PLTW - MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS FINAL ACTUAL EXAM
PAPER 2026 QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
● What is a medical intervention?. Answer: Is any device, medicine, or procedure that helps
prevent, treat, cure, rehabilitate health impairments.
● What are the main categories of interventions that function to maintain human health?.
Answer: 1. Diagnostic Tools - X-ray, EKG, stethoscope, etc. 2. Rehabilitation - crutches,
casts, exercise 3. Surgery 4. Pharmaceuticals 5. Genetics - gene therapy, counseling 6.
Engineering - bionics, biometrics, nanotech...
● How do scientists gather evidence during the potential outbreak of an infectious disease?.
Answer: 1. Interview/survey - people who are sick to look for connections 2. Symptoms -
Identify symptoms and compare between patients 3. Diagnostics - Use a variety of tools to
identify the cause of the disease (including ELISA and Bioinformatics) 4. Look at
concentrations and connections to determine starting point and then identify source of
disease.
● What is bioinformatics?. Answer: The collection, classification, storage, and analysis of
biochemical and biological information using computers especially as applied in molecular
genetics and genomics
● How can DNA sequences be used to identify disease pathogens?. Answer: 1. Collect a
sample from the patient and grow bacteria 2. Isolate bacteria and use enzymes to breakdown
the cellular components to isolate the DNA 3. Use PCR to amplify the 16s rDNA region 4.
Purify the 16s rDNA region using a gel or filter so that we only have this sequence 5. Use
PCR to make many fragments of the 16s rDNA region. Each fragment will stop a different
base in the DNA using florescent dideoxy nucleotides. Dideoxy nucleotides stop DNA
replication at a specific base. Throughout the PCR process these will be placed randomly so
that there are fragments of all lengths made. 6. The fragments move from the smallest to the
largest through an automatic sequencer. The sequencer identifies the florescent dideoxy
nucleotide, the last base in each of the fragments made, to tell us the sequence of the bases
7. Sequence Analysis Use Bioinformatics to identify the pathogen. BLAST is a computer
database of gene sequences for different organisms. Input the unknown DNA sequence and
the program compares it known DNA sequences. As long as the gene sequence is in the
database the pathogen will be identified.
, ● What is an antibody?. Answer: Protein produced by B-cells.
● How do antibodies identify and inactivate antigens?. Answer: Each antibody will only bind to
one specific antigen once bound to antigens (proteins on a pathogen) antibodies will
inactivate the pathogen and recruit lymphocytes to lyse/kill the pathogen
● How can the ELISA assay be used to detect disease?. Answer: 1. Add Antigen (Sample) 2.
Add Primary Antibody 3. Add Secondary Antibody w/ Enzyme 4. Add Substrate Look for color
change and amount of color change
● Why is it important for doctors to know the concentration of disease antigen present in a
patient's system? (ELISA test). Answer: concentration tells us who started the infection and
where the possible source of the pathogen is located.
● What steps do scientists take to diagnose, treat, and prevent future spread of a disease
outbreak?. Answer: 1. Diagnosis -Symptoms -Interviews -Bioinformatics -ELISA -Various
other diagnostic tests 2. Treatment -Antibiotics -Antivirals 3. Prevention -Vaccinations
-Quarantines -Inform public
● Conjugation. Answer: transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells by direct cell
contact or by a bridge-like connection
● Transformation. Answer: exogenous genetic material may be introduced into a bacterial cell
● Transduction. Answer: DNA is transferred from one bacteria to another through a virus
● Structural difference between gram + and gram -. Answer: Gram - cell walls contain a
peptidoglycan layer surrounded by a thick plasma membrane. Gram + stain purple because of
their thick peptidoglycan cell wall.
● Fluoroquinolones. Answer: concentration-dependent bactericidal activity by inhibiting the
activity of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase, enzyme essential for bacterial DNA replication
thus prevents the growth of bacteria (killing bacteria).
● Apoptosis. Answer: changes within a cell undergoing programmed cell death, brought by
signals triggering the activation of a cascade of suicide proteins in the cell that are destined to
die
● Biopsy. Answer: removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body
● Cancer. Answer: malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally and
systematically
PAPER 2026 QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
● What is a medical intervention?. Answer: Is any device, medicine, or procedure that helps
prevent, treat, cure, rehabilitate health impairments.
