Exam Choice

2020 Biology Trial Examination.

Marking Guidelines and Model Answers.

Section I Multiple Choice

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
C A D A B A D D B D C B D D A B C C B D

Section II
21.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 3 structures correctly named and labelled 3
 1-2 structures correctly named and labelled 1-2

oviduct

ovary

uterus

Oviduct
Ovary
Uterus

21.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Full description of a function 2
 Unclear description. 1

Progesterone is released from the time of ovulation. It stimulates development of the uterine lining, preparing it
for implantation.

22.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Correct allele identified 1

1
22.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Correct parental genotypes
 Correct child genotype 3
 Punnet square or similar correctly used
 1-2 of the above 1-2

Parents: IA i X IB i

IB i
A A B
I I I IA i
i IB i ii

This individual is ii, blood group O

23.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Definition of negative feedback stated or implied.
 Receptor identified 3
 Response(s) identified
 1-2 of the above 1-2

As the runner exercises, the heat from her muscles is transferred to her blood. The hypothalamus detects this rise
in temperature of the blood and sends a message to the brain which, in turn, sends nervous messages to certain
effectors such as sweat glands, to make them produce sweat and cool the body by evaporation, and to the
muscles in the walls of peripheral arteries, to make them dilate and lose heat into the air. This is a negative
feedback reaction because the stimulus – increased blood temp – stimulates a response – sweating, vasodilation
– which counteracts it.

23.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Link made to enzymes
2
 Dependence of enzyme action on temp. described.
 One of the above 1

Human metabolism is controlled by enzymes. Enzymes activity is highly temperature dependent. Therefore it is
important to maintain a constant internal temp.

24.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 A method outlined:
3
 3 correct sequential steps given
 1-2 steps given 1-2

DNA sequencing using the Sanger method. Genetic material is taken from individuals, is isolated and replicated
using the Polymerase Chain Reaction.(PCR).
Double stranded DNA is heated to give single strands.
A primer is attached and DNA polymerase is used to build a complementary strand using free nucleotides.
Four types of chain terminating nucleotides are added, each labelled so as to glow a characteristic colour.
In this way a large number of different length strands are produced – identifying each position on the template
strand.
Gel electrophoresis is performed and the order in which the strands spread out corresponds to the sequence of
bases – shown by colours of terminating nucleotides.
This process is computerised and the whole genome sequenced.

2
24.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Describe new evidence
 Describe old and new ideas 3
 Explain why this information changes ideas
 1-2 of the above 1-2

DNA analysis would show the degree of relatedness of the different populations. A population with a
significantly different range of allele frequencies to a neighbouring population might be considered to have a
separate gene pool and hence be a separate species. Previously, biologists had to rely on physical characteristics,
and saw the differences between the populations as not great enough to separate them as species. DNA analysis
gives a much clearer picture of relatedness.

24.c.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Genetic drift defined
2
 Consequence for gene pool and hence population viability explained.
 One of the above 1

Genetic drift is the random process by which alleles can be lost from a population. It is particularly important in
small populations. This results in a reduction of the gene pool and hence the genetic diversity of a population.
When genetic diversity in a species with few individuals gets below a certain level it is very hard for the species
to survive as it lacks the genetic variation to adapt to environmental changes or survive diseases.

25.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Correct axes (X weeks, Y no. of new cases, labels, units)
 Accurate plot 3
 Bar graph
 1-2 of the above 1-2

25.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Correct value
2
 Correct working
 1 of the above 1

Week 7 X 100 122 X 100 = 20.3%

Total 1 601 1

25.c.
Marking Criteria Marks
 2 control measures proposed
4
 Both justified
 1-3 of the above. 1-3

Measure 1: Spread rat poison.

Justification: The rat is the vector and 90-95% of cases come from rat to human transmission. If rats are killed
the route of transmission of the virus will be broken and fewer people will contract it.

Measure 2: Ensure adequate PPE for health staff in hospitals.

Justification: This should reduce the chance of transmission of the virus from infected individuals to health staff.

3
26.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Groups correctly ordered
3
 Two items of justification given
 Groups correctly ordered
 One piece of justification
OR 2
 Incorrect order
 Two items of justification
 Groups correctly ordered but incorrect justification.
OR 1
 Incorrect order but one correct piece of justification.

From most genetically diverse to least. C > B > A

C are the most diverse – they are produced by sexual reproduction, meaning that all the gametes would be
genetically distinct and also, as they are cross pollinated, alleles from another parent have been introduced. B
would have more diversity than A because they are produced sexually from genetically distinct gametes,
however, with only one parent no alleles from another parent would be introduced. A would have the least
genetic diversity. They are produced asexually and hence will be genetically identical to each other and the
parent plant.

26.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Correct group identified.
3
 Reasons given for more homozygosity than each other group.
 Correct group identified
2
 Reason given for more homozygosity than one other group
 Correct group identified but incorrect reasons given
OR 1
 Incorrect group but one correct reason.

Group B would have the greatest frequency of homozygous pairs of alleles. They will have more than A
because B is self pollinating. They would have all the homozygous pairs that A have, plus where A has a
heterozygous pair, 50% of B will have a homozygous pair. Group C, because of the introduction of alleles from
another parent will also have fewer homozygous pairs than B.

