Which of the following best describes the role of plant root nodules in plants such as
peas and beans?
A) They house nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
B) They help absorb nutrients from the soil.
C) They house mycorrhizae.
D) They store nutrients.
Which one of the following can create new alleles?
A) natural selection
B) sexual reproduction
C) mutation
D) genetic drift
A person whose eyeball is shorter than normal suffers from ________.
A) farsightedness
B) nearsightedness
C) astigmatism
D) cataracts
The present rate of species loss ________.
A) suggests that about 25% of all plant and animal species may be extinct by the end of
the century
B) is about the same as it has been during the last 100,000 years
C) is as much as 100 times higher than at any time in the last 100,000 years
D) is slower than in recent years because of conservation efforts
Which of the following is abiotic?
A) a protist
B) a plant
C) a fungus
D) a rock
The Permian mass extinction is associated with ________.
A) an asteroid impact
B) global warming
C) the formation of Pangaea
D) the diversification of mammals
E. O. Wilson coined the term ________ for our innate appreciation of wild
environments and living organisms.
A) bioremediation
B) bioethics
C) biophilia
D) biophobia
The branch of biology that explains both the diversity and the unity of life is ________.
A) evolution
B) microbiology
C) taxonomy
D) genetics
Round seeds (R) are dominant to wrinkled seeds (r), and yellow seeds (