SB026 Biology Matriculation Semester 2

Chapter 1: Biodiversity
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Describe the types of nutrition found on domain Bacteria. [10]

Briefly describe the three types of bacteria distributed in Domain Archaea. [10]
Compare and contrast the plant and green algae. [10]
Describe some uses of Protista to human and environment. [10]
Describe the classification and diversity of the plant species. [10]
Describe the morphological characteristic of angiosperm. [10]
Discuss in extent to which the angiosperm and fern able to adapt and life on land.
[10]
Explain why angiosperm is the most successful plant on land. [10]
Compare and contrast the coniferophyta and angiosperm. [10]
Give the characteristic of organism in Phylum Arthropoda. [5]
Class insect can be said to be a most successful animals in term of numbers. Discuss
how their adaptive characteristic to different habitat contribute to their successful.
[10]
Distinguish between hydrostatic skeleton, exoskeleton and endoskeleton. [6]
State the phylum and morphological characteristic of the following organism.
a. Flatworm [5]
b. Bony fish [5]
c. Rat [5]
Compare and contrast between the three worm-like animal. [10]

Chapter 2: Ecology
1. Distinguish between the habitat and niches of a species. Why is it difficult to define
the human habitat? [10]
2. Describe the completion. How might two species that compete for the same resource
coexist? [10]
3. Define the biosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. [10]
4. Characterize a predator and a parasite. [10]
5. Explain how energy is transferred along the food chain in an ecosystem. [10]
6. Define primary producer, consumer, decomposer, and detritivores. [10]
7. Define and describe trophic levels. Which class of organisms is farthest from the
energy input into an ecosystem? [10]
8. Define food chain and food web. How do grazing food web differ from detrital food
webs? [10]
9. Distinguish between biomass pyramid and energy pyramid. What did the weakness
and the advantages have in measurement of an aquatic ecosystem?
10. Define the biogeochemical cycle. By using a suitable example describe the
characteristic of the cycling pools and reservoir pool. [10]
11. Define carbon cycle. What is the different between the carbon fixation and
decarboxylation process? Discuss. [10]
12. Describe the interaction of biotic and abiotic component in the lake zonation. [10]

Chapter 3: Population Ecology

1. Define exponential growth. [10]

2. Give and discuss examples of the limiting factors that come into play when a
population of mammals reaches very high density. [10]
3. How did earlier human populations expand steadily into new environments? How did
they increase the carrying capacity in their habitats? Have we now avoided some
limiting factors on population growth? Or is the avoidance an illusion? [10]
4. Describe and explain the shape of a bacterial population growth curve. [8]
5. Describe the effect of biotic and abiotic factor which limit the growth of natural
population. [8]
Chapter 4: Variation
1. Explain the importance of variation in a population. [5]
2. Describe the genetic and environmental factors that cause variation in an organism.
[10]
3. Describe and explain, using an example, the process sof artificial selection. [6]
4. What in genetic is hybridization? [6]
5. List some of the conditions for natural selection to takes place. [5]
6. How may sexual selection explain speciation over natural selection? You may wish to
use an example. [10]
7. Does the environment exert an influence on the phenotype? [10]
8. Are environmental phonotypical changes transmitted to the offspring? Justify. [4]
9. What are the situations in which environment can alter the genotype of an individual?
What is the condition for this types of change to be transmitted to the offspring? [5]
10. One of the powerful factor in the formation of species are isolating mechanism.
Describe briefly the isolating mechanism. [10m]
11. What is species? [4m]
12. Describe what is natural selection? How does its important to the species survival?
Discuss about the roles of natural selection in speciation. [10]
13. Explain the difference between continuous variation and polymorphism. [6]
14. Define the bottleneck and founder effect. Are these cases of genetic drift, or do they
merely set the stage for it? [6]
15. Define speciation and describe the mode of speciation. [10]
16. Define and give an example of an adaptive radiation. [10]

Chapter 5: Biocatalysts
1. List the properties of enzymes. [8]
2. Describe how increasing the concentration of the substrate affects the rate of an
enzyme-catalysed reaction. [6]
3. Explain how enzyme denaturation affects enzymatic activity and describe the
conditions under which this takes place. [10]
4. Describe the inhibition. [10]
5. Under what conditions does increasing the enzyme concentration not have effect on
the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction? Explain. [6]
6. Discuss the idea that enzymes are highly specific. [4]
7. Why can it be said that the enzymatic action is highly specific? [2]
8. What happens to a denatured enzyme regarding its functionality? How can that result
be explained with the help of the lock and key hypothesis? [4]
9. Concerning enzymatic reactions, how different are the graphic curve of the variation
of the speed of a reaction as function of substrate concentration and the curve of
variation of the speed of a reaction as function of temperature? [6]

