63 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
All animals are dependent on green plants because plants
Answer: E (manufacture food for animals)
Only green plants make food from simple substances; every animal depends on them, directly or indirectly, for food.
The scientist who discovered the cell while examining a thin slice of cork under the microscope was
Answer: A (Robert Hooke)
Robert Hooke saw tiny compartments in cork and named them cells.
The two important physical processes involved in the absorption and transport of materials in plants are
Answer: D (osmosis and diffusion)
Water enters root hairs by osmosis and many dissolved substances and gases move by diffusion.
The process by which plants manufacture food from carbondioxide and water, using energy from the sun is termed
Answer: B (photosynthesis)
Photosynthesis uses light energy to make sugar from carbon dioxide and water.
The process in which insects undergo conspicuous changes in form and appearance during development is known as
Answer: B (metamorphosis)
Metamorphosis is the change in body form during development, e.g. egg → larva → pupa → adult.
Diagrams I, II and III below illustrate the feet of birds adapted to various modes of feeding and movement. Use them to answer questions 6 to 8.
What is the foot labelled I adapted to?
Answer: C (Swimming in water)
Foot I has a web of skin between the toes, which works like a paddle for swimming.
Diagrams I, II and III illustrate the feet of birds adapted to various modes of feeding and movement.
The foot labelled III is strong and has blunt claws on its digits. This implies that the bird
Answer: D (uses the foot to scratch the soil)
Strong feet with blunt claws suit scratching the ground for food, as a domestic fowl does.
Diagrams I, II and III illustrate the feet of birds adapted to various modes of feeding and movement.
The long and sharp claws in the foot labelled II show that the bird uses them to
Answer: A (hold onto its prey)
Long, sharp, curved talons let birds of prey seize and hold their prey.
Conventional method of sewage disposal involves all the following except defaecating
Answer: B (in open fields)
Defaecating in open fields is not a proper method of sewage disposal and spreads disease.
Which of the following actions is not an example of a simple reflex action?
Answer: D (Reading a book)
Reading is a voluntary, learned action controlled by the cerebrum; the others are automatic reflexes.
In which of the following is a cellulose cell wall present?
Answer: C (Spirogyra)
Spirogyra is a green alga (a plant), so its cells have cellulose walls.
Which of the following organisms exists as a filament?
Answer: E (Spirogyra)
Spirogyra cells are joined end to end to form long filaments.
All the following can illustrate the dynamic nature of the ecosystem except
Answer: E (locomotion in organisms)
Cycles show materials moving through the ecosystem; locomotion is an activity of single organisms.
Which of the following mesaures does not ensure conservation?
Answer: E (Enclosing fishes in ponds where they will not be stolen)
Keeping fish safe from thieves protects private property; it is not a way of conserving natural stocks.
Which of the following is not required for primary production to occur in plants?
Answer: B (Sugar)
Sugar is the product of photosynthesis, not something needed for it.
Which of the following blood group(s) is/are the universal donor(s)?
Answer: A (O)
Group O red cells have no A or B antigens, so they can be given to people of any group.
The branch of science which deals with resemblances, origin and expression of biological variations is called
Answer: D (genetics)
Genetics studies heredity and variation.
Which of the following can cause desert encroachment?
Answer: E (Overgrazing)
Overgrazing strips the vegetation and exposes soil to wind erosion, so the desert spreads.
The morphological, physiological and behavioural characteristics which enable an organism to survive in its environment is called
Answer: D (adaptation)
Features that help an organism survive in its environment are adaptations.
Which of the following performs the same function as the contractile vacuole of a unicellular organism?
Answer: A (Kidney)
Both the kidney and the contractile vacuole control the water content of the body (osmoregulation).
Which of the following represents the correct order in a possible food chain?
Answer: D (Diatom → crustacean → fish → man)
The chain starts with the producer (diatom), eaten by a crustacean, eaten by fish, eaten by man.
Which of the following relationships illustrates competition?
Answer: B (Goats and cows grazing on a small grass lawn)
Goats and cows both need the same limited grass, so they compete.
Use the diagram below to answer question 23
Which of the following agents is responsible for the dispersal of the seed shown above?
Answer: C (Wind)
The seed carries a tuft of long hairs that acts as a parachute in the wind.
The structure used by fishes to detect the presence and movement of other animals by the vibration they produce is the
Answer: C (lateral line)
The lateral line has sense cells that detect vibrations and pressure changes in water.
Muscles are attached to bones by means of
Answer: D (tendons)
Tendons join muscles to bones.
The ability of the eye to alter the focal length of the lens, with regard to the distance of the object from the eye is known as
Answer: D (accommodation)
Accommodation is the changing of the lens shape to focus near or far objects.
What is the fate of the ovary of a flower after fertilization? It
Answer: C (becomes the fruit)
After fertilisation the ovary grows into the fruit and the ovules become seeds.
