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A-level
BIOLOGY
Paper 2

Thursday 11 June 2020 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours

Materials For Examiner’s Use
For this paper you must have:
• a ruler with millimetre measurements Question Mark
• a scientific calculator. 1
2
Instructions
3
• Use black ink or black ball-point pen.
• Fill in the boxes at the top of this page. 4
• Answer all questions. 5
• You must answer the questions in the spaces provided. Do not write
6
outside the box around each page or on blank pages.
• If you need extra space for your answer(s), use the lined pages at the end of 7
this book. Write the question number against your answer(s). 8
• Show all your working. 9
• Do all rough work in this book. Cross through any work you do not want
10
to be marked.
TOTAL
Information
• The marks for the questions are shown in brackets.
• The maximum mark for this paper is 91.

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Answer all questions in the spaces provided. box

0 1 The iris in the human eye is a muscular structure. The iris changes the size of the
pupil.

Figure 1 shows the muscles in the iris.

Figure 1

0 1 . 1 Suggest and explain how the interaction between the muscles labelled in Figure 1
could cause the pupil to constrict (narrow).
[2 marks]

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0 1 . 2 The fovea of the eye of an eagle has a high density of cones. An eagle focuses the box

image of its prey onto the fovea.

Explain how the fovea enables an eagle to see its prey in detail.

Do not refer to colour vision in your answer.

[3 marks]

0 1 . 3 The retina of the human eye has an area of approximately 1.094 × 103 mm2

The circular fovea in a human eye has a diameter of 3 × 103 µm

Calculate the area of the fovea as a percentage of the area of the retina.

The area of a circle is πr2. Use π = 3.14 in your calculation.

Show your working.

[2 marks]

Answer %

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0 1 . 4 The retina of an owl has a high density of rod cells. box

Explain how this enables an owl to hunt its prey at night.

Do not refer to rhodopsin in your answer.

[3 marks]

10

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0 2 Testosterone is a steroid hormone that belongs to a group of male sex hormones box

called androgens.

0 2 . 1 Steroid hormones are hydrophobic.

Explain why steroid hormones can rapidly enter a cell by passing through its
cell-surface membrane.
[2 marks]

0 2 . 2 In the cytoplasm, testosterone binds to a specific androgen receptor (AR).

An AR is a protein.

Suggest and explain why testosterone binds to a specific AR.

[2 marks]

Question 2 continues on the next page

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0 2 . 3 The binding of testosterone to an AR changes the shape of the AR. This AR molecule box

now enters the nucleus and stimulates gene expression.

Suggest how the AR could stimulate gene expression.

[2 marks]

The gene that codes for the AR has a variable number of CAG repeats.
Some studies have shown an association between the number of CAG repeats and
the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Table 1 shows the results of a statistical test from one study.

Table 1
Number of CAG repeats
Probability (P) value
in the AR gene
⩽ 16 0.02
⩽ 17 0.30
⩽ 18 0.07
⩽ 19 0.09
⩾ 20 0.06

0 2 . 4 What can you conclude from the data in Table 1?

[3 marks]

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0 3 Figure 2 shows one type of calorimeter. box

Figure 2

A calorimeter can be used to determine the chemical energy store of biomass.

A known mass of biomass is fully combusted in a calorimeter. The heat energy
released from this combustion increases the temperature of the water in the
calorimeter. The increase in the temperature of a known volume of water is recorded.

0 3 . 1 Other than the thermometer, explain how two features of the calorimeter shown in
Figure 2 would enable a valid measurement of the total heat energy released.
[2 marks]

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0 3 . 2 A 2 g sample of biomass was fully combusted in a calorimeter. box

The volume of water in the calorimeter was 100 cm3

The increase in temperature recorded was 15.7 °C

4.18 J of energy are needed to increase the temperature of 1 cm3 of water by 1 °C

Use this information to calculate the heat energy released in kJ per g of biomass.

Show your working.

[2 marks]

Answer kJg–1

Plants and algae produce fuels called biofuels. Scientists have used Chlorella to
produce biofuel. Chlorella is a genus of single-celled photosynthetic alga.
Chlorella can be grown in open ponds and fermenters.

0 3 . 3 In natural ecosystems, most of the light falling on producers is not used in

photosynthesis.

Suggest two reasons why.

[2 marks]

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0 3 . 4 The light absorbed by chlorophyll is used in the light-dependent reaction. box

Name the two products of the light-dependent reaction that are required for the
light-independent reaction.
[2 marks]

0 3 . 5 Chlorella cells can divide rapidly. A culture of 2000 Chlorella cells was set up in a
fermenter. The cells divided every 90 minutes.

