Class XII

Session 2022-23
Biology solution
Test Paper - 8
Time Allowed: 3 Hours Maximum Marks: 70

General Instructions:
1. All questions are compulsory.
2. The question paper has five sections and 33 questions. All questions are compulsory.
3. Section–A has 16 questions of 1 mark each; Section–B has 5 questions of 2 marks each;
Section– C has 7 questions of 3 marks each; Section– D has 2 case-based questions of 4
marks each; and Section–E has 3 questions of 5 marks each.
4. 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.
5. Wherever necessary, neat and properly labeled diagrams should be drawn

SECTION - A
(Multiple Choice Questions)

1. Regenerate

2. Allogamy

3. Chlamydomonas

4. Bisexual flowers

5. Pollination

6. fertilization

7. Hyaluronidase

8. 44

9. Animal pole

10. Ozone is harmless to breath

11. The eggs did not hatch

12. Estimating the quantity of organic matter in sewage water

13. 10

14. Acidic

15. Mango
16. Western Ghats

SECTION – B
17. (a) The vegetative propagules in given plants are as follows
(i) In Agave – Bulbil
(ii) In Bryophyllum – Leaf buds/Adventitious buds
(b) Water hyacinth is referred to as the ‘Terror of Bengal’.

18. (a) Fungus that reproduces by

(i) budding – Yeast
(ii) conidia – Penicillium
(b) Below are is the example of a plant that reproduces by
(i) runner – Oxalis
(ii) offset -Pistia

19. (a) In unicellular organisms like Amoeba, bacteria, etc., cell division itself is a mode of
reproduction.
(b) Penicillium reproduces asexually by conidia formation, which are non-motile spores
produced singly or in chains by the constriction of tip of hyphal branches. These spores
germinate by giving out germ tubes.

20. (a) Deoxyribonucleoside Triphosphates (dNTPs) serve the dual purpose of

I. acting as a substrate.
II. providing energy (from two terminal phosphates).
(b) hnRNA undergoes splicing to remove non-coding sequences, i.e. introns and joins exons.
Splicing occurs in the nucleus of the cell.

21. (a) The OH-group in the ribose of RNA at 3’end makes the molecule more reactive,
compared with DNA. RNA is also not stable under alkaline conditions.
(b) The segment of DNA coding for a polypeptide is known as cistron.

Section - C

22.
Divergent evolution is a process, where the same structure develops along different
directions in different organisms due to adaptations to different needs. Divergent evolution
leads to the development of homologous structures, as they all have similar anatomical
structure and origin, but perform different functions.
Examples, the thorn of Bougainvillea and tendrils of Cucurbita are homologous organs as
both of them are modified axillary buds, which perform different functions.

23. SL Miller conducted an experiment, which provided experimental evidence for chemical
evolution. He created conditions similar to primitive atmosphere, in the laboratory such as
high temperature, reducing atmosphere consisting of CH4, NH3, etc. When he created an
electric discharge in the flask containing all the above stated components at 800°C, organic
molecules, e.g. amino acids were formed. Results indicated that the first non-cellular forms
of life were created about 3 billion years ago. This also supports the hypothesis that life
could have originated from organic matter.

24. Paleontology is the study of past life based on fossil records. The study of fossils reveals
the type of life forms occurring in the past and highlights the course of evolution of living
organisms. The distribution of fossils in the sedimentary rocks of different ages fully
supports the concept of evolution. It shows that structure of wing became more and more
complex as we proceed from earliest to recent times. From the fossil records it has been
concluded that evolution has taken place from the simple to complex forms in a gradual
manner.

25. Oparin-Haldane theory states that origin of life is the result of a long series of
physiochemical changes, brought about first by chemical evolution and then by biological
evolution.

Analysis of meteorites also revealed the presence of similar compounds as found in the
primitive atmosphere, indicating the occurrence of similar processes elsewhere in space.

