VCE Biology 2019 exam solutions

Multiple choice

1. C 15. C 29. D
2. B 16. D 30. B
3. B 17. C 31. A
4. D 18. B 32. D
5. A 19. D 33. D
6. D 20. A 34. B
7. D 21. C 35. B
8. D 22. B 36. A
9. A 23. B 37. C
10. D 24. C 38. A
11. A 25. D 39. C
12. B 26. C 40. D
13. B 27. C
14. A 28. C

Multiple choice - Description

1. Question regarding movement across the plasma membrane with a diagram.

● The answer was endocytosis
2. Question about organelles involved in protein synthesis from amino acids
● The answer was ribosomes
3. Question about transcription in regards to lac operon
● Answer is that transcription will occur when RNA polymerase binds to the
promoter
4. Question about the product of transcription of the structural genes of the lac operon
● Answer is mRNA (lactose is not product of transcription, it is the product of
translation)
5. Question about proteins
● Answer is that the activity of a protein is affected by temperature and pH
6. Question about a reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase
● Reversible inhibitors reduce acetylcholinesterase activity as it reduced the
availability of active sites for the substrate to bind
7. Question about a viable hypothesis to explain data from a given table
● The hypothesis should be that if the temperature increases, the bacteria will grow
more quickly
8. Question asked to identify the dependent variable

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

 ● The dependent variable is the percentage nutrient agar covered by bacteria
9. Question asked about checking reliability
● Repeating the experiment to check if the data was the same is a way to check
reliability
10. Question asked about why large hydrophilic molecules cannot cross plasma membrane
● This is due to phospholipids
11. Question asking about differences between neutrophils and neurons
● The answer was that at a specific time the genes expressed by each cell might
be different
12. Question asking about the production of lactic acid
● The answer was that lactic acid is is observed in fermentation in animals
13. Question asking about the rate of aerobic respiration in human cells
● The answer is that the rate of respiration will increase as the oxygen
concentration increases
14. Question about glycolysis ATP production
● The answer is that per glucose molecule, 4 ATP is produced, but 2 ATP is
consumed, thus there is a net gain of 2ATP
15. Question about rates of photosynthesis against different light intensities (using a graph)
● Answer is that light intensity becomes a limiting factor when the rate of
photosynthesis is below 40 units
16. Question about where hydrophobic signalling molecule receptors are found
● Answer was that they are found in the cytosol
17. Question about identifying the roles of different signalling molecules from a table
● Answer was that, neurotransmitters produce a rapid response, hormones can
target many cells but are not the most rapid, pheremones can affect another
organism, and cytokines can target cells curing inflammation.
18. Question about what changes in apoptosis will cause an increased likelihood of cancer
cells
● Answer is that a decrease in apoptosis which results in an increased survival of
pre cancer cells
19. Question about the cells in adaptive immunity that directly destroy virally infected cells
● The answer is Cytotoxic T cells
20. Question regarding the process of phagocytosis, you had to identify the contents of a
vesicle.
● The answer was enzymes.
21. The question was regarding which immunity process provides long lasting protection.
● The answer was the generation of memory cells.
22. The question asked what cells are attacked in multiple sclerosis.
● The answer is the myelin sheath.
23. The question asked about the effect of the change in amount of T helper cells during the
course of an HIV infection.
● The answer was reduced effectiveness of the adaptive immune system.