You can assume that there were no limiting factors and that no cells died during the
24 hours.

Calculate the number of cells in the culture after 24 hours.

Give your answer in standard form.

Show your working.

[2 marks]

10

Answer

Turn over for the next question

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0 4 Figure 3 shows the banding pattern of a single sarcomere. box

Figure 3

0 4 . 1 Explain the banding pattern shown in Figure 3.

[3 marks]

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Creatinine is produced in muscle tissues. Creatinine diffuses into the blood. box

The kidneys then excrete creatinine.

A calibration curve can be used to determine the concentration of creatinine in urine.

One method of producing a calibration curve needs:

• creatinine solution of known concentration

• distilled water
• creatinine-detecting solution
• a colorimeter.

Creatinine-detecting solution reacts with creatinine to produce an orange colour.

0 4 . 2 Use the information provided to describe how you could produce a calibration curve
for creatinine.

Do not include details on the use of glassware in your answer.

[4 marks]

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0 4 . 3 Describe how you would determine the concentration of creatinine in a urine sample box

using your calibration curve.

[2 marks]

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0 5 Describe the sequence of events involved in transmission across a box

cholinergic synapse.

Do not include details on the breakdown of acetylcholine in your answer.

[5 marks]

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0 6 . 1 Mutation is one cause of genetic variation in organisms. box

Give two other causes of genetic variation.

[2 marks]

In a species of flowering plant, the T allele for tallness is dominant to the t allele for
dwarfness. In the same species, two alleles CR (red) and CW (white) code for the
colour of flowers. When homozygous red-flowered plants were crossed with
homozygous white-flowered plants, all the offspring had pink flowers.

0 6 . 2 Name the relationship between the two alleles that code for flower colour.
[1 mark]

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0 6 . 3 A dwarf, pink-flowered plant was crossed with a heterozygous tall, box

white-flowered plant.

Complete the genetic diagram to show all the possible genotypes and the ratio of
phenotypes expected in the offspring of this cross.
[3 marks]

Phenotypes of parents: Dwarf, pink-flowered × Tall, white-flowered

Genotypes of parents:

Genotypes of offspring:

Phenotypes of offspring:

Ratio of phenotypes:

0 6 . 4 A population of this species of plant contained 9% of red-flowered plants.

Use the Hardy–Weinberg equation to calculate the percentage of pink-flowered plants

in this population.

Show your working.

[2 marks]

Answer % 8

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0 7 A scientist investigated the effects of different fertilisers on the growth of box

spinach plants. The scientist:

• set up a large sample of identical pots of soil

• added different masses of different fertilisers to selected pots
• did not add fertiliser to the control pots
• planted the same number of young spinach plants in each pot
• after 20 days, determined the biomass of spinach plants in each pot.

The results the scientist obtained after 20 days are shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4

0 7 . 1 Calculate how many times greater the mean growth rate per day was using
37.5 g potassium nitrate than using 37.5 g ammonium sulfate.

Assume the mean biomass of the spinach plants at the start of the investigation was
0.5 g per pot.
[1 mark]

Answer

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0 7 . 2 Using all the information, evaluate the effect on plant growth of adding the different box

fertilisers to the soil.

[5 marks]

0 7 . 3 The scientist determined the dry mass of the spinach plants. First, he heated each
sample at 80 °C for 2 hours.

Suggest what the scientist should do to ensure that he has removed all the water from
the sample.
[2 marks]

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0 8 Alport syndrome (AS) is an inherited disorder that affects kidney glomeruli of both box

men and women. Affected individuals have proteinuria (high quantities of protein in
their urine).

0 8 . 1 Suggest how AS could cause proteinuria.

[2 marks]

0 8 . 2 AS results from a sex-linked mutation.

In a male with AS, where would the sex-linked mutation be located?

Tick () one box.

[1 mark]

The homologous section of a Y chromosome

The homologous section of an X chromosome

The non-homologous section of a Y chromosome

The non-homologous section of an X chromosome

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Scientists investigated the use of transplanted stem cells to treat AS in mice. box

The scientists set up four experimental groups.

Group A – 40 wild type* mice

Group B – 40 AS mice
Group C – 40 AS mice that received stem cells from AS mice
Group D – 40 AS mice that received stem cells from wild type mice

*Wild type mice are mice not affected by AS.

After 20 weeks, the scientists measured the quantity of protein in the urine using a
scale from 0 (lowest quantity) to +++++ (highest quantity).

