1. Haemoglobins are chemically similar molecules found in many different species.

Differences in primary structure of haemoglobin molecules can provide evidence

of phylogenetic (evolutionary) relationships between species. Explain how?

Answer:
1. Mutations change base / nucleotide (sequence);
2. (Causing) change in amino acid sequence;
3. Mutations build up over time;
4. More mutations / more differences (in amino acid / base / nucleotide sequence /
primary structure) between distantly related species;

OR
Few(er) mutations / differences (in amino acid / base / nucleotide sequence / primary
structure) in closely related species;
5. Distantly related species have earlier common ancestor;

OR
Closely related species have recent common ancestor;

2. The figure below represents a polypeptide made up of seven amino acids, A-G.

NH2

a) What is the chemical formula of the group represented by the box?

b) How many molecules of water would be produced in forming this polypeptide?
c) Give the difference between globular and fibrous proteins.
d) Protein molecules are held together by a combination of the following:
Peptide bonds, hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, disulfide bridges, hydrophobic
interactions. Which one or more of these bonds:
i. Maintain the primary structure of a protein.
ii. Maintain the secondary structure of a protein.
iii. Maintain the tertiary structure of a protein.
Answer:

a) COOH/Carboxyl group

b) 6 molecule of water (H2O)

c) Globular and fibrous proteins:

1
 Fibrous proteins Globular proteins
 Repetitive regular sequence of amino acid  Irregular amino acids sequences
 Actual sequence may vary slightly between  Sequence highly specific and never
two examples of the same protein varies between two examples of the
 Polypeptide chains form long parallel strand same protein
 Length of chain may vary in two examples  Polypeptide chains folded into a
of the same protein. spherical shape
 Stable structure  Length always identical in two
 Insoluble examples of the same protein
 Support and structural functions  Relatively unstable structure
 Examples include collagen and keratin.  Water soluble-form colloidal
suspension
 Metabolic functions
 Examples include all enzymes ,some
hormone(eg: insulin) haemoglobin

d) i) Peptide
ii) Peptides and Hydrogen bonds
ii) Peptides, hydrogen, ionic disulfide bridges and hydrophobic interactions.

3. a) Explain how a particular colour of fur may be advantageous to predator or prey

species.
b) What factors may cause a struggle to survive amongst members of a population?
Answer:

a) Fur colour can provide camouflage. Prey can avoid being spotted by a predator;
predator can avoid being seen by its prey. Fur colour can also be used as a signalling device
to help identification. It may also enhance heat absorption or reflection.
b) Overcrowding and a shortage of some resource.
Whenever there is competition for a limited resource, there will be a struggle to
obtain enough to survive.

2
4. a ) Explain why lipids are not polymers.
b) Explain why triglyceride is suitable for its function in living organisms.
Answer:
a) Lipids are formed from three fatty acids and one glycerol, not from repeating monomer
units.
b) Triglycerides contain twice the energy per unit mass of carbohydrates, and can be
stored in large quantities away from the metabolically active cytoplasm of the organism.
This makes them ideal for long-term energy storage.

5. Distinguish among the four levels of organization of protein molecules.

Answer
 Primary structure is the linear sequence of amino acids in the polypeptide chain.
 Secondary structure is a regular conformation, such as an a-helix or a b-pleated
sheet; it is due to hydrogen bonding between elements of the backbones of the
amino acids.
 Tertiary structure is the overall shape of the polypeptide chains, as dictated by
chemical properties and inters actions of the side chains of specific amino acids.
Hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, hydrophobic interactions, and disulfide bridges
contribute to tertiary structure.
 Quaternary structure is determined by the association of two or more
polypeptide chains.

6. Two proteins have the same number and type of amino acids but different tertiary
structures. Explain why?
Answer:

 Different sequence of amino acids

OR Different primary structure;

 Forms ionic / hydrogen / disulfide bonds in different places;

3
 7. Glycogen and cellulose are both carbohydrates. Describe four differences
between the structure of a cellulose molecule and a glycogen.
Answer:

 Glycogen is branched while cellulose is unbranched

 Glycogen consists of alpha glucose molecule while cellulose is composed of beta
glucose molecules
 Glycogen has 1-4 and 1-6 glycosidic bonds while cellulose has 1-4 glycosidic
bonds.
 Glycogen is in the form of granules while cellulose is in the form of fibres

8. a) Compare and contrast active transport and facilitated diffusion.

b) Explain why active transport allows substances to be accumulated in an area
whereas facilitated diffusion doesn’t.

Answer:
a) Both involve protein carriers. In active transport, energy (ATP) from the cell is
required to change the shape of the carrier, so transport occurs only in one way
across the membrane. Active transport can thus work against concentration
gradients. Facilitated diffusion relies only on the kinetic energy of the diffusing
molecules.
b) Active transport proteins use energy to ensure materials can pass only one way
through the membrane against the concentration gradient. Facilitated diffusion
carriers allow the movement of molecules both ways through the membrane, so the
concentration of molecules will distribute evenly across the membrane over time.

9. a) Why can phospholipid molecules in a bilayer move only in plane of the bilayer?
b) Why do muscle cells need to be able to take up glucose rapidly?
c) Why do we describe cell membranes as partially permeable rather than semi-
permeable?
Answer:

a) The phosphate head group cannot pass through hydrophobic region in the centre of
the bilayer.
b) To support rapid respiration in order to supply ATP for contraction.
c) Different membranes are permeable to a variety of substances and impermeable to
a variety of other substances. Semi-permeable suggests half-permeable which is unlikely
to be the case in any membrane.

4
4
 10. a) How is osmosis different from diffusion?
b) Potato strips were left in various liquids. The percentage changes in mass gain
(+) or loss (-) are given below:

Concentration of glucose solution 0 5 10 15 20

Percentage change. +15 +5 4 -11 -16

i) In which liquid did the potato strips increase in mass? Explain your answer.
ii) If the potato strips had been smaller, what effects would this had had on the
activity? Explain why.
iii) What change would you expect if the potato strips had been boiled?

Answer:
a) Osmosis requires a semi-permeable membrane whereas diffusion does not.
b) i) It is in 0 and 5 because water from the surrounding enters the potato strips
by osmosis, hence there is turgidity of potato.
ii) The activity will increase because as the cell membrane becomes thin the rate of
osmosis increases.
iii) No changes because the cell membrane has been destroyed by the heat,
enzymes that control the reaction have been denatured.
11. Starch in the diet is digested by the enzymes amylase and then maltase to form
glucose. Glucose must be absorbed into the body so that it can be used by cells as
substrate for respiration. The glucose is absorbed from the exchange surface of the
small intestine into the epithelial cells that line it. This absorption occurs partly by
diffusion.

a) Glucose molecules mostly diffuse into the cells through the pores in the
proteins that span the phospholipid bilayer. Why do they not pass easily in the
phosphor lipid layer?

b) State the two changes to the structure of plasma membranes that would
increase the rate at which glucose diffuses into a cell.

c) The other molecule required by cells for respiration is oxygen. This diffuses
into the blood through the epithelial layers of the alveoli and blood capillaries.
By how much would each of the following changes increase or decrease the
rate of oxygen?

i) The surface area of the alveoli is doubled.

5
 ii) The surface area of the alveoli is halved and the oxygen concentration
gradient is doubled.
iii) The oxygen concentration gradient is halved and the total thickness of the
epithelial layers is doubled.
iv) The oxygen concentration of the blood is halved and the carbon dioxide
concentration of the alveoli is doubled

Answer:

a) Because only lipid-soluble substances diffuse across the phospholipid bilayer

easily. Water soluble ones such as glucose diffuse only very slowly.
b) It could increase its surface area with microvilli or have more proteins with
pores that span the phospholipid bilayer(N.B. the thickness of the plasma
membrane does not vary to any degree.
c) i) Increases two times/doubles
ii) no change
iii) Decreases four times/ it is one quarter.
iv) Increases two times/ doubles( the CO2 is irrelevant)

12. With aid of a graph, discuss the four stages involved in growth of
bacteria population.

Answer:
Bacteria grow in a culture following a sigmoid curve or S-shaped curve that has got four
main phases:
– The lag phase: This is a period of adaptation of microorganisms to the new habitat.
– The log or exponential phase: period of high rate of reproduction.
– The stationary phase: here the growth slows down. The population remains constant
because the rate of dividing/growth is equal to the rate of death within the population.
– The decline or death phase: which is a period of high rate of death than the rate of
dividing/growth due to many factors like less food or presence of antibiotics.

6
13. Use the diagram below to answer the questions that follow;

A D

E B

a) Suggest the type of fruit in the figure above.

b) What is the reason for your answer in (a) above?
c) Name the parts labeled A, B, C, D, and E
Answer:
a) Drupe
b) It has one seed and has a fleshy pericarp.
c) A – Exocarp, B – Mesocarp, C – Endocarp, D - Seed, E – Pericarp

14. Two neighbouring plant cells are shown below:

a) In which direction would there be net movement of water molecules?

b) Explain what is meant by net movement.

c) Explain your answer on (a)

d) Explain what would happen if both cells were placed in:

i) Pure water

ii) A 1 mol.dm-3 sucrose solution with a water potential of -3510 Kpa.

7
 Answer:

a) From A to B
b) water molecules can move from A to B and from B to A, but more move from A
to B in a given time period. Overall, therefore, A loses water and B gains water, the
overall movement is the net movement.
c) A has high water potential than B( -250 is less negative than – 400) and water
always moves from a regions of higher to lower water potential. Water crosses a
partially permeable cell surface membrane every time it enters or leaves a cell, this
process is called osmosis.
d) i) Pure water has a water potential of zero which is higher than that of cells A
and B.
There is therefore a net movement of water into cells A and B by osmosis though
their partially permeable cell surface membranes. As water enters, the volume of
protoplasts will increase, exerting pressure on the cell wall and raising the
pressure potential of the cells. This increases the water potential of the cells. This
will continue until an equilibrium is reached when the contents of the cells reach
the same water potential as the water namely zero. The cells will then be turgid.
ii) 1 mol.dm-3sucrose solution has a lower water potential than that of the cells A
and B. There is therefore a net movement of water out of the cells A and B by
osmosis through their partially permeable cell surface membranes. As water leaves
the cells, the protoplasts shrink and the pressure they exert on the cell wall drops,
in other words the pressure potential of the cells decreases. This decreases the
water potential of the cells. Eventually, the pressure potential drops to zero and the
cells are at the incipient plasmolysis. As shrinkage continues the protoplasts pull
away from the cell walls, this is plasmolysis.

15. Compare and contrast the DNA in eukaryotic cells with the DNA in prokaryotic cells.

Answer:

Comparisons( Similarities)
-Nucleotide structure is identical;
-Nucleotides joined by phosphodiester bond;
-Deoxyribose joined to phosphate (in sugar, phosphate backbone);
-DNA in mitochondria / chloroplasts same / similar (structure) to DNA in
prokaryotes;

Contrasts ( Differences)
-Eukaryotic DNA is longer; prokaryotic DNA is shorter
-Eukaryotic DNA contain introns, prokaryotic DNA does not;
-Eukaryotic DNA is linear, prokaryotic DNA is circular;
8

8
 -Eukaryotic DNA is associated with / bound to protein / histones,
prokaryotic DNA is not;
16. The diagram below shows an outline of the main stages in the Hatch and Slack
pathway in a C4 plant./10mks

a. Give the name of cell A and cell B.

b. Name the enzyme X and enzyme Y
c. State two differences between the mode of action of enzyme X and enzyme Y.
d. Name the substances P, Q, R and S.
Answer:

a. cell A: bundle sheath

cell Cell B : mesophyll
cell
b. enzyme X :RUBISCO
Enzyme Y: PEP carboxylase
c. rubisco can fix two different substrates carbon dioxide and oxygen but
PEP carboxylase fix only carbon dioxide
D. P=MALATE Q=PYRUVATE R=PEP S= OXALOACETATE

9
17. Explain how a proton (H_) gradient is established across the thylakoid membrane
and how these gradient functions in ATP synthesis.
Answer:

 Photophosphorylation is the synthesis of ATP coupled to the transport of

electrons energized by photons of light. Some of the energy of the electrons
is used to pump protons across the thylakoid membrane, providing the
energy to generate ATP by chemiosmosis.
 As protons diffuse through ATP synthase, an enzyme complex in
the thylakoid membrane, ADP is phosphorylated to form ATP.

 The carbon fixation reactions proceed by way of the Calvin cycle, also
known as the C3 pathway.
 In the CO2 uptake phase of the Calvin cycle, CO2 is combined with
ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP), a fi ve-carbon sugar, by the enzyme
ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/ oxygenase, commonly known as
rubisco, forming the three-carbon molecule phosphoglycerate (PGA).
 In the carbon reduction phase of the Calvin cycle, the energy and
reducing power of ATP and NADPH are used to convert PGA molecules to
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate
(G3P). For every 6 CO2 molecules fi xed, 12 molecules of G3P are produced, and 2
molecules of G3P leave the cycle to produce the equivalent of 1 molecule of glucose.
 In the RuBP regeneration phase of the Calvin cycle, the remaining G3P
molecules are modified to regenerate RuBP.

18. Discuss the adaptive significance of habituation, imprinting, classical conditioning,

operant conditioning, and cognition
Answers
 Learning is a change of behavior that results from experience.
 Habituation is a type of learning in which an animal learns to ignore a
repeated, irrelevant stimulus so the animal can focus on finding food
and carrying out other life activities.
 Imprinting establishes a parent–offspring bond during a critical period early
in development, ensuring that the offspring recognizes the mother.
 In classical conditioning, an association is formed between some normal
body function and a new stimulus. This type of learning allows an animal
to make an association between two stimuli.
 In operant conditioning, an animal learns a behavior to receive positive
reinforcement or to avoid punishment. This type of learning is important
10

10
in

11
 many natural situations, including young herring gulls perfecting their
pecking behavior to obtain food.
 Cognition is the process of gaining knowledge; it includes thinking,
processing information, learning, reasoning, and awareness of thoughts,
perceptions, and self. Insight learning is the ability to adapt past
experiences that may involve different stimuli to solve a new problem.
19. Differentiate between pollination and fertilization.
Answer:
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from stamens to stigma whereas fertilisation is the
fusion of the male and female gametes.
20. Discuss the benefits of microbiology.
Answer:
Benefits
 Fermentation processes, such as brewing, baking, cheese and butter manufacturing,
Bacteria.
 In the chemical industry, bacteria are most important in the production of pure chemicals
for use as pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals.
 Bacteria are also used in chemical manufacturing such as ethanol, acetone, organic acid,
enzymes, and perfumes.
 Bacteria can also be used in the place of pesticides in Biological Pest Control.
 Saprophytic bacteria help in breaking of complex organic substance to simpler form.
 Number of anti-bacterial and anti-fungal antibiotics are obtained from fungal mycelia
and bacteria.
 Different kinds of vitamins are produced from bacteria like Riboflavin, Vitamin B12,
and Vitamin K.

21. a) Differentiate between universal media from selective media.

b) Describe the principles involved in sterilizing cultures.

Answer:
a) Universal media allow growth of every type of bacteria whereas Selective media
allow growth of some types of bacteria.
b) - Wash-down hands before touching a sterile Petri-dish
– Open the Petri-dish as little as possible, and replace the lid quickly
– Never cough or sneeze near the dish
– Never touch the infected jiffy with fingers
– When culturing is no longer required, they should be flooded with strong disinfectant
– After cleaning out the nutrient from Petri-dish, they should be washed and disinfected,
and then if they are glass, heat sterilize.
– Wash hands thoroughly after all operation by using soap.
12

11
 – By no means push hands near the mouth throughout experimental work
22. Discuss why locomotion is important to animals.
Answer:
Advantages of locomotion
 Escape danger such as fire or predator
 Look for food, water and shelter
 For reproduction
 Avoid competition with other animals of the same or different species
 Avoid overcrowding which enables offspring to move to another place
 Avoid unfavourable condition
23. a) Explain three advantages to animals in possessing a flexible connection
between the pectoral girdle and vertebral column.
b) “Fish are efficient at swimming.” Justify this statement.

Answer
a) Any point for one mark @:
 It allows free movement of the rib cage of the mammal.
 The flexible suspension enables the animal to withstand the shock sustained by the
forelimbs when it lands at the end of a jump.
 The forelimbs possess a wide range of movement, which is useful for such activities as
climbing, manipulating food and digging.
b) Any seven for one mark each:
 Streamlined shape to minimize what resistiance.
 Scales overlap each other in an appropriate direction to resist movement.
 Has mucus/oily covering to reduce friction?
 Various types of fins to promote forward propulsion and stability during swimming.
 Highly muscular body
 Swim bladder in bony fishes
 Highly coordinated neuromuscular activity with segmented blocks along the back.

24. a) During the laboratory test of non – reducing sugars, explain why the following
procedures are performed.
i) Addition of dilute hydrochloric acid
ii) Addition of Benedict’s solution
b) Examine structural features that make carbohydrates have a wide variety of
polysaccharides?

Answer:
a) i) To hydroylse non-reducing sugars/complex sugars to reducing sugars/simple sugars.
ii) To provide blue copper (II) ions so as they can be reduced to brown copper (I) ions.

