Biology Yearly Preliminary Exam 2007

Biology Yearly Preliminary Exam 2007

Student Number: …………..………………….….

2009

PRELIMINARY COURSE

BIOLOGY

Yearly Exam 30%

General Instructions

Biology Yearly Preliminary Exam 2007

· Reading time – 5 minutes

· Working time – Three (3) hours

· Board approved calculators may be used

· Write using blue or black pen

· Draw diagrams using pencil

Total Marks = 100

Section I

This section has two parts,

Part A and Part B

Part A - MultipleChoice

Total marks – 15

Attempt Questions 1–15

Allow 30 minutes for this part. Answer on the answer sheet provided.

Part B

Total marks – 60

Attempt Questions 16–28

Allow 1.5 hours for this part. Answer in Part B of this booklet.

Section 2 – 25 marks

Allow 30 minutes for this part. Answer on the writing paper provided

Biology Yearly Preliminary Exam 2007

Section 1

Part A

Total marks (15)

Attempt Questions 1–15

Allow about 30 minutes for this part

Use the multiple choice answer sheet..

Select the alternative A, B, C, or D that best answers the question.

1. The difference between glucose, starch and protein is

(A) only starch contains nitrogen

(B) only glucose contains hydrogen.

(D) only starch contains hydrogen

2. The diagram below shows a cross-section of a typical leaf. Which of the alternatives below, A, B, C or D, gives the correct relationship between the position of the named tissue and its function?

Tissue / Relationship between the position of the tissue and its function
A / Spongy mesophyll / Arranged in a loosely packed layer above the lower epidermis to reduce water loss from the leaf
B / Epidermis / Covers the outside of the leaf to allow gases to circulate within the leaf
C / Palisade mesophyll / Arranged in a tightly packed layer under the upper epidermis to absorb as much sunlight as possible.
D / Cuticle / Covers the upper epidermis to increase water loss from the leaf

3.Urey and Miller's experiment showed us that:

A) inorganic molecules such as amino acids could be manufactured from organic ones

B) amino acids could be manufactured from ammonia and hydrogen in the presence of lightning

C) amino acids could be synthesised on meteorites

D) organic molecules such as nitrogen could be manufactured from inorganic gases in the presence of UV light

The diagrams below show a frog and an insect.

What are their respective gaseous exchange surfaces?

Frog / Insect
A / Lungs only. / Lungs only.
B / Moist skin and lungs. / Tracheae.
C / Tracheae and lungs. / Moist skin and lungs.
D / Gills and moist skin. / Lungs only.

5. A flower is shown below.

Which of the following lists female parts of the flower only?

A) 1,3,4

B) 7,8,4

C) 2,5,6

D) 7,6,5

6. Organisms that can make their own food are called:

(A) heterotrophs.

(B) autotrophs.

C) omnivores.

(D) carnivores.

7. During the course of your study of Biology you presented information from secondary sources to discuss the Huxley–Wilberforce debate. What was this debate about?

(A) The cell theory.

(B) Darwin’s theory of evolution.

(D) The origin of life on Earth.

8. Stomates are responsible for:

(A) moving water into a plant.

(B) translocation of sugars through a plant

(D) controlling gas exchange in leaves

9. Which set of gases best describes the Earth’s early atmosphere?

(A) Hydrogen, ozone, methane, ammonia.

(B) Hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia.

(D) Hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, oxygen.

10. During the evolution of living things, scientists believe this evolutionary process occurred in a certain order. What is the order?

(A) eucaryotic cells → procaryotic cells → biological membranes → organic molecules → colonial organisms → multicellular organisms.

(B) organic molecules → biological membranes → eucaryotic cells → procaryotic cells → colonial organisms → multicellular organisms.

(C) organic molecules → eucaryotic cells → procaryotic cells → colonial organisms → biological membranes → multicellular organisms.

(D) organic molecules → biological membranes → procaryotic cells → eucaryotic cells → colonial organisms → multicellular organisms

11. Selection criteria for classifying a particular organism are first based on:

(A) the organism’s environment

(B) the organisms’s colour

(D) the organism’sstructure

12. Which of the alternatives below, A, B, C or D, gives a correct explanation for the changes in Australian flora and fauna over time?

