Biology Week 2015 Quiz Answers

Ages 13-15

Points shown in ( )

TRUE/FALSE: Elderly people have more taste buds than younger people…

Question 1

Contributed by The Physiology Society

FALSE

Children have the most taste buds, which may explain why they are more sensitive and tend to be fussier about what they eat.

(1)

Question 2

Which is the largest part of the human brain – the cerebrum/cerebral cortex or the cerebellum?

The cerebrum/cerebral cortex

This part is further divided into four lobes and is associated with ‘higher’ brain functions such as memory, speech, problem solving, emotions, orientation and recognition.

(1)

Which animal uses the ‘waggle dance’ as a form of communication?

a) Cat

b) Honey bee

c) Elephant

d) Ladybird

e) Eel

Question 3

Biology Challenge

Answer: b) Honey bee

It uses a complicated, choreographed routine in order to share information and even specific directions to hive members as to the location of a food source or potential nest site.

(1)

The wolf, water, zebra and swamp are species of what sort of animal?

a) Beetle

b) Fish

c) Spider

d) Orchid

(1)

Biology Challenge

Question 4

Answer: c) Spider

There are about 40,000 known species of spiders in the world.

What is the scientific study of plants known as?

Question 5

Botany

Botanists currently study around 400,000 species of plants worldwide and botanical research has wide-reaching implications for food production, forestry, construction and environmental management.

(1)

 What do a fruit fly, a worm, a bacterium, a mouse and a frog all have in common?

Question 6

Contributed by the Biochemical Society

They are examples of 'model organisms' - creatures that biologists use to study how cells work.

Model organisms tend to be easy to genetically manipulate, have a sequenced genome, have a short lifespan and are usually small and cheap to care for. (Also accept - they have DNA eukaryotic cells).

(1)

What is the normal internal body temperature of a human?

Question 7

a) 35 °Cb) 37 °C c) 39 °C

Answer: b) 37.0 °C

The average internal body temperature of a person varies during the day by about 0.5 °C and can change according to the time of day, activity levels and whether the individual is tired, sick, hungry or cold.

(1)

Who discovered penicillin, and how?

Contributed by the Biochemical Society

Question 8

Alexander Flemming

He accidently discovered penicillin in 1928 when he noticed a mould growing on a agar plate culture that had a bacteria-free circle around it, indicating its inhibitive properties. It was the work of Howard Florey and Ernst Chain who developed mass production of penicillin as a drug. The three shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in ‘Physiology or Medicine’.

(2)

How many species of whale are there in the world? 

a) 10-30

b) 30-70

c) 70-100

Contributed by the Marine Biological Association

Question 9

Answer: c) 70-100

This includes all three whale (cetacean) groups: porpoises, dolphins and whales.

(1)

A shoal of fish… a gaggle of geese… a colony of ants… Name the following animal groups:

Question 10

a) A … of rhinoceroses b) A … of owlsc) A … of porcupinesd) A … of micee) A … of bears

(5)

A CRASH of rhinoceroses

A PARLIAMENT of owls

A PRICKLE of porcupines

A MISCHIEF of mice

A SLEUTH of bears

DNA contains two strands that wrap round each other in a double-helix.

Does normal DNA spiral round to the right or left as you look down it?

Contributed by the Biochemical Society

Question 11 (1)

 

Right-handed helix

Left-handed helices have been produced experimentally and may be present in living cells however.

Question 12

Match the biological macromolecule to the function it serves in the cell.

(4)

Protein/polypeptide

Lipid

Nucleic acid

Polysaccharide

Form enzymes, involved with cell signalling and form structural

components

Energy storage and form static structures such as cellulose and chitin

Main component in cell membanes, involved with cell signalling and energy

storage

Genetic storage unit

What type of animal are the following famous on-screen characters?

a) Beethoven

b) Sven

c) Nermal

d) Sonic

e) Charlotte

Question 13

– St Bernard dog, Beethoven film

– Reindeer, Frozen

– Tabby cat, Garfield

– Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog

– Spider, Charlotte’s Web

(5)

How many years ago did thedodo go extinct?

Question 14

350 years ago

Evolving without the presence of predators, the dodo was fearless of humans and unable to fly. As such it was easy prey when humans arrived on the island of Mauritius, the location to which it was endemic.

(1)

a) Virus

b) Bacterium

c) Cell

Contributed by the Society for Applied Microbiology

Question 15

Which of the following cannot be seen under a light microscope?

Answer: a) Virus

Light microscopes use visible light and a series of lenses in order to magnify a sample and observe finer detail not detectable to the naked eye. Light microscopes cannot detect viruses as these microscopic organisms are smaller than the wavelength of visible light.

(1)

Where are blood cells made?

Question 16

Contributed by The Physiology Society

Bone marrow

Bone marrow contains hematopoietic stem cells, which can differentiate into three classes of blood cells.

White blood cells (leukocytes) which are involved in the body’s immune response to pathogens, red blood cells (erythrocytes) which supply the body with oxygen and platelets (thrombocytes), involved in the clotting process, are all formed from bone marrow.

(1)

TRUE/FALSE: You can find seaweed in your toothpaste…

Question 17

Contributed by the Marine Biological Association

(1)

TRUE

A type of red seaweed called Chondrus crispus is found in toothpaste. It is used as natural stabiliser.

Label the diagram of the human eye.

Question 18 (5)

Optic nerve

Retina

Cornea

Lens

Iris

Question 19

A jellyfish is composed of how much water?

a) 35%

b) 65%

c) 95%

(1)

Answer: c) 95%

Only 5% of a jellyfish is made up of solid matter, the rest is water.Composed of three simple layers and a basic nervous system in the form of a nerve net, the jellyfish is seemingly graceful and beautiful in the water, responding to stimuli in their environment such as light.

Which animal would Sir David Attenborough most like to be?

a) Seahorse

b) Sloth

c) Slow worm

d) Siberian tiger

e) Salamander

Question 20 (1)

Answer: b) Sloth

In a Royal Society of Biology interview, when asked this question, Attenborough replied a sloth, so he could enjoy “hanging around upside down, wanting nothing but another chew on a leaf”.

Video: www.youtube.com/v/ITOmOXAipyE&autoplay=1

How did you do?Scores out of /40

Tweet @RoyalSocBio using #BiologyWeek

Love biology? Interested in becoming a member?Email membership@rsb.org.uk

Thank you for helping us celebrate Biology Week 2015!