Explanation:
The disaccharide sucrose is made up of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose. Sucrose forms when glucose and fructose combine in a condensation reaction (a reaction that releases water).

Maltose (Choice A) is a disaccharide made up of two glucose molecules. Lactose (Choice B) is a disaccharide made up of glucose and galactose. Galactose (Choice D) is a monosaccharide, not a disaccharide.

Explanation​:
When two monosaccharides are joined together to form a disaccharide, water is produced, therefore it is a condensation reaction. Choice A is correct.

Choice B is incorrect as hydrolysis uses water to break bonds, in this case converting a disaccharide into a monosaccharides. Choice C is incorrect as catabolism breaks down large molecules into smaller molecules. Choice D is incorrect as oxidation means adding oxygen or losing electrons.

Explanation:
All the statements are true. A mesocosm is a stable, small representation of an ecosystem and can be used to study how one factor in an ecosystem affects other factors in an ecosystem. In all ecosystems, energy is lost and autotrophs such as algae or green plants generate the energy needed for the ecosystem. Saprotrophs are necessary for nutrient cycling, which is why no external addition of nutrients is generally required. Herbivores are not necessary for mesocosms to be stable as autotroph abundance is also regulated by the availability of resources such as nutrients and light. The only choice that includes all three statements is Choice C. All other choices (A, B and C) are therefore incorrect.

Explanation​:
The process of air entering the lungs is known as inhalation. The term $\text{“}$inspiration$\text{”}$ is used instead of inhalation sometimes. In order for inhalation to take place, the pressure inside the lungs must be lower compared to atmospheric pressure. To decrease the pressure inside the lungs, the external intercostal muscles must contract and become shorter to pull the ribs up and out, increasing the volume inside the thorax.

Choice A is incorrect because abdominal wall muscles relax during inhalation. Lengthening of the abdominal muscles can contribute to inhalation by pushing the abdominal wall out which increases the volume inside the thorax.

Choice B is incorrect because when the diaphragm relaxes it forms a dome shape and therefore reduces the volume of the thorax. This occurs during exhalation.

Choice D is incorrect because internal intercostal muscles relax and lengthen during inhalation. They contract and shorten during exhalation.

Explanation:
Choice A is correct because there is no compartmentalisation in prokaryotes, hence transcription and translation both take place in the cytoplasm.

Choice B is incorrect because mRNA splicing does not occur in prokaryotes, but does occur in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. Choice C and D are incorrect because the regulation of transcription and translation of mRNA into a polypeptide chain occurs in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Explanation​:
A potometer is used to measure the rate of transpiration in a plant. When transpiration takes place, water loss occurs because water evaporates inside the leaves and then diffuses out of the leaves. The bubble in the capillary tube will move in the direction of the plant along with the water in the capillary tube which is being absorbed by the plant (Choice C).

Choice B is incorrect because the water and bubble are moving towards the plant, not away from it.

Choice A is incorrect because the water in the reservoir will stay at the same level. The reservoir contains a switch that is used to refill the capillary tube and push the bubble back to the start position. This is done at the end of the experiment to reset the apparatus for the next measurement.

Choice D is incorrect as the water level in the beaker will decrease as water enters the capillary tube and also because of evaporation from the beaker to the atmosphere.

Explanation​:
Water is cohesive because it is a polar molecule. The oxygen atom in one water molecule forms a hydrogen bond with the hydrogen atom of another water molecule. In xylem vessels water is attracted to the hydrophilic regions of the cell wall and hydrogen bonds are formed. This an accurate description of the adhesive properties of water in the context of water transport in plants (Choice A). These statements are reversed in Choice D.

Ions dissolve in water, but this is not related to the cohesive (Choice B) or adhesive (Choice C) properties of water.

Explanation​:
Choice D is correct because starch is made of chains of alpha glucose, proteins are made of chains of amino acids and triglycerides are made of fatty acids and glycerol. Choice A is incorrect because starch is not composed of beta glucose and peptides are not the simplest units of proteins. Choice B is incorrect because starch is not composed of beta glucose and triglycerides do not contain glycogen. Choice C is incorrect because peptides are not the smallest unit of proteins and triglycerides do not contain glycogen.

Explanation:
Protein pumps are membrane proteins that pump molecules up their concentration gradient using energy in the form of ATP.

Protein channels (Choice A) carry out passive transport while receptors (Choice D) and peripheral proteins (Choice C) do not transport proteins.

Explanation​:
The enzyme lactase breaks down the substrate lactose into glucose and galactose.

Glucose and galactose are products of the reaction (Choices A and B).

Fructose is not a substrate for the enzyme lactase (Choice D).

Explanation​:
Autotrophs are producers (Choice A) which synthesize their own organic compounds. Consumers gain their nutrition by feeding (Choice B) on other organisms. Detritivores consume dead organic matter (Choice C) by ingestion. Saprotrophs break down food outside their bodies (Choice D) by secreting enzymes and then ingesting the digested compounds.

Explanation​:
Ducks and fish are consumers (Choice B, C and D), which is a type of heterotroph, whereas Azolla and rice can carry out photosynthesis and are, therefore, autotrophs (self-feeding).

