dioxide dissolving in the oceans; making
them more acidic.
4. Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration greatly
increased; greatly increased greenhouse effect;
climate patterns of the Earth altered significantly;
more hurricanes/cyclones/extreme weather
events; melting of polar ice/glaciers; sea level rise;
coastal flooding; species extinctions;
famine/war/large scale migrations of humans.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Page 185 Balancing photosynthesis and
respiration
1. Control of variables; only the independent
variable should affect the results/affect the
dependent variable; if the volume inside the
tubes/volume of indicator was different then the
times taken for colour changes would not be
comparable.
2. Run out of oxygen; cause suffering; possibly cause
death of the animals; unethical.
3. Control tube; shows that the colour changes of
indicator are due to the organisms in the tubes;
shows the indicator doesn’t change colour over
time by itself.
4. Purple in tube 2 due to absorption of carbon
dioxide for photosynthesis; yellow in tube 3 due to
release of carbon dioxide from respiration; red in
tube 4 if photosynthesis and respiration are
balanced/orange in tube 4 because the amount of
respiration will exceed the amount of
photosynthesis.
5. Only possible to determine this experimentally;
enough leaf tissue is needed to absorb carbon
dioxide at the same rate as it is emitted from
respiration.
6. Yellow; due to respiration in the leaf tissue in the
dark; and no photosynthesis.
Page 187 What causes the rapid rise in carbon
dioxide concentration at the end of a glaciation?
1. Highest was 310 ppmv (parts per million by
volume); lowest was 185 ppmv
2. Positive correlation; when carbon dioxide
concentration rises temperature also rises;
correlation is close.
3. 310 – 185 = 125 ppmv; 9 x 10/125 = 0.72 °C
4. a) 400 ppmv
b) 90 ppmv higher.
c) Burning of fossil fuels; and (to a lesser extent)
deforestation.
d) Yes - they should be taking action; informing
politicians/the public about the causes and
consequences; developing methods of
preventing further carbon dioxide
concentration increases; doing research to
learn more about the causes and
consequences.
Page 188 Questions on glaciations and
interglacials
1. More heating if more insolation; variation due to
cycles in eccentricity, axial tilt and precession;
more warming when the northern hemisphere
gets more intense insolation.
2. An active area of research; difficult to find
convincing theories other than Milankovitch
cycles/changes in the Earth’s orbit/tilt.
2
3. Snowball Earth from 720 million years ago; initial
60 million year period (Sturtian); then another 10
million year period after a gap (Marinoan);
Scotland then located on the equator and has
rocks from this period showing evidence of
glaciation/ice sheet coverage or at least
permafrost; positive feedback due to the cooling
effect of ice cover; various hypotheses for the
trigger that started the snowball Earth periods;
high-obliquity/high-tilt hypothesis; zipper-rift
hypothesis.

Page 189 El Nino – disruption to balance

1.  Diagram of normal conditions should show:
air rising in the western Pacific due to
convection; air drawn westwards across the
Pacific (trade winds); air falling in the eastern
Pacific; eastwards air currents at high
altitude; westward water currents near the
surface of the Pacific; upwelling of cold water
in the eastern Pacific; eastward movement of
deeper water; rainfall in the western Pacific.
 Diagram of El Nino conditions should show:
air rising in the middle of the Pacific due to
convection; air drawn eastwards and
westwards across the Pacific; air falling in the
western and eastern Pacific; westward and
eastward air currents at high altitude;
westward and eastward water currents near
the surface of the Pacific; weakened upwelling
of cold water in the eastern Pacific; rainfall in
middle and eastern Pacific; droughts in the
western Pacific.
2. Although impacts in some parts of the world are
much smaller, they are still real and should be
shown with a little text and clear visually
appealing diagrams.

© Oxford University Press 2017

3
Summative assessment: Salmon farming
1. Water lost from gills to seawater; by osmosis; blood solute/sodium ion
concentration rises too high; damage to body tissues/dehydration; not yet
possible for the salmon to drink seawater and expel the excess ions; pumps for
removing sodium ions not yet present in the gills.

2. Eutrophication/enrichment of the water with mineral elements/N/P/fertilizer;

growth of algae stimulated; algal numbers not limited by supply of mineral
elements; cell division/mitosis; exponential growth of algae; too many algae for
primary consumers to eat.

3. Too many salmon farms; salmon feces/uneaten salmon food released into
seawater; release of mineral elements/N/P; by decomposition of feces; leaching
of mineral elements from agriculture; insufficient regulation of salmon farms by
the Chilean authorities.

4. Reduce the number of salmon farms; site salmon farms in deeper water where
the wastes from them will disperse better; reduce fertilizer use/reduce leaching
of mineral elements/N/P from farms; reduce salmon farming during El Nino
events.

5. Award marks for the hypothesis on a scale from 0 marks for no hypothesis or an
unreasonable hypothesis or a hypothesis not based on scientific understanding,
to 3 marks for a reasonable hypothesis clearly based on scientific
understanding, for example shortage of nitrogen and phosphorus limits the
numbers of algae.

6. Award marks for the design on a scale from 0 marks for an entirely inadequate
design, up to 7 marks for an exemplary design that includes the method of
altering the variable cited in the hypothesis together with the number of repeats
and the way in which control variables will be kept constant.

7. Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an entirely inadequate answer, up to 5

marks for naming the dependent variable clearly and explaining in full how it
will be measured, for example by monitoring how numbers of algae or mass of
algae per unit volume changes.

8. a) Dense distribution; in sheltered seawater; close the coast; especially in

river mouths/estuaries.
b) Reduction; to fewer than half/another quantitative comparison;
disappearance of all salmon farms in some areas.

9. Prevalence of ISA rose to 40% of farms in winter 2008-09; ISA on 90 salmon

farms; many salmon farms ceased to operate; number of operating farms
eventually dropping to 70; negative correlation/as the number/% of ISA
infected farms increased the number of operating farms decreased; at the end of
the time period the number/% of ISA infected farms was very low and the
number of operating farms was starting to increase.

10. a) Higher density of salmon; ISA spreads more easily from fish to fish; salmon
farms use Atlantic rather than Pacific salmon; Atlantic salmon have lower
resistance to ISA.
b) Virus could spread in seawater; could spread if infected fish escape; could
spread from hatcheries; could spread if infected salmon are transferred
from one farm to another; spread easier because salmon farms are close
together.

