IB Biology Mock Exam HL

IB Biology
Paper 1a - Higher level

Time advised for this paper – 1 hour

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INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

• Do not open the examination paper until told to.

• Answer all the questions on the answer grid provided.
• You may write rough working on this exam paper – but it is not marked.
• The maximum mark for paper 1A HL is [40 marks]

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1. Adhesion is considered to be the attraction of water to which of the following?
A. Non-polar molecules.
B. Other water molecules.
C. Polar molecules that are not water molecules.
D. Ions in solution

2. What is the composition of an RNA nucleotide?

A. Nitrogenous base, ribose, phosphate.

B. Nitrogenous base, deoxyribose, phosphate.
C. Adenine, glucose, phosphate.
D. Nitrogenous base, phospholipid, ribose.

3. Which of the following cell structures would be found in a prokaryotic cell?

i. Ribosomes
ii. Mitochondria
iii. Golgi body
iv. Plasma membrane

A. All of the above

B. i only
C. i and iv only
D. ii only

4. What is the definition of a genome?

A. All the alleles present in a population.

B. All the genetic information in an individual organism.
C. All the protein coding genes present in an organism.
D. All the genes present in a species.
IB Biology Mock Exam HL

5. Which of the following are reasons for the increase in the rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction
as the temperature rises from 200C to 300C?

i. Increased number of collisions between enzyme and substrate molecules.

ii. Increased energy in substrate molecules.
iii. Increased number of active sites in the enzyme molecule.
iv. Increased concentration of substrate molecules.

A. All of the above

B. i only
C. i and ii only
D. ii and iii only

6. Which row of the following table correctly describes part of aerobic respiration?

Location Yield of ATP Requires oxygen Produces

carbon dioxide
A Mitochondria High No No
B Cytoplasm Low Yes No
C Mitochondria High Yes Yes
D Cytoplasm Low No Yes

7. In an experiment an ecologist captured 24 grasshoppers before marking them and releasing

them. Two days later the same method was used to capture 32 grasshoppers in the same field.
Only 8 of the recaptured grasshoppers had the marks from the first capture.
Use the Lincoln index (Population estimate = M x N / R ) to estimate the population of
grasshoppers in the field. Which answer is a correct estimate?

A. 89
B. 96
C. 60
D. 72

8. In what form is energy passed from producers to decomposers in a food web?

A. As chemical energy
B. As light energy
C. As light and chemical energy
D. As heat energy

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9. How do photosynthetic pigments absorb light during photosynthesis?

A. Some wavelengths of light react with carbon dioxide.

B. Excitation of electrons occurs within a pigment molecule.
C. Chlorophyll splits carbon dioxide into carbon and oxygen.
D. Light moves water across membranes in the chloroplast.

10. Which of the following form parts of the plasma membrane of an animal cell?

A. Protein, phospholipid, cholesterol, glycoprotein.

B. Phospholipid, protein, cellulose, ribosomes.
C. Amino acids, phospholipid, cholesterol, glycogen.
D. Protein, phospholipid, DNA, cholesterol.

11. Which of the following can change as a result of a mutation in a gene?

i. The structure of the protein product.

ii. The base sequence of the DNA molecule.
iii. The amino acid sequence of the protein product.
iv. The genetic code.

A. All of the above

B. ii and iii only
C. i and ii only
D. i, ii and iii only

12. Which of the following processes occurs in both mitosis and meiosis?

i. Condensation of DNA to form chromosomes.

ii. Reduction in the chromosome number in a cell.
iii. Replication of DNA.
iv. Formation of two diploid nuclei.

A. i and iii only.

B. ii and iii only.
C. i and iv only.
D. i only.
IB Biology Mock Exam HL

13. Root hair cells absorb soil water. Which of the following will cause water to move from the soil
into a root hair cell?

A. When soil water is isotonic to root hair cell.

B. When soil water is hypertonic to the root hair cell.
C. When soil water is hypotonic to the root hair cell.
D. Active transport of water from the soil to the root hair cell.