13

12
 b) Any six of:
 Both pentoses and hexoses can be used to make polysaccharides, although normally only
one type of monosaccharide is used in each type of polysaccharide.
 Two types of linkage, 1,4 and 1,6 , are common between sugar units. Thus branching
occur.
 Lengths of chains and branches, extent of branching can vary enormously.
 α- and β- forms of monosaccharides are important.
 Sugars may be ketoses or aldoses.
 The high chemical reactivity of sugars (aldehyde, ketone and hydroxyl groups) means
that they are very reactive molecules.
25. An African bush elephant belongs to orderProboscidae and family Elephantae. Its
scientific name is LoxodontaAfricana.
a) Adapt a table indicating the hierarchy classification of African bush elephant.
b) Use the examples from table to explain the term “taxon”.
c) Indicate how classification of living things is hierarchical.
Answer:
a) Table of classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidae
Family: Elephantae
Genus: Loxodonta
Species: L.africana
b) A taxon is a group of any rank, such as a species, family, or class.
c) It is hierarchical because it ranks from the highest level towards the lowest level.

26. Distinguish between home range and territory, and describe costs and benefits of
territoriality.
Answer:
Animals often inhabit a home range, a geographic area that they seldom leave but
do not necessarily defend. A defended area within a home range is called a
territory, and the defensive behavior is territoriality. Some animals, such as lions,
engage in group territoriality. Costs of territoriality include time and energy
expended in staking out and defending a territory; and risks, in fighting for it.
Benefits include rights to food in the territory and reduction in conflict among
members of a population.

14

13
27. The table below represents percentages of oxygen and carbon dioxide in sample of
air.

Gas Atmospheric air Alveolar air Exhaled air

O2 20.96% 13.8% 16.4%
CO2 0.03% 5.5% 4.1%

a. What is the difference between the percentage of oxygen in the alveolar and
in exhaled air?
b. What is the reason for this difference?
c. Why does alveolar air contain more carbon dioxide than atmospheric air?
d. What is the difference between atmospheric air and exhaled air?

Answer:
a) 2.6%
b) This is the amount of O2 exchanged / used within tissues.
c) This is because CO2 from the body’s respiration or metabolism has diffused
into it.
d) O2 ---4,56% CO2--- 4.07%
e) More efficient at removing CO2 from the body and less efficient at taking up
O2 .
28. Describe the flow of electrons through photosystems I and II in the non cyclic
electron transport pathway and the products produced. Contrast this with cyclic
electron transport.
Answer:
 Photosystems I and II are the two types of photosynthetic units involved in
photosynthesis. Each photosystem includes chlorophyll molecules and
accessory pigments organized with pigment-binding proteins into antenna
complexes.
 Only a special pair of chlorophyll a molecules in the reaction center of an
antenna complex give up energized electrons to a nearby electron acceptor.
P700 is the reaction center for photosystem I; P680 is the reaction center
for photosystem II.
 During the noncyclic light-dependent reactions, known as noncyclic
electron transport, ATP and NADPH are formed.
 Electrons in photosystem I are energized by the absorption of light and
passed through an electron transport chain to NADP-, forming NADPH.
Electrons given up by P700 in photosystem I are replaced by electrons
from P680 in photosystem II.
15

14
  A series of redox reactions takes place as energized electrons are passed
along the electron transport chain from photosystem II to photosystem I.
Electrons given up by P680 in photosystem II are replaced by electrons
made available by the photolysis of H2O; oxygen is released in the
process.
 During cyclic electron transport, electrons from photosystem I are
eventually returned to photosystem I. ATP is produced by chemiosmosis, but
no NADPH or oxygen is generated.

29. Compare the C4 and CAM pathways.

Answer:
In the C4 pathway, the enzyme PEP carboxylase binds CO2 effectively, even when
CO2 is at a low concentration.C4 reactions take place within mesophyll cells. The
CO2 is fixed in oxaloacetate, which is then converted to malate. The malate moves
into a bundle sheath cell, and CO2 is removed from it. The released CO2 then
enters the Calvin cycle.
The crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway is similar to the C4 pathway. PEP
carboxylase fixes carbon at night in the mesophyll cells, and the Calvin cycle occurs
during the day in the same cells.

30. a) Name three molecules involved in carbon dioxide fixation.

b) What is the role of NADPH in the Calvin cycle?

c) Describe two functions of ATP in the Calvin cycle.

Answer:

a) ribulose biphosphate, ribulose biphosphate carboxylase(rubisco) and glycerate 3-

phosphate
b) NADPH is a reducing agent ( it donates hydrogen to GP, reducing it to GALP,
a triose phosphate).
c) ATP is used a source of energy for the reduction of carbon dioxide and the
regeneration of RuBP.

31. With reference to haemoglobin, differentiate between tertiary and quaternary

structure.
Answer:
A tertiary structure refers to the overall three-dimensional shape of a polypeptide chain
that has undergone coiling and twisting whereas Quaternary refers a protein with more
than one polypeptide chain chemically bonded to each other e.g. haemoglobin has four
16

15
polypeptide chains.

17
32. The graph below shows the effect of temperature on the rate of reaction of an enzyme.

a) What is indicated by X?
b) What temperature would X be for a mammalian enzyme?
c) Explain what is happening in region A.
d) Explain what is happening in region B.
e) Enzymes are effective because they lower the activation energy of the reactions they
catalyze. Explain what is meant by ‘activation energy’.

Answer:
a. X indicates the rate at the optimum temperature
b. Around 370C
c. the enzyme is reacting with the substrate and the rate of enzyme action is increasing
toward the optimum level.
d. enzyme molecules are being denatured because of high temperature thus the rate of
enzyme action is decreasing toward zero where the reaction stops
e. activation energy is the energy required to start a reaction.

33. Explain the main difference between the lock and key and the induced fit models of
enzyme action.

Answer:
The lock and key model fit suggests that the shape of the substrate is complementary to
that of the active site, before the substrate binds. Whereas the induced fit model suggests
the shape is only complementary after an enzyme-substrate complex has been formed.

OR/ Lock and key model no change on the active site of the enzyme.
18

16
 Induced fit model change on the active site of the enzyme.

34. a) Complete the table below with appropriate words or figures which can be used
to distinguish the phylum Arthropoda into the indicated classes.
Class Main body parts Number of legs Habitat
Crustacea
Arachnida
Insecta
b) Name two other classes of this phylum.
c) Arthropoda are the largest phylum of the kingdom Animalia. What makes them so
successful ecologically?
Answer:

a)

C lass Body parts Number of Habitats

legs
Crusracea 2 5 pairs or 10 Aquatic
legs
Arachnida 2 4 pairs or 8 Terrestrial
legs
Insecta 3 3 pairs or 6 terrestrial
legs
b) Any two of these:
-Chilopoda, Myriapoda, Onychophora, Trilobita, Diplopoda.
c) –Development of a rigid exoskeleton made up of chitin which protects inner parts
from mechanical injury and against dessication.
-Specification of appendages on different segments to form a variety of
mouthparts, walking
legs, etc.
-Ability to fly (insects) has helped them to find better food sources.
-Ability to feed on a variety of food substances as a result of divergence in the
mouthparts.

19

17
 35. The diagram below shows the structure of three amino acids.

a) Draw a diagram to show the structure of the tripeptide with the

following sequence:
b) Alanine-glycerine-serine.
c) What is the name given to the sequence of amino acids in a protein?
d) What substance apart from the tripeptide would be formed when three amino
acids combine?
e) Draw a ring around an atom or group of atoms making up an R group that
could hydrogen bond with a neighbouring R group.
f) Draw a ring around and label the peptide bond(s) you have drawn in
the diagram.

Answer:

a)

b) Primary structure
c) Water
d) Ring drawn around-OH or whole R group ( - CH2OH) of serine.

e) Rings drawn around two peptide bonds and the bonds labelled appropriately
20

18
36. Summarize the three phases of the Calvin cycle, and indicate the roles of ATP
and NADPH in the process.

Answer:
 The carbon fixation reactions proceed by way of the Calvin cycle, also
known as the C3 pathway.
 In the CO2 uptake phase of the Calvin cycle, CO2 is combined with
ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP), a fi ve-carbon sugar, by the enzyme
ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/ oxygenase, commonly known as
rubisco, forming the three-carbon molecule phosphoglycerate (PGA).
 In the carbon reduction phase of the Calvin cycle, the energy and
reducing power of ATP and NADPH are used to convert PGA molecules to
glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P). For every 6 CO2 molecules fi xed, 12
molecules of G3P are produced, and 2 molecules of G3P leave the cycle to
produce the equivalent of 1 molecule of glucose.
 In the RuBP regeneration phase of the Calvin cycle, the remaining
G3P molecules are modified to regenerate RuBP.

37. The diagram below shows the position of various tissues in a cross-section through
a plant.

a. Which part of the plant has its tissues distributed as shown in this diagram?
b. Name the parts labelled A to F?
c. Give the label letter and the name of the part which:
i) Are vascular tissues
ii) Transport the products of photosynthesis
iii) Transport water
iv) Divide by mitosis
v) Support the plant

21
19
Answers

a) the stem
b) Name the parts labelled A to F?
A=PHLOEM
B=CAMBIUM
C=XYLEM
D=BUNDLE SHEATH
E=EPIDERMIS
F=CORTEX
c) Give the label letter and the name of the part which:
i. Are vascular tissues A&C
ii. Transport the products of photosynthesis A
iii. Transport water C
iv. Divide by mitosis B
v. Support the plant D

38. Write an account on the mass flow hypothesis of translocation of sugars in

phloem.

Answer

The pressure gradient exists between the source, where the sugar is loaded into
phloem, and the sink, where the sugar is removed from phloem.
At the source, the dissolved sucrose is moved from a leaf’s mesophyll cells, where it
was manufactured, into the companion cells, which load it into the sieve tube
elements of phloem. This loading occurs by active transport, a process that requires
adenosine triphosphate (ATP) The ATP supplies energy to pump protons out of the
sieve tube elements, producing a proton gradient that drives the uptake of sugar
through specific channels by the co-transport of protons back into the sieve tube .

The sugar therefore accumulates in the sieve tube element. The increase in
dissolved sugars in the sieve tube element at the source—a concentration that is 2
to 3 times as great as in surrounding cells—decreases (makes more negative) the
water potential of that cell. As a result, water moves by osmosis from the xylem
cells into the sieve tubes, increasing the turgor pressure (hydrostatic pressure)
inside them. Thus, phloem loading at the source occurs as follows:
 Proton pump moves H_ out of sieve tube element
 sugar is actively transported into sieve tube element
 water diffuses from xylem into sieve tube element
 turgor pressure increases within sieve tube

22
20
 At its destination (the sink), sugar is unloaded by various mechanisms, both active
and passive, from the sieve tube elements.
With the loss of sugar, the water potential in the sieve tube elements at the sink
increases (becomes less negative). Therefore, water moves out of the sieve tubes by
osmosis and into surrounding cells where the water potential is more negative.
Most of this water diffuses back to the xylem to be transported upward. This water
movement decreases the turgor pressure inside the sieve tubes at the sink.

Thus, phloem unloading at the sink proceeds as follows:

 Sugar is transported out of sieve tube element
 Water diffuses out of sieve tube element and into xylem
 Turgor pressure decreases within sieve tube

The pressure–flow hypothesis explains the movement of dissolved sugar in phloem

by means of a pressure gradient. The difference in sugar concentrations between
the source and the sink causes translocation in phloem as water and dissolved
sugar flow along the pressure gradient. This pressure gradient pushes the sugar
solution through phloem much as water is forced through a hose.
The actual translocation of dissolved sugar in phloem does not require metabolic
energy. However, the loading of sugar at the source and the active unloading of
sugar at the sink require energy derived from ATP to move the sugar across cell
membranes by active transport.

39. a) What are three basic components of a nucleotide?

b) In terms of the structure of the DNA molecule, explain why the base pairings
are not adenine with guanine and thymine with cytosine.
c) Suggest a reason why the base pairings of adenine with cytosine and guanine
with thymine do not occur.

Answer
a) Pentose sugar, phosphate group and nitrogenous base.
b) Adenine and guanine are longer molecules than thymine and cytosine. The
distance between the two phosphate/ deoxyribose upright is constant in
DNA.
molecule. Pairing Adenine and Guanine would produce a long” rung” while pairing
thymine and cytosine produce a short “rung”.
c) The bases are linked by Hydrogen bonds. The molecular structures might be
such that hydrogen bonds do not form between Adenine and cytosine and between
guanine and thymine.

23
21
 40. Which of the following could or could not be carried out by a red blood cell? In
each case, briefly justify your answer:
a. Protein synthesis
b. Lipid synthesis
c. Cell division
d. Active transport

Answer:
a) Protein synthesis: No, there is no DNA, so no mRNA can be transcribed.
b) Cell division: No, there are no chromosomes, so mitosis can not occur, nor
are there centrosomes for spindle formation.
c) Lipid synthesis: No, this occurs on the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and there is
none.
d) Active transport: yes. This occurs across the cell surface membrane and can be
fuelled by ATP produced by anaerobic respiration.

41. Describe how you would test a liquid sample for the presence of lipid and how
you would recognize a positive result.
Answer:
1. Add ethanol, then add water.
2. White emulsion shows lipid.

42. Compare and contrast the structure and properties of triglycerides and
phospholipids.
Answer:

Marking guidance Comments

1. Both contain ester All statements must
bond between be clearly
glycerol and fatty Comparative
acids
2. Both contain
glycerol
3. Fatty acids on both
may be saturated or
unsaturated
4. Both are insoluble
in water 5. Accept related
5. Both contain C, H element.
and O, but

24
22
 phospholipids
contain also P
6. Triglyceride has
three fatty acids
while phospholipid
has two fatty acids 7. Accept non-polar
plus a phosphate for hydrophobic and
group. polar for hydrophilic
7. Triglycerides are
hydrophobic/ non-
polar while
phospholipids have
both hydrophobic
and hydrophilic
region
8.

43. Human breast milk is produced and secreted by gland cells. These gland cells have
adaptations that include many mitochondria and many Golgi vesicles.The milk
contains a high concentration of protein.
Explain the role of these adaptations in the production and secretion of breast milk.

Answer:

 (Many mitochondria) release energy / ATP for movement of vesicles / synthesis

of protein / active transport;

 (Many Golgi) vesicles transport protein / glycoprotein / milk to cell membrane /

out of cell;

44. Describe how the structures of starch and cellulose molecules are related to their
functions.

Answer:
Starch
 Helical/spiral shapeso compact
 Large molecule insoluble so osmotically inactive
 Branched so glucose is ( easily) released for respiration
 Large molecule so can not leave cell/ cross cell surface membrane

25
23
 Cellulose:
 long /straight/unbranched chains of beta glucose.
 Joined by hydrogen bonding
 to form microfibrils
 Provide rigidity/ strength
 Suggest why muscle cells contain a lot of mitochondria whereas most fat
storage cells do not.

45. Suggest why muscle cells contain a lot of mitochondria whereas most fat storage
cells do not.

Answer:
Muscle contraction require s a lot of energy in the form of ATP, whereas fat storage
cells have very low energy requirements. ( Fat cells that store brown fat have many
mitochondria, as these cells use their fat to generate heat energy.)

46. a) Copy and complete the table comparing bacteria and viruses.Using a (√) if the
feature is present or a (x) if the feature is absent.
Protein Ribosomes Mitochondria
Bacteria
viruses

b)Describe one method by which viruses can be cultured.

Answer:
a)

Protein ribosomes mitochondria

Bacteria v v x
viruses v x x
b) it can be cultured in living tissues.

26 24
47. Copy and complete the following table. Place a tick or a cross in each box as appropriate.

Globular monosaccharide glycogen starch cellulose lipid

protein e.g.
haemoglobin
Monomer

Polymer

Macromolecule
Contain
subunits that
form branched
Chains
Contain amino
Acids
Made of
organic acids
and glycerol
Contain
glycosidic bond
Contain
peptide bond

27
25
Answer

G monosa g s cel lipi

lo ccharid l t lul d
b e y a ose
ul c r
ar o c
pr g h
ot e
ei n
n
e.
g.
H
b
Mon X V X X X X
omer

poly V X V V V X
mer
macr V X V V V V
omol
ecule
Cont X X V V X X
ain
subu
nits
that
form
bran
ched
chain
s
Cont V X X X X X
ain
amin
o
acids
Mad X X X X X V
e of
orga
28

26
 nic
acids
and
glyce
rol
Cont X X V V V X
ain
glyc
osidi
c
bond
Cont V X X X X X
ain
pepti
de
bond

48. Calcium is an important chemical of life.

i) In what major form is calcium exist taken into the body?
ii) In what forms does calcium in the human body?
iii) List four functions of calcium in the human body.
iv) What other mineral salt is normally associated with calcium?
v) Give one major function of calcium in plants.
Answer:

i) with foods in the diet.

ii) Calcium ions
iii) -Muscular contraction and normal function of the nervous system.
-Formation of bones and teeth.
-Activation of enzyme.
-Blood clotting.
-Selectivity of plasma membrane.
iv) Phosphorus.
vi) Build cell wall / stem, root development at apex.

29
27
 49. The diagram below illustrates one model of enzyme action.

a) Name the part of the enzyme labelled A.

b) Explain how this model can account for enzyme specificity.

c) With reference to the model, explain the effect of a competitive inhibitor on

an enzyme-catalyzed reaction.

