UACE Biology 2018 paper 1

SECTION A (40 marks)

1. Which one of the following would be the effect of increasing the partial pressure of carbon
dioxide in blood?
A. Increase in the ventilation rate B. variation of ventilation rate

C. Reduction in ventilation rate D. cessation of ventilation

Answer is A

2. Which one of the following is true of ammonia a nitrogenous waste? It

A. Require little energy for its excretion B. required much water for its excretion

C. is excreted in a solid form D. is excreted by sea animals

Answer is A and B

Ammonia is made up of simple molecules which require less energy to make (this makes A
correct) and it is highly toxic that it require much water to be eliminated in very dilute
solution (this make B correct)

3. The equation for respiration of a substance is

2C51H98O6 + 145O2(g)  102CO2 (g) + 98H2O(l)
What is the respiratory quotient of the substance?
A. 0.70 B. 0.80 C 0.90 D. 1.0
Answer is A
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑑 102
Respiratory quotient = = = 0.7
𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑥𝑦𝑔𝑒𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 145
4. If a new baby suffers from haemolytic disease, it means that the
A. mother is rhesus positive B. father is rhesus negative
C. baby is rhesus negative D. father is rhesus positive
Answer is D
When the father is rhesus positive, son is also rhesus positive, the rhesus negative mother
produces antibodies against the foetus causing haemolytic disease
5. Figure 1 shows the variation of the rate of photosynthesis with light intensity.
 The factor limiting the rate of photosynthesis in region A is
A. light B. carbon dioxide concentration C. water D. temperature
Answer is A
Increase in light intensity increases the rate of photosynthesis
6. Flowers of the same type were subjected to different temperature and light conditions and
they responded as shown in Table 1
Light intensity Temperature (0C) Flower response
(arbitrary units)
20 25 Closes
20 30 Closes
30 25 Opens
This shows that the opening of flowers is stimulated by
A. both light and temperature B. high light intensity
C. low light intensity D. low temperature

Answer is B

Increasing light intensity from 20 to 30 caused opening of the stomata at constant

temperature of 250C.

7. A rigid cuticle of an insect allows some movement because

A. It is made of chitin which makes the limbs flexible
B. During moulting enzymes dissolve the old cuticle as a new one is formed
C. The over lapping plates of the cuticle are not continuous at the joints
D. The exoskeleton is periodically shed off for the insect to move
Answer is C
8. The onset of depolarisation of an axon occurs when the axoplasm temporarily becomes
A. more negative B. less negative C. more positive D. less positive
Answer is B
9. Which of the following can be used to indicate levels of pollution in an environment?
A. temperature B. oxygen levels C. lichen diversity D. Humidity levels
Answer is C
10. In plants, ripening of fruits and falling of leaves are respectively caused by
A. auxin and gibberellins B. cytokinins and auxin
C. gibberellins and florigen D. ethene ans abscisic acid
Answer is D
Hormone Functions
Auxin - Stimulate stem elongation
- Stimulates growth of roots
- Stimulates cell differentiation
- Inhibit branching
 - Stimulates development of fruit
- Stimulates apical dominance, photoperiodism, and geotropism
Gibberellins - Promotes seed and bud germination, stem elongation, leaf
growth, flowering and development of fruits
Ethene - Promotes fruit ripening
Abscisic Acid - Causes falling of leaves, and fruits
- Promotes senescence
- Promotes seed dormancy
- Causes stomatal closure

11. Which of the following would happen to individuals of the population in shaded area of
figure 2 if selection pressure continued for generations acting on the phenotype?

They would

A. develop into two distinct population B. die off and become extinct

C. evolve into new species D. multiply in number

Answer is D

Selection pressure favours individuals in the shaded area leading to increase in their number

