West African Examinations Council
WASSCE Biology · Paper 3 — Practical
Sat separately from the written papers.
8 exam-style questions, written to the West African Examinations Council format and free to read. The answers are here too — what they do not tell you is how many you would get right with a clock running.
1. Specimen F is a flower cut longitudinally.
(a) Name five parts you would expect to identify in the section. [10 marks]
(b) State two observable features that suggest whether F is wind-pollinated or insect-pollinated, and give your conclusion. [7 marks]
(c) State one reason for cutting the flower longitudinally rather than transversely. [3 marks]
2. Specimens C, D and E are a housefly, an earthworm and a tilapia fish.
(a) Classify each specimen into its phylum and class. [9 marks]
(b) State two observable features of C that adapt it to flight. [6 marks]
(c) State two observable features of E that adapt it to life in water. [5 marks]
3. Equal volumes of starch solution were placed in three test tubes with saliva and kept at 10 °C, 37 °C and 80 °C for ten minutes, then tested with iodine solution.
(a) State the observation expected in each tube. [9 marks]
(b) Explain the results obtained at 10 °C and at 80 °C. [8 marks]
(c) State the control you would set up for this experiment. [3 marks]
4. A fresh leafy shoot was set up in a potometer and the movement of an air bubble along the capillary tube was recorded.
(a) State what the movement of the bubble measures. [4 marks]
(b) Describe how the rate would change if a fan were directed at the shoot, and explain why. [9 marks]
(c) State two precautions when setting up the potometer. [7 marks]
5. Specimen B is a transverse section of a young dicotyledonous stem viewed under a light microscope.
(a) Name three tissues you would expect to identify and state the position of each. [9 marks]
(b) State two observable features that would allow you to distinguish this section from that of a monocotyledonous stem. [6 marks]
(c) State one reason why a very thin section is essential for this observation. [5 marks]
Reading these is not the same as sitting them.
Every question above is answerable given time. The exam does not give you time. Sit the whole paper on the real clock and the number you get back is the one that means something.
Sit it against the clock — freeExampaper is an independent study service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to WAEC, NECO, JAMB or any examination body. Exam names and subject titles are used only to describe what each paper is for.