11. Award marks on a scale from 0 for an essay that is entirely lacking in merit to 15
marks for an exemplary essay that offers a convincing answer to the question.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
Page 198 What can we learn about environments
from Movile Cave?
1. Cell respiration by animals/bacteria in the cave;
which uses oxygen; and produces carbon dioxide;
no light so no photosynthesis to resupply oxygen.
2. Not suitable for bats; not enough oxygen; too
much carbon dioxide; too much methane; access
in and out too difficult.
3. Energy/materials not wasted in
growing/maintaining eyes; which cannot give
vision; because it is dark in the cave.
4. Populations in the cave cannot interbreed with
populations outside; interbreeding normally
prevents populations from diverging; conditions
in the cave are different from those outside; so
different traits are selected for; natural
selection/evolution different.
5. Species become adapted to their environment.
Page 199 Habitat case studies
1. • Sea otter biotic factors: kelp providing
shelter; coral reefs providing shelter;
availability of prey/sea urchins/
molluscs/crustaceans; humans hunting for fur
(in the past).
• Sea otter abiotic factors: salinity; wave
action/storms; temperature of the water;
beaches providing shelter; stones uses as
tools; depth of water affecting kelp growth.
• Lagoon jellyfish biotic factors: zooplankton
for food; algae to take into its tissues;
mangrove trees for shelter/habitat.
• Lagoon jellyfish abiotic factors: sunlight;
salinity; temperature of water; water
depth/tides; water current.
• Spotted owl biotic factors: nest holes in large
trees; smaller trees for cover; availability of
prey/small mammals/squirrels/voles;
predators/eagles.
• Spotted owl abiotic factors: darkness to
support nocturnal hunting; sunlight to
support biomass of habitat.
• Elfcup fungus biotic factors: availability of
deadwood/fallen trees; availability of
poplar/aspen/oak/ash trees.
• Elfcup fungus abiotic factors: water for
saprotrophic nutrition; sufficient warmth for
decomposition.
2. Answers will depend on the chosen organism and
habitat.
1 © Oxford University Press 2017
Page 201 How much evidence is there that living
organisms affect the environment?
1. a) Prairie dogs make burrows; burrows prevent
erosion; burrows promote
infiltration/reduce runoff; burrows increase
aeration/reduce compaction; sea otters
maintain shelter provided by kelp forests by
controlling numbers of sea urchins; so
protecting coastlines from
erosion/decreasing turbidity; acorn banksia
makes surface soil moister.
b) Burrows provide nesting sites for
birds/burrowing owls/mountain plovers;
prairie dogs change plant composition near
their burrows; prairie dog activity
encourages plains bison/pronghorn
antelope/mule deer; sea otters control
numbers of sea urchins and so prevent over
grazing of kelp forests; acorn banksia
provides nectar for pollinators when they
would otherwise get none; honeyeaters
pollinate plant species.
2. a) Species without which major changes would
occur in an ecosystem; to both biotic and
abiotic factors; species on which many other
species depend.
b) Prairie dogs; sea otters; acorn banksia.
c) Because their conservation is vital to the
sustainability of the ecosystem; conservation
efforts should be concentrated on keystone
species.
3. Dominant tree species in forest ecosystems; coral
species on a reef.
Page 202 What is primary succession?
1. a) Remain bare/become covered by rock
fragments.
b) Living organisms have major effects on the
abiotic environment.
2. a) Answers depend on the environment and
location but mosses/algae/lichens are
usually first in a primary succession (though
the latter two are not true plants).
b) Answers depend on the rainfall and
temperatures.
Page 204 Data-based question: Tree growth
1. All rows and columns with headings; ring
thickness measured in millimetres; each
measurement in a separate cell on the table.
2. Place zero of scale on ruler precisely next to one
side of the ring; read off measurement on other
side of ring; one ring extends from sharp edge of a
light region to the sharp edge at the dark region
adjacent to the next light region.
3. Bar chart; time on the x-axis; catch marks to
indicate the end of one year and start of next;
some years (not all) indicated on the x-axis scale
at regular intervals (for example every 5th year);
y-axis scale in millimetres; with legend of annual
ring width; all bars plotted correctly; no gaps
between bars.
4. No thinning recently; trees became crowded;
competition for light/water/mineral elements.
5. Some evidence for this hypothesis; narrow growth
rings in 1990, 1995 and 1996; but rings quite wide
in 1989 and 1994; perhaps first dry year does not
reduce growth but subsequent ones do;
increasingly narrow rings from 1999 onwards
despite not being dry years.
6. There is an error in the first impression of this
book – the question should ask about factors other
than rainfall, not factors other than temperature.
Given that wording of the question, the answers
are: yes; rainfall alone does not account for all the
variation in ring width; other factors could have
been rainfall, temperature and availability of
mineral elements/nitrogen/phosphate.
7. a) The higher the latitude of origin of the seeds
the greater the growth.
b) The higher the latitude of origin of the seeds
the lower the growth.
8. Seed from the latitude of growth produces plants
that are adapted to the conditions at that latitude;
so gives fast growth; seed from north or south of
the latitude of growth is adapted to different
conditions; warmer conditions further
south/colder further north.
Page 205 Data-based question: Climate
determines the type of plant community
1. Temperate deciduous forest.
2. 25 cm or higher/35 to 320 cm
3. 2 °C to 32 °C
4. They will move up the mountain.
Page 207 What is the greenhouse effect?
1. Burning fossil fuels/coal/oil/gas; burning forests;
respiration in human bodies.
2. Anaerobic digesters; drilling for oil; cattle/sheep
on farms.
3. Vehicle exhausts.
Page 208 Data-based question: Greenhouse gases
1. a) Carbon dioxide concentration has risen from
315 in 1958 to 400 micromoles per mole in
2015.
b) Burning fossil fuels; coal/oil/gas; burning
forests.
2. a) May to September.
b) Photosynthesis; removes carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere; more photosynthesis
than respiration in the summer; northern
hemisphere has more effect than southern
because there is more land.
3. a) Carbon dioxide: 375 ppm;
Methane: 1750 ppb;
Nitrous oxide: 315 ppb
b) Carbon dioxide: [375 – 275)/275] × 100% =
36.4%
Methane: [(1750 – 750)/750) × 100% =
133.3%
Nitrous oxide: (315 – 275 / 275) × 100% =
14.5%
4. a) 375 ppm = 375,000 ppb; 375,000/1750 =
214 times more concentrated.
b) 375,000/315 = 1190 times more
concentrated.
5. Carbon dioxide: 1.5 W m–2
Methane: 0.5 W m–2
Nitrous oxide: 0.15 W m–2
6. Carbon dioxide contributes most to the
greenhouse effect.
Page 211 Data-based question: Ozone depletion
1. Less damaging high energy UV radiation; less skin
cancer; less sunburn; less damage to
livestock/crops/other species in our care.
2. In the years from 2000 to 2011.
3. a) Higher primary productivity by
phytoplankton near the ocean surface if UV is
removed; removal of both UVA and UVB
increases productivity; no difference in
productivity at greater depths where UV
doesn’t penetrate.
b) UVA has more effect; greater increment in
productivity with UVA removed than with
UVB only removed.
c) Less food for zooplankton; less food for
predators of zooplankton; less energy flow
along food chains; shorter food chains.
4. International co-operation can be effective;
international co-operation is vital for global
problems such as ozone depletion; and emissions
of greenhouse gases.
Page 213 What evidence of climate change can be
obtained from phenology?
1. The higher the latitude, the later the first leaf bud.
2. Temperature rise in the spring; target
temperature reached earlier in spring further
south; day length increasing; target day length
reached earlier further south.
2
Page 214 Data-based question: Is climate change
causing any species to move their range?
1. 0.95 km per year
2. 2.35 km per year x 26 years; = 61.1 km
3. a) Years since 2002 = current year – 2002;
multiply this number of years by 2.35
b) Assuming the rate of northward spread has
remained the same since 2002.
4. Habitat may be less available further north; for
example fewer swamps north of the Everglades in
Florida; food for a bird species may not be
available further north; day length will be shorter
in summer/longer in winter; possible disruption
to breeding (if timed by day length); competition
with endemic species in the more northerly
habitat; changes in community structure of
ecosystems.
5. Scientific theories can always be falsified; but
some are extremely unlikely ever to be falsified;
including this one; when multiplied over the time
period the distances are significant; because there
are a range of species included in the data,
northward migration is an observed fact; causes
are theoretical but climate change predicts this
event; so as a theory it offers an explanation and it
allows us to successfully predict; so climate
change as a cause is a reasonable theory.
Page 215 Data-based question: Invasive alien
species
1. Humans occupy terrestrial habitats and are the
main agents of alien species spread; they are more
likely to move terrestrial species around the world
than marine/terrestrial; plants are the commonest
group of alien plants and are terrestrial.
3 © Oxford University Press 2017
2. The largest proportion of alien species are
invertebrates in marine habitats, vertebrates in
freshwater habitats and plants/fungi in terrestrial
habitats; the number of alien species became
nearly stable towards the end of the study period
in freshwater habitats but continued to rise on
marine and terrestrial habitats.
3. Answers depend on the species chosen; sample
answers for the signal crayfish in Europe will be
given here:
a) Introduced from North America.
b) Humans introduced it to produce crayfish for
human consumption.
c) Competes with the native species of
crayfish/with white-clawed crayfish;
transmits the disease crayfish plague to the
native crayfish; feeds more aggressively on
larger prey species than the native crayfish
with negative impacts on those species;
burrowing into river banks and subsequent
erosion.
d) Trapping and removal; eat them.
Page 216 Action on deforestation
1. A biologist’s answer to this question is that
deforestation is very important; forests help to
keep atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration
down; forests are a habitat for many species;
forests provide humans with many useful
materials; we should certainly focus efforts on
reducing or eliminating deforestation.
2. Students should be able to suggest actions that
will make a real difference, even if many other
people and actions would be required for the
overall effects to be significant.
3. Certainly relevant; deforestation in all parts of the
world; causes are different; action locally
throughout the world is needed to
reduce/eliminate deforestation globally.
Summative assessment: Trees and humans
1. Greenhouse effect is the direct result of the presence of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere; carbon dioxide/NOX/methane; greenhouse gases cause heat
to be retained in the atmosphere; the greenhouse effect causes climate
change; effects are varied around the world; warmer weather/more
storms/changes in rainfall patterns.

