AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

AS Biology Assignment Seven

PLANT STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION

Answer all questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided on this question paper.

There are 6 questions in this question paper, taken from past Edexcel exam papers, and some from
different exam boards, to represent the kinds of questions you would get in your final exam as far as
possible. The total mark for this assignment is 45.

1. Cellulose and mineral ions are important components of a plant.

a. The diagram below shows part of a cellulose microfibril.

Cell Number of genes that have not been switched off

A 11 000

B 18 000

C 23 000

i. On the diagram above, draw a circle labelled G round one of the glycosidic bonds.

(1 mark)

ii. On the diagram above, draw a circle labelled H round one of the hydrogen bonds.

(1 mark)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

b. An investigation was carried out to find the concentration of phosphate ions in a soil sample.

Five wheat seedlings were grown in a solution containing all necessary mineral ions, except
for phosphate ions. After three weeks, the increase in height of each seedling was measured
and the mean increase in height was calculated.

This procedure was repeated for solutions containing different concentrations of phosphate
ions.

The results are shown in the graph below.

i. Another five wheat seedlings were grown in a sample of soil for three weeks and their
mean increase in height was found to be 45mm.

Use the graph to estimate the concentration of phosphate ions in this sample of soil.

Answer …………………… arbitrary units

(1 mark)

ii. In this investigation, all the seedlings were grown from seeds from the same wheat
plant. Suggest why this would improve the validity of the results.

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(1 mark)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

iii. Suggest two factors, other than the time for growth and the source of the seeds, that
should have been kept constant in this investigation.

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(2 marks)
(Total 6 marks)

2. Many drugs used in medicine are developed from plants. These drugs have to be tested before
they are used.

a. In 1775, William Withering published details of testing digitalis soup on patients with dropsy.

Compare this historic drug testing with contemporary drug testing protocols.

Give one similarity and two differences, other than the use of a placebo, between these two
protocols.

Similarity .....................................................................................................................................

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Difference 1 ................................................................................................................................

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Difference 2 ................................................................................................................................

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(3 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

b. One of the stages in a drug trial may use a placebo.

In a drug trial, people with schizophrenia were given one of four treatments.

The table below shows the recorded improvement in people with schizophrenia for each of
the four treatments.

Treatment Concentration of drug Recorded improvement

/mg /arbitrary units

1 (placebo) 18.8

2 400 24.8

3 600 30.9

4 800 31.3

i. Complete the table to give the concentration of the drug in treatment 1 (placebo)

(1 mark)

ii. Suggest why there was a recorded improvement when the placebo was used.

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(1 mark)
(Total 5 marks)

3. Ropes can be made from many substances including nylon and manila.

Nylon is a synthetic fibre. Manila is made of fibres from the Musa textilis plant, shown in the
photograph below.

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

The mass required to break ropes, of different diameters, made from nylon and manila was
investigated.

The results of this investigation are shown in the graph below.

Compare the effect of increasing the diameter on the mass needed to break nylon rope rather
than manila rope.

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(3 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

4.
a. Describe and explain how water is moved up a xylem from the roots to the leaves.

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(5 marks)

b. The table below shows a comparison of xylem vessels and phloem sieve tube elements.
Complete the table. The first row has been done for you.

feature xylem vessel phloem sieve tube element

cells living or dead dead living

bordered pits present or absent

lignin present or absent

substances transported

direction of transport
(4 marks)
(Total 9 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

5. Humans have found that plants are a valuable source of cellulose, starch and fibres.

The clear window in this sandwich packaging is made from starch rather than plastic.

Suggest how this use of starch, rather than plastic, may contribute to sustainability.

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(2 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

6. Many bacteria are evolving resistance to antibiotics. Some plant extracts have antibacterial
properties and, in some cases, these extracts may be useful as antibiotics.

Experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of extracts, from garlic and from nutmeg
plants, on the growth of bacteria.

a.
i. The two plant extracts were prepared using the following method.

“Some plant material was crushed and shaken with ethanol.”

Suggest two improvements that could be made to this method.

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(2 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

ii. The diagram below shows the effect of garlic extract on bacteria growing on an agar
plate.

Describe how you would prepare an agar plate that would produce this result, using a
sterile Petri dish, sterile nutrient agar, a pure culture of a suitable bacterium in a bottle
and some garlic extract.

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(5 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

iii. The effectiveness of the extract can be estimated by measuring the size of the clear
zone. Suggest an accurate method for finding the size of the clear zone in the diagram in
(a)(ii).

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(2 marks)

b. The 100% garlic extract used was then diluted to produce 75%, 50%, 25% and 10% solutions
and the experiment repeated.

The diameter of each clear zone was measured. The results are shown in the table below.

Concentration of garlic extract (%) Diameter of clear zone (mm)

0 0
10 0
25 0
50 11
75 15
100 20

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

i. Present the data in the table in a suitable graphical form.

(4 marks)

ii. What do these results suggest about the relationship between the concentration of
garlic extract and its antibacterial effects?

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(2 marks)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

c. In a second investigation the antibacterial activity of the 100% garlic extract was compared
with that of three antibiotics.

The clear zones on 20 agar plates, for each of the antibiotics and the garlic extract, were
measured. The results are shown in the table below.

Diameter of clear zone /mm

Sample number Antibiotics Plant extract
Chloramphenicol Tetracycline Streptomycin Garlic
1 28 16 15 20
2 26 19 13 28
3 29 11 14 18
4 28 21 12 25
5 26 7 14 27
6 29 11 15 26
7 22 8 9 25
8 25 21 14 25
9 29 10 12 29
10 25 16 13 30
11 31 18 18 26
12 28 13 13 25
13 27 20 14 30
14 26 11 13 28
15 26 19 13 25
16 28 17 15 27
17 28 20 13 20
18 26 22 14 28
19 29 22 14 18
20 28 10 13 25
Mean 26 16 14

i. Complete the table above by calculating the mean diameter of the clear zone for the
garlic extract.

(1 mark)

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AS BIOLOGY (INT) ASSIGNMENT 07

ii. Compare the antibacterial effect of garlic extract with that of the three antibiotics.

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(2 marks)

d. To check the validity of the results for the garlic extract in the second investigation, a
student searched the scientific literature for similar studies. She found data for the
antibacterial effect of onion (Allium cepa), which is closely related to garlic (Allium sativum).
The data for onion extract are shown below.

Complete the table below for the garlic extract in the second investigation by writing in the
mean you calculated in c(i).

Plant extract Mean diameter of clear zone /mm

Garlic

Onion 21

What does this suggest about the validity of the results for the garlic extract?

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(2 marks)
(Total 20 marks)

TOTAL FOR ASSIGNMENT 45 MARKS

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