● What are the main categories of interventions that function to maintain human health?.
Answer: 1. Diagnostic Tools - X-ray, EKG, stethoscope, etc. 2. Rehabilitation - crutches,
casts, exercise 3. Surgery 4. Pharmaceuticals 5. Genetics - gene therapy, counseling 6.
Engineering - bionics, biometrics, nanotech...
● How do scientists gather evidence during the potential outbreak of an infectious disease?.
Answer: 1. Interview/survey - people who are sick to look for connections 2. Symptoms -
Identify symptoms and compare between patients 3. Diagnostics - Use a variety of tools to
identify the cause of the disease (including ELISA and Bioinformatics) 4. Look at
concentrations and connections to determine starting point and then identify source of
disease.
● What is bioinformatics?. Answer: The collection, classification, storage, and analysis of
biochemical and biological information using computers especially as applied in molecular
genetics and genomics
● How can DNA sequences be used to identify disease pathogens?. Answer: 1. Collect a
sample from the patient and grow bacteria 2. Isolate bacteria and use enzymes to breakdown
the cellular components to isolate the DNA 3. Use PCR to amplify the 16s rDNA region 4.
Purify the 16s rDNA region using a gel or filter so that we only have this sequence 5. Use
PCR to make many fragments of the 16s rDNA region. Each fragment will stop a different
base in the DNA using florescent dideoxy nucleotides. Dideoxy nucleotides stop DNA
replication at a specific base. Throughout the PCR process these will be placed randomly so
that there are fragments of all lengths made. 6. The fragments move from the smallest to the
largest through an automatic sequencer. The sequencer identifies the florescent dideoxy
nucleotide, the last base in each of the fragments made, to tell us the sequence of the bases
7. Sequence Analysis Use Bioinformatics to identify the pathogen. BLAST is a computer
database of gene sequences for different organisms. Input the unknown DNA sequence and
the program compares it known DNA sequences. As long as the gene sequence is in the
database the pathogen will be identified.
, ● What is an antibody?. Answer: Protein produced by B-cells.
● How do antibodies identify and inactivate antigens?. Answer: Each antibody will only bind to
one specific antigen once bound to antigens (proteins on a pathogen) antibodies will
inactivate the pathogen and recruit lymphocytes to lyse/kill the pathogen
● How can the ELISA assay be used to detect disease?. Answer: 1. Add Antigen (Sample) 2.
Add Primary Antibody 3. Add Secondary Antibody w/ Enzyme 4. Add Substrate Look for color
change and amount of color change
● Why is it important for doctors to know the concentration of disease antigen present in a
patient's system? (ELISA test). Answer: concentration tells us who started the infection and
where the possible source of the pathogen is located.
● What steps do scientists take to diagnose, treat, and prevent future spread of a disease
outbreak?. Answer: 1. Diagnosis -Symptoms -Interviews -Bioinformatics -ELISA -Various
other diagnostic tests 2. Treatment -Antibiotics -Antivirals 3. Prevention -Vaccinations
-Quarantines -Inform public
● Conjugation. Answer: transfer of genetic material between bacterial cells by direct cell
contact or by a bridge-like connection
● Transformation. Answer: exogenous genetic material may be introduced into a bacterial cell
● Transduction. Answer: DNA is transferred from one bacteria to another through a virus
● Structural difference between gram + and gram -. Answer: Gram - cell walls contain a
peptidoglycan layer surrounded by a thick plasma membrane. Gram + stain purple because of
their thick peptidoglycan cell wall.
● Fluoroquinolones. Answer: concentration-dependent bactericidal activity by inhibiting the
activity of DNA gyrase and topoisomerase, enzyme essential for bacterial DNA replication
thus prevents the growth of bacteria (killing bacteria).
● Apoptosis. Answer: changes within a cell undergoing programmed cell death, brought by
signals triggering the activation of a cascade of suicide proteins in the cell that are destined to
die
● Biopsy. Answer: removal and examination of tissue, cells, or fluids from the living body
● Cancer. Answer: malignant tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally and
systematically