14. Which of the following are adaptations of veins for the return of blood to the heart?

A. Strong and muscular walls.

B. Valves and flexible walls
C. Thin permeable and flexible walls
D. Thick and elastic walls

15. Below is a diagram of an insect pollinated flower.

Which of the following is a correct name of the structure and its function?

A. Stigma, site of fertilisation

B. Style, holds the anther in the correct position
C. Ovule, site of fertilisation
D. Anther, site of pollination

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16. Which of the following processes are involved in evolution of a species by natural selection?

i. Variation in the characteristics of offspring.

ii. Overproduction of offspring.
iii. Mutation to produce new alleles.
iv. Intraspecific competition.

A. i and iii only

B. ii and iii only
C. i iii and iv only
D. All of the above

17. Which term describes the maximum and minimum values of a limiting factor which determine
the distribution of an organism in an ecosystem?

A. Zone of inhibition.
B. Allopatric zone.
C. Range of tolerance.
D. Competition exclusion principle.

18. Which row of the table correctly identifies factors that could be a limiting factor of
photosynthesis in a temperate forest?

Light Humidity Water Atmospheric

intensity availability carbon dioxide
concentration
A Yes No Yes Yes
B Yes Yes Yes Yes
C Yes No No Yes
D No Yes Yes No

19. Which neurons carry impulses from receptor cells to the central nervous system.

A. Motor neurons
B. Mixed nerves
C. Interneurons
D. Sensory neurons
IB Biology Mock Exam HL

20. Which area of the brain coordinates muscular movement and balance?
A. Cerebral hemispheres
B. Pituitary gland
C. Hypothalamus
D. Cerebellum

21. A male with haemophilia and a woman with no history of haemophilia in her family have
children together. Which of the following statements about the children is correct?

A. 100% of male offspring will be carriers of haemophilia.

B. 100% of female offspring will be carriers of haemophilia.
C. 0% of female offspring will be carriers of haemophilia.
D. 50% of female offspring will be carriers of haemophilia.

22. Which of the following is a structural feature of both DNA molecules and mRNA molecules?

A. Hydrogen bonded base pairs

B. Thymine nucleotides
C. Pentose sugar
D. Two antiparallel strands

23. Which of the following are found both in eukaryotic plant calls and filamentous fungi?

A. Vacuoles
B. Chloroplasts
C. Cellulose cell walls
D. Cilia

24. What could be regarded as support for the theory that human chromosome number 2 was
formed from the fusion of chromosomes 12 and 13 in a common ancestor of humans and
chimpanzees?

A. Human diploid cells have one less chromosome than chimpanzee diploid cells.
B. Banding patterns in human chromosome 2 match the banding patterns of chromosome
12 of the common ancestor.
C. Humans and primates, including chimpanzees both have opposable thumbs.
D. There is great similarity in the DNA base sequences of human chromosome 2 and
chimpanzee chromosomes 12 and 13.

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25. Which of the following is the most suitable molecule for long term energy storage in marine
endotherms such as seals?

A. Triglycerides
B. Monosaccharides
C. Glycogen
D. Phospholipids

26. Which row of the table shows correctly how the rate of transpiration in a plant is affected by
each of the changes shown ?

Stomata Increase in Increase in Increase in

close humidity atmospheric air
temperature movement
A Decrease Decrease Increase Decrease
B Increase Increase Decrease Decrease
C Increase Decrease Decrease Increase
D Decrease Decrease Increase Increase

27. What is the role of fenestrations in blood capillaries in endocrine tissue?

A. They increase active transport of hormone molecules.

B. They increase the diffusion distance for hormone molecules from the tissue to the
blood.
C. They increase the permeability of the capillary.
D. They increase the surface area of capillaries.
IB Biology Mock Exam HL

28. Which of the test tubes shown in the diagram contain organisms that are obligate anaerobes,
and facultative anaerobes?

Obligate anaerobes Facultative anaerobes

A Tubes 2 & 4 Tube 3

B Tubes 1 & 4 Tube 3

C Tube 2 Tubes 3 & 4

D Tube 2, 3 & 4 Tube 3 & 4

29. The diagram below shows a chromatogram of photosynthetic pigments from the leaf of a rose
plant. Use the numbers in the diagram to calculate the Rf value of xanthophyll.

