Student Name ___________________

2014
PRELIMINARY COURSE
FINAL EXAMINATION

Biology
Total marks 75
General Instructions

Reading time 5 minutes

Working time 2 hours

Write using black or blue pen

Draw diagrams using pencil

Approved calculators may be

used

Write your student number in the

space provided

This paper has two parts, Part A and Part B

Part A 20 marks
Attempt Questions 1-20
Allow about 35 minutes for this part
Part B 55 marks
Attempt Questions 21-30
Allow about 1 hour and 25 minutes for this part

Part A 20 marks
Attempt Questions 1-20
Allow about 35 minutes for this part
Use the multiple-choice answer sheet.
Select the alternative A, B, C or D that best answers the question. Fill in the response oval
completely.
Sample:

2+4=

(A) 2

(B) 6

(C) 8

(D) 9

If you think you have made a mistake, put a cross through the incorrect answer and fill in the
new answer.
A

If you change your mind and have crossed out what you consider to be the correct answer,
then indicate the correct answer by writing the word correct and drawing an arrow as
follows.
A

C
correct

tentacles
coral polyps
zooxanthellae (not to scale)
1.

The diagrams below summarise the relationship between zooxanthellae

(photosynthetic
coral provides
polyps. the zooxanthellae
Zooxanthellae provide
the polyp withalgae)
food, and
the coral
A branching with shelter.
staghorn coral

The relationship between these two organisms is an example of:

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

2.

parasitism
commensalism
mutualism
allelopathy

Two biologists set out to independently determine the population of Pattersons Curse,
an introduced plant, on a large cattle station. They each used the quadrat method, but
when their results were compared they were found to be quite different.
They decide to modify their method and perform the measurement again.
Which one of the options below contains TWO improvements which should give
more reliable results?
Improvement 1
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Improvement 2

Choose quadrats with both high

densities and low densities of
Pattersons Curse.
Select quadrats from areas which have
been grazed less by cattle.

Sample more quadrats

Repeat the experiment.

Sample more quadrats

Use larger quadrats

Repeat the experiment.

Choose quadrats with both high

densities and low densities of
Pattersons Curse.

Questions 3 and 4 refer to the food web below, which shows the feeding relationships in a
NSW coastal forest.
peregrine falcon
grey thrush

rainbow bee-eater

spider
Yellow-tailed black cockatoo

scale insect

native bee

blue gum

3.

wattle

Which one of the following is a producer?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

peregrine falcon
yellow-tailed black cockatoo
scale insect
wattle

4.

Which one of the following is a competitor of the scale insect?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

spider
yellow-tailed black cockatoo
native bee
blue gum

5.

Robert Brown was a prominent scientist of the early nineteenth century who, amongst
other things, described the nature of particle movement and advised Charles Darwin
on microscopy.
Which one of the following contributions is he also known for?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

The discovery of the nucleus.

The development of the electron microscope.
The discovery of natural selection amongst microbes.
The discovery that inheritance is controlled by the chromosomes.

6.

The diagrams below represent two cells drawn to scale.

X
Y

Which one of the following statements about these cells is true?

7.

(A)

Cell X has a greater surface area to volume ratio than Cell Y

(B)

Cell X has a smaller volume than Cell Y.

(C)

Cell X has a greater surface area than Cell Y.

(D)

Cell X has the same surface area to volume ratio as Cell Y.

The photograph below shows some onion root cells undergoing mitosis.

Which one of the following places the four labelled cells in their correct sequence?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

1, 2, 3, 4
4, 1, 3, 2
1, 3, 2, 4
3, 1, 4, 2

Questions 7 and 8 refer to the information about Titan below.

5

Wikipedia commons

Titan is Saturns largest moon and is regarded by biologists as the object in the
solar system which is most similar to the early Earth. For this reason it is of great
interest to biologists who are trying to understand the evolution of the first life on
Earth.
The average surface temperature on Titan is -179oC.
The atmosphere consists mainly of nitrogen.
Insolation (the amount of solar energy per unit of area) on Titan is about 1% of
that on Earth.
There is no liquid water on Titan, just solid ice.
There is a methane cycle, similar to the Earths water cycle. Titan has seas of
liquid methane, methane clouds and methane rain.
NASA biochemists have performed experiments similar to those of Urey and
Miller, but using the chemicals and physical factors present on Titan. They have
produced amino acids and other chemicals of life.

