PMT

General Certificate of Education

Biology
Unit 3T AS Investigative Skills Assignment

BIO3T/Q11/MG

Final
Marking Guidelines
2011 examination – June series

WMP/Jun11/BIO3T/Q11/MG
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Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series

Marking Guidelines are prepared by the Principal Moderator and considered, together with
the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers.

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Registered address: AQA, Devas Street, Manchester M15 6EX.

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Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series

Guidance for teachers marking Biology ISAs

Final Marking Guidelines must be used to mark candidates’ work

General principles

In general, you are looking for evidence that the candidate knows and understands the point
required by the Marking Guidelines.

It is important to mark what the candidate has written, not to assume what may have been
intended. It is also important to make sure that a valid point is in the correct context. Individual
words or phrases where the overall answer does not apply to the question asked should not be
credited.

Conventions

The following conventions are used in the Marking Guidelines.

l A semicolon (;) separates each marking point

l An oblique stroke (/) separates alternatives within a marking point
l Underlining of a word or phrase means that the term must be used
For example anaphase, the term must appear
For example ...... and ........, both items must be present for a mark
l Brackets are used to indicate contexts for which a marking point is valid. This context may
be implied by a candidate's answer
l 'Accept' and 'reject' show answers which should be allowed or not allowed.
l Additional instructions are shown in the final column
l ‘Max’ refers to the maximum mark that can be awarded for a particular question or part
question.

The Marking Guidelines show the minimum acceptable answer(s) for each marking point. A better,
more detailed, or more advanced answer should always be accepted, provided that it covers the
same key point.

Marking Guidelines cannot give every possible alternative wording - equivalent phrasing of answers
should be accepted. For example ‘the water potential is higher in the cells’ is equivalent to ‘the
water potential is less negative in the cells’. It is, however, important to be sure that the minimum
requirement of the Marking Guidelines is met and that the point is made unambiguously.

Converse answers are normally acceptable, unless the wording of the question rules this out. For
example, 'the water potential is lower in the solution’ is an acceptable converse of ‘the water
potential is higher in the cell’.

Very occasionally, a candidate will give a biologically correct answer that is not covered in the
Marking Guidelines. If it is equivalent in standard to the Marking Guideline answers, it should be
credited. In this case, write the word ‘valid’.

All marking points are awarded independently, unless a link between points is specified in the
Marking Guidelines.

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Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series

The mechanics of marking

Always mark in red ink. Make sure that some red ink appears on every page on which the
candidate has written.

For each mark awarded, put a tick close to the marking point. In all cases, a tick should equal one
mark and the total number of ticks should match the mark totals in the margins. The total mark for
each part answer should be written in the right hand margin.

Put a cross against incorrect points. It is helpful to indicate omissions of key words or incomplete
answers with a Λ symbol, and to highlight irrelevancies or contradictions by underlining. It is also
helpful to write brief comments to explain the reason for awarding or withholding a mark when the
answer does not obviously match the Marking Guidelines.

When marking answers with many marking points, the points will be numbered. The points do not
have to appear in the candidate’s response in the order in the Marking Guidelines. The appropriate
number must be placed alongside the tick. This helps to clarify where a specific point has been
awarded and makes moderation much easier. It also helps to avoid awarding the same point twice.

Disqualifiers A correct point should be disqualified when the candidate contradicts it in the same
answer. Indicate this on the script by 'dq'. If a tick has already been placed against a valid point,
ensure that it is clearly deleted. Note that there is no penalty for incorrect points which are not
contradictory, or for surplus or neutral information.

The list rule When a question asks for a specific number of points, and the candidate gives more,
the general rule is that any wrong answer cancels a correct answer. For example, if a question asks
for two points and three answers are given, two correct and one clearly wrong, the mark awarded is
one, whatever the order of the answers. This prevents candidates from gaining full marks from a
list of right and wrong answers.

Name two substances that are produced in photosynthesis. (2 marks)

Answer Marks Comment

Oxygen, glucose 2 Both correct

Oxygen, carbon dioxide 1 One correct, one incorrect

Carbon dioxide, oxygen, 1 Carbon dioxide is clearly incorrect

glucose and cancels one of the marks

Oxygen, glucose, water 2 Regard water as a neutral point. It is

not worth a mark but it is not
incorrect

Two or more correct points on the same answer line should be credited.

'Neutral' points, i.e. ones which are not creditworthy but not actually incorrect, should not negate a
correct answer.

Spelling Reasonably close phonetic spellings should be credited. However, any misspelling of
technical terms which can easily be confused, such as intermediate between ‘mitosis’ and ‘meiosis’,
should result in the relevant marking point being withheld. Terms like this will be indicated in the
Marking Guidelines to show that misspellings must not be credited.

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 Stage 1
Data must be recorded as raw data not as tallies. If only tallies are recorded, only the mark for sample size can be given for the table.

Marking Guidance Mark Comments

Candidate’s raw data presented clearly with full descriptions of 1 This may be recorded either by a full title or
measurements made and of the environmental variable. E.g. ‘length of ivy by complete headings on the top of the table
leaves on south-facing and north-facing wall’ (e.g. if ‘length’ only recorded in the table, the
title should give more detail by reference to
ivy leaves and site.)

