CSEC January 2015 Examinations

Human and Social Biology

1. (a) Kate is suffering from asthma.
(i)

Give ONE asthma-related sign or symptom that Kate would most likely experience.
(1 mark)
ANSWER: Coughing, particularly at night, during exercise or when laughing

(ii)

State TWO measures OTHER THAN medication that Kate should adopt to manage her
asthma (2 marks)

ANSWER: 1. Avoiding things that worsen your asthma

2. Create an action plan
(iii)

Describe the effects of asthma on Kates respiratory tract (2 marks)

ANSWER: The reaction to asthma triggers cause the airways to become narrower and
irritated. This makes it difficult to breath and leads to the symptoms of asthma
manifesting.

(iv)

Asthma is a respiratory disease that affects the young and the old. Would asthma be
classified as infectious or chronic? (1 mark)
ANSWER: 1 Chronic because it cannot be passed from person to person.

(b) The bar graph in Figure 1 shows the incidents of asthma in a population in the Caribbean.

No. of Asthma attacks per year

45
40

35
30
25

20
15
10

5
0
Lean smokers

Lean non-smokers

obese smokers

obese non-smokers

Figure 1. Incidence of asthma in a Caribbean population

Source: cxcpaper.blogspot.com

(i)

Based on the information in Figure 1, which TWO factors reduce the risk for asthma?
(2 marks)
ANSWER: How lean or obese the person is.

(ii)

Describe the trend illustrated in Figure 1. (3 marks)

ANSWER: There is a strong relationship between the number asthma attacks suffered by
smokers if they are lean or obese, both factors result in a higher number of asthma attacks
when compared to non-smokers.

(c) Every year tons of Sahara dust are transported over the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean.
Figure 2 shows the yearly deposition of Sahara dust in the Caribbean,

Chart Title
25
20
15
10
5
0
J

Figure 2. Yearly deposition of Sahara dust in the Caribbean

(i)

Which month has the LOWEST level of Sahara dust? (1 mark)

ANSWER: June

(ii)

Which month has the HIGHEST level of Sahara dust? (1 mark)

ANSWER: March

(iii)

Suggest TWO health implications of high levels of Sahara dust in the atmosphere (2 marks)

ANSWER: 1. Asthma, 2. Respiratory distress

Source: cxcpaper.blogspot.com