Answer:
a) A = active site.

b) -Each enzyme has an active site with a particular shape and only one
substrate fits into it or is complementary with the active site.

c) Competitive inhibitor is similar in shape to the substrate. It fits into the

active site of the enzyme and remains there preventing the time substrate
from fixing to Its active site, so this reduces, stops, lowers the rate of
enzyme catalyzed reaction. Or this temporary prevents the entry of
substrate and hence no reaction.
50. The diagram shows a metabolic pathway in which substrate A is converted, with
the aid of enzymes, to the end – product D.
Enzyme 1
A Enzyme 2 Enzyme 3
B C D
Giving an explanation for your answer, suggest what would happen to rate of
production of the end protein D if;
i. The production of substrate were reduced
ii. The concentration of enzyme 1 were increased but the concentration of the
other enzymes remained constant.
iii. The temperature rose from 15oC to 25oC.
b) Suggest how molecule D could act as an end product inhibitor.

30

28
 Answer:
a) i) The rate would reduce. This is because the input would reduce and thus less D
would be formed.
ii) The rate would remain constant. This is because the enzymes would still work at
the same rate
iii) The rate would increase or double. This is because of Q10 as increased
temperature favours rate of substrates meeting with enzymes.
b) The end product will combine with enzyme 1 to stop the reaction so there will not be
an excess production of the end product, i.e. negative feedback mechanism.

51. Distinguish between

a) Community and population
b) Abiotic and biotic factors.
c) Ecosystem and ecological niche

Answer:

a) A community is a group of individuals of different species while a population is

a group of individuals of the same species.
b) Abiotic factors are non-living components of an ecosystem including
temperature, soil, water etc while biotic factors are the living components of an
ecosystem including plants and animals.
c) Ecosystem is a natural unit composed of abiotic and biotic factors whose
interactions lead to a self-sustaining system while an ecological niche is a position that an
organism occupies in a habitat, this includes the physical space where an organism is
found and its role in that habitat in terms of feeding relationships and other interactions
with other species.
52. a) Explain how a particular colour of fur may be advantageous to predator or prey
species.
b) What factors may cause a struggle to survive amongst members of a population?

Answer:
a) Fur colour can provide camouflage. Prey can avoid being spotted by a predator;
predator can avoid being seen by its prey. Fur colour can also be used as a
signalling device to help identification. It may also enhance heat absorption or
reflection.
b) Overcrowding and a shortage of some resource.
Whenever there is competition for a limited resource, there will be a struggle to
obtain enough to survive.

31

29
 53. Copy the table below and place tick or cross in each box as appropriate.

Process Uses energy in Uses proteins specific Controllable by

the form of ATP cells

Diffusion
Osmosis
Facilitated
diffusion
Active
transport
Endocytosis
and exocytosis

Answer:

Process Uses energy in Uses proteins specific Controllable

the form of ATP by cells
Diffusion X x x x
Osmosis X x v x
Facilitated X v v v
diffusion
Active transport V v v v
Endocytosis and V x v v
exocytosis

54. Describe how a parasite is able to live in the lost.

Answer:
-Absence or degeneration of feeding and locomotory organs; characteristic of gut
parasites.
-Highly specialized mouthparts as in fluid feeders.
-Boring devices to enter host.
- Attachment organs such as hooks or suckers.
-Outer covering resistant to attack by enzymes.
-Reduction of sense organs associated with the constancy of the parasite’s
environment.
-Enzyme production to digest host tissue external to the parasite.
32

30
 -Anticoagulant production in blood feeders.
-Chemosensitivity in order to reach the optimum location in the body.
-Production of digestive enzymes to aid penetration into host.
-Ability to respire adequately in anaerobic conditions
-Hermaphrodite condition allowing self-fertilization, if necessary.
-Enormous number of reproductive bodies, i.e. eggs, cysts and spores.
-Use of secondary hosts as vectors.
-Employment of specialized reproductive phases in the life cycle

55. Copy and complete the table to show the differences between mesophyll and
bundle sheath cells in C4 plants. Insert a tick (✓) when an item is present in the
cell and a cross (✗) when it is not.
Item Mesophyll cell Bundle sheath cell

PEP Carboxylase

Rubisco

RuBP

Enzymes of Calvin cycle

High concentration of oxygen

Light dependent reactions

Contact with air space

Answer:

Table:

Item Mesophyll cell Bundle sheath cell

PEP Carboxylase v x
Rubisco x v
RuBP x v
Enzymes of calvin cycle x v
High concentration of v x
oxygen
Light dependent reactions v x

33
31
 56. a) Explain why dissolving more solute decreases the water potential of a solution.
b) Explain the factors that affect the rate of diffusion and explain how osmosis is
affected by these factors.
c) As water moves into a cell placed in a hypotonic (more watery) solution. What
happens to the water potential in the cell?

Answer:

a) Solute dissolves and water molecules cluster around solute molecules. This
reduces the capacity for water molecules to move freely and the water potential
decreases.
b) –Temperature: Increased temperature increases the rate of diffusion and
osmosis because it increases the kinetic energy of the molecules involved
- Concentration gradient: increased concentration gradient increases the rate of
diffusion;in water increased water potential gradient increases the rate of osmosis.
- Mixing: increases the rate of diffusion and osmosis.
c) The water potential will increase
57. a) Compare and contrast active transport and facilitated diffusion.
b) Explain why active transport allows substances to be accumulated in an area
whereas facilitated diffusion doesn’t.

Answer:
a) Both involve protein carriers. In active transport , energy (ATP) from the cell is
required to change the shape of the carrier, so transport occurs only in one way
across the membrane. Active transport can thus work against concentration
gradients. Facilitated diffusion relies only on the kinetic energy of the diffusing
molecules.
b) Active transport proteins use energy to ensure materials can pass only one way
through the membrane against the concentration gradient. Facilitated diffusion
carriers allow the movement of molecules both ways through the membrane, so the
concentration of molecules will distribute evenly across the membrane over time.
58. a) Parasitism and predation are both + - interactions. How do they differ?
b) In a mycorrhizal relationship, what are benefits to:
i) the plant
ii) the fungus?

34

32
 Answer:

a) Predators kill their prey to obtain nourishment, parasites do not.

b) i) the plant obtains soluble mineral nutrients from activities of mycorrhiza.
ii) the mycorrhiza obtain food (e.g., sucrose) from the plants
59. Explain why a single-cell organism such as amoeba can gain enough oxygen for its
respiration through simple diffusion across its membrane.

Answer:
An amoeba is very small, so has large surface area to volume ratio. All amoeba’s
cell contents are close to the oxygen supply in the surrounding water and so
diffusion is sufficient for organism’s needs.

60. Tropical rainforests have a high biodiversity because it rains all the time.
a) Differentiate between species richness and evenness.
b) Suggest why tropical rainforests have a high biodiversity of animal species.

c) The following table shows some plant species (trees) in GAKO forest.

Tree species Numbers

A 56
B 48
C 12
D 6
E 3

i) Calculate the Simpson’s diversity index of the above forest.

ii) Explain why a habitat with high diversity is thought to be more stable.
iii) Discuss why is it important to maintain biodiversity.

Answer:
a) Species richness refers to the number of different kinds of species/organisms present
in a particular area wherea s species evenness is a relative abundance (number)
/Population size of each of the species present area.

b) The biodiversity of a tropical rain forest is high because there is a high rate of
photosynthesis and therefore a rapid rate of growth. There is many species up to 500
different species of tree in each square kilometer and high genetic diversity between
these species. Many different habitat and niches are available and there is constant.

35

33
 biological activity throughout the year which means that the leaves, flowers and fruits
that provide animal with food and shelter are always available.
c) i)
Numbers/ n/N (n/N)2
n
56 0.448 0.2007
48 0.384 0.147
12 0.096 0.0092
6 0.048 0.0023
3 0.024 0.0005
∑n=N ∑(n/N)2=
(125) 0.36
2
D= 1-∑ (n/N) = 1-0.36= 0.64

ii) With a high diversity there is greater species richness. More species means that each
species relies on a number of others. If one species is affected by some change, the
others may be less affected. A species dependent on the one that is affected will have
others to fall back upon.

iii) It is important to maintain biodiversity because it has ecological importance. High

biodiversity helps with:
-the recycling of nutrients
-the formation of and protection of soil
-the maintenance of ecosystem
-production of food, fibres for clothing, medicine and timber for construction.
-considerable potential for tourism
-safeguarding future resources
-permitting research to be carried out.

61. a) Explain the difference between taxonomy and classification.

b) Why do we study how closely related we are to other organisms?
Answer:

a) Taxonomy is the study of the principles behind classification, the study of differences
between the species while classification is the process of sorting things into groups.
b) It helps us to understand our own evolution. Studying those organisms that are more
closely related to ourselves can help us understand our own biology and behaviour.

36
34
 62. Evaluate the contribution of biodiversity to human wellbeing.

Answer:
Contribution of biodiversity to human well-being.
•Good health and productive livelihoods depend on ecosystem products and
services, such as availability of fresh air, food, fuel sources, esthetic services,
financial/economical gains, etc...
 Ecosystem services and goods contribute positively in human health promotion,
diseases prevention and public health. But biodiversity loss and ecosystem
change may limit discovery of new components of biodiversity used in traditional
medicine and put at risk community health development.

63. The diagram below shows how organisms may be separated into five kingdoms.

a) i) Name Kingdom B.
ii) Give one characteristic, other than the possession of chloroplasts, which could be
used to distinguish cells of organisms in Kingdom B from those in Kingdom C.
b) Which of the Kingdoms A, B, C, D or E represents the Fungi?
c) Microactinium is a single-celled eukaryotic organism. It is an autotroph. Which of
kingdoms A, B, C, D, or E includes Microactinium?
Answer:

a) i) Kingdom plantae.
ii) Organisms in Kingdom B (plantae) have cell walls / plasmodesmata / large vacuole /
peripheral nucleus whereas those from the Kingdom C (Animalia) don’t have a cell wall
/ plasmodesmata / large vacuole / peripheral nucleus.

b) Kingdoms D.
c) Kingdoms E.
37
35
64. a) What are the four main things that all members of a species share?
b) What are the three features of a natural system of classification?
Answer:
a) They have similar genes and therefore resemble one another, immunologically'
biochemically and anatomically. They are capable of breeding to produce
offspringwhich themselves are fertile. They have common ancestry' They occupy the
same ecological niche.
b) It is based on evolutionary relationships between organisms and their ancestors.
It classifies species into groups using shared characteristics derived from their ancestors.
It is arranged in a hierarchy in which groups are contained within larger composite
groups with no overlap.
65. a) Differentiate between a bacteriophage and a retrovirus?
b) Do you think viruses should be considered as a form of life? Give reasons for
your answer.

Answer:

a) Bacteriophage is a virus that infects bacteria while retrovirus is a virus that

Contains RNA.
b) Most biologists and students argue that viruses should not be considered as a
Form of life because they don’t show all characteristics of living organisms hence
exist between the border line of living things and non-living things.

66. a) Explain why using common names for living organisms can cause confusion.
b) Why do we need to identify living things?

Answer:
a) People in different countries, or even different parts of one country, could use the
same common name for different organisms. Also, the same organism could be given
different organisms. Also, the same organism could be given different names in
different countries.
b) Identifying living things allows us to classify them. Once we know its identity,
we can find out more about an organism. Particularly, we can find out how common or
rare it may be. This will have significance as part of an environmental impact
assessment.

38
36
67. A species may be defined in terms of observable similarities and ability to
produce fertile offspring. There are however problems when using this definition
in practice.
a) Even where groups of extinct organisms have left fossil records, it is
very difficult to distinguish different species. Suggest two reasons why?
b) Suggest reasons why it is often difficult to classify organisms as distinct species.

Answer:

a) Fossil records are normally incomplete and not all features can be observed (there is
no biochemical record) and so comparisons between individuals are hard to make.
Fossil records can never reveal whether individuals could successfully mate.
b) Species change and evolve over time sometimes developing into different species /
there is considerable variety within a species / fossil records are incomplete or non-
existent.
/Current classifications only reflect current scientific knowledge' as this changes, so too
does naming and classifying of organisms.

68. Contrast how an optical microscope and transmission electron microscope

work and contrast the limitations of their use when studying cells.
Answer:
1. TEM use electrons and optical use light;
2. TEM allows a greater resolution;
3. (So with TEM) smaller organelles/named cell structure can be observed

OR
greater detail in organelles/named cell structure can be observed;
4. TEM view only dead/dehydrated specimens and optical (can) view live specimens;
5. TEM does not show colour and optical (can);
6. TEM requires thinner specimens;
7. TEM requires a more complex/time consuming preparation;
8. TEM focuses using magnets and optical uses (glass) lenses;

39 37
69. The photo below shows a light microscope.

a) Identify the parts represented by the letters A, B, C and D.

b) What is the difference between magnification and resolution?
c) State advantages of an electron microscope over a light microscope and 2
advantages of a light microscope over an electron microscope.

Answer:
a) A: Eyepiece lens, B: Objective lens, C: Stage /stage clips, D: Course adjustment knob.
b) Magnification is how many times bigger the image is compared to the original object
where asresolution is the minimum distance apart that two object can be in order for
them to appear separate items.

c)

Advantages of light microscope Advantages of electron

microscope
 It is easier to move and use it  It has higher resolution
 It is less expensive  It has higher magnification
 It can be used without killing Because it uses a beam of
specimen electrons that have a short
wavelength.

40

38
 70. a) Explain why nucleic acids are named after the sugar they contain.
b)How many molecules of water will be produced when a nucleotide is made
from its separated component parts?

Answer
a) The sugar molecule is the same in nucleic acid polymer for all constituent
nucleotides. One type of polymer contains deoxyribose, the other ribose. This
makes it easy to distinguish the two types.
b) Two

71. Make a table to compare and contrast the structure of DNA with that of RNA.

Answer:
Differences
RNA DNA

Strands Single stranded Double stranded

Sugar Ribose Deoxyribose
Size Relatively small Big
Location Moves to cytoplasm Stays in the nucleus
Types 3 types: mRNA, tRNA and One type
rRNA
Specific base Contains uracil Contains Thymine
Less stable Very stable

Similarities: Both have bases A,C and G

Both are instruction molecules carrying a code.
Both are made by nucleotides
72. a) A DNA strand has the base sequence ATTAGGCTAT. Write down the
complementary strand sequence.
b) A DNA molecule is 20% thymine (T). What percentage of each of the other types
of base would it contains?
Answer:
a) TAATCCGATA
b) 20% A, 30% c, 30% G.

41
39
73. a) Explain why the mRNA strand produced in the nucleus is complementary to the
template strand, and a copy of the coding strand.
b) Suggest why mRNA is less stable than DNA and explain why this is a necessary
feature of mRNA.

Answer:
a) Complementary RNA nucleotides are lined up against each base on template
strand, producing a complementary strand. As base-pairing rules apply, this lining
up will be the same as it appears on the coding strand, apart from U in RNA
replacing T in DNA.
b) RNA is single stranded and so less stable, as nucleotide bases are exposed and not
paired. It also contain uracil instead of thymine, which may contribute to the lower
stability of the molecule. mRNA results in the production of proteins. If the cell is to
control protein production , the disintegration of mRNA stops too much of a certain
protein being made, and so allows for regulation of the protein levels in a cell.

74. a) What is the function of the protein found in chromosomes?

b) How is the considerable length of a DNA molecule compacted into a chromosome?
c) Suppose the total length of all the in a single human muscle cell is 2.3 meters.
i) If all the DNA were distributed equally between the
chromosomes. What would be the length of DNA in each one?
ii) What do you think the length of DNA is in a brain cell?

Answer:
a) It fixes the DNA into position.
b) It is looped and coiled a number of times.
c) i) 2.3/46 =0.05m( 50mm)
ii) 2.3 meters ( all cells have the same quantity of DNA)

42 40
75. The figure below shows a bacterial cell dividing by binary fission.
a. With reference to figure, state three
structural features of prokaryotic cells
that are not shown by eukaryotic cells.
[3 marks]
b. Plant cells divide by mitosis, not binary
fission.
i.State three roles of mitosis in plants. [3
marks] ii. Explain why cells
that are produced as a result of mitosis are
genetically identical. [2marks]

Answer

a) -Prokaryotic cell lacks a true nucleus.

-has circular DNA rather than linear.
-Its DNA is not associated with histones.
-Its internal organelles are not bounded by a double membrane.
-its ribosomes are small (70 s).
-Its cell wall is made of murein/ peptidoglycan.
-Presence of mesosomes.

b) i) Growth, repair, asexual reproduction, replacement ,genetic stability and

regeneration.
ii) They are identical because in the anaphase stage of mitosis, identical sister
chromatids separate and enter each new cell. The chromatids are identical because
during the semi-conservative replication of DNA, each strand acts as a template for
the complementary strand through the pairing of the nucleotide bases ( adenine
with thymine and guanine with cytosine). The resulting two DNA helices are
therefore identical and so the two cells formed during mitosis have identical alleles
and hence the same genotypes.

76. The enzyme DNA helicase and DNA polymerase are involved in DNA replication.
Describe the function of each of these enzymes:
DNA helicase:----------------------------------------------------
DNA polymerase:------------------------------------------------

43 41
 Answer:

DNA helicase – (unwinding DNA and) breaking hydrogen bonds / bonds between
chains / bases / strands;
DNA polymerase – joins (adjacent) nucleotides OR forms phosphodiester bond /
sugar-phosphate backbone;

77. a) Explain why DNA replication is described as semi-conservative.

b) The enzyme that catalyses the replication of DNA checks for errors in the process
and corrects them. This makes sure that the cells produced in mitosis are genetically
identical.
Explain why checking for errors and correcting them is necessary.

