PLTW MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS TEST PAPER 2025/2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔incus - ✔✔a small anvil-shaped bone in the middle ear, transmitting vibrations
between the malleus and stapes.
✔✔Stapes - ✔✔transmits sound vibrations from the incus to the oval window, small thin
bone near cochlear
✔✔vestibule - ✔✔involved in the sense of equilibrium, looping tubes above the cochlea
✔✔inner ear hair - ✔✔hair within the cochlea that detect the way the fluid in it flows
✔✔cochlear nerve - ✔✔the branch of the auditory nerve that transmits auditory
information to the brain, attached to the cochlea
✔✔eustachian tube - ✔✔equalizes air pressure and debris, below the small ear bones
and behind the eardrum
✔✔Sensorineural hearing loss is associated with the ___ ear structure. - ✔✔inner
✔✔Cochlear implants could possibly help a person who has a problem with their: -
✔✔the hair cells in the inner ear
✔✔Predict the result of an increase in the amplitude of a sound wave. - ✔✔The sound
seems louder
✔✔What is amplitude? - ✔✔The maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its
undisturbed position, aka how loud it can get from silence (?)
✔✔A branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution and control of
disease in a population is called: - ✔✔Epidemiology
✔✔A very sudden rise in the incidence of a disease is called: - ✔✔Epidemic
✔✔Which enzyme is used to "glue" the cut ends of a DNA fragment into a plasmid? -
✔✔Ligase
✔✔When making recombinant DNA for a vaccine, how many restriction enzyme cuts
are necessary for insertion of a sequence of viral DNA into the bacterial plasmid? - ✔✔3
, ✔✔Some vaccines require more than one dose. This is often called a booster dose.
What is the correct reasoning as to why you need a booster dose? - ✔✔Immunity wears
off over time; Tdap (tetanus-diptheria-pertussis)
✔✔What is one disadvantage of using live, attenuated vaccines? - ✔✔Disease agent
could mutate back into a pathogenic strain
✔✔Toxoid vaccine - ✔✔Attacks toxins that pathogens produce
✔✔Subunit vaccine - ✔✔Attacks protein coat/small portion of RNA/DNA
✔✔Inactivated vaccine - ✔✔Dead pathogen injected
✔✔Live, attenuated vaccine - ✔✔Weakened virus adapted to only low temps and
cannot replicate
✔✔Vaccines stimulate the ___ system to create ___. - ✔✔Immune,
Resistance/Immunity
✔✔Why are non-immunized school age children often protected from vaccine-
preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles, and polio? - ✔✔Herd Immunity
✔✔What are the qualities of an effective vaccine? - ✔✔Low levels of side effects and
toxicity, Protects against natural and wild versions of pathogens, Should simulate
antibody (b-cell) response and cell-mediated (t-cell) response, Long-term lasting effects,
Inexpensive, Long shelf life, Easy to administer
✔✔Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a disease caused by a mutated autosomal recessive
gene. The non-mutated form of the gene codes for the production of an enzyme needed
to break down the amino acid phenylalanine, a component of proteins in food. The
uncontrolled buildup of phenylalanine in body tissues can cause severe symptoms,
especially in children. What medical intervention is most effective in preventing the
symptoms of PKU? - ✔✔Nutrition
✔✔Unit 2.1 focused on Sue's mother Judy. Judy was undergoing genetic testing
because she: - ✔✔Judy has additional risks in the form of an increased chance of
inherited disease
✔✔A display of chromosome pairs of a cell arranged by size and shape is a(n): -
✔✔karyotype
✔✔What main benefit does ultrasound have over other types of prenatal screening? -
✔✔identify whether your baby is more or less likely to have certain birth defects
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔incus - ✔✔a small anvil-shaped bone in the middle ear, transmitting vibrations
between the malleus and stapes.
✔✔Stapes - ✔✔transmits sound vibrations from the incus to the oval window, small thin
bone near cochlear
✔✔vestibule - ✔✔involved in the sense of equilibrium, looping tubes above the cochlea
✔✔inner ear hair - ✔✔hair within the cochlea that detect the way the fluid in it flows
✔✔cochlear nerve - ✔✔the branch of the auditory nerve that transmits auditory
information to the brain, attached to the cochlea
✔✔eustachian tube - ✔✔equalizes air pressure and debris, below the small ear bones
and behind the eardrum
✔✔Sensorineural hearing loss is associated with the ___ ear structure. - ✔✔inner
✔✔Cochlear implants could possibly help a person who has a problem with their: -
✔✔the hair cells in the inner ear
✔✔Predict the result of an increase in the amplitude of a sound wave. - ✔✔The sound
seems louder
✔✔What is amplitude? - ✔✔The maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its
undisturbed position, aka how loud it can get from silence (?)
✔✔A branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution and control of
disease in a population is called: - ✔✔Epidemiology
✔✔A very sudden rise in the incidence of a disease is called: - ✔✔Epidemic
✔✔Which enzyme is used to "glue" the cut ends of a DNA fragment into a plasmid? -
✔✔Ligase
✔✔When making recombinant DNA for a vaccine, how many restriction enzyme cuts
are necessary for insertion of a sequence of viral DNA into the bacterial plasmid? - ✔✔3
, ✔✔Some vaccines require more than one dose. This is often called a booster dose.
What is the correct reasoning as to why you need a booster dose? - ✔✔Immunity wears
off over time; Tdap (tetanus-diptheria-pertussis)
✔✔What is one disadvantage of using live, attenuated vaccines? - ✔✔Disease agent
could mutate back into a pathogenic strain
✔✔Toxoid vaccine - ✔✔Attacks toxins that pathogens produce
✔✔Subunit vaccine - ✔✔Attacks protein coat/small portion of RNA/DNA
✔✔Inactivated vaccine - ✔✔Dead pathogen injected
✔✔Live, attenuated vaccine - ✔✔Weakened virus adapted to only low temps and
cannot replicate
✔✔Vaccines stimulate the ___ system to create ___. - ✔✔Immune,
Resistance/Immunity
✔✔Why are non-immunized school age children often protected from vaccine-
preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles, and polio? - ✔✔Herd Immunity
✔✔What are the qualities of an effective vaccine? - ✔✔Low levels of side effects and
toxicity, Protects against natural and wild versions of pathogens, Should simulate
antibody (b-cell) response and cell-mediated (t-cell) response, Long-term lasting effects,
Inexpensive, Long shelf life, Easy to administer
✔✔Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a disease caused by a mutated autosomal recessive
gene. The non-mutated form of the gene codes for the production of an enzyme needed
to break down the amino acid phenylalanine, a component of proteins in food. The
uncontrolled buildup of phenylalanine in body tissues can cause severe symptoms,
especially in children. What medical intervention is most effective in preventing the
symptoms of PKU? - ✔✔Nutrition
✔✔Unit 2.1 focused on Sue's mother Judy. Judy was undergoing genetic testing
because she: - ✔✔Judy has additional risks in the form of an increased chance of
inherited disease
✔✔A display of chromosome pairs of a cell arranged by size and shape is a(n): -
✔✔karyotype
✔✔What main benefit does ultrasound have over other types of prenatal screening? -
✔✔identify whether your baby is more or less likely to have certain birth defects