Factor that contributed to change / Description of factor
A / Climate change / Decreasing temperature and a decline in the availability of water are shown in the increase of rainforests and woodland.
B / Human impact / The use of fire by the Aborigines may have changed the environment and hunting practices led to the extinction of megafauna.
C / Climate change / Increasing temperature and an increase in the availability of water are shown in the increase of grassland and woodland.
D / Human impact / The use of fire by the Aborigines may have maintained the environment and hunting practices are not thought to have had any real impact on megafauna.

13. Marsupial fossils have been found in South America and Australia. Some plant fossils of Glossopteris are found in South America, Australia and New Zealand. What statement below best explains why?

(A) South America and Australia were once joined, but not New Zealand.

(B) South America, Australia and New Zealand were once part of a great land mass.

(D) Australia separated first from South America and then New Zealand.

14. Darwin and Wallace suggested that new species could arise through natural selection because of:

(A)Variation within a population

(B)Environmental change

(D) All of the above

15. Meiosis of a cell that has 24 chromosomes will produce daughter cells with:

(A) 24 chromosomes.

(B) 48 chromosomes.

(D) 6 chromosomes.

Section I

Part B

Total Marks (60)

Attempt Questions 16–27

Allow about 1 hour and 30 minutes for this part

Question 16 (2 marks)

During the course of your study of Biology you had to gather, process and analyse first-hand and secondary information and data.

a) Briefly describe how you would assess the reliability of secondary information and data that you have used. (1 mark)

______

b) Briefly describe how you would assess the accuracy of scientific information presented in the mass media that you have used. (1 mark).

______

Question 17 (5 marks)

During the course of your study of Biology you had to undertake a field study of a local terrestrial or aquatic ecosystem.

(a) State two abiotic variables in the ecosystem you studied and for each one state the name of the appropriate instrument used to measure it. (2 marks)

(b) Briefly outline the method you would use to estimate the size of a plant population scattered over a large area if you were asked to undertake another field study. (2 marks)

Question 18 (5 marks)

(a) Using one example, identify how fossil evidence can indicate changes that have occurred in the distribution of Australian species over time. (2 marks)

(b) Briefly discuss, using examples, the relative success of internal and external fertilisation in relation to the colonisation of terrestrial and aquatic environments in Australia. (3 marks)

Question 19 (7 marks)

Study the food web shown below:

a) Name the producer organisms in this food web. (1 mark)

______

b) Describe three predator-prey relationships that occur in this food web. (3 marks)

______

c) In the space below, draw a biomass pyramid that would include krill, fish, phytoplankton, smaller toothed whales and penguins. (3 marks)

Question 20 (6 marks)

a) Complete this table to describe the contributions of the listed scientists to our knowledge of cells.

(4 marks)

Name of scientist / Contribution to our knowledge of cells
Robert Hooke
Anton von Leeuwenhoek
Ernst Ruska
Carl Woese

b) Complete the table below to compare procaryotic and eucaryotic cells by placing a tick or a cross if the listed feature is present or absent. (2 marks)

Procaryotic cells / Eucaryotic cells
membrane bound nucleus and organelles
ribosomes

Question 21 (4 marks)

a) Write the word equation for photosynthesis (2 marks)

______

b) The process of photosynthesis occurs in two main stages – the light stage and the ‘dark’ stage. Label on the diagram of the chloroplast below where these reactions occur. (2 marks)

Question 22 (2 marks)

The diagrams below show the digestive systems of a grazing herbivore and a carnivore.

Carnivore (dog)

Grazing herbivore (cow)

Compare the structures of each digestive system in terms of the chemical composition of each animal's diet. (2 marks)

______

Question 23 (4 marks)

a) Draw in lines to match up the stages of mitosis with their descriptions, below. (1 mark)

Stage of mitosis / Description
Telophase / The chromosomes line up along the centre of the cell
Anaphase / Chromosomes appear as thin, threadlike structures
Metaphase / New nuclear membranes form around the two new sets of chromosomes
Prophase / Each chromosome breaks into two separate strands, or ‘chromatids’, which move to opposite ends of the cell.