Answer:

a) A molecule of DNA has two polynucleotide strands. Both of these DNA

strands act as template for the formation of a complementary DNA strand. As
the newly formed double helix retains one parent strand and has one new
strand, the process is called semi-conservative.
b) Any error is in effect a mutation. The altered DNA could lead to different
protein, or no protein at all, being made. This could lead to loss of a function
especially where the altered protein is enzyme. The body immune system may not
recognise the new protein and so reject the cell that possesses it. The altered
protein could result in conditions such as sickle cell anaemia or cancer.

78. The figure below shows a bivalent at a particular stage of meiosis

a. Name the parts labeled A, B, C and D. /2 marks

b. What is a bivalent? /2 marks
c. At what stage of meiosis is the bivalent formed? Give a reason. /2 marks
d. What is the role played by part C? /1mark
e. Explain how meiosis creates genetic variation./ 3 marks

Answer:
a) A: centromere ; B: chromatid ; C: chiasma (crossing over) ; D: pair of non-sister
chromatids
b) A bivalent is a pair of homologous chromosomes formed during prophase I of
meiosis in a process called synapsis.
44
42
 c) Prophase I of meiosis . Reason: it is during prophase I of meiosis that homologous
chromosomes pair up to form bivalent in which non sister chromatids cross-over
d) It is the site of genetic exchange between chromatids.
e) –Crossing over
-Independent assortment
-Random fusion of the gametes.

79. Explain why most plant cells (except meristem cells) are not capable of undergoing
mitosis and cytokinesis.

Answer:

The formation of a cell wall in plant cells stops cells being able to divide effectively.
Meristematic cells have very thin cell wall

80. The figure below show the structure of Liver cell, as seen using electronic
microscopy.

a) Name the structure labelled A, B, C and D

b) What do you think about the presence of numerous mitochondria in the
liver cells?
c) Explain the advantage to have a division of labor between different cells in
the body.
Answer:
a) A: Cell membrane; B: centriole C: Golgi apparatus, D: Rough endoplasmic reticulum
b) liver cells are more active so they need high amount of energy to perform their activities
c) It helps the different organelles work together in a cell, each contributing its part to
the survival of the cell.

45
43
81. Suggest why :
a) Chloroplasts are moved around plant cells.
b) White blood cells need to be able to move.

Answer:
a) To gather maximum sunlight energy or to avoid being damaged by excess UV light.
b) To detect and take up foreign molecules and invading microorganisms in the blood.

82. The figure below shows a section through a plant tissue at a magnification of ×500.

a) Calculate the actual diameter of the starch grain between points A and B.
b) What type of microscope was used to obtain the image shown in Figure ?
c) Give one piece of evidence to support your answer.
i) Type of microscope:--------------------------------------------
ii) Evidence :---------------------------------------------

Answer:
a) For correct answer of 40 (μm) award 2 marks;;
Evidence of division by 500:
b) Type of microscope: Scanning electron (microscope);
Evidence: 3D (image);

46
44
 83. a) Copy and complete the table below which compares the structures of a typical
plant, animal and prokaryotic cell. Use tick (√) if the feature is present and a cross
(X) if it is absent.
Plant cell Animal cell Prokaryotic cell
Nucleus
Plasmid
Mitochondrion
Cellulose wall

b) The drawing below is of an organelle from a ciliated cell as seen with an electron
microscope.

i) Name the organelle shown above.

ii) State the function of this organelle.
iii) Calculate the actual length of the organelle as shown by the line AB in
above drawing. Express your answer in to the nearest micrometer (μm). Show
your working..
Answer:

a)

Plant Animal Prokaryotic

cell cell cell
Nucleus √ √ X
Plasmid X X √
Mitochondrion √ √ X
Cellulose wall √ X X
b) i) Mitochondrion

ii) Site for cellular respiration that results in energy (ATP) production
iii) Magnification=length of the drawing lenth of the actual
47

45
 Length of drawing= 127mm (obtained by measuring the length of the given
image/drawing by using a ruler).
magnification= X20 000,
so length of object= length of drawing /magnification= 127mm/20000= 127X10-
3
μm/20000
= 6,35μm

84. Fat and glycogen are energy storage compounds in animals.

a) Compare the suitability of the two substances as storage compounds.
b) State the advantages of storing fat over glycogen.
c) Why is glycogen a more suitable energy compound in muscles than fat

d) Why is glycogen more useful as storage compound in intestinal parasite?

Answer:
a) similarities
Both are less soluble in water: None of stored substance is lost in solution.
Both are less chemically reactive: can be stored over a long time without alteration.
Both are compactly arranged: very much can be packaged in a small space.
Differences

Fat Glycogen
-Yield more energy per gram - Yields less energy per gram
- Has less weight minimum while - Has more weight and may lead to
storing more energy over weight is stored in large
- Yield more metabolic water quantities
- Yields less metabolic water

b)
 Fat yields more metabolic water upon oxidation
 Fat yields more energy per gram upon oxidation
 Fat is completely insoluble in water: none is lost in solution.
 Fat forms an insulating layer under the skin helps in temperature regulation apart from
energy storage.

48

46
 Fat is ligther than glycogen and helps to keep body weight to minimum.

49
 c)
 Break down of fat to fatty acid which can then be utilised is a slow process because it is
induced by hormones.
 Conversion of glycogen to glucose is fast because it involves enzymes which are readily
available in muscles.
 Glucose from glycogen enters directly into glycolysis to produce energy.Fatty acids
have to first undergo beta oxidation.
 Oxidation of fats produces more heat, which would lead to burning out of the muscle cells.
 On top of lactic acid, anaerobic respiration of fats also produces ketocids.This would
lead to lethal acid accumulation in muscles.

d) They live in anaerobic conditions where glycogen can be more easily hydrolyzed.

85. The figure below represents a phospholipid molecule:

a) Give the structure labelled A and B.

b) State how the structures A and B differ in the way they react to water.
c) Which chemical elements are found in fats?
d) What is meant by a saturated fatty acid?
e) A 200g portion of chips from a chip shop was found to contain 19.2 g of fat. The
same mass of chips from a frozen oven-ready portion was found to contain 11.6
g of fat. When broken down, fat releases 38KJg-1. How much more energy is
released from a portion of chips from a chip shop compares to an oven-ready
portion? Show your working.

47
50
 Answer:
a. A=glycerol

B= Fatty acid/hydrocarbon

b. part A ( glycerol) attracts water ( hydrophilic) while part B( fatty acids) repels water.
c. carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
d. the hydrocarbon chain has no double bonds.
e. Chip shop portion contains 19.2 g- 11.6 g= 7.6 g more fat. The total energy produced
from this = 7.6x 38kj= 288.8 kj.
86. The figure below shows the parts of a prokaryotic cell.

a) Name the structures labelled W to Z .

b) Name the main biological molecule in:
W-------------------------------
X---------------------------------

Answer:
a) W-(cell surface) membrane
X – cell wall
Y – capsule
Z – flagellum
b) W: Phospholipids
X: Murein / glycoprotein

51
48
87. Mitochondria and chloroplasts contain small loops of DNA.
They also contain ribosomes that are the same size as prokaryotic ribosomes.
Suggest an explanation for these features.

Answer:
It is thought that chloroplasts and mitochondria have evolved from prokaryotic cells, and
that the DNA and ribosomes they retain are derived from this evolution. This is known
as the endosymbiont theory.

88. a) Explain why differentiation to produce erythrocytes involves a change in shape.

b) Red blood cells cannot divide as they have no nucleus. State two other processes
that red blood cells cannot carry out.
c) Describe how the following are specialized for their role:
i) Neutrophil,
ii) sperm
iii) root hair.
Answer:
a) Because the nucleus is lost, the shape changes. This gives the erythrocytes a larger
surface area to volume ratio, so oxygen can be taken in and released more efficiently.
b) Two of: aerobic respiration, protein synthesis, lipid metabolism, DNA replication.
c) Neutrophils contain many lysosomes that have digestive enzymes to breakdown
foreign materials that they ingest.
Sperm cells have many mitochondria to produce ATP which provides energy for
movement. They have an undulipodium for movement. They also have enzymes to
digest the membrane around the egg and so aid fertilisation.
Root hair cells have a large surface area to maximise uptake of minerals and water.

89. Describe the features that are shared by all amino acids, and explain how
amino acids are grouped into classes based on the characteristics of their side
chains.
Answer:

All amino acids contain an amino group and a carboxyl group. Amino acids vary in their
side chains, which dictate their chemical properties—nonpolar, polar, acidic, or basic.
Amino acids generally exist as dipolar ions at cell pH and serve as important biological
buffers.

52
49
 90. Water is arguably the most important biochemical of all. Without water, life would
not exist on this planet.

a) State two reasons why water is important to living organisms

b) State the property of water that allows each of the following to take place and, in
each case, explain its importance:
i. the cooling of skin during sweating
ii. the transport of glucose and ions in a mammal

Answer:
a) it is a major component of cells, typically forming between 70% and 95% of the
mass of the cell.
Second, it provides an environment for those organisms that live in water. Three-
quarters of the planet is covered in water.

b)
i. the cooling of skin during sweating

Water has a relatively high latent heat of vapourisation. This is a consequence of its high
heat capacity. The fact that water molecules tend to stick to each other by hydrogen
bonds means that relatively large amounts of energy are needed for vapourisation to
occur, because hydrogen bonds have to be broken before molecules can escape as a gas.
The energy transferred to water molecules during vapourisation results in a
corresponding loss of energy from their surroundings, which therefore cool down.

ii. the transport of glucose and ions in a mammal

Water molecules have very high cohesion – in other words they tend to stick to each
other. This explains why water can move in long, unbroken columns transporting
chemicals like glucose.
91. State the following
i) the general formula of proteins
ii) the names of any three essential amino acids
iii) the role played by proteins in the following processes:
a) Nutrition
b) Heredity
Answer:
.i) RCHNH2COOH
ii) Any three of these: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine,
threonine, tryptophan, valine, arginine and histidine.

53

50
iii) a) As enzymes, food stores in egg, part of granal lamellae, etc…

54
 b)As parts of genes, chromosomes
92. Copy and complete the table below, which summarizes some of the functional
categories into which proteins can be placed.

Category Example

Structural 1.

2.

Enzyme

Insulin

Defensive

Haemoglobin and myoglobin

Storage

Answer:

Category Example
1. keratin,tubilin
Structural 2. collagen,elastin
Enzyme Catalase,amylase,rubisco,hexokinase,etc….
Regulation/control Insulin
Defensive Immunoglobulin ( antibodies),clotting factors
Transport Haemoglobin and myoglobin
Storage casein

93. a) Using an example in each case, distinguish between competitive and non-
competitive inhibitors.
b) Explain how allosteric inhibition occurs.
c) State one way how enzyme inhibitors have been put to use by man.

Answer:
a) Competitive inhibitors combine with the active site of an enzyme molecule; thereby
stopping substrate molecules from attaching . E.g. malonic acid, sulphonamide drugs,
antibiotics, O2, CO2.
- Non-competitive inhibitors do not combine with the active site but with another
part of the

55
51
 enzyme molecule; thereby changing the shape of the enzyme so that the substrate
can no longer fit in the active site. E.g. cyanide, heavy metal ions like silver.
b) – The enzyme molecule has another (specific) site other than the active site which
can combine with the substances other than the substrate and which causes a change in
the enzymes active site.
c) Controlling disease causing organisms / manufacture of drugs and pesticides
controlling disease carrying vector / drugs and pesticides controlling of agricultural
pests; blocking reactions enabling biochemists to reconstruct metabolic pathways.

94. Land plants have most stomata on the lower leaf surface. Floating aquatic plants
have many stomata on the upper surface of their leaves. Suggest some advantages
of this arrangement.

Answer:
-For land plants, this reduces the transpiration rate / the water loss, helps to avoid
sunlight and wind.

-For floating plants, this allows the gas exchange, increases the transpiration rate in
order to keep constant the amount of water
95. a) Name the gaseous exchange surface in:
i) Humans
ii) Plants
iii) Fishes
c) Explain how efficient gas exchange is achieved in plants.

Answer:

a) i) Alveoli, lung, skin, capillaries.

ii) Stomata, cuticles, lenticels, epidermis, mesophyll.

iii)Lamella, lung, gill.

b) -Large leaves: increase surface area over which gas exchange takes place
- thin leaves: reduces the distance over which gases can pass hence gas exchange is
efficient.
– flat leaves : This permit gas to across easily.
– number of stomata : as the number of stomata increases the rate of gas exchange
increases.

56
52
96. Explain why a gas exchange surface must be
i. Rich in blood supply
ii. Thin walled
iii. Moist

Answer:

i. The respiratory surface areas have rich supply in blood to quickly transport gases to and
from the cells. Gases diffuse into the blood and are carried to and from the body cells.
ii. Respiratory surfaces should have thin walls or thin surface area to maximize the diffusion.
iii.To enable respiratory gases to diffuse into solution.

97. Copy and complete the table below.

Plant growth substance Site of synthesis Effect in plant

Auxin

Gibberellin

Cytokinin

Abscisic acid

Ethene

Answer:

Plant Site of synthesis Effect in plant

growth
substance
Auxin - shoot apical - promotes the growth.
meristems and - stimulates the stem
young leaves elongation at low
- developing seeds concentration.
and fruits - promotes the formation of
lateral roots and
adventitious roots.
- regulates the development
of the fruits.
- enhances the apical
dominance.

57

53
 - inhibits the lateral buds.
- promotes the vascular
differentiation.
-retards the leaf abscission.
- functions in the
phototropism and the
gravitropism.

58
Gibberellins - meristems of - stimulate stem elongation
apical buds and and internodes growth.
roots. - stimulates the pollen
- young leaves. development and pollen
- developing seeds. tube elongation.
- throughout the - stimulates the seed
shoot. germination.
- regulate the sex
determination in plants.
- regulate the transition
from juvenile to adult
phases in plants.
- stimulate the flowering.
- allow the increase in size
of fruits.
- is involved in the fruit
development.
- breaks down the dormancy
of seeds.
- enhances the function of
auxin.
Cytokinins - primary -regulate the cell division in
synthesized in shoots and roots.
roots and - modify the apical
transported to dominance and promote the
other organs. lateral buds growth.
- also produced in - stimulate the seed
developing stems germination.
and seeds. - delay leaf senescence.
- root apex. - promote the flowering.
– endosperm of - prevent the aging of
seeds. leaves.
– shoot apex.
– meristems. - influence the synthesis of
proteins
Abscisic -mainly produced -promotes the stomatal
acid in leaves - in most closure during drought
organs of a living stress.
plant. - inhibits the growth.
– seeds. - promotes the seed

59

54
 – almost all cells dormancy and inhibits early
have the ability to germination.
synthesize the - promotes leaf the
abscisic acid. senescence/ aging.
- promotes desiccation
tolerance.
- promotes the fruit and
flower fall.
- promotes the shedding of
leaves.
Ethene -mainly produced - promotes the ripening
in fruits, flowers, many types of fruits and
leaves androots. seeds.
-throughout of the - promotes the leaf
plant / by almost abscission.
all parts of the - promotes the triple
plant. responses in seedlings
(inhibition of stem
elongation, promotion of
the lateral expansion and
horizontal growth).
– enhances the rate of
senescence.
- promotes flowering in the
pineapple family.
98. a) List four main chemical elements from which protein is made.
b)(i) Describe how you could safely test this fruit to see if it contains reducing
sugars.
(ii) State what you would observe if a reducing sugar is present.
c) Fruit such as this is an important part of a healthy diet.
(i) Suggest one reason for eating food rich in fibre.
(ii) Name the vitamin which is associated with citrus fruits and green vegetables.
State the function of this vitamin in the body.

60
55
 Answer:

a) carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen

b) (i) add to Benedict's solution / Fehling's reagent heat use of water bath / goggles / any
other relevant safety practice
(ii) colour change to orange (accept yellow / brick red/ red-brown)
c) (i) any one of these aids peristalsis / movement of food along gut(or alternative wording)
prevents constipation(or alternative wording) reduces fat absorption / risk of bowel
cancer(or alternative wording).
(ii) any one of these vitamin C maintains healthy skin wounds heal more rapidly prevents
scurvy assists uptake of iron.
99. Explain how varying amounts of light and darkness induce flowering

Answer:

Photoperiodism is any response of plants to the duration and timing of light and dark.
Flowering is a photoperiodic response in many plants. Short-day plants detect the
lengthening nights of late summer or fall and flower at that time. Long-day plants detect
the shortening nights of spring and early summer and flower at that time. Intermediate-
day plants flower when exposed to days and nights of intermediate length.

100. a) Explain how the chromosome number is halved during meiosis.

b) Crossing over greatly increases genetic diversity in the species. Describe
the process of crossing over and explain how it increases genetic
diversity.

Answer:
a) -Homologous chromosomes (pair);
-One of each (pair) goes to each (daughter) cell / to opposite poles;
b) -Homologous pairs of chromosomes associate / form a bivalent;
-Chiasma(ta) form;
-(Equal) lengths of (non-sister) chromatids / alleles are exchanged;
-Producing new combinations of alleles;

61 56
101. Starting with mRNA in the cytoplasm, describe how translation leads to the
production of a polypeptide. Do not include descriptions of transcription and
splicing in your answer.

