May 20, 2013 – DBQ on p. 211
1) Identify the phylum to which each of the plants shown in Figure 10 belongs, giving
reasons for your answer.
First column
1st row: filicinophyta
2nd row: bryophyta
3rd row: angiospermophyta
4th row: angiospermophyta
Second column
1st row: coniferophyta
2nd row: angiospermophyta
3rd row: filicinophyta
4th row: angiospermophyta
2)
a) State one species that is in a genus with no other species.
Species 34.
b) State the species that are in a family with two genera.
Species 24~33
c) State the species that are in an order with two families.
Species 1~23
d) State the species that are in a class with three orders.
Species 1~34.
e) Deduce whether species 8 is more closely related to species 16 or species
6.
Species 16.
f) Explain why three concentric circles have been drawn around species 34
on the diagram.
Species 34 belongs to its own genus, family, and order.
3)
a) Distinguish between Porifera and Mollusca using external recognition
features.
Porifera don’t have mouths nor do they have anuses, whereas mollusca have
both mouths and anuses. Porifera don’t have symmetry have internal spicules as their
skeleton, whereas mollusca have bilateral symmetry and most have shells made of
CaCO3 as their skeleton. Porifera also draw in water for filter feeding through the
many pores on its surface, whereas mollusca have a hard rasping radula that is used
for feeding.
b) Compare the external recognition features of Annelida and Arthropoda.
Both Annelida and Arthropoda have mouths and anuses, and have bilateral
symmetry. Annelida have pressurized internal cavities with fluid, whereas Arthropoda
have external skeletons made of plates of chitin. Annelida have bodies made up of
many ring-shaped segments, whereas Arthropoda have segmented bodies.
c) Compare the external recognition features of Cnidaria and
Platyhelminthes.
Cnidaria and Platyhelminthes both have mouths. Cnidaria has radial
symmetry whereas platyhelminthes has bilateral symmetry. Cnidaria have soft
skeletons (although the hard corals secrete calcium carbonate), whereas
platyhelminthes are soft and don’t have skeletons. Cnidaria have tentacles arranged in
rings around the mouth with stinging cells, whereas Platyhelminthes have
ribbon-shaped bodies that are flat and thin.
4)
a) State the group that humans are placed in at each of the seven levels in the
hierarchy of taxa.
Species: sapiens
Genus: Homo
Family: Homnidae
Order: Primates
Class: Mammalia
Phylum: Chordata
Kingdom: Animalia
b) Outline the binomial system that is used for naming living organisms.
Biologists use binomial nomenclature to name species. The first part of the
name is the genus (a group of species that share certain characteristics) name, and
the second part is the species/specific name. Binomial nomenclature has some rules
that must be followed:
1. Capitalize the genus name only
2. Italicize the binomial
3. From the second time the name is used, “it can be abbreviated to the initial
letter of the genus name with the full species name” (Allott & Mindorff, 2010).
4. The earliest published name since 1753 is the correct version of the name.
c) Explain how keys are designed to allow organisms to be identified.
Ecologists used keys in order to classify organisms into the more specific
taxa (i.e. from order downwards). Dichotomous keys have pairs of descriptions that
are polar opposites – some choices directly identify the organisms, and others lead to
other choices in the key that help to identify organisms. The choices are based on
features that are reliable and clearly visible. By using these keys, the user is able to
use the characteristics of the species in order to classify them.
May 17, 2013 – DBQ on p. 206
1) State the kingdom to which all of the species in Figure 3 belong.
Animalia
2)
a) Four of the fish in Figure 3 are classified in the same genus. Deduce which
these fish are.
The two lower fish in the first column (on the left), the biggest fish in the
second column, and the last fish in the last third column (on the right).
b) Deduce with a reason whether these four fish are in:
i) the same or different species
Difference species – a species is one taxon below a genus, and the
four fish do not look similar enough to be part of the same species.
ii) the same or different families
The same families – if they are in the same genus then they are also
in the same family.
c) State two characteristics of these four fish that are not possessed by the
other four fish.
They have curved tails and and only have fins on the tips of their tails.
3) The other four fish are classified into two orders. Deduce, with a reason, how the
four fish are split into two orders.
The two fish in the first row and the leftover fish in the last row would be in one order,
and the last fish would be in a different order. This is because the first three fish that I
mentioned look alike, with fins on the middle of their backs and on their undersides.
On the other hand, the last fish I mentioned is flatter, with both eyes on its back.
May 15, 2013 – DBQ on p. 184
1)
a) Natality is the birth rate, whereas mortality is the death rate.
b) An ecosystem refers to a community and its abiotic environment, whereas
a community refers to a group of populations living and interacting with each other in
an area.
c) A heterotroph obtains organic molecules from other organisms, whereas
an autotroph synthesizes its organic molecules from simple inorganic substances.
