| Date | May 2013 | Marks available | 2 | Reference code | 13M.3.SL.TZ2.1 |
| Level | Standard level | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | Time zone 2 |
| Command term | Comment | Question number | 1 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Malnutrition affects the body mass index (BMI) of mothers. The height and mass of over 7000 mothers in Ethiopia and the sex of their most recently born child was recorded. The graph shows the percentage of mothers with a BMI below 18.5 and the percentage of their most recent births that were males in 11 regions across Ethiopia.
State the regions with the highest and lowest percentage of male offspring.
Region with highest percentage: .......................................................................
Region with lowest percentage: .......................................................................
Comment on the variation in BMI of mothers in Ethiopia.
Discuss whether the data supports the hypothesis that malnutrition affects the sex ratio of offspring.
Suggest one limitation of the data.
Suggest one factor that could cause malnutrition in mothers.
Markscheme
highest: Affar;
lowest: Tigray;
(both needed)
a. evidence of high malnutrition rates / some areas with many mothers below 18.5 BMI;
b. large range/15– 40% range (in mothers below 18.5 BMI);
c. many/6 regions in the range of 20–30 % / many/5 regions in the range of 22–25 % (are below 18.5 BMI);
d. lowest in Addis and highest in Affar/Gambela;
a. hypothesis not supported; (do not award if unqualified)
b. no clear relationship / as malnutrition (mothers below 18.5 BMI) increases, there is no clear change in percentage male offspring;
c. however, male birth percentage is usually higher than female (above 50 %) regardless of BMI / 9 of the regions are above/2 regions are below;
a. no data about sex of the mothers’ other children;
b. BMI below 18.5 means individual is underweight but not necessarily malnourished;
c. the number of mothers sampled in each region is not known;
d. no comparison between town and country;
e. no information about age of mothers;
food shortages / famine / insufficient food / poor food quality / warfare / epidemics / poverty
Examiners report
Almost every candidate gave the correct answers of Affar and Tigray.
In b, even though the question was about mothers, many wrote about the sons, but also correctly commented on the large range.
In c most were able to comment that the hypothesis was not supported as there was no clear relationship.
In d many noted that there was no data about the sex of the mothers’ other children or the age of the mothers.
In e many did not relate back to the stem and remember that it was about Ethiopia, resulting in some nebulous answers about ‘lack of essential nutrients‘ etc.
