IB Biology Mock Exam

IB Biology
Paper 1 - Section B - Standard level
• Recommended time for this paper 45 minutes

MODEL ANSWERS
Name __________________________________

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES
• Do not open the examination paper until told to.
• Answer all the questions
• Write answers inside the answer boxes provided.
• A calculator is required for this paper.

• The maximum mark for paper 1B is [25 marks]

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1. The image below was taken using a light microscope at 100x magnification.
These cells have been coloured using a stain. The scale bar on the diagram represents
50µm.

a. Identify, with a reason, if the cells are animal or plant tissue. (1 mark)

This is a plant cell, because there are clearly cell walls visible, which animal cells
don’t have.

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

b. Outline three reasons to use staining in a light microscope when observing cells.
(3 marks).

Staining makes parts of the cell more visible.

Some stains can give a specific colour to a specific cell component/. (accept named
example)
Antibodies attached to fluorescent molecules (immunofluorescence) can make
processes in the cell visible.
Can be used as a diagnostic tool, e.g. staining chromosomes in mitotic index.
(Three of these points for 3 marks)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
IB Biology Mock Exam

c. Estimate the length of cell A in the image using the scale bar. Show your working.
(2 marks)..
Measurements could be = Length of scale bar is 16mm / length of cell is 53mm
Cell is 3.3 times bigger than scale bar = 3.3 x 50µm.
Length of the cell A = 165µm.
(1 mark for some correct working, and one mark for answer 165 +/- 5µm)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Jana wanted to investigate the effect of exercise on

pulse rate. She measured the pulse rate of a friend at
rest. The friend ran on a treadmill at a constant speed of
6km/h for 4 minutes. The pulse rate was measured a
second time, immediately after stopping running.

This test was repeated 5 times for both the resting pulse
and the pulse after running.

A digital pulse meter was used on the first finger of the

right hand for all these measurements.

Out of curiosity, Jana repeated the measurements in

exactly the same way, except this time the pulse rate
was measured by sensing the pulse using three fingers
on the radial artery.

The data is shown in the table.

Digital pulse meter Manual pulse on radial artery

Resting After After
Resting pulse
pulse rate / exercising exercising
rate / beats
beats per pulse rate / pulse rate /
per min
min beats per min beats per min
Test 1 80 121 71 98
Test 2 73 109 67 101
Test 3 81 116 69 107
Test 4 78 114 74 101
Test 5 77 108 75 99
Mean pulse rate /
77.8 113.6 101.2
beats per min
Standard
3.1 5.3 3.3 3.5
deviation

1. Calculate the mean resting pulse rate, using the data in the table for the manual
pulse on radial artery . (1 mark)

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 Mean resting pulse using manual pulse measure = 71.2

2. Calculate the percentage increase in the mean pulse rate, between resting and after
exercise in the measurements taken using a digital pulse meter . (2 marks)

Increase = 113.6 -77.8 = 35.8 beats per minute

Percentage increase = 35.8 / 77.8 x 100 = 0.460 x 100 = 46%

3. Deduce, with a reason, whether the digital pulse meter or the manual pulse count in
this experiment gave more reliable data. (2 marks)

Manual reading appears to have given more reliable data.

The manual data has a lower standard deviation/ less variation in data
The digital pulse meter resting pulse rates are as reliable as the manual data,
There is a small sample size / Insufficient data to conclude.
(Two of these points for 2 marks)

d. Outline one adaptation of arteries for carrying blood away from the heart in pulses

(1 mark)

Arteries contain many elastic fibres / muscles in their walls which allows them to expand
when a pulse of blood passes. OR
Elastic fibres avoiding the artery bursting/ maintain blood pressure in the artery.

3. The rate of reaction of the enzyme Amylase was tested in different conditions of
temperature and pH. The amylase enzyme catalyses the hydrolysis of starch into
maltose sugar. The results of two experiments are shown in the graph below.

a. Describe the relationship between pH and the rate of the amylase enzyme reaction.
(2 marks)
IB Biology Mock Exam

The fastest rate of reaction is at pH6.

