Biology: Systems, Genetics, and Careful Reading
What the Kankor biology section rewards
Biology questions cover cell structure and function, transport and enzymes, photosynthesis and respiration, genetics and inheritance, human body systems, ecology, and basic classification. The exam favors precise definitions and correct causal chains over memorized trivia.
Concepts you must own
- Cells: prokaryote vs eukaryote; organelles and their functions (mitochondria, ribosome, chloroplast, nucleus).
- Membranes and transport: diffusion, osmosis, active transport.
- Enzymes: specificity, effect of temperature and pH; denaturation.
- Photosynthesis and respiration: inputs, outputs, and where each occurs.
- Genetics: Mendel's laws, genotype vs phenotype, monohybrid and dihybrid ratios, sex-linked inheritance.
- Human systems: circulation, respiration, digestion, excretion, nervous and endocrine coordination.
- Ecology: food chains, energy flow (roughly 10% between trophic levels), and nutrient cycles.
Traps that appear
- Confusing genotype and phenotype in ratio questions.
- Mixing up photosynthesis and respiration products.
- Osmosis direction - water moves toward higher solute concentration.
- Enzyme graphs - the initial rise is kinetic, the later fall is denaturation.
- "Which is NOT" stems, where three options are true.
Rule of thumb
For genetics, write the parental genotypes, draw the Punnett square, and count phenotypes only after listing all offspring. Worked example: a cross between two heterozygotes Aa × Aa gives genotypes 1 AA : 2 Aa : 1 aa, so the phenotypic ratio for a dominant trait is 3:1. If the trait is sex-linked, remember that males have only one X chromosome, so recessive alleles show up more often in males.