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Date May 2019 Marks available 1 Reference code 19M.1.SL.TZ1.25
Level Standard level Paper Paper 1 Time zone Time zone 1
Command term Identify Question number 25 Adapted from N/A

Question

What are these structures?

[Source: Burgstedt | Dreamstime.com]

 

A. Fatty acids in the small intestine

B. Bacteria in the large intestine

C. Villi in the small intestine

D. Feces egested from the large intestine 

Markscheme

C

Examiners report

Some teachers couldn’t see the point of this question. Candidates were not expected to have seen a scanning electron micrograph of the ileum wall, but they were expected to know the shape of villi, because without this they cannot appreciate how a villus increases the surface area for absorption. They should therefore have known that the structures visible in the micrograph are the right shape to be villi. The choice of the correct answer then depended on an understanding of scale bars and size units in biology. The finger-like structures are about 50 μm in diameter – too large for fatty acid molecules or bacteria and too small for fecal pellets. 70 % of candidates chose the correct answer and the discrimination index was high.

Syllabus sections

Core » Topic 6: Human physiology » 6.1 Digestion and absorption
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