The rate of reaction is slower / higher / lower the further the pH is from pH 6.0
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

b. Calculate the rate of reaction of amylase at 20°C (2 mark)

At 20°C 40g of maltose is produced in 10 minutes

The rate of reaction is 40 / 10 grams per minute = 4 g/min
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

c. Evaluate how well the activity of the amylase enzyme in the experiment above
matches the model of enzyme activity shown below. (2 marks)

Evaluation
The activity of the amylase enzyme fits the model quite well.
Justification
Both model and enzyme have a peak at 40°C
Both model and enzymes have very low rates above 50°C or below 10°C
One difference between the model and the enzyme is that the rate at 15°C in the
enzyme experiment seems to be faster than the rate in the model (the upward slope
isn’t curved)
(1 mark for the evaluation, 1 mark for the justification.)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

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4. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. Carbon dioxide emissions rose
slowly to about 5 gigatons per year in the mid-20th century before increasing more
quickly to more than 35 billion tons per year by the end of the century. (See graph)

a. Describe the correlation which can be seen in the data between the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (blue line) and anthropogenic emissions (grey line)
(2 marks)

There Is a positive correlation between the CO2 emissions and CO2 concentration.
The line most closely correlates in the years 1970 to 2020
There are some differences after 2020, and before 1840
(Two of these points for 2 marks)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

b. There has been a net carbon accumulation in boreal forests for most of the period
shown in the graph. Describe the conditions which could lead to a ‘tipping point’,
where boreal forest stops being a carbon sink and starts to have a net release of
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. (3 marks)

Warmer climates can leader to reduced winter snowfall / longer/ more frequent
droughts.
Droughts can result in more frequent forest fires.
Damage to the trees reduces the rate of photosynthesis in the forest.
Fires release ‘legacy carbon’ from peat or the trunks of trees into the atmosphere.
Fires/droughts reduce primary productivity/reverse succession/regression (to pre-
climax community).
(Three of these points for 3 marks)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

c. State how many tons there are in one Gigaton. (1 mark)

IB Biology Mock Exam

There are 1 billion tons in a giga ton

1 000 000 000 tones = 1 giga ton
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Notes for teachers and students about the questions in this exam.

The four questions cover the four themes and a a few of the levels.
Each question uses data related to a syllabus point.

The syllabus references for each question is a follows:

Question 1 Theme A Unity and diversity syllabus point.

A2.2.2—Application of skills: Students should have experience of making temporary mounts of cells
and tissues, staining, measuring sizes using an eyepiece graticule, focusing with coarse and fine
adjustments, calculating actual size and magnification, producing a scale bar and taking photographs

Question 2 Theme B Form and Function

B3.2.4—Measurement of pulse rates
Application of skills: Students should be able to determine heart rate by feeling the carotid or radial
pulse with fingertips. Traditional methods could be compared with digital ones.

Question 3 Theme C Interaction and interdependence

C1.1.8—Effects of temperature, pH and substrate concentration on the rate of enzyme activity The
effects should be explained with reference to collision theory and denaturation.
Application of skills: Students should be able to interpret graphs showing the effects.
NOS: Describe the relationship between variables as shown in graphs. Recognize that generalized
sketches of relationships are examples of models in biology.

C1.1.9—Measurements in enzyme-catalysed reactions

Application of skills: Determine reaction rates through experimentation and using secondary data.

Question 4 Theme D Continuity and change

D4.3.1—Anthropogenic causes of climate change

NOS: Distinguish between positive and negative correlation and distinguish between correlation and
causation. This correlation does not prove that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases global
temperatures, although other evidence confirms the causal link.

D4.3.2—Positive feedback cycles in global warming

Include …. increases in droughts and forest fires.

D4.3.3—Change from net carbon accumulation to net loss in boreal forests as an example of a
tipping point Include warmer temperatures and decreased winter snowfall leading to increased
incidence of drought and reductions in primary production in taiga, with forest browning and
increases in the frequency and intensity of forest fires, which result in legacy carbon combustion.