12. Starch and glycogen are suitable storage molecules because they
A. are large in size which makes them less soluble in water
B. are chemically reactive in the cell
C. can easily be hydrolysed
D. exert an osmotic pressure in the cell
Answer is A
Starch and glycogen are polysaccharides insoluble in water and thus retained in the cell
13. In which of the following structures of a moss does meiosis occur?
A. Gametophyte B. sporophyte C. archegonium D. antheridium
Answer is B
14. A total of 180 black jack plants were recorded after throwing a 2m2 quadrat 30 times in an
area of the 160,000m2. The estimated number of black jack in the area were
A. 53,333 B. 192,000 C. 480,000 D. 960,000
Answer is C
180
Average number of plant in 2m2 =
30
2 180 160,000
Number of plants in 160,000m = 𝑥 = 480,000
30 2
15. Two cells A and B have water potential of -2000kPa and -1000kPa respectively. Which one of
the following statements is true about cell B?
A. Cell A has higher concentration of water molecules than cell B
B. Cell A has higher solute potential than cell B
C. There is a net movement of water from cell A to cell B
D. Cell A has less solute concentration than cell B
Answer is D
Increase in concentration of solutes lowers water potential
16. Which one of the following is the role of capillary network around alveoli in mammals?
A. makes the alveoli more permeable
B. increase the surface area of the alveoli
C. maintain a steep diffusion gradient
D. makes the alveoli cell thinner
Answer is C
Capillary network supplies deoxygenated blood and removes oxygenated blood from
alveoli thereby maintaining a steep diffusion gradient
17. Which one of the following organelles would be abundant at a site where some embryonic
tissues are being discarded?
A. mitochondria B. Ribosome C. Golgi apparatus D. lysosomes
Answer is D
Lysosomes destroy worn out tissues
18. Gaseous exchange in earthworm occurs at the body surface because the body is
A. moist B. elongated D. segmented D. flattened
Answer is D
Flattening increase the surface area volume ratio
19. Figure 3 shows energy transfer in ecosystem

The percentage of energy used for other activities in trophic level 2 is

A. 25% B. 50% C. 75% D. 100%
Answer is A
1000−(500+250)
= 𝑥 100% = 25%
1000
20. Which one of the following properties of water enables its movement through apoplast
pathway in a plant?
A. high latent heat of vaporization
B. polarity of its molecules
C. high adhesion-cohesion force
D. high surface tension
Answer is C
In a poplast pathway water moves across cell walls of adjacent cells.
21. Which one of the following conditions would lead to Bohr Effect in a mammal?
A. Decrease in the pH of the blood
B. Increase in the partial pressure of oxygen in the environment
 C. Decrease in the metabolic rate
D. Increase in environmental temperature
Answer is A
Increase in carbon dioxide concentration in tissue lower pH leading to release of oxygen
from haemoglobin
22. Which one of the following can be concluded from the reproductive process in figure 4?

The
A. Process occurs fast B. offspring are identical

C. offspring are many D. offspring are resistant

Answer is B

The diagram represents mitosis

23. Some animals living in arid habitats excrete uric acid because
A. nontoxic B. highly soluble in water C. heart toxic D. insoluble in water
Answer is D
Excretion of uric acid require little water therefore conserves water in an animal
24. Which one of the following is not of benefit in territorial behaviour?
A. pair bonding
B. rights to defend a home range
C. increased reproductive success
D. saving energy used to chase away invaders

Answer is D

Territorial behaviour involves protection of boundaries within which an animal(s) feed,

shelter or mate. Here there is no need for patrolling around and chasing away of intruders

25. A partially closed ductus arteriosus in an individual causes

A. High blood pressure
B. Shortage of oxygen to tissues
C. Heart attack
D. Anaemia
Answer is B
The ductus arteriosus is a normal blood vessel that connects two major arteries — the
aorta and the pulmonary artery — that carry blood away from the heart. Therefore
blood to the body does not pass through the lungs to pick oxygen

26. Which one of the following chromosomal mutations causes Down’s syndrome?
A. Non-disjunction B. deletion C. inversion D. duplication
Answer is A
Down’s syndrome is aneuploidy condition resulting from failure of separation the 21
chromosome/non disjunction.
27. Which one of the following is the correct state in the guard cells in relation to the
neighbouring cells, when the stoma is open
A. low pH B. sugar being converted to starch
C. little acid present D. Higher water potential
Answer is C
During day carbon dioxide is used for photosynthesis, the increase in pH causes conversion
of starch to sugars. The osmotic potential of guard cells increase leasing to osmotic uptake
of water from neighbouring epidermal cells.
28. A fresh water bony fish solves its osmoregulatory problems by
A. Possessing few glomeruli
B. Having a long loop of Henle
C. Possessing many glomeruli
D. Actively secreting salts into water
Answer is C
This enable the fish to get rid of excess water
29. Which one of the following is the major form in which carbon dioxide travels to the lungs
from tissues?
A. Carbonic acid B. sodium bicarbonate

