May 20, 2013 – DBQ on p. 2111) Identify the phylum to which each of the plants shown in Figure 10 belongs, giving

reasons for your answer.

First column

1st row: filicinophyta

2nd row: bryophyta

3rd row: angiospermophyta

4th row: angiospermophyta

Second column

1st row: coniferophyta

2nd row: angiospermophyta

3rd row: filicinophyta

4th row: angiospermophyta

2)

a) State one species that is in a genus with no other species.

Species 34.

b) State the species that are in a family with two genera.

Species 24~33

c) State the species that are in an order with two families.

Species 1~23

d) State the species that are in a class with three orders.

Species 1~34.

e) Deduce whether species 8 is more closely related to species 16 or species

6.

Species 16.

f) Explain why three concentric circles have been drawn around species 34

on the diagram.

Species 34 belongs to its own genus, family, and order.

3)

a) Distinguish between Porifera and Mollusca using external recognition

features.

Porifera don’t have mouths nor do they have anuses, whereas mollusca have

both mouths and anuses. Porifera don’t have symmetry have internal spicules as their

skeleton, whereas mollusca have bilateral symmetry and most have shells made of

CaCO3 as their skeleton. Porifera also draw in water for filter feeding through the

many pores on its surface, whereas mollusca have a hard rasping radula that is used

for feeding.

b) Compare the external recognition features of Annelida and Arthropoda.

Both Annelida and Arthropoda have mouths and anuses, and have bilateral

symmetry. Annelida have pressurized internal cavities with fluid, whereas Arthropoda

have external skeletons made of plates of chitin. Annelida have bodies made up of

many ring-shaped segments, whereas Arthropoda have segmented bodies.

c) Compare the external recognition features of Cnidaria and

Platyhelminthes.

Cnidaria and Platyhelminthes both have mouths. Cnidaria has radial

symmetry whereas platyhelminthes has bilateral symmetry. Cnidaria have soft

skeletons (although the hard corals secrete calcium carbonate), whereas

platyhelminthes are soft and don’t have skeletons. Cnidaria have tentacles arranged in

rings around the mouth with stinging cells, whereas Platyhelminthes have ribbon-

shaped bodies that are flat and thin.

4)

a) State the group that humans are placed in at each of the seven levels in the

hierarchy of taxa.

Species: sapiens

Genus: Homo

Family: Homnidae

Order: Primates

Class: Mammalia

Phylum: Chordata

Kingdom: Animalia

b) Outline the binomial system that is used for naming living organisms.

Biologists use binomial nomenclature to name species. The first part of the

name is the genus (a group of species that share certain characteristics) name, and

the second part is the species/specific name. Binomial nomenclature has some rules

that must be followed:

1. Capitalize the genus name only

2. Italicize the binomial

3. From the second time the name is used, “it can be abbreviated to the initial

letter of the genus name with the full species name” (Allott & Mindorff, 2010).

4. The earliest published name since 1753 is the correct version of the name.

c) Explain how keys are designed to allow organisms to be identified.

Ecologists used keys in order to classify organisms into the more specific

taxa (i.e. from order downwards). Dichotomous keys have pairs of descriptions that

are polar opposites – some choices directly identify the organisms, and others lead to

other choices in the key that help to identify organisms. The choices are based on

features that are reliable and clearly visible. By using these keys, the user is able to

use the characteristics of the species in order to classify them.

May 17, 2013 – DBQ on p. 2061) State the kingdom to which all of the species in Figure 3 belong.

Animalia

2)

a) Four of the fish in Figure 3 are classified in the same genus. Deduce which

these fish are.

The two lower fish in the first column (on the left), the biggest fish in the

second column, and the last fish in the last third column (on the right).

b) Deduce with a reason whether these four fish are in:

i) the same or different species

Difference species – a species is one taxon below a genus, and the

four fish do not look similar enough to be part of the same species.

ii) the same or different families

The same families – if they are in the same genus then they are also

in the same family.

c) State two characteristics of these four fish that are not possessed by the

other four fish.

They have curved tails and and only have fins on the tips of their tails.

3) The other four fish are classified into two orders. Deduce, with a reason, how the

four fish are split into two orders.

The two fish in the first row and the leftover fish in the last row would be in one order,

and the last fish would be in a different order. This is because the first three fish that I

mentioned look alike, with fins on the middle of their backs and on their undersides.

On the other hand, the last fish I mentioned is flatter, with both eyes on its back.

May 15, 2013 – DBQ on p. 1841)

a) Natality is the birth rate, whereas mortality is the death rate.

b) An ecosystem refers to a community and its abiotic environment, whereas

a community refers to a group of populations living and interacting with each other in

an area.

c) A heterotroph obtains organic molecules from other organisms, whereas

an autotroph synthesizes its organic molecules from simple inorganic substances.