Answer:

1. mRNA associates with a ribosome / ribosome attaches to mRNA;

2. Ribosome moves to / finds the start codon / AUG;
3. tRNA brings / carries (appropriate / specific) amino acid;
4. Anticodon (on tRNA complementary) to codon (on mRNA);
5. Ribosome moves along to next codon;

OR
Ribosome ‘fits’ around two codons / can fit two tRNAs;
6. (Process repeated and) amino acids join by peptide bonds /
condensation reaction (to form polypeptide);

OR
(Process repeated and) amino acids joined using (energy from) ATP (to form
polypeptide);

102. In mitotic cell cycle of a human cell.

a) How many chromatids are present as the cell enters mitosis?
b) How many DNA molecules are present?
c) How many kinetochores are present?
d) How many chromatids are present in the nucleus of each daughter cell after
mitosis and cell division?
e) How many chromatids are present in the nucleus of a cell after replication of DNA?
Answer:

a) 92 chromatids
b) 92 DNA molecules( each chromatid contains one DNA molecule).
c) 92 kinetochores
d) 46 chromatids
e) 92 chromatids.

62
57
 103. Describe how mRNA is produced in a plant cell.
Answer:

- The DNA strands separate by breaking the H bonds;

OR
H bonds broken between (complementary) (DNA) bases;
-(Only) one of the strands/template strand is used (to make mRNA/is transcribed);
-(Complementary) base pairing so A→U, T→A, C→G, G→C;
-(RNA) nucleotides joined by RNA polymerase;
-pre-mRNA formed;
-Splicing / introns removed to form mRNA;

104. a) Complete the table below on the information about protein synthesis.

Stage of synthesis Site

Formation of mRNA

Collection of amino-acids by tRNA

Formation of codon-anticodon links

b) After protein synthesis, what finally happens to:

i) the RNA transfer molecules?
ii) the RNA messenger molecules?
iii) the completed protein?
Answer:

a)
Stage of synthesis site
Formation of nucleus
mRNA
Collection of cytoplasm
amino-acids by
tRNA
Formation of ribosome
codon-anticodon
links
b) i) It is released and returns to the cytoplasm.
ii) It is disintegrated to its nucleotides.
iii) It is detached from the ribosomes and gets into the cytoplasm where it can
be used or transferred to other parts of the organism

63
58
105. a) The table shows the base sequence of part of pre-mRNA molecule from
eukaryotic cell. Complete the table with the base sequence of the DNA strand from
which this pre-mRNA was transcribed.

DNA
A C G C A U U A U Pre-mRNA

b) In an eukaryotic cell, the base sequence of the mRNA might be different from
sequence of pre-mRNA. Explain why?

Answer:

a) TGCGTAATA;
b) Introns (in pre-mRNA);
Removal of sections of (pre-mRNA)/splicing;

106. a) Distinguish between a codon and an anticodon.

b) Explain why a genetic code is described as:
i) Universal
ii) Degenerate
iii) Non-overlapping
c) Why is splicing of pre-mRNA necessary?
d) A gene is made up of 756 base pairs. The mRNA that is transcribed from this gene
is only 524 nucleotides long. Explain why there is this difference?

Answer:
a) A codon is a group of triple bases that found on mRNA and they code for amino
acids whereas an anticodon is a group of triple bases found on tRNA, they are
complementary to the codons on mRNA.
b) i) It is universal because it is the same in all living organism.
ii) It is degenerative because most amino acids have more than one codon.
iii) It is non-overlapping because each base in the sequence is only read once.
c) Splicing is necessary because pre-rnRNA has nucleotide sequences derived from
introns in DNA.
These introns are non-functional and if left on the mRNA would lead to the
production of non-functional polypeptides or no polypeptide at all. Splicing removes
these non -functional introns from pre-mRNA.
d) Some of the base pairs in the genes are introns /non-functional DNA.
These introns are spliced from pre-mRNA so that the resulting mRNA has
fewer n+ucleotides.

59
64
107. The following codon dictionary shows all 64 triplet codons which may occur
in mRNA and the amino acids that are coded, as well as the chain termination coon
which are labelled stop.

Use this dictionary to answer questions about the diagram below which
summarizes the processes of protein synthesis:

a. Which is the first codon used in protein synthesis from this mRNA?
b. What is the sequence of the first 4 amino acids from the amino terminal of
the growing polypeptide?
c. What is the anticodon sequence in tRNA 1?
d. Give the codon which is recognized by tRNA 2.
e. Explain what changes will occur in the translation apparatus to allow codon
6 to be translated.
f. What are the possible codon sequences for codon 6?

65
60
 g. The figure above gives information about the seven amino acids of an 80
amino acid polypeptide. What would be the effect on this polypeptide if there
was a base substitution in the DNA sequence of the gene so that the UAC
codon in the diagram became a UAG codon?
Answer:
a) AUG
b) Methionine-Glutamic acid-Proline-Alanine
c) CGA
d)AUC
e) The ribosome will make a bond between the polypeptide attached on the tRNA 1
and the amino acid brought by the tRNA 2, the ribosome will shift one codon to the
right allowing the tRNA with an anticodon complementary to codon 6 to come to
attach to the codon 6.
f) UCA, UCC, UCU, UCG
g) The protein synthesis would stop too early resulting in an abnormal protein that
will have no function. This is called a nonsense mutation.

108. There are 20 different amino acids which cells use for making proteins.
a. How many different amino acids could be coded for by the triple code?
b. Suggest how the spare triplets might be used.
c. Explain why the code could not be a two-letter code.

Answer:

a) 64
b) For punctuation marks, that is for starting or stopping the synthesis of
a polypeptide chain.
c) A two-letter code could only code for 16 amino acids.

109. A section of DNA has the following sequence of bases along it:
TACGCTCCGCTGTAC.
All of the bases are part of the code for amino acids. The first base in the sequence is
the start of the code.
a. How many amino acids does the section of DNA code for?
b. Two of the amino acids coded for will be the same, which ones?
c. It is possible that this sequence codes for many different amino acids or
many copies of the same amino acid, from your knowledge of the
genetic code, explain how this can happen.
d. Explain how a change in one base along a DNA molecule might result in
an enzyme becoming non-functional.

66
61
 Answer:

a) 5
b) The first and last ( 5th )/ the two coded for by the bases TAC.
c) Because some amino acids have up to six different codes, others have just
one triple code.
d) A different base might code for a different amino acid. These sequence of amino
acids in the polypeptide produced will be different. This change to the primary
structure of the protein might result a different shaped tertiary structure. The
enzyme shape will be different and may not fit the substrate. The enzyme-substrate
complex can not be formed and so the enzyme is non-functional.

110. List several ways that each of these hormones affects plant growth and development:
auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, ethylene, and abscisic acid.
Answer:

 Auxin is involved in cell elongation; tropisms; apical dominance, the inhibition of

axillary buds by the apical meristem; and fruit development. Auxin also stimulates root
development on stem cuttings.
 Gibberellins are involved in stem elongation, flowering, and germination.
 Cytokinins promote cell division and differentiation; delay senescence, the natural aging
process; and interact with auxin and ethylene in apical dominance. Cytokinins induce
cell division in tissue culture, a technique in which cells are isolated from plants and
grown in a nutrient medium.
 Ethylene plays a role in ripening fruits; apical dominance; leaf abscission; wound
response; thigmomorphogenesis, a developmental response to mechanical stressors such
as wind; and senescence.
 Abscisic acid is an environmental stress hormone involved in stomatal closure caused by
water stress and in seed dormancy, a temporary state of reduced physiological activity

111. Describe phototropism, gravitropism, and thigmotropism

Answer:

Tropisms are directional growth responses. Phototropism is growth in response to the

direction of light. Gravitropism growth in response to the influence of gravity.
Thigmotropism is growth in response to contact with a solid object.

67 62
 112. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder in humans in which an important protein is
not produced. This protein is responsible for preventing the accumulation of thick and
sticky mucus in the breathing tubes. The allele which causes cystic fibrosis is recessive
to the normal allele (F).
a) State the genotype of
(i) a carrier of cystic fibrosis;
(ii) a sufferer of cystic fibrosis
c) Draw a genetic diagram to show if it is possible for a man with a
dominant pair of alleles and a woman who is a carrier to produce a baby
with cystic fibrosis. Identify the phenotypes of the children.
d) Suggest how the buildup of sticky mucus would affect a sufferer of
cystic fibrosis.

Answer:

a) a(i) Ff
(ii) ff

b)

c) any two of these

- Reference to trachea /bronchi / bronchioles / alveoli blocked or congested
- Makes gaseous exchange more difficult
- Reference to lack of energy / respiration impaired
- Reference to being more susceptible to infections
-Reference to digestion affected

68
63
113. Water has got many properties that enable it support life. Explain the
significance of the following properties;

a) Ice is less dense than liquid water.

b) Has a high latent heat of vaporization.
c) It is difficult to compress.
d) Has a high surface tension.
Answer:
a) Ice forms on the surface of a body of water and insulates the water below, allowing
aquatic life to survive.
b) Heat is lost from a surface when water evaporates from it; this is used as a cooling
mechanism, for example sweating in mammals and transpiration in plants.
c) Water is an important structural agent, acting as a skeleton (hydrostatic) in worms and
turgid plants.
d) This allows some aquatic organism such as pond skaters to land on the surface of a
pond and move over it.

114. Algae are not associated with diseases like many fungi and bacteria. Explain.

Answer:
Algae are mainly autotrophic and thus won’t pose harm to other organisms whereas
fungi and bacteria are heterotrophic and will cause harm as they such for food.

115. The figure below shows a diagram based on an electron micrograph of a

secretory cell from the pancreas. This type of cell is specialized for secreting
(exporting) proteins. Some of the proteins are digestive enzymes of the pancreatic
juice. The cell is very active, requiring a lot of energy. The arrows show the route
taken by the protein molecules.

a) Describe what is happening at each of the stages A, B, C and D.

b) Name one molecule or structure which leaves the nucleus by route E.

69
64
 c) Through which structure must the molecule or structure you named in (b) pass to
get through the nuclear envelope?

d) Name the molecule which leaves the mitochondrion in order to provide energy for
this cell.

Answer:

a) A protein made on the ribosome is moving into the rough ER;B rough ER buds off
small vesicles; vesicles fuse to form the Golgi body; (therefore) protein moves into
Golgi body; protein may be modified / processed inside Golgi body;C Golgi body buds
off Golgi vesicles;D Golgi vesicles travel to cell surface membrane; Golgi vesicle(s)
fuses with cell surface membrane; protein / enzyme leaves cell; exocytosis / secretion.
b) Ribosome / messenger RNA.
c) Nuclear pore.
d) ATP.

116. The diagram below shows a disaccharide called lactose. The carbon atoms
are numbered. You are not expected to have seen this structure before. Lactose is
a reducing sugar found in milk. It is made from a reaction between glucose and
galactose.

a) Suggest two functions that lactose could have.

b) Analyse the diagram above and explain the type of reaction involved.
c) Draw diagrams to show the structures of separate molecules of glucose
and galactose.
d) Using information in the diagram, is the alpha or beta form of glucose used
to make lactose? Explain your answer.
e) Like lactose, sucrose is a disaccharide. If you were given a solution of lactose and
a solution of sucrose, state briefly how you could distinguish between them.
70

65
Answer:

a) Lactose could be a source of energy; it could be digested to, monosaccharides /

glucose and galactose, which could then be used as building blocks for larger molecules;
b) Condensation reaction. It involves loss of water when two monomers combine.
c) Glucose correctly drawn;galactose correctly drawn;Carbon atoms need not be
numbered.
Note that galactose will probably be drawn ‘upside down’ as in the disaccharide – the
conventional way of drawing it is also shown in the diagram above. The form used to
make the disaccharide is the beta form of galactose, but students will not need to know
this, other than for interest.

d) Alpha glucose / α-glucose; the –OH group on carbon atom 1 is below the ring
e) Carry out a Benedict’s test on both solutions; lactose would give a brick-red / brown
precipitate, sucrose would not; accept positive result for lactose, negative result
forsucrose.

117. Cholera bacteria release the toxin, choleragen, when they are in the intestine.
a) What name is given to the bacterium that is the pathogen of cholera?
b) Describe the way in which cholera is transmitted from an infected person to an
uninfected person.
Answer:
a) Vibriocholera
b) faecal-oral route ;;

 description of faecal / oral route

infected person:
 faeces / sewage / stool, contaminating (drinking) water R (human) waste unqualified
 poor hygiene so transferring, faecal material / sewage, onto utensils / food / AW
 defecating / putting sewage, onto vegetable plots ;
 flies in contact with contaminated faeces landing on food and contaminating /
uninfected person
 eating contaminated food / using contaminated utensils

71
66
  drinking contaminated water ;

118. Differentiate between a parasite and a pathogen.

Answer:
Differences
Parasite Pathogen
A parasite is an organism that lives A pathogen is an agent that causes
in or on another organism at the a disease to its host
host’s expense.
Include protozoans and helminths Include bacteria, fungi, virus,
protists and parasites
Macroscopic organisms Can be microscopic or
macroscopic organisms
Not all cause diseases in the host All cause diseases in the host
organism organism

119. Complete Table 17.1 to show which of the four statements apply to each of
the infectious diseases shown.
a) Fill in each box, using a tick (√) to show that the statement applies or a
cross (x) if not.
Table 17.1
Statement Measles Smallpox Malaria
Caused by a virus
Caused by Plasmodium
Eradicated by vaccination
Transmitted by contaminated water

b) Explain why antibiotics are not prescribed for viral diseases.

72
67
 Answer:
a) The table
Statement Measles Smallpox Malaria
Caused by a virus √ √ X
Caused by X x √
Plasmodium
Eradicated by X √ X
vaccination
Transmitted by X X X
contaminated water

b) idea that viruses have no, sites / targets, where antibiotics can work ; viruses have no,
cell walls / ribosomes / cell membranes ;
Or have different enzymes
idea that even if antibiotics could affect viruses, they are within cells, antibiotics cannot
reach them ;

120. a) Define the term ‘opportunistic infection’.

b) Explain why someone with AIDS is more likely to catch opportunistic
diseases.
Answer:

a) An opportunistic infection is an infection caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses,

fungi, or protozoa) that take advantage of an opportunity not normally available, such as
a host with a weakened immune system, damaged protective barriers etc.
b) It is because AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus that attacks and
destroys T helper cells in the immune system. Since these cells helped fight infection,
once destroyed, a person can defend themselves against any pathogens. It is these
infections that later kill the host.

121. Justify the statement; ‘People in less economically developed countries are
more likely to suffer from infectious diseases.’

Answer:
The people are characterised by the following;
 Poverty
 Poor hygiene
 Lack of proper shelter
 Lack of purified water
 Poor nutrition
73

68
  Lack of investment by the government
 Poor or inadequate health services
 Inadequate education about the causes of diseases and how they are transmitted.
 Civil unrest or warfare
 Inadequate transport facilities that prevent people reaching medical assistance.

122. a) How do microorganisms cause food to spoil?

b)Review the range of methods used to keep food fresh.

Answer:
a) Four ways microbes spoil food;
 Visible growth of microbes on food.
 Microbes use an external digestion process.
 Some bacterium produce a toxin called botulin that can be hazardous.
 Presence of microorganisms in food can cause infection.
b) – Cooking where heat destroys bacteria
o Pasteurising i.e. heat to 72oC and rapidly cool to 4oC.
o Drying, salting and coating in sugar.
o Smoking
o Pickling i.e. use an acid pH to kill microorganisms
o Irradiation i.e. ionising radiation kills the microbes by disrupting their DNA structure.
o Cooling and freezing that slow microbe growth.

123. With examples, differentiate between prevalence and incidence.

Answer:
Prevalence refers to the number of people with the disease at a given time e.g. 1 million
people infected with HIV/AIDS in January 2019 for a country X. Incidence refers to the
number of new cases in a population per year e.g. 800 children were infected in 2019.

124. a) Discuss three advantages of using microorganisms to produce food.

b)Some people are against biotechnology in food processing. Suggest any

three justifications.

69
74
 Answer:
a) - Production of protein can be many times faster than that of animal or plant protein.
- Production can be increased and decreased according to demand.
- There are no animal welfare issues.
- They provide good source of protein for vegetarians.
- The protein contains no animal fat or cholesterol.
- Single – cell protein (SCP) production can be combined with removal of waste products.

b) – Many people may not want to eat fungal protein or food that has been grown on
waste.
- Isolation of the protein – the microbes are grown in huge fermenters and need to be
isolated from the material on which they grow.
- The protein has to be purified to ensure it is uncontaminated.
- Infection – the conditions needed for the useful microorganisms to grow are also ideal
for pathogenic organisms.
- Palatability – the protein does not have the taste or texture of tradition protein sources.

125. Diagram 23.1 (a) shows the structure of a fish while figure 23.1 (b) shows
a cross section of the fish’s myotomes. Based on the two diagrams, (a) and (b),
explain how these structures help the fish to move.

Figure 23.1 (a) Figure 23.1 (b)

Answer:
 Fish have endoskeleton that is flexible.
 Fish have muscles that are arranged in blocks (myotome muscles) that work
antagonistically. i.e. When right myotome muscles contract, left myotome muscles
relax, and the tail wings to the right and vice versa.
 Besides the body of the fish is streamlined to reduce the resistance against water.
 The body is slimy (have mucous) and the scales are arranged so as to overlap in
head-to-tail direction to reduce resistance against water.

75

70
  Dorsal fins, ventral fins, pelvic fins and pectoral fins help the movement of fish in
water. i.e. Dorsal and ventral fins prevent rolling and yawing; pelvic and pectoral fins
prevent pitching; pectoral fins also acts and steering and brake.