Units stated clearly and only in the heading to the appropriate columns; 1 Although AQA uses the IOB convention of
separating units by a solidus(/), credit should
not be awarded or withheld for the way in
which units are presented, provided they are
clear.

Sample size of 15 or more; 1

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Total 3
Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series
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 Stage 2
Marking Guidance Mark Comments

Mean values of both samples calculated correctly; 1

Standard deviations of both samples calculated correctly; 1

Frequency tables correctly constructed; 1 Suitable class intervals chosen of equal size.

Graph has length of leaves on x-axis and frequency or number of leaves 1

on y-axis;

Appropriate scale selected for y-axis; 1 This scale should allow for both accurate
plotting and reading the graph.

x axis correctly labelled with appropriate units; 1 Although AQA uses the IOB convention of
separating units by a solidus(/), credit should

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not be awarded or withheld for the way in
which units are presented, provided they are
clear.

All bars plotted accurately. If ICT has been used, it should be possible to 1
read the height of the bars with appropriate precision;

Data presented as a histogram with bars touching; 1

Both sets of data plotted so comparison can be made; 1 e.g. two separate histograms above one
another with same size class intervals or two
histograms on separate sheets with same
size class intervals and drawn to same scale
as x and y axes.

Total 9
Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series
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 ISA Test Section A

Question Marking Guidance Mark Comments

1 Either
1 For light intensity
2 Light meter;
or
3 For trampling
4 Number of people who walked on the site in a set period of
time / force required to push a prode into the ground; 4 Accept other approaches if they provide
1 max quantitative information E.g. Distance from path.

2 Answer will depend on investigation carried out

Variable; Eg Accept any biotic or abiotic factor
2 temperature, pH, light intensity,
trampling, insects feeding.

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Explanation; Accept affecting any process that could be
associated with leaf size. E.g. photosynthesis,
growth, respiration, damage to leaf.

3 1 Make sure the sample was representative; Accept ‘carry out a statistical test’
2 Produce a reliable mean; 2 max Do not accept ‘make sure sample was reliable
3 Reduce the effect of extreme values / reduce the effect of / precise / accurate.
anomalies / identify anomalies;

4 To avoid bias; 1 Accept explanation e.g. so that particular

leaves were not chosen.

5 Give measure of spread of variation in data; 1 Do not accept ‘Give range of data’.
Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series
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 SECTION A–continued

Question Marking Guidance Mark Comments

6 (a) 37; 1

6 (b) No (no mark) Accept explanation using values

Could be explained by natural variation/procedure carried out in 1 e.g. no more different than 33 / 40
same way each time; than 73 and 66.

6 (c) No (no mark)

Still possible to calculate mean/standard deviation; 1

6 (d) Leaves vary in shape / are also different in length/thickness; 1

Total marks for Section A 11

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Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series
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 Section B

Question Marking Guidance Mark Comments

7 Banding pattern changes as cheetah gets older /

difficult to judge as tail is short/fluffy; 1

8 (a) 1 Mean not (always) a whole number;

2 Standard deviation not (always) zero; 2

8 (b) Movement of tail/angle of sight/confused it with another band / Accept reference to Figure 1
subjective estimation; 1 E.g. Bands 2 and 3 have same thickness but
look different

9 Band width not the same on both sides of tail; 1

10 1 Offspring of the same family will be more similar genetically;

2 As have same mother (and father) / parent;

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3 Expect to see more differences in randomly chosen cheetahs; 3

11 (a) To show whether immune response occured / because cats are 1 Ignore reference to control.
(genetically) related to cheetahs;

11 (b) To show that rejection did not normally occur/skin could

(successfully) be grafted; 1
Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Provisional Marking Guidelines 2011 June series
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 Section B–continued

Question Marking Guidance Mark Comments

12 (a) 1 Rapid rejection between unrelated (domestic) cats / cats are

not genetically similar;
2 Rapid rejection between (domestic) cat and cheetah / cats and
cheetahs are not genetically similar;
3 Slow / no rejection in cheetahs / cheetahs are genetically similar; 3

12 (b) 1 Sample size small;

2 Time observed was short; 1 max

12 (c) Similar (antigens on all cheetahs); 1 Accept same / not very different

12 (d) 1 Protein/antigen production determined by alleles/genes/base

Copyright © 2011 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved.

sequence on DNA;
2 The more similar the proteins the more similar their alleles /
genes / base sequence on DNA / the more they are

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genetically similar; 2

13 (a) 1 Drop in numbers;

2 Small variety of alleles / small gene pool (in Allow small number of different alleles
remaining organisms) than in original population; 2 Reject small number of alleles

13 (b) 1 Less likely to be able to adapt to a change in the environment;

2 Lower breeding success;
3 All susceptible to same diseases;
4 More genetic abnormalities; 2 max

Total marks for Section B 21

Biology - AQA GCE AS ISA Q Marking Guidelines 2011 June series
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