8.

There are some obvious similarities between the conditions on Titan and those on the
early Earth.
6

Choose the row in the table below which correctly contrasts a similarity and
difference.

9.

10.

Similarity

Difference

(A)

Light intensity at surface

Presence of liquid water

(B)

Presence of liquid water

Nitrogen in atmosphere

(C)

Nitrogen in atmosphere

Presence of methane

(D)

Presence of methane

Light intensity at surface

The experiments by the NASA scientists would suggest that:

(A)

there is likely to be life on Titan.

(B)

there are likely to be amino acids on Titan.

(C)

meteorites from Titan might have brought amino acids to the early Earth.

(D)

Titan is too cold to support life.

The diagram below represents one of the important steps in the development of the
modern Earth.

Cyanobacteria

Process X

Increased O2 in atmosphere

Identify process X.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

respiration
oxidation
photosynthesis
banded iron formation

11.

One consequence of the build up of oxygen in the atmosphere was the development of
the ozone layer.

Which one of the following was the major consequence of this for the evolution of life
on Earth?

12.

(A)

The greenhouse effect stabilised temperatures, allowing living things to

colonise a greater proportion of the Earths surface.

(B)

Living things were able to colonise the land, thanks to protection from UV
rays.

(C)

Global cooling caused ice caps to form at the poles, causing living things to
die out in polar regions.

(D)

UV rays no longer reached the Earths surface, causing the rate of mutation to
greatly decrease and the evolution of new life to virtually stop.

Extremophile bacteria are able to survive in conditions that most living things would
find intolerable.
Which one of the following environmental factors would extremophiles NOT have
encountered on the early Earth?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

high methane concentration

high temperature
low temperature
high oxygen concentration

13.

Taxonomists (scientists who classify organisms) are increasingly turning to DNA

analysis to help them resolve difficulties in classification.
DNA analysis is a good tool for this because:
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Similarities and differences in DNA reflect how closely species are related.
DNA analysis is easy and inexpensive.
Structural characteristics show too much variation within a species.
DNA determines the physical and chemical features of an organism.

Questions 14 and 15 refer to the key to arthropods below.

1a
1b

Three pairs of legs

More than three pairs of legs

2a
2b

Four pairs of legs

More than four pairs of legs

3a

Body divided into two distinct body segments with a constriction

between them.
Araneida
Body not divided into two distinct body segments with a
constriction.
4

3b

Insecta
2
3
6

4a
4b

Distinct pincers visible at front of body

Distinct pincers not visible at front of body

Scorpionidae
5

5a
5b

Legs more than three times the length of the body

Legs less than three times the length of the body

Opiliones
Acari

6a
6b

Two pairs of legs per segment

One pair of legs per segment

Diplopoda
7

7a
7b

Eight body segments

More than eight body segments

Isopoda
Chilopoda

14.

Based on the key, which one of the following would appear to be a characteristic
shared by all arthropods?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

posession of legs
posession of pincers
posession of distinct body segments
posession of constrictions between segments

15.

Use the key to classify the organism shown below.

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

16.

In which one of the following taxonomic groupings are the organisms most closely
related?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

17.

Araneidae
Scorpionidae
Acari
Isopoda

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order

On his journey around the world on board HMS Beagle, Darwin made many of the
observations that led to his theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.
In which place did he observe what he described as a separate creation, a land where
every organism was different to, but had its equivalent species in, the flora and fauna
of the Old World?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

Australia
Tahiti
South America
Galapagos

Questions 18 and 19 refer to the divided bar graph below, which shows the relative areas of
the non-desert parts of the Australian continent occupied by different vegetation types 50,000
years ago.

10

rainforest

18.

fire-sensitive
woodland

fire-tolerant grassland
woodland

Which one of the divided bar graphs below best shows the present day distribution?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

19.

The changes shown above mainly reflect the influence of one relatively recent factor.
The divided bar graph for twenty million years ago is below.

Which environmental change is most responsible for the change in vegetation since
then?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

increasing temperature
increasing soil degredation
decreasing soil fertility
decreasing rainfall

20.