Use the diagrams below to answer questions 28 and 29
The diagrams above represent a group of insects known to be
Answer: A (colonial)
The drawings are termites (a queen with a swollen abdomen and another caste); termites live in colonies.
Use the diagrams of termites labelled I and II (questions 28 and 29).
In their system of organisation, the diagram labelled II plays the role of a
Answer: A (worker)
II has a small rounded head without the huge jaws of a soldier, so it is a worker, which builds the nest and gathers food.
The table below is a Punnett square for sex determination in man. Use it to answer questions 30 and 31
Which of the following determines a normal male offspring?
Answer: D (XY)
A male has one X and one Y chromosome.
The table below is a Punnett square for sex determination in man (egg: X, X; sperm: X, Y; offspring XX, XX, XY, XY).
What is the theoretical probability that a normal male child will be born?
Answer: A (1/2)
Two of the four boxes are XY, so the chance of a boy is 2/4 = 1/2.
Which of these is not part of the appendicular skeleton?
Answer: B (Vertebral column)
The vertebral column belongs to the axial skeleton.
Which of the following factors does not control population growth?
Answer: C (Abundance of food)
Food shortage, emigration, predation and disasters all keep numbers down; plenty of food does not check growth.
The following conditions form the basis of competition in a habitat except
Answer: E (body structure)
Organisms compete for resources such as food, space, mates and light, not for body structure.
The part of the ear which equalises air pressure on either side of the eardrum is the
Answer: C (eustachian tube)
The Eustachian tube links the middle ear to the throat and balances the pressure.
Mutation leads to evolution in that it
Answer: C (gives rise to new individuals which differ considerably from their parents)
Mutations produce new characters; useful ones can spread by natural selection.
The process whereby poisonous compounds are made harmless in the liver is called
Answer: D (detoxification)
Detoxification is making poisons harmless.
The deficiency of calcium in a plant may result in
Answer: A (stunted growth and poor root development)
Calcium is needed for cell walls and growing tips, so its lack gives stunted growth and poor roots.
Which of the following is the least safe method of birth control? Using
Answer: E (the withdrawal method)
Withdrawal often fails because some sperm may be released before withdrawal.
Which of the following does not imply attempt at conservation?
Answer: E (Refraining from the use of the natural resource)
Conservation means wise use, not refusing to use resources at all.
The gradual, cumulative, adaptive and heritable changes in an organism over a long period of time resulting in emergence of new species is known as
Answer: E (organic evolution)
Organic evolution is the slow change of living things over generations, producing new species.
The diagram below illustrates the structure of a cell. Use it to answer questions 42 and 43
The structure that produces the energy required by the cell is labelled
Answer: B (II)
II is an oval body with folded inner membranes: a mitochondrion, where respiration releases energy.
Use the diagram of a cell (parts labelled I to V).
The strcuture labelled V is the
Answer: B (ribosome)
V points to the dark granules along the endoplasmic reticulum, which are ribosomes.
In which of the following organisms is the siphon found?
Answer: B (Pupa of mosquito)
Mosquito young hang from the water surface and breathe air through tubes (siphon in the larva, trumpets in the pupa).
Which of the following is not a pollution control measure?
Answer: E (Channelling sewage into streams)
Putting sewage into streams pollutes the water.
Which pair of structures contributes to balance in mammals?
Answer: A (Utriculus and Sacculus)
The utriculus and sacculus (with the semicircular canals) detect position and keep balance.
Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis are both terms used to describe
Answer: E (gametogenesis)
Both mean the formation of gametes (sperm and eggs): gametogenesis.
Which of the following is not a continuous variation?
Answer: C (Ability to roll tongue)
You can either roll your tongue or not; there are no in-between values, so it is discontinuous.
Which of the following is not a conservable natural resource?
Answer: B (Sunlight)
Sunlight cannot be stored or used up by man, so it is not conserved.
Which of the following plant diseases is indicated when grains of cereals are covered with a mass of spores?
Answer: A (Smut)
In smut disease the grains are replaced by black masses of fungal spores.
Which of the following structural features in animals does not affect control of body temperature?
Answer: A (Scales)
Scales protect the body but do not help keep body temperature steady; fur, feathers, skin and capillaries do.
The control of water and salt requirements of the body in order to maintain a stable internal environment is known as
Answer: E (homeostasis)
Keeping the body's internal conditions, including water and salt, steady is homeostasis (here, osmoregulation).
Which of the following is not a condition necessary for germination to occur in most seeds?
Answer: E (Soil fertility)
Seeds use stored food to germinate; water, air and warmth are needed, but not fertile soil.
Which of the following structural features adapts Drosera (Sundew) to its carnivorous mode of nutrition?
Answer: B (Club-shaped glandular hairs on leaves)
Sundew leaves have sticky club-shaped glandular hairs that trap and digest insects.