2. a) First species to colonize an area; efficient dispersal mechanisms; usually

replaced by other species over time.
b) Species on which other species in a community depend; remains in the
community; not replaced by other species.

3. a) Barnacles filter feed in seawater; would be out of seawater for too long
each day if they lived higher.
b) Would not get enough light if they were in deep water for too much of
each day.
c) Cannot tolerate inundation by saline seawater; water drawn out of roots
by osmosis.

4. More pollutants in urban areas; more lead, nitrogen dioxide, nitrous oxide
and sulfur dioxide.

5. a) Same type of soil; all trees grown in pots; mineral elements at high
levels so not the limiting factor on growth; temperature presumably not
controlled; water not mentioned but presumably not limiting.
b) Bar chart is suitable as the independent variable is categoric; error bars
are helpful to show variability of the data; colour helps to distinguish
data for rural and urban areas; grid on graph would make it easier to
read off values.
c) Less growth in rural areas than urban; for both roots and shoots.
d) Could not be due to lead, NOX or sulfur dioxide; as they are all higher in
urban areas; unlikely that air pollutants promote growth.

6. a) Lower ozone on average in urban areas; agricultural areas have higher

ozone on average than forested.
b) Lower growth of Populus deltoides in rural areas because they have
higher ozone concentrations; and ozone inhibits growth.

7. a) Areas with higher removal of air pollutants have higher air pollution;
areas with higher removal of air pollutants have more trees.
b) Obtain data on numbers of trees per area; obtain data on concentrations
of air pollutants; look for correlations with pollution removal data.

8. a) Indiana/Ohio/Michigan/states in New England.

b) Line graph; coldest temperature experienced on the x-axis and %
mortality on the y-axis; scale and legend on both axes; points all plotted
correctly; points joined with a line.
c) Heavily infested state chosen and named; coldest winter temperature
found; correct conclusion about whether emerald ash borer could
survive.
d) Numbers of emerald ash borer would rise.
e) Temperature data for one of the most affected states obtained and
quoted; conclusion stated relating to any warming trend discovered.
f) Unless there are specific local reasons for a warming trend, the reasons
should relate to an enhanced greenhouse effect: emissions of carbon
dioxide/greenhouse gases; from burning of fossil fuels; methane from
landfill sites/rice cultivation/ruminant digestion; nitrogen oxides
fertilizer use/fossil fuel combustion/biomass burning/vehicle exhausts.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
9. Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an account that is entirely lacking
in merit to 5 marks for a clear, succinct and convincing account that uses
appropriate scientific language.

10. a) Shows that there is evidence for claims; allows the evidence to be
checked.
b) Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for a summary that is inaccurate,
misleading or incomprehensible to 3 marks for a clear summary that a
non-scientist could understand.

5 © Oxford University Press 2017

Page 228 What properties are shared by all living
organisms?
1. a) Produces light/incandescent.
b) Both use oxygen in combustion/respiration;
both produce carbon dioxide in combustion/
respiration.
c) Growth; bends towards the light; heredity;
response to the environment; homeostasis.
2. Growth; homeostasis; response to stimuli;
cell respiration; heredity.
Page 229 Which organisms have a pattern of
segmentation?
1. a) Bilateral: giraffe; hummingbird; butterfly;
honey bee; millipede; human; fly; cicada;
crab; ant.
b) Radial: apple; sea star.
c) Helical: DNA; chloroplast in Spirogyra.
2. a) Spiral.
b) Bilateral symmetry; plane of symmetry with
left and right halves that are mirror images;
spiral is not symmetrical.
Page 232 What patterns are there in the timing of
life cycles?
Magicicada reduces predation by synchronously
emerging every 13 or 17 years; because too many
emerge for predators to consume; predators cannot
rely on Magicicada as a source of food because it is too
infrequent; 13/17 is a prime number so predators with
a 2/3/4/5 year cycle will not always coincide with
Magicicada emergence.
Gecarcoidea: too many eggs released for predators to
eat; many therefore survive; males can shed their
sperm when eggs are in the water; increasing the
chance of fertilization.
Plasmodium: tertian and quartan fevers; parasite
might benefit from synchronizing its life cycle with the
human 24-hour circadian rhythm; fevers usually occur
in the evening; Anopheles mosquitos tend to bite and
suck out blood in the evening; Plasmodium (gameto-
cytes) are sucked out with the blood; gametocytes may
emerge into the blood in the evening; to maximize
chances of dispersal; at the same time causing evening
fevers; Plasmodium vivax might be reproduced faster
than Plasmodium malariae hence 2/3 day cycles;
immune system might not control the parasite as
effectively if it remains inside body cells apart from
brief periods every 2nd/3rd day; so Plasmodium synch-
ronizes its emergence; overwhelming the capacity of
the immune system; cause of tertian and quartan
fevers not known even after 100 years of research.
1 © Oxford University Press 2017
Page 232 Data-based question: Phenology in
butterflies
1. Adults survive through the winter; mate and lay
eggs in May/June/early summer; larvae hatch and
grow in June/July/mid-summer; pupation in late
July/early August; adults emerge from pupae in
August.
2. Adonis blue completes two life cycles in a year
whereas the Brimstone only completes one;
Adonis blue overwinters as a larva whereas the
Brimstone overwinters as an adult.
3. No Painted Lady of any stage present in UK in
winter whereas Brimstones are present as adults;
Painted lady is a migrant whereas Brimstone
remains in the UK; Painted lady flies to warmer
climates/flies south in October; returns from the
south in March/April/May/June/July.
Page 233 Data-based question: What patterns are
observable in the structure of DNA?
1. 100%
2. Variable; ranges from 17.6 to 26.0
3. a) Octopus: 1 to 1
b) Chicken: 22.0 to 21.6 = 1.02 to 1
4. Approximately equal.
5. a) Chicken: 28.0 to 28.4 = 0.986 to 1
b) Corn: 26.8 to 27.2 = 0.985 to 1
6. Approximately equal.
7. Error in measurement.
8. Assuming adenine is equal to thymine it should be
27.1/subtracting the other percentages from 100
gives an expected percentage of 27.4%
9. Cytosine = 17.7% as it will be equal to the guanine
percentage; adenine plus thymine are 64.6; so
they are each 32.3%
Page 235 Patterns in the structure of DNA
1. Run in opposite directions/anti-parallel.
2. Major and minor grooves alternate; both follow a
right-handed helical path.
3. Because the sequence on one strand is found on
the other strand in the opposite direction/one
strand is palindromic of the other.
4. Rotational symmetry.
5. Restriction enzymes bind to palindromic sites;
methyl groups may be added to palindromic sites
to active/deactivate a gene.
Page 237 Why do cell division and cell
enlargement alternate?
1. There would only be one copy of some genes so
the two daughter cells would not receive complete
copies of the genome.
2. The cell would become smaller and smaller.
3. The egg cell has a large amount of cytoplasm; so
the zygote also has a large amount of cytoplasm;
so repeated division do not result in cells with too
little cytoplasm.
Page 239 Mitosis in onion root tip cells
1. They are the cells with chromosomes on the
equator.
2. One cell is in anaphase.
3. Three cells.
4. At least six cells are in prophase; lower left is a cell
that is well advanced though prophase; hard to
say which cell is closest to the start of prophase
because the transition in appearance from
interphase is gradual.
5. Anaphase takes the shortest; prophase takes the
longest.
Page 240 Critical thinking skills
1. The question should be ‘Are the explanations
written in the text all valid’. The expected answer
is that all of the explanations are valid (though
unproven).
2. Surface area-volume constraints are often cited as
the reason for cells not becoming very large, but
nucleus cytoplasm ratio may also be significant as
large structures such as muscle fibres are
multinucleate. There are also arguments for the
importance of physical strength, for example the
larger size of plant than animal cells with plant
cells strengthened by the cell wall.
© Oxford University Press 2017
3. Students may be able to think of alternative
explanations.
1. No need for cell to cell communication; or cell
adhesion; or transport between cells.
2. 1 mm: 6 mm2 to 1 mm3 = 6;
10 mm: 600 mm2 to 1,000 mm3 = 0.6;
100 mm: 60,000 mm2 to 1,000,000 mm3
= 0.06;
the surface area to volume ratio gets smaller
as cubes get larger; when the length of side of
a cube increases ten-fold, the surface area to
volume ratio decreases by one order of
magnitude; increasing difficulty with
exchange processes across the cell surface
membrane.
Page 241 What are the advantages and
disadvantages of asexual reproduction?
1. Successful cells can pass on their combination of
genes to offspring; their offspring are therefore
also likely to be well adapted.
2. Existing combination of genes cease to be well
adapted because of changes to the environment;
no new combinations of genes generated by
asexual reproduction; no/little variation
generated; nothing for natural selection to work
on; evolution/adaptation to new conditions very
slow/too slow.
2
Summative assessment: Patterns in nature
1. a) Metabolism/reactions catalyzed by enzymes; growth/increase in size;
respiration/release of energy from food; excretion/removal of waste
products; homeostasis/maintaining internal conditions different from
those in the environment; reproduction/producing offspring;
inheritance/genes passed on to offspring; response to stimuli.
b) Measure oxygen consumption; measure carbon dioxide production;
measure heat production; observe to see whether larvae
hatch/grow/feed.