2)
a) (6 x 102) – (5 x 102) = 1 x 102 kJ m-2 yr-1
b)
3)
a) A greater percentage of sunlight energy would be lost in the desert
because there are there fewer plants that require sunlight to photosynthesize.
b) The reasons for this are that herbivores lose energy through waste and
cellular respiration, and that not all plant matter is accessible to them (they wouldn’t
be if they became detritus).
4)
a)1968
b) According to the data from the bar chart, cormorants have little effect on
the number of trout caught by fishermen because not only did the fishermen’s catch
decrease before the cormorants started consuming trout, the amount of trout the
cormorants consume is significantly less than the amount the fishermen catch.
5)
a)
b) Cedar Bog Lake only has three trophic levels whereas Lake Mendota has
four. Lake Mendota is able to sustain another trophic level because it has a
significantly larger biomass than Cedar Bog Lake. However, the difference in energy
between the two habitats decreases with each trophic level.
c) The low biomass and low numbers of organisms in higher trophic levels is
explained by the small amount of energy that reaches those levels. Most of the energy
is lost along the way, so at higher trophic levels fewer organisms are able to be
sustained.
6)
a)
i.) In the first four years, the population increased exponentially.
ii.) From year 4 to year 6, the population increased at a
decelerating rate.
b) Although the population would have continued to increase at a
decelerating rate, it would eventually reach a plateau as the population neared the
habitat’s carrying capacity.
May 10, 2013 – DBQ on p. 203
1) Why was the investigation done using hybrids rather than a single pure-bred
variety?
To have maximum variation within a population, which is one of the ways of tackling
the time issue with evolution experiments (as evolution occurs gradually over a long
period of time).
2) Describe the changes, shown in the chart, between the F3 and F6 generations of
rice plants grown at Miyazuki.
Most of the F3 generation flowered in 70~88 days, whereas most of the F6 generation
flowered in 107~124 days. Not only did the days to flowering become significantly
longer, but the concentration of rice plants that flowered within a certain range
increased – in F6, the data for days to flowering is spread out less.
3)
a) State the relationship between flowering time and latitude in the F6
generation.
The closer to the north the location was, the later the rice plants bloomed.
Conversely, the farther from the north the location was, the earlier the rice plants
bloomed.
b) Suggest a reason for this relationship.
A reason for this difference could be because of the temperatures/climate of
each of the regions. Depending on when the location became warm enough, the rice
plants would flower.
4)
a) Predict the results if the investigation had been carried on until the F10
generation.
If the investigation had been carried on until the F10 generation, I predict
that the difference in days to flowering between the locations would be even more
distinct.
b) Predict the results of collecting seeds from F10 plants grown at Sapporo
and from F10 plants grown at Miyazuki and sowing them together at Hiratsuka.
Because the conditions in Hiratsuka are closer to those in Miyazaki than in
Sapporo, I would predict that the plants from Miyazaki would be more successful
(than those from Hiratsuka). However, I also believe that the population size of both
types of plants would decrease because they flowered too early or too late. The plants
that bloomed towards the middle (which would be late for Sapporo and early for
Miyazaki), would be the ones that were the most successful. Over time, those would be
the plants that thrived and passed on their genes.
May 9, 2013 – DBQ on p. 196
1) Calculate the length of Dilong paradoxus, from its head to the tip of its tail.
(110/7) x 100 ≈ 1571 mm
2) Deduce three similarities between Dilong paradoxus and reptiles that live on Earth
today.
Three similarities include claws, tails, and four limbs.
3) Suggest a function for the protofeathers of Dilong paradoxus.
The protofeathers of the Dilong paradoxus could have provided insulation.
4) Suggest two features which Dilong paradoxus would have had to evolve, to become
capable of flight.
The protofeathers and the limbs.
5) Explain why it is not possible to be certain whether the protofeathers of Dilong
paradoxus are homologous with the feathers of birds.
May 8, 2013 – DBQ on p. 194
1) Calculate the percentage difference in length between teosinte and Silver Queen.
(170-14)/14
≈11.14
The Silver Queen is approximately 1114% longer than teosinte.
2) Calculate the percentage difference in yield between teosinte and world average
yields of corn.
(4100-150)/150
≈26.33
The difference in yield is 2633% of the yield of teosinte.
3) Suggest factors apart from cob length, selected for by farmers.
Average yield in mass per unit area, sweetness, and color.
4) Explain why improvement slows down over generations of selection.
Improvement slows down over generations of selection because there are fewer
aspects of the organism that can be changed to be better suited to its surroundings.
Over generations, genes that are not advantageous to the organism are not prevalent
in the population because the advantageous genes have allowed those organisms (that
have those genes) to thrive and pass on their genes to offspring.