INTERNATIONAL AS

BIOLOGY
BL02 (9610)
Unit 2 Biological Systems and Disease

Mark scheme
June 2023
Version: 1.0 Final

*236XBL02/MS*
 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant
questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the
standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in
this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’
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answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the
standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are
required to refer these to the Lead Examiner.

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schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of
assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination
paper.

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

01.1 Maltose; 1

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

01.2 6.8; 1 Allow 6.80-6.84

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

01.3 Any one from: 1 Ignore amount

Temperature;
Concentration enzyme; Allow volume enzyme
Concentration substrate; Allow volume substrate

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

01.4 1. Starch (is large molecule so) not in mouth long enough/only 4
0.5–1 minutes for salivary amylase to digest it all
OR
In small intestine for long time/180–300 minutes so time for
digestion;
2. In stomach (pH 1–2.5) salivary amylase would be denatured;
3. Need amylase secreted after stomach/into small intestine to
continue digestion/to maltose;
4. pH of small intestine (and mouth) close to optimum/suitable for
amylase;
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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

01.5 Type of enzyme: 2

1. Disaccharidase or maltase;
Precise location of enzyme:
2. Membrane-bound in small intestine or bound to epithelial
cells/microvilli;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

01.6 Kills pathogens/bacteria (ingested with food); 2 Allow example like pepsinogen to pepsin.
Activation of enzymes / optimum pH for proteases; Ignore incorrect named enzyme

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

02.1 RNA; 3 Reject mRNA

Lipid / phospholipid; Allow protein / glycoprotein / carbohydrate (for envelope)
Protein; Allow amino acid

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

02.2 A. Reverse transcriptase; 3 Allow phonetic spelling

C. Integrase;
T. Protease; T. Allow peptidase
T. Reject dipeptidase

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

02.3 1. (Mutation) change in shape of active site (so drug cannot 3

bind/inhibit);
2. Unlikely mutations/change in active site in all enzymes occur at
same time;
3. (so at least) some drugs/the combination remain effective/prevents
the HIV developing resistance;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

02.4 Any one from: 1 max Ignore to make money / become famous
Drugs do not cure patient;
Can still pass HIV on;
(A vaccine) prevents infection in the first place;
Cheaper (to give vaccine) than drugs (for life);
Avoids (possible) side effects of taking drugs (for a long time);
Avoids HIV developing resistance;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

03.1 Increase; 1

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

03.2 1. (Maybe) different numbers in each group; 1 max

2. Allows comparison;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

03.3 Number of cases decreased in all age groups; 1 Ignore incorrect values from graph

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

03.4 Advantage: 2 max Must have 1 advantage and 1 disadvantage for full marks
Large sample;
Long time/12 years;
Sample a (large) range of ages;

Disadvantage:
Only women;
Actual age divisions of groups unknown/how young is young;
Don’t know if they smoke/exercise/other named risk factors;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

03.5 1. Less red meat / high fat dairy products results in less saturated fat/ 2 Penalise fat unqualified once only
saturated fatty acids/cholesterol/LDL;
2. (Food high in saturated fat/saturated fatty acids/cholesterol/LDL 2. Allow description of CHD e.g. atheroma formation
may) cause/increase risk of CHD;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

03.6 Formation 3 max Must have at least 1 marking point from each section for
1. Fatty deposits/plaques/cholesterol/LDL; full marks.

2. Under lining/in wall of artery;

How causes CHD

3. Blocks coronary artery;
4. Reduced oxygen/glucose to heart muscle/cells/tissue; 4. and 5. Only needs to refer to heart muscle/cells/tissue
once
5. Reduced respiration in heart muscle/cells/tissue;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

04.1 Vector; 1 Allow example e.g., aphids

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

04.2 18;;; 3 1 mark if correctly rearranged equation shown but wrong

answer
1 mark for correct substitution of values but wrong answer
1 mark for correct rounding to whole number
2 marks for 9 nm i.e. giving radius not diameter
2 marks if not to the nearest whole number

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

04.3 1. Via cytoplasm (of one cell to cytoplasm of next cell); 2 1. Ignore reference to osmosis/water potential
2. Allow plasmodesmata
2. Via gaps in cell wall;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

04.4 1. (Leaf curled so) less (surface) area to absorb/exposed to light; 3 max 1. Allow less leaf/part for area
2. Lower rate of photosynthesis;
3. Less sugar/protein/starch/biomass (so slower growth) 3. Allow organic molecules
4. (Leaf curled so) stomata more exposed;
5. Higher rate of transpiration;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

