Glenrich International School Uttara

SESSION 2024-25
Practice Test
GRADE 10

Student Name Section:

Roll Number: Admit Card No.:

Marks Obtained: /80 Internal Assessment Marks: /20 Total Marks: /100

Examiner’s Sign:

Invigilator’s Sign:

SUBJECT: BIOLOGY DATE: Thursday, 7th November 2024 DURATION: 1 Hour

SET: 1
Students answer on the Question Paper.
No Additional Materials are required.

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

 Use a black or dark blue pen. You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams or graphs.

 Write your name, roll number and admit card number in the boxes at the top of the page.

 Do not use paper clips, glue or correction fluid.

 Answer all questions.

 Calculators may be used on this paper.

 There are two sections in the paper:

Section A has 20 MCQ (paper 2) questions.

For each question there are four possible answers A, B, C and D. Choose the one you consider
correct and record your choice in soft pencil on the multiple choice answer sheet on page 7.

Section B has structured questions (paper 4 and 6).

INFORMATION

 The total mark for this paper is 50.

 At the end of the examination, staple the answer script in case of any additional papers are
used.

 The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

This document consists of 12 printed pages.

[Turn over]

Page 1 of 12
 Section A

1. Which of the following best explains the reason why viruses are not classified under any
of the five kingdoms?

A. They contain genetic material but lack a protein coat.

B. They can only reproduce inside a host cell.

C. They have a simple cell structure with no nucleus.

D. They can produce their own energy using sunlight.

2. Which of the following processes is most directly influenced by the surface area-to-
volume ratio in cells?

A. Osmosis

B. Diffusion of nutrients

C. Enzyme activity

D. Photosynthesis efficiency

3. A group of plants was placed in a sealed container with limited CO2. Which process will
likely be inhibited first?

A. Water absorption

B. Protein synthesis

C. Starch formation

D. Transpiration

4. During active transport in root hair cells, which of the following is a primary role of ATP?

A. Providing energy for ion channels to remain open

B. Facilitating osmosis across the cell membrane

C. Pumping ions against their concentration gradient

D. Assisting the diffusion of water

Page 2 of 12
5. How does increasing temperature initially affect enzyme activity, and why does this
change beyond an optimal temperature?

A. Enzyme activity increases as temperature rises, but high temperatures denature the
enzyme.

B. Enzyme activity decreases continuously with rising temperatures due to kinetic

energy loss.

C. Enzymes stop functioning as soon as the temperature exceeds 40°C.

D. Enzyme activity is unaffected by temperature changes.

6. Which statement best explains why a species of bacteria evolves resistance to

antibiotics?

A. Antibiotics kill all bacteria except those with mutations, allowing resistant bacteria to
survive and reproduce.

B. Antibiotics directly cause genetic mutations that make the bacteria resistant.

C. Bacteria stop reproducing when exposed to antibiotics.

D. Antibiotics enhance the metabolic rate of all bacteria, allowing them to resist better.

7. Which statement accurately describes how energy flow differs from nutrient cycling in an
ecosystem?

A. Energy is recycled, while nutrients flow one way.

B. Energy flows in one direction, while nutrients are recycled.

C. Both energy and nutrients are recycled.

D. Nutrients flow in one direction, while energy is recycled.

8. In human respiration, which molecule carries carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs?

A. Plasma

B. Hemoglobin

C. Platelets

D. White blood cells

Page 3 of 12
9. How does transpiration create the pressure gradient necessary for water movement
through a plant?

A. It lowers osmotic pressure in root cells.

B. It creates a pull due to water evaporation at the leaf surface.

C. It drives active transport of water molecules.

D. It reduces the humidity around the plant, causing rapid water absorption.

10. Which of the following scenarios best represents a codominant genetic inheritance
pattern?

A. A white flower crossed with a red flower producing pink offspring.

B. A red-flowered plant and a white-flowered plant both contributing to red and white
spots in offspring.

C. A brown cow and a white cow producing a calf with brown fur.

D. The dominant allele completely masking the recessive allele in the offspring.

11. Why does anaerobic respiration release less energy compared to aerobic respiration?

A. It only involves the breakdown of carbohydrates.

B. Oxygen is not present to fully break down glucose into carbon dioxide and water.

C. It bypasses the electron transport chain.

D. It does not produce ATP in the cytoplasm.

12. Which of the following explains the difference in oxygen content between inspired and
expired air?

A. Inspired air has more oxygen because respiration in cells removes oxygen.

B. Expired air contains more oxygen because diffusion occurs from tissues into blood.

C. Expired air has less oxygen because oxygen is used during cellular respiration.

D. Both inspired and expired air contain the same amount of oxygen.

Page 4 of 12
13. What would most likely occur if a gene controlling auxin production in plants was
mutated?