Most aquatic organisms release their gametes into the water where they are fertilised
externally to the body of the mother.
The young then normally develop externally as well and receive much less parental
care than the young of most terrestrial organisms.

11

What is the advantage of external over internal fertilisation?

(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)

It is asexual.
More fertilised eggs can be produced.
The fertilised eggs stand a better individual chance of survival.
There is a chance that the eggs will be fertilised by a different species.

Part B 55 marks
Attempt Questions 21 30
Allow about 1 hour and 25 minutes for this part
Answer the questions in the spaces provided.
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Marks
Question 21 (7 marks)
The diagram below represents a transect taken on a South facing slope.

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Grass sp.1
South
Shrub sp.1
Shrub sp.2

Tree sp.1

Tree sp.2

14

(a)

Describe the distribution of plants shown in the transect.

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Question 21 continues on page 14.

Marks
Question 21 (continued)
(b)

Explain how a named biotic factor might influence the distribution of Grass
species 1.

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(c)

A biologist measured the soil depth at 1 meter intervals along the transect
from North to South. His results are given below.
Distance along
transect (m)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12

Depth of soil (cm)

6.0
2.5
6.5
12.5
15.0
18.5
21.5

Use the grid below to draw a line graph of this data

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Marks
Question 22 (3 marks)
The photomicrograph below shows a cell organelle.

(a)

Identify the organelle and state its function within the cell.

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(b)

Estimate the length of this particular specimen.

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Question 23 (3 marks)
Outline TWO advantages of the electron microscope over the light microscope.
In your answer name an organelle or other structure which is only visible with the
electron microscope.
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Marks
Question 24 (8 marks)
The photograph below shows the fossil skeleton of a Diprotodon, a marsupial
member of Australias megafauna, believed to have become extinct about 15,000
years ago.

(a)

Diprotodon was a herbivore. Explain how its digestive system would have
reflected its diet.

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Question 24 continues on page 17.

Marks
Question 24 (continued)
(b)

Explain why it is difficult to classify extinct organisms such as Diprotodon to

species level.

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(c)

Outline ONE of the two main theories concerning the extinction of Australias
megafauna, and describe a piece of evidence which supports it.

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Question 25 (3 marks)
Explain why the change in Earths atmosphere from anoxic to oxic was significant
in the evolution of living things.
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Marks
Question 26 (5 marks)
(a)

The events below are listed in the wrong order.

Number them 1-5 in the order in which they occurred during the evolution of
life on Earth.

________ first eukaryote

________ first membranes
________ first organic molecules
________ first multicellular organisms
________ first autotrophic prokaryote
(b)

The evolution of the first membranes was a critical step. Membranes control
the movement of substances.
Make a drawing below to show the internal structure of a membrane and
annotate your drawing to explain how its structure suits it to its function.

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Marks
Question 27 (5 marks)
The photograph below shows an Eastern Spinebill, an important pollinator of
Australian heathland plants.

(a)

Describe one way in which you might expect the flower of a bird pollinated
plant to be adapted to help it achieve pollination.

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(b)

Flowers facilitate sexual reproduction.

20

Complete the table below to compare sexual and asexual reproduction.

3
Sexual Reproduction

Asexual Reproduction

Advantage to the
species
Disadvantage to the
species
Australian example of a
plant employing this
form of reproduction.
Marks
Question 28 (8 marks)
(a)

Explain why multicellular organisms need transport systems.

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(b)

Compare the vessels through which water and sugars are transported in plants.

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(c)

Discuss how technologies such as radioisotopes have been used to trace the
movement of elements through plants.

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Question 29 (6 marks)
A student set up the apparatus below to demonstrate the action of osmosis.

(a) Two solutions need to be added to the experiment to demonstrate osmosis.

Name each solution AND where it needs to be added.

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(b)

Describe what you would expect to happen to the level of solution in the
thistle funnel after a few hours. Explain your answer.

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1
(c)

How does this osmotic process differ from diffusion?

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continue on to next page
(d) Why do scientists use models such as this to explain osmosis?

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Marks
Question 30 (6 marks)
Explain how geological and biological evidence supports the idea that Australia was
once part of Gondwana.
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End of the paper

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