PAPER 1 Time: 1h 45 min

1 Which molecule is made up of or contains A Lysosome

glucose molecules? B Ribosome
A Fructose C Microbody
B Cellulose D Mitochondrion
C Ribonucleic acid
D Deoxyribonucleic acid 6 Which enzyme is involved in protein
synthesis?
2 Which of the following contributes to A Ligase
the secondary structure of a protein? B DNA polymerase
A Peptide bond C RNA polymerase
B Hydrogen bond D Reverse transcriptase
C van der Waals force
D Hydrophobic interaction 7 Which statement is true of
transcription?
3 Which statement best explains the A It begins with ATG and ends with
polarity of water? TAG.
A The angle between hydrogen atoms B The sense strand is used as a
is 104.3°. template.
B Oxygen is more electronegative than C The DNA polymerase is used to
hydrogen. synthesise DNA.
C Hydrogen is covalently bonded to D It uses 70S ribosome in prokaryote
oxygen to form water. and 80S ribosome in eukaryote.
D Polar compounds with partial charges
tend to dissolve in water. 8 Which statement is true of non-
competitive inhibitor?
4 Which statement is not true of double-
A Its mode of action is reversible.
stranded DNA molecules?
B It binds directly to the enzyme at the
A Adenine pairs with thymine and
active site.
guanine pairs with cytosine.
C Its binding to enzyme lowers the
B The nitrogenous bases hold both
activation energy.
strands by a single hydrogen bond.
D Its inhibitory effect can be reduced
C During DNA replication, a new
by increasing the substrate
strand is synthesised from 5' to 3'
concentration.
direction.
D The sugar phosphate backbone of
9 Rubisco binds with both carbon dioxide
the polynucleotide is on the outside
of the helix. and oxygen in
A C3 plants
5 Which organelle, in an animal cell, is B C4 plants
spherical in shape and bounded by a C CAM plants
single membrane? D C4 and CAM plants

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 10 The following table shows the reactions Which of the following is correct for the
of photosynthesis and their facts. reactions and their facts?
p q r s
Reaction Fact A I I II II
I Calvin p Occurs in the B I II II I
cycle stroma C II I I II
II Light q Produces oxygen D II II I I
reaction r Reduces NADP+
s Uses ATP

11 The diagram below shows the conversion of pyruvate to ethanol during anaerobic
respiration.

CH3 CO2 CH3 NADH NAD+ CH3

C O C O H C OH

C O Pyruvate H Alcohol H
decarboxylase dehydrogenase
OH Acetaldehyde Ethanol

Pyruvate
Which of the following allows glycolysis to continue?
A The regeneration of NAD+ C The release of carbon dioxide
B The regeneration of NADH D The addition of yeast to ethanol

12 Which enzyme does not correspond to the catalytic reaction involved in glycolysis?
Enzyme Catalytic reaction
A Enolase Conversion of phosphoenolpyruvate to 2-phosphoglycerate
B Phosphoglucoisomerase Conversion of glucose-6-phosphate to fructose-6-
phosphate
C Phosphoglycerokinase Transfer of a phosphate group from 1, 3-biphosphoglycerate
to ADP
D Phosphofructokinase Transfer of a phosphate group from ATP to fructose-6-
phosphate

13 An example of saprophytic organism is I The individual migrates from a low

A Mucor sp. altitude to a high altitude.
B Taenia sp. II The individual migrates from a high
C Rafflesia sp. altitude to a low altitude.
D Periplenata sp. III The total haemoglobin and red
blood cell count of the individual
14 The oxygen dissociation curve for the increases.
haemoglobin of an individual is further IV The total haemoglobin and red
left compared to the oxygen dissociation blood cell count of the individual
curve for the haemoglobin of a normal decreases.
individual. Which statements are true of A I and III C II and III
that individual? B I and IV D II and IV
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 15 The events which lead to the opening of
a stoma are as follows:
I The stoma is open.
II The guard cells become turgid. P
CO2 CO2 + H2O H2CO3
III The water potential of the guard cells
decreases. Q
S
IV Water enters the guard cells HHb H+ + HCO3–
osmotically. Tissue cells O2+ Hb HbO2–
R
V Potassium ions are actively
transported into the guard cells. Capillary wall
Red blood cell
Which sequence of events is correct?
A III, IV, V, II, I
B III, V, IV, II, I Which step requires carbonic anhydrase
C V, III, IV, II, I to proceed to the next?
D V, IV, III, II, I A P C R
B Q D S
16 The graph below shows the oxygen
dissociation curves for two values of 18 What happens when the ventricles of the
pH. heart contract?
I The semi-lunar valves open.
II The semi-lunar valves close.
Percentage 100
of oxygen
pH 7.4 III The atrioventricular valves open.
saturation
pH 7.2
IV The atrioventricular valves close.
A I and III
50 B I and IV
C II and III
D II and IV

