STPM BIOLOGY MARKING SCHEME – TRIAL EXAMINATION 2018

SECTION A

1.A 2.A 3.A 4. A 5.D 6.B 7. B 8.B 9.A 10.C 11.A 12.B 13.A 14.C 15.D

SECTION B & C

NO ANSWER SUBTOTAL TOTAL

16(a) (i) C 1 5
(ii) A 1
(iii) D 1
(iv) E 1
(v) A 1

(b) The inner membrane is the site of ATP synthesis in the 1 2

mitochondrion.
The folds result in an increased surface area of the membrane 1
allowing more ATP synthesis.

(c) Substrate level phosphorylation is the formation of ATP from ADP 1 2

using phosphate derived from substrates of the glycolysis pathway.
Oxidative phosphorylation is the formation of ATP from ADP and 1
inorganic phosphate, coupled with the electron flow (oxidations) in
the electron transport chain.

17(a) ATP 1 1

(b) (i) Electrons raised to higher energy level; 1 2

passed through chain of hydrogen acceptors; hydrogen ions; 1
from photolysis/water 1

(ii) Reduces; 1 2
glycerate phosphate/GP 1

(c) The light reactions require ADP and NADP+, which would not be 1 1
formed in sufficient quantities from ATP and NADPH if the Calvin
cycle stopped.

18(a) Amino acids are grouped according to the properties of their side- 1 8
chain group (R).
There are four groups of amino acids:
i. polar

 Amino acids with polar side-chain groups 1

 Hydrophilic molecules 1
 Examples – Serine, asparagines, glutamine, tyrosine, cysteine,
threonine
ii. non-polar
1
 Amino acids with non-polar side-chain groups
1
 Hydrophobic molecules
 Examples – Glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine,

1
 tryptophan, proline, methionine, phenylalanine
iii. basic

 Side-chain is positive in charge

1
 Due to presence of additional amino group in side-chain
 Examples – Lysine, arginine, histidine 1
iv. acidic

 Side-chain is negative in charge

 Due to presence of additional carboxyl group in side-chain
 Examples – Aspartic acid, glutamic acid 1
1

(b)  Osmosis is the movement of water molecules across a 1 7

selectively permeable membrane
 Water molecules move from high water potential region to the 1
lower water potential region
 Water potential refers to the tendency for water molecules to 1
enter or leave a solution
 Pure water has the highest water potential which is zero 1
 Dissolving solutes into pure water can reduce the 1
concentration of water molecules
 This causes water potential to get lower and becomes negative 1
value
1
 The more solute molecules present, the lower the water
potential / the fewer the solute molecules present, the higher
the water potential
 Solution (at atmospheric pressure) has negative water
1
potential value

19(a) Lysosome Ribosome 8

1
0.1-0.5µm 20-30nm (smaller) 1
It comprises of one unit. It exists It comprises of two unequal
as a single membrane-bound sized subunits. Organelle is not
1
vesicle. membrane-bound.

It contains hydrolytic enzymes Each subunit comprises of

(e.g. protease, lipases and proteins and ribosomal RNA in
nucleases). rough equal quantities peptidyl
transferase is part of the 1
ribosomal large subunit.

It is made from the Golgi Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) are

apparatus. made in the nucleus while
ribosomal proteins are made in
the cytoplasm. The proteins and
rRNA are assembled to form the 1
small and large subunits in the

2
 nucleus.

It exists as free lysosome in the It exists as a free ribosome in 1

cytoplasm the cytoplasm or it is attached to
the surface of endoplasmic
reticulum

It fuses with endocytic vesicles It is the site of protein synthesis

and release its hydrolytic where amino acids
enzymes to digest are joined to form polypeptide
the material within. chain through the
The products of digestion are formation of peptide bonds
absorbed and assimilated into
the cytoplasm of the cell
(ii) It engulfs and digests
worn-out organelles (autophagy)
(iii) It performs self digestion
of a cell (autolysis) when the
cell is damaged

