Question Paper - June 2024 (H420 - 02)
Question Paper - June 2024 (H420 - 02)
* H 4 2 0 0 2 *
First name(s)
Last name
INSTRUCTIONS
• Use black ink. You can use an HB pencil, but only for graphs and diagrams.
• Write your answer to each question in the space provided. If you need extra space use
the lined pages at the end of this booklet. The question numbers must be clearly shown.
• Answer all the questions.
• Where appropriate, your answer should be supported with working. Marks might be
given for using a correct method, even if your answer is wrong.
INFORMATION
• The total mark for this paper is 100.
• The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
• Quality of extended response will be assessed in questions marked with an asterisk (*).
• This document has 32 pages.
ADVICE
• Read each question carefully before you start your answer.
What process makes biomass available for transfer to the next trophic level in the food chain?
A Excretion
B Growth
D Respiration
2 What explains why food chains rarely have more than five trophic levels?
A Parts of the food organism are not eaten by organisms higher in the food chain.
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3 The rate at which plants produce biomass is known as productivity.
What is a suitable unit with which to measure productivity at different depths in the ocean?
A kg day–1 m–2
B kg day–1 m–3
C kg year–1 m2
D m kg–1 year –1
A Magnification is the size of an image under a microscope and resolution is the sharpness of
that image.
B Magnification is the size of the image compared to the actual size and resolution is the ability
to distinguish two objects from one another.
C Resolution is the ability to make small objects appear larger and magnification is the ability
to distinguish two objects from one another.
D Resolution is the size of an image under a microscope and magnification is the sharpness of
that image.
Which statement about the genetic control of variation cannot be true for discontinuous
variation?
B Variation is controlled by an epistatic interaction between two genes with multiple alleles.
A It is possible that a mutation could change the sequence of amino acids but leave the
function of the protein unchanged.
B It is possible that a mutation could leave the primary structure of the protein unchanged.
D It is possible that a mutation could substitute one amino acid for another with similar
properties.
7 Which of the statements describe(s) control of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level?
A 1, 2 and 3
B Only 1 and 2
C Only 2 and 3
D Only 1
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8 The graph shows the results of an investigation into diffusion rates in cubes of agar jelly with
different surface area to volume ratios (SA:VOL).
0.4
0.3
Rate of
diffusion 0.2
(1 / t)
0.1
0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0
SA:VOL
A 0.25
B 0.67
C 0.96
D 1.5
Which of the following are important steps when cloning a plant by taking a cutting?
A 1, 2 and 3
B Only 1 and 2
C Only 2 and 3
D Only 1
Which option is not seen as an advantage of using microorganisms to produce food compared to
traditional food production methods?
Which option is not a correct part of the procedure for spreading bacteria on an agar-filled Petri
dish?
A Remove the lid of the Petri dish and rest it upside-down on the work surface.
B Replace the lid of the Petri dish and secure it with tape.
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13 A standard growth curve for a population of bacteria of the same species in a closed system
involves a death phase.
A Centriole
B Lysosome
C Mitochondrion
D Nucleolus
A Cell wall
B Cilium
C Plasma membrane
D Smooth ER
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Section B
1. DNA extraction
2. Digestion
3. Separation
4. Analysis
(a) DNA profiling is used in the investigation of crime and in paternity cases.
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The technique of PCR involves a cycle of changes in temperature, shown in the graph.
100
X
90
80
Temperature Z
(°C) 70
60 Y
50
Time (min)
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(iv) Suggest why a PCR step is usually necessary when creating a DNA profile from a crime scene
sample in particular.
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(c) This is part of a DNA profile for six loci from a sample of DNA found at a crime scene (E), and
DNA from a potential suspect (S).
(i) Suggest why some loci have two peaks but some have only one.
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(ii) Using the evidence in the DNA profile it was claimed that suspect S had been at the crime scene.
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17 Blood cells can be examined using microscopy.
(a) This is some equipment that could be used when preparing a blood smear.
Pipette
Glass slide
Blood
sample
Describe how to use the equipment to prepare a blood smear that could then be stained and
viewed under a microscope.
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Eyepiece graticule
A scale
0 10 20 30 40 50
Name cell A.
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[4]
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(iii) The image was taken using a × 40 objective lens. The eyepiece graticule scale for the
× 40 objective lens was calibrated using the stage micrometer shown below.
0 10 20 30 40 50
Each of the three large divisions on the stage micrometer scale measured exactly 0.01 mm.
This is a preserved thylacine, Thylacinus cynocephalus, a large Australian carnivore that became
extinct in 1936.
Many preserved thylacine specimens in museums contain DNA. Scientists have used DNA
sequencing, bioinformatics and computational biology to reconstruct the genome of the thylacine.
Some scientists hope to be able to use bioinformatics and synthetic biology to produce a living
thylacine in the future.
(a) Much of the thylacine DNA present in the museum specimens has broken down. In order to
assemble an entire thylacine genome, it is necessary to supplement the thylacine DNA with DNA
from a living close relative of the thylacine.
The thylacine belonged to the order Dasyuromorphia. The table shows the classification of the
thylacine and some living species of the order Dasyuromorphia.
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(ii) Using the information in the table, describe the evolutionary and genetic relationships between
the species that are listed.
