Past paper questions Flashcards
What are the advantages of using insulin produced by genetically modified bacteria compared with using other sources of insulin?
No ethical/ animal welfare concerns
It is human insulin- less likely to cause a reaction in the immune system or cause an allergic reaction
Can be mass produced in large quantities in a small amount of time
What is the benefit of using stem cell therapy over insulin injections?
Stem cells will differentiate into beta cells which will produce insulin- will be a permanent cure so no need for insulin injections
Why does the concentration of
i) ions
ii) oxyhaemoglobin
decrease in the renal vein compared to the renal artery
The concentration of ions are adjusted based on the needs of the body, therefore some are excreted
Some oxygen is used by the kidney cells for aerobic respiration
How do diuretic drugs decrease blood pressure?
Decrease the volume of the blood
Decreases the reabsorption of water from the collecting duct back into the blood
Reducing the amount of ADH released from the pituitary gland
Reducing the amount of ions reabsorbed into the bloodstream
What is the function of the sodium potassium pump?
Pumps 3 Na+ ions out of the cell for every 2 K+ ions in the cell
What is the action of adrenaline in the liver
Binds to receptor on the cell surface membrane of the liver
The enzyme adenylyl cyclase is activated, which converts ATP to cAMP
cAMP acts as a second messenger- activating protein kinases and converting glycogen to glucose
What are the effectors in the skin that are involved with temperature regulation?
Erector muscles
Smooth muscle in the walls of the arterioles
Sweat glands
What are ways in which an ecosystem can change over time?
Succession
Human activity- mining, deforestation
Climate change changing habitats
Fluctuating population size of an organism- migration/ immigration
Evolution/ speciation
Why are giant tortoises able to survive without food for longer periods of time than mammals?
They are ectotherms- less energy used in maintaining their internal environment
Less movement/ respiration
What new pieces of evidence can be used to classify organisms?
DNA sequencing
Amino acid/ protein sequencing
Two control variables in a plant experiment
Temperature- can affect enzyme activity
CO2 conc, light intensity. light wavelength- limiting factor in the light dependant reaction
Water availability
How can grazing on vegetation decrease biodiversity in a habitat?
Overgrazing can lead to more interspecific competition for food resources
Why does a rabbit population increase even after introducing a virus?
Rabbits develop resistance to the virus, so more rabbits become immune
Carrying capacity is not reached as space, prey is not limiting
What indicates that an immunological response to a pathogen has taken place inside the body?
Antibodies in the bloodstream
Compare and contrast continuous and batch culture
Similarities- both require aseptic technique
Industrial scale reactions
Require a fermenter
Need to control temperature and pH
Continuous- nutrients added and products removed continuously
only primary metabolites produced
exponential/ log phase maintained
more problems for contamination
Batch- nutrients added once and products removed once at the end
secondary metabolites
death phase occurs
Describe the stages of tissue culture
Take an explant from a plant
Sterilise with ethanol
Place explant in a nutrient growth medium
A callus is formed (a mass of undifferentiated, totipotent cells)
Auxin and cytokine promote mitosis
Transfer to a greenhouse environment
Why can two twins not be “carbon copies” of one another
Nutrition/ malnutrition
Somatic cell mutation
Outline the processes that lead to the production of antibodies against an unfamiliar bacterium
B cells have an antibody on their surface which is complementary to one type of antigen
The selected B cell divides by mitosis into plasma cells
Plasma cells secrete antibodies which are complementary to the antigen
What are the properties of a bacterium
No membrane bound organelles
Contains a cell wall
Explain why toxins produced by the different strains are described as being “immunologically distinct” and how they are dealt with by the immune system
Toxins produced by each strain are slightly different, with slightly different 3D shapes
Immune response depends on the shape of the antigen (which in this case is the toxin)
Antigen presenting cells ingest the pathogen and present the antigens on their MHC
Interaction between APC and T helper cell produces interleukins
B cell activated- clonal expansion- differentiate into plasma cells- dividing into antibodies
Antibodies bind to and neutralise toxins
How do both genes and the environment cause animals to vary in their immune response?
Genes:
Inherit genes that code for antibodies from our parents, eg B and T lymphocytes
Autoimmune disease can also be inherited, eg rheumatoid arthiritis and lupus
Mutation can produce new alleles, coding for different antibodies
Environment:
Exposure to different pathogens determines the immune response
Vaccinations
Poor nutrition can affect the immune system
Environmental influences on allergies
Describe the precautions taken in the potometer experiment
Cut and insert the stem under water so that no air bubbles to the stem/ xylem get in and block the xylem
Take care not go get water onto the leaves
Apparatus under water
Use syringe to move bubble
All joints must be sealed with petroleum jelly so any water loss is as a result of transpiration
Keep the shoot supported to avoid breaking the water column
What are the functions of the cytoskeleton
Mechanical support
Maintains shape
Movement of organelles within the cell
Movement of flagella/ cillia
Exo/ endocytosis
How can we use a microscope to measure the diameter of the nucleus of a WBC?
Using an eyepiece graticule
Calibrate with a stage micrometer to calculate the length of one epu
Measure diameter of nucleus in epu
Take repeat measurements to calculate a mean
Name the colours and image given by
SEM
TEM
Laser scanning confocal microscope
SEM- 3d black and while
TEM- 2d black and white
Laser scanning confocal- 3d/2d colour
Name the enzyme that breaks down histone protein associated with DNA
Protease
Why does the the trace go downwards when using a spirometer?
The volume of air in the gas chamber decreases as the exhaled carbon dioxide is absorbed by soda lime
Explain why using standard deviation error bars would increase the
confidence in any conclusion made.
Standard deviation shows the spread of data around the mean
And reduces the effect of extreme results/ an anomoly
Explain the importance of maintaining biodiversity for the discovery of new antibiotics
Many drugs are origniated from plants/ bacterium
If these plants go extinct, we will not be able to use it for medicinal advantages
Maintaining biodiversity increases the chance of developing new drugs
Synthetic Biology
Personalised medicine
SB- synthesis of new genes/ organisms
PM- development of drugs linked to genes/ individual
Choose and describe a sampling technique which would show the distribution and abundance of native and introduced grasses
Lay a string in a line across the two zones
Use a belt transect and a quadrat, place the quadrat at set intervals along the tape
Use a key to identify the species present
Estimate the percentage cover/ species frequency
Repeat the experiment again, after a certain amount of time
Describe the similarities and differences between ultrafiltration and the formation of tissue fluid
Both occur in the capillaries
Both retain larger molecules, eg proteins which are too large to be filtered
High hydrostatic pressure, which is greater than oncotic pressure
Molecules that are not reabsorbed by capillaries in ultrafiltration form urine, but they form lymph for tissue fluid
Blood filtered through glomerulus, basement membrane, podocytes, but only through capillaries for tissue fluid
Tissue fluid enters intracellular spaces whereas filtrate enters bowmans capsule, then the PCT