0 19 Which response occurs when a person

50
Partial pressure of oxygen (mm Hg)
Which statement about the curve is
true?
A The increase in pH is due to vigorous
activities.
B The increase in pH causes the curve
to shift to the right.
C The percentage of oxygen-saturated
haemoglobin decreases when pH
increases.
D The shifting of the curve to the
right is due to an increase in the
concentration of blood carbon
dioxide.
17 The diagram below shows the diffusion
of carbon dioxide from respiring cells
into the blood involving steps P, Q, R
and S.
100
loses a lot of blood?
A A decrease in renin secretion
B An increase in the secretion of
sodium ions
C An increase in the production of
angiotensin
D A decrease in the production of
aldosterone
20 Which condition causes the closing of a
stoma?
A The influx of potassium ions into
the guard cells
B The increase in the concentration of
glucose in the guard cells
C The decrease in the concentration of
carbon dioxide in the guard cells
D The increase in the concentration
of abscisic acid when plants are
exposed to stress

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 21 The function of the sympathetic nervous 26 In the process of initiating humoral-
system is to immune response in humans, the role
A hold memory of the helper T cell is to secrete
B secrete hormones A perforin to lyse the infected cell
C speed up heartbeat B interleukin I to stimulate B
D regulate the osmotic pressure of lymphocytes to differentiate into
blood plasma and memory cells
C interleukin II to stimulate B
22 The diagram below shows a structure of lymphocytes to differentiate into
a neuron. plasma and memory cells
D interleukin II to stimulate T
P R
Q
lymphocytes to differentiate into
cytotoxic T and memory cells

S 27 Which of the following is not a stage

muscle cell
of the embryonic development in
Which of the following contains humans?
acetylcholine? A Cleavage
A P C R B Fertilisation
B Q D S C Gastrulation
D Organogenesis
23 Which statement is not true of auxin?
A It stimulates the division of cell in 28 Which of the following is true of
a stem. blastula?
B It stimulates the elongation of A A group of cells at the stage of
coleoptile. cleavage
C It promotes the formation of lateral B A solid ball of blastomeres formed
shoot. at the early stage of cleavage
D It inhibits the elongation of root at C A hollow ball of cells marking the
high concentration. end stage of cleavage
D A cup-shaped embryonic stage
24 Oestrogen and progesterone are used in consisting of two or three layers of
contraceptive pills to cells
A maintain the endometrium of the
uterus 29 The diagram below shows the structure
B inhibit the production of gonadotropic of a monocot seed.
hormones
C stimulate the release of luteinising S
hormone
D stimulate the release of follicle P
stimulating hormone
Q
25 What is injected into the body of a person
bitten by a dog? R
A Dead bacteria Which of the following is responsible
B Weakened viruses for producing hydrolytic enzymes after
C Serum containing antigens imbibition?
D Serum containing specific A P C R
antibodies B Q D S