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

24. The question gave a cladogram and asked which species was most closely related to O.
latipes.
● The answer was P. chilotes
25. In regard to the same cladogram, the question asked which statement was correct.
● The answer was the speciation of T. flavidus and T. lineatus.
26. The question showed an image of the gene pool of a population over 20 generations and
asked which statement was correct.
● The answer was that the frequency of each allele was equal in generation 1.
27. The question asked how to produce more green beans than yellow beans.
● The correct answer was selective breeding.
28. The question showed an image of a fossil and asked what type of fossil it was.
● The correct answer was a trace fossil.
29. The question showed a graph of the rate of extinction and asked how many mass
extinctions had occurred.
● The answer was 5.
30. The question asked what the name of the enzyme necessary for virus replication was.
● The answer was neuraminidase.
31. The question asked where a mutation must have occurred for relenza to not be effective.
● The answer was in the enzyme required for viral replication.
32. The question asked which species didn’t follow the trend in brain size.
● The answer was H. floresiensis
33. The question asked which row contained the correct characteristics of Australopithecus
→ Homo evolution.
● The answer was the bottom row which included decreasing size of canines,
increasingly bowl shaped pelvis, and increasing arch of feet.
34. The question asked how penicillin works.
● The answer was that it stops cell wall synthesis.
35. The question asked about the implication of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
● The answer was that simple infections may become life threatening.
36. The question asked what the most accurate description was for a yeast containing a
human gene.
● The answer was a transgenic organism.
37. The question showed a graph and asked what a benefit of Bt corn is.
● The answer was reduced negative ecosystem impacts.
38. The question asked about the function of DNA ligase.
● The answer was that it forms phosphodiester bonds between fragments.
39. The question asked how many cuts and how many fragments there would be when a
plasmid was cut with multiple restriction enzymes.
● The answer was 4 cuts and 4 fragments.
40. The question had an image of a hominoid and asked what enable the primate to be
classes as a hominoid.
● The answer was the absence of a tail.

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

Short answer

Question 1

This question asks about the monomers of two molecules which are shown but not named.

1a.

The molecules are tRNA (ribose nucleotide monomers) and dna (deoxyribose nucleotide
monomer). There are quite a few options here and the question doesn’t seem to put any
restrictions on the type of differences which is a bit unusual.

Ribose nucleotide/tRNA Deoxyribose nucleotide

Contain ribose sugar Contains deoxyribose sugar

A, C, G, U bases A, C, G, T bases

1b. The excess monomers are part of introns and are removed during post transcriptional
modification/splicing.

It’s also possible that they’re before a start codon or after a stop codon, however given that this
section of amino acids appears to be in the middle, not at the start or end, it’s unlikely that this
explanation would be accepted.

Question 2.

This question asks about chloroplasts and photosynthesis.

2ai. H2O & CO2

2aii. When photosynthesis is occurring, oxygen is produced as an output of the light dependant
reaction in the thylakoids and diffuses out into the stroma (region R)

2b. NADPH transfers hydrogen molecules from the light dependent stage to the light
independent stage.

ATP provides the energy for the light independent stage to occur/formation of glucose.

Question 3

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

This question is about the innate and adaptive immune system.

3a. Entry via a cut or through the gastrointestinal tract

3b. Lysozymes - Catalyse the breakdown of bacterial cell walls.

Stomach acid - Very low pH which kills bacteria

3c. Histamine binds to capillary walls and causes blood vessels to dilate and increase
permeability which creates heat, swelling, and attracts phagocytes to the location.

3d. Antigen presenting cells (dendritic/macrophages) engulf bacterial antigen and present it on
their MHC class II receptors to lymphocytes at the lymph node, resulting in production of
specific antibodies complementary to the bacterial antigen.

Question 4

This question is about thunderstorm asthma.

4a. Mast cells. IgE antibodies

4b.

- Stay indoors, close windows

- Wear a mask over mouth and nose
- Take antihistamines

4c. Yes. A vaccine could be developed which initiates an immune response against the pollen
fragments that cause thunderstorm asthma. This would mean that if a person then breathed in
these pollen fragments, they would be neutralised by an immune reaction (I think there’s a
specific type of Ig?) before it could bind to IgE and cause the release of histamine.

Question 5

This question is about BMP4 and CaM in Galapagos finches.

5a. Deep and Long

5b. Low expression of BMP4 is shown to contribute to a shallow beak shape, however does not
affect beak length (which is mediated by CaM expression). As such, If the Gremlin gene had an
effect on the beak cells, it would have resulted in a shorter beak shape but of the same length
(since the gremlin gene inhibits BMP4 expression but not CaM expression).

5c.

