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P530/1
BIOLOGY (Theory)
Paper 1
November 2023
2 ½ hours
ST ELIZABETH SSS – NKOOWE
S.5 END OF TERM 3, 2023
THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education
BIOLOGY THEORY
Paper 1
2 hours 30 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:
This paper consists of two Sections A and B.
Answer all questions in both Sections.
For Section A, fill the letter of the right answer in the boxes provided.
For Section B, you are advised to organize your responses and present them precisely and
concisely in the spaces provided but not anywhere else.
No additional sheets of paper should be inserted in the booklet.

For examiner’s use only

SECTION QUESTION MARKS
A 1 - 40
41.
42.
43.
B
44.
45.
46.
TOTAL

© Wanyonyi O. W. Page 1 of 14
 SECTION A (40 MARKS)
1. The different shapes and functions of different proteins are determined by
A. The R group of the amino acids they contain.
B. The amino group of the amino acids they contain.
C. Whether they contain amino acids or not.
D. The carboxyl group of the amino acids they contain.
2. Which one of the following is not a threat to the survival of small populations
A. Inbreeding.
B. Captive breeding.
C. Habitat destruction.
D. Outbreak of diseases.
3. The technique of staining in microscopy increases
A. magnification
B. contrast
C. resolution
D. transmission
4. Which of the following mechanisms is employed by sharks in maintaining
water balance? By……….
A. Reversing action of chloride secreting cells
B. Periodically drinking small amounts of water
C. Excreting wastes in form of trimethylamine oxide.
D. Excreting nitrogenous wastes in the form of uric acid
5. The cross carried out between an individual of unknown genotype with a
homozygous recessive individual is called?
A. Back cross
B. Hybrid cross
C. Test cross
D. Reciprocal cross
6. In the dehydrogenation of a triose sugar during glycolysis
A. ATP is not produced
B. One molecule of ATP is produced
C. Two molecules of ATP are produced
D. Four molecules of ATP are produced
7. Ciliated epithelium occurs in
A. Oviduct
B. Ileum
C. Urinary bladder
D. Kidney tubules

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 8. The following are conjugated proteins except.
A. myoglobin
B. mucus
C. egg yolk
D. nucleic acid.
9. Which of the following parasites is a platy helminth?
A. Phytophthora infestans
B. Plasmodium ovare
C. Ascaris lumbricoids
D. Schistosoma mansonii
10. Which of the following organisms is a sangivore?
A. Vampire bats
B. Polar bears
C. Vultures
D. Venus fly trap
11. Which of the following is true about a compound with chemical formula
C51H98O6. It is
A. A carbohydrate
B. A lipid
C. A fatty acid
D. A polysaccharide
12. The obligate pollination mutualism between yuccas plants (Agavaceae) and
yucca moths (Lepidoptera prodoxidae), in which the adult moth pollinates
yucca flowers and her progeny feed on developing seeds, is one of the
classically cited examples of
A. Convergent evolution
B. Adaptive radiation
C. Micro-evolution
D. Co-evolution
13. The association between white egrets and the oxen is
A. Phoresis
B. Parasitism
C. Mutualism
D. Commensalism
14. In a forest ecosystem, plants found growing on branches of other plants could
be
A. Epiphytic or parasitic
B. Epiphytic or saprophytic
C. Epiphytic or mesophytic

© Wanyonyi O. W. Page 3 of 14
 D. Epiphytic or halophytic
15. Which of the following would not alter the allele frequency of an evolving
population.
A. Disjunction
B. Natural selection
C. Gene flow
D. Genetic drift
16. Which of the following are blood pigments found in molluscs?
A. Haemoerythrin
B. Haemocyanin
C. Haemoglobin
D. Chlonocruorin
17. The ventilation and pulse rates in humans increase as a result of.
A. Oxygen poisoning
B. High blood pH
C. Low blood pH
D. Hypoglycaemia
18. The catalytic activity of enzymes is attributed to
A. Their specificity to respond to one substrate at a time
B. Faster breakdown of substrates into products
C. Ability to fit properly the substrate molecules
D. Ability to lower the activation energy of substrates.
19. Which of the following sub stages of photosynthesis is unlikely to be slowed
down by a decrease in temperature.
A. Photolysis of water
B. Fixing CO2 by RuBP
C. Regeneration of RuBP
D. Conversion of PGAL to glucose
20. Bird population that do not interbreed due to failure to recognize each
other’s mating calls eventually evolve into new species due to
A. Temporal isolation
B. Geographic isolation
C. Post – zygotic isolation
D. Pre – zygotic isolation
21. The presence of an extra X chromosome in males causes
A. Turner’s syndrome
B. Klinefelter’s syndrome
C. Down’s syndrome
D. Huntington’s disease