10. As the organ and tissues is donate by an organ donor, an immediate cooling
procedures is takes place to ensure the delivered of a well-functioned organs and
tissues to receiver. How is the cooling of organs and tissues for medical transplants
associated with the effect of temperature upon enzymatic reaction? [5]
11. Do enzymes act better under acid or basic pH? [8]
12. Since pepsin is a gastric enzyme does it have an acid or basic optimum pH? What
happens to pepsin when it passes into the duodenum? [4]
13. What are enzyme cofactor? Describe. [10]
14. For the enzymatic reaction what is the effects of a substance with the same spatial
conformation as an enzymatic substrate? How is this type of substance known? [6]

Chapter 6: Cellular Respiration

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Describe the linked reaction in respiration. [8]

What is the role of oxygen in respiration? [6]
How does cells obtain energy for their functioning? [8]
What is the compound that is phosphorylated for ATP formation? What is the
resulting compound when ATP liberates energy? [4]
What are the types of cellular respiration? [8]
Under which conditions do aerobic cells carry out fermentation? [5]
What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic organism? [3]
Why can it be said that each glucose molecules runs the Krebs cycle twice? [3]
Why Krebs cycle is also called the final common pathway of the degradation of
organic compound? [3]
What are the final energetic products of each round of the Krebs cycle? Where is
most part the utile energy at the end of Krebs cycle found? [6]
How does the electrons from NADH and FADH2 that passing through the ETC
liberated energy for the ATP synthesis? Describe it. [10]
Is it true aerobic respiration occurs in animals cells but not plants? How does the
ATP is produce for the use of photosynthesis? Does plant cells need ATP for others
cellular activity? [10]
Is glycolysis energy-requiring or energy-releasing? Or do both kinds of reactions
occurs during glycolysis? Justifying your answer by describe the process. [10]

Chapter 7: Photosynthesis
1. Describe the role of water in photosynthesis. [6]
2. Describe the photolysis of water. [5]
3. Describe the basic characteristic of a photosystem and explain how photosystem I
differ from phototsystem II. [
4. Describe the effect of temperature on the rate of photosynthesis. [8]
5. How is cyclic photophosphorylation different from non-cyclic photophosphorylation?
[8]
6. Using a diagram describe the light dependent reaction of carbohydrate synthesis in:
[15]
a. C3 plant
b. C4 plant
7. Give the reasons why shade plants growing on the forest floor are able to survive. [4]
8. What is photorespiration? [8]
9. State the roles of ATP and hydrogen ions used in fix carbon dioxide to makes organic
molecules. [4]

10. On hot and dry days, oxygen from photosynthesis accumulates in leaves. Explain
why, and explain what happens in C3 plants versus C4 plants. [10]
11. How does chlorophyll a differ in function from accessory pigments during the lightdependent reactions? [4]
12. Describe what is photosystem? [5]
13. What is the function of ATP in photosynthesis? What is the function of NADPH? [6]
Chapter 8: Gaseous Exchange and its controls
1. Describe the structure of the haemoglobin. [8]
2. Describe the characteristic of haemoglobin that enable its to become a better
respiratory pigment to transport oxygen compered to myoglobin. [8]
3. Define the respiratory surface. What is the characteristic of the respiratory surface?
[10]
4. Describe the Bohr Effect. [6]
5. Describe the physiological advantage resulting from the altered dissociation curve in
the present of high level of carbon dioxide. [5]
6. Explain how carbon dioxide is transport along the blood vessels. [10]
7. Give suggestion on how the effect of carbon monoxide on the oxygen dissociation
curve which contributes to the toxic effect of the gas. [3]
8. What is meant by the term partial pressure? How can the changes of the partial
pressure in body system affect the gaseous exchange? [10]
9. Explain how the mechanism of breathing is controlled in a human. [10]
10. Explain the mechanism of stomata opening and closing. [10]
11. With the help of a diagram, describe the structure of stomata. [10]
Chapter 9: Transport System
1. Describe the cardiac cycle. [10]
2. Describe the structure of heart muscle and explain how hearthbeat is initiated and
how it is regulated. [10]
3. Explain the meaning of systole, diastole and cardiac cycle. [6]
4. Describe the roles of SA node and AV node. [4]
5. Describe the initiation of heartbeat. [10]
6. Describe how the lymph is formed and return to circulatory system. [10]
7. Discuss the lymphatic system and its component. [10]
8. Describe the movement of fluid between blood and interstitial fluid. [6]
9. Describe the pressure flow hypothesis. [10]
10. Describe the structure of xylem vessels in relation to its function. [7]
11. Describe the method of water passage from one cell to another cell in a flowering
plant. [6]
12. Describe the transport of water from the surrounding soil to the xylem of the roots.
[10]
13. Describe the transpiration pull that happen at leave. [5]
14. Describe how the water enable to enter the root and reach the xylem. [10]

