Q 3 (a)

• Good. Most candidates identified the structures correctly. However, some candidates failed to give the name of structure A but put down ‘extension of thylakoid’. Although the question clearly stated that it was an organelle, quite a number of candidates still treated it as a cell and gave wrong labels.

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treated the organelle as a cell and gave wrong labels

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not a granum

Q 3 (b)

• Satisfactory. Many candidates did not distinguish cell type from tissue. They wrongly gave the tissues instead.

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Identified the organelle!

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Cells without chloroplast!

Q 3 (c)

• Poorly answered. Candidates failed to point out the functional relationship between A and B. They simply stated their functions separately.

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failed to point out the functional relationship between A and B

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failed to point out the products (NADPH and ATP)

Q 5 (a)

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• Fair. About 75% of the candidates correctly chose species B as the stronger competitor. However, only half of them linked this with competition for food resources and related it to the high biomass of the lower shore. Most of them were not aware of the fact that a stronger competitor usually occupies the more favourable habitat. Other candidates completely ignored the descriptions about the crab species fighting for food in the simulated habitat and attempted to answer the question using the LT50 instead. Many candidateswrongly thought that species A was a stronger competitor because they survived in a habitat with fewer food resources. They demonstrated a poor understanding about how competition works in a natural environment.

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ignored the descriptions about the crab species fighting for food in the simulated habitat

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mixed up algal biomass and biomass of the crab

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wrongly thought that species A was a stronger competitor because they survived in a habitat with fewer food resources

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the lower shore is more favourable than the middle shore a stronger competitor usually occupies the more favourable habitat

Q 5(b)

• Poorly answered. Only half of the candidates correctly pointed out that temperature tolerance was not the determining factor in the distribution of the two crab species. They were able to point out the temperature difference between the middle shore and lower shore. However, when they linked this up with the LT50, they attempted to use the higher LT50 of species B as a supporting reason. They were not aware that having a higher LT50 did not necessarily mean that it was unfavourable to live in a habitat with a lower mean temperature.

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Not a deduction!

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without comparison

Q 5 (c)

• Poorly answered. Candidates did point out that a quadrat was used to study sessile organisms. However, they failed to elaborate on the method itself, which involved the counting of organisms in a confined area.

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failed to elaborate on the method (counting)

did not know the limitation of the method

Q 6 (a) (i)

• Poorly answered. Candidates were

aware that a genetic factor was

involved as Kitty and Karen were

identical twins. However, they often

failed to describe them as ‘genetically

identical’ and did not refer to cancer-

causing genes in their answers.

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Q 6 (a) (i)

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Q6 (a) (i)

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Q6 (a) (i)

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Q 8 (a)

• Well answered. More than 70% of the

candidates scored full marks in this

question, showing that they had the basic

competence to record the results of the

experiment using proper descriptions.

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Q 8 (a)

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Q 8 (a)

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Q 8 (a)

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Q 8 (b) (i) (1)

• Very poor. Many candidates wrongly

thought that the short-lived instruction was

DNA, an enzyme or auxin. Only a small

proportion of candidates correctly answered

RNA in part (1). Some of these candidates

pointed out that RNA is involved in protein

synthesis but they did not know the proteins

produced could affect the morphology of the

cap.

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Q 8 (b) (i) (1)

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Q 8 (b) (i) (1)

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Q 8 (b) (i) (2)

• Very poor.

• Some of these candidates pointed out that

RNA is involved in protein synthesis but

they did not know the proteins produced

could affect the morphology of the cap.

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Q 8 (b) (i) (2)

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Q 8 (b) (i) (2)

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Q 8 (b) (i) (2)

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Q 8 (b) (ii)

• Fair. Most candidates had difficulty relating the design of the experiment to the hypothesis proposed by Hämmerling. As a result, most of them simply described the results about the morphology of the regenerated cap. Some candidates pointed out that the foot of species 2 contained a nucleus for controlling the morphology of the regenerated cap but they often missed the fact that the results also ruled out the possibility that the stalk of species 1 was the site of storage of genetic materials.

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Q 8 (b) (ii)

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Q 8 (b) (ii)

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Q 8 (b) (ii)

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Q 8 (c)

• Fair. Candidates often gave answers from

previous examinations but failed to cite

relevant information from the series of

experiments as supporting reasons. Some

wrongly cited other aspects of the nature of

science as their answers.

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

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Q 8 (c)

• Similar investigations can be found in the

teaching packages developed by the Science

Education Section of the Education Bureau,

namely Curriculum Resources for Infusing

Ideas about Nature and History of Biology

and Scientific Inquiry into the Learning and

Teaching of Senior Secondary Biology

Curriculum published in 2009, which

teachers are encouraged to use.

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