2)

a) (6 x 102) – (5 x 102) = 1 x 102 kJ m-2 yr-1

b)

3)

a) A greater percentage of sunlight energy would be lost in the desert

because there are there fewer plants that require sunlight to photosynthesize.

b) The reasons for this are that herbivores lose energy through waste and

cellular respiration, and that not all plant matter is accessible to them (they wouldn’t

be if they became detritus).

4)

a)1968

b) According to the data from the bar chart, cormorants have little effect on

the number of trout caught by fishermen because not only did the fishermen’s catch

decrease before the cormorants started consuming trout, the amount of trout the

cormorants consume is significantly less than the amount the fishermen catch.

5)

a)

b) Cedar Bog Lake only has three trophic levels whereas Lake Mendota has

four. Lake Mendota is able to sustain another trophic level because it has a

significantly larger biomass than Cedar Bog Lake. However, the difference in energy

between the two habitats decreases with each trophic level.

c) The low biomass and low numbers of organisms in higher trophic levels is

explained by the small amount of energy that reaches those levels. Most of the energy

is lost along the way, so at higher trophic levels fewer organisms are able to be

sustained.

6)

a)

i.) In the first four years, the population increased exponentially.

ii.) From year 4 to year 6, the population increased at a

decelerating rate.

b) Although the population would have continued to increase at a

decelerating rate, it would eventually reach a plateau as the population neared the

habitat’s carrying capacity.

May 10, 2013 – DBQ on p. 2031) Why was the investigation done using hybrids rather than a single pure-bred

variety?

To have maximum variation within a population, which is one of the ways of tackling

the time issue with evolution experiments (as evolution occurs gradually over a long

period of time).

2) Describe the changes, shown in the chart, between the F3 and F6 generations of

rice plants grown at Miyazuki.

Most of the F3 generation flowered in 70~88 days, whereas most of the F6 generation

flowered in 107~124 days. Not only did the days to flowering become significantly

longer, but the concentration of rice plants that flowered within a certain range

increased – in F6, the data for days to flowering is spread out less.

3)

a) State the relationship between flowering time and latitude in the F6

generation.

The closer to the north the location was, the later the rice plants bloomed.

Conversely, the farther from the north the location was, the earlier the rice plants

bloomed.

b) Suggest a reason for this relationship.

A reason for this difference could be because of the temperatures/climate of

each of the regions. Depending on when the location became warm enough, the rice

plants would flower.

4)

a) Predict the results if the investigation had been carried on until the F10

generation.

If the investigation had been carried on until the F10 generation, I predict

that the difference in days to flowering between the locations would be even more

distinct.

b) Predict the results of collecting seeds from F10 plants grown at Sapporo

and from F10 plants grown at Miyazuki and sowing them together at Hiratsuka.

Because the conditions in Hiratsuka are closer to those in Miyazaki than in

Sapporo, I would predict that the plants from Miyazaki would be more successful

(than those from Hiratsuka). However, I also believe that the population size of both

types of plants would decrease because they flowered too early or too late. The plants

that bloomed towards the middle (which would be late for Sapporo and early for

Miyazaki), would be the ones that were the most successful. Over time, those would be

the plants that thrived and passed on their genes.

May 9, 2013 – DBQ on p. 1961) Calculate the length of Dilong paradoxus, from its head to the tip of its tail.

(110/7) x 100 ≈ 1571 mm

2) Deduce three similarities between Dilong paradoxus and reptiles that live on Earth

today.

Three similarities include claws, tails, and four limbs.

3) Suggest a function for the protofeathers of Dilong paradoxus.

The protofeathers of the Dilong paradoxus could have provided insulation.

4) Suggest two features which Dilong paradoxus would have had to evolve, to become

capable of flight.

The protofeathers and the limbs.

5) Explain why it is not possible to be certain whether the protofeathers of Dilong

paradoxus are homologous with the feathers of birds.

May 8, 2013 – DBQ on p. 1941) Calculate the percentage difference in length between teosinte and Silver Queen.

(170-14)/14

≈11.14

The Silver Queen is approximately 1114% longer than teosinte.

2) Calculate the percentage difference in yield between teosinte and world average

yields of corn.

(4100-150)/150

≈26.33

The difference in yield is 2633% of the yield of teosinte.

3) Suggest factors apart from cob length, selected for by farmers.

Average yield in mass per unit area, sweetness, and color.

4) Explain why improvement slows down over generations of selection.

Improvement slows down over generations of selection because there are fewer

aspects of the organism that can be changed to be better suited to its surroundings.

Over generations, genes that are not advantageous to the organism are not prevalent

in the population because the advantageous genes have allowed those organisms (that

have those genes) to thrive and pass on their genes to offspring.