2. a) 50%
b) Pupation; emergence of imagos/adults/cicadas.
c) 17 years; adults must appear in year 17 and produce eggs; only instar 1
larvae are alive in year 1.
d) Graph would show sharp spikes in numbers every 17th year; if there was
an emergence in 2011 there would be the next one in 2028; and the
previous one would have been in 1994.
e) i) More caterpillars survive; and eat more oak leaves; so oak trees
become defoliated.
ii) Greater survival of cicada nymphs under immature trees; as there
is less pathogenic fungus; adult cicadas might preferentially lay
eggs under immature trees; due to genetic programming/instinct.
iii) Mole numbers increase when there are fifth instar cicada nymphs;
moles move to areas with more fifth instar cicada nymphs; mole
numbers highest in years 13 to 16 of the cicada cycle.
iv) Increasing damage from year 1 to year 16; as the nymphs become
larger so need more food; or damage decreases as more and more
cicadas have died/been eaten; least damage in year 17.

3. a) a + b = 8; (a + b)/ a = 8/5 = 1.6; close to the golden ratio but not the exact
1.62
b) Names of classmates in row headings; at least ten classmates measured or
all classmates if there are fewer than ten in the class; column headings as
in the text book table; with distance units added for measure a and
measure b; each measurement is in a separate cell on the table;
measurements recorded to the nearest millimetre; all ratios correctly
calculated.

4. Answers could include these points:

• Location of leaves as far apart from each other as possible;
• yet minimizing the total space taken up is favorable for capturing sunlight;
• the three patterns differ in terms of leaf packing;
• the centre image has the maximum density of leaves per unit area;
• when entering a rotation factor into the simulator, the golden ratio yields
the pattern seen in the aloe leaves;
• the fixed angle of 137.5 yields this pattern;
• the second leaf is placed as far as possible from the first;
• and the third is placed at a distance farthest from both the first and the
second leaf;
• as the number of leaves increases, the divergence angle eventually
converges to a constant value of 137.5 degrees.

5. Very similar; more than 99.9% of coding sequences in human DNA are the
same; variation is greatest for satellite sequences but they are arguably not
very significant in human traits.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

 6. Genes are coding sequences whereas microsatellites are non-coding; genes
have a function such as coding for the amino acid sequence of proteins
whereas microsatellites have no obvious function; genes are longer than
microsatellites; microsatellites are repeated sequences whereas genes are
non-repeating (usually).

