# Life Sciences: Human responses to the environment > 28 questions based on past NSC papers, on human responses to the environment, 52 marks in our Paper 1 questions. Answer one and see it marked mark by mark. Canonical: https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/human-responses/ Last updated: 2026-11-12 ## Questions - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.5 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-1-5/): A boy touches a hot stove plate with his fingertips and pulls his hand away at once, before he feels any pain. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.6 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-1-6/): The diagram below shows part of the human eye. A hiker standing on a hilltop looks at a farm windmill about 500 metres away. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.9 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-1-9/): The diagram below shows part of the human ear, with structures labelled P, Q and R. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.1.10 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-1-10/): The diagram below shows the inner ear and the pathway that nerve impulses follow to the brain. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.2 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-2-2/): Write down the correct biological term for the following description: the division of the peripheral nervous system that controls... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.3 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-2-3/): Write down the correct biological term for the following description: the sensory structures inside the semicircular canals that detect... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.4 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-2-4/): Give the correct biological term for the following description: The tube in the middle ear that equalises air pressure on both sides of... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.2.6 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-2-6/): Give the correct biological term for the following description: The coiled, fluid-filled structure of the inner ear that contains the... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.3.2 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-3-2/): Read each description below and decide which of the two structures it fits: structure A only, structure B only, both structures, or... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q1.3.3 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q1-3-3/): Read 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... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.3.1 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-3-1/): Use the passage to answer this question. Which type of glaucoma is linked to a problem with the kidneys? - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.3.2 (5 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-3-2/): Use information in the passage to explain how a corneal scar can lead to loss of vision. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.4.1 (3 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-4-1/): A learner has hypermetropia (long-sightedness). Explain how the structure of her eyeball causes problems with her vision when she reads... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.4.2 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-4-2/): A learner has hypermetropia (long-sightedness), so she cannot see nearby objects clearly. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.1 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-5-1/): The 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... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.2 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-5-2/): The diagram below shows a nerve cell that carries impulses from the spinal cord to a muscle. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.3 (3 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-5-3/): A 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... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.4 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-5-4/): The diagram below shows a motor neuron with three structures labelled P, Q and R. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.5.5 (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-5-5/): Some nerve fibres are wrapped in a fatty insulating layer called the myelin sheath. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.1(a) (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-6-1-a/): The diagram below shows how the speed of nerve impulses changes with axon diameter in myelinated neurons. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.1(b) (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-6-1-b/): 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... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.2(a) (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-6-2-a/): Study the two graphs below. Use them to describe how the speed of nerve impulses in myelinated neurons compares with the speed in... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q2.6.2(b) (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q2-6-2-b/): Look at the graph below, which shows how fast nerve impulses travel along the axons of a certain type of neuron. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.1(a) (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q3-2-1-a/): The diagram below shows the front view of a human eye with two parts labelled P and Q. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.1(b) (1 mark)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q3-2-1-b/): 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... - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.2 (3 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q3-2-2/): 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. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.3 (2 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q3-2-3/): A learner walks from a bright classroom into a dimly lit hall, and the pupils of her eyes change size automatically. - [Nov 2024 · Paper 1 · Q3.2.4 (4 marks)](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/2024-nov-p1/q3-2-4/): The diagram below shows the same person’s eye photographed in two different rooms. In Room 1 the pupil is small. ## Related - [Grade 12 Life Sciences past papers](https://sharpkop.co.za/life-sciences/) Questions are based on National Senior Certificate papers set by the Department of Basic Education. Sharpkop is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department.