126. Describe the lifecycle of Plasmodium vivax.

Answer:
Lifecycle:
An infected female anopheles mosquito bites a person and injects saliva containing
sporozoites. The sporozoites move to the liver cells where they divide to form
merozoites. By asexual reproduction, the merozoites multiply and move into blood
circulation where they invade red blood cells. Merozoites enlarge and invade more red
blood cells and in the process form gametes.
When a female bites this person, it takes blood that contains gametes. In the stomach of
the mosquito, the gametes fuse to form zygotes that undergo sexual reproduction to form
sporozoites. These sporozoites then move to the salivary glands of mosquitoes to await
the next victim. The process then continues.

127. Figure 25 shows the elbow joint of the human arm.

Figure 25

a) Name the part labelled M.

b) The muscles that move the arm are paired and act antagonistically. Explain this
statement in connection with the movement of the upper arm.

76
71
 Answer:
a) Ligament
b) The role of the muscles in the movement of the lower arm. The movement of the
skeleton occurs as a result of the contraction of a pair of opposing muscles. When the
biceps muscle contracts, the triceps relaxes at the same time. The bicep muscle is fixe to
the radius as well as scapula. The triceps muscle is fixed to the ulna as well as the base
of the humerus and scapula. As such, the contraction of the biceps will pull the radius
upwards to bend the arm, and the contraction of the triceps will pull the ulna downwards
to straighten the arm.

128. Explain the characteristics of adaptation that is made by the following

animals to facilitate movement in their habitats.
a) Bird
b) Fish
Answer:
a) - The shape of the body that is aerofoil shaped reduces resistance. The aerofoil shaped
wing increases the lifting force.
- Hollow bones reduce body mass.
- Have singular organs such as a testis and a kidney to reduce body mass.
- Smooth feathers that are arranged in a posterior direction to reduce air friction.
- Big and strong pectoral muscle for wing movement.
- Have air sacs to increase the gas exchange effectively.
- High body temperature sets a high metabolic rate.

b) - The shape of the body that is aerofoil shaped reduces water resistance.
 Slimy scales to reduce friction.
 The movement of tail produces a forward thrusting force.
 The pectoral fins stops movement.
 The dorsal fins prevent the fish from rolling
 The pelvic fins prevent the fish from plunging
 Sacs change the position in the water.

77
72
129. Analyze social behavior in terms of costs and benefits, and describe modes of
animal communication.
Answer:

Social behavior is adaptive interaction, usually among members of the same species.
Many animal societies are characterized by a means of communication, cooperation,
division of labor, and a tendency to stay together. Benefits include; cooperative
foraging or hunting and defense from predators. Costs include increased
competition for food and habitats and increased risks of attracting predators and
transmitting disease.
❚ Animal communication involves the exchange of mutually recognizable signals,
which can be electrical, tactile, visual, auditory, or chemical. Pheromones are
chemical signals that convey information between members of a species.

130. Define sexual selection, and describe different types of mating systems
and approaches to parental care.

Answer:

Sexual selection, a type of natural selection, occurs when individuals vary in their
ability to compete for mates. Individuals with reproductive advantages are selected
over others of the same sex and species.
❚ Mate choice may be influenced by dominance, gifts, ornaments, and courtship
displays. Males of some species gather in a lek, a small display area where they
compete for females. Courtship rituals ensure that the male is a member of the same
species and permit the female to assess the quality of the male.
❚ Sexual selection often favors polygyny, a mating system in which a male mates
with many females. In polyandry, a female mates with several males. Monogamy,
mating with a single partner during a breeding season, is less common.
Among many species, males engage in mate guarding, especially when the female is
most fertile, to prevent other males from fertilizing her eggs.
❚ A pair bond is a stable relationship between a male and a female that may involve
cooperative behavior in mating and in rearing the young. Parental investment in
care of eggs and offspring increases the probability that offspring will survive. A
high investment in parenting is typically less advantageous to the male than to the
female.

78
73
131. Describe the adaptive significance of social organization, using establishment
of a dominance hierarchy as an example
Answer:

Social organization ensures greater reproductive success for the members of a

society. A dominance hierarchy is a ranking of status within a group in which
more dominant members are accorded benefits (such as food or mates) by
subordinates, often without overt aggressive behavior. Social ranking reduces
costly physical fights.

132. Contrast a society of social insects with a vertebrate society, and give
examples of cultural variation in vertebrate populations.
Answer:
A society is a group of individuals of the same species that work together in an
adaptive manner. Insect societies tend to be rigid, with the role of the individual
narrowly defined. Insect division of labour is mainly determined by age.

133. Analyze costs and benefits of migrations, and distinguish between directional
orientation and navigation.

Answer:
❚ Migration is periodic long-distance travel from one location to another. Proximate
causes of migration include physiological responses that are triggered by
environmental changes. Ultimate causes of migration include the benefit of moving
away from an area that seasonally becomes too cold, dry, or depleted of food to a
more hospitable area. Costs of migration include time, energy, and greater risk of
predation.
❚ Directional orientation is travel in a specific direction and requires compass
sense, a sense of direction. Many migrating animals use the sun to orient
themselves.
❚ Navigation requires both compass sense and map sense, an awareness of location.
Birds that navigate at night use the stars as guides. Birds and many other animals
also use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate.

79
74
134. a) Explain why Smoking is a difficult habit to quit.
b) State three ways that can be used in tobacco control.
Answer:
a) Because the tobacco leaves contain nicotine which is an addictive substance
that conditions the brain to work properly when it is present.
b) WAYS OF TOBACCO CONTROL
 Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies
 Protect people from tobacco smoke
 Offer help to quit tobacco use
 Warn about the dangers of tobacco
 Enforce bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship
 Raise taxes on tobacco

135. Explain the four features of a good gas exchange surface in animals.
Answer:
A good gas exchange surface must be
 Short distance, to increase the rate of difusion
 Large surface to allow many molecules to pass at once
 Good blood supply to bring CO2 and transport oxygen
 Great concentration gradient to increase diffusion
136. Define;
a. counter current flow
b. buccal respiration
c. casparian strip
Answer:

a) Counter current flow it is the movement of gases or fluid in opposite

direction to maximize the exchange.
b) Buccal respiration: it is a type of breathing using the mouth.
c) casparian strip; it is a band made of suberine in the endodermis that blocks the
apoplast pathway and forces water into the symplast pathway

80
75
137. Fill in the flow chart below, using the following words: Amino acids, mRNA,
mRNA codon, nucleus, nuclear pore, peptide bonds, ribosome, transcription, and
cytoplasm.

Answer:
A/Transcription, nucleus, mRNA , nuclear pore, ribosome, translation, mRNA,
peptide bonds, Amino acids.

138. Contrast photoautotrophs and chemoheterotrophs with respect to their

energy and carbon sources.
Answer:
Photoautotrophs use light as an energy source and are able to incorporate
atmospheric CO2 into pre-existing carbon skeletons. Chemoheterotrophs obtain
energy by oxidizing chemicals and obtain carbon as organic molecules from other
organisms.

139. Discuss how photorespiration reduces photosynthetic efficiency.

Answer:

In photorespiration, C3 plants consume oxygen and generate CO2 by degrading

Calvin cycle intermediates but do not produce ATP. Photorespiration is significant
on bright, hot, dry days when plants close their stomata, conserving water but
preventing the passage of CO2 into the leaf.

81
76
140. Describe photosynthesis as a redox process.
Answer:
During photosynthesis, light energy is captured and converted to the chemical
energy of carbohydrates; hydrogens from water are used to reduce carbon, and
oxygen derived from water becomes oxidized, forming molecular oxygen.

141. Describe what happens to an electron in a biological molecule such

as chlorophyll when a photon of light energy is absorbed.
Answer:
 Photons excite biological molecules such as chlorophyll and other
photosynthetic pigments, causing one or more electrons to become
energized. These energized electrons may be accepted by electron acceptor
compounds.
 The combined absorption spectra of chlorophylls a and b are similar to the
action spectrum for photosynthesis.
142. Distinguish between the light-dependent reactions and carbon fixation
reactions of photosynthesis.

Answer:
In the light-dependent reactions, electrons energized by light are used to generate
ATP and NADPH; these compounds provide energy for the formation of
carbohydrates during the carbon fixation reactions.
143. Diagram the internal structure of a chloroplast, and explain how its
components interact and facilitate the process of photosynthesis.

Answer:
❚ In plants, photosynthesis occurs in chloroplasts, which are located mainly within
mesophyll cells inside the leaf.
❚ Chloroplasts are organelles enclosed by a double membrane; the inner membrane
encloses the stroma in which membranous, saclike thylakoids are suspended. Each
thylakoid encloses a thylakoid lumen. Thylakoids arranged in stacks are called
grana.
❚ Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, carotenoids, and other photosynthetic pigments are
components of the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts.

82 77
144. State the importance of photosynthesis in a plant and to other organisms.
Answer:
Photosynthesis is the ultimate source of all chemical energy and organic
molecules available to photoautotrophs,such as plants, and to virtually all other
organisms as well.
It also constantly replenishes the supply of oxygen in the atmosphere, vital to all
aerobic organisms.

145. The figure below shows an experimental set up. Study it carefully and answer
the questions that follow.

a. What name can be given to such an apparatus?

b. What is it set up to measure?
c. What does it actually measure?
d. Mention four mistakes the experimenter made while setting up the
apparatus

Answer:

a) Potometer

b) The rate of transpiration

c) The rate of absorption of water by the shoot.
d) Four mistakes: - End of the shoot is not immersed in water.
- No tap to regulate flow of water from reservoir.
- Apparatus is not full of water.
- Scale is not marked.
- There is no air bubble.
- No beaker.

78
83
146. The figure below is a simple photometer used to investigate the rate of
transpiration under different condition.

What do you think would happen to the rate of transpiration under?

a) High humidity.
b) High wind speed.
c) High temperatures.
d) High light intensity.

Answer:

a) It will decrease.
b) It will increase.
c) It will increase.
d) It will increase.
147. Explain the differences between xylem and
phloem. Answer:
Table
Xylem Phloem
Cells are dead when mature Cells are living when mature.
Have vessels and tracheids. Have companion cells and sieve
elements.
Transport water and minerals. Transport manufactured food.
Are open ended. Are perforations plates at end.
Transport is from root to other parts Transport is bidirectional.
of the plant.
It is wide. It is narrow.
It is lignified. It is not lignified.
Lacks sieve plate. Have sieve.

84
79
148. Fig. 1 shows changes in the rate of water loss from a plant during part of
a day. It also shows changes in the temperature and light intensity over the
same period.

a. Explain why the rate of water loss rises steeply between 0700 and 1200
hours.
b. Suggest which factor, light intensity or temperature, has the greater effect
on the rate of water loss between 1200 and 1500 hours. Explain your
answer.
c. Predict and explain the likely effect on the rate of water loss if there had
been heavy rainfall between 1100 and 1200 hours.
Answer:
a) any three of these light intensity increases, the stomata open ,increase in
temperature, greater rate of evaporation / transpiration / diffusion
b) factor- temperature
Explanation- as light decreases the rate of loss continues to rise / temperature and
water loss curves peak at the similar time
c) prediction- rate of water loss / transpiration falls / lower
Explanation- air saturated / humid (thus less evaporation)

85
80
 149. Fig. 2 shows set of apparatus, used biological processes.

a) Name the process that can be measured by the apparatus.

b) Name the gas which is produced by the process measured using apparatus
c) How would you keep one named external factor constant when using the apparatus
above?

Answer:
a) The rate of photosynthesis
b) The gas is oxygen
c) light-intensity fixed position of bulb / keep light on / same wattage /
temperature- heat shield / in water bath / heat filter
carbon dioxide- add hydrogen carbonate to water
biotic idea- use same piece of waterweed
150. Discuss six good hygiene practices that are needed at home.
Answer:
1. These include;
 Hands frequently touch many things which may carry pathogens. They must be always
washed using a soap before preparing food, eating and after a visit to a toilet.
 It is essential to bath frequently because sweat and oil secretions on the skin enable
bacteria and fungi to breed easily. This helps to prevent skin infections.
 Bath towels and sponges should not be shared Combs and hairbrushes should not be
shared.
 Hair should be washed frequently to avoid lice and mites. These can spread typhus fever.
 Teeth should be cleaned at least twice a day, preferably after each meal because the
spaces between teeth where food particles are trapped provide excellent breeding
grounds for bacteria.
 Clothes should be clean and changed frequently.
 Shoes should be worn to prevent cuts and infection by hookworms.
86

81
 Finger nails and toe nails must be always kept short and clean so that they do not
provide breeding places for germs.

151. Name the parts of an angiosperm and of a mammal which:

Angiosperm Mammal
Make pollen / sperm
Receive pollen / sperm
Allow development of the embryo
within
Are the intermediate source of food for
the embryo
Are responsible for the expulsion of the
embryo when it is fully developed.

Answer:

Table below
Angiosperm Mammal

Make pollen / sperm Anther Testis

Receive pollen / sperm Stigma Vagina

Allow development of the embryo Ovary / Uterus

within carpel

Are the intermediate source of food Endosperm Placenta

for the embryo
Are responsible for the expulsion Fruit Uterus
of the embryo when it is fully
developed.

152. Differentiate between the following terms;

a) A stolon and a runner
b) A stem tuber and a rhizome

Answer

a) A stolon is a slender stem while a runner is a thin lateral stem on the soil surface.
b) A stem tuber is a swollen stem while a rhizome is thick horizontal stem usually
growing underground.

87
82
153. a) What is grafting?
b) Describe a procedure you can perform on an orange plant to show
grafting.

Answer
a) Grafting is when stems of two different plants that are closely related are joined
together so as to produce a new plant containing the characters of both plants.
b) Procedure:
- Step 1: Vertical Incisions
Make 3-inch vertical incisions through the rootstock's bark, starting at the top. With the
point of a knife, separate the bark from the wood at the tip of the rootstock.
Step 2: Prepare the Scion
Prepare the scion by trimming 1/2 inch off the bottom to show fresh, green wood. Slice a
shallow, 2-inch cut into the wood at the bottom end of the scion. This cut exposes
cambium tissue, which carries sap through the tree.
Step 3: Connect Scion and Rootstock
Place the cut end of the scion inside the four flaps, lining up each cut surface with a flap.
Step 4: Secure the Graft
Now is the time to use the rubber band to hold the flaps in place. Make sure the
cambium tissue of the scion is seated against the cambium tissue of the rootstock.
Step 5: Protect the Graft
Protect the graft by wrapping it with a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, then a piece
of plastic.
Step 6: Secure the Plastic
Tape the plastic lightly around the graft using masking tape.

154. Explain two advantages and two disadvantages of vegetative propagation.

Answer

Advantages
 Maintains genetic variety of the plant.
 Provides many offspring
Disadvantages
 New plants may not be adapted to new habitats
 Lack of genetic variation may hinder future survival.

88 83
155. Discuss the significance of alternation of generations to the life cycles of
plants.

Answer:
It allows for both the dynamic and volatile act of sexual reproduction and the steady and
consistent act of asexual reproduction to occur smoothly.

156. Differentiate between a drupe and a berry.

Answer:

Table of differences
Drupe Berry
Has a hard endocarp Has a fleshy endocarp
Has a single seed Has more than one seed

157. a) What do you understand by the term double fertilization?

b) Describe the series of events after fertilization.
Answer:

a) Double fertilisation is a unique phenomenon in flowering plants where one male

nucleus fertilises the egg cell to form a diploid zygote that forms an embryo and the
other male nucleus fuses with the polar nuclei to form a triploid nucleus that later forms
as endosperm.
b) - After fertilisation, the calyx, corolla, stamens and style may wither gradually and
fall off, but in some flowers the calyx may persist.
- The ovule forms the seed, the two integuments of the ovule will form the seed coat,
and the ovary will develop into fruit, with the ovary wall forming the pericarp (fruit
wall).
- The diploid zygote undergoes cell division to form the embryo, the triploid primary
endosperm nucleus develops into endosperm, a store used by the developing embryo.
-This persists in endospermic seeds of monocotyledons. The micropyle persists as a
small hole in the seed coat through which water is absorbed during germination.

158. Briefly explain why a seed may remain dormant even when the
environmental conditions are favorable for germination.
Answer:

 It improves the chance of a seedling growing to maturity.

 It gives seeds a greater opportunity to be moved away from the parent plant.

89
84
 159. a) What is a culture medium?
b) Describe two forms of culture media and their significance.
Answer:
a) A medium is a solid or liquid preparation containing nutrients for the culture of
microorganisms.
b) Solid medium is one that contains a gelling agent thus exists in a solid state and
is used for growth of colonies.
Liquid medium is one made with water, containing nutrients for bacteria growth and
is used to measure population growth.

160. Explain why the relationship between a bee and a flower is described as a
mutualistic one.
Answer:
Mutualism implies that both organisms benefit and, in this context, bees get nectar while
flowers are able to be pollinated.
161. a) What physiological events would you expect to follow the injection of a
small quantity of glucose into the blood stream of a healthy mammal?
b)What would be the result of injecting into the blood stream of a man whose
pancreas has been removed?

Answers
a) –Increasing of blood sugar level (hyperglycemia).
-Secretion of insulin
-Return to the normal range of blood sugar level.
Other events of insulin are:
-conversion of glucose into glycogen.
-absorption of glucose by the cells of the body.
-transformation of glucose into fats.
-oxidation of glucose.
-negative feedback mechanism to maintain the level of glucose.
-production of insulin and conversion of glucose into glycogen.
b. Increasing the blood sugar (hyperglycemia) results into diabetes and high blood
pressure.

