1. 1
   A strawberry farmer produces new strawberry plants by letting runners grow out from parent plants and take root in the soil nearby, rather than growing new plants from seed.

   (a)

   A strawberry farmer grows new plants by allowing runners (horizontal stems) to grow from parent plants and take root nearby. What type of reproduction does this represent?

   [1 mark]

   • ASexual reproduction
   • BAsexual reproduction
   • CFertilisation
   • DMeiosis

   (b)

   Which of the following is another example of asexual reproduction, similar in outcome to the strawberry runners?

   [1 mark]

   • ABinary fission in bacteria
   • BFertilisation of an egg by a sperm cell
   • CFormation of gametes by meiosis
   • DPollination by insects

   (c)

   Explain why the new strawberry plants grown from runners are genetically identical to the parent plant.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   A population of wild rabbits on an island reproduces sexually, so each generation of offspring shows a wide range of genetically varied characteristics. When a new disease arrives on the island, some rabbits survive while others do not.

   (a)

   Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of which two structures?

   [1 mark]

   • ATwo body cells
   • BTwo zygotes
   • CTwo gametes
   • DTwo spores

   (b)

   Which outcome of sexual reproduction is most likely to help this rabbit population survive the new disease?

   [1 mark]

   • AAll offspring are genetically identical to each other
   • BOffspring require only one parent to be produced
   • COffspring reproduce more quickly than by asexual reproduction
   • DOffspring show genetic variation, so some may have resistance to the disease

   (c)

   Explain why the genetic variation produced by sexual reproduction increases the chance of the rabbit population surviving as a whole when the new disease arrives.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   A potato farmer must decide whether to grow this year's crop from potato tubers taken from last year's healthy plants (an asexual method) or from seeds produced by cross-pollination (a sexual method).

   (a)

   A potato farmer is deciding whether to grow a new crop by planting potato tubers (an asexual method) taken from last year's healthy plants, or by growing new plants from seed (a sexual method). Describe the advantages of using tubers to grow the new crop.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Describe the advantages and disadvantages of growing the new crop from seed (sexual reproduction) compared with using tubers (asexual reproduction).

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   A biology magazine article compares the reproductive strategies of different species, asking whether asexual or sexual reproduction is more advantageous depending on how stable or changeable an organism's environment is.

   (a)

   A biology magazine article explores different organisms that reproduce asexually. Describe how each of the following organisms reproduces asexually: bacteria (binary fission), yeast (budding), and strawberry plants (runners) or daffodils (bulbs).

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Evaluate whether asexual or sexual reproduction would generally be more advantageous for a species living in a rapidly changing environment, compared with one living in a very stable environment.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

End of questions