Biology questions- Please follow the instructions and descriptions below!

ESSAY QUESTIONS

The following are some possibilities for the essay question for this exam.  Remember: to get full credit, you need to fully answer every part of the question.  Try to break it down into components, outline your answer, and check back to the prompt to make sure you've addressed everything.  As always, cite your sources.

 1) A team is analyzing data comparing abilities of males and females.  Their analysis finds the following:

The team's hypothesis is that females have a higher pain tolerance than males.  One member of the team argues that the data is supporting the hypothesis.  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?  Be sure to explain what the data indicates and the significance of the results.

2) Your best friend has just been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and high blood pressure.  He has a BMI of 29 and a waist-to-hip ratio of 1.13.  He has been trying to improve his diet, he says he eats more chicken than beef now and reduced the amount of soda he drinks to 32 oz per day.  He also started going to the gym 1-2 days a week.  He did a 3-day diet analysis (see below).  

A) How has he done on improving his diet?  Is he going to lose weight?

B) Is this a healthy diet considering his medical condition?  Analyze his diet below and highlight food choices that show that his diet is improving and/or any food choice you would recommend he avoid. 

C) Being specific, suggest a further improved diet for him for 1-day?

 GRAND TOTAL (Add a together all three days)

 Calories gain/loss (Consumed – used)___1267_____  Pounds of fat gain/loss __0.363________

3) Your cousin tells you about this amazing new dietary supplement he found on the internet that boosts energy and increases endurance. You look up the main ingredient and learn that this chemical is a form of pyruvic acid.   This form has been found to be able to cross the double membrane and enter the mitochondria. You have just learned about cellular respiration in your biology class, so give your cousin a detailed explanation of the likely effect of these pills on the metabolic pathways in his cells. What process in cellular respiration is likely to be affected, how does it normally function and what will change as a result of taking these supplements?  Is it likely to increase energy and endurance? Why or why not? For full credit, be sure to discuss enzymes, membranes, and ATP.