Prelim Practice Paper: Preliminary Examination — question paper (print)

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Secondary 4 · Biology (G2 / G3)

Prelim Practice Paper

Preliminary Examination

Duration: 120 minutes

Total: 80 marks

Name:

Class:

Date:

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

Write your name, class and register number in the spaces at the top of this page.
Answer all questions.
Give numerical answers correct to 3 significant figures unless stated otherwise.
The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.
The total number of marks for this paper is 80.

Original practice material written for the MOE Biology syllabus. It is not an official MOE or school examination paper. Chapters 1–7, full syllabus: homeostasis and response, infectious diseases, plant nutrition and transport, organisms and the environment, molecular genetics, reproduction and inheritance.

For Examiner’s Use
Section A	/ 20
Section B	/ 60
Total	/ 80

Section A: Multiple-choice questions[20 marks]

Answer all questions. For each question, write the letter (A, B, C or D) of the correct answer.

1
Negative feedback works because the corrective mechanism
1. Aamplifies the original change
2. Bis triggered before any change occurs
3. Cruns the change in reverse, cancelling it
4. Dis controlled by conscious thought
( )
2
Sweating cools the body because
1. Asweat is stored cold
2. Bevaporation of sweat removes heat from the skin
3. Csweat carries away salt only
4. Dthe glands contract
( )
3
Blood glucose is lowered to its set point by
1. Aglucagon converting glycogen to glucose
2. BADH acting on the kidney
3. Cinsulin causing glucose to become glycogen
4. Dshivering in the muscles
( )
4
A virus differs from a bacterium because a virus
1. Acontains only genetic material and a protein coat
2. Bhas a cell wall
3. Ccan respire on its own
4. Dis always larger
( )
5
The pneumococcal vaccine protects by
1. Acoating the bacteria with antibodies directly
2. Bkilling bacteria in the throat
3. Cstrengthening the lung walls
4. Dstimulating white blood cells to make antibodies and memory cells
( )
6
The balanced symbol equation for photosynthesis is
1. A6CO₂ + 6H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂
2. BC₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ → 6CO₂ + 6H₂O
3. C6CO₂ → C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂
4. DCO₂ + H₂O → C₆H₁₂O₆ + O₂
( )
7
Water travels up the xylem because
1. Athe phloem pushes it upward
2. Bactive transport pumps water up the stem
3. Cevaporation from the leaves pulls the water column (transpiration pull)
4. Dthe roots suck air into the vessels
( )
8
Translocation is the transport of
1. Awater in the xylem
2. Bsucrose in the phloem, in either direction
3. Cmineral ions in the phloem
4. Doxygen in the stomata
( )
9
In a food chain, energy is lost between levels mainly as
1. Alight
2. Bsound
3. Cheat from respiration
4. Dstatic electricity
( )
10
A persistent insecticide becomes most concentrated in
1. Athe water
2. Bthe producers
3. Cthe primary consumers
4. Dthe top carnivores
( )
11
Complementary base pairing in DNA means
1. AA pairs with T and C pairs with G
2. BA pairs with C and T pairs with G
3. Cany base pairs with any base
4. Dbases pair only in RNA
( )
12
A gene is a sequence of nucleotides coding for
1. Aone chromosome
2. Bone polypeptide
3. Cone cell
4. Done type of carbohydrate
( )
13
Bacteria engineered to carry the human insulin gene can make insulin because
1. Abacteria carry human chromosomes
2. Binsulin is made directly from DNA without a code
3. Cthe bacteria mutate the gene into a bacterial gene
4. Dthe genetic code is universal, so bacteria read the human gene correctly
( )
14
Meiosis is described as a reduction division because it
1. Acopies the chromosome number exactly
2. Bseparates homologous pairs, halving the chromosome number
3. Cfuses two gametes
4. Dremoves all mutations
( )
15
Fertilisation in humans normally occurs in the
1. Aoviduct
2. Bovary
3. Cuterus
4. Dcervix
( )
16
The placenta allows exchange of
1. Awhole blood between mother and foetus
2. Bdissolved nutrients and oxygen in, carbon dioxide and urea out
3. Csolid food particles
4. Dbacteria between the two bloodstreams
( )
17
A cross between two heterozygous parents (Hh × Hh) gives a phenotype ratio of
1. Aall dominant
2. B1 : 1
3. C3 : 1
4. D9 : 3 : 3 : 1
( )
18
A person with blood group O has the genotype
1. AIAIA
2. BIAIB
3. CIBIO
4. DIOIO
( )
19
Down syndrome is caused by
1. Aa base change in one gene
2. Ban extra chromosome, giving 47
3. Ca bacterial infection
4. Da missing Y chromosome in males
( )
20
Natural selection requires that
1. Avariation exists, competition occurs, and the best-suited individuals reproduce more
2. Ball individuals are identical
3. Corganisms try to change their genes deliberately
4. Dthe environment never changes
( )

Section B: Structured questions[60 marks]

Answer all questions in the spaces provided.

1
Blood glucose and its controls.
1. (a)
  After a meal, blood glucose rises from 90 mg/100 cm³ to 150 mg/100 cm³. Calculate the percentage increase.
  increase =%[2]
2. (b)
  Describe the negative feedback response that returns the level toward the set point, naming the gland, hormone and target organ.
  [4]
3. (c)
  Explain how ADH changes urine production on a hot day when little water has been drunk.
  [3]
2
Coordination and response.
1. (a)
  A hand touches a hot pan. Describe the reflex arc from the skin to the muscle that withdraws the hand.
  [4]
2. (b)
  Explain how the lens focuses light from a distant object onto the retina.
  [3]
3. (c)
  State two effects of nicotine in tobacco smoke on the circulatory system.
  [2]
3
Disease and immunity.
1. (a)
  Compare the causative agents of influenza and pneumococcal disease.
  [2]
2. (b)
  Explain how vaccination against a disease leads to immunity.
  [4]
3. (c)
  State why antibiotics should not be taken for influenza, and one practice that slows antibiotic resistance.
  [3]
4
Photosynthesis.
1. (a)
  State the word equation for photosynthesis and the organelle where it occurs.
  [2]
2. (b)
  A pondweed gives 15 bubbles per minute at 40 cm from a lamp and 30 bubbles per minute at 20 cm. Calculate the percentage increase and identify the limiting factor over this range.
  [3]
3. (c)
  The rate stops rising when the lamp is moved closer still. Name two factors that could now be limiting and one precaution against a hidden variable in this experiment.
  [3]
5
Transport in plants.
1. (a)
  Describe how a root hair cell is adapted for water uptake and name the process.
  [3]
2. (b)
  Name the tissue that carries sucrose from leaf to root and state one structural feature that suits it.
  [2]
3. (c)
  Explain why a plant wilts when transpiration exceeds water uptake.
  [3]
6
Reproduction.
1. (a)
  Explain why meiosis must halve the chromosome number before fertilisation.
  [3]
2. (b)
  Name the site of fertilisation in humans and describe what happens immediately after fertilisation up to implantation.
  [3]
3. (c)
  State the function of the amniotic fluid and one substance that crosses the placenta in each direction.
  [3]
7
Inheritance.
1. (a)
  Complete a Punnett square for the cross Hh × hh, where H is dominant. State the phenotype ratio.
  [3]
2. (b)
  Explain why observed ratios in a real family of four children may differ from the expected ratio.
  [2]
3. (c)
  Sickle cell anaemia is caused by a mutated allele coding faulty haemoglobin. Explain how natural selection could change the frequency of this allele in a population over many generations.
  [3]

— End of paper —