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Class 12 - Biology
Term-2 Sample Paper - 02

Maximum Marks: 35
Time Allowed: 2 hours

General Instructions:

i. All questions are compulsory.

ii. The question paper has three sections and 13 questions. All questions are compulsory.
iii. Section–A has 6 questions of 2 marks each; Section–B has 6 questions of 3 marks each; and Section–C has a
case-based question of 5 marks.
iv. There is no overall choice. However, internal choices have been provided in some questions. A student has
to attempt only one of the alternatives in such questions.
v. Wherever necessary, neat and properly labeled diagrams should be drawn.

Section A
1. What would happen to immune system, if thymus gland is removed from the body of a person?
2. Microbes can be used to decrease the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Explain how this can be
accomplished?

OR

What is the key difference between primary and secondary sewage treatment?
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3. Observe the flow chart and answer the following questions:

i. Write the name of three bioactive molecules of fungal origin and their functions that help in
restoring the good health of humans?
ii. Give the source and significance of streptokinase.

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4. Many microbial pathogens enter the gut of humans along with food. What are the preventive barriers
to protect the body from such pathogens? What type of immunity do you observe in this case?
5. What is mutualism? Mention any two examples where the organism is involved are commercially
exploited in agriculture.
6. In an association of two animal species, one is a termite that feeds on wood and the other is a
protozoan Trichonympha present in the gut of the termite. What type of association do they establish?

OR

Bear hibernates, whereas some species of zooplanktons enter diapause to avoid stressful external
conditions. How are these two ways different from each other?
Section B
7. Name the parasite that causes ascariasis. Mention two diagnostic symptoms of the disease. How is this
disease transmitted to others?

OR

Why is tabacco smoking associated with rise in blood pressure and emphysema (oxygen deficiency in
the body)? Explain.
8. Give the name of the two different categories of microbes naturally occurring in sewage water. Explain
their role in cleaning sewage water into usable water.
9. Human insulin, when synthesised in the body, needs to be processed before it can act. Explain giving
reasons.
10. Species diversity decreases as we move away from the equator towards the poles. What could be the
possible reasons?
11. i. Explain the species-area relationship using the graphical representation given below.

ii. Explain giving reasons why there is greater biodiversity in tropical regions of the earth.
12. The image below shows how Cry proteins work.

i. What are Cry proteins?

ii. Name an organism that produce it.

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iii. How has man exploited this protein to his benefit?

Section C
13. A schematic representation of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) upto the extension stage is given
below.

i. Name the process A

ii. Identify B.
iii. Identify C and mention its importance in PCR.

OR

Pesticidal crystal proteins (Cry) are endotoxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis, and form crystal
structures (thus the name "cry" proteins, short for crystal). Cry toxins have specific activities against
insect species of the orders Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Diptera (flies and mosquitoes),
Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants and sawflies) and nematodes. When insects ingest
toxin crystals, the alkaline pH of their digestive tract denatures the insoluble crystals, making them
soluble and thus amenable to being cut with proteases found in the insect gut, which liberate the cry
toxin from the crystal. The Cry toxin is then inserted into the insect gut cell membrane, paralyzing the
digestive tract and forming a pore. The insect stops eating and starves to death; live Bt bacteria may
also colonize the insect which can contribute to death.
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i. Give the scientific name of the soil bacterium which produces crystal (Cry) proteins.
ii. How are these proteins useful in agriculture?
iii. What do the different written terms Cry and cry represent respectively?

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Class 12 - Biology
Term-2 Sample Paper - 02

Solution

Section A
1. The thymus is one of the primary lymphoid organs; responsible for maturation of lymphocytes.
Removal of the thymus has no significant effect on immunity because enough T-cells are generated
during foetal stage, i.e. before birth. However, removal of the thymus during infancy may affect
immunity to some extent.
2. By the use of biofertilizers and biological pest control method, the use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides can be reduced. The fertility of the soil depends not only on its chemical composition but also
on the presence of useful microbes in it, which enrich the nutrient quality of the soil. The main source
of biofertilizers are bacteria, fungi and cyanobacteria.
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OR

Primary sewage treatment Secondary sewage treatment

1. It is a physical method of treatment It is a biological method of treatment

It involves in removal of large particles and

floating materials such It involves the removal of fine suspended and
2.
as leaves, papers, rags, solids such as sand, dissolved organic matter.
grit and oily substances

It makes the used of sedimentation and It makes the use of aerobic or anaerobic
3.
filtration process biological units

It is relatively simple and less time consuming It is relatively complex and takes a long time for
4.
process its completion
3. i. Following are the bioactive molecules are of fungal origin and their respective functions are as
follows:
Bioactive Molecule Function

(i) Cyclosporin-A Used as an immunosuppressant during organ transplantation.

(ii) Vitamin-B2 Proper functioning of neurons system.