A. 0.55
B. 0.63
C. 1.81
D. 0.81

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30. Which of the following are involved in the clotting of blood in a wound?

i. Platelets.
ii. Red blood cells.
iii. Fibrin.
iv. Thrombin.

A. i, ii and iii only.

B. i and iii only.
C. i, ii and iv only.
D. All of the above.

31. What is common to all members of a clade?

i. Shared Ancestry
ii. Shared gene pool
iii. Similar morphological traits
iv. Identical DNA

A. i and iii only

B. i only
C. ii, iii and iv only
D. ii and iv only

32. Oxygen diffuses across the placental barrier from maternal blood to foetal blood.
Which of the following are correct statements about foetal haemoglobin?

i. Foetal haemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than maternal haemoglobin.
ii. Oxygen cooperatively binds to foetal haemoglobin.
iii. The Bohr shift causes increased dissociation of oxygen from foetal haemoglobin.
iv. Allosteric binding of carbon dioxide to foetal haemoglobin lowers the affinity of foetal
haemoglobin for oxygen.

A. All of the above

B. i, ii and iv only
C. ii and iii only
D. i, iii and iv only
IB Biology Mock Exam HL

33. Which of the following occurs when a plant cell is bathed in a hypotonic solution?

i. When the water potential of the cell is zero no water enters or leaves the plant cell.
ii. The cell eventually reaches a dynamic equilibrium with the water in the bathing solution due
to an increase in pressure potential and a decrease in solute potential.
iii. The cell eventually reaches a dynamic equilibrium with the water in the bathing solution due
to a decrease in pressure potential and an increase in solute potential.
iv. The concentration of solutes in the cell vacuole decreases.

A. i and ii only
B. i and iii only
C. i and iv only
D. ii and iv only

34. Which of the following could be the reason that antibiotic resistance found in one species of
pathogenic bacterium could also be inherited by a second species of pathogenic bacterium?

A. Horizontal gene transfer of a gene found on a plasmid of the first species of

bacterium to the second species.
B. Asexual reproduction of both species of bacterium.
C. Non-disjunction of genetic material during DNA replication.
D. Inheritance of one chromosome from the first species of bacterium to the second
species.

35. Which molecules are involved in the production of triose phosphate from glycerate phosphate
during the light-independent reaction of photosynthesis?

i. ATP
ii. Reduced NAD
iii. Reduced NADP
iv. RuBP carboxylase

A. i and ii only
B. ii and iv only
C. I and iii only
D. iii and iv only

36. Which of the following can result in more than one polypeptide amino acid sequence being
formed from a single DNA base sequence in an allele of a gene?

A. Methylation of RNA.
B. Single base polymorphism
C. Proteasome action
D. Post-transcriptional modification

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37. Which of the following promotes the upward flow of water from roots to leaves in plants in
conditions in extremely high environmental humidity?

A. Active transport of water.

B. Root pressure.
C. Cohesion between water molecules and lignin of xylem vessels.
D. Turgor pressure in hypertonic root hair cells.

38. Which row of the table correctly shows how adaptive radiation affects a species?

Genetic diversity Intraspecific competition Morphological diversity

A Decreases Increases Decreases
B Increases Increases Increases
C Decreases Decreases Decreases
D Increases Decreases Increases

39. Which of the following cause reuptake of fluid from tissues into capillaries?

i. Lower hydrostatic pressure at the arterial end of a capillary bed.

ii. Lower hydrostatic pressure at the venous end of a capillary bed.
iii. Hypertonic blood plasma.
iv. Hypotonic blood plasma.

A. i and iv only
B. ii and iii only
C. i and iii only
D. ii and iv only

40. The chemical structure of the molecule acarbose is shown below. It is used to reduce the rate of
reaction of a digestive enzyme in diabetic patients and lower their blood glucose level. What is
the most likely method of action of this molecule?

A. Non-competitive inhibitor of amylase

B. Competitive inhibitor of amylase
C. Allosteric inhibitor of amylase
D. Competitive inhibitor of protease