7. a) Very variable; differences develop rapidly; populations that separated

relatively recently can be distinguished.
b) Identify areas where poaching is most prevalent; police bans on poaching
more intensely in such areas; trace trade routes and prosecute traffickers
in illegal ivory; develop policies where local populations gain more from
the presence of live elephants than from poached ivory.
c) Students can research the possibilities: a research search term to find out
more could be: ‘the use of microsatellite sites in conservation/
classification/forensics’ and if conservation is chosen, answers such as
these could be given:
• Determine relatedness and reducing inbreeding in captive breeding
programs.
• Identify origin of whale meat – whaling is tolerated in some
jurisdictions but not others so test meat samples to determine which
population they come from.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
Page 253 Nature-nurture debate
• Skin colour is mainly genetic but light skins
become darker on exposure to sunlight containing
UV radiation.
• Hair colour is normally genetic but it is possible to
dye hair a different colour.
• Sickle-cell anemia is genetically determined.
• Tattoos are due to environment, not genes.
• Ear piercing is also environmental/due to nurture.
• Hair length is influenced by genes with naturally
longer hair in some people but it is also influenced
by nutrition and cutting during hair styling.
Page 257 Data-based question: Tall peas and
dwarf peas
1. The tall trait is due to a dominant allele and the
dwarf trait to a recessive allele; a plant with one of
each allele is tall.
2. One side of the square used for male gametes and
a side at right angles for female gametes; T for tall
allele and t for dwarf allele (shown in a key); one
gamete with T and the other with t for both male
and female; four genotypes are TT, Tt, tT and tt; all
are tall apart from tt.
3. a) The actual ratio is 2.84 to 1.
b) Chance; random fertilization; each F2 pea
plant has a 25% chance of being dwarf and
75% chance of being tall; unlikely that
exactly 25% of F2 will actually be dwarf/75%
be tall; as with tossing a coin and not getting
50% heads.
4. a) The 28 plants that only gave tall offspring
were homozygous; TT; so all offspring
produced by self-pollinating them inherited
dominant alleles and were therefore tall; the
72 plants that gave both tall and dwarf
offspring were heterozygous; Tt; so when
they were self-pollinated they could produce
offspring that were dwarf/tt; 25% expected
to be dwarf and 75% tall.
b) 66.6% heterozygous; 33.3% homozygous.
Page 259 Does inheritance work in the same way
in other species as in peas?
1. a) Not possible if the allele for blue eyes is due
to recessive allele as blue-eyed parents do
not have an allele for brown eyes.
b) Possible if both parents have one dominant
allele for brown eyes and one recessive allele
for blue eyes; 25% chance of a blue-eyed
child.
1 © Oxford University Press 2017
2. White head due to a dominant allele so 3:1 ratio of
white to coloured head; the expected ratio for coat
colour is 3 black: 1 red; 3 no white patches: 1 with
white patches; all combinations of these traits are
possible assuming that the three genes are
unlinked; chance of offspring with a red coat and
white patches plus a coloured head is 1 in 64.
3. Three black to one white coated lambs; two out of
three lambs’ coats would lighten over time (there
is an error in question 3 in the first impression of
the book – the gene for white coat in Bluefaced
Leicester sheep is dominant, not recessive).
Page 261 What are the consequences of having
parents who are closely related?
1. a) 50% chance of alkaptonuria.
b) 100% chance.
c) 0% chance.
2. A brother and sister share half of their genes on
average; two first cousins share an eighth of their
genes; a genetic disease in close relatives is
usually due to inheriting a rare recessive allele
twice from the same grandparent; this is more
likely in siblings because they share more of their
genes.
3. Alleles with harmful effects are eliminated from a
pure-breeding variety; by artificial selection; pure-
breeding varieties show no genetic variation; no
alleles for genetic diseases present.
Page 262 How much genetic variation is there in
humans?
1. Nearly all humans have 46 chromosomes; a few
humans have an extra chromosome so have 47 in
total; for example an extra chromosome number
21 in Down syndrome; or an extra sex
chromosome/XXY in Klinefelter’s syndrome; some
females have only 45 chromosomes; because they
have only one sex chromosome instead of two;
Turner’s syndrome.
2. Yes – humans generally have the same sequence of
genes on their chromosomes; this is a
fundamental characteristic of a species; allowing
chromosomes to pair up in meiosis; in rare cases
part of the sequence of genes on a chromosome is
reversed; or a series of genes are moved to a new
position; although generally humans have genes in
the same sequence there can be differences in the
alleles of these genes that are present.
3. There could be 223 combinations; which is over 8
million.
4. There are huge numbers of SNPs on each of the 23 Page 268 Data-based question: The evolution of
chromosome types; 1.5 million is a current penguins
estimate for the total number of SNPs in the 1. Aptenodytes patagonicus.
human genome.
2. Penguins have evolved from flying birds; they
have retained wings even though have evolved not
Page 264 Genetic drift to fly; through evolution their wings have become
a) More likely to be eliminated. adapted to swimming.
b) Greater chance in small populations. 3. Up to six splits between the common ancestor and
c) Change the proportion of red and blue balls in the modern penguins; 70 million years/6 splits; 1
bag between generations to simulate natural split per 11.7 years on average.
selection. 4. a) Reduce the surface area to volume ratio;
prevent excessive heat loss; in colder
Page 264 Data-based question: Comparing amino conditions to the south.
acid sequences b) Increase the surface area to volume ratio;
allow sufficient heat loss; in warmer
1. Mouse Rat Cow Chimp conditions to the north; better for the species
Human 5 4 5 0 to have a large population of small penguins
than a smaller population of larger ones.
Mouse 2 4 5 5. Species gradually split; as two or more
Rat 3 5 populations become separated; and evolve to
become more and more different; by natural
Cow 4 selection acting differently on the populations;
2. a) Chimp and human show the least genetic evolution is gradual so there is no specific point at
variation. which the two populations have become two
b) Rat and mouse show the second smallest species.
variation.
3. Common ancestors of these five mammals had the Page 269 What causes new species to evolve on
same amino acid sequences; differences gradually islands?
accumulated; over millions of years; by mutation; 1. On an island a population is usually isolated from
and natural selection/genetic drift. other populations of its species; conditions are
often different from elsewhere; so natural
Page 265 How does natural selection work? selection operates differently; so the island
1. Fertilization; genes from two different parents population diverges from the rest of the species
combined when the male and female gamete fuse and becomes a new species.
together; meiosis; only half of the genes/alleles of 2. Overexploitation by humans; introduction of alien
a parent are passed on to each cell produced by species that compete with endemic island species;
meiosis; random combination of or alien species that predate island endemics; or
chromosomes/genes/alleles. pathogens/parasites are introduced to which
2. There are many possible examples of each of the island species do not have immunity.
four types of factor.
3. Acquired characteristics cannot be passed on to Page 271 What is genetic modification?
offspring; so they are not significant in evolution; 1. Answer depends on when the student researches
some patterns of gene expression can be passed the most recent example of a GMO.
on but these are still impermanent and therefore 2. Answer depends on the jurisdiction in which the
are not as significant as natural selection of student lives – some countries ban GMOs and
heritable variation. others do not.
3. Most biologists consider it undesirable to allow
Page 267 What is the difference between natural gene transfer between GMOs and natural
selection and evolution? populations; gene transfer within plant and
• Natural selection is: animal species can occur by cross-breeding; so
Non-random transmission of genes… this should be avoided; for example GM salmon
…daily and hourly scrutinizing… cross-breeding with wild salmon; gene transfer in
Differences in rates of survival… bacteria happens very readily; for example with
Causes evolution plasmids; so GM bacteria should be isolated to
• Evolution is: prevent it.
Progressive change…
…would it be too bold to imagine…
Differences between fossils
Consequence of natural selection

© Oxford University Press 2017

2
4. GMO would probably not be favoured; because the
extra genes/traits are ones useful to humans and
not to the organism; for example salmon that
grow to a larger size are unlikely to have an
advantage over wild salmon; because wild the size
of wild salmon is due to natural selection over a
long period; whether GMOs are favoured depends
on the transferred gene and the conditions
experienced by the GMOs and non-GMOs.

Page 274 What is cloning?

1. The traits of the adult are known; adults with the
most desirable traits can be selected for cloning.
2. Biologically/genetically it is no different from
other natural methods of cloning; but identical
twins are unlikely to welcome being regarded as
clones.
3. Individuals resulting from adult cloning have a
high risk of health problems/shortened life
expectancy; cloning humans is unnatural/is
‘playing God’; only wealthy individuals are likely
to be able to afford it; the Earth is overpopulated
so each person should only be allowed to live once
and not be given another life through cloning;
obtaining embryonic stem cells requires the
destruction of embryos that can then not be used
for IVF.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

Summative assessment: Potatoes
1. Potatoes reproduce asexually; one tuber planted results in many genetically identical
tubers harvested; a variety of potatoes is a clone; farmers preferred the same
varieties so all planted them.

2. Farmers select the best potato plants/tubers; and grow the next year’s crop from
them; mutations give variation; much less variation if sexual reproduction does not
occur; slower change/evolution with less genetic variety.

3. Mutation to give genes for blight resistance; potato plants with blight resistance
survive when there is infection/plants without the blight resistance gene die; plants
with the resistance gene pass it on to the next generation of plants.

4. Mutations in the blight fungus; genes in blight fungus allow resistance in potato
plants to be overcome; sexual reproduction of fungus allows spread of genes for
overcoming blight resistance; natural selection for overcoming resistance/evolution
in the blight fungus.

5. Much less haphazard/less chance involved; chosen genes can be transferred and no
other; much quicker; genes can be transferred from another species/between species
that do not cross-breed; good combinations of genes in a potato variety are not
broken up by sexual reproduction.

6. If the increase per year is only twentyfold it will take many years to produce enough
tubers of a variety for farmers to use; no profits are made from breeding a new
potato variety until it can be sold to farmers; a new variety could become blight-
susceptible quicker if many years have elapsed before it is released to farmers.

