Topic 3 Past Exam Questions

Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

1. Hemophilia is caused by an X-linked recessive allele. In the pedigree shown below which two
individuals in the pedigree must be carriers of hemophilia?

A. I-1 and II-1

B. I-4 and II-2

C. II-1 and II-2

D. III-2 and III-3

(Total 1 mark)

2. A single gene in humans causes blood to be either rhesus positive (dominant allele) or rhesus
negative (recessive allele). A woman with rhesus negative blood has already had a child with
rhesus positive blood. There could be complications during pregnancy if she has another child
with rhesus positive blood.

What is the probability of this, if the father is the same, and if his mother is known to have
rhesus negative blood?

A. 25%

B. 50%

C. 75%

D. 100%
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

3. What is a sex-linked gene?

A. A gene whose locus is on the X chromosome only.

B. A gene whose locus is on the X or Y chromosomes.

C. A gene whose locus is on the both X and Y chromosomes.

D. A gene whose locus is on the Y chromosome only.

(Total 1 mark)

4. What is always a difference between the alleles of a gene?

A. Their position on the chromosome

B. Their amino acid sequence

C. The number of codons that each contains

D. Their base sequence

(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

5. Hypophosphataemia is a disorder involving poor re-absorption of phosphate from glomerular

filtrate in humans. It shows a sex-linked dominant pattern of inheritance as illustrated in the
following pedigree.

Which row in the table correctly identifies the genotypes of individuals 1 and 2?

Individual 1 Individual 2
A. XHXh XHY
B. XhY XHXH
C. XhY XHXh
D. unaffected affected
(Total 1 mark)

6. What is a karyotype?

A. Maternal and paternal autosomes arranged in pairs.

B. Chromosomes arranged in pairs according to the number of their genes.

C. Chromosomes arranged in pairs according to their size and shape.

D. Chromosomes arranged in pairs according to their size.

(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

7. What is the relationship between Mendel’s law of segregation and meiosis?

A. Only one of a pair of alleles appears in a gamete.

B. The separation of “paternal” and “maternal” chromosomes shows no pattern.

C. Gametes contain all dominant or all recessive alleles.

D. Variation only results from two divisions.

(Total 1 mark)

8. What are the possible applications of DNA profiling?

I. Solving paternity suits

II. Aiding certain criminal investigations

III. Identifying people who died last century

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. II and III only

D. I, II and III
(Total 1 mark)

9. Which fluid is sampled to try to detect chromosomal abnormalities in a fetus?

A. Placental

B. Umbilical

C. Amniotic

D. Spinal
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

10. Which of the following represents a test cross to determine if phenotype T is homozygous or
heterozygous? (Note: allele T is dominant to allele t.)

A. Phenotype T crossed with another phenotype T

B. Phenotype T crossed with a phenotype T which is homozygous

C. Phenotype T crossed with a phenotype T which is heterozygous

D. Phenotype T crossed with phenotype t

(Total 1 mark)

11. Which of the following blood group phenotypes always has a homozygous genotype?

A. A

B. B

C. AB

D. O
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

12. In the pedigree shown below, the female, labelled I-2, is a carrier for colour blindness, however
neither male (I-1 or II-1) is colour blind

What is the probability that offspring III-1 will be colour blind?

A. 50%

B. 25%

C. 12.5%

D. 0%
(Total 1 mark)

13. What happens to the unfertilized egg used in the cloning process of a differentiated cell?

A. It becomes fertilized.

B. Its nucleus is replaced by the nucleus of the differentiated cell.

C. Its nucleus is fused with the nucleus of the differentiated cell.

D. Its nucleus is exchanged with the nucleus of the sperm.

(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

14. What does a karyotype show?

A. Gel electrophoresis bands from DNA

B. The number and appearance of chromosomes

C. A pair of alleles controlling a specific character

D. All the genes possessed by a living organism

(Total 1 mark)

15. A diploid cell in a gorilla has 48 chromosomes. How many chromosomes will be present in a
haploid gorilla cell?

A. 96

B. 48

C. 24

D. 12
(Total 1 mark)

16. A woman has a heterozygous genotype for blood group B. She is expecting a baby with a man
who is homozygous Group A. What are the possible blood groups for their baby?