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 22. The figure below shows changes in population of animal species.

Which one of the following is most likely to occur after point X? The population
A. Increases exponentially
B. Drops to carrying capacity
C. Becomes constant
D. Decreases below carrying capacity
23. Which one of the following conditions is most likely to increase the risk of
the foetal erythroblastosis?
Pregnancy Blood type of mother Blood type of foetus

A. First Rhesus negative Rhesus positive

B. Second Rhesus positive Rhesus negative

C. First Rhesus positive Rhesus negative

D. Second Rhesus negative Rhesus positive

24. Which one of the following is true about non-cyclic photophosphorylation?

A. Water is the source of electrons that stabilize P700
B. Reduced NADP is the final electron acceptor
C. Water is the source of protons for reducing NADP
D. Photosystem II is stabilized by electrons from photosystem I
25. Secretions from Brunner’s gland ………………………………..
A. Provide a suitable alkaline PH for the activity of pancreatic
enzymes.
B. Slow down the peristaltic movements of the gut to give enough
time for the digestion of fats.

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 C. Inhibit the secretion of hydrochloric acid by the oxyntic cells after the
chyme has left the stomach.
D. Inhibit duodenal secretion of secretin and cholecystokinin.
26. Which one of the following processes would continue to take place in a living
plant whose Golgi apparatus has been destroyed?
A. Formation of polypeptides.
B. Autolysis of redundant organelles.
C. Formation of primary cell walls.
D. Production of extra-cellular enzymes.
27. Within six months of effectively using methicillin to treat S. aureus infections
in a community, all new S. aureus infections were caused by a resistant strain
(MRSA). How can this best be explained?
A. A patient must have become infected with MRSA from another
community.
B. In response to the drug, S. aureus began making drug-resistant
versions of the protein targeted by the drug.
C. Some drug-resistant bacteria were present at the start of
treatment, and natural selection increased their frequency.
D. S. aureus evolved to resist vaccines.
28. Which of the following is not true regarding decreased metabolism in times
of coldness
A. Torpor
B. Diapause
C. Hibernation
D. Aestivation
29. Which part of the Hardy – Weinberg’s equation represents persons who
have at least one allele for sickle cell anaemia?
A. P2+2pq
B. P2 + q2
C. 2pq+q2
D. 2pq
30. Which of the following structures is used for excretion and osmoregulation
in flat worms
A. pronephros
B. flame cells
C. nephridia
D. malpighian tubules
31. Net primary productivity in C4 plants is higher than that in C3 plants because
A. C4 plants have a higher turnover rate.

© Wanyonyi O. W. Page 6 of 14
 B. photorespiration occurs in C3 plants.
C. the rate of respiration is high in C3 plants.
D. energy accumulates at higher rate in C4 plants.
32. The internal solute concentration of a plant cell is about 0.8 M. to
demonstrate flaccidity, it would be necessary to suspend the cells of the plant
in external solution with solute concentration of
A. 0.4 M
B. 0.8 M
C. 0.0 M
D. 1.0 M
33. The synthesis of hydrolytic enzymes from the aleurone layer during seed
germination is triggered by
A. Indole acetic acid
B. Gibberellic acid
C. Abscissic acid
D. Cytokinins
34. Which of the following changes would occur in a person who is air lifted up
to the top of Rwenzori mountain within a few minutes?
A. Decreased breathing rate
B. Decreased pulse rate
C. Bradycardia
D. Tachycardia
35. Starlings produce an average of five eggs in each clutch. If there are more
than five, the parents cannot adequately feed the young. If they are fewer
than five, predators may destroy the entire clutch. This is an example of
A. Sexual selection
B. Stabilizing selection
C. Directional selection
D. Disruptive selection
36. Which of the following cell organelles is not membrane bound?
A. Mitochondrion
B. Nucleus
C. Ribosome
D. Amyloplast
37. An absolute limit imposed by the environment on population increase is
called?
A. Biotic potential.
B. Carrying capacity.
C. Selection pressure

