DP Biology (last assessment 2024)

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Question 20N.1.SL.TZ0.29

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Date November 2020 Marks available [Maximum mark: 1] Reference code 20N.1.SL.TZ0.29
Level SL Paper 1 Time zone TZ0
Command term Question number 29 Adapted from N/A
29.
[Maximum mark: 1]
20N.1.SL.TZ0.29

How do neonicotinoid pesticides cause paralysis and death in insects?

I. Acetylcholine receptors are blocked.

II. Cholinesterase fails to break down the pesticide.

III. The pesticides bind to presynaptic receptors.

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. I and III only

D. I, II and III

[1]

Markscheme

B

Examiners report

This multiple completion proved to be the hardest question on the paper, with the correct answer being the 3rd most commonly chosen. The two most popular answers both indicated that candidates thought neonicotinoid pesticides bind to presynaptic receptors. Perhaps they had misread ‘presynaptic’ as ‘postsynaptic’. If so, the lesson here is that questions must be read very carefully to avoid slips such as this.

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