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Biology entrance exam, 2016 E.C. (2024)

Real questions from the Grade 12 university entrance exam in Biology, as students sat it in 2016 E.C. Every question comes with the correct answer and a worked explanation.

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  • Natural science stream

    Who sits it

  • 2016 E.C. (2024)

    Exam year

  • 35 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

Gene flow is the movement of genetic material

  1. A.without altering the allele frequencies.
  2. B.that drives a population towards perfection.
  3. C.without affecting the balance of gene pool of a population.
  4. D.where organisms either join or leave a population.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: D where organisms either join or leave a population.

Why

Gene flow is the transfer of alleles from one population to another. It happens when individuals move into a population (immigration) or out of it (emigration) and then breed. That is exactly what option D describes.

Options A and C fail because gene flow does change allele frequencies: the arriving alleles shift the balance of the gene pool. Option B fails because evolution has no goal, so no process drives a population towards perfection.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 4 Evolution, section 4.1.8 Gene flow (immigration and emigration) (page 223).

Question 2

Which one of the following options is a constituent of peripheral nervous system?

  1. A.Afferent nerves, brain and automatic motor nerves
  2. B.Somatic sensory nerves, spinal cord and efferent nerves
  3. C.Afferent nerves, efferent nerves and somatic motor nerves
  4. D.Spinal cord, afferent nerves and somatic sensory nerves
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: C Afferent nerves, efferent nerves and somatic motor nerves

Why

The nervous system has two divisions. The central nervous system is the brain and the spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system is every nerve outside them: afferent (sensory) nerves carrying signals to the brain and spinal cord, and efferent (motor) nerves, including somatic motor nerves, carrying commands out to muscles and glands.

Only option C lists nerves alone. The other options each include the brain or the spinal cord, which belong to the central nervous system.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 5 Human body system, section 5.1.4 Types of the nervous system (page 254).

Question 3

Which one of the following structures of neurons is correctly paired with its function?

  1. A.Axon - receives signal from muscle
  2. B.Cell body - maintains structure and supply energy
  3. C.Dendrites - protects the neuron and insulate it
  4. D.Myelin sheath - reduces nerve impulse transmission
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B Cell body - maintains structure and supply energy

Why

The cell body holds the nucleus and most organelles, including the mitochondria. It keeps the neuron alive, maintains its structure, and supplies the energy the cell needs. So option B is the correct pair.

The others are mismatched: the axon carries impulses away from the cell body, dendrites receive signals from other neurons, and the myelin sheath insulates the axon and speeds up transmission rather than reducing it.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 5 Human body system, section 5.1.1 Neurons and their functions (page 240).

Question 4

Which one of the following statements explain how nerve impulse is occurred? It occurs as a result of

  1. A.charge difference across the membrane of axon.
  2. B.the movement of neurotransmitter molecules into myelin sheath.
  3. C.balanced charge across the membrane of dendrites.
  4. D.the movement of neurotransmitter molecules out of cell body.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: A charge difference across the membrane of axon.

Why

A nerve impulse (action potential) is an electrical event. Sodium and potassium ions sit unevenly on the two sides of the axon membrane, so there is a charge difference across it. When a stimulus lets sodium ions rush in, that charge difference suddenly reverses, and the reversal sweeps along the axon as the impulse. So option A is correct.

Option C is wrong because a perfectly balanced charge means no impulse at all. Neurotransmitters (options B and D) act only at the synapse between neurons, not inside the axon.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 5 Human body system, section 5.1.2 The nerve impulse and transmission (page 246).

Question 5

Which one of the following statements is an acceptable justification of the importance of symapse? Synapse is

  1. A.the mechanism of protecting the axon from external damage
  2. B.a connection between the appendages of consecutive neurons.
  3. C.a conductor of action potential towards the end of the dendrite.
  4. D.the facilitator of the reverse flow of neurotransmitter chemical in neurons.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B a connection between the appendages of consecutive neurons.

Why

A synapse is the meeting point between two neurons: the axon ending of one neuron and the dendrite of the next. At this junction a chemical messenger (a neurotransmitter) carries the signal across a tiny gap, so messages can pass from neuron to neuron. That matches option B.

Option A is the job of the myelin sheath, not the synapse. Option C is wrong because the action potential travels along the axon, and option D is wrong because a synapse passes the signal in one direction only.

Textbook: Biology Grade 12, Unit 5 Human body system, section 5.1.2 The nerve impulse and transmission (page 246).

Question 6

Assume your friend has a blood type that has no antigen on his red blood cells but produces antibodies A and B, loses blood due to a car accident. If blood transfision is necessary to save his life, your friend can receive blood from someone with

  1. A.blood type AB.
  2. B.blood type O.
  3. C.blood type B.
  4. D.blood type A.
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: B blood type O.

Why

Red blood cells with no A or B antigen, together with both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in the plasma, describe blood type O. A person with type O can donate to anyone, but can receive red cells only from another type O donor.

If this friend received type A, B, or AB blood, his anti-A and anti-B antibodies would attack the donor cells and make them clump, which is dangerous. So option B is the only safe choice.

Textbook: Biology Grade 10, Unit 5 Human Biology (ABO blood groups and transfusion).

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Biology papers from other years

2018 E.C. (2026)2017 E.C. (2025)2015 E.C. (2023)2014 E.C. (2022)2013 E.C. (2021)2012 E.C. (2020)2005 E.C. (2013)

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Are these the real 2016 E.C. Biology entrance exam questions?

Yes. They come from the national university entrance exam in Biology that students sat in 2016 E.C. (2024). Our set holds 35 of its questions, each with its answer and an explanation that points back to the textbook.

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