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

[two different responses depending on the depth VCAA wants in terms of the process of
natural selection]

BMP4 gene codes for a signalling protein that controls the expression of genes responsible for
beak depth in galapagos finches. As such a mutation in the BMP4 gene will result in changes to
the expression of multiple genes, creating significant diversity in beak depths of the finches. If
one of these beak depth phenotypes is particularly advantageous (or selected for by selective
agents), it will rapidly become the dominant phenotype.

BMP4 gene codes for a signalling protein that controls the expression of genes responsible for
beak depth in galapagos finches. As such a mutation in the BMP4 gene will result in changes to
the expression of multiple genes, resulting in a variety of different beak depth phenotypes.
Some of these phenotypes may be strongly selected for by different selective agents and
therefore contribute disproportionately to subsequent generations, resulting in the rapid increase
in frequency of these advantageous phenotypes in the population of galapagos finches.

Question 6

This question is about genetic abnormalities and mutations in the context of prenatal testing.

6ai. An abnormal number of chromosomes

6aii. DNA. The woman would have some fetal cells or white blood cells circulating in her blood.
Red blood cells is not a viable response as they do not contain DNA

6b.

Two of:

Duplication - Part of a chromosome is copied resulting in a chromosome with two or more

copies of a section.

Inversion - A section of a chromosome is removed and replaced in reverse order (back to front)

Deletion - A section of a chromosome is removed.

Insertion - Part of a chromosome is removed and added to a different chromosome

Translocation - Parts from two different chromosomes are swapped

6c. Met-val-his-leu-thr-pro-glu-glu

6di. Change first glu (the 7th amino acid in the sequence) to val.

Met-val-his-leu-thr-pro-val-glu

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

6dii. This would cause a frameshift mutation which would affect the primary structure by having
the potential to alter all subsequent amino acids. This change would alter the formation of bonds
and therefore affect its tertiary shape and its ability to function as intended.

Question 7

This question is about divergent evolution and fossilisation.

7.a. Since these species share a recent common ancestor but have distinctly different features
(such as their greatly varying sizes) it suggests that the three species have become increasingly
different overtime, thus divergent evolution must have occurred.

7.b You will need to describe a possible change in the steppe bison’s environment that strongly
selected against it. You could say many things such as

- Introduction of a predator to the steppe bison populations

- A change in climate that selects against the steppe bison
- The introduction of a new pathogen/infectious disease

7.c. When the Steppe Bison died it would have been rapidly buried by snow. This rapid burial
would prevent the steppe bison from being eroded and dispersed through the environment,
allowing it to remain intact. The Steppe bison must also have been buried in anaerobic
conditions to prevent the decay of its organic matter by oxygen and aerobic microbes.

[possibly irrelevant]

In order for the Bison to be discovered by scientists, the erosion of the ice it was frozen in, or
geological activity displacing the preserved bison, must have occurred inorder to bring the
specimen to be brought to the surface.

Question 8

This question is about a study of genetic mutations in couples, including questions about PCR
and electrophoresis

8a. Any disease which is caused by a genetic mutation would be suitable. E.g. Haemophilia,
huntingtons, etc.

8b.

Stage 1 - Solution is heated to 95 degrees C to break the hydrogen bonds and separate the
double stranded DNA.

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

Stage 2 - Solution is cooled to 55 degrees C to allow the primers to anneal to the
complementary sections of single stranded DNA.

Stage 3 - The solution is heated to 72 degrees C, allowing the taq polymerase to extend the
primer by adding nucleotides in a 5’ to 3’ direction to create double stranded DNA.

8c.

Any three of

- Length of the fragment

- Voltage/magnitude of charge at the electrode
- Direction of charge
- Porosity of the gel
- The buffer/electrolyte solution used

8d.

Ethical:

- Abortion (in the case of people who are already pregnant)

- Selecting a healthy embryo “playing god” (for people planning to become pregnant)

Social:

- discrimination against the child (if he was to be born) due to his genetics

Question 9

This question is about the Zika virus

9a.

