Living Environment Part D: Sample Questions
Beginning with the June 2004 administration, the Regents Examination in Living Environment will include a new section, Part D. The questions on Part D will consist of a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions related to at least three of the four required living environment laboratory activities and will comprise approximately 15% of the examination.
These sample questions are provided to help teachers and students become familiar with the format of questions for this part of the examination. They provide examples of ways the required laboratory experiences may be assessed. A rating guide is also included.
Sample Items Related
to Lab Activity #1: Relationships and
Biodiversity
1 In the Relationships and Biodiversity laboratory activity, students were instructed to use a clean dropper to place each of four different samples of plant extracts on the chromatography paper. A student used the same dropper for each sample without cleaning it between each use. State one way this student’s final chromatogram would be different from a chromatogram that resulted from using the correct procedure. [1]
2 State one reason that safety goggles were required during the indicator test for enzyme M. [1]
Base your answers to questions 3 through 6 on the information and data table below and on your knowledge of biology.
A student was told that three different plant species are very closely related. She was provided with a short segment of the same portion of the DNA molecule that coded for enzyme X from each of the three species.
|
Information
Regarding Enzyme X |
|||
|
DNA
sequence from plant species A |
CAC |
GTG |
GAC |
|
Amino
acid sequence for enzyme X
coded for by that DNA |
Val |
His |
Leu |
|
DNA
sequence from plant species B |
CAT |
GTG |
CAA |
|
Sequence
of bases in mRNA produced by that DNA |
_____ |
_____ |
_____ |
|
Amino
acid sequence for enzyme X
coded for by the DNA |
Val |
His |
Val |
|
DNA
sequence from plant species C |
CAG |
GTA |
CAG |
|
Sequence
of bases in mRNA produced by that DNA |
GUC |
CAU |
GUC |
|
Amino
acid sequence for enzyme X
coded for by the DNA |
_____ |
_____ |
_____ |
3 The correct sequence of mRNA bases for plant species B is
(1) GUA CAC GUU
(2) GTA CAC GTT
(3) CAU GUG CAA
(4) TCG TGT ACC
4 Use the mRNA Codon Chart on the next page to determine the amino acid sequence for enzyme X in plant species C and record the sequence in the appropriate place in the data table. [1]
5 Is it possible to determine whether species B or species C is more closely related to species A by comparing the amino acid sequences that would result from the three given DNA sequences? Support your answer. [1]
6 Determine whether species B or species C appears more closely related to species A. Support your answer with data from the data table. (Base your answer only on the DNA sequences provided for enzyme X in these three plant species.) [1]
Universal Genetic
Code Chart
Messenger RNA codons and the
amino acids they code for.
|
SECOND
BASE |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
F I R S T B A S E |
|
U |
C |
A |
G |
|
T H IRD B A S E |
|||||||||||||
|
U |
UUU UUC UUA UUG |
} } |
PHE LEU |
UCU UCC UCA UCG |
} |
SER |
UAU UAC UAA UAG |
} } |
TYR STOP |
UGU UGC UGA UGG |
} } } |
CYS STOP TRP |
U C A G |
|||||||
|
C |
CUU CUC CUA CUG |
} |
LEU |
CCU CCC CCA CCG |
} |
PRO |
CAU CAC CAA CAG |
} } |
HIS GLN |
CGU CGC CHA CGG |
} |
ARG |
U C A G |
|||||||
|
A |
AUU AUC AUA AUG |
} } |
ILE MET or START |
ACU ACC ACA ACG |
} |
THR |
AAU AAC AAA AAG |
} } |
ASN LYS |
AGU AGC AGA AGG |
} } |
SER ARG |
U C A G |
|||||||
|
G |
GUU GUC GUA GUG |
} |
VAL |
GCU GCC GCA GCG |
} |
ALA |
GAU GAC GAA GAG |
} } |
ASP GLU |
GGU GGC GGA GGG |
} |
GLY |
U C A G |
|||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Sample Items Related
to Lab Activity #2: Making Connections
Base your answers to questions 7 through 9 on the information and data table below and on your knowledge of biology.
In the Making Connections laboratory activity, a group of students obtained the following data:
|
Student |
Pulse Rate |
Pulse Rate After |
|
1 |
70 |
97 |
|
2 |
75 |
106 |
|
3 |
84 |
120 |
|
4 |
60 |
91 |
|
5 |
78 |