7. a) Award marks on a scale from 0 marks if the statement is not a relevant

hypothesis, or is untestable or is utterly implausible, up to 3 marks for a clear,
testable hypothesis based on a chosen innovation.
b) Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for no relevant scientific understanding to
3 marks for a clear explanation of the hypothesis based on scientific
understanding.
c) Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an experimental design without merit
to 9 marks for an exemplary design with full experimental details including
independent, dependent and control variables, numbers of repeats and both
ethical and safety considerations.

8. a) All columns and rows on the results table labelled; results recorded in individual
cells on the results table to an appropriate degree of precision; appropriate
choice of chart and assignment of axes; accurate plotting of points/bars on the
chart; chart displays the data effectively so the salient trends are clear.
b) Award marks on a scale from 0 marks for an entirely inadequate interpretation
and explanation of the results to 5 marks for a convincing and comprehensive
interpretation and explanation based on scientific reasoning.
c) Clear statement that the method did/did not test the hypothesis effectively;
clear account of any uncertainties remaining; clear statement that the results
did/did not support the hypothesis.
d) Valid improvement/extension to the experiment; another valid
improvement/extension to the experiment.

9. Award marks on a scale from 0 for an account that is irrelevant, incomprehensible or

not based on a scientific understanding of genetic modification to 15 marks for an
exemplary account using scientific language, which presents in a balanced way all the
important arguments for and against genetic modification, with an overall judgment
of whether it should be banned or not.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
Page 283 Data-based question: Caenorhabditis
elegans development
1. 1 → 2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 32 → 64 → 128 → 256 →
512 → 1024 (almost enough) → 2048 (more than
enough); eleven synchronous divisions to produce
enough cells.
2. a) Not exactly synchronous; but there are
periods when many cells divide.
b) Major division periods occur at about 93,
118, 147 and 183 hours after fertilization;
the intervals between these periods are 25,
29 and 36 hours so the intervals appear to be
getting longer.
3. a) Eight synchronous divisions would be
needed to produce at least 182 cells.
b) If all cells had divided in each round of
division there would have been 256 cells; so
not all cells have completed 8 divisions.
4. 959 + 131 = 1090 cells.
Page 284 Data-based question: Aging and
telomere shortening
1. Telomeres become shorter with increasing age;
rate of decrease gets less over time.
2. Data in the graph supports the claim; telomeres
are shown to vary from more than 10 kb
(kilobases) to fewer than 4 kb; length must be
variable as it reduces during the lifetime and a
population consists of people at different stages in
their life; graph shows that at any specific age
there is a range in telomere length.
3. Shorter/longer telomere at birth; faster/slower
rate of decrease in telomere length per year;
variation in rates of cell division; possible enviro-
nmental influence on the rate of cell division.
4. a) Body growth; asexual reproduction/cloning;
repair/replacement of damaged tissue;
growth of tumours.
b) Slower healing after injury; skin becoming
thinner; slower/no body growth; slower hair
growth; slower/no asexual reproduction;
slower growing tumours/cancer.
Page 286 The mitotic index of a tumour
1. Five cells in mitosis.
2. Upper left cell: telophase;
middle left cell: telophase;
middle centre cell: metaphase;
lower left cell: anaphase/telophase;
lower right cell: prophase.
3. 171 cells in interphase (allow a wide range of
answers because accurate counting is difficult).
4. (5/176) × 100%; = 2.8
1
Page 287 Data-based question: Mitotic index and
cancer survival rates
1. Bar chart; percentage survival on y-axis with scale
and legend; six groups on x-axis with clear labels;
grouped by tumour size or by mitotic index (two
groups of three bars or three groups of two bars).
2. a) Negative relationship; the higher the mitotic
index the lower the percentage survival.
b) Tumour growing faster; secondary tumours
will also grow rapidly.
3. Mitotic index is a better indicator; larger
differences in survival percentage with variation
in mitotic index than with tumour size.
4. To check for secondary tumours; metastasis; to
decide whether chemotherapy is needed.
Page 289 What is the consequence of tumour
cells moving?
1. Drug companies want to recoup the cost of
developing the treatment; new treatments are
under patent so competition cannot drive down
the price; new treatments involve antibodies/
proteins that are expensive to produce.
2. Yes, because limits force drug companies to
restrict prices; limits make it possible for a
treatment to be made available to everyone/more
patients; money for health care is limited so
without price limits for cancer therapy other
treatments will be restricted; cost-benefit
analyses may show that the extra days/months of
life are not warranted if the costs of treatment are
very high.
3. Difficult to make it illegal to spend money on
relatives’ health care; doctors should give
guidance about whether the money will provide
enough pain-free rewarding days of life to the
relative; perhaps not ethical for the very wealthy
to monopolize resources/health care
professionals’ time if others then do not receive
adequate care; treatment providers should be
regulated so to be prevented from making
promises of recovery that are not justified by
evidence.
Page 290 What factors in the environment can
cause normal body cells to change into tumour
cells?
1. a) Nuclear bombs release radioactive fallout;
beta particles/gamma rays; radiation causes
mutations; in oncogenes.
b) Sun-beds emit UV radiation; UVA and UVB;
causes mutations in skin cells; causes skin
cancer.
© Oxford University Press 2017
 c) Chemical mutagens in cigarette smoke; more
than 30 chemicals shown to be mutagenic;
cause chemical changes in DNA; cancer if
mutations are in oncogenes.
d) X-rays are high energy/ionizing radiation;
cause mutations.
2. Depends on the risk of cancer that they cause; and
any benefits their use brings; there are ethical
questions over whether it is right to prevent an
individual from causing harm to themselves;
additional issues arise in jurisdictions where
there is publicly funded health care.
Page 291 Data-based question: Global
distribution of air pollution
1. Highest pollution levels in India/China/Middle
East; high levels in cities; higher levels in develop-
ing countries/lower levels in developed countries.
2. Positive correlation with levels of air pollution;
the higher the level of air pollution the higher the
incidence of asthma/emphysema/lung cancer/
respiratory diseases; not directly proportional
because other factors influence these diseases.
3. Negative correlation; lower lichen biodiversity
with higher lung cancer mortality.
4. Lung cancer isn’t caused by low lichen bio-
diversity; lung cancer mortality is positively
correlated with concentration of air pollutants;
lichen biodiversity is negatively correlated with
concentration of air pollutants; so there is a
negative correlation between concentration of air
pollutants and lung cancer mortality.
5. They might previously have lived in an area with a
different concentration of the air pollutants that
cause cancer; lung cancer takes a long time to
develop and be diagnosed.
6. Other factors affect lung cancer mortality; other
factors affect lichen biodiversity.
Page 293 Determining relatedness between
organisms
1. Differences in base sequence:
Adoxophyes honmai to Diatraea saccharalis 41
Adoxophyes honmai to Ostrinia furnacalis 6
Adoxophyes honmai to Ostrinia nubilalis 13
Diatraea saccharalis to Ostrinia furnacalis 35
Diatraea saccharalis to Ostrinia nubilalis 38
Ostrinia furnacalis to Ostrinia nubilalis 17
So Diatraea honmai is most dissimilar in base
sequence to the other three species; and is not
closely related to any of them; the other three
species are closely related to each other; as they
have many similarities in base sequence.
2. Adoxophyes honmai and Ostrinia furnacalis are
most similar; Adoxophyes honmai is more similar
to both Ostrinia species despite them being in the
same genus.
© Oxford University Press 2017
Page 297 What evidence established the cause of
infectious diseases?
1. Take blood sample from an infected and an
uninfected cow; view the blood samples under a
microscope to confirm the presence of anthrax
bacteria in the sample from the infected but not
from the uninfected cow; culture the pathogen in
a tube; inoculate a healthy mouse with anthrax
bacteria from the culture; confirm that the mouse
develops the disease; take a blood sample from
the diseased mouse; view the blood samples
under a microscope to confirm the presence of
anthrax bacteria in the sample; culture the
pathogen in a tube.
2. Mice may not contract the disease because the
pathogens are not adapted to them/because the
mice already have immunity; death might be
caused by other factors from the disease they are
infected with.
3. Viral diseases because they cannot be cultured on
acellular media; genetic/degenerative/mental
diseases.
4. Differences between animals; in physiology/
metabolism/anatomy/immune system; so
findings in the model animal may not apply to
other animal species.
5. Possibly unethical to inoculate a healthy
mouse/animal with a pathogen; causes
suffering/could kill a healthy animal.
Page 298 Data-based question: MMR and DTP
vaccines
1. Children don’t like vaccinations so the fewer the
better; cheaper to do one vaccination than three
separate ones; more likely that a child will be fully
vaccinated against the three diseases.
2. Increased between 1990-91 and 92-93; remained
high (from 92-93 to 96-97); decreased (after
1998); decreased steeply (after 2000).
3. Somewhere in the range of 1996-1999.
4. Incidence of autism increased; increased from 88
to 90 and from 92 to 94; decreased from 90 to
91/94 to 95.
5. Claim not supported by the data; MMR
vaccination rate dropped from over 70% to nearly
0% in 1992; yet there was a larger increase in
diagnosis of autism after that time; no sign of
drop in autism even four years later.
6. Number of cases was high and fluctuating before
the use of DTP; cases dropped from over 300 per
100,000 to below 50 after the introduction of the
vaccine; cases rose when the vaccine uptake
dropped from 81% to 31%; but cases decreased
again when vaccine uptake rose back to 93%;
clear link between vaccine uptake and cases of
whooping cough.
2
Summative assessment: Causes of disease
1. a) i) Asbestosis/Minamata disease.
ii) Influenza/malaria/syphilis/Athlete’s foot.
iii) Obesity/anorexia nervosa.