© Wanyonyi O. W. Page 7 of 14
 D. Environmental resistance

38. What is the frequency of albino carries in a large population where one out
of ten thousand people is an albino?
A. 1.0%
B. 2.0%
C. 64%
D. 99%
39. The bond between a fatty acid and glycerol molecule is
A. An ester bond
B. A glycosidic bond
C. A phosphodiester bond
D. A peptide bond
40. In poultry, feather colour is controlled by two sets of alleles, W (white)
dominant over w, coloured and B (black) dominant over b (brown). A fowl
heterozygous for both alleles (W or Bb) is white. This is an example of
A. Gene complementarity.
B. Epistasis.
C. Pleiotropy.
D. Incomplete dominance

SECTION B (60 MARKS)

Write all your answers in the spaces provided
41. a) What is meant by the term Bottleneck effect? (02 marks)
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b) Plants of Agrostis tenuis (common beat grass) normally grow in soils which are
unpolluted with copper. Plants which grow around copper mines possess an
allele of a gene that makes them tolerant to high concentrations of copper.
(i) Suggest how the copper tolerant gene arose and explain how it spread in this
plant population. (04 marks)
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(ii) Suggest why there are few copper tolerant plants of Agrostis tenuis in
unpolluted soils. (01 mark)
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(iii)Copper tolerant Agrostis tenuis have an earlier flowering time than copper
susceptible plants. Explain why this might lead to speciation? (03 marks)
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42. a) What is meant by the term environmental resistance? (02 marks)
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b) Outline the factors;
(i) affecting biotic potential. (04 marks)
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(i) hindering biotic potential. (04 marks)

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c) State one importance of enzyme inhibition in bodies of organisms. (01mark)
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43. a) Distinguish between photophosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation
(02 marks)
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b) Describe two evidences that show that the oxygen produced during
photosynthesis is from photolysis of water. (02 marks)
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c) Describe the P. Mitchell’s physiology that occurs in a chloroplast.
(04 marks)

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44. The graph below shows the effect of substrate concentration on the rate of
an enzyme controlled reaction .

a) Describe the effect of substrate concentration on the rate of this enzyme

controlled reaction. (03 marks)
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b) Using evidence from the graph, explain what limits the rate of reaction
between points C and D. (02 marks)
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© Wanyonyi O. W. Page 11 of 14
 c) Suggest a reason for the shape of the graph between point C and D. (01mark)
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d) Sketch a curve on the graph to show the rate of this reaction in the presence
of a competitive inhibitor. (01 marks)
e) Explain how drugs lower the rate of enzyme controlled reactions. (02 marks)
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45. The figure below shows blood flow through a tissue of a mammal. Study it
and answer the questions that follow.

a) (i) Name fluid B. (01 mark)

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(ii) Explain how fluid B is formed. (04 marks)
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b) Explain what takes place at the venous end of the capillaries at C.
(03marks)
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c) State two components of blood that do not become part of the fluid B.
(02 marks)
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46. a) What is meant by industrial melanism? (01 marks)
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b) A factory emitting smog contains sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide was
cited in a rural district. The tables below give distances and directions of; (i)
Number of moth species (ii) Concentration of Sulphur dioxide in smog in
different directions from the factory chimney.

(i) Describe the relationship between number of moth species and sulphur
dioxide concentration in both tables. (04 marks)
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(ii) Explain why the number of moth species increases with increasing
distance from the factory. (02 marks)

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d) Describe three post-zygotic isolation mechanisms that may result into
speciation in plants. (03 marks)
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END

…Wishing you Success & Happy Holidays …

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