The series of diagrams below show an animal cell undergoing mitosis.

a) Label the stages described above in the appropriate places on the diagram. (2 marks )

b) State one difference between mitosis and meiosis. (1 mark)

Question 24 (6 marks)

Describe, using examples, how each of the following supports the assertion that Australia was once part of a landmass called Gondwana.

(a) Matching continental margins. (2 marks)

(b) Position of mid-ocean ridges. (2 marks)

Question 25 (6 marks) In the space provided, draw up a dichotomous key to identify the 6 animals shown below:

Question 26 (3 marks)

During your study of this course you had to research one of the following procaryotes: Archaea, Eubacteria, Cyanobacteria (including those that form stromatolites), nitrogen-fixing bacteria, methanogens.

Choose and name one here ______ and complete the following:

a) Describe its past environment (1 mark)

______

b) Describe its present environment (1mark)

______

c) Identify its role in its ecosystem (1 mark)

______

Question 27 (4 marks) Plants have a different transport system to animals.

a) Briefly describe the function of phloem in plants (2 marks)

b) Briefly describe the function of root hairs in plants (2 marks)

Question 28 (6 marks ) An evolutionary timeline is shown below:

a) During which era did mammal-like reptiles appear on earth?

______(1 mark )

b) How many years ago did the dinosaurs become extinct?

______(1 mark)

c) Were the oldest living organisms prokaryotic or eukaryotic? What evidence for this is there in the timeline?

______(2 marks)

d) Describe one way the fossil record described above contradicts the beliefs of a named culture regarding the origin of life on Earth. (2 marks)

______

Section 2 – 25 marks

Answer on the writing paper provided

Question 29 (6 marks)

A student set up the following experiment.

a) Name the process that is being demonstrated in this experiment. (1 mark)

b) Write a possible aim for the experiment. (2 marks)

c) Explain what the experiment is showing. (2 marks )

d) Identify one situation in living things where this process occurs. (1 mark )

Question 30 (9 marks)

A student set up the experiment shown below. Her aim was to investigate the different factors that affect transpiration rates.

a) After 30 minutes, the student recorded the water loss for each experiment. Her results are shown below. Copy the table below into your writing book and write in the experimental set-ups (room conditions, mist, wind, bright light) where you think they belong in the table.

Experimental setup / Water loss after 30 minutes
40ml
1 ml
30ml
20 ml

(4 marks)

b) Suggest one thing the student could do to improve the reliability of her results. (1 mark)

Question 30 continues on the next page ….

Question 30 continued……..

c) Describe one thing the student has done to ensure this is a valid experiment. (1 mark)

d) Name one other factor that affects transpiration rates that could be tested in this experiment. (1 mark )

e) Predict how you think the factor you have mentioned in e) will affect transpiration rates. Explain your answer. (2 marks )

Question 31 (10 marks )

A student was asked to investigate the effect of increasing surface area on the activity of the enzyme peroxidase. This enzyme is found in liver cells and in certain plant cells. The enzyme reacts with peroxide to produce bubbles of oxygen.

The student was provided with the following materials:

peroxide solution, sheep liver, scalpel, test tubes, beaker, bunsen burner, spatula, ruler

After carrying out the experiment, the student obtained the following results:

Diameter of liver pieces (mm) / Height of oxygen bubbles produced (mm)
4 / 50
8 / 39
12 / 31
16 / 18
20 / 12
24 / 4

a) Choosing the equipment the student would have needed for this experiment, write an aim and a possible method for the experiment. Name the independent and dependent variables in the experiment.. (4 marks)

b) Draw a line graph to show the student's results on the graph paper provided: (3 marks)

c) What conclusion could the student draw from this experiment? (1 mark)

d) How can this experiment be used as a model to account for the role of teeth in digestion? (2 marks)