AQA GCSE Trilogy Biology Paper 2 Higher November 2021 question paper 8464/B/2H

Figure 1 shows glands in the human body.

Which organ system includes the glands shown in Figure 1 ?

Which gland produces insulin? Tick (✓) one box.

Which gland produces hormones that stimulate the other glands to produce hormones? Tick (✓) one box.

How do hormones travel from one gland to another gland?

Name two glands involved in human reproduction. Do not refer to glands shown on Figure 1 in your answer.

Ovulation test kits can help women know when they are most fertile. Ovulation test kits detect the increase in the hormone that stimulates ovulation. Which hormone is detected by ovulation test kits? Tick (✓) one box.

A new contraceptive drug for men is being tested. The drug:

• is given in one injection

• stops sperm being able to fertilise eggs

• is effective for up to 13 years.

Evaluate the use of the new drug compared with existing contraceptive methods.

Figure 2 shows the money spent on conserving biodiversity in the UK by the government.

Describe the trends in the money spent on conserving biodiversity from 2005 to 2011. Use data from Figure 2 in your answer.

Calculate the percentage decrease in the money spent on conserving biodiversity from 2013 to 2017. Use the equation:

Give your answer to 2 significant figures.

Conservation of peat bogs can help maintain biodiversity. Give two uses of peat taken from peat bogs.

Describe two ways to increase biodiversity in the UK. Do not refer to money spent or to peat in your answer.

A fossil was found in rocks. The rocks were formed from mud. The fossil is of the fungus Ourasphaira giraldae.

What is the genus of the fungus?

Why was the mud important during the formation of the fossil? Tick (✓) one box.

The estimated age of the fossil is in the range from 8.9 × 10⁸ years old

to 1.1 × 10⁹ years old.

Calculate the size of the range of the estimated age of the fossil.

Humans did not exist when the fungus was alive. Suggest one other reason why an accurate estimation of when this species of fungus existed is not known.

Carl Woese developed the three-domain system of classification.

Fungi are not in the domain Archaea. Which domain are fungi classified in?

Which two characteristics are features of organisms in the domain Archaea? Tick (✓) two boxes.

Carl Linnaeus lived in the 1700s. Carl Linnaeus classified living things into groups depending on their appearance. Give three types of evidence that are used now to classify living things. Do not refer to appearance in your answer.

Figure 3 shows one species of bird on a bird feeder.

The birds use their beaks to reach nuts inside the bird feeder.

Figure 4 shows the mean beak length of this species of bird in the UK. This species of bird often visits bird feeders.

Determine the rate of change in beak length from 1984 to 2000. Use Figure 4.

Explain the process of evolution that could cause the trend in Figure 4.

Birds of this species:

• live for about 3 years

• produce up to 24 eggs every year.

Explain why evolution is easier to study in this species of bird than in humans.

Birds of this species are found in different parts of the world. Describe evidence that would show two individual birds are the same species.

Caffeine is a drug that decreases reaction time. A group of sixteen students investigated the effect of caffeine on reaction time. The students were all 15-year-old girls. The group was divided into 8 pairs of students. This is the method used.

1. Student A starts two stopwatches at the same time.

2. Student A then gives one of the stopwatches to Student B.

3. Student A says “stop” at the same time as stopping her stopwatch. Student B stops her stopwatch as quickly as possible after Student A says “stop”.

4. The difference in time shown on the two stopwatches is recorded. This is the reaction time of Student B.

5. Student B drinks a caffeinated drink.

6. The students wait 15 minutes and then repeat steps 1 to 4.

Suggest one control variable the students should have used in the investigation. Do not refer to age or sex in your answer.

Suggest two sources of random error when using this method to measure a person’s reaction time.

Table 1 shows the results.

Why can a mode not be determined for the data in Table 1 ?

The students decided the result from pair 8 was anomalous. The students calculated that the mean decrease in reaction time was 0.030 seconds. Describe how the students calculated the mean decrease in reaction time.

Caffeine causes the release of adrenaline. Adrenaline affects heart rate. Explain how the effect of adrenaline on heart rate might cause reaction time to decrease.

Adenosine is a different chemical made by the body.

Adenosine binds to receptors on relay neurones. Adenosine decreases the number of impulses in relay neurones. Figure 5 shows how caffeine binds to adenosine receptors on a relay neurone. When caffeine binds to adenosine receptors it blocks the receptor so adenosine cannot bind.

Label X shows the gap between the sensory neurone and the relay neurone. What is the name of the gap labelled X ?

Suggest why reaction time decreases when caffeine binds to adenosine receptors.

This question is about genetic disorders.

Some people are heterozygous for a genetic disorder. Define the term ‘heterozygous’.

Figure 6 shows the inheritance of a genetic disorder in a family.

Person 7 and person 8 plan to have another child.

Determine the probability that the child will be a male who has the disorder. You should:

• draw a Punnett square diagram

• identify the genotype of person 7 and the genotype of person 8

• identify the phenotype of each offspring genotype

• use the symbols: H = dominant allele h = recessive allele

Polydactyly is a different inherited disorder. Two parents do not have any alleles for polydactyly in their ordinary body cells. These parents produced a child with polydactyly. Explain how polydactyly suddenly occurred in this family.