School Improvement in Maryland

Public Release Item: Public Release items have appeared on HSA forms and then are released for public viewing and use. Releasing items is one step to ensuring that schools, districts, and other stakeholders understand how the core learning goals are assessed on the HSA.

Goal 3 Concepts Of Biology

Expectation 3.1 The student will be able to explain the correlation between the structure and function of biologically important molecules and their relationship to cell processes.

Indicator 3.1.1 The student will be able to describe the unique characteristics of chemical substances and macromolecules utilized by living systems.

Assessment Limits:

  • water (inorganic molecule, polarity, density, and solvent properties)
  • carbohydrates (organic molecule; monosaccharides are building blocks; supplier of energy and dietary fiber; structural component of cells: cell wall, cellulose)
  • lipids (organic molecule; component of cell membranes; stored energy supply)
  • proteins (organic molecule; amino acids are building blocks; structural and functional role, including enzymes)
  • nucleic acids (organic molecule; nucleotides are building blocks - sugar, phosphate, & nitrogen bases; DNA is a double helix, RNA is a single strand; DNA replication; DNA role in storage of genetic information)
  • minerals (inorganic substances essential for cellular processes)
  • vitamins (organic molecule; role in human body: C – wound healing, K – blood clotting, D – bone growth)

Selected Response Item - Released in 2004

Which statement describes the major role of lipids within a cell?

  1. They cause DNA to replicate.
  2. They move RNA in the cytoplasm.
  3. They catalyze chemical reactions in the cell cytoplasm.
  4. They are the main structural components of membranes.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2004_311_bio31.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2004

What molecules control the reaction rate of photosynthesis?

  1. sugars
  2. enzymes
  3. fatty acids
  4. nucleic acids
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2004_311_bio35.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2003

Which of these supply the main energy source used in cellular respiration?

  1. lipids
  2. amino acids
  3. nucleic acids
  4. carbohydrates
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2003_311_bio06.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2003

When the cells of most organisms freeze, they burst. Which property of water causes this to occur?

  1. Water is a universal solvent.
  2. Water changes temperature rapidly.
  3. Water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid.
  4. Water is a nonpolar molecule.
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2003_311_bio13.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Amylase is an enzyme that allows the human body to digest starch. Which of these diagrams best represents part of the structure of amylase?





/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2005_311_bio37.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2004

A dog gets many nutrients from its food including amino acids. Which of these can be built directly using the amino acids?

  1. proteins
  2. carbohydrates
  3. lipids
  4. minerals
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2004_311_bio47.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item - Released in 2003

The cell wall of a plant helps the plant cell maintain its shape. What is the main structural component of the cell wall of a plant?

  1. lipid
  2. cellulose
  3. amino acid
  4. nucleic acid
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2003_311_bio07.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2005

Which of these are the repeating units that form a DNA molecule?

  1. fatty acids
  2. nucleotides
  3. amino acids
  4. chromosomes
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2005_311_bio02.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2006

Most carbohydrates in the human body are

  1. used as building blocks for proteins
  2. used as catalysts for reactions in cells
  3. consumed as a source of energy
  4. not easily absorbed into the bloodstream
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2006_311_bio16.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2006

Which of these represents the structure of messenger RNA?





/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2006_311_bio25.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2006

A scientist removed the cell membranes from bacteria cells in a culture. She analyzed the cell membranes for specific molecules. Which of these was probably the most common type of molecule present in the bacteria cell membranes?

  1. lipid
  2. amino acid
  3. nucleic acid
  4. carbohydrate
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2006_311_bio39.xml

Correct Answer:
A

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

Glucose is a building block of carbohydrates. Which of these best describes glucose?

  1. nucleotide
  2. protein
  3. monosaccharide
  4. lipid
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2007_311_bio06.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

Use the information and the graph below to answer the following question.

Catalase is an enzyme found in plant and animal cells. Hydrogen peroxide is a harmful substance found in cells. Catalase causes hydrogen peroxide to break down into water and oxygen.

A student conducted an experiment to determine whether plant and animal cells have the same amount of catalase. She used liver and potato tissues in the experiment. The student followed the procedures below.

  1. Label two identical test tubes, 1 and 2.
  2. Pour 10 milliliters of hydrogen peroxide solution (1% concentration) into each test tube.
  3. Add a small piece of liver tissue to Test Tube 1.
  4. Add a small piece of potato tissue to Test Tube 2.
  5. Collect the oxygen released from each test tube for 25 seconds.
  6. Measure and record the volume of oxygen for each test tube.

The graph below shows the results from the experiment.

What type of molecule is catalase?

  1. a lipid
  2. a protein
  3. a nucleic acid
  4. a carbohydrate
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2007_311_bio23.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Selected Response Item - Released in 2007

Which of these correctly matches the molecule with its function?

  1. lipid—stores genetic information
  2. vitamin—supplies energy to cells
  3. enzyme—speeds up chemical reactions
  4. carbohydrate—manufactures cell membranes
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2007_311_bio43.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

Fluoride is added to drinking water supplies in many states. People cannot see fluoride in the water because it

  1. turns into water
  2. settles to the bottom of a container
  3. dissolves to form a colorless solution
  4. is less dense than water so it floats
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2008_311_bio02.xml

Correct Answer:
C

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

Use the diagram below to answer Numbers 5 and 6.

Use the diagram below to answer the following item.

Which of these is a nucleotide?

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2008_311_bio05.xml

Correct Answer:
D

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

Use the diagram below to answer the following item.

Which of these is a sugar?

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2008_311_bio06.xml

Correct Answer:
B

Brief Constructed Response (BCR) Item - Released in 2008

Before the three-dimensional structure of DNA was discovered, scientists knew that DNA contained nitrogen bases. The chart below shows the percentages of nitrogen bases in a DNA sample.

Explain how the relative amounts of nitrogen bases in a DNA molecule is closely linked to DNA replication. In your response, be sure to

  • describe the composition of a DNA molecule
  • describe the structure of a DNA molecule
  • describe the process by which DNA replicates
  • explain how the arrangement of nitrogen bases ensures the relatively error-free replication of DNA molecules

Write your answer in your Answer Book.

/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2008_311_bio46.xml

View Scoring Information

Selected Response Item - Released in 2008

Some adult insects are unable to swim but are able to walk on top of water. What characteristic of water enables these insects to walk on top of water?

  1. pH
  2. surface tension
  3. solvent properties
  4. atomic bonds
/share/clg/xml/public_release/science/2008_311_bio50.xml

Correct Answer:
B