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 30 The table below shows the functions of The genotype and number of progeny
gibberellin, aleurone and water in the obtained are as shown below.
seed germination of peas.
Genotype Number
Component Function A B
40
I Gibberellin X Synthesises a b
digestive a B
11
II Aleurone enzymes A b
Y Triggers the A b
III Water synthesis of α- 9
a B
amylase a b
Z Releases a b
40
gibberellin
What is the map distance, in map units,
Which functions correspond to between the two genes?
gibberellin, aleurone and water? A 9 C 20
I II III B 11 D 40
A Y X Z
B Y Z X 33 A cross between red-flowered and
C Z X Y white-flowered snapdragons produces
D Z Y X all pink-flowered progeny. This type of
interaction is called
31 The table below shows types of dormancy A epistasis
and their significance. B codominance
C complete dominance
Types of D incomplete dominance
Significance
dormancy
P Hibernation I Reduces water 34 A type of gene mutation is as follows:
loss
Q Estivation II Reduces energy mRNA –AAA UGG GUG UCU–
consumption for Amino lys trp val ser
body heat acid
R Diapause III Inhibits insect Mutation
growth
mRNA –AAA UGG GAG UCU–
Which types of dormancy correspond to Amino lys trp glu ser
their significance? acid
I II III
A P Q R The mutation results in
B P R Q A haemophilia
C Q P R B cystic fibrosis
D R Q P C sickle cell anaemia
D thalassaemia major
32. A test cross between individuals of
genotypes below is carried out as 35 In a plant species, a trisomic plant has
follows: 29 chromosomes and a monosomic
A B a b plant has 27 chromosomes. How many
X
chromosomes does a triploid plant
a b a b
have?
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 A 28 C 81
B 42 D 87
36 A gene pool is defined as
A the total number of the genes of all
the individuals in a population
B the sharing of genes between two
populations through interbreeding
C the random changes in the allelic
frequency in a small breeding
population
D a population in which the allelic and
genotype frequencies do not change
from one generation to the next
37 What parameter should be calculated in
order to know whether a population is
in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
A Gene pool
B Genetic drift
C Allele frequency
D Gene substitution
38 In a population of 100 000 people, 10
of them are albinos. The frequency of
the albinism carriers is
A 0.01 C 0.20
B 0.02 D 0.99
39 An operon consists of
A the structural genes only
B the regulator and promoter genes
only
C the structural and promoter genes
only
D the structural, promoter and regulator
genes
40 Which statement is true of the lactose
operon in E. coli?
A It allows the inducer to bind to the
promoter.
B It is active when lactose binds to the
promoter.
C It is active when the repressor is
bound to allolactose.
D It allows the expression of the
structural genes in the absence of
lactose.
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41 The transgenic plant is different from
the wild type plant because
A it is a triploid
B it contains antibiotic resistance
plasmid
C it contains foreign gene in their
genomes
D its DNA is transcribed from 3' to 5'
direction
42 The taxa Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and
Mammalia are of the same
A class but of different orders
B order but of different families
C kingdom but of different phyla
D phylum but of different classes
43 The skeleton of vertebrates differs from
that of arthropods in terms of
A support
B shedding
C protection
D muscle attachment
44 Which statement is true of allopatric
speciation?
A Speciation produces hybrid
species.
B Individuals occupy an overlapping
area.
C Speciation is not caused by
geographical factor.
D Geographical barrier prevents gene
flow between populations.
45 The graph below shows the result of a
type of selection for a population.
Number of
individuals Before selection
After selection
Phenotype
What conclusions can be made about the
graph?
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 I Disruptive selection C the maximum population size that
II Directional selection can be supported by an ecosystem
III Selection against extreme groups D the members of a species that live in
IV Selection against intermediate an ecosystem and have the potential
groups to reproduce
A I and III
B I and IV 49 All ecosystems are dependent on energy
C II and III input because
D II and IV A producers have a greater biomass
than consumers
46 In which situation would an algal bloom B carnivores have a greater biomass
occur in a pond? than producers
A After a heavy rain C decomposers process the greatest
B Plenty of sunlight amount of energy in an ecosystem
C A run-off from a nearby fertilised D energy transformation results in
field partial loss of usable energy to the
D The presence of a large population environment
of zooplankton
50 In a study of a population of tiger prawns,
47 Which organism does not contribute the mean mass is 12.3 g and the standard
to the primary productivity of an deviation is 1.2 g. Which conclusions
ecosystem? can be made about the population?
A Cyanobacteria I 68% of the population have masses
B Purple bacteria of 12.3 g – 14.7 g.
C Saprotrophic bacteria II 68% of the population have masses
D Chemosynthetic bacteria of 11.1 g – 13.5 g.
III 95% of the population have masses
48 The carrying capacity is defined as of 12.3 g – 14.7 g.
A the maximum population growth rate IV 95% of the population have masses
under ideal conditions of 9.9 g – 14.7 g.
B the change in the population size per A I and III C II and III
individual per unit time B I and IV D II and IV

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 PAPER 2

Section A [40 marks]

Answer all questions in this section.

1 The diagram below shows a U-tube containing two mixtures of glucose and sucrose
solutions separated by a membrane that is permeable to water and glucose but not to
sucrose.

A B

1 mol dm–3 glucose 2 mol dm–3 glucose

+ +
2 mol dm–3 sucrose 1 mol dm–3 sucrose

Membrane

Arm A is half-filled with a mixture of 1 mol dm–3 glucose and 2 mol dm–3 sucrose. Arm
B is half-filled with a mixture of 2 mol dm–3 glucose and 1 mol dm–3 sucrose. The levels
of the mixtures in both arms are initially the same.
(a) Explain what is meant by diffusion.

[2 marks]

(b) State the initial state, in terms of tonicity, of the mixture in arm A with respect to
that in arm B.

[1 mark]

(c) Explain how the system achieves equilibrium.

[2 marks]

(d) Complete the following diagram and labels for the system when the equilibrium is
achieved.

Initial level
... mol dm–3 glucose ... mol dm–3 glucose
+ +
... mol dm–3 sucrose ... mol dm–3 sucrose

Membrane

[5 marks]

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 2 Ectotherms and endotherms have homeostasis mechanisms to regulate body temperature
physiologically, structurally or via behavioural means.
(a) Define homeostasis.

[1 mark]

(b) Sketch, on the same axes, and label two graphs to show the relationships between
outside temperature and body temperature for ectotherms and endotherms.

[2 marks]

(c) State how ectotherms and endotherms obtain body heat.