C. carboxyhaemoglobin D. Bicarbonate ions

Answer is B

Carbon dioxide diffuse into haemoglobin for carriage, it combines with water to form
carbonic acid. At high pH carbonic anhydrase catalyses dissociation of carbonic acid into H+
and HCO3- ions. The HCO3- ions combine with Na+ to form NaHCO3 to be carried to the lungs

30. In Drosophila, the alleles for width of abdomen and length of wings are linked. When a
Drosophila with long wings and broad abdomen was mated with one possessing vestigial
wings and narrow abdomen, the following offspring were obtained
Long wings, broad abdomen = 686
Long wings, narrow abdomen = 211
Vestigial wings, broad abdomen = 206
Vestigial wings, narrow abdomen = 465
What was the cross over value?
A. 133.3% B. 26.6% C. 49.4% D. 73.4%
Answer is B
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠
Cross over value = 𝑥 100%
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔
(211+206)
= 𝑥 100%
(686+211+206+465)
= 26.6%
31. If the magnification of a microscope is 50,000 times and the size of the image viewed is
5mm, the actual size of the object is
A. 1 x 10-4μm B. 0.01μm C. 0.1μm D. 1.0μm
Answer is C
𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒 5 𝑥 10−3
Size of the object = = = 1x 10-7m = 0.1μm
𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 50 000
32. Figure 5 shows the relationship between four different species W, X, Y and Z.

Which pairs of the species would have the least competition for resources if they lived
together?
A. X and Y B. X and W C. Y and Z D. Z and W
Answer is D
Z and W are distantly related.
33. Which one of the following is not true of a contracted muscle fibre?
A. M-line shortens B. sarcomere shortens
C. H-zone shortens D. light band shortens
Answer is A
34. Which one of the following describes facilitated diffusion?
A. Molecules are moved by proteins from a region of high concentration to a region of low
concentration
B. Water molecules move across a semi-permeable membrane
C. Molecules move from a region of high to low concentrations
D. Energy is used when molecules are moved across a cell membrane
Answer is A
35. Larval forms and their adult forms do not come into direct competition because the larvae
A. are independent organisms
B. are different in structure and feeding habits
C. have restricted mobility
D. reproduce asexually
Answer is B
36. The most important adaptation of a plant in a salty environment is the possession of
A. Deep roots B. root hairs sap with low water potential

C. many superficial adventitious roots D. tissues with large air spaces

Answer is B

To prevent loss of water from roots to the salty water

37. Which one of the following is the major cause of slow growth of population of individuals
when they have just migrated to a new area?
A. Insufficient food in the new area
B. Pressure from predators
C. Small number of reproducing individuals
D. Diseases which kill many individuals
Answer is C
38. Which one of the following changes of activities occur when adrenaline is released in
mammalian body?
A. Reduction in oxidation of glucose
B. Conversion of glucose to glycogen
C. Conversion of fat in adipose tissues into glucose
 D. Increase in the uptake of glucose by tissue cells
Answer is D
Glucose is taken up by muscle cells to be oxidised to produce energy
39. Which one of the following actions in photosynthesis are most affected by low temperature?
A. Absorption of light
B. Splitting of water
C. Fixation of carbon dioxide
D. Formation of ATP
Answer is C
40. Which one of the following is true about the state of an axon membrane during the absolute
refractory period? It is
A. Depolarised
B. inexcitable
C. polarized
D. excitable with a stimulus stronger than usual
answer is B

SECTION B (60marks)

41. Table 2 shows the relative contribution of aerobic and anaerobic respiration to the total
energy of an individual during exercise
Table 2
Duration of exercise (min) From aerobic respiration From anaerobic respiration
0.5 83 17
2.0 40 60
10.0 9 91
60.0 1 99