Which of the following terms is not associated with finger prints?
Answer: C (Suture)
Arch, loop, whorl and compound are fingerprint patterns; a suture is a skull joint.
In human beings the albino trait it recessive and the normal skin colour is dominant. Therefore the probability of parents that are heterozygous for albinism, having an albino child is
Answer: A (1/4)
Aa × Aa gives AA, Aa, Aa, aa; only aa (1 in 4) is albino.
Which of the following is the carrier of hereditary materials?
Answer: D (Chromosome)
Chromosomes carry the genes.
Which of these statements is correct in the human ABO blood grouping system?
Answer: C (O is recessive)
O is recessive to both A and B (A and B are co-dominant with each other).
In man, adult schistosoma is found in the
Answer: A (blood vessels of the bladder)
Adult Schistosoma haematobium lives in the veins around the urinary bladder.
Which of the following structures does not function as support in animals?
Answer: B (Scales in birds)
Scales on a bird's legs only protect; the others form skeletons (exo-, endo- or hydrostatic).
(a) List three major zones in the marine habitat, stating one characteristic feature of each zone.
(b) (i) Give one example each of plants and animals in the marine habitat (ii) Explain how each of the plants and animals is adapted to the habitat
(c) State three behavioural adaptations of animals to seasonal changes in terrestrial habitat
(d) State three characters each of the plant community in the tropical rain forest and savannah
(a) Any three: splash (supralittoral) zone – above high tide, wetted only by spray; intertidal (littoral) zone – covered at high tide and exposed at low tide; neritic zone – shallow water over the continental shelf, well lit, rich in plankton; oceanic (pelagic) zone – open deep sea; benthic/abyssal zone – sea floor, dark and cold
(b)(i) Plant e.g. seaweed (Sargassum/Fucus) or phytoplankton; animal e.g. bony fish, crab, periwinkle
(ii) Seaweed: holdfast to grip rocks; mucilage prevents drying at low tide; air bladders keep it afloat; flexible thallus resists waves
Fish: streamlined body; fins for swimming; gills; swim bladder for buoyancy; salt-excreting cells in gills for osmoregulation
(c) Any three: hibernation; aestivation; migration; burrowing; storing food; change of coat/moulting; swarming at onset of rains
(d) Rainforest: tall trees in 3 or more layers (stratified canopy); broad evergreen leaves; buttress roots; many climbers and epiphytes; little undergrowth
Savanna: grasses dominant with scattered trees; thick fire-resistant bark; deep roots; leaf shedding in dry season; underground stems
For each zone give one feature that sets it apart from the others.
(a) Describe the general arrangement of the viscera of a named mammal
(b) Describe the process of feeding in: (i) Hydra (ii) Amoeba
(a) Named mammal e.g. rabbit; body cavity divided by the diaphragm into thorax and abdomen
Thorax (protected by ribs): heart in the pericardium between two lungs in pleural cavities; trachea and oesophagus run through it
Abdomen: liver just below the diaphragm; stomach on the left; small intestine coiled in the middle, then caecum and appendix, colon and rectum to the anus; pancreas in the loop of the duodenum; spleen near the stomach; two kidneys against the back wall with ureters to the bladder; reproductive organs in the lower abdomen; all held by mesenteries
(b)(i) Hydra: tentacles catch small animals (e.g. water fleas) using stinging cells (nematocysts) that paralyse them; tentacles push the prey into the mouth; enzymes from endoderm cells digest it in the enteron (extracellular), then cells take in particles and finish digestion in food vacuoles (intracellular); undigested matter goes out through the mouth
(ii) Amoeba: puts out pseudopodia around the food (e.g. a diatom) – phagocytosis; food enclosed in a food vacuole with a little water; enzymes secreted into the vacuole digest it; digested food diffuses into the cytoplasm; undigested remains are left behind (egested) as the Amoeba moves on
Name the mammal before describing its viscera.
(a) (i) Explain the term courtship behaviour in animals (ii) How does courtship aid reproduction in animals
(b) Describe the process of fertilization in flowering plants
(a)(i) Courtship behaviour: the series of instinctive actions (display, songs, dances, colour changes, territorial defence, pairing) by which male and female of a species attract each other before mating
(ii) Brings the sexes of the same species together; identifies a suitable mate; makes partners ready to mate at the same time (synchronises release of gametes); reduces aggression; increases the chance of fertilisation
(b) Pollen lands on a ripe stigma (pollination); it absorbs sugary fluid and grows a pollen tube down the style; the tube nucleus leads, and the generative nucleus divides into two male nuclei; the tube enters the ovule through the micropyle and bursts; one male nucleus fuses with the egg cell to form the zygote; the other fuses with the polar nuclei to form the endosperm nucleus (double fertilisation)
After fertilisation: zygote → embryo, ovule → seed, ovary → fruit
Describe the pollen tube's journey before the two fusions.