Scientists investigated the effect of daily light exposure on the growth of fuchsia plants.
They produced the plants asexually using cuttings from one parent plant. Several cuttings were placed in each group. One group received 12 hours of light each day and the other group received 6 hours of light each day. The light intensity was the same when the lamps were on. All other relevant conditions were kept the same.
The plants were grown for 21 days. The results are shown in the table.
| Daily light exposure | Mean increase in stem length in mm\text{mm}mm | Mean increase in leaf width in mm\text{mm}mm |
|---|---|---|
| 12 hours | 86 | 24 |
| 6 hours | 50 | 18 |
State why using cuttings from one parent plant helps the scientists to investigate the effect of daily light exposure.
Calculate the difference in mean increase in stem length between the two groups.
A student concludes that daily light exposure has a greater effect on stem length than on leaf width.
State whether the results support the student's conclusion. Give a reason for your answer.
State what is meant by continuous variation.
Suggest one additional condition that should be kept the same for both groups, other than daily light exposure, light intensity or growth period.
186 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Biology 5.1 Inheritance, covering 5.1.1 The genome, 5.1.2 Environment and phenotype, 5.1.3 Variants and mutations, 5.1.4 How genetic variants influence phenotype, 5.1.5 Asexual and sexual reproduction, 5.1.6 Haploid and diploid, 5.1.7 Meiotic cell division, 5.1.8 Single gene inheritance, 5.1.9 Predicting single gene crosses, 5.1.10 Sex determination, 5.1.11 Multiple gene inheritance, and 5.1.12 Development of our understanding of genetics. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.