IB BIOLOGY

TOPIC 3 GENETICS
CRIT A. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
TOTAL MARKS 40

1. Which pedigree chart is consistent with the inheritance of red-green colour blindness?

[Source: © International Baccalaureate Organization 2019]

2. A pair of alleles controls the secretion of antigens corresponding to blood group in saliva. Examine the
pedigree chart.

[Source: © International Baccalaureate Organization 2019]

Based on this pedigree chart, which best describes the allele conferring antigen secretion in saliva?
A. Dominant
B. Recessive
C. Sex-linked
D. Co-dominant

3. What are all the possible phenotypes of children born to a mother with blood group AB and a father with
blood group A?
A. AB only
B. A and B
C. AB, A and B
D. AB, A and O
 4. A dominant autosomal allele for lactase persistence allows humans to digest milk as adults. People
who lack this allele are lactose intolerant in adulthood.

5. If J and K have a child L, what is the probability that L will be lactase persistent?
A. 25 %
B. 50 %
C. 75 %
D. 100 %

6. In cats, black coat colour is dominant over gray. A female black cat, whose mother is gray, mates with a
gray male. What is the predicted ratio of phenotypes in the offspring?
A. 100 % black
B. 50 % black to 50 % gray
C. 75 % black to 25 % gray
D. 100 % gray

7. The image shows the chromosomes in four cells of an insect at the end of meiosis.

8. What is the diploid number of this insect?

A. 16
B. 8
C. 4
D. 2
 9. What contributes to the total DNA content of a zygote?

10. The children in a family have blood groups A, B and O. What are the genotypes of their parents?
A. IAIA and IBi
B. IAi and IBi
C. IAIB and ii
D. IAIB and IBi

11. The bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes infections related to the human reproductive system. The
graph shows the percentage of samples in which this bacterium showed resistance to six antibiotics
over a period of ten years.
 12. What is a possible explanation for the total percentage resistance being larger than 100% in 2010?
A. People do not take the antibiotics as prescribed.
B. More people have been sampled in that year.
C. There was an epidemic of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in that year.
D. Some bacteria are resistant to more than one antibiotic.

13. A human gene has two alleles. One allele, P, is dominant over the recessive allele p. Embryos that are
homozygous for the dominant allele die in the uterus. What is the expected ratio of genotypes for
the live offspring of a heterozygous man and a heterozygous woman?
A. 1 : 1
B. 2 : 1
C. 3 : 1
D. 4 : 0

14. The pedigree chart shows the inheritance of hemochromatosis, a genetic disease which causes an
excessive accumulation of iron in the body.

What can be deduced about this genetic disease from the pedigree chart?
A. It is sex-linked.
B. It is autosomal dominant.
C. It is autosomal co-dominant.
D. It is autosomal recessive.

15. The diagram shows a pedigree of cystic fibrosis, in which the black colour indicates the presence of
cystic fibrosis.

What is the probability that the individual labelled X is a carrier of cystic fibrosis?
A. 1.00
B. 0.50
C. 0.25
D. 0.00

16. Nail patella syndrome is a rare disease that causes abnormalities of the nails and some bones. Its
alleles are linked to the blood group alleles on the same chromosome. The pedigree chart shows the
inheritance of these two characteristics over three generations.
 [Source: Copyright © 1998. Phillip McClean]

Which descendant represents a recombinant phenotype?

17. Creeper in chickens is a condition in which the chickens are born with very short legs. The creeper
allele (C) is dominant over the normal allele (c). Embryos which are homozygous for the dominant allele
fail to develop into viable chickens and die before they hatch. What phenotypic ratio would you expect
in the live offspring of a cross between two creeper chickens?
A. All creeper
B. 1 creeper; 2 normal
C. 2 creeper; 1 normal
D. 3 creeper; 1 normal
 18. A variety of Pelargonium has yellow leaves. When plants of this variety are crossed, the resulting seeds
produce green, yellow and white seedlings in the ratio 1 : 2 : 1. If plants with yellow leaves are crossed
with plants with green leaves, what would the expected ratio of phenotypes in the offspring be?

19. A child has blood group A. The father of the child has blood group B. What are the possible genotypes
of the mother?
I. IAIA
II. IAIB
III. IAi

A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II and II

20. Tall heterozygous pea plants were crossed and the resulting seeds grown. Out of 360 plants, 270 were
tall and 90 dwarf. What describes the expected genotypes resulting from the cross?
A. All 270 tall plants were heterozygous.
B. All 270 tall plants were homozygous.
C. Only 90 plants were homozygous.
D. All dwarf plants were homozygous.