A. The plant would develop faster due to increased cell division.

B. The plant would fail to respond correctly to light and gravity stimuli.

C. Photosynthesis would increase due to more chlorophyll production.

D. The roots would start growing upward instead of downward.

14. How does the structure of xylem vessels adapt them for their function?

A. They have thick lignified walls to prevent collapse under pressure.

B. Their walls are permeable to allow easy water diffusion.

C. They contain living cytoplasm to transport minerals.

D. They have many cross-walls to slow down water movement.

15. Which best explains why genetic variation is essential for natural selection?

A. It ensures that all organisms are identical, improving species survival.

B. It provides a range of traits for the environment to act upon, allowing adaptation.

C. It increases the population size of a species.

D. It decreases the mutation rate in organisms.

Page 5 of 12
Page 6 of 12
Page 7 of 12
 Section B
1. A student investigates the effect of pH on the activity of an enzyme. The student adds the
enzyme to a starch solution at different pH levels and measures the time taken for the starch
to completely break down.
The data obtained is shown in table 1.1

pH time taken for the starch

to completely break
down/minute
pH 3 40
pH 5 25
pH 7 10
pH 9 18
pH 30
11

a. Explain why the enzyme works fastest at pH 7.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………[3]

b. Analyze the effect of pH 3 and pH 11 on enzyme activity and suggest why the reaction time

increases at these extremes.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………[3]

Page 8 of 12
2. In a population of rabbits, fur color is controlled by a single gene with two alleles B (black)
and b (white). A heterozygous black rabbit (Bb) is crossed with a homozygous white rabbit
(bb).
a. Draw a Punnett square for this cross and determine the expected genotypic and phenotypic
ratios of the offspring.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………[3]

b. Suppose a new mutation occurs, creating a third allele for brown fur.
How would this affect the inheritance pattern if a heterozygous black rabbit (Bb) is crossed
with a brown rabbit?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………[2]

3. In a population of bacteria exposed to antibiotics, some bacteria survive due to mutations

that confer resistance. Over time, these resistant bacteria become more prevalent.
a. Explain how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics and how humans can reduce the
problem of antibiotic resistance.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………[6]

Page 9 of 12
b. Some bacteria and viruses cause disease but many are useful to the biotechnology
industry.
Explain why bacteria are useful in biotechnology.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………[3]

4. The enzyme lipase digests fats into fatty acids and glycerol.
Some students investigated how temperature affects the breakdown of the fats in milk using
lipase.
A pH indicator called bromothymol blue was used and the colour change was observed and
recorded every two minutes for a total time of 20 minutes.
Table 4.1 shows the colour changes of this indicator.
Table 4.1

Fig 4.1
Three beakers were labelled: cold, warm and hot. One test-tube was placed in each of the
labelled beakers. Three drops of bromothymol blue indicator were put into each test-tube. 2
cm3 of sodium carbonate solution was added to each test-tube and then 2 cm3 of milk was
added to each test-tube. Finally, one test-tube containing 3 cm3 of lipase was put into each of
the three beakers.The temperature in each beaker was measured and recorded.

The experiment was left for 5 minutes, as shown in Fig. 4.1.

After 5 minutes, the lipase was poured from the test-tube labelled lipase in the cold beaker
into the other test-tube in the cold beaker.
This process was repeated for the warm beaker and the hot beaker.
Page 10 of 12
The mixtures were stirred and the colour of the bromothymol blue indicator in each test-tube
was recorded at 0 (start), 2, 4, 6, 8,10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 minutes.

Fig. 4.2 shows the students’ results

Fig. 4.2
(a) Complete Table 4.2 to record the students’ results.

Page 11 of 12
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