B1 You and your Genes Study Task
Helpful web sites:
1)Define the following terms:
Gene
Allele
Mutation
Ethics
Chromosome
Dominant
Carrier
Stem cells
(Total marks: 8)
2)Research
It is now possible to fertilise many embryos, then choose one and make sure it does not contain any inherited diseases. You must write a describe some of the issues raised by this new technology.
Grade A answers contain: / Grade C answers contain:Evaluate the arguments for and against embryo selection. (3) / Describe what is tested in the embryo to see if it has any inherited diseases. (2)
Suggest what type of people may be involved in deciding ethical issues (e.g. what should doctors be allowed to do? ) (2) / State one example of an inherited disease, and say what it does to you (2)
State your own opinion about selecting embryos. Justify your opinion, and try to give examples of situations (2)
Your account should be about 100-150 words long.
(Total marks: 11)
3)Explain
Some people suggest that we should keep a copy of everybody’s DNA on record. Compare what you think the benefits and drawbacks of this may be. (3)
Describe the steps involved in cloning a living organism e.g. Dolly the sheep. (4)
CLONING DINOSAURS
The scientists in the film JurassicPark reconstructed dinosaurs from DNA preserved in amber. That fiction is unlikely ever to become fact because DNA simply is not tough enough to survive in that way.
But reconstructing a dinosaur from genes passed down the evolutionary tree to modern birds might be viable before the end of the century, according to scientists in the United States.
"On the timescale of 50-100 years... you might conceivably be able to alter the DNA of a chicken, say, to reconstruct something that looks more like a dinosaur," David Stern, an evolutionary biologist at PrincetonUniversity told the BBC.
The speculation may be justified because the current explosion of information about the genetic make-up of various creatures, plants and organisms has made it clear just how many modern genes are closely related or even identical to those of long extinct life forms. Moving from this understanding to actually designing a prototype ancient creature is, however, a huge leap.
"You can imagine that if we have some understanding of how the same genes are used in, say, a chicken and a lizard to generate the differences between those two species, then we can imagine trying to reconstruct something that looks more like a dinosaur. You would have to change the way that those genes are used during development to, say, make the bones larger, or longer, or shorter," David Stern explained.
"What we're really seeking is a very basic understanding of how these genes operate during development in a very wide range of organisms," he said.
Initial successes
A Californian team has managed to get the beaks of chicken embryos to grow tooth buds, something their ancestors lost the ability to do 60 million years ago.
Any dinosaur put together using these techniques would be unlikely to be a perfect replica of an extinct one. It would more likely be a generic prototype, combining different features and forms.
David Stern says that we should be using the time we have before such things are possible to consider what they would mean.
"It's going to raise a number of ethical questions. It's a very difficult problem to think about right now because it's such a new problem," he said.
4)Suggest a reason why some people may object to the work being done by the scientists in California. (3)
5)Why might the ancestors of chickens have ‘lost’ the ability to grow tooth buds? (2)
Total Marks: 31
A*28
A25
B19
C12
My mark:
B2 Keeping Healthy Study Task
Helpful web sites:
1)Define the following terms:
Correlation
Antibiotics
Lifestyle diseases
coronary arteries
vaccination
resistant
clinical trials
(Total marks: 7)
2)Research
Although there are many types of microorganisms, only a few are responsible for causing diseases in humans. You must write a short answer to describe the cause and effect of some common diseases.
Grade A answers contain: / Grade C answers contain:Explain why some diseases (like flu and HIV) are hard to treat (2) / Describe symptoms of these diseases. (3)
Explain why it can be difficult to make sure that everyone receives a vaccine for some diseases. (3) / Describe the treatment of these diseases(3)
Diseases caused by microorganisms are often more common in LEDC (poorer countries). Suggest why. (2)
Your account should be about 100-150 words long.
(Total marks: 13)
3)Explain…
Why are some diseases that were common in the past not so common now? Give specific examples. (3)
Why is it only in recent years that scientists have discovered how many diseases work? (2)
A decision by the government's health watchdog to deny Alzheimer's drugs to patients with mild-stage disease is being challenged at the High Court.The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) ruled the medicines were not cost effective.
But critics argue the decision process was flawed and did not take into account the benefits to carers. Drugs company Easai has brought the case to the High Court with support from fellow drugs firm Pfizer and the Alzheimer's Society.
NICE guidance in 2001 recommended the drugs - which can make it easier to carry out everyday tasks - should be used as standard.
But guidance published in November 2006, after months of appeals, stated that the drugs should only be prescribed to people with moderate-stage disease.
NICE's analysis of the evidence showed the drugs, which cost about £2.50 a day, did not make enough of a difference to recommend them for all patients and were not good value for money.