The results the scientists obtained are shown in Table 2.

Table 2
Maximum quantity of Percentage of mice
Group protein in urine at with this quantity of
20 weeks protein
A 0 100
B +++++ 97.5
C +++++ 100
D ++ 68

0 8 . 3 Using all the information, evaluate the use of stem cells to treat AS in humans.
[4 marks]

Answer space for this question continues on the next page

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0 8 . 4 The scientists carried out further work to investigate how the transplanted stem cells
developed after transplantation.

• The scientists transplanted stem cells from wild type male mice into
AS female mice.
• After 20 weeks, they found that the quantity of protein in the urine of these
female mice had significantly decreased.
• They examined cells from glomeruli in the female mice. Some of these cells
contained a Y chromosome.

Suggest how the transplanted stem cells reduce proteinuria.

[2 marks]

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ANSWER IN THE SPACES PROVIDED

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0 9 A scientist produced transgenic zebrafish. box

She obtained a gene from silverside fish. The gene codes for a
growth hormone (GH).

She inserted copies of this GH gene into plasmids. She then microinjected these
recombinant plasmids into fertilised egg cells of zebrafish.

0 9 . 1 Describe how enzymes could be used to insert the GH gene into a plasmid.
[2 marks]

0 9 . 2 Microinjection of DNA into fertilised egg cells is a frequent method of producing

transgenic fish. However, the insertion of the transferred gene into nuclear DNA may
be delayed. Consequently, the offspring of transgenic fish may not possess the
desired characteristic.

Suggest and explain how delayed insertion of the GH gene could produce offspring of
transgenic fish without the desired characteristic.
[2 marks]

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The scientist investigated whether the transferred GH gene increased the growth of box

transgenic zebrafish. She microinjected 2000 fertilised egg cells with the GH plasmid
and left 2000 fertilised egg cells untreated. After 12 months, she determined the
mean mass of the transgenic and non-transgenic fish.

The results the scientist obtained are shown in Table 3.

Table 3

A value of ±2 × SD from the mean includes over 95% of the data.

Type of zebrafish Mean mass of zebrafish / g (± 2 × SD)

Transgenic 1.79 (± 0.37)

Non-transgenic 0.68 (± 0.13)

0 9 . 3 Using Table 3, what can you conclude about the effectiveness of the GH gene on the
growth of zebrafish?
[2 marks]

0 9 . 4 Explain how two features of the design of this investigation helped to ensure the
validity of any conclusions obtained.

Do not include calculating the mean or SD in your answer.

[2 marks]

2
8

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1 0 Read the following passage. box

North American black bears can hibernate for up to 7 months without food or
water. The bears survive using the fat stores in their bodies. The bears build
up the fat stores during the summer. During hibernation, the heart rate of
black bears decreases from a summer mean of 55 beats per minute to 14
beats per minute. Their metabolic rate falls by 75%. 5

In many mammals, ‘uncoupling proteins’ help to maintain a constant body

temperature during hibernation. Uncoupling proteins are found in the inner
mitochondrial membrane and act as proton channels during chemiosmosis.
However, these proton channels do not generate ATP.

In the mountains of North America, when winter changes into spring, the coat 10
colour of snowshoe hares changes from white to brown. Climatic changes
have caused the snow to melt earlier. This has reduced the survival rate of
snowshoe hares in these habitats. The change in coat colour occurs when
new fur replaces old fur. This is called moulting. Recent research has shown
that snowshoe hares within a population moult at different times. Moulting at 15
different times could be a major factor in ensuring the survival of snowshoe
hare populations.

Use the information in the passage and your own knowledge to answer the following
questions.

1 0 . 1 Black bears can hibernate for up to 7 months without food or water (lines 1−2).

Suggest and explain how.

[3 marks]

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1 0 . 2 During hibernation, the heart rate and the metabolic rate of black bears decrease box

(lines 3−5).

Use your knowledge of the nervous control of heart rate to describe how these are
linked.
[4 marks]

1 0 . 3 In many mammals, ‘uncoupling proteins’ help to maintain a constant body

temperature during hibernation (lines 6−7).

Suggest and explain how.

[2 marks]

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1 0 . 4 Climatic change has reduced the survival rate of snowshoe hares in mountain habitats box

(lines 11−13).

Suggest and explain how.

[2 marks]

1 0 . 5 Snowshoe hares within a population moult at different times (line 15).

Explain how this could ensure the survival of snowshoe hare populations in these
mountain habitats.
[4 marks]

15

END OF QUESTIONS

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