1. The following is a poem titled A Bird Came Down The Walk by Emily Dickinson.
A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.
He glanced with rapid eyes
That hurried all abroad,
They looked like frightened beads, I thought;
He stirred his velvet head
Like one in danger; cautious,
I offered him a crumb,
And he unrolled his feathers
And rowed him softer home
Than oars divide the ocean,
Too silver for a seam,
Or butterflies, off banks of noon,
Leap, splashless, as they swim.
What theme is most evident in A Bird Came Down The Walk?
2. In the final two stanzas, the bird is described as flying away. The depiction that the bird's flight "rowed him softer..." than oars dividing the ocean implies:
Theme: Knowledge
Consider the following quotes and develop a piece of writing in response to one or more of them. Your writing should respond to the theme in a relevant fashion.
- A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot. (Albert Einstein)
- Some people still think knowledge is power. (Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby)
- The power of human thought grows exponentially with the number of minds that share that thought. (Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol)
- The thing that's important to know is that you never know. You're always sort of feeling your way. (Diane Arbus, Diane Arbus Revelations)
- Any fool can know. The point is to understand. (Albert Einstein)
GAMSAT Section 3 Biology Practice Question
The diagram above shows the absorbance of NAD+ and NADH at various wavelengths of light. As NAD+ is a dinucleotide it absorbs, like all nucleotides, strongly in the 260-280 nm range. It can also be seen that the protonated form exhibits a modified absorbance spectra.
An important biochemical measure of the health of a cell is known as the redox state and is the ratio of NAD+ to NADH. A healthy cell has a redox state of around 700. This high ratio makes oxidative reactions favourable and thus enables oxidative phosphorylation, or the aerobic formation of ATP.
To do this, reference samples of known concentrations of NAD+ and NADH are made up and measured in a spectrophotometer. The unknown samples are then measured and compared to the reference samples to determine the quantity of NAD+ or NADH in the sample.
A molecular biologist has a number of samples that they wish to test the redox state of. For each question select the correct answer using the knowledge provided in this section
2. What wavelength would be most appropriate for determining the concentration of NADH when discriminating against NAD + concentration?
3. What redox state would most likely be found in a cell that was overwhelmed with the work of metabolizing alcohol?
GAMSAT Section 3 Chemistry Practice Question
The increased emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere leads to a decrease in the pH of ocean water due to a chemical equilibrium between carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and carbonic acid (H 2 CO 3 ) which can then contribute protons into the ocean:
CO 2 + H 2 O ↔ H 2 CO 3
H 2 CO 3 ↔ H + + HCO 3 -
HCO 3 - ↔ H + + CO 3 2-
The relative abundance of the above species at a given pH is represented on a Bjerrum Plot.
1. In 1751 the ocean pH was 8.25, but it is expected by 2100 that [H+] in the ocean will increase by 2.5 fold. Which of the following indicates the expected ocean pH in 2100?
2. The initial [H + ] in 1751 was 5.62 * 10 -9 M, and Ca(OH) 2 is a strong base that is expected to dissociate completely. How much Ca(OH) 2 (1.0 M) would be required to return a 4 L water sample from the year 2100 back to the acidities of year 1751?
3. Oceanic species such as corals and plankton have calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) skeletal structures that require the levels of CO 3 2- to be saturated in ocean waters. What effect would an increase in CO 2 emissions have on these species?
4. A hydrogen bond is a bond between a hydrogen and a what?
5. What is the correct definition of a polar and a non-polar covalent bond?
6. Which of the following statements about the difference between sigma and pi bonds is correct?
7. Potassium cyanide binds with cytochrome a₃ to prevent oxygen binding to the enzyme. When this occurs the Km of the reaction is not altered. What type of inhibition is this?
8. Hypochlorous acid dissociates in water to hydronium ions and hypochlorite ions. HOCl + H₂O H3O⁺ + OCl¯ 46. If I add more hypochlorite ions to the solution what will the impact on hypochlorous acid be?
9.To achieve a completely neutral pH what would need to happen to the ammonia and hydrochloric acid mixture?
10. Which of the following statements regarding rate law is correct?
11. Carbon tetrachloride, CCl₄ has a tetrahedral shape formed by four C-Cl bonds. What is the hybridisation around the carbon atom?
12. What does the buoyant force on an object floating on a liquid most directly depend on?
13. Which of the following most accurately represents Pascal’s law ?
1. What is the most accurate meaning of ‘cell lysis via pore formation’?
2. Embryology In pregnancy the foetus is supplied with oxygen and nutrients via blood vessels in the umbilical cord. Oxygenated blood travels from the placenta, to the cord to the foetus. Deoxygenated blood travels from the foetus, to the cord to the placenta. Below are a list of vessels/structures with their associated pressures, note they are not in order of blood flow. Use this information to help you answer the questions below. Uterine arteries: 80mmHg Umbilical arteries: 50mmHg Umbilical veins: 20mmHg Chorionic villi in the placenta: 30mmHg Intervillous space in the placenta: 10mmHg
What type of respiration is the predominant type that occurs whilst the foetus is in utero?
3. Body systems Oedema is an excessive accumulation of fluid in tissue spaces or a body cavity. It can have many harmful effects, for example impaired healing. The diagram below indicates the events that lead to systemic oedema in heart failure. The following points may also be of use: • Increasing plasma volume increases blood pressure • Transudation is the passing of fluid through pores • ADH is antidiuretic hormone • GFR is glomerular filtration rate
Which of the following can be concluded from the diagram?
5. Below is a diagram of a nerve cell. Dendrites receive the message from a cell or stimulus, this is then conducted down the axon to the terminal button where it is transmitted to another cell. Myelin, produced by schwann cells, aids conduction and the nodes of Ranvier enable saltatory conduction to transpire.
What would likely be the result of a partially broken down myelin sheath?
6. Which of the following statements about insulin are correct based on the information underneath ?
Homeostasis
Relevant information: insulin is secreted from beta cells in the pancreas. Glucagon is released from the alpha cells of the pancreas.
GAMSAT section 3 : Physics
Hydraulic force multiplication is one of the mechanisms that allow the force applied to a car’s brake pedal by a person's foot to be multiplied to a level that can stop a car quickly. A very simplified diagram is provided below.
Piston A and B are both cylindrical and are at the same height. The fluid used, in blue, is water. The diameter of Piston A is 10 cm.
1. If a woman pushes a child in a pram for 10 minutes to reach the shops from her home and uses 600 joules of work to do so, what is her power?
Power Power (W) = Work done (j) / time (s) Or Power (W) = energy transferred (j) / time (s)
2. Consider the circuit above and select between which points would be the most appropriate place to add an ammeter to measure the current of the circuit?
Electricity and circuit Voltage = Current x Resistance
3. How much pressure would the person be applying to the water if they push down on the brake pedal with 200 N of force?
4. What is the correct definition for conduction?
5. What is the correct definition for convection?
