ASUMBI GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL

OPENER EXAMINATIONS
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
231/1 - BIOLOGY - Paper 1
(THEORY)
FORM 4 January 2023 - Time: 2 Hours

Name……………………………………..….......Admission Number...................Stream...............

Index Number ………………….......................Signature…..................School……...................

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

1. Answer all the questions in the spaces provided.

2. Additional pages must not be inserted.
3. Candidates may be penalized for false information and even wrong spellings of technical terms.
4. Your work must be presented neat
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This paper consists of 9 printed pages,

Students should check to ascertain that all pages are printed and
that No questions are missing

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 1. The diagram below shows an apparatus used for biological investigations

a) Name the apparatus (1 mark)

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b) State its use (1 mark)
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2. Name two taxa whose members can possibly interbreed (2 marks)
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3. Identify the structures of the cells that perform the following functions:- (2 marks)
(a) Synthesize ribosomes
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(b) Osmoregulation in amoeba
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4. Two fresh potato cylinders of equal length were placed one in distilled water and the other in
concentrated sucrose solution:
Account for the change in length of the cylinder in:

(i) Distilled water (2 marks)

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(ii) Sucrose solution (2 marks)

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 5. In an investigation, students set up the apparatus below in the laboratory and made observations
after 72 hours.

(a) Explain how inclusion of the following components would affect the mouse in the experiment:

(i) Light (2 marks)

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(ii) Sodium hydroxide solution (2 marks)

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(b) Give a reason why the students preferred to use a bell jar rather than a tin box in the experiment
(1 mark)

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6. a) Give the roles of the following contents of saliva

(i) Mucus (1 mark)
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(ii) Water (1 mark)
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 b) Give two roles of muscles found in the stomach (2 marks)

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7. Explain how the following structural factors lower the rate of transpiration.
a) Hairs around the stomata: (2marks)
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b) Thick cuticle (1 mark)
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c) Glossy leaf surfaces (2 marks)
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8. The diagram below shows the circulation in certain organs of the mammalian body

a) Identify the blood vessels represented by K and L (2marks)

K ……………………………………………………
L …….………………………………………………
b) Compare blood in vessels L and M (2marks)
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 9. Jebril stayed with her parents in Mombasa for seven years. Her red blood cell count was 4.5
million per one mililitre of blood, the family migrated to Kisii town. After one year her red blood
cell count was 6.2 million per one mililitre of blood. Explain the reason for rise in number of red
blood cells (3 marks)
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10. a) State two ways in which floating leaves of aquatic plants are adapted to gaseous exchange.
(2 marks)
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b) Name two structures for gaseous exchange in aquatic plant (2 marks)
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11. The structure below is found in the members of a class in the kingdom Animalia

(a) Name the class from which the animal with the structure above is found. (1 mark)

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(b) State the functions of the parts labelled T and R (2 marks)

T…………………………………………………………………………………………

R………………………………………………………………………………………...

(c) Name the structure on the animal that protects S from mechanical injury. (1 mark)

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 12. Explain the role of the following components of the skin when the temperature is high,
a) Sweat glands (2marks)
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b) The Erector pili muscle (2marks)
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13. The scheme below illustrates some of the steps in a biological process

a) Identify the process (1 mark)

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b) Write an equation for process K (1 mark)
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c) Name the raw material used in step R (1 mark)
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d) Identify product T (1 mark)
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14. State two structural differences between arteries and veins (2 marks)
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 15. Explain the role of pancreas when blood sugar level goes high above normal (3 marks)
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16. A cat was used to control the population of rats.
a) What term is used to refer to this method? (1 mark)
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b) Explain the biological principle behind the following malarial control method. (2 marks)
i) Keeping of fish in a pond.
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ii) Spraying oil on stagnant water.
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c) Explain how sill spillage lead to death of fish in the lake (2 marks)
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17. Give two reasons why bat is classified as a mammal yet it flies (2 marks)
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18. Name a method that could be used to estimate the population size of the following organisms
(a) Fish in a pond. (1 mark)

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(b) Kikuyu grass in a garden (1 mark)

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 19. Name the organism that causes cholera (1 mark)
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20. (a) Name the parts of a flower responsible for gamete formation (2 marks)
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(b) State one feature of pollen grains from a wind pollinated flower (1 mark)

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21. State the roles of the following hormones in mammalian female

a) Oxytocin (2 marks)
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b) Oestrogen (2 marks)
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22. (a) State the function corpus luteum (1 mark)
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(b) What is ectopic pregnancy (1 mark)
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23. Identify the agent of dispersal of seeds with the following features (3 marks)
a) Light seeds with hard outer cover and internal air spaces
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b) Fruits which shrivel when dry and fibres in their pericarp shrink to set up tension along sutures
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c) Hairy seeds enclosed in loosely attached capsules to long stalks

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24. Explain the conditions under which each of the following organs show great increase in size
a) Uterus (1 mark)
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b) Penis (2 marks)
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25. Below is a graphical representation of how basal metabolic rates compare in various animals.

From the graph explain why the mouse has a higher breathing rate than the elephant. (3 marks)

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