27.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Way of transferring genetic material outlined
 Way material is taken up by host outlined. 3
 Relevant transgenic species named.
 1-2 of the above 1-2

Bt cotton plants contain genes from a bacterium which make them resistant to insect attack. Restriction enzymes
are used to remove targeted genes from bacteria. These genes are inserted using a bacterial vector (not the
species the genes originally come from, but a species which is able to insert genetic material into host cells).
Cells from a cotton seedling are cultured and exposed to the bacterial vector which inserts the genetic material
into the cotton cells. This tissue culture is provided with plant hormones to allow it to develop into new
seedlings which contain the inserted genes.

4
27.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Economic, social and cultural factors defined or definitions implied.
 Influence of each assessed. 4
 Biotechnology named for each factor
 Economic, social and cultural factors defined or definitions implied.
3
 Influence of each described.
 1-2 of the above 1-2

Economic factors are financial factors. Is there a financial reason for developing a particular technology? With
Bt cotton there is clearly a financial advantage to a company which can develop and control it- the crops are
more productive and will be in demand, the company will make money. This is a major factor affecting its
development.
Social factors relate to how people live. Their needs and requirements. Cotton is very much in demand around
the world for clothing and many other uses. The demand for an inexpensive and reliable supply of cotton is a
major factor in the development of this technology.
Cultural factors are shared belief systems and characteristics of groups of people. Many people and groups are
unhappy about the use of genetic techniques of this sort – they believe it interferes with natural biodiversity in a
way which is wrong, irreversible and ultimately harmful to ecosystems. While these factors have served to slow
the deployment of these crops and have led to restrictions being placed around their use, they have not been
strong enough to prevent them.

28.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Technology described
 At least two ways in which the technology can affect genetic diversity 4
explained
 Technology described
 At least two ways in which the technology can affect genetic diversity 3
outlined
 Technology described
2
 One way in which the technology can affect genetic diversity outlined.
 Technology described.
OR 1
 One way in which the technology can affect genetic diversity outlined.

Artificial insemination is a technique whereby semen from a high-quality bull, ram, boar or other commercially
useful male animal is taken and used to inseminate a large number of female animals. It has great potential to
affect genetic diversity. The technique is used extensively in modern agriculture and since it greatly reduces the
number of males which get to breed it greatly reduces the genetic diversity of the species involved. Since semen
can be frozen and sent over long distances, females on the other side of the world can be inseminated. This
means that relatively distinct local gene pools are infiltrated by this genetic material, perhaps increasing their
genetic diversity in the short term, but in the long term making the species gene pool more homogenous and less
diverse.

29.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Pathogen named
 Adaptation identified and its adaptive nature explained for entry to host. 4
 Adaptation identified and its adaptive nature explained for transmission.
 Adaptations identified and adaptive nature of one of them explained. 3
 One adaptation identified and its adaptive nature explained.
OR 2
 Two adaptations identified.
 One adaptation identified. 1

5
The bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes tuberculosis.

It is readily engulfed by phagocytes on entry to the host, but its cell wall protects it from the lysosome enzymes
of phagocytes which engulf it. It is thereby able to survive and reproduce inside the host.

It is able to remain alive outside the body for long periods and causes sneezing and coughing – increasing its
chance of airborne transmission to a new host.

30.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Description of what a vaccine is
 Description of primary immune response
 Role of memory cells explained 5
 Description of secondary immune response.
 Explanation of why patient doesn’t suffer disease in secondary response.
 1-4 of the above 1-4

A vaccine is either an attenuated strain of the pathogen, dead pathogen or antigenic proteins from the pathogen.
Each of these is capable of stimulating an immune response, but doesn’t cause the disease.
The inoculated vaccine is recognised as non-self by macrophages, which transport it to the B cells. Helper T
cells sensitise the B cells, causing them to clone to give both plasma cells and Memory B cells.
The plasma cells then produce antibodies which specifically target the antigen.
It is the development of memory cells which is the important function of vaccination.
On invasion by the actual pathogen and its presentation by macrophages, already sensitised Memory B cells are
able to clone and form plasma cells very rapidly. These release antibodies and the response is much faster and
more intense than the primary response, ensuring that the pathogens are destroyed before the patient actually
suffers from the disease.

30.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Advantages of high vaccination rates outlined
 Consequences of reduced vaccination rates clearly linked to reduction in herd 3
immunity.
 Advantages of high vaccination rates outlined
2
 Consequences of reduced vaccination rates described but not clearly linked.
 One of the above. 1

When a large enough proportion of the population is immune to a particular disease, either through high
vaccination rates or from people having suffered from it, the population has herd immunity. The exact
proportion varies according to the transmissibility of the pathogens, but is around 80% for many diseases. Herd
immunity protects non-immune individuals because the reservoir of pathogen in the population is low and the
number of contacts that person can have with a potential sufferer is also so low as to make it very unlikely they
will get the disease.
If the proportion of vaccinated individuals declines, then the reservoir of pathogen potentially increases and the
number of potential contacts with an infectious person also increases, making it more likely that a non-
vaccinated person will get the disease. In this way herd immunity breaks down.