2. a) Spherical.
b) About 50 nuclei visible; but some are concealed behind others so this is
an underestimate; overall estimate is about 60/ is 50 – 70; not very
reliable.
c) 1 → 2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 32 → 64; so 64 cells are produced by six rounds of
division.
d) Mitosis.
e) More mitochondria.
f) Some cells would have no mitochondria; could not carry out aerobic
respiration; would have no/too little energy for cell processes; would die.

3. a) Reduced to 18% of the level in 1972 = 82% reduction.

b) Blood cholesterol decreased most.
c) More smoking in women but less in men.
d) i) Actual reductions greater than the predictions; reduction to about
18% compared with prediction of about 44% in both men and
women.
ii) Factors that influence the incidence of CHD other than smoking,
blood pressure and cholesterol had improved during the study
period; better treatment for CHD lowered its incidence.

4. a) The increased chance is 8.8 – 3.1 = 5.7 more deaths per 100,000.
b) i) Passive smoking; non-smokers inhale in smoke exhaled by
smokers; containing carcinogens/mutagens; in places where non-
smokers and smokers are together.
ii) Prevent air pollution caused by burning coal; ban diesel vehicles
from cities/eliminate NOX from air that humans breathe; remove
asbestos; wear face masks if there is a danger of inhaling silica/
rock dust/nickel/arsenic/cadmium; remove radon gas from
homes/buildings.
c) With slow doubling rate there is likely to be a longer time before a
tumour is discovered because of its effects; with slow doubling rate there
is more chance of discovering a tumour before it becomes large by
routine screening programs; with slow doubling rate there is less chance
of secondary tumours causing rapid death; with slow doubling rate there
is less chance of chemotherapy working (because a smaller proportion of
cells is in mitosis and therefore vulnerable to chemotherapy drugs).

5. a) 390 deaths per 1,000.

b) Overall decrease in child mortality in all countries; all countries reach
mortality below 50 by the end of the study period; mortality in Chile and
Bangladesh rises during the middle of the study period to a level higher
than at the start before falling again whereas it never rises above the
initial level in Australia or Azerbaijan; decrease in mortality starts earlier
in Australia.
c) Decreases are due to improvements in medicine; such as vaccinations;
and public health measures/clean water; and better nutrition; earlier
decrease in Australia because these measures were introduced sooner.
d) Answers will depend on when the database is consulted.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

 6. A wide range of answers could be given here. One possible sequence of
answers is:
a) Compare and contrast changes in the incidence of malaria in two different
geographic regions.
b) For example compare equatorial Africa with Southern Africa: Congo, CAF
and Gabon versus Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
c)

d) Pattern is variable though the highest rates are seen in Southern Africa
from 1999; the rates are very high at 40,000/100,000 in Zambia.

