A Question of Biology Book 2
Jonathan Clark
Copyright 2010 by Jonathan Clark
Smashwords Edition
A Question of Biology : Book 2
This book is not intended to be a text book. Instead it is a companion to a Biology text book i.e it should be used along with a text book- not instead of it.
The intention is to highlight the key points of each topic and explain the principles behind them (as this understanding gains you marks in exams).
I believe that conventional text books have their place but deliver the knowledge and explanations together in big blocks of text that are difficult to follow. What I thought I would do was take the main points and principles behind Biology and make them clear in the form of questions and answers in manageable chunks.
The other intention is that by looking at, answering and explaining exam questions that are similar to exam questions in the past, I can help you gain understanding of how to answer them to gain the maximum marks.
All the exam questions are similar to Advanced level exam questions that have appeared in past papers in recent years
The exam questions are followed by exam tips which I have put in to help you in getting an good idea how to understand what the examiner is asking you to do –after all, if you don’t realise that you won’t be able answer the question properly!
The answers to the exam questions also have the relevant points that will gain you the marks indicated by a bracket e.g (2nd mark) – showing you exactly where the marks in the answer are to be gained.
I hope these are of help to you and enable you to do well in your Biology exam.
If this book helps you to understand Biology and how to do well in Biology exams then I will have succeeded in my aims.
For the 2nd Edition- I have removed the pictures – which I thought were unnecessary – and have improved the formatting. I have also split this book into 2 parts – this is the second part that deals with more advanced topics ; such as Respiration and Photosynthesis.
How to Use this Book
This book is called ‘A Question of Biology’ for a good reason. Its format is based on questions and answers that I hope will help you to better understand the wonderful subject of Biology. Some questions are exam-type questions which I hope will help you gain some valuable exam technique and increase your knowledge as well. Most of the questions not exam-type questions but are made up so as to bring out for you the main points and principles of Biology that I feel and hope will be useful to you in really getting to grips with the subject.
The book starts with a Book Contents section which sets out the chapters and their contents – consisting of the questions that are answered for you in that chapter. So this would be a good place to start in finding your way around the book. The chapters themselves also have the questions listed at the start so you can see what is there and find the answers that you are looking for.
At the start of each chapter, after the contents page, there is a list of key words which I feel it would be helpful to you as a student to know and understand before reading the chapter – of course it is up to you whether you actually want to do that or not! I just thought that glossaries in general are annoying, in that you have to keep flicking to the back of the book to find the word you don’t know – so I have put them all at the start of each chapter to help you get to grips with the main words in the topic before you read on.
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Contents Page
Chapter 1
Cell Division: Mitosis and Meiosis
Chapter contents:
The questions in order they appear:
1. What is the function of mitosis?
2. What is the function of meiosis?
3. Why does mitosis produce two cells with identical DNA?
4. How does mitosis result in all the organisms cells (with the exception of gamete cells) having exactly the same DNA?
5. In what respect is mitosis a cloning process?
6. What events need to happen in the cell when mitosis takes place?
7. What is the difference between a chromosome and a chromatid?
8. What are the Phases of Mitosis?
9. Why are sexual reproduction and meiosis necessary?
10. How does meiosis create variation?
11. What happens during the second meiotic division?
EXAM QUESTIONS
Question 1.
‘Why is it important for a diploid organism that gametes contain a haploid number of chromosomes?’ (2 Marks).
Question 2.
What happens at interphase to prepare a cell for mitosis? (2 marks)
Chapter 2
Energy, Ecosystems and Nutrient Cycles
Chapter contents:
The questions in the order they appear:
1. How is energy lost as you go up the trophic levels?
2. What are the feeding relationships between organisms at the different trophic levels?
3. Why is nitrogen an important biological element?
4. What are the main points of the nitrogen cycle?
5. What is the role of decomposers in the nitrogen cycle?
6. What are the most important aspects of the carbon cycle?
7. What is the role of decomposers in the carbon cycle?
8. What impact are humans having upon the carbon cycle?
9. How did the ploughing in of clover and the roots of other legumes into soil, help improve its fertility before the start of the use of artificial fertilisers?
10. Why do pesticides become higher in concentration as you go up the trophic levels and how does the example of DDT show the possibly serious consequences?
11. What is Succession?
Exam Questions
Question 1.
Explain the difference between a niche and a habitat.(3 Marks)
Question 2.
Explain why farmers used to grow clover (a legume) on fields before planting them with crops.(2 Marks)
Question 3.
A food web contains the following organisms: a caterpillar, a blackbird, an oak tree. Which of these organisms is a producer, a consumer or a secondary consumer? Justify your answer. (3 Marks)
Question 4.
Which type of bacteria carry out the following processes
i) Nitrate ions Nitrogen gas in air
ii) Nitrogen gas in air ammonium ions (2 Marks).
Chapter 3
Reproduction
Chapter contents:
The questions in the order they appear:
1. Why is reproduction necessary?
2. Why is sexual reproduction necessary?
3. Why do some organisms perform asexual reproduction?
4. What does sexual reproduction involve?
Exam Questions
Question 1.
Suggest two advantages of asexual reproduction (2 Marks).
Chapter 4
The Immune System
Chapter contents:
The questions in the order they appear:
1. Why would a doctor give an injection of horse antibodies against tetanus to someone suffering from the disease and then vaccinate them later?
2. What is an antibody?
3. What is an antigen?
4. What is a B cell?
5. What is the primary immune response?
6. What is the secondary immune response?
7. How do vaccinations work?
8. Why do vaccinations not work against the common cold?
9. What is the function of T cells?
Exam Questions
Question 1.
Explain how antibodies against measles are present in most children at birth and why they give the child immunity against measles for about 6 months. (3 Marks)
Chapter 5
Human Health and Diseases
Chapter contents:
The questions in the order they appear:
1. Why do antibiotics work against bacteria but not against viruses?
2. What causes antibiotic resistance?
3. What causes genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis?
4. What causes sickle cell anaemia?
5. Why does sickle cell anaemia usually affect people from tropical and sub-tropical regions such as African Americans?
6. What causes malaria?
7. Why is malaria difficult to vaccinate against?
8. What efforts have been made to eliminate malaria?
9. What causes AIDS?
10. What are the symptoms of AIDS?
11. What chemicals does tobacco smoke contain?
12. What effect does tar on health?
13. What effect does carbon monoxide have on health?
14. What effect does nicotine have on health?
15. What are the risk factors for CHD?
Exam Questions
Question 1.
What effect does cigarette smoke have on the ciliated epithelium in the respiratory system and what effect can this have on human health? (2 Marks)
Question 2.
Name the pathogens that cause the following diseases: cholera and tuberculosis. (2 marks)
Question 3.
How are AIDS and malaria transmitted and how can this be prevented?(2 Marks)
Question 4.
What differences would you expect to see in the lung tissue of a person suffering from emphysema compared to a healthy person. Explain the symptoms are these differences likely to cause?(4 Marks)
Question 5.
What type of disease is scurvy? Explain what causes it and how it might be prevented. (3 Marks)
Question 6.
Explain the possible consequences for the health of someone having too little iron in the diet. (2 Marks)
Chapter 6
The Nervous System