I. Group O

II. Group A

III. Group AB

A. II and III only

B. I and II only

C. I and III only

D. I, II and III
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

17. What enzymes are used in gene transfer techniques?

A. Endonucleases and lipases

B. Ligases and amylases

C. Ligases and lipases

D. Restriction enzymes and ligases

(Total 1 mark)

18. What can be concluded on the basis of the following karyotype?

A. Female with a normal set of chromosomes

B. Male with Down syndrome

C. Female with Down syndrome

D. Male with a normal set of chromosomes

(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

19. What are homologous chromosomes?

A. Two chromosomes with differing sets of genes, in the same sequence, with the same
alleles

B. Two chromosomes with the same set of genes, in a different sequence, with the same
alleles

C. Two chromosomes with a different set of genes, in the same sequence, with different
alleles

D. Two chromosomes with the same set of genes, in the same sequence, sometimes with
different alleles
(Total 1 mark)

20. Which features of DNA fragments are used to separate them in the process of gel
electrophoresis?

A. Their charge and their size

B. Their charge and base composition

C. The sequence of their bases and their charge

D. Their base composition and their size

(Total 1 mark)

21. Which feature of a genetic pedigree chart demonstrates that a characteristic is sex linked?

A. Numbers of offspring carrying the characteristic decreased over several generations.

B. One gender is more commonly affected than the other.

C. Equal numbers of males and females inherit the characteristic.

D. Boys and girls only inherit the characteristic from their mothers.
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

22. What does the genotype XH Xh indicate?

A. A co-dominant female

B. A heterozygous male

C. A heterozygous female

D. A co-dominant male
(Total 1 mark)

23. If a purple flowered (Pp) and a white flowered pea plant (pp) are crossed, what will the
offspring be?

A. 1 : 1 ratio of purple and white flowers

B. 3 : 1 ratio of purple to white flowers

C. 1 : 3 ratio of purple to white flowers

D. All purple flowers

(Total 1 mark)

24. In what way are eukaryotic chromosomes different from prokaryotic chromosomes?

Eukaryotic chromosomes Prokaryotic chromosomes

A. Protein is present Protein is absent
B. DNA is present DNA is absent
C. RNA is present RNA is absent
D. RNA is absent RNA is present
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

25. Which processes result in the greatest amount of genetic variation in a population?

A. Natural selection and meiosis

B. Meiosis and mutation

C. Mutation and mitosis

D. Mitosis and natural selection

(Total 1 mark)

26. Hemophilia is sex-linked and is caused by a recessive allele. A woman’s father has hemophilia,
but her husband does not.

What is the probability of the women and her husband having a child with hemophilia?

Probability of a son Probability of a daughter

having hemophilia having hemophilia
A. 50% 0%
B. 0% 0%
C. 100% 0%
D. 0% 50%
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

27. Brachydactyly, abnormal shortness of the fingers, was the first human genetic disorder found to
be caused by a dominant allele.

The pedigree below shows a family with affected males ■, unaffected males □, affected females
● and unaffected females ○.

II

III

IV

V
VI
VII

What are the genotypes of the father and mother in the first generation, using the symbol B for
the dominant alleles and symbol b for recessive allele?

A. bb and BB

B. bb and Bb

C. Bb and BB

D. BB or Bb and bb
(Total 1 mark)

28. There are many different views on the ethics of reproductive cloning in humans. Which is a
valid argument against cloning in humans?

A. It involves the use of donor sperm which is unethical.

B. It happens naturally when identical twins are conceived.

C. Only females can be cloned.

D. The life expectancy of children produced by cloning might be lower than normal.
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

29. The diagram below shows the cell of an organism going through the first division of meiosis.

How many different combinations are possible for these chromosomes in the haploid cells
formed by meiosis?

A. 2

B. 6

C. 8

D. 9
(Total 1 mark)

30. If the amount of DNA in a haploid gamete is represented by , what is the net quantity of DNA
in a cell from the same organism at the start of meiosis?

A. 0.5 

B. 

C. 2

D. 4
(Total 1 mark)

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Topic 3 Past Exam Questions
Multiple Choice QUESTIONS

31. If a man has blood group O and a woman has blood group AB, what is the probability that their
child will be blood group O?

A. 0%

B. 25%

C. 50%

D. 100%
(Total 1 mark)

32. A tiny amount of DNA was obtained from a crime scene and amplified. Following digestion
with restriction enzymes, which laboratory technique would be used to separate the fragments
of DNA?

A. Karyotyping

B. Genetic screening

C. Gel electrophoresis

D. Polymerase chain reaction

(Total 1 mark)

33. What was the original goal of the Human Genome Project?

A. To determine the function of genes

B. To determine the nucleotide sequence of all human chromosomes

C. To determine how genes control biological processes

D. To understand the evolution of species

(Total 1 mark)

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