(a) Compare the relative contribution of aerobic and anaerobic respiration to the total
energy output with duration of exercise. (03marks)
Similarity
Both aerobic and anaerobic respiration contribute to the total energy of an individual
during exercise
Differences
The contribution of aerobic respiration to the total energy decreases as the duration of
exercise increases while the contribution anaerobic respiration increases as the duration
of exercise increases.
(b) Explain the changes in the relative contributions of aerobic and an aerobic respiration
with duration of the exercise.(04marks)
In short duration of exercise the oxygen supply is enough to sustain aerobic respiration.
With increase in the duration of exercise, demand for energy exceed that that can be
supplied by aerobic respiration due to shortage of oxygen. This necessitates the muscles
to respire anaerobically.
(c) Explain why diving mammals have reduced heart beat rate (03marks)
Diving mammals experience oxygen deprivation, heart beat rate is low to prolong the
use of oxygen available
42. Figure 6 shows two guard cells A and A1, with adjacent cells B, and B1, C, C1 and C2. The
values of the solute potential and pressure potential shown in cells A and B are exactly the
 same as those for cells A1 and B1 respectively. Similarly, the water potential indicated in cell
C is the same as that in cell C1 and C2. Use the figure to answer the questions that follow.

(a) (i) calculate the water potential of cell A and B (02marks)

Water potential of cell A = -600 + 400 = -200kPa
Water potential of cell B = -800+400 = -400kPa

(ii) Show by means of arrows the movement of water in the seven cells (03marks)

(b) Explain why the net movement of water in the cell is as you have indicated in (a)(ii)
(03marks)
Water moves from a region of high (less negative) water potential to a region of low
(more negative) water potential

(c) What would be the effect of the net movement of water indicated in (a)(ii) to guard
cells a and A1?
The guard cells lose turgidity and the stomata close

43. (a) What is meant by primary productivity? (01marks)

It is the rate at which primary producer produce organic matter per unit area per unit time
(b) Explain how each of the following affects primary productivity in plants
(i) Water stress (05marks)
Stomatal closure occurs in order to reduce water loss. Carbon dioxide is cut off reducing
the rate of photosynthesis and primary productivity decrease
(ii) chlorosis (04marks)
Chlorophyll content reduces, this reduces the amount of light absorbed for photosynthesis.
The rate of photosynthesis decreases and hence primary productivity decrease.
44. (a) Explain the function of antigens and antibodies in the immune system
(i) Antigen (01mark)
Stimulate production of antibodies
(ii) Antibodies (01mark)
Bind with antigens rendering them harmless

(b) State two ways in which passive immunity may be acquired naturally by a young child.
(02marks)

- through breast feeding

- diffuse through the placenta to the foetus

(c) During vaccination against tuberculosis (T.B), children are injected with a weakened
strain of T.B bacteria. Explain how this procedure can result in long term defence against
T.B. (06marks)

- Weakened strains of T.B induce B-lymphocytes to divide rapidly by mitosis forming a

clone of B-cells.
- Some of the B-cells differentiate into memory cells which retain the ability to
recognise T.B germs.
- Reinfection by the same T.B bacteria causes the memory cells to divide faster than
the bacteria producing antibodies which attack the bacteria and render them
harmless
45. (a) Distinguish between continuous and discontinuous variation (02marks)
Continuous variation is a type of variation which show complete graduation in characteristic
of individuals from one extreme to another while discontinuous variation is one where there
is clear cut difference in the type of characteristic and there is no intermediates.
(b) Explain how each of the following causes variation in sexually reproducing organisms
(i) Crossing over during meiosis. (03marks)
During prophase I of meiosis, equivalent portions of homologous chromosomes are
exchanged. In this way linked genes are separate and gametes with new gene combination
are produced.
(ii) Independent assortment of chromosomes during meiosis. (05marks)
The orientation of bivalents at the equator of the spindle during metaphase I and orientation
of chromosomes at equator in metaphase II are random. Chromosomes in each bivalent and
chromatids of each chromosome separate independently of others during anaphase I and II
respectively giving different gene combinations in the gametes

46. (a)What is meant by inhibition of enzyme? (01mark)

This is the stopping or slowing down of enzyme activity
(b) Explain how an end-product inhibition in an enzyme controlled reaction is a negative
feedback (07marks)
In an enzyme controlled reaction which occurs in series, high concentration of final
product acts as an allosteric inhibitor of the enzyme controlling the first step of the
pathway so that further formation of end product is temporarily inhibited.
When the product molecule are few, inhibition of the enzyme is reduced, more end
product forms

(c) Explain the role of active sites of an enzyme in specificity? (02marks)

Each active site has a specific configuration into which only a substrate with complementary
shape can fit ensuring specificity.