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(iii) Explain why it is difficult to decide which of the other species would be the most appropriate to
use as a source of DNA for constructing a thylacine genome.
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(iv) All the species in the table belong to the animal kingdom.
Other than the presence or absence of vacuoles, state two features of the cells of these
multicellular organisms that would mean they could be classified only in the animal kingdom.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
2 .......................................................................................................................................................
[1]
Proteins can be produced by traditional genetic engineering but the range of proteins available is
limited to those that are already produced by a living organism.
Bioinformatics and computational biology can be used in the production of new proteins that are
not found anywhere in nature.
(i)* Explain how gene sequencing, bioinformatics and computational biology are used in the
production of useful proteins in synthetic biology.
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(ii) Suggest why some people might be concerned about the increase of synthetic biology.
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(c) The thylacine finally became extinct in 1936 as a result of hunting by humans. However, its
population had been in decline for many years before.
Some scientists have concluded that the thylacine was particularly vulnerable to extinction
because of low genetic diversity within the species.
The table shows the proportion of heterozygous loci in a range of Australian mammal species
together with information about how endangered they are.
Genetic diversity
Species Conservation status
(proportion of heterozygous loci)
Brown antechinus 0.0040 least concern
Fat-tailed dunnart 0.0037 least concern
Common wombat 0.0017 least concern
Koala 0.0013 vulnerable
Tammar wallaby 0.0007 least concern
Tasmanian devil 0.0003 endangered
Thylacine 0.0001 extinct
(i) Describe the evidence in the table that supports the conclusion that low genetic diversity
contributed to the extinction of the thylacine.
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(ii) Identify one piece of evidence that does not support the conclusion that low genetic diversity
contributed to the extinction of the thylacine.
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Polio is a viral disease that usually affects children and can have lifelong effects.
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Describe the role of T-lymphocytes in the development of immunity to a virus such as polio.
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(b) The graph shows the number of cases of polio in England and Wales between 1946 and 2016.
8000
7000
6000
5000
Number
4000
of cases
3000
2000
1000
0
1946 1956 1966 1976 1986 1996 2006 2016
Year
Vaccine
introduced
(i) Calculate the percentage decrease in cases between 1956 and 1960.
(ii) A student wants to use the calculation in part (b)(i) to support a conclusion about the
effectiveness of the polio vaccination. Another student argues that it would be better to have used
1957 as a starting year for the calculation.
Suggest two reasons why 1957 might have been a better starting year for the calculation.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
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The scale used on the graph is not sensitive enough to show changes in the number of cases
during the 1980s.
Suggest one way in which the y-axis scale could be changed in order that changes in the 1950s
and 1980s were both visible.
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(iv) Between 90% and 95% of UK children are currently fully vaccinated against polio.
In 2022 some particles of polio virus were detected in sewage in London. As a result, an extra
dose of the polio vaccine was offered to children in London. The vaccine was not offered to
children across the whole country.
Suggest why the extra vaccine was offered to children in London only.
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BLANK PAGE
(a) Three tree species dominate the woodland: oak, ash and sycamore.
There are many small herbaceous plants in the woodland, but the students choose to collect data
on only one: wood sorrel.
The students choose an oak tree, an ash tree and a sycamore tree and count every individual
wood sorrel plant within a 3 m radius of each tree.
The null hypothesis of the students’ investigation is that the species of tree would not affect the
number of wood sorrel growing near it.
The students conclude that the conditions under oak trees are the most favourable of the three
trees studied and that conditions under sycamore trees are the least favourable.
2
(O - E)
Use the equation | =
2
/ E
You may use the empty columns in the table to help with your calculation.
|2 = .......................................................... [3]
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(ii) The critical value for |2 in this investigation at p = 0.05 is 5.991.
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(iii) The teacher suggested that, in order to have confidence in their results, the students should
include data from more than one tree for each species.
Identify two other variables the students should attempt to control when carrying out an
investigation such as this.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
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(i)* The first sere is the pioneer community. The final sere is the climax community.
The species that make up the pioneer and climax communities are different.
Compare the plant and animal species that make up the climax and the pioneer communities.
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(ii) Succession involves changes in the species that live in an area over time.
State one other change that takes place in the same area over the same time.
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(iii) Suggest what was present in the area that is now occupied by mixed woodland before the
pioneer community arrived.
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(ii) Describe how the image would look different if the cell was in interphase.
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(b) The stages of mitosis and meiosis are similar but not identical.
(i) At the beginning of mitosis and meiosis, the nuclear envelope disintegrates.
Identify two other similarities between prophase in mitosis and prophase 1 of meiosis.
1 .......................................................................................................................................................
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(ii) Identify one difference between prophase in mitosis and prophase 2 of meiosis.
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Calculate the mean length of time each cell spent undergoing mitosis.
(d) The cell cycle describes a series of events that occur during the life of a cell.
during the ................................... phase. Checkpoints occur during the cell cycle. The G1 and G2
checkpoints check for cell size and ................................... . The second checkpoint
occurs at the end of the ................................... phase. If a cell does not satisfy the
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EXTRA ANSWER SPACE
If you need extra space use these lined pages. You must write the question numbers clearly in
the margin.
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