[1 mark]

(d) Explain how ectotherms and endotherms are able to maintain body temperature.
Ectotherms:

Endotherms:

[6 marks]

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 3 The Michaelis-Menten plots for enzymatic reaction are given below.

Reaction velocity/v0

X
Y

Substrate

(a) Name the curves X, Y and Z.

X:
Y:
Z:
[3 marks]

(b) Explain why the shapes of the curves are as such.

X:
Y:
Z:
[6 marks]
(c) Which curve shows an inhibition that could not be recovered by the addition of more
substrate?

[1 mark]

4 Since the time of Aristotle until the middle of 19th century, biologists divided organisms
into two kingdoms: Plantae and Animalia. With the advancement in the field of microscopy,
there were organisms that could neither be classified as plants nor animals. To overcome this
problem, Margulis and Schwartz proposed the Five Kingdom System of Classification.
(a) State the kingdoms, to which the organisms in the following table belong, according
to Margulis and Schwartz. [5 marks]

Kingdom
Organism Two Kingdom System Five Kingdom System
Mucor Plantae
Amoeba Animalia
Chlorophyta Plantae
Euglena Animalia/Plantae

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 Bacteria Plantae
Obelia Animalia Animalia
Marchantia Plantae Plantae

(b) State one characteristic used to classify each of the following organisms in the Five
Kingdom System of Classification. [5 marks]

Organism Characteristic
Mucor
Amoeba
Chlorophyta
Euglena
Bacteria

Section B [60 marks]

Answer any four questions from this section.

5 (a) Distinguish a bacteria chromosome from a eukaryotic chromosome. [4 marks]

(b) With the aid of a labelled diagram, describe the structure and functions of the Golgi
apparatus. [11 marks]

6 (a) The transportation of water molecules and mineral ions from the soil to the roots
could occur via several pathways such as vacuole, apoplast and symplast. Describe
these three pathways. [8 marks]
(b) Among the mechanisms of the translocation of sugar through sieve tubes are the
mass-flow hypothesis, the electro-osmosis and the cytoplasmic streaming. Describe
these three mechanisms. [7 marks]

7 Explain the mechanism of action of adrenaline on the liver cell. [15 marks]

8 (a) State the principal target tissue and the action of each of the following female
reproductive hormones.
(i) Progesterone
(ii) Oestrogen
(iii) Oxytocin
(iv) Prolactin [8 marks]
(b) Explain the events involved in the development of a fruit after the process of double
fertilisation. [7 marks]

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 9 In a small population, 40 individuals are tasters of phenylthiocarbamide and 60 are non-
tasters. The dominant allele T controls the ability to taste phenylthiocarbamide.
(a) (i) Determine the frequencies of allele t and allele T. [6 marks]
(ii) Determine the number of individuals who are heterozygous in the population.
[4 marks]
(b) If 20 non-tasters immigrate into the population, determine the new frequencies of
allele t and allele T. [5 marks]

10 (a) State the first and the second laws of thermodynamics. [4 marks]
(b) Using the laws of thermodynamics in (a), explain how energy could be transferred
in a named ecosystem. [11 marks]