7. a) i) A chemical substance or form of radiation that causes cancer to

develop.
ii) In the uterus/before a baby has been born.
iii) Division of cells to produce many.
b) Award marks on a scale from 0 for an article that is without merit
because it is misleading, inaccurate or incomprehensible up to 8 marks
for a succinct article that presents all the information needed to convince
pregnant women that they should not smoke, written in an engaging and
comprehensible style.
c) Avoid inhaling vehicle exhaust fumes/emissions from power
plants/fumes from industry; avoid inhaling fumes from
fires/stoves/heaters used in the home; avoid smoked/grilled food/ avoid
all sources of radiation.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4
Page 311 Is modelling an essential part of all
research in biology?
1. Helps in the design of the experiment; the control
and experimental variables can be defined based
on the hypothesis; the experimental method is
determined by the hypothesis; observations are
made through the lens of the hypothesis.
2. Hypotheses have to be based on something, they
can be based on a theory or they can be based on
a prior period of observation that results in the
beginnings of a testable generalization.
3. Most famous example of serendipitous discovery
is that of penicillin; the pacemaker was originally
intended to record heart sounds.
Page 314 Printing a human kidney
1. Challenges include:
• Design of biomaterials that can be placed
inside the body;
• Getting cells to grow outside the body;
• Encouraging blood vessels to develop in new
tissues/organs.
2. Achievements so far include:
• Production of a variety of suitable
biomaterials;
• Successful use of biomaterials to act as a
scaffold for a new tissue/organ;
• Getting many cell types to grow outside the
body;
• Using stem cells to produce functioning tissues
such as cardiac muscle;
• Production of bladders for transplant using a
patient’s own stem cells;
• Development of printing technology in which
cells are applied in layers, in precise arrays as
in natural organs;
• Development of techniques for wound healing
by applying cells with printing technology to a
wound on a patient.
Challenges still to be surmounted include:
• Producing solid organs such as kidneys;
• Getting liver, nerve and pancreas cells to grow
outside the body.
Page 316 How do biologists use graphs to model
relationships?
1. a) From x = 0 to x = 6, level of y decreases as the
level of x increases/negative correlation;
above x = 6 the level of y does not change as
the level of x increases.
1 © Oxford University Press 2017
b) y increases to maxima when x approaches 2
and 7; y decreases to a minimum as x
approaches 5; y decreases to zeros as x
decreases below 2 and increases above 8.
c) y = 0 when x is less than 2; y increases as x
increases above 2; smaller and smaller
increases/y reaching a plateau/maximum
when x is above 8.
2. a) Sketch graph should show a straight line
decrease in y as x increases.
b) Sketch graph should show a decrease in y
that becomes less and less steep as x
increases.
c) Sketch graph should show a decrease in y
that becomes steeper and steeper as x
increases.
3. a) Metabolic rate in a homeothermic/warm-
blooded animal as environmental
temperature decreases to a level where
thermogenic respiration has to begin and
then has to occur at an increasing rate with
further temperature decreases.
b) Size of male salmon swimming up a river to
breed (jacks and hooknoses).
c) Effect of carbon dioxide concentration on
rate of photosynthesis in plants.
Page 316 Data-based question: Yoda’s law
1. a) Both species have a mean mass of
approximately 10,000 grams at a density of
one tree per m2.
b) Both species have a mean mass of
approximately 200 grams at a density of ten
trees per m2.
2. a) Prunus pensylvanica grew at the highest
density.
b) Abies balsamea grew to the largest mass.
3. The points on the diagram suggest that the
relationship can be modelled by a straight line;
since the graphs use logarithmic scales, they
suggest a linear relationship between log W and
log ρ (rho).
4. The equation of the regression line for logW on
log ρ can be found by entering the values of log W
and log ρ into a calculator in 2-variable statistics
mode; the calculator will give the equation of the
line in the form y = A + Bx, so logW = A + Blog ρ.
If B = -3/2 (within the expected variability) then
the equation is of the form W = C ρ-3/2 showing
that Yoda's law fits the data; the value of C can be
estimated from the graphs as log W = log C ρ-3/2,
so log C = A and therefore C = 10A.
5. a) There are two advantages of using
logarithms:
• It is possible to find the nature of the
relationship, including establishing that
the power of ρ is -3/2;
• Without using logarithms, it would not be
possible to show such a wide range of
values of W on one diagram.
b) The graph is a curve, with lower values of W
for higher values of ρ, and with the gradient
getting smaller as ρ increases.
Page 317 How are statistical samples used to
model populations?
1. Not representative; not every individual in the
population has an equal chance of being
encountered walking along the street; affected by
where the person lives/works/whether they can
walk/how they spend their time.
2. Not representative; not every individual has a
landline telephone; more than one person share
some landlines; some landlines are used by
businesses rather than private individuals.
3. Year groups; boys and girls.
Page 318 Data-based question: Does aspirin lower
body temperature in children?
1. a) 38.4 – 39.5 °C
b) 37.6 – 38.8 °C
c) Data overlaps; higher maximum before
treatment; lower minimum after treatment.
2. a) 38.90 °C
b) 38.05 °C
3. Difference in mean temperature before and after
treatment; which is evidence for aspirin lowering
body temperature; but the sample size was
small/only 12; boys were not included; only 4-
year olds were included; only flu patients were
included; may not be representative of the
broader population of children.
Page 320 How can agent-based modelling be
used to simulate interactions in ecosystems?
1. a) Autonomous agent: intelligent/programmed;
independent; responsive to its environment;
has its own goals; and is able to pursue them.
b) Mitigate adverse effects: reduce the severity;
of the harm caused by something.
2. a) Excessive logging of rainforests so few trees
of a particular species remain; collection of
all or most wild orchids of one species;
extraction of so much water from a river for
irrigation that the river downstream runs
dry; poaching of more elephants for ivory
than are added to the population each year
by reproduction.
b) Examples of chemical pollution; light
pollution; fragmentation; disturbance due to
noise; drainage of wetlands; climate
change/global warming; introduction of
alien species; raising of sea levels;
acidification of oceans.
3. Yes; not clear if the outcome is reliable unless the
simulation is re-run.
Page 321 How can the ecological footprint model
help our understanding of resource consumption?
1. Sources of land: cropland; forest; built-up land;
shoreline.
Resources from land: energy, settlement space,
plant products for food, building, paper, clothes.
2. Answers will vary - for example international
school students will find that air travel makes for
the largest ecological and carbon footprint.
3. It is the calculated calendar date on which
humanity’s resource consumption for the year
exceeds the earth’s capacity to regenerate those
resources that year.
4. An interactive map can be viewed on the website
of footprintnetwork.org. It indicates that
Northern hemisphere high income per capita
countries have the highest ecological footprint.

Page 319 How can games be used to model the

interaction between organisms?
1. Rock paper scissors.
2. Wave form/sinusoidal/oscillating.
3. When encountering this strategy
Payoff to orange- yellow- blue-
this throated throated throated
strategy challenger challenger challenger
orange- (0) sneaks in does not
throated’s and mates challenge
territory with (1)
multiple
females
(-1)
yellow- mates with (0) does not
throated’s females challenge
territory (1) (-1)
blue- mates with fails to mate (0)
throated’s the one with the one
territory female female (1)
(-1)

© Oxford University Press 2017

2
Summative assessment: Forest conservation
1. a) i) Indonesia: 13,000 km2; Brazil: 42,000 km2
ii) Indonesia: 19,000 km2; Brazil 20,000 km2
b) Both countries have more than 5,000 km2 of forest loss every year; forest
loss fluctuates in both countries; Brazil has more forest loss throughout
the study period; overall Brazil forest loss is decreasing whereas
Indonesia forest loss is increasing.
c) Rising in Indonesia and falling in Brazil; correlation coefficient is 0.83 in
Indonesia and -0.71 in Brazil; on average 1,021 more km2 of loss each
year in Indonesia and 1,318 km2 less in Brazil per year; p-value for the
correlation is higher for Brazil/0.009 versus 0.001/correlation more
statistically significant for Indonesia.
d) p-value indicates the statistical significance of the correlation; the lower
the p-value the less chance that there is of no genuine correlation/the less
chance that the null hypothesis is true; low p-value for both Indonesia
and Brazil so the null hypothesis can be rejected; lower p-value for
Indonesia so greater confidence.

2. Clearance for: agriculture; mining; urbanization; hydroelectric schemes;

logging.

3. a) Equatorial West Africa; Madagascar; Amazonia; Siberia.

b) (Countries with areas coloured pink): Sweden; New Guinea; USA; forest
clearance/deforestation in some parts of the country; afforestation in
other parts.

4. a) Choose typical natural area of forest; as many circular areas as possible in

which there is carbon dioxide enrichment because costs are very high and
this is enough for statistically significant results (the actual number used
in FACE experiments is three); independent variable is carbon dioxide
concentration; 400 ppmv/ambient and raised carbon dioxide should be
tested (the actual target level is 550 ppmv); multiple dependent
variables; including growth rate/photosynthesis rate of the trees/of the
forest (growth is monitored using LIDAR); controlled variables kept
constant by siting all circular areas in one uniform area of forest; same
species of tree/size of tree/soil type/temperature/water availability/
mineral elements in soil/N/P availability; carbon dioxide from circles
with enrichment must not pass to circles where there is intended to be no
enrichment.
b) Simulates carbon dioxide concentration effectively; but not global
warming; or rainfall; or incidence of storms/hurricanes/floods.

5. a) Canada.
b) Canada ranked 3rd for tree cover loss in the period 2001 – 2016; 36.01
hectares lost; only Russia and Brazil lost a greater area of forest; 49.51
hectares and 46.37 hectares.
c) 42%
d) 2005.
e) 59% primary; 36% regenerated.
f) At the time of writing there were forest fires in Alberta.
g) For Canada the federal government produces additional publications on
the status of Canadian forests.
h) An infographic is one possible method of displaying the data.

3 © Oxford University Press 2017

 6. Both have areas of bare rock; both have rock slopes/rocky eminences/vantage
points; only the natural habitat has trees; rock in natural habitat is sloping
whereas in the zoo it is stepped; zoo has water flowing down a waterfall/
artificial stream whereas the natural habitat does not; natural habitat has flat
areas/areas with soil between the rock outcrops whereas the zoo only has
rock slopes/zoo habitat is less varied.

7. Answers will depend on the quality of habitat provided by the local zoo.

8. a) Answers will depend on the quality of habitat provided by the local zoo.
b) Answers will depend on the quality of habitat provided by the local zoo.

© Oxford University Press 2017

4