The Science of Biology

Grade 9 Biology · Unit 1

Part A

Multiple Choice Questions

10 marks

Prepare this part on the portal

Part A is not printed here. Multiple-choice practice for this unit lives on the Athens portal, where it is marked instantly and you can repeat it as often as you like. Work through it in this order:

Unit MCQs — full bank. Every objective question for Unit 1. Work through it untimed and read each explanation, especially where you were wrong.
Online Quiz — timed self-test. Same standard as the board paper, against the clock. Aim to finish comfortably inside the time.
Flashcards. Use these in the last week for the fifteen sub-fields, the six steps of the biological method, the three Quranic headings, and the three vector–disease pairs.

Part B

Short Questions

20 marks

Attempt any ten of the following twelve questions. Each question carries 2 marks. A gold star (★) marks a question that appears in the board paper year after year.

★	1.	Define biology. Give the two Greek words from which the term is derived and the meaning of each.	SLO BIO-09-01	2
★	2.	Distinguish between anatomy and morphology, giving one example of each.	SLO BIO-09-02	2
★	3.	Microbiology is often wrongly said to include fungi. State what it actually studies and give two examples.	SLO BIO-09-02	2
★	4.	Define molecular biology and paleontology, and give one significance of studying each.	SLO BIO-09-02	2
★	5.	Distinguish between cytology and genetics.	SLO BIO-09-02	2
★	6.	Name the three Quranic references linked to biology and state the heading of each.	SLO BIO-09-01	2
★	7.	State the contribution of each of the following: (a) Laveran (b) A. F. A. King (c) Ronald Ross.	SLO BIO-09-08	2
★	8.	Sort the following into qualitative and quantitative observations: colour of a cat, height of a giraffe, weight of mango fruits, body temperature of birds, shape of leaves, song of a bird.	SLO BIO-09-06	2
★	9.	State the four characteristics that a good hypothesis should have.	SLO BIO-09-06	2
★	10.	Distinguish between a theory and a biological law, giving one example of a law.	SLO BIO-09-07	2
★	11.	Why do we use the word vector for the mosquito? Name the vector of malaria in humans and the vector in birds.	SLO BIO-09-08	2
★	12.	Hepatitis B virus was found in the blood of 10 persons, but only 6 of them were suffering from the disease. Explain why.	SLO BIO-09-08	2

Part C

Long Questions

30 marks

Attempt any two of the following four questions. Each question carries 15 marks. Spend no more than 15 minutes on each.

★ 1. The divisions and sub-fields of biology.

(a)	Define biology, giving the two Greek roots, then name the three main divisions and state what each one studies.	5
(b)	Define any ten sub-fields of biology. Each definition must state clearly what that sub-field studies.	10

SLO BIO-09-01 · 02

★ 2. Biology beyond the laboratory: other sciences, careers and collaboration.

(a)	Explain why biology is not an isolated science, then define any four of the joined fields, giving one example of each.	8
(b)	Name any four applied fields that require a background in biology, and give one career associated with each.	4
(c)	Define interdisciplinary research collaboration and give one example of it.	3

SLO BIO-09-03 · 04 · 05

★ 3. The biological method.

(a)	List the six steps of the biological method in the correct order.	3
(b)	Explain each step in one or two lines, stating clearly which step is the most important and why.	8
(c)	Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative observations, stating which is more accurate and why.	2
(d)	Explain what a control group is and why an experiment needs one.	2

SLO BIO-09-06

★ 4. Malaria — the biological method in action.

(a)	Describe how the cause of malaria was established, following the steps of the biological method and naming the scientist and the year.	6
(b)	Describe how the spread of malaria was established, naming the scientists involved and the experiments they performed.	7
(c)	Define vector and incubation period.	2

SLO BIO-09-08

Part D

Board Marking Pattern

Reference

How this paper is structured, and how the marks are allocated.

Section	Attempt	Marks
Part A — Multiple choice	All 10 questions · 1 mark each · no choice	10
Part B — Short questions	Any 10 of 12 · 2 marks each	20
Part C — Long questions	Any 2 of 4 · 15 marks each	30
Total	—	60

How marks are actually awarded. Sub-field definitions are marked one mark each, so a ten-mark definition question needs ten separate lines — not one paragraph sweeping several branches together. In any question on the biological method the order of the six steps carries its own mark, and a step written out of sequence loses it even when the wording is right. In the malaria questions the scientist, the year and the experiment each earn a separate mark, so name all three. Above all, Plasmodium must be named as the cause and the mosquito as the vector — reversing the two loses both. And microbiology must be defined as the study of microorganisms; writing fungi loses the mark.

📃 Chapter 1 · The Science of Biology — Chapter Model Paper

FBISE Grade 9 Biology — Chapter 1: The Science of Biology Model Paper