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Biology entrance exam, 2013 E.C. (2021)

Real questions from the Grade 12 university entrance exam in Biology, as students sat it in 2013 E.C. Every question comes with the correct answer and a worked explanation.

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  • Natural science stream

    Who sits it

  • 2013 E.C. (2021)

    Exam year

  • 30 questions with answers

    In this set

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Answer each question yourself before opening the answer. The explanations point to the exact textbook section, so you know which page to reread when you miss one.

Question 1

Which one of the following is true about the importance of Lucy in resolving debates about human evolution?

  1. A.Big brains came before bipedalism.
  2. B.Lucy had a brain size of 18% of her body mass.
  3. C.Bipedalism came before big brains.
  4. D.Lucy was partially an arboreal primate.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C Bipedalism came before big brains.

Why

Lucy is a fossil of Australopithecus afarensis found in Ethiopia in 1974. Her leg, pelvis and spine show that she walked upright on two legs, yet her brain was still small, close to the size of a chimpanzee's brain.

Before her discovery, scientists argued about which came first: a big brain or upright walking. Lucy settled that debate. Bipedalism came before big brains, so option C is correct.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 4 Evolution, section 4.1.5 Human evolution (page 200).

Question 2

Which one of the following can best explain behavior? It is

  1. A.the co-ordinated response of an organism to an internal or externalstimuli.
  2. B.the tendency for parts of plants to grow towards light.
  3. C.the actions or reactions of a person or animal in response to external or internal stimuli.
  4. D.a cell or group of cells that receives and processes stimuli.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A the co-ordinated response of an organism to an internal or externalstimuli.

Why

In biology, behavior is the coordinated response of an organism to internal or external stimuli. The word "organism" matters here: all living things behave, not only people and animals. Plants also respond to stimuli, for example by growing toward light.

Option C is tempting, but it limits behavior to persons and animals, so it is too narrow. Option B is only one plant example, and option D defines a receptor, not behavior.

Textbook: Biology Grade 11, Unit 2 Animals, section 2.5 Animal behavior.

Question 3

The quick withdrawal of your hand from a hot plate is an example of

  1. A.fixed action pattern.
  2. B.innate behavior.
  3. C.biological clock.
  4. D.key stimulus.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B innate behavior.

Why

Pulling your hand away from a hot plate is a simple reflex: a sudden, involuntary response that does not have to be learned. Reflexes belong to innate (inborn) behavior, so B is correct.

A fixed action pattern is a complete sequence of instinctive actions, such as web building in spiders, not a single quick response. A biological clock controls repeating rhythms, and a key stimulus is the trigger of a behavior, not the behavior itself.

Textbook: Biology Grade 11, Unit 2 Animals, section 2.5.1 Types of animal behavior.

Question 4

Which one of the following processes describes a biological clock?

  1. A.Removal of one's thumb from hot objects quickly
  2. B.The growing of plants towards light
  3. C.Circannual migration of birds from temperature to tropical areas
  4. D.Kinenis and taxes of woodlice and other simple animals
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C Circannual migration of birds from temperature to tropical areas

Why

A biological clock is an internal timer that makes a behavior repeat on a regular cycle. Bird migration from temperate to tropical areas happens once every year, on a yearly rhythm called a circannual rhythm, so it is driven by a biological clock.

Hand withdrawal is a reflex, growth toward light is a plant tropism, and kinesis and taxis are simple orientation movements. None of these run on a timed cycle.

Textbook: Biology Grade 11, Unit 2 Animals, section 2.5.2 Patterns of behavior.

Question 5

Identify learned behavior from the following.

  1. A.Dog trained to hunt.
  2. B.Honey bee making honey.
  3. C.Child withdrawals hand from hot things.
  4. D.Ants making nest.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A Dog trained to hunt.

Why

Learned behavior is gained through experience or training during an animal's own life. A dog hunts on command only because a person trained it, so this is learned behavior.

Making honey, pulling a hand away from heat and building nests are inborn abilities. The animals do them correctly the first time, without any training, so they are innate.

Textbook: Biology Grade 11, Unit 2 Animals, section 2.5.1 Types of animal behavior.

Question 6

Which one of the following features is unique to bacteria?

  1. A.Presence of permeable membrane
  2. B.Being unicellular
  3. C.Absence of nuclear membrane
  4. D.Having flagella for location
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C Absence of nuclear membrane

Why

Bacteria are prokaryotes. Their DNA lies free in the cytoplasm because there is no nuclear membrane around it. Among the choices, this is the feature that separates bacteria from eukaryotic cells.

The other options are shared with many organisms: every cell has a selectively permeable membrane, protozoa and some algae are also unicellular, and sperm cells and many protists also move with flagella.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 2 Microorganisms, section 2.1 Eubacteria (page 43).

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Biology papers from other years

2018 E.C. (2026)2017 E.C. (2025)2016 E.C. (2024)2015 E.C. (2023)2014 E.C. (2022)2012 E.C. (2020)2005 E.C. (2013)

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Are these the real 2013 E.C. Biology entrance exam questions?

Yes. They come from the national university entrance exam in Biology that students sat in 2013 E.C. (2021). Our set holds 30 of its questions, each with its answer and an explanation that points back to the textbook.

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