21. Huntington’s disease can develop in middle age and leads to death of brain cells. It is carried by an
autosomal dominant gene. What can be deduced about a man who has the disease?
A. Half of his children will get the disease.
B. Neither of his parents had the disease, but one must have been a carrier.
C. At least one of his grandparents must have had the disease.
D. His sons are more likely to have the disease than his daughters.

22. In humans, male pattern baldness is caused by a recessive sex-linked gene found only on the X
chromosome.
If a father who does not have male pattern baldness and a mother who is a carrier for it have a child, what is
the probability that the child will develop male pattern baldness in adulthood?
A. 0 %
B. 25 %
C. 50 %
D. 75 %

23. What explains the presence in living humans of DNA sections which are identical to DNA found in
Neanderthals who lived 40 000 years ago?
A. Genetic mutation
B. Inheritance
C. Adaptation
D. Speciation

24. What is the percentage risk of a child inheriting Huntington’s disease if only one parent has the
disease?
A. 0 %
B. 25 %
C. 50 %
D. 100 %

25. What is produced by somatic-cell nuclear transfer?

A. Adult sheep
B. Cloned embryos
C. Rooted stem-cuttings
D. Genetically modified food

26. In DNA profiling, short tandem repeats (STRs) of DNA are used, as these vary a great deal between
individuals. Some skin cells were retrieved from a crime scene. Three STR sections of the DNA from
these cells, from the victim and from a suspect, were analysed and the results are shown in the table.

What can be concluded from the gel electrophoresis data?

A. The suspect was at the crime scene.

B. The victim has the band moving the least distance.
C. The suspect and the victim have bands moving the same distance.
D. The skin cells have the band moving the greatest distance.

27. Bt Crops are transgenic crops that produce the same toxin as the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis in
the plant cell, thereby, protecting the crops from pests. The bacterium secretes specific proteins known
as “cry proteins” that are toxic to insects. A few of the Bt crops include cotton, brinjal, corn, etc.
When an insect feeds on the transgenic plants, the toxic cry protein present in the plants crystallizes the
digestive system of insects, eventually leading to its death. However, it has no harmful effects on the human
digestive system.

What benefit is derived from the use of Bt crops?

A. It can lead to an increase in genetic diversity of crop species.
B. Genetically modified species can interbreed with native species.
C. The numbers of monarch butterflies can be permanently reduced.
D. It can lead to a reduction in the use of pesticides.

28. What is PCR used for?

A. Separate fragments of DNA by size
B. Amplify small amounts of DNA
C. Compare DNA samples
D. Genetically modify organisms’ DNA

29. HindIII is an endonuclease that recognizes the sequence A A G C T T, cutting between the two
adenines.

Into how many DNA fragments would the strand shown be cut by HindIII?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5

30. The image shows the result of DNA profiling of a mother, a child and four men. Which man is most
probably the father of the child?
Which technique is used to amplify very small samples of DNA?
A. Cloning
B. Gel electrophoresis
C. PCR
D. DNA profiling

31. Ampicillin (Amp) is an antibiotic. A plasmid carrying a gene for Amp resistance was used to transform
bacteria in a tube of broth. A control tube without plasmid was also produced. The results were plated
as shown. Which plate has only colonies of transformed bacteria?

32. Which is a possible risk associated with a genetic modification of crops?

A. Crop plants will become weaker with time.
B. It can increase mutations in the organisms that consume them.
C. Starch obtained from genetically modified plants will be more difficult to digest.
D. Resistance to herbicide genes can be transferred to weeds.

33. At which stage of meiosis are bivalents formed?

A. Interphase
B. Prophase I
C. Prophase II
D. Metaphase II

34. What forms when two different chromatids of the same homologous pair cross over?
A. Daughter centromere
B. Chiasma
C. Chromosome mutation
D. Telomere
 35. What happens during meiosis I and meiosis II?

36. Which process occurs in meiosis but not in mitosis?

A. Attachment of spindle fibres to the centromeres of each chromosome
B. Movement of homologous chromosomes to opposite ends
C. Replication of DNA prior to the start of cell division
D. Separation of sister chromatids during anaphase

37. During which phase of the first division of meiosis can non-disjunction take place and what structure is
affected by the non-disjunction?

38. For what purpose is a karyogram used?

A. To identify gene loci in a species
B. To identify linked genes in the chromosomes of an individual
C. To identify the genome size of a species
D. To identify abnormal chromosomes in an individual
 39. The micrographs show four different phases from meiosis II. What is the correct order?

A. 3-4-2-1
B. 2-3-4-1
C. 4-3-2-1
D. 4-2-3-1