3
 The role of Golgi body is to receive products from the rough 1 7
(b) endoplasmic reticulum (ER), sort and package the products, and
dispatch them to their destinations within the cell or export them out
of the cell.
Link to the rough ER
After polypeptides are synthesized by the ribosomes, they enter the 1
lumen of the ER.
The polypeptides fold into their specific 3D conformation. 1
The proteins may also be modified.
For example, carbohydrate chains are attached to the proteins to form
glycoproteins.
Transport to Golgi body and modification of products.
The membrane of the ER pinches off to form vesicles which transport 1
the polypeptides or glycoproteins to the Golgi body.
The products enter the Golgi body when the membrane of the vesicles 1
fuse with the membrane of the Golgi body at the cis face.
The carbohydrate chains of the polypeptides may undergo further
modifications as they transit from the cis region to the trans region of
the Golgi body.
For example, some sugar monomers of the glycoproteins are removed
or substituted with other monomers resulting in a large variety of
glycoproteins.
Sorting and packing of Golgi products
Before the glycoproteins or other proteins are packaged into a vesicle, 1
they are sorted to target them to their cellular destinations.
For example, molecular tags such as phosphate groups are added to
the Golgi products.
Transport to cellular destinations or export out of cell
Transport vesicles pinch off from the trans face of the organelle. 1
The vesicle may travel to another organelle (e.g. lysosome) and 1
release the Golgi product into the target organelle after fusing with it.
The secretory vesicles may also fuse with the plasma membrane and 1
release the Golgi products via exocytosis.

Carbon dioxide concentration 8

20(a) -required in light independent reaction 1
-increasing carbon dioxide concentration increases the rate of 1
photosynthesis
-rate of photosynthesis becomes constant after carbon dioxide 1
concentration exceeds reaches certain level
-at higher concentration, the rate of photosynthesis decreases as 1
carbon dioxide absorption is reduced by stomatal closure
Any 2
Temperature
-photosynthesis process is controlled by enzymes 1
-the rate of photosynthesis increases with an increase in temperature 1
provided light intensity and concentration of carbon dioxide are not
limiting factors
-rate of photosynthesis doubles for every 10oC increase in 1
temperature until optimum temperature
-above optimum temperature, rate decreases as the enzymes are 1
denatured

4
 Any 2
Water availability
-water is required in light dependent reaction/ photolysis of water
where electrons/ H atoms are given out to reduce NADP 1
-without water, plants close their stomata and would prevent entry of
carbon dioxide into the plants for photosynthesis 1

Oxygen concentration
-relatively high oxygen level inhibits photosynthesis 1
-oxygen competes with carbon dioxide for active site of rubisco 1
which will decrease the overall rate of photosynthesis

(b) • During the dark reaction of C3 plants, carbon dioxide is fixed by 1 7

RUBP. This reaction is catalysed by RUBP carboxylase or rubisco.
• The weakness of RUBP as a carbon fixer is that it can also bind with 1

oxygen. When RUBP binds with oxygen, a molecule of

phosphoglycolate and a molecule of PGA are formed. 1
• Phosphoglycolate cannot be used by plants to produce sugars. It will

be converted into PGA by a series of reactions in which ATP and

oxygen are used. The entire process, starting with the fixation of
oxygen is called photorespiration. Photorespiration decreases the 1
efficiency of photosynthesis by about 40%.
• C4 plants adopt a more effective dark reaction called the Hatch-
Slack pathway. It occurs in two stages in two different cells, namely 1
the mesophyll cells and bundle sheath cells.
• The carbon fixer in the mesophyll cells is phosphoenol pyruvate
(PEP). PEP has two advantages over RUBP. It has a higher affinity 1
for carbon dioxide and it does not bind with oxygen.
• The higher affinity of PEP for carbon dioxide enables it to fix
carbon dioxide even in regions of low concentration of carbon
dioxide, such as in trophic, where keen competition for carbon 1
dioxide occurs among plants.
• The product of carbon fixation by PEP is oxaloacetate. The
oxaloacetate is then reduced to malate. Malate is transported into the

bundle sheath cell, where it is reoxidised to pyruvate, and carbon 1

dioxide is released. The carbon dioxide is then fixed by RUBP and
enters the Calvin cycle to produce sugars as in C3 plants.
• The RUBP in bundle sheath cell will not bind with oxygen because 1
of the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the cell. Hence,
photorespiration does not occur in the bundle sheath cells.
• When the weather is too hot and dry, a C4 plant can keep its stomata
closed to conserve water, and yet continues to make sugars by
using the Hatch-Slack pathway.