(iii) Statin Lowers the cholesterol level in the blood.

ii. Source- Streptococcus bacterium; Significance- Used as a clot-buster to dissolve blood clot from
the blood vessels.
4. The immunity observed in the given case is as follows:
i. The mucus coating of the epithelium lining of the gut helps in trapping microbes entering the body.
ii. Saliva in the mouth and hydrochloric acid in gastric juice secreted by stomach prevents microbial
growth. This type of immunity is innate immunity.

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5. Mutualism is an interaction that confers benefits on both the interacting species. Two examples
where organisms involved are commercially exploited in agriculture are:
i. Mycorrhizae represent a close mutual association between fungi and the roots of higher plants.
Fungi help the plants in the absorption of nutrients, especially phosphorus while the plants
provide food for the fungus.
ii. Lichens represent an intimate mutualistic relationship between a fungus and photosynthesising
algae or cyanobacteria. Here, the fungus helps in the absorption of nutrients and provides
protection, while algae prepare the food.
6. Termite and Trichonympha show mutualism; a relationship in which both the organisms are benefited
from each other. Trichonympha breaks down cellulose in the wood and thus help the termite in the
digestion of wood. Trichonympha also feeds on fragments of wood.

OR

Difference between diapause and hibernation are:

Diapause Hibernation

State of suspended development during Process of spending winter's extreme cold

unfavourable conditions. conditions in a dormant state.

e.g. zooplanktons. e.g. bear.

Section B
7. Ascariasis is an infection of the small intestine caused by Ascaris lumbricoides (A. lumbricoides), which
is a species of roundworm. Roundworms are a type of parasitic worm.
Symptoms: Most of the time, there are no symptoms. If there are symptoms, they may include:
Bloody sputum, Cough, Low-grade fever, Passing worms in stool,Shortness of breath, Skin rash Stomach
pain,Wheezing, Worms exiting through the nose or mouth.

- Mode of transmission : Contaminated food and water which contain embryonated eggs of the
parasite.

OR

The nicotine present in tobacco stimulates adrenal glands to secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline.
Both these hormones increase blood pressure and heart rates.
Smoking is associated with increased incidence of lung cancers. It increases carbon monoxide level of
the blood, which competes with oxygen for transport. As the concentration of haem-bound oxygen
decreases, there is oxygen deficiency in the body. It also increases the craving for hard drugs.
8. Two different categories of microbes naturally occurring in sewage water are aerobic and anaerobic
microbes.
i. Role of aerobic microbes in cleaning water- Aerobic microbes grow excessively in the
aeration tank and it consumes a major part of the organic matter. It helps in reducing the BOD of
the effluent.
ii. Role of anaerobic microbes in cleaning water- In the settling tank, anaerobic microbes
digest the aerobic bacteria and fungi and produce gases like CH4, CO2, H2S, etc. It makes the water
less polluted to be released in the water bodies.
9. Human insulin when initially synthesized in the human body consists of three peptide chains-A, B and
C. The C-peptide is an extra stretch of amino acids joining the A and B-chains. This is called proinsulin

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or prohormone.
It undergoes processing or splicing to release the functional mature insulin that can carry out its
normal functions.
During processing, the C-peptide is removed. Only A and B-chains contribute to form the functional
insulin.
10. Species diversity decreases as we move towards the poles, because
i. Temperature decreases and conditions become harsh.
ii. Both the amount and intensity of solar radiation decrease.
iii. Vegetation decreases.
iv. Less resources available to support species.
Speciation is generally a function of time and environmental stability, so if conditions are too harsh, it
is difficult for the species to survive and adapt. This results in a decrease in biodiversity towards the
poles.
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11. i. Alexander von Humboldt studied species-area relationship. He observed that within a region, the
species richness increased with increasing the area up to a certain limit.
ii. Ecologists have discovered that the value of Z lies in the range of 0.1-0.2 regardless of taxonomic
group or region. When species-area the relationship is considered for a large area like a whole
continent, regression coefficient Z or slope of the line becomes steeper with Z-values in the range of
0.6-1.2. For example, for fruit-eating birds and mammals in tropical forests of a different continent,
the slope is found to be 1.15.
12. - Cry proteins refer to the protein crystals containing a toxic insecticide.
- It is produced by a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis
- The genes encoding cry proteins called Bt toxin genes were isolated from B. thuringiensis and
incorporated into several crop plants such as Bt cotton, Bt corn etc. to provide resistance against insect
pests.
Section C
13. i. A:- Denaturation process
ii. B:- Primers
iii. C:- Taq DNA polymerase. Taq polymerase is a thermostable enzyme, which remains active during
the high temperature and induces denaturation of DNA.

OR

i. Soil bacterium - Bacillus thuringiensis produces crystal (Cry) proteins.

ii. This protein acts as a toxin for insects. If gene for‘Cry’, protein is incorporated into crop plants they
will develop resistant to the insects and pests.
iii. 'Cry' is used for Cry protein and 'cry' is used to denote gene which encodes for ‘Cry’ protein.

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