Campaigners are angry that people suffering from Alzheimer's have to get worse before they are eligible for treatment.
They will tell the court that NICE did not properly evaluate the impact of the drugs on the quality of life of carers and that the figures on the cost of long-term care used in their analysis were too low.
About 700,000 people in the UK have a form of dementia and more than half of those have Alzheimer's disease.
4) NICE is an organisation that has a role in deciding which drugs should be made available to patients. Why is this organisation needed? (2)
5) ‘Ethical decisions must be made all the time in hospitals’.Explain what you understand my this. (3)
6) Should medicines be available to everyone who needs the, no matter what the cost? Give a reason for your answer (2)
Total Marks: 32
A*28
A25
B20
C13
D7
My mark:
B3 Life on Earth Study Task
Helpful web sites:
1)Define the following terms:
Evolution
Adaptation
Natural selection
Sustainability
Extinct
Hormone
Nervous communication
(Total marks: 7)
2)Research
Write an account of the life of Charles Darwin.
Grade A answers contain: / Grade C answers contain:Explain why many people did not accept his theory (2) / Date of birth and death (1)
Explain the role of Alfred Wallace in Darwin’s work (2) / Education (1)
Explain some of the problems with Darwin’s theory (2) / His famous voyage (2)
Describe his theory, including names of animals he observed (3)
Your account should be about 100-150 words long.
(Total marks: 13)
3)Explain
What are the reasons that living things become extinct? Give examples of causes. (3)
Farmers have used selective breeding for thousands of years. Give an example of an organism (plant or animal) and suggest how selective breeding is used to pick certain characteristics. (3)
Scientists find 'mass dodo grave'Scientists have discovered the "beautifully preserved" bones of about 20 dodos at a dig site in Mauritius.
Little is known about the dodo, a famous flightless bird thought to have become extinct in the 17th Century. No complete skeleton has ever been found in Mauritius, and the last full set of bones was destroyed in a fire at a museum in Oxford, England, in 1755. Researchers believe the bones are at least 2,000 years old, and hope to learn more about how dodos lived.
A team of Dutch and Mauritian scientists discovered the bones in a swampy area near a sugar plantation on the south-east of the island. The bones were said to have been recovered from a single layer of earth, with the prospect of further excavations to come. Sections of beaks and the remains of dodo chicks were thought to be among the find.
'Foolish' bird
"This new find will allow for the first scientific research into and reconstruction of the world in which the dodo lived, before western man landed on Mauritius and wiped out the species," the country's Natural History Museum announced in a statement.
Dutch geologist Kenneth Rijsdijk, who led the dig, said DNA samples from the dodo bones could revolutionise our understanding of how the birds lived.
The dodo was mocked by Portuguese and Dutch colonialists for its size and apparent lack of fear of armed, hungry hunters.
It took its name from the Portuguese word for "fool", and was hunted to extinction within 200 years of Europeans landing on Mauritius.
4) Suggest why the bones of the dodo may be useful to scientists. (2)
5) What reasons does the article suggest for the dodo’s extinction? (1)
6) Imagine that some dodo’s were afraid of humans. Suggest how this might have helped the dodo species survive. (2)
7) Sailors brought many non-native species on their boats, for example dogs and rats. Suggest what problems this may have caused to the dodos. (2)
Total Marks: 33
A*31
A27
B22
C16
D10
My mark:
C1 Air Quality Study Task
Helpful web sites:
1)Define the following terms:
Emissions
Concentration
Combustion
Product
Hydrocarbon
Correlation
Catalytic converter
Sustainable development
(Total marks: 8)
2)Research
There is currently a lot of concern regarding the levels of polluting gases in the atmosphere. You will write a short piece about some of the issues this raises.
Grade A answers contain: / Grade C answers contain:Compare the benefits of cutting emissions against what it might cost people to pay for improvements. (3) / State two polluting gases that scientists suggest need cutting down. (2)
Suggest ways the Government have used in this country to encourage people to live more sustainably. (3) / Describe the ways people may be encouraged to reduce ‘Greenhouse gases’ (2)
Some developing countries produce large amounts of polluting gases. Justify whether these countries should have to obey strict emission laws (2)
Your account should be about 100-150 words long.
(Total marks: 12)
3)Explain
Explain the process of combustion of carbon in terms of reactants and products (3)
Describe how the Greenhouse Effect can increase global temperature (3)
Green cars?
The following are responses written by the public about plans to rate cars on how environmentally friendly they are. Cars are banded from A (electric cars) to F.
All very well to have a car which produces very little CO2, but what about the energy used to make and scrap a car? I have a 16-year-old VW which does 30-40 mpg; presumably if I behaved as manufacturers would like, I would have bought - and junked - at least three cars in that time. Is this eco-friendly?