One factor, for example:

Social factor:

- Cultural eating of raw/undercooked meat

Economic factor:

- Inadequate housing resulting in living in close conditions to wild animals

- Agricultural work around animals without appropriate protective gear.

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

9b.

Different viral pathogens have different mechanisms of transmission between members of a

population and replication within a host. As such correctly identifying the pathogen in important
as to give insight into how the specific viral pathogen spreads through a population allowing for
insight into how to reduce transmission of the disease between individuals of the population.
Correct identification will also give information about the mechanisms of the virus replication
within the host such to allow production of appropriate treatment methods or application of
existing treatments that inhibit the specific virus’ replication cycle.

9.c. Antibodies are a Y shaped protein with two identical binding sites. Aside from these binding
sites, the rest of the antibody will be constant regardless of what virus it binds to. The antibody
tests may not have been able to tell whether the antibodies were against zika or other viruses
because of this significant similarity between all antibodies.

9.d.

- Reduce aedes mosquito populations (by setting out traps or other viable option), thus
reducing the presence of vectors and reducing the spread of the Zika to healthy
individuals
- Limit exposure of healthy individuals to mosquitoes (e.g. by using mosquito repellant)
thus reducing the transmission of Zika virus by mosquitoes with the virus
- Quarantine Infected individuals from mosquito contact to prevent mosquitoes from
obtaining Zika virus and transmitting the disease to healthy individuals

Question 10

This question is about neanderthals and denisovans

10.a. The above information does not indicate the degree of relatedness between denisovan
and neanderthal species and does not indicate whether they were able to mate to produce
viable, fertile offspring. Therefore it does not provide sufficient evidence that they were
separate species.

10.b. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mother to daughter and as such only gives
insight into the specimens maternal lineage/ancestry. Using nuclear DNA would give insight into
the species maternal and paternal accessories and thus gives a more comprehensive indication
of the specimens ancestry/genetic history

10c.

Site Name of hominin group Justification

1 - Africa Heidelbergensis/modern Heidelbergensis were living

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

 humans in Africa 300 000 years ago
when other hominins moved
out/Heidelbergensis in africa
gave rise to humans prior to
130 000 years ago

2 - South East Asia and Denisovans The article states that the
PNG branch that moved east were
denisovans, the maps shows
that this group ended up in
south east asia and png.

3 - Europe Neanderthals The article states that

neanderthals left africa 300
000 years ago and settled in
europe and west asia. The
map shows that they did not
move on from there.

Question 11

This question is about an experimental design testing the effect of temperature of the catalytic
action of lipase

11.a

At a temperature of 35 degrees celsius, the range of the different measurements is 1 which is

the smallest of all temperatures. This smallest range indicates the tightest grouping of
measurements, thus the measurements at 35 degrees celsius are the most precise.

11.b.

Qualitative data are descriptions of characteristics and are typically non-numerical, whereas
Quantitative data are measures of values and are numerical. Since the measurements made by
student 1 are numerical, their data is quantitative

11.c.

Measurement 2 at 15 degrees celsius and measurement 3 at 25 degrees celsius are likely

errors as they differ significantly lower than the other measurements of their temperatures.
These errors could be due to incorrectly measuring the amount of sodium carbonate solution as

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.

less than 10mL thus reducing the time taken to obtain a pH of 7, or by starting the stopwatch
late, thus recording a shorter time for the pH change.

There are other possible errors for this. Anything that would cause a variation in only one
measurement is fine, systematic errors eg. a broken stopwatch would not have been
accepted.

11d. Systematic error. Student 3 may have misread the instructions and added too much ligase
(e.g. 10ml instead of 5ml).

There are other systematic errors that could have caused this (e.g. using a stopwatch
that was too slow), however the most obvious are misreading the instructions and
therefore using the incorrect amount of a component for every experiment.

11e. There are many options here.

Limited temperature range - use colder and/or hotter temperatures

Only assesses the effect of temperature at a specific pH - test other pH values

Only tested single concentration of substrate - repeat the experiment with varying amounts of
fatty solution

Suggested solutions written by Morgan Eyles and Erutepa.