05.1 Prevent evaporation from soil or allow only evaporation from plant; 1

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

05.2 1. Method 1 measures loss/evaporation of water but method 2 2 max

measures water uptake;
2. Different variables measured or different units; 2. Allow examples, e.g. mass v distance, mass v volume,
mg v mm (in set time)
3. Method 1 uses whole plant or has many leaves or has roots but
method 2 uses leafy shoot or has fewer leaves or has no roots;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

05.3 A factor that increases the rate of transpiration would also increase 1
the rate of water uptake
OR
Because the rate of water uptake is proportional to the rate of
Allow (positive) correlation
transpiration;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

05.4 1.Size/surface area of leafy shoot or number/size/surface area of 2 max

leaves/part of plant;
2.Size of box not standard or humidity/temperature differences 4. Allow examples, e.g. leaking/joints not sealed or shoot
(between boxes); not cut underwater or air bubbles trapped in
xylem/potometer
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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023
3. Light bulb could give off heat/could increase temperature;
4. Poor set up of potometer qualified;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

05.5 1.(Increasing light intensity means) more stomata open or stomata 3

open more (fully);
2. Let in more CO2 or increases photosynthesis;
3. Faster transpiration/evaporation/diffusion of water (vapour) (so rate
of water uptake increases);

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

05.6 Any one from: 1 max

All stomata open or stomata fully open;
Air in box saturated with water vapour;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.1 1. Valid/accurate/reliable mean can be calculated; 2 max

2. So SD/SE can be calculated; 2. Allow statistical test can be done
3. Anomalies can be identified 3. Reject anomalies can be discarded
OR
Reduces effect of anomalies;
4. Check if repeatable;
5. So that data/sample/investigation is representative; 5. Allow generalised/generalisable

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.2 1. Randomly; 1 max Allow description

2. People are matched for e.g. BMI/resting heart rate/sex/age;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.3 1. HI lowers (mean) heart rate more than LI at rest and during 3
exercise;
2. Difference between HI and LI (likely to be) not significantly different 2. Allow Difference could be due to chance as error bars
as error bars overlap; overlap
3. (Idea that) Heart rate is not only measure of fitness;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.4 1. CO = SV × HR; 2
2. (Figure 11 shows that) HR decreases, so SV must increase (to 2. Ignore HR increases so SV decreases as incorrect
maintain same CO); context.

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.5 1.Gets more oxygen/glucose to muscles (cells/tissue); 2

2. (As soon as exercise starts) respiration can increase so more 2. Allow delays onset of anaerobic respiration/can respire
energy released/more ATP (for muscle contraction); aerobically for longer/reduces (build-up) of lactic acid

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.6 9.4;; 2 Allow 9 / 9.375 / 9.38

Allow 1 mark for correct sum using incorrect values from
Figure 13

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

06.7 (Support) 3 max Need at least 1 support and 1 do not support for full
1.Heart rate increases; marks.
(Candidates might say ‘Don’t know health/age/heart
problem of subject’ – but they do as subject is from study)
(Do not support)
2. Allow only male
2. Only 1 subject / 1 study;
3. Could be higher before 7 days / do not know what normal heart rate
is;
4. Different events have different levels of stress;
5. (Heart rate) only measured once per day or not mean; 5. Allow other named factor could increase heart rate (at
the time of the measurement)
6. (Heart rate) does not increase every day or is same on d6 and d5
or d4 and d3;

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 MARK SCHEME – INTERNATIONAL AS BIOLOGY – BL02 – JUNE 2023

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

07.1 1. Binary fission; 4 max 1. Reject mitosis

2. Increase in (volume of) cytoplasm; 2. Allow cytoplasm replicates
3. (Circular) DNA replicates; 3. Allow (circular) chromosome
4. Plasmids replicate;
5. Chromosomes/DNA move to the opposite ends of cell;
6. Cell membrane invaginates (to form two daughter cells); 6. Allow description
7. New cell wall deposited;

Question Marking guidance Mark Comments

07.2 1. Variable region/binding site has a specific (3D) shape/tertiary 6

structure;
2. (Due to) different sequences of amino acids;
3. (so) is complementary/specific to one type of antigen or can form
an antigen-antibody complex with (only) one type of antigen;
4. Two variable regions/binding sites;
OR
4. Hinge (region);
5. (so) agglutination/clumping is possible;
6. Constant region binds to B-cell surface/membrane or determines
type of antibody;

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