AS EVALUATIVE

For assessment use between

1 June 2011 and 14 May 2012
AS GCE BIOLOGY
F213/Task 2/MARK SCHEME
Practical Skills in Biology 1
Evaluative Task 2: Investigating the Effects of Ethanol on Plant Cell Membrane
* F 2 1 0 1 3 0 6 1 1 *

Permeability

Further guidance is available in the Practical Skills Handbook.

Once the work has been collected in, it must be kept secure and marked by the teacher as it stands. Marked work
must not be returned to the candidate.

Under no circumstances can a candidate be allowed to change or elaborate on an answer.

Teachers are reminded that it is possible for a candidate to be assessed on another occasion using a different
Task and that the best mark achieved for each task type should be submitted. It is appropriate for the teacher to
provide feedback to explain in general terms how the work could have been improved although details of the Mark
Scheme and of which marking points were and were not awarded must not be directly communicated to
the candidate.

Mark Tasks clearly, in red ink, in accordance with the Mark Scheme. Annotation can help the Moderator and staff
in the centre who are checking the marking as part of internal standardisation. Useful annotations consist of:

• ticks and crosses against responses to show where marks have been earned or not earned;
• specific words or phrases to confirm why a mark has been earned or indicate why a mark has not been
earned (eg indicate an omission).

Where a candidate has given an answer not covered by the Mark Scheme, the teacher should use their professional
judgement to decide whether the answer is worthy of credit. If it is, then the script should be annotated accordingly
and the mark(s) awarded. Half marks must not be awarded.

From time to time OCR may need to publish clarification for a Task or Mark Scheme. Please ensure
that you check Interchange before using a Task for assessment to ensure that no modifications have
been posted, and check again before the final submission of marks to OCR. Any changes made will
be flagged in the Notices area of the GCE Biology page on Interchange and via OCR’s e-mail updates
service.
To subscribe to the e-mail updates service, please send an e-mail to GCEsciencetasks@ocr.org.uk
including your centre number, centre name and a contact name. Include the title GCE Biology in the
subject line.

This document consists of 5 printed pages. Any blank pages are indicated.

© OCR 2011 [T/500/8552] OCR is an exempt Charity

DC (SJF) 47791/3 Turn over

For assessment use between 1 June 2011 and 14 May 2012

 2

Question Expected Answers Mark Additional Guidance

All remaining marks to be assessed from the candidate’s completed Task sheet.
1 Award 1 mark per bullet point 2 The skill being tested is the ability to
calculate means.
• remaining 5 means calculated CREDIT correct calculations, even if
correctly unrounded or inconsistently recorded
(e.g. different nos. of decimal places),
for this mark.

• remaining 5 means consistently The means must be recorded to the

recorded to the nearest whole nearest whole number in order to
number be consistent with the mean already
recorded.

Correct entries in the table = 2 marks

ethanol
concentration mean
(%)
0 4
5 21
10 25
20 83
30 98
40 100

2 Award 1 mark per bullet point up to 2

a maximum of 2 bullets from:
• increases reliability
• idea that anomalous readings
have less of a distorting effect
• idea that repeating the procedure
with many onions increases
the likelihood of the data being
more representative of onions in
general

© OCR 2011 For assessment use between 1 June 2011 and 14 May 2012
 3

Question Expected Answers Mark Additional Guidance

3 Award 1 mark per bullet point up to 2 Mark the first 2 suggestions
a maximum of 2 bullets from:
• some cells already dead DO NOT CREDIT ‘some cells are
dead’ without the idea that they were
• some cells damaged by
dead before the procedure.
handling during the experimental
procedures
• some ethanol accidentally
introduced into the 0% solution
• cells sampled were too close to
the damaged edge
4 Award 1 mark per bullet point 2

• identifies sample 3, 5% ethanol i.e. the 45 result.

result

• idea that anomalous reading

does not follow the pattern of
the rest of the results – the
percentage dead cells is greater
than the subsequent sample in a
higher percentage ethanol
5 Award 1 mark per bullet point 2

• 18% Units must be stated in order to award

OR the mark.
18.1%
OR
18.2%
• correct basis for inference e.g. lines drawn on graph.
indicated
6 • idea that provides a more 1
accurate/realistic picture of the
effect of increasing ethanol
concentration.

© OCR 2011 For assessment use between 1 June 2011 and 14 May 2012 Turn over
 4

Question Expected Answers Mark Additional Guidance

7 (i) • 15% 1 Units must be stated in order to award
the mark.
(ii) Award 1 mark per bullet point up to 2
a maximum of 2 bullets from:

• idea that at this concentration

there has only been time to affect
some onion cells.

• the pupil was less careful in This mark can be awarded in the
carrying out the protocol context of a specific example of
technical problem or error suggested.
• it is not possible to get higher
results than 100%, so this limits
the extent of possible errors at
the top end of the range
8 • idea that stain has a stronger 1 Word(s) in brackets are not
affinity for contents of nucleus essential for the mark to be
(than for other components of awarded
cell)
OR
it only stains DNA
OR
it only stains chromatin
OR
it only stains histones
9 Award 1 mark per bullet point up to 2 Word(s) in brackets are not
a maximum of 2 bullets from: essential for the mark to be
awarded

Mark the first 2 suggestions

• phospholipid (bilayer)

• protein

• cholesterol

• glycolipid

• glycoprotein

© OCR 2011 For assessment use between 1 June 2011 and 14 May 2012
 5

Question Expected Answers Mark Additional Guidance

10 Award 1 mark per bullet point up to 3 Word(s) in brackets are not
a maximum of 3 bullets from: essential for the mark to be
awarded

• further replications Mark the first 3 suggestions

OR
more repeats

• use same variety of onion (for

repeats)
OR
use the same onion (for repeats)

• use same age of onion

• count larger number of cells in

each sample

• idea of non-subjective sampling CREDIT EITHER

idea of random selection (of field of
view) for counting cells
OR
idea of systematic selection (of field
of view) for counting cells.
• idea of taking samples from
same area of onion

• use precise volumes of solutions

• idea of standardised soaking

times
Task total 20

Copyright Information
OCR is committed to seeking permission to reproduce all third-party content that it uses in its assessment materials. OCR has attempted to identify and contact all copyright holders
whose work is used in this paper. To avoid the issue of disclosure of answer-related information to candidates, all copyright acknowledgements are reproduced in the OCR Copyright
Acknowledgements Booklet. This is produced for each series of examinations and is freely available to download from our public website (www.ocr.org.uk) after the live examination series.
If OCR has unwittingly failed to correctly acknowledge or clear any third-party content in this assessment material, OCR will be happy to correct its mistake at the earliest possible
opportunity.
For queries or further information please contact the Copyright Team, First Floor, 9 Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 1GE.
OCR is part of the Cambridge Assessment Group; Cambridge Assessment is the brand name of University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), which is itself a
department of the University of Cambridge.

© OCR 2011 For assessment use between 1 June 2011 and 14 May 2012