85
90
162. a) Explain the importance of a human being maintaining a constant internal
temperature.
b) Describe the role of the hypothalamus in the regulation of body temperature.
c) Explain why in a normal healthy individual, the blood glucose level
fluctuates very little.

Answers
a) Body temperature does not fluctuate as much as that of the environment, this
allows humans to live in different places.
Too low temperatures would result in low enzymes activity, hence in low
metabolism
Too high temperatures would denature the enzyme and disrupt the balance of
substances produced during metabolism.
OR / -Enables the human to live in different places /conditions.
-Lower temperatures lower metabolic rates.
-Higher temperatures denature enzymes.
-Their body activities are not affected by of extreme temperatures.
-Any example of metabolic activities is accepted.
b) Hypothalamus: -has temperatures receptors, measures blood
temperature, contain both heat gain and heat loss centers, coordinates the
responses.

OR/ Hypothalamus: -receives information about temperatures from the skin

receptors.
-detects changes in blood temperatures’
-interprets/ monitors / analyzes body temperatures changes and sends appropriate
instructions to effectors.
c) –High concentration of glucose leads to an increase of insulin / OR …insulin
lowers the blood sugar level by favoring the glycogenesis, by increasing the uptake
of glucose by cells and its use by cells
-Low concentration of glucose leads to an increase of glucagon / OR…glucagon
increases the blood sugar level by favoring the glycogenolysis.
-Both conversions of glucose are activated:

OR / Two antagonistic hormones are working. Insulin decreasing the rate of glucose
while
Glucagon increases it in the blood.

91
86
163. Figure 1 below is a summary of a cycle in a physiological process.

a. Name: i) the cycle

ii) the physiological process
iii) the stages of the process
iv) the site of occurrence of this cycle
v) the stage of the physiological period from which compounds A
and B originate.
b. Name compounds A, B and C.
c. What processes are occurring in each of these stages (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
and (v)?
d. What compounds are represented by D and E?
e. What other compounds can be built from 3C sugar represented by F and G?
f. List any three main requirements for this cycle to operate.
Answers
a) i) Calvin cycle
ii) Photosynthesis
iii) Dark stage / Light independent stage
iv) Stroma of the chloroplast
v) light stage / Light dependent stage
b) A = Carbon dioxide
B = NADPH2 / reduced NADP
C = Adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
c) i) Carbon fixation
ii) Reduction
iii) Reduction
iv) Synthesis of carbon compounds.
v) Regeneration RUBP
d) D = 6C-sugar, monosaccharide sugar, hexose sugar.

92

87
E = Starch, polysaccharide

93
 e) F and G - Proteins.
- Lipids.
f) Any three of these:- a CO2 acceptor – RUBP / RUDP / (CO2)
- enzyme (RUBISCO)
- energy as ATP
- reduced NADP / NADPH2

164. The effect of carbon dioxide concentration on the photosynthesis of a bean

plant leaf (a C3 plant) and that of maize (a C4 plant) were compared. The results
were as shown in the following figure:

a. What is meant by the term” compensation point”?

b. What conclusion can you draw from the results?
c. State any differences in the photosynthetic process of C3 and C4 plants.
d. What advantages do C4 plants have over C3 plants?

Answers
a) Compensation point corresponds to that time of day where
photosynthesis and respiration proceed at the same rate and there is no
gain or loss in carbohydrate / CO2 / O2.
b) -Maize (C3 plants) have lower compensation points than beans
(C4 plants); CO2 uptake levels off.
-Beyond the compensation point CO2 uptake first increases rapidly then levels
off with increased CO2 concentration.
-CO2 uptake rate is higher at high light intensity than at lower light intensities.
-Increases in CO2 uptake rate in maize at higher light intensity is higher
than that of beans at lower light.

94
88
 c) Differences …

C3 C4
CO2 acceptor is RUBP CO2 acceptor is PEP
First stable product is 3C – PGA First stable product is 4C-OAA
(GA3)
CO2 fixed once in mesophyll cells CO2 fixed twice in bundle
sheath / mesophyll.

d) C4 - No photorespiration hence carry out photosynthesis

at high O2 concentration / low CO2.
- CO2 is fixed twice hence more efficiency of photosynthesis.
-Higher rates of photosynthesis at higher temperature because enzymes are
not affected.
-PEP carboxylase has a higher affinity of CO2 hence can photosynthesize
even at lower CO2 concentration.
-Are efficient in their use of water / able to reach higher photosynthetic
rates per unit mass of water transpired than C3.

165. The following figure shows the tight saturation curves of photosynthesis for
plants of Sinapsis alba grown under strong illumination (o-o-o-o-o-) and weak
illumination (-•-•-•-•-•-)

a. What conclusions can you draw from the data?

b. What is the state of the plant at point P?
c. What happens to the plant biomass in region Y?
d. State the environmental factors that affect the leveling off of the graphs.

95
89
 Answers
a) - Shade plants have lower CO2 uptake / photosynthesis than light plants at
the same intensity.
- For both plants CO2 uptake / photosynthesis increases with light intensity to
a maximum and levels off.
- Shade plants reach maximum / constant CO2 uptake / photosynthesis at lower
light intensity than light plants.
- Increase in light intensity causes a bigger increase in CO2 uptake / photosynthesis
in light plants than shade plants.
- Light plants have higher compensation points than shade plants.
- At light intensity the rate of photosynthesis / CO2 uptake is the same in both
types of plants.
b) P is the compensation point; CO2 uptake is equal to CO2 output / net CO2
uptake is zero.
c) It decreases due to more biomass being respired than manufactured
in photosynthesis.
d) –Temperature, CO2 concentration.

166. Study the scheme below about the reactions occurring in chloroplasts during
photosynthesis.

a. i) Show on the diagram the chemical substances represented by the

letters M, N, O and P.
ii) Indicate by means of arrows on the diagram the direction of transfer of
substances occurring in cycles A and B.
b. State the ways in which the chloroplast is adapted for photosynthesis.

96
90
 Answer:
a)

b) -contains chlorophyll for trapping light energy; stroma contains the

enzymes necessary for carbohydrate synthesis. E.g. carbonic anhydrase.
 surface membrane is permeable to gases (CO2 a raw material and O2 a by
product).
 internal membrane system forms stacks of thylakoids / grana to increase
surface area for attachment of chlorophyll.
 internal membranes have electron transport systems that synthesize ATP to
drive the light independent reactions.
 have own DNA and ribosomes hence carry out their own protein synthesis to
form necessary enzymes for photosynthesis.
 starch grains for storing the end products of photosynthesis i.e. starch.

167. Contrast the actions of insulin and glucagon, and describe diabetes mellitus
and hypoglycaemia, including the metabolic effects of these disorders.

Answer:
❚ The islets of Langerhans in the pancreas secrete insulin and glucagon. Insulin
and glucagon secretion is regulated directly by glucose concentration. Insulin
stimulates cells to take up glucose from the blood, so it lowers blood glucose
concentration. Glucagon raises blood glucose concentration by stimulating
conversion of glycogen to glucose and by stimulating production of glucose from
other nutrients.
❚ In diabetes mellitus, either insulin deficiency or insulin resistance results in
decreased use of glucose, increased fat mobilization, increased protein use, and

97
91
electrolyte imbalance. In hypoglycemia, impaired glucose tolerance results in a
delayed insulin response, followed by hypersecretion of insulin. The glucose
concentration falls, causing drowsiness.

168. Define homeostasis, and contrast negative and positive feedback systems.
Answer:
❚ Homeostasis is the balanced internal environment, or steady state. The control
processes that maintain these conditions are homeostatic mechanisms.
❚ Homeostasis is actually a dynamic equilibrium maintained by negative feedback
systems. When a stressor causes a change in some steady state, a response is
triggered that opposes the change. A sensor detects a change, a deviation from the
desired condition, or set point. The sensor signals an integrator, or control center.
Based on the output of the sensor, the integrator activates one or more effectors,
organs or processes that restore the steady state.
❚ In a positive feedback system, a deviation from the steady state sets off a series of
changes that intensify (rather than reverse) the changes.
169. Trace the passage of oxygen through the human respiratory system
from nostrils to alveoli.

Answer:
The human respiratory system includes the lungs and a system of airways. A
breath of air passes in sequence through the nostrils, nasal cavities, pharynx,
larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli. Each lung occupies a pleural
cavity and is covered with a pleural membrane.
170. Summarize the mechanics and the regulation of breathing in humans, and
describe gas exchange in the lungs and tissues.

Answer:
❚ During breathing, the diaphragm contracts, expanding the chest cavity. The
membranous walls of the lungs move outward along with the chest walls, lowering
pressure within the lungs. Air from outside the body rushes in through the air
passageways and fills the lungs until the pressure equals atmospheric pressure.
❚ Tidal volume is the amount of air moved into and out of the lungs with each
normal breath. Vital capacity is the maximum volume that can be exhaled after the
lungs fill to the maximum extent. The volume of air that remains in the lungs at the
end of a normal expiration is the residual capacity.
❚ Respiratory centers in the medulla and pons regulate respiration.These centers
are stimulated by chemoreceptors sensitive to an increase in carbon dioxide
concentration.

98
92
 They also respond to an increase in hydrogen ions and to very low oxygen
concentration.
❚ Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between alveoli and blood by
diffusion. The pressure of a particular gas determines its direction and rate of
diffusion.

171. Explain the role of haemoglobin in oxygen transport, and identify factors that
determine and influence the oxygen–haemoglobin dissociation curve.
Answer:

❚ Hemoglobin is the respiratory pigment in the blood of vertebrates. Almost 99% of

the oxygen in human blood is transported as oxy-haemoglobin (HbO2).

❚ The maximum amount of oxygen that can be transported by hemoglobin is the

oxygen-carrying capacity. The actual amount of oxygen bound to hemoglobin is the
oxygen content. The percent O2 saturation, the ratio of oxygen content to oxygen-
carrying capacity, is highest in pulmonary capillaries, where oxygen concentration is
greatest.
❚ The oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve shows that as oxygen concentration
increases, there is a progressive increase in the amount of hemoglobin that
combines with oxygen. The curve is affected by pH, temperature, and CO2
concentration.
❚ Oxy-haemoglobin dissociates more readily as carbon dioxide concentration
increases, because carbon dioxide combines with water and produces carbonic acid,
which lowers the pH. Displacement of the oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve by
a change in pH is called the Bohr Effect.

172. Summarize the mechanisms by which carbon dioxide is transported in the

blood.

Answer:

❚ About 60% of the carbon dioxide in the blood is transported as bicarbonate ions.
About 30% combines with hemoglobin, and another 10% is dissolved in plasma.

❚ Carbon dioxide combines with water to form carbonic acid; the reaction is
catalyzed by carbonic anhydrase. Carbonic acid dissociates, forming bicarbonate
ions (HCO3-) and hydrogen ions (H+).
❚ Hemoglobin combines with H+, buffering the blood. Many bicarbonate ions diffuse
into the plasma and are replaced by Cl_; this exchange is known as the chloride shift.

99
93
173. Describe the defence mechanisms that protect the lungs, and describe the
effects of polluted air on the respiratory system.

Answer:
❚ The ciliated mucous lining of the nose, pharynx, trachea, and bronchi traps
inhaled particles. Inhaling polluted air results in bronchial constriction,
increased mucus secretion, damage to ciliated cells, and coughing. Breathing
polluted air or inhaling cigarette smoke can cause chronic bronchitis, pulmonary
emphysema, and lung cancer
174. Give and explain three complications caused by tobacco smoking.

Answer:

Pulmonary emphysema, a disease also most common in cigarette smokers. In this

disorder, alveoli lose their elasticity, and walls between adjacent alveoli are
destroyed. The surface area of the lung is so reduced that gas exchange is seriously
impaired. Air is not expelled effectively, and stale air accumulates in the lungs.
The emphysema victim struggles for every breath, and still the body does not get
enough oxygen. To compensate, the right ventricle of the heart pumps harder and
becomes enlarged. Emphysema patients frequently die of heart failure.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a condition characterized by
obstructed airflow, has both chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Asthma also
contributes to COPD. People with asthma respond to inhaled stimuli with
exaggerated bronchial constriction, and the airway is typically inflamed.
Lung cancer. More than 69 of the 4800 chemical compounds in tobacco smoke cause
cancer in animals, including humans. These carcinogenic substances irritate the cells
lining the respiratory passages and alter their metabolic balance. Normal cells are
transformed into cancer cells, which may multiply rapidly and invade surrounding
tissues.

100
94
 175. Contrast mitosis and meiosis, emphasizing the different outcomes.

Answer:

❚ Mitosis involves a single nuclear division in which the two daughter cells formed
are genetically identical to each other and to the original cell. Synapsis of homologous
chromosomes does not occur during mitosis.

❚ Meiosis involves two successive nuclear divisions and forms four haploid cells.
Synapsis of homologous chromosomes occurs during prophase I of meiosis

176. Compare the costs and benefits of ectothermy.

Answer:
❚ Animals have structural, behavioral, and physiological strategies for
thermoregulation, the process of maintaining body temperature within certain
limits despite changes in the surrounding temperature. In ectotherms, body
temperature depends to a large extent on the temperature of the environment.
Many ectotherms use behavioral strategies to adjust body temperatures.
❚ A benefit of ectothermy is that very little energy is used to maintain the metabolic
rate. As a result, ectotherms can survive on less food. A disadvantage is that
activity may be limited by daily and seasonal temperature conditions.

177. Compare the costs and benefits of endothermy and describe strategies
animals use to adjust to challenging temperature changes.

Answer:
❚ Endotherms have homeostatic mechanisms for regulating body temperature
within a narrow range.
❚ The most important benefit of endothermy is a high metabolic rate. Another
advantage is that constant body temperature allows a higher rate of enzyme activity.
Many endotherms are active even in low winter temperatures. A disadvantage of
endothermy is its high energy cost.
❚ Acclimatization is the process of adjustment to seasonal changes.
❚ When challenged by a drop in surrounding temperature, many small endotherms
enter a state of torpor. Torpor is an adaptive hypothermia; body temperature is
maintained below normal levels. Hibernation is long-term torpor in response to
winter cold.
Estivation is torpor caused by lack of food or water during summer heat.

101
95
178. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of air and water as mediums for
gas exchange and describe adaptations for gas exchange in air.

Answer:
❚ Air contains a higher concentration of molecular oxygen than does water, and
oxygen diffuses more rapidly through air than through water. Air is less dense and
less viscous than water, so less energy is needed to move air over a gas exchange
surface.
❚ Terrestrial animals have adaptations that protect their respiratory surfaces
from drying.

179. Describe the following adaptations for gas exchange: body surface, tracheal
tubes, gills, and lungs.
Answer:
❚ Small aquatic animals exchange gases by diffusion, requiring no specialized
respiratory structures. Some invertebrates, including most annelids, and a few
vertebrates (many amphibians) exchange gases across the body surface.
❚ In insects and some other arthropods, air enters a network of tracheal tubes, or
tracheae, through openings, called spiracles, along the body surface. Tracheal tubes
branch and extend to all regions of the body.
❚ Gills are moist, thin projections of the body surface found mainly in aquatic
animals. In chordates, gills are usually internal, located along the edges of the gill
slits. In bony fishes an operculum protects the gills. A countercurrent exchange
system maximizes diffusion of oxygen into the blood and diffusion of carbon dioxide
out of blood.
❚ Animals carry on ventilation, the process of actively moving air or water over
respiratory surfaces. Terrestrial vertebrates have lungs and some means of
ventilating them. Amphibians and reptiles have lungs with only some ridges or folds
that increase surface area.
❚ In birds, the lungs have extensions, called air sacs, that act as bellows, drawing air
into the system. Two cycles of inhalation and exhalation support a one-way flow of
air through the lungs. Air flows from the outside into the posterior air sacs, to the
lung, through the anterior air sacs, and then out of the body. Gas exchange takes
place through the walls of the parabronchi in the lungs. A crosscurrent arrangement,
in which blood flow is at right angles to the parabronchi, increases the amount of
oxygen that enters the blood.

102
96
180. Distinguish among the following terms: centrosome, centriole and
centromere.
Answer:
 Centrosome: is a microtubule organizing centre; makes spindle during
mitosis; contains two centrioles; located just outside nucleus;
 Centriole: has 9 triplets of microtubules;
 Centromere: is region of a chromosome that holds two 2 chromatids
together; point of attachment for microtubules during mitosis; point of
attachment of chromatids to spindle.
181. In humans, fats and carbohydrates are the main sources of energy. One gram
of protein yields about the same amount of energy as one gram of carbohydrate.
a) Justify why protein normally contributes no more than 10% of energy
requirements.
b) Explain why proteins are called the ‘fuel of last resort’.

Answer:
a) Proteins have fewer number of hydrogen bonds thus are not able to yield a
lot of energy.
b) Proteins join the process of energy formation later in the chain reaction.
Because of this, they release less energy and its harder to generate ATP from
them.

182. The diagrams below show four animal cells at different stages of mitosis.

a) Name the structures A, B, C and D.

b) (i) Name the stages of division shown by cells 1 and 3.

103
97
 (ii) Use the numbers of each cell to arrange the stages in the correct sequence of
mitosis.
c) How does mitosis maintain genetic stability in an organism?

Answer:
a) A – Nuclear membrane, B – Chromatid, C – Centromere, D – Centriole

b) i) 1 – Anaphase, 3 – Metaphase

ii) 2 , 3 , 1 and 4

c) It does not involve crossing over of genes.