Chapter 10: Homeostasis

1. What is homeostasis? What is the sensors, controller and effectors of homeostasis?
[10]

2. What is an example of negative feedback mechanism of the homeostatic regulation?

Used a diagram to demonstrate the negative feedback mechanism. [8]
3. Describe how blood glucose level are maintained in a healthy individual. [10]
4. Briefly describe the roles of liver in regulation of blood glucose level. [8]
5. There are two types of feedback mechanism. Describe briefly and provide an example
of each types. [8]
6. How does ADH regulate the osmotic pressure in the blood stream? [10]
7. Explain how the Loop of Henle employs a counter-current principle to reabsorb water
from the glomerular filtrate. [8]
8. Describe the hormone(s) which promote the water conservation and sodium
conservation. [10]
9. Explain how the mammalian kidney produces urine that is hypertonic to the blood.
[8]
10. About 80% of the glomerular filtrate is reabsorbed by the proximal convoluted
tubule. Explain the mechanism of reabsorption in the kidney. [4]
Chapter 11: Coordination
1. What are endocrine gland? How does it differ to exocrine gland? [4]
2. Why the endocrine system is considered one of the integrative systems of the body?
What is the other physiological system that also has this function? [6]
3. Describe the hormone. [10]
4. Why and how is cyclic AMP referred to as a second messenger? [6]
5. Describe the main human hormones and their sites of secretion. [10]
6. Describe how a signal is transmitted from one neuron to another neurone. [10]
7. Explain how a resting potential is maintained across the membrane of an axon. [6]
8. Describe how a nervous impulse is transmitted along an axon. [6]
9. Describe the characteristic of impulse. [6]
10. Describe the factors which determine the speed of impulse conduction. [4]
11. State and describe the function of synapse. [10]
12. Using the example of responses to distinguish the regulation of the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous system. [8]
13. Compare the two types of autonomic nervous system. [10]
14. Explain the organisation of autonomic nervous system. [5]
15. Compare the mechanism of transmission of impulse across the synapse and along the
axon. [10]
16. Give the characteristic of a nerve impulse that allows impulses to move only in
direction as well as limit the frequency of impulses along an axon. [5]
17. Define chemical synapse and neurotransmitter. Choose an example of a
neurotransmitter and state where it acts. [8]
18. Describe the function of the calcium ions in the contraction of muscle. [8]
19. What roles does calcium play in control of contraction? What role does the ATP play,
and by what routes does it form? [10]
20. Explain the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction. [12]
21. Explain the meaning of short-day plant and long-day plant. [4]
22. State the characteristic of phytochrome and its importance in photoperiodism. Discuss
the roles of photochrome in the photoperiodic induction of flowering in plants. [12]
23. State the five plant hormones and explain the main function of these hormones. [10]
24. Describe three commercial uses of plant hormones. [6]
Chapter 12: Immunity
1. Distinguish between the neutrophil and macrophage. [4]

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What is antigen? How can an antigen stimulate the immune response? [8]
Describe the events by which a macrophage turn into antigen-presenting cell. [4]
Describe the roles of cytotoxic T cells in immune response. [8]
What is antibody? Describe the structure of antibody. [10]
Describe briefly the classification of antibody and roles of each antibody. [10]
How does the antibody react with the antigen? [8]
What is the roles of Helper T cell in immune response? [6]
Explain the concept of self and non-self. [5]
Explain why the transplanted of kidney from a donor may later rejected by the
recipients body. Explain the steps taken to overcome this problem. [10]
11. With the help of diagram describe the cell-mediated immune response.[10]
12. With the help of diagram, describe the humoral immunity. [10]