Question 19M.3.SL.TZ1.15b.ii
| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | [Maximum mark: 2] | Reference code | 19M.3.SL.TZ1.15b.ii |
| Level | SL | Paper | 3 | Time zone | TZ1 |
| Command term | Suggest | Question number | b.ii | Adapted from | N/A |
Vitamin D is converted from an inactive form to an active form by exposure to sunlight. The graph shows the mortality (death rate) from falls in women over 75 as a function of latitude (distance from the equator).
[Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1997, B E C Nordin,
Calcium in Health and Disease, www.fao.org/3/W7336T/w7336t04.htm#calcium%20in%20health%20
and%20disease. Reproduced with permission]
Suggest reasons for this relationship.
[2]
a. higher latitude, lower levels of sunlight ✔
b. less uptake of calcium
OR
less vitamin D ✔
c. higher incidence of osteomalacia leads to higher risk of broken bones/mortality ✔
Lack of sunlight leading to less Vitamin D was the most common answer here. Calcium was rarely mentioned.