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 SUGGESTED ANSWERS
PAPER 1
1. B Cellulose is made up β-glucose which is
a hexose. RNA and DNA contain pentose
sugar.
2. B Hydrogen bonds hold the α-helix and the β-
pleated sheet protein secondary structures in
place. van der Waals force and hydrophobic
interaction hold the tertiary structure of the
protein. Peptide bond binds the amino acids of
the linear primary structure of the protein.
3. B The small positive charge of the hydrogen
atom and the small negative charge of the
oxygen atom of the water molecule (due the
uneven distribution of the electrons) contribute
to the polarity of water.
4. B The nitrogenous bases hold both the DNA
strands by more than one hydrogen bond.
5. A Ribosome is not bounded by any membrane;
mitochondrion is bounded by double
membrane.
6. C Ligase and DNA polymerase are involved
in DNA replication; reverse transcriptase is
involved in the formation of DNA from
mRNA.
7. B Transcription uses the sense strand of the
DNA as a template to form the complementary
mRNA and does not involve DNA polymerase
and ribosome. Transcription does not
necessarily begin with ATG in the template
strand.
8. A Non-competitive inhibitor binds to the
allosteric site of an enzyme which does not
lower the activation energy. Its mode of action
can be reversible or non-reversible. Only the
competitive inhibitory effect can be reduced
by increasing the substrate concentration.
9. A C3 plants experience photorespiration the most,
which is very much reduced or prevented in
C4 and CAM plants.
10. B Light reaction produces oxygen and reduced
NADP during the photolysis of water and
non-cyclic photophosphorylation whereas
ATP is used for phosphorylation during
Calvin cycle which occurs in the stroma of
the chloroplast.
11. A Only with the presence of NAD+, oxidation of
glucose or the intermediate can occur during
glycolysis.
12. A Enolase catalyses the formation of
phosphoenolpyruvate from 2 phosphoglycerate.
13. A Taenia sp. and Rafflesia sp. are parasites and
Periplenata sp. is holozoic.
14. A At high altitude, the air is thin and the partial
pressure of oxygen is low. Therefore the
affinity of the haemoglobin towards oxygen
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must be high as displayed by the shifting of the
oxygen dissociation curve to the left. Having
more haemoglobin and red blood cells would
certainly increase the efficiency of oxygen
uptake.
15. C This is the potassium accumulation hypothesis
used to explain the opening and closing of the
stomata.
16. D Decrease in pH is due to the increase in the partial
pressure of carbon dioxide in blood during
vigorous exercise and therefore shifting the
oxygen dissociation to the right so that the
percentage of oxygen-saturated haemoglobin
is decreased to release oxygen.
17. A Carbonic anhydrase catalyses the formation of
carbonic acid when carbon dioxide is dissolved
in water.
18. B During ventricular systole, the higher pressure
in the ventricle forces the semi-lunar valves
to open and shut the atrioventricular valves
to ensure blood is flowed one way in the
heart.
19. C Loss of blood results in loss of sodium
which causes an increase in angiotensin
and aldosterone so that more sodium is
reabsorbed from the collecting ducts to the
vasa recta.
20. D High concentration of abscisic acid during
water stress causes the stoma to close. Influx
of potassium, increase in glucose concentration
in guard cells (decreased water potential) and
lower carbon dioxide concentration (that is,
higher pH) causes the stoma to open.
21. C The systematic nervous system consists of
adrenergic motor nerves which can send
impulses to the pacemaker of the heart to
speed up heartbeat.
22. A P is a synaptic knob with vesicles containing
acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter).
23. C Auxin promotes the formation of adventitious
roots at low concentration.
24. B When gonadotrophic hormones are not
produced, follicles will not develop in the
ovary and no eggs are released.
25. D The specific antibodies will help to destroy the
antigens introduced into one’s body through
the dog’s bite quickly.
26. C Humoral-immune response involves B
lymphocytes which will proliferate with the
help of interleukin II.
27. B Fertilisation of the egg by a sperm will
produce a zygote which then develops into
the embryo.
28. C Blastula is a hollow ball of cells containing a
fluid-filled cavity (blastocoel).
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 29. A P is the aleurone (protein) layer which can be
activated to produce hydrolytic enzymes.
30. A Imbibition of water causes the release of
gibberellin from the embryo which then
stimulates the aleurone to synthesise hydrolytic
enzymes.
31. C During hibernation, the animal reduces its
metabolic rate to a minimum to keep body heat
and body cells alive. Estivation is a dormant
stage of an animal’s life due to prolonged
drought. Diapause is a dormant period in
insects due to unsuitable photoperiod and
other adverse conditions.
32. C Calculate the COV as the map distance, that is
(11 + 9)
————————– × 100%
(40 + 11 + 9 + 40)
33. D Incomplete dominance results in an intermediate
phenotype.
34. C This type of mutation is caused by a base
substitution which results in a slightly different
protein formed but is still functional.
35. B The diploid plant (2n) has 28 chromosomes.
Therefore a triploid plant (3n) has 42
chromosomes.
36. A A gene pool refers to the sum total of all genes
and their different alleles of all the individuals
in a sexually reproducing population.
37. C Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium states that
the allele frequency does not change from
generation to generation.
10
38. B q 2 = ———– = 0.0001; q = 0.01; p = 1 – 0.01 =
100000
0.99; 2pq = 2(0.99)(0.01) = 0.02
39. C An operon consists of a promoter, an operator
and a cluster of structural genes that are
regulated and expressed as a single unit.
40. C Allolactose will bind to the repressor which
will then detach from the operator to activate
the lactose operon.
41. C This can be done through genetic
engineering.
42. D These different classes come from the same
phylum, chordata.
43. B Arthropods shed their exoskeleton (ecdysis)
to grow which does not occur in vertebrates
with endoskeleton.
44. D Allopatric speciation is the formation of new
species due to subpopulations being isolated
by a geographical barrier.
49. D Energy is always lost to the environment
during transformation and need to be replaced
to sustain the ecosystem.
50. D Statistically, 68% of the population have
masses 12.3 (+/–) one standard deviation and
95% of the population have masses 12.3 (+/–)
two standard deviations.
PAPER 2
Section A
1. (a) Diffusion is the net movement of ions or
molecules from a region where they are at
higher concentration to a region of lower
concentration, that is, to move down a
concentration gradient until an equilibrium
is reached.
(b) Take Note: Tonicity is the ability of a
solution to cause a region to
gain or lose water. Tonicity
of a solution depends in
part on the concentration of
solutes that cannot cross the
membrane (nonpenetrating
solutes), relative to that in the
region itself.
The mixture in arm A has more nonpenetrating
solutes than the mixture in arm B, hence
water will tend to leave arm B and move
into arm A.
(c) Water diffuses across the membrane from
arm B to arm A until the concentration of
the sucrose solutions on both sides of the
membrane are equal.
(d) A B
1.5 mol dm–3 1.5 mol dm–3
glucose glucose
+ +
1.5 mol dm–3 1.5 mol dm–3
sucrose sucrose
2. (a) Homeostasis is the maintenance of the
internal environment of a living organism
at a constant level or within a narrow range
of limits.
(b)
Internal temperature