183. The diagram below shows a crossing between a homozygous black mouse
and a homozygous white mouse. The F1-generation was all black.

a) Using the symbols B and b for the alleles of fur colour, formulate a genetic
cross between the original black male and white female to show the
genotypes and phenotypes of F1.
b) Compose a genetic cross between mouse 1 and mouse 3 to show the possible
phenotypic ratio of F2.

104
98
Answer:

a) Let B represent the allele for black fur

Let b represent the allele for white fur
Parental phenotype: Black male X white female
Parental genotype: BB bb
meiosis
Gametes B B b b

Random fertilisation
F1 genotype BbBb Bb Bb
F1 phenotype: All Black

b) Selfing F1
Parental phenotype: Mouse 1 X mouse 2
Parental genotype: Bb Bb
meiosis
Gametes B b B b

Random fertilisation
F2 genotype BB Bb Bb bb
F2 phenotype: 3 Black and 1 white
F2 phenotypic ratio: Black: white is 3:1

184. The ability to roll your tongue to form a tube is passed on from parents to
their children. The inability to roll a tongue is a recessive trait. Thabo can roll his
tongue but his wife, Octavia cannot. They have four children. The two boys,
Keketso and Bongani can roll their tongues. The two girls, Qawekazi and
Bongiwe cannot. Use T to represent the character for tongue rolling and t for the
inability to roll a tongue. Use a genetic crossing to supply the genotypes of the
parents, Bongani and Qawekazi. Show all your working.

105 99
 Answer:

185. Explain the following:

a) The principle of dominance.
b) Mendel's law of segregation.

186. Explain the following:

a) The principle of dominance.
b) Mendel's law of segregation.

Answer:
a) In a heterozygous condition the dominant allele expresses itself in the
phenotype, masking the effect of the recessive allele.
Or When two individuals with pure breeding contrasting characteristics are crossed,
the F1-generation all display the dominant characteristic.
b) Each characteristic is regulated by two alleles/factors which separate during
meiosis so that each gamete contains only one of the alleles/factors

187. Differentiate between:

a) Incomplete and co-dominance
b) Heterozygous and
homozygous Answer:
a) Incomplete dominance is when two individuals with pure breeding
(homozygous) contrasting characteristics are crossed, in the F1 generation
neither allele will be completely dominant over the other while Co-dominance
both alleles are equally dominant to produce a new phenotype.
b) Heterozygous – when alleles are different for a particular characteristic
Homozygous – when alleles are identical for a particular characteristic
106
100
188. It is observed that plants growing in a valley are taller, with larger leaves
than plants of the same species growing on an exposed mountain side. Suggest an
experiment to determine whether the difference is caused by genetics or the
environment. State the results you would expect in either case.

Answer:
Procedure: Cross the two plants i.e. get anthers from the flower of the valley plant
and have them fertilise those on the mountain. Allow the seeds to grow in a
separate place.
Observation: If the seeds grow to have characteristics of either side then it can be
considered genetically. However, it the features are different, then it can be
attributed to environmental.

189. The family tree below shows the pattern of inheritance of a genetic disorder.

(a) Using N and n, prove that this disease is controlled by recessive allele.
(b) Why is it unlikely that the disease is sex-linked?
(c) Predict the genotypes of; (i) Elaine, (ii) her parents?
(d) What might Simon's genotype be?

Answer:
a) It is because the normal father and normal mother are able to produce
children who are infected. This means the disease can be masked by a dominant
allele.
b) It is because the disease can be manifested in both male and female. If it
was sex linked then only the daughter would be infected.
c) i) nn
ii) Father, Nn and mother Nn
c) Nn or NN

107
101
190. The diagram shows some stages in the formation of mammalian egg cell.

a) How many chromosomes will there be in;

i) Cell B?
ii) Cell C?
b) Suggest one advantage in the way in which the cytoplasm divides during meiosis.
c) Describe and explain two ways in which the events of meiosis cause the egg cells
to be genetically different from one another.

Answer:
a) i) 38 chromosomes
ii) 19 chromosomes
b) This provides the secondary oocyte with more nutrients needed to continue into
division.
- It ensures the secondary oocyte will remain with only the required amount of
chromosomes needed.
c) During meiosis, the egg cells have to undergo;
- Cross over where genetic material is exchanged between homologous
chromosomes.
- Independent assortment so as they arrange independent of each other at the
metaphase.

108

102
191. a) Describe the process of oxygen transfer between the alveolus and the
blood in the surrounding capillary.
b) When a person starts to smoke cigarettes, one immediate effect is a decrease
in the oxygen that is taken up in the lungs. Explain why this is so.

Answer:
a) oxygen in(to blood), carbon dioxide out (of blood) ;
diffusion / from a high(er) concentration to a low(er) concentration ;
through alveolar wall and capillary, endothelium / wall ;
oxygen enters red blood cells ;
oxygen taken up by haemoglobin ;owte
b) carbon monoxide (in inhaled smoke) binds to haemoglobin /
carboxyhaemoglobin formed ;
carbon monoxide competes with oxygen for, haemoglobin binding sites / owte;
haemoglobin has a higher affinity for carbon monoxide than oxygen ;

192. Figure 2.1 represents a human sperm.

Explain the roles of the following parts;
a) acrosome,
b) flagellum
c) mitochondrion.
Figure 2.1

Answer:
a) Acrosome: - Has/contains enzymes which break/digest wall; so that
sperm nucleus can enter the egg cell. (also allow protein layer)
b) Flagellum: - Pushes the sperm to the oviduct so that fertilization can take place.
c) Mitochondrion: It is a site for aerobic respiration/ releases energy for pushing
the sperm.
193. a) Annually, there is a world’s Polio Day celebrated and people are sensitized
on vaccination. Explain the significance of vaccination today.
b) Explain why measles has remained prevalent today despite its
immunisation.
Answer:
a) Vaccination has the following benefits;
 Vaccines promote health.
 Vaccines have an expansive reach i.e. protect individuals, communities,
and entire populations.
 Vaccines have rapid impact in eradicating a disease.
 Vaccines save lives and costs spent on treatment.
109 103
b) Any three reasons;
 Measles is highly infectious.
 Measles spreads very fast.
 It requires boosters to treat and this is a challenge in poor countries.
 Parents’ decision not to vaccinate their children due to misconceptions.
194. Explain the importance of regulating body temperature in
humans. Answer:
Any four:
 (so that) enzymes do not denature / enzymes remain active / maintains
 optimum temperature for enzymes ;
 idea of maintaining a constant rate of, reactions / metabolism / respiration ;
 avoids to damage to other named (type of) protein ;
 avoids damage to cell membranes ;
 avoids, heatstroke / hyperthermia / overheating / dehydration/
 avoids freezing / becoming too cold / hypothermia ;
 at high temperature sperm production, reduced / harmed ;

195. Describe two similarities and differences between male and female gametes.
Answer:
Similarities
 Both are haploid cells
 Both undergo meiosis

Differences:
 Male gamete has got a tail while female gamete lacks a tail.
 Male gamete is smaller compared to female gamete
 Male gametes are produced in bigger numbers while female gametes
in smaller numbers.

110
104
196. The table below refers to the four hormones associated with gametogenesis.
Copy the table. If the statement is correct, place a tick (√) in the appropriate box
and if the statement is incorrect place a cross (X) in the appropriate box.

Secreted Cause secondary Secreted from

in gonads sexual characters pituitary gland
Follicle Stimulating
hormone (FSH)
Testosterone
Luteinising
hormone (LH)
Oestrogen
Answer:

Secreted Cause secondary Secreted from

in gonads sexual characters pituitary gland
Follicle Stimulating X X √
hormone (FSH)
Testosterone √ √ X
Luteinising X X √
hormone (LH)
Oestrogen √ √ X

197. (a) Distinguish between the terms ectothermy and endothermy.

(b) The figure below shows the change in body temperature with
environmental temperature for two animals. Which of the curves represents an
ectotherm? Explain your answer.

(c) What restrictions does the physiology of ectotherms place on their geographic
distribution?
111

105
Answer:
a) Endothermy refers to the ability of organisms to use internal mechanisms
to maintain their body temperature while ectothermy is when organisms
depend mainly on external heat sources to maintain their body temperature.
b) A: This is because their body temperatures keep increasing with increase in
environment temperature.
c) They are limited to warm places and are also restricted to particulars hours of
the day to perform physiological activities i.e. during the day.

198. Explain how the hypothalamus is able to return the body temperature back
to normal when someone has been exposed to coldness.

Answer:
As blood flows through the hypothalamus, it detects the changes in
temperature. Acting as a thermostat, it will send appropriate messages to the
effectors.
 The blood vessels are directed to undergo vasoconstriction the skin.
This reduces blood flow and heat loss.
 Elector pili contraction occurs causing hair to stand upright to trap
heat within body hair.
 Hypothalamus will also direct skeletal muscles to start shivering to
generate heat.
 It will increase the production of the neuro-secretory hormone
thyrotropin-releasing hormone that will in turn cause release of TSH.
This will target thyroxine that will increase body metabolism to heat
generation.

199. Shivering is one way in which humans can regulate their body temperature.
Explain how shivering helps to regulate body temperature.

Answer:
- Shivering stops the body temperature falling when external temperature drops.
 because increased muscle contraction
 generates heat via respiration/friction.

112
106
200. Rodents are the most common mammals in many hot deserts.
Fig. 24.1 shows the lesser Egyptian jerboa, Jaculus jaculus, which lives in North
Africa and the Middle East in areas that have high daytime temperatures and very
little rainfall.

Like many desert-living mammals, jerboas are active at night. Suggest two features
of J. jaculus that adapt it to each of the following challenges of living in desert
ecosystems:
(a) very high daytime temperatures
(b) very little or no light at night

Answer:
a)
 (during the day they) remain in a burrow / stay in the shade /
stay inactive / sleep / AW ;
 light colour / pale / yellow / white (fur / hair) / AW ;
 thin / long, tail / legs ;
 thin / short / little, fur ;
 no fur on legs ;
 fur on feet ;
 large, ears / pinna(e) ;
 little / no, fat ;
 large surface area: volume ratio ;
 produces, little / concentrated, urine ;

b)
 big eyes / large pupils / good eyesight ;
 whiskers ;
 lots of rods (in the retina / fovea) ;
 large ears / good sense of hearing / sensitive ears ;
 good sense of smell ;

113
107
201. The figure below illustrates positions taken by an African gecko at 9:00 am and at
midday

a) Describe the exchange of heat between the gecko and the rock at:
i) 9:00 am
ii) 12 noon
c) Describe how the changes in temperature between 9:00 -12:00 affects the
activity of the gecko.

Answer:

a)
i. The gecko gains heat by conduction from the rock at 9:00 am.
ii. The gecko loses heat to the stone by conduction from the rock at 12:00 am.

d) At 9:00 am, the temperature of the environment was low, so the gecko was
not very active; at 12:00 the temperature rose and the gecko became
active, enzyme activity in its body increased and thus there was more
energy available for activities.

202. Suggest why:

a) A mutation in which one nucleotide of a triplet code is altered often makes no
difference to the protein molecule coded by the DNA.
b) The addition or deletion of three nucleotides in the DNA sequence of a gene often
has less effect on the encoded protein than the addition or deletion of a single
nucleotide.

114

108
 Answer:

a) Many amino acids have more than one triplet code; so sequence of amino acids is
unchanged;

b) adding or deleting three nucleotides may add or remove the coding for one
amino acid; this may not affect the final shape of the protein; adding or deleting one
nucleotide
affects the arrangement of all subsequent triplets; this ‘frameshift’ may alter the coding of
all amino acids following the addition or deletion; a triplet may be altered to a stop signal;

203. Figure 25.1 shows the origin and development of a B-lymphocyte and its
subsequent role in an immune response following an infection by a pathogen.

Fig 25.1

a) B-lymphocyte activation can occur as a result of direct contact with a specific

antigen on the invading pathogen. State two other ways for the B-lymphocytes to
become exposed to the antigen.

115

109
 b) The function of the plasma cell is to produce and secrete specific antibody.
Complete Fig 25.2 to summarise the sequence of events occurring in the plasma
cell.
nucleotide sequence on DNA template strand copied

…..........................................., occurring in nucleus

mRNA synthesised

….........................................., occurring at the ribosome

Polypeptide synthesised

modification, occurring in ……………………………………..

antibody produced
Fig 25.2
c) Antibodies are globular proteins with quaternary structure.
(i) Suggest why antibodies need to be globular proteins.
(ii) With reference to antibody structure, explain what is meant by
quaternary protein structure.
d) Monoclonal antibody can be produced commercially for use in the diagnosis of
infectious disease. Name the type of cell used to produce monoclonal antibody.

Answer:

a) - antigen-presenting cell ; A description e.g. macrophage that has phagocytosed

pathogen and has antigens on surface
-vaccine containing antigen ;
b) transcription, translation, RER / rough endoplasmic reticulum / Golgi (body) ;
c) i) soluble in, blood / plasma / tissue fluid / lymph ;
tertiary / quaternary, structure allows formation of, variable site ; AW
idea of easier to transport (than fibrous proteins) ; [max 1]
ii) more than one, polypeptide ;
(antibodies have) two heavy and two light, polypeptides / chains ;
d) hybridoma (cell) ;

116
110
204. Explain the functions of antibodies in the immune
system. Answer:
Functions of antibodies
 Antibodies bind to toxins produced by bacteria that cause infection
thus effectively destroying them.
 By attaching to microbial pathogens, antibodies promote their clearance by
phagocytes manifold.
 Antibodies form a covering on bacteria and viruses, not allowing them to
gain entry into tissues.
 Some antibodies, are highly mobile, capable of leaving circulation and
invade pathogens beyond reach e.g. skin or foetus.
 Antibody, esp. of the IgA type, is found in large amounts in mother’s milk, and
helps protect the new born against infections during the first months of life.
205. Fig 28.1 is a diagram that shows the structure of an antibody molecule.

Fig 28.1

a) State why the antibody molecule shown in Fig 28.1 has quaternary structures.
b) i) Use Fig 28.1 to explain how the structure of the variable region of an antibody
molecule is related to its function.

ii)What is the role of the constant region of an antibody.

Answer:

a) (antibody has) more than one polypeptide /four polypeptides

b) i) - allow epitope for antigen
1 (two) antigen-binding, site(s) / region(s)
2 (shape / structure is) complementary to antigen ;
3 idea of specificity;
117

111
 4 ref. to, primary structure / sequence of amino acids ;
5 ref. to R-groups / (amino acid) side chains, and interactions with
antigen/ giving specific shape;
ii) binds to (receptors on), phagocytes / macrophages / neutrophils ;

206. Explain why it is not possible to use lymphocytes or plasma cells as

commercial producers of specific antibodies.
Answer:
– Plasma cells cannot be replicated outside the body.
- Lymphocytes need helper T cells in order to perform their work.
- It takes longer to produce antibodies from lymphocytes.

207. Explain why passive immunity is only

temporary. Answer:
Passive immunity is only temporary because the antibodies are eventually broken
down in the spleen and liver thus leaving the body unprotected. There is no
immunological memory from these antibodies.

208. Explain why influenza vaccines sometimes are not

effective. Answer:
Influenza virus is fond of mutating regularly thus changing its surface antigens.
This makes it hard for the immune system to make memory cells that can fight off
future attacks.

209. Bees are social insects. Explain any four disadvantages of living in a
society. Answer:
– Increased competition for water, space, food, mates and other resources.
- Increased susceptibility to disease and parasites.
- Higher risk of being harvested by humans.
- Higher risk of predation on young by cannibalistic neighbours.

210. a) Differentiate between migration from dispersion.

b)Justify why birds undergo seasonal migrations.

Answer:
a) Migration refers to regular movements performed by entire populations and is
confined to definite seasons while dispersion is when some species move due to
forthcoming challenges e.g. bad weather.

118
112
 Or. Migration is the movement of large number of species from one place to another
like bird migration. While dispersal is the spreading of individuals away from
others, often parents or siblings, which are left behind in original areas.
b) – They migrate to avoid bad weather and its dangers.
- They also migrate to ensure steady and constant food supply.
- Migration also ensures successful survival of their offspring thus repopulation.

211. a) Define the term ‘behaviour’.

b) Describe the difference between ‘instinctive’ and ‘learned’ behaviour in animals.
c) With example(s) of instinctive behaviour explain fully the way in which the
response is brought about.
Answer:

a) Behaviour can be defined as an internally directed system of adaptive activities that

facilitate survival and reproduction.

b) Instinct behaviour is an action that is impulsive or immediate based on a

particular trigger or circumstance while Learned behaviour is an action that
someone learns or develops over time through observation, education,
training or experience.
Or Instinctive behaviour is characterised by rigid, fixed responses and patterns of
movement. On the other hand, learning results in flexible patterns of
response.
Or Instinctive behaviours are formed quickly at the arrival of a stimulus while
learned behaviour takes long and shows variation.
c) Migration: Due to no specific cause, birds begin to set off for migration.
Sometimes the young ones go before the old and where possible the
reverse.
- It can be attributed to distinctive smells, wind direction, and topography
that guides the birds.
- The position of the sun or the moon and stars guide birds in flight.
- Also, some birds monitor the earth’s magnetic field.

212. Differentiate between taxis from Kinesis.

Answer:
Taxis is a movement directly toward (positive) or away from (negative) a stimulus
while Kinesis: It is a change in the speed of movement or a change in the rate of
turning which is directly proportional to the intensity of a stimulus.

119 113