Explanation​:
Sieve plates (Statement I) and plasmodesmata (Statement II) are features found in phloem. Sieve plates possess pores which allow continual flow of sap through the sieve tubes. Plasmodesmata are small channels which connect the sieve tube elements to the adjacent companion cells. A high lignin content (Statement III) is found in xylem vessels. It provides support to withstand hydrostatic pressure, and is also impermeable to water.

Explanation:
Saprotrophs are decomposers that secrete digestive enzymes onto organic molecules and then absorb the digested nutrients. This is a form of extra-cellular nutrition. Fungi and certain bacteria are examples of saprotrophs. Woodlice or pill bugs are detritivores. Detritivores are decomposers, but they ingest the organic molecules before digesting them into smaller, soluble ones. Choice D is, therefore, correct. Mushrooms and yeast are fungi, and Bacillus subtilis is a bacterium. Therefore Choices A, B and C are all saprotrophs and therefore are incorrect.

Explanation​:
During exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and lifts upwards to form a dome shape (Statement I). The internal intercostal muscles contract and pull the ribcage inwards and downwards (Statement II).

This causes the volume inside the thorax to decrease which increases pressure inside the thorax (Statement III). Thus the air is forced out of the lungs.

Explanation​:
Choice B is correct because Rubisco is the name of the enzyme which is responsible for the fixation of carbon during photosynthesis. Choice A is incorrect as rhodopsin is a pigment found in the retina which is responsible for detecting light . Choices C and D are incorrect as neither are enzymes, with collagen being a structural component of tissues such as skin and insulin being a hormone responsible for regulating blood glucose levels.

Explanation​:
Water diffuses out of stomata from the inner air space of leaves during transpiration (Option I). Because oxygen is produced during photosynthesis, its concentration is generally higher in the inner air space than the atmosphere which means it diffuses out through the stomata (Option II). Mineral ions (Option III) enter plants through root cells, not through the stomata.

Explanation​:
Choice A - There are still stem cells that can be found in the adult body. For example, stem cells are present in the bone marrow, skin, and liver.

Choice B - The foetal stage of development happens from the ninth week after conception until birth. In this stage, the organs have begun to form, and these developing organs come from differentiated stem cells.

Choice C - Stem cells are characterised by their capacity to divide and differentiate. These cells are similar to a blank canvas with the possibility of becoming any type of cell.

Choice D - Stem cells are yet to undergo specialisation through the process of differentiation.

Explanation:
Choice C is correct because ribosomes are organelles found on the surface of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and are needed to synthesise polypeptide chains.

The nucleus (Choice A) contains DNA, some of which codes for the polypeptides made by the ribosomes. The role of vesicles (Choice B) is to store substances and to transport substances, including proteins, between cellular compartments. The mitochondria (Choice D) are the organelles responsible for aerobic respiration.

Explanation​:
Statement I
In the Singer-Nicholson model of the plasma membrane, proteins were believed to move within the phospholipid bilayer. The finding that proteins can move throughout the membrane supported the Singer-Nicholson model and refuted earlier models. Statement I is correct.

Statement II
In an earlier model, proteins were assumed to form one layer above and one layer below the phospholipids. The finding that some membrane proteins were hydrophobic (nonpolar) refuted this model and supported the Singer-Nicholson model, since hydrophobic proteins could not form a continuous layer along the charged phospholipid heads but could be embedded within the nonpolar phospholipid tails. Statement II is correct.

Statement III
In an earlier model, the membrane was assumed to consist of three layers (a layer of lipids sandwiched between two layers of proteins). The finding that the membrane consists of two dark bands separated by a light band was consistent with this earlier model. Statement III is incorrect.

Explanation:
Holozoic nutrition refers to the type of nutrition where organisms ingest whole or partially whole food items (Statement II). The ingested food is then broken down by the organism's internal digestive system (Statement III). Therefore Choice B is correct. Saprotrophs (Statement I) are organisms that obtain their nutrients by decomposing dead and decaying organic matter externally and then absorbing the nutrients. Therefore Choices A, C and D are not correct as they all include Statement I.

Explanation​:
Choice A is correct because insulin is a peptide hormone, which is polar so cannot directly pass through the plasma membrane. Instead it binds to receptors in the plasma membrane which triggers intracellular signalling pathways.

Choices B, C and D are all incorrect, as they are all non-polar steroids so can diffuse through the plasma membrane and bind directly to receptors inside the cell, affecting gene expression.

Explanation​:
Obligate anaerobes are single-celled organisms that will not survive if oxygen is present. Facultative anaerobes are organisms that can either respire aerobically or anaerobically. Obligate aerobes can only respire if oxygen is present and cannot survive in conditions low in oxygen. Therefore Choice A is correct.

Choices B and D are incorrect because obligate anaerobes cannot respire when oxygen is present. Choice C is incorrect as obligate anaerobes require anoxic conditions, and obligate aerobes cannot carry out anaerobic respiration.

Explanation​:
Autotrophs are producers (Choice A, B). They are self-feeding whereas heterotrophs are organisms that gain nutrition by feeding on another organisms (Choice C, D). Detritivores consume dead organic matter by ingestion (Choice C) whereas saprotrophs break down food outside their bodies by secreting enzymes into the environment.

Explanation:
Choice A is the correct response because arteries are not non-elastic, instead they do have a degree of elasticity. Choices B, C and D all correctly match the structure and function of each blood vessel.