9700_s15_qp_41
A paper of Biology, 9700
Questions:
10
Year:
2015
Paper:
4
Variant:
1

Login to start this paper & get access to powerful tools

1
2
When preparing infertile women for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), it is necessary to stimulate the growth and maturation of several ovarian follicles. This is done by giving daily injections of the glycoprotein hormone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Each molecule of FSH has quaternary structure and consists of two different polypeptide chains, α and β. Explain what is meant by quaternary structure. Human FSH can be extracted from women’s urine (u-hFSH). A procedure involving the use of monoclonal antibodies is used to produce purified u-hFSH. Suggest how monoclonal antibodies can be used to obtain purified u-hFSH from urine. Recombinant human FSH (r-hFSH) can be produced by adding the genes coding for the α and β polypeptide chains of FSH to mammalian ovary cells. Suggest why mammalian cells are needed to produce r-hFSH, rather than bacterial cells. In IVF treatment, a second hormone, human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) is injected when mature ovarian follicles (Graafian follicles) have developed. Draw a labelled diagram to show the structure of a mature ovarian follicle. The effectiveness of r-hFSH was compared with that of u-hFSH. Women starting IVF treatment were randomly divided into two groups and given either r-hFSH or u-hFSH. The differences between the two groups of women after FSH treatment are shown in Table 2.1. Table 2.1 women receiving r-hFSH women receiving u-hFSH number of women mean number of mature follicles per woman concentration of oestrogen in the blood / nmol dm−3 6.55 3.95 With reference to Table 2.1, compare the effects of treatment with r-hFSH and u-hFSH and suggest explanations for the differences. The probability of the results for the mean number of mature follicles per woman occurring by chance is  0.002. Explain what is meant by this probability.
3
4
The Santa Cruz tarplant, Holocarpha macradenia, is a tall annual plant that grows only in the coastal grasslands in California. An annual plant is one that grows, flowers, produces seeds and dies in less than one year. The tarplant used to be widely spread in California, but there are now only nine natural populations. It is listed as an endangered species. Suggest two reasons why the tarplant has become endangered. State three reasons why it is important to conserve species. 1. 2. 3. Tarplant seeds can survive in the soil for several years. Dormant seeds can be encouraged to germinate by scraping the soil, which exposes them to light. This stimulates the production of gibberellin in these seeds, which brings about germination. Explain how gibberellin brings about germination in seeds. The long-term survival of tarplant seeds in the soil provides a store of seeds that can help to ensure the future survival of the tarplant. Little is known about the survival of tarplant seeds in the soil, or what percentage of these seeds is able to germinate. Researchers therefore used computer models to predict how these factors could affect the likelihood that the tarplant might become extinct. In their models they used: • high or low survival values of tarplant seeds in the soil • different germination percentages of tarplant seeds. The predictions of the models are shown in . percentage germination of tarplant seeds risk of extinction / arbitrary units low survival value of seeds in soil high survival value of seeds in soil With reference to , describe the effect of each of the following on the risk of extinction of the tarplant: high compared to low survival of the tarplant seeds different germination percentages of the tarplant seeds. With reference to , discuss whether scraping the soil should be recommended as part of the management strategy to attempt to conserve the tarplant.
5
Mole rats, Spalax ehrenbergi, are mammals that live in groups in underground burrows. They are blind, and communicate with each other through sound and scent. Males make a purring call when they are attempting to persuade females to mate with them. In Israel, the mole rats found in different parts of the country all look identical. However, there are actually four different populations with different chromosome numbers, which live in different climatic regions. These are shown in Table 5.1. This table also shows information about the purring calls used by the males in each population. The calls of the males were analysed by measuring the number of sound pulses per second, and also the frequencies of the sounds that they made. Table 5.1 chromosome number of population climatic region in which population lives cool and humid cool and dry warm and humid warm and dry purring call made by males mean number of pulses per second 21.0 25.3 23.9 23.2 mean major frequency / kHz Explain why the chromosome number of each of the four populations of mole rats is an even number. Researchers investigated how female mole rats from each of the four populations responded to purring calls made by males from the same population, and by males from different populations. A female was placed midway between two loudspeakers, and recorded calls from two males were played to her simultaneously. The researchers noted which loudspeaker the female moved towards. This was repeated with many different females from each population. The results are shown in Table 5.2. Table 5.2 population chromosome number percentage of females preferring the purring call of males from their own population With reference to Table 5.2, describe the extent to which female mole rats show a preference for the purring calls of males from their own population. With reference to the data in both Table 5.1 and Table 5.2, discuss whether these four populations of mole rats should be classified as different species.
6
7
8