45. B It is a disruptive selection where environment 40

endotherm
does not favour the intermediates.
46. C Too much organic material in the pond causes 30
algal bloom or eutrophication. 20 ectotherm
47. C Saprotrophic bacteria are consumers
(decomposers). 10
48. C The maximum population size that can be
supported by an ecosystem with no 0
10 20 30 40 50
environmental changes. External temperature/°C

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 (c) Ectotherms obtain heat from the environment 4. (a)
while endotherms rely on metabolic heat to Organism Five kingdom system
maintain their body temperature.
Mucor Fungi
(d) Ectotherms: These rely on behavioural
and structural modifications
Amoeba Protoctista
to adapt to environmental
conditions to maintain body Chlorophyta Protoctista
temperature. When cold,
ectotherms may bask in the Euglena Protoctista
sun, press themselves to
warm surfaces or orientate Bacteria Prokaryotae
body position relative to sun’s
position. When hot, they move
to shady places, wallow in (b) Organism Characteristic
water or open the mouths to
increase heat loss. Mucor – No chlorophyll; do
Endotherms: These maintain the body not photosynthesise
temperature by balancing the – Heterotrophic
heat produced from metabolism – Cell walls contain
in the body against heat loss chitin rather than
by the body. cellulose
When hot, there is increased Amoeba – Unicellular organisms
sweating, increased – Heterotrophic
vasodilation of arterioles and – Lack cell walls
rate of metabolism decreases.
When cold, decreased sweating, Chlorophyta – Unicellular, motile
increased vasoconstriction – Cells are surrounded
of arterioles, shivering and by cell walls
increased metabolic rate take – Photosynthetic
place.
Euglena – Unicellular organisms
3. (a) X: Rate of enzyme activity without presence – Lacks a cellulose cell
of inhibitor wall
Y: Rate of enzyme activity with competitive – Photosynthetic
inhibitor
Z: Rate of enzyme activity with non- Bacteria – Lack true nuclei,
competitive inhibitor whereby their DNA
(b) X: At low substrate concentration, the are not enclosed by
reaction velocity rises almost linearly a nuclear membrane
with increasing substrate concentration. and lie free in the
Since an enzyme molecule can only cytoplasm.
catalyse a certain number of reactions in – No organelles
a given time, the velocity of the reaction bound by a double
reaches maximum rate as the substrate membrane.
concentration increases. – Has a cell wall
Y: Competitive inhibitor and substrate that consists of
compete for the same active site of the peptidoglycan.
enzyme. In order to achieve the same
velocity reached in the absence of the
inhibitor, a higher substrate concentration Section B
is needed to overcome the competitive 5. (a) – Bacteria DNA is naked, i.e. it is not
competition. Maximum reaction velocity incorporated in chromosomes but is a
can be reached if there is sufficient single, circular strand lying free in the
substrate. cytoplasm. There is no nucleus.
Z: The non-competitive inhibitor and – Eukaryotic DNA is linear and incorporated
substrate bind to different sites on the with proteins (including histones) and
enzyme. Thus, the maximum reaction RNA in chromosomes. There is a nucleus
velocity decreases. bound by a double membrane nuclear
(c) Curve Z. envelope.

© Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd. (008974-7) 2008 Actual 2008 STPM Biology Examination Paper 15