GC, Geneva, Switzerland
This is yet another worthless study. Electric vehicles require the electricity to be generated in the first place, in the UK that is mostly from burning natural gas, which produces C02. Furthermore no account is taken of the problem of battery disposal, affecting hybrids and electric cars. It also ignores the energy consumed and the pollution that occurs in the production and disposal of the vehicles. On their own, these figures are technically quite worthless and are likely to mislead the public. If one wants a 'green' vehicle then the whole product lifecycle needs to be analysed, from raw material extraction right through to final waste disposal.
RW, UKUSA
The rating of battery electric cars as band A, based on their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, is flawed. Zero emission at point of use does not take into account the environmental effects of electricity generation and losses in transmission to charge the batteries. Fossil fuel power stations all emit CO2.
David, Sussex
If carbon dioxide is the measure for greenness then anything that burns hydro-carbons is never going to be green. Hydrogen cars produce water vapour (although some NO2 is produced in the combustion process) so could be reasonably green as an internal combustion engine. The real answer would be to discover some new method of power generation - budding Einsteins start here.
RM, Newhaven UK
I think it is arguable whether even an electric car can be classed as green since the electricity they run on will still produce emissions whilst it’s being generated. I think the only personal transport that is really A grade green is the bicycle. I don't think there's anything wrong with demonising 4x4's - they are wasteful, selfish, dangerous and dirty, and its time their owners faced up to the damage they do to our environment.
PT, London, UK
Rating vehicles only based on CO2 emissions is a flawed generalisation - there are many other combustion by-products produced that are also damaging to the environment. It is also relative - for example if you travel extensively by air, by reducing the number of journeys you make you can have a far larger impact on the environment than by switching to a slightly smaller, more efficient car.
JW, Henley upon Thames
5)Give three reasons from the passage that people use to complain about the new plan. (3)
5)What two suggestions are made that could help reduce CO2 emissions? (2)
Total Marks: 31
A*28
A25
B19
C12
My mark:
C2 Material Choices Study Task
Helpful web sites:
1)Define the following terms:
Nanometre
______
Polymerize
______
Incinerator
______
Landfill
______
Sustainable
______
Vulcanisation
______
Crude oil
______
(Total marks: 7)
2)Research
As the population of a country grows, they produce more and more waste. The waste must be disposed of somewhere, which can lead to problems. You must write a short explanation of some of the problems with waste disposal.
Grade A answers contain: / Grade C answers contain:Recommendations about how to deal with increasing amounts of waste (3) / Suggest why some things get recycled but other materials don’t (2)
Explain some of the social issues around waste disposal (2) / Describe the problems with disposing of rubbish (3)
Suggest some uses for the rubbish we throw away (2)
Your account should be about 100-200 words long.
(Total marks: 12)
3)Explain
Why is it important to be able to test properties of materials? Give an example of a desirable property of a plastic for a particular use. (3)
Why is oil such an important chemical for Western countries (e.g. Europe and the USA)? (3)
Battery recycling campaign's successA recycling campaign in Bristol has amassed the weight of a double decker bus in unwanted batteries during its pilot year.
The government-backed initiative, launched ahead of a forthcoming EU directive on batteries, has collected two tonnes more than its 10-tonne target.
But despite the success, widespread recycling of batteries could be slowed by a lack of facilities in the UK.
Over the next few years, new EU battery recycling legislation is expected which will oblige member states to recycle at least 45% of batteries used - an estimated 10,000 tonnes per year in Britain.
February's closure of Britannia Zinc Ltd means batteries collected through the Bristol scheme are being sent to Europe for recycling - a costly solution that may not be practical UK-wide.
Commenting on the campaign, Sir Jonathan Porritt, said: "The enthusiasm of the people of Bristol to get behind such an initiative is extremely positive, and has highlighted that kerbside collection is a viable method.
"I'm delighted that the scheme looks set to continue in the city. However, to make widespread battery recycling cost-effective and sustainable, we urgently need a solution for carrying out the recycling in the UK."
Partners involved in the pilot say valuable experience has been gained and the findings will feed into future initiatives elsewhere in the country.
4)Batteries can contain metals such as cadmium, zinc and mercury. State the chemical symbols for these elements, and suggest why it is important that these elements are collected for recycling (3)
5) Suggest why organisations such as the Government or the European Union (EU) might decide to make laws to encourage recycling. Is there an alternative? (4)
Total Marks: 32
A*30
A26
B21
C15
D9
My mark:
C3 Food Matters Study Task
Helpful web sites:
1)Define the following terms:
Fertilizer
Pesticide
Balanced diet
Obesity
Sustainable
Urea