26. The secondary treatment of sewage is also called biological treatment because in this
treatment, sewage is subjected to biodegradation. It means that it involves the participation of
microorganisms. The process of secondary treatment involves following steps

Primary effluent is passed into large aeration tanks with constant mechanical agitation and
air supply. This allows vigorous growth of useful aerobic microbes into floes (masses of
bacteria and fungi filaments).
These microbes consume major part of organic matter in the effluent, while growing. This
reduces the BOD of the effluent.
When BOD of sewage gets reduced, it is passed into settling tank. The bacterial floes settle
in tank and the sediment is called activated sludge. A, small amount of activated sludge is
pumped back into the aeration tank to serve as inoculum.
The remaining major part of the sludge is pumped into large tanks called anaerobic sludge
digesters, where other kinds of bacteria, which grow anaerobically, digest the bacteria and
the fungi in the sludge.
During this process, bacteria produce a mixture of gases, such as methane, hydrogen sulphide
and the carbon dioxide, which form biogas. The effluent from secondary treatment is
generally released into natural water bodies. It helps to reduce water pollution and water
borne diseases.

27. Roles of ‘floes’ and ‘activated sludge’ in sewage treatment are as follows

Floes These are masses of bacteria held together by slime and fungal filaments to form mesh-
like structures. These are used during the secondary sewage treatment in the aeration tank to
increase the rate of decomposition.
The microbes digest a lot of organic matter, converting it into microbial biomass and
releasing a lot of minerals. As a result, BOD of the sewage reduces. As the BOD of waste is
reduced to 10-15% of raw sewage, it is passed into settling tank. In these tanks, floes are
allowed to undergo sedimentation.
Activated sludge The sediment of settling tank is called ’activated sludge’. A part of it is
used as inoculum in aeration tanks.
The remaining part is passed into a large tank called anaerobic sludge digester. In these
tanks, anaerobic microbes are present that digest the organic mass as well as aerobic
microbes of activated sludge. The remaining sludge is used as manure or compost.

28. BOD is the amount of dissolved oxygen required for the microbial breakdown of
biodegradable organic matter. Aerobic organisms use a lot of oxygen and as a result, there is
a sharp decline in Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in the water body. This can cause death of fishes
and other aquatic species.

Determination of BOD is thus, an important parameter in determining the quality of a water

body. The presence of more organic waste increases the microbial activity thus, decreasing
the DO. BOD is higher in polluted water and lesser in clean water.

Section-D

29. The plants, bacteria, fungi and animals whose genes have been altered are called
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). GM plants are useful in many ways.
Genetic modification has done the following changes to the phenotypic expression of the
plants,

Crops become more tolerant to abiotic stresses like cold, drought, salt and heat.
Dependence on chemical pesticides has reduced, i.e. pest-resistant crops.
Helped to reduce post-harvest losses.
Efficiency of mineral usage increased in plants, preventing early exhaustion of fertility of
soil.
Enhanced nutritional value of food, e.g. vitamin-A enriched rice.

30. Coextinction means that when a species is going to become extinct, the plant and animal
species associated with it in an obligatory relationship also gets extinct. For example,
coevolved plant-pollinator mutualism as in case of Pronuba yuccasella and Yucca. If one
partner is on the verge of extinction, the other partner will also get extinct.

Section-E

31. (i) (a) Introducing sex education in schools is a good step for providing useful
information to the adolescents, so as to discourage them from believing in myths and
misconceptions about sex related issues.
(b) Better awareness about sex related matters.
(c) Better detection and cure of STDs.
(d) Awareness of problems due to uncontrolled population growth.

32. (i) There is a common myth prevailing in our society that inability of a couple to have
child is due to the infertility of female partner only, it is because female carries the child in
her womb. Being a biology student, we should create awareness among people that both
male and female partners equally contribute for the birthy of a child. This is because baby is
formed from zygote that is formed by the fusion of both male and female gametes. Hence,
infertility in either male or female can be responsible for the failure of conception. Infertility
in both males and females can be easily cured as there are so many specialized infertility
clinics which provide treatments to childless couples. In case treatment is not possible, the
couples can be assisted to have children through certain special techniques called the assisted
reproductive technologies.

(ii) Causes of infertility could be

Sexually transmitted diseases both in males and females.

Some physiological problems in females/males, so gametes (sperm/ova) are not produced.
(iii) IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) and Artificial Insemination (AI) can be done if the sperm
count of male is low.

33. (i) Biofortification is the process of developing crops with higher content of protein,
minerals, oils, carbohydrates, etc.
(ii) Importance of Biofortification: It provides the crops with higher levels of vitamins,
minerals, proteins and healthier fats.
It helps in the improvement of public health.
(iii) LARI contributed towards biofortification by developing several vegetable crops rich
in vitamins and minerals.
Two examples of such crops are

• Vitamin-A enriched carrots and spinach.

• Protein enriched beans.