Ace Ahead STPM Bio Vol 2 08 Q&A 4th.indd 15 23/01/2009 11:10:13 AM

 (b)
smooth cisternal newly formed
membrane cis-cisterna
(receiving side)
cisternal space
dictyosome
(a stack of
cisternae)
secretory
vesicles
peripheral mature trans-cisterna
tubule (shipping side)
to cell surface
Structure
• Golgi apparatus consists of a stack of
flattened, membrane bound sacs called
cisternae.
• The concave-shaped cisternae nearer the
cell surface membrane is known as the
trans Golgi network.
• The convex-shaped cis Golgi network
near the ER is formed from the fusion
of transport vesicles from endoplasmic
reticulum.
Functions
• Golgi apparatus receives vesicles from
ER, stores and modifies the proteins
by adding sugar molecules to form
glycoprotein.
• The secretory vesicles produced by
the Golgi apparatus contain zymogen
(e.g. pepsinogen, trypsinogen), mucin,
hormones and neurotransmitters and they
release their contents to the cell’s exterior
by exocytosis
• The fusion of secretory vesicles with
the plasma membrane maintains the
membrane which is used to form
phagocytic vacuoles and pinocytic
vesicles.
• Golgi apparatus is involved in the
formation of lysosomes containing
hydrolytic enzymes.
• In plant cells, the Golgi apparatus secretes
polysaccharides for the formation of cell
plates and cell walls.
• It is also involved in the formation of
peroxisomes.
6. (a) • Water is absorbed mainly by root hairs
which are cellular extensions of root hair
cells.
• The root hairs increase the surface area
of the roots enormously.
• Dissolved substances build up in root hair
cells by diffusion and active transport.
• This accumulation of solutes gives the
root hair cells a lower water potential
than that of the water in the soil.
16 Actual 2008 STPM Biology Examination Paper
Ace Ahead STPM Bio Vol 2 08 Q&A 4th.indd 16
• As a result, water enters a root hair cell
by osmosis, increasing its water potential
above that of its neighbours.
• Water is then drawn in by osmosis from
root hair cells into the adjacent cortical
cells. Water moves from cell to cell in the
root along a water potential gradient.
• There are three possible routes.
(i) Apoplast pathway.
– Water passes freely through
the cell walls from one cell to
another.
– As water is pulled up the xylem
due to transpirational pull, the
cohesive forces between water
molecules ensure that water
is drawn across adjacent cell
walls.
(ii) Symplast pathway.
– Water diffuses through the
cytoplasm of adjacent cells.
– The cytoplasm of adjacent cells
is interconnected by cytoplasmic
strands called plasmodesmata
which pass through pores in the
cell walls.
(iii) Vacuolar pathway.
– Water moves along through
the vacuoles as well as the
cytoplasm.
– Water has to move across the
endodermis by the symplast
pathway because the cell walls of
the endodermis are impregnated
with a waterproof waxy material
called suberin called Casparian
strip. The Casparian strip blocks
the water passing along the cell
walls (apoplast pathway).
– The endodermal cells actively
secrete mineral salts into the
xylem vessels of the root. This
lowers the water potential in the
xylem vessels. Water from the
root cells is drawn into the xylem
by osmosis.
(b) • In the mass-flow hypothesis, the sucrose
and other organic solutes synthesised in
the leaf are actively loaded by transfer
cells and companion cells into the sieve
tube.
• This lowers the water potential of the
solution in the sieve tubes.
• As a result, water is drawn from the
xylem in the leaf into the sieve tubes by
osmosis.
• The entry of water produces a high
hydrostatic pressure in the sieve tube.
© Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd. (008974-7) 2008
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 • In the roots, the sucrose is actively
transported into the tissues for respiration,
the synthesis of cell walls or changed into
starch for storage.
• The water potential in the root cells
decreases. Water is drawn from the
sieve tube into the root cells by
osmosis.
• The hydrostatic pressure in the leaf is
higher in the source compared to the
pressure in the roots.
• This causes passive mass flow of water
and solutes such as sugars, amino acids
from the leaf to the roots.
• In the electro-osmosis mechanism, the
companion cells contain numerous
mitochondria which generate ATP
required to remove potassium ions (K+)
from one side of the sieve plate into the
companion cell.
• The potassium ions (K+) are then secreted
on the other side of the sieve plate,
creating a potential gradient across the
sieve plate.
• This causes an electro-osmotic flow of
water molecules and dissolved solutes
through the sieve pores to the adjacent
sieve tube element.
• The cytoplasmic streaming mechanism
involves a circular movement of
cytoplasm from one end of the sieve
tube element to the other end.
• The solutes pass through the sieve pores
by active transport.
• This helps to account for the bidirectional
movements along the sieve tubes.
7. • Adrenaline is a non-steroid hormone that is
insoluble in lipid and cannot diffuse through
the plasma membrane.
• Adrenaline acts as a first messenger and binds
to a specific receptor protein in the plasma
membrane.
• This binding causes a change in conformation
in the receptor.
• This increases the affinity of the receptor to
bind with the G-protein in the membrane.
• Once activated, the G-protein moves to
stimulate the enzyme adenyl cyclase.
• The enzyme, adenyl cyclase catalyses the