31.a.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Feasible explanation of how each symptom could come about. 2
 Feasible explanation of how one symptom could come about. 1

As the tumour grows it puts pressure on the urethra, restricting urine flow from the bladder.
The prostate contributes fluid to the semen. A tumour which ruptures capillaries within the prostate could lead
to blood passing with this fluid into the semen.

6
31.b.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Clear description metastasis including the role of the lymphatic system 2
 Poorer description 1

Cancers move to other parts of the body (metastasise) when cells become detached from the tumour and are
transported into lymph vessels. These lead to lymph nodes, and can eventually be transported into the blood
stream via the thoracic duct. They can then be transported to other tissues within the body, where they may form
secondary tumours.

31.c.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Description of genetic control of protein synthesis, including:
- importance of code/base sequence.
- role of mRNA.
- link between codons and anticodons 6
- link between anticodons and amino acids
- role of tRNA
- link between amino acids and polypeptide/protein.
 1-5 of the above 1-5

The precise sequence of bases on the template strand of the section of DNA forming the KLKA gene determines
precisely the sequence of amino acids in the polypeptide molecules which make up the PSA protein.

The DNA molecule unzips to allow free mRNA nucleotides to line up on complementary bases on the template
strand and then RNA polymerase joins them together into a molecule of mRNA.
This travels from the nucleus to the ribosome on the RER.
At the ribosome each triplet of bases, or codon, attracts a tRNA molecule carrying the complementary
anticodon.
The anticodon is specific to a particular amino acid, which is carried by the tRNA molecule.
As successive tRNA molecules are attracted to the ribosome they release their amino acids, which join to form a
polypeptide whose amino acid sequence is therefore determined precisely by the initial base sequence of the
gene.

31.d.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Trend in incidence described with numbers referenced
 Trend in mortality described with numbers referenced.
 Feasible suggestion given for rise in incidence. 5
 Feasible suggestion given for subsequent decline
 Feasible suggestion given for decline in mortality.
 1-4 of the above 1-4

Incidence increases between 1975 and 1988 from about 95 to 120 cases per 100,000. Then it increases
dramatically, reaching about 240 in 1992. It then declines sharply to about 165 by 1995. It then oscillates
between 180 and 150 over the next 10 years.
The slow increase between 1975 and 1988 could be due to greater awareness amongst men, and hence greater
testing and diagnosis. Alternatively it could reflect an aging population or an increase in an environmental factor
which causes cancer. The sudden increase between 1988 and 1992 probably reflects the new adoption of PSA
testing, leading to a much greater diagnosis rate. The decline and subsequent levelling out probably reflect the
fact that a backlog of cases were picked up when the new test arrived, and that by 1995 this backlog had been
cleared.
Mortality shows a very gradual increase between 1975 and about 1992 from about 30 to 45 deaths per 100,000.
Then it gradually drops, reaching about 25 by 2005. The initial increase could reflect an increase in cases before
1975 (there is a lag between incidence and death). It could also reflect an aging population or a decline in other
causes of death. The decrease from 1992 onwards most likely reflects earlier diagnosis thanks to the PSA test,
and hence earlier and more effective treatment.

7
31.e.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Definition of germ-line given
2
 Significance in this context explained.
 Definition given but significance not explained. 1

A germ-line mutation is one which occurs initially in a gamete or germ cell – a cell which gives rise to a gamete.
The significance here is that this mutation is therefore heritable. It can be passed on to offspring.

31.f.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Role of DNA repair genes or genes controlling cell division described.
3
 Explanation of how DNA damage can give rise to cancer.
 One of the above and the other done less well. 2
 One of the above. 1

DNA can become damaged due to the action of various mutagens. DNA repair genes produce proteins which
are able to arrest gene expression and repair the DNA. Each repair protein is capable of effecting a particular
repair – for example one can remove uracil from DNA. Damaged DNA will lead to the gene not functioning
correctly – this can lead to a gene becoming an oncogene, one which promotes uncontrolled cell division and
tumour development.
OR
Mutations of genes which regulate mitosis can cause uncontrolled cell division which can cause tumours. Eg:
the p53 gene’s role is to stop cells dividing if they contain harmful mutation. A mutation in the p53 gene will
allow this uncontrolled cell division, leading to tumour formation.

31.g.
Marking Criteria Marks
 Proposed study can be case control, or cohort study, but should contain:
- Large numbers of people
- An experimental and a control group
5
- Consideration of other variables needing to be controlled
- Data to be collected
- Analysis of data
 1-4 of the above 1-4

A case control study could be performed.

A large number of prostate cancer sufferers (circa 5000) should be randomly selected.
A similar sized group of men without prostate cancer should be selected.
This control group should have a similar age profile and demographic breakdown to the cancer group, as these
are factors which are linked to cancer.
Both groups should be surveyed for dietary factors such as processed meat consumption.
The two groups should then be compared statistically in terms of processed meat consumption. A test for
significance should be performed and whether or not there is a significant difference determined.