SharpkopHuman responses to the environment
52 marks in our Paper 1 questions. 28 questions from 2024.
This topic covers the human nervous system, the eye and its defects, the ear and hearing, and reflex actions, including questions that ask you to read a diagram or a graph. The 28 questions here are worth 52 marks in the November 2024 Paper 1 set. Of the 52 marks, 24 are for recalling facts and terms, 17 for explaining and 11 for reading data from diagrams, tables and graphs. Most questions are short, so the exact term is what earns the mark.
The 2024 Diagnostic Report says candidates could not explain why a convex lens helps a long-sighted eye: it bends light more, so the image falls on the retina. They chose the cerebrum instead of the cerebellum for balance, and named the ciliary muscles instead of the circular muscles in the pupil reflex. On graphs, they quoted numbers where the general trend was asked for, and repeated the trend where the link between axon diameter and speed was asked for. Read what the question wants before you write.
Where marks are lost: in our words, from Department of Basic Education, NSC 2024 Diagnostic Report, Part 1 (Book 1).
Questions
These questions are not yet checked by a teacher.
A boy touches a hot stove plate with his fingertips and pulls his hand away at once, before he feels any pain. Which ONE of the following shows the CORRECT order of the parts of the reflex arc in this response?
A Sensory neuron → receptor in the skin → interneuron → effector muscle in the arm
B Receptor in the skin → sensory neuron → interneuron → motor neuron → effector muscle in the arm
C Receptor in the skin → motor neuron → interneuron → sensory neuron → effector muscle in the arm
D Effector muscle in the arm → sensory neuron → interneuron → motor neuron → receptor in the skin
Write only the letter (A to D).
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.5The diagram below shows part of the human eye. A hiker standing on a hilltop looks at a farm windmill about 500 metres away.
Which ONE of the following correctly describes the ciliary muscle (X), the suspensory ligaments (Y) and the lens (Z) while she focuses on the windmill?
A: Ciliary muscle relaxed; suspensory ligaments slack; lens more convex
B: Ciliary muscle contracted; suspensory ligaments slack; lens less convex
C: Ciliary muscle relaxed; suspensory ligaments taut; lens less convex
D: Ciliary muscle contracted; suspensory ligaments taut; lens more convex
Write only the letter (A to D).
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.6The diagram below shows part of the human ear, with structures labelled P, Q and R. Very strong sound vibrations have travelled through the fluid of the cochlea. Which ONE of the following describes what happens to the extra pressure in the fluid?
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.9The diagram below shows the inner ear and the pathway that nerve impulses follow to the brain. The semicircular canals and the vestibule are labelled P, the cochlea is labelled Q, the auditory nerve is labelled R, the cerebellum is labelled S and the cerebrum (auditory area) is labelled T.
Which ONE of the following correctly shows how nerve impulses about balance (equilibrium) travel from the inner ear to the brain?
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.10Write down the correct biological term for the following description: the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls involuntary actions such as heart rate and digestion, and is made up of the sympathetic and parasympathetic parts.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.2Write down the correct biological term for the following description: the sensory structures inside the semicircular canals that detect rotation of the head in different directions.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.3Give the correct biological term for the following description: The tube in the middle ear that equalises air pressure on both sides of the eardrum by connecting the middle ear to the throat.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.4Give the correct biological term for the following description: The coiled, fluid-filled structure of the inner ear that contains the sensory receptors for hearing.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.6Read each description below and decide which of the two structures it fits: structure A only, structure B only, both structures, or neither. Give your choice for the description that follows the two structures.
Description: It is the region of the brain that regulates the rate at which the heart beats.
Structure A: Cerebellum
Structure B: Medulla oblongata
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.3.2Read the description below. Decide which of the structures, X and Y, it fits. Answer with one of these: X only, Y only, both X and Y, or neither.
The small spot on the retina that has no light-sensitive cells, so no image forms there.
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.3.3Use the passage to answer this question. Which type of glaucoma is linked to a problem with the kidneys?
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.3.1Use information in the passage to explain how a corneal scar can lead to loss of vision.
(5)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.3.2A learner has hypermetropia (long-sightedness). Explain how the structure of her eyeball causes problems with her vision when she reads a notice on the board two hand-spans in front of her without wearing her spectacles.
(3)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.4.1A learner has hypermetropia (long-sightedness), so she cannot see nearby objects clearly. Explain how wearing glasses with convex lenses helps her to see the words on a page clearly when she reads.
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.4.2The diagram below shows a neuron that has a long axon with a myelin sheath, a cell body with many short branched dendrites at one end, and axon terminals at the other end. This type of neuron carries impulses from the central nervous system to a muscle. Name the type of neuron shown.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.1The diagram below shows a nerve cell that carries impulses from the spinal cord to a muscle. The cell is a motor neuron, which has a cell body at one end, one long axon and several short dendrites. State ONE feature visible in the diagram that shows this is a motor neuron and not a sensory neuron.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.2A reflex arc includes a neuron that carries impulses from the spinal cord to a muscle in the hand, so that the hand pulls away from a hot object. This neuron has a long axon, cell body in the grey matter of the spinal cord and endings at the muscle. Describe the function of this type of neuron in the nervous system.
(3)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.3The diagram below shows a motor neuron with three structures labelled P, Q and R. Write down the letters P, Q and R in the order in which a nerve impulse travels through this neuron.
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.4Some nerve fibres are wrapped in a fatty insulating layer called the myelin sheath. Name the disorder of the nervous system in which this layer gradually breaks down and the person loses control of movement and sensation.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.5The diagram below shows how the speed of nerve impulses changes with axon diameter in myelinated neurons. Read from the graph: what axon diameter, in µm, gives an impulse speed of 60 m/s in a myelinated neuron?
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.1(a)Use the graph of the unmyelinated neuron in the diagram below to read off the axon width, in µm, that goes with a nerve impulse travelling at 15 m/s.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.1(b)Study the two graphs below. Use them to describe how the speed of nerve impulses in myelinated neurons compares with the speed in unmyelinated neurons.
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.2(a)Look at the graph below, which shows how fast nerve impulses travel along the axons of a certain type of neuron. Describe the relationship between the axon diameter and the impulse speed shown in the graph.
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.2(b)The diagram below shows the front view of a human eye with two parts labelled P and Q. Part P is the black circular opening at the centre of the coloured structure. Name part P.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.1(a)The diagram below shows the front view of a human eye. Part P is the opening at the centre, and part Q is the coloured ring of tissue around it. Name part Q.
(1)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.1(b)A learner steps from a bright playground into a dim classroom. Within a second, the pupils of her eyes widen without her deciding to do so. Explain why this change in the pupils is classified as a reflex action.
(3)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.2A learner walks from a bright classroom into a dimly lit hall, and the pupils of her eyes change size automatically. Name the TWO types of effector muscle in the iris that bring about this pupillary mechanism.
(2)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.3The diagram below shows the same person’s eye photographed in two different rooms. In Room 1 the pupil is small. In Room 2 the pupil is much wider. Room 2 is the darker room. Give a reasoned account of why the pupil changing from the Room 1 size to the Room 2 size benefits the person.
(4)Based on Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.4Updated