conversion of ATP to cAMP (cyclic adenine
monophosphate) within the liver cell.
• cAMP acts as a second messenger.
• It diffuses into the liver cell where it initiates
a complex chain reaction.
• cAMP activates an enzyme that catalyses a
reaction which activates another enzyme and
so on.
© Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd. (008974-7) 2008
Ace Ahead STPM Bio Vol 2 08 Q&A 4th.indd 17
• This cascade effect where the action of
one enzyme in turn activates another
enzymatic reaction results in many product
molecules.
• It brings about a rapid and amplified response
to the hormone.
• This reaction ends with the activation of
glycogen phosphorylase that catalyses
the breakdown of glycogen into glucose
phosphate.
8. (a) (i) – The target tissue is the endometrium
layer in the uterus.
– The hormone helps to maintain the
thickness and vascularisation of the
endometrium layer in the uterus
as preparation for implantation of
blastocyst.
(ii) – The target tissue is the endometrium
layer in the uterus.
– The hormone stimulates the
thickening and vascularisation of
the endometrium of the uterus and
the development of glands in the
uterine wall after menstruation.
(iii) – The target tissue is the uterine
muscle or mammary glands.
– The hormone causes uterine
contractions at birth and stimulates
milk flow from the mammary
glands.
(iv) The target tissue is the mammary
glands.It stimulates mammary glands
to secrete milk.
(b) • After fertilisation, the fertilised ovule
develops into a seed.
• In the embryo sac of a fertilised ovule,
there are triploid/endosperm nucleus and
a diploid nucleus/zygote.
• The triploid nucleus divides rapidly by
mitosis to form a food store.
• In monocotyledonous seeds, the
endosperm continues to grow and is kept
as the seed’s food store.
• In dicotyledonous seeds, the endosperm
becomes absorbed by the developing
cotyledons which provide the food store
for the germinating seed.
• The zygote in the ovule divides
producing two daughter cells of different
sizes: terminal cell and basal cell.
• The large basal cell divides repeatedly to
form the suspensor which connects the
embryo to the integuments.
• The smaller terminal cell undergoes
repeated division and forms the embryo.
The embryo cells then begin to form
either one or two cotyledons.
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 • Embryo cells between the cotyledons
differentiate to form the apical meristem
of the shoot, while embryo cells near
the suspensor becomes the root apical
meristem.
• The outer integument of the ovule
becomes the testa (seed coat).
• Nutrients for the growing embryo and food
store are supplied by the disintegration of
surrounding nucellus cells in the embryo
sac.
• The mature ovary becomes the fruit, the
outer wall is known as pericarp.
9. (a) (i) Frequency of recessive homozygous
60
individuals (= q2), tt = ——
100
60
∴ Frequency of allele, t (= q) = ——
100
= 0.77
Since p + q = 1.
Frequency of allele, T (= p)
=1–q
= 1 – 0.77
= 0.23
(ii) The number of individuals who are
heterozygous in the population
= 2pq × 100
= 2 × 0.77 x 0.23 × 100
= 35
(b) Frequency of recessive homozygous
80
individuals (=q2), tt = ——
120
80
∴ Frequency of allele, t (= q) = ——
120
= 0.82
Since p + q = 1.
Frequency of allele, T (= p) = 1 – p
= 1 – 0.82
= 0.18
10. (a) • The first law of the thermodynamics states
that energy cannot be created or destroyed
but can be transformed from one form
to another.
• The second law of thermodynamics states
that when energy is transformed from
one form to another, a small amount of
energy is lost as heat.
18 Actual 2008 STPM Biology Examination Paper
Ace Ahead STPM Bio Vol 2 08 Q&A 4th.indd 18
(b) • The sun is the source of energy, in the
form of solar energy, for a food chain in
a forest ecosystem.
• The green plants and trees in the forest,
which are the primary producers trap
approximately 1 to 5% of light energy
that reaches the earth’s surface for
photosynthesis and is changed into
chemical energy in the form of organic
food molecules.
• Herbivores, such as the deer, which are
the primary consumers in the forest,
feed on the plants. Energy is transferred
from the primary producers (first trophic
level) to the herbivores (second trophic
level).
• Usually, only a small proportion (10%)
of the energy stored in plant tissues is
transferred to the herbivores.
• This is because most plants die and
decompose without being used by
herbivores. Energy is also lost to the
surrounding as heat released during
respiration.
• In the herbivores, some energy is lost as
heat released from respiration, excretory
wastes (urine) and faeces. Some will
be used for growth of new tissues and
reproduction.
• Secondary consumers, usually carnivores
such as tigers, feed on the primary
consumers (herbivores). Energy is
transferred from the second trophic level
to the third trophic level.
• Only about 10% of the energy in one
trophic level ends up in the next trophic
level.
• As energy is transferred along a food
chain, large losses of energy occur at
each transfer.
• Therefore, each trophic level receives
less energy than the trophic level below
it.
• After the fourth or fifth trophic level, only
a small amount of energy is left which
may be insufficient to support more
trophic levels. This is why the number of
trophic levels in an ecosystem is usually
limited to four or five.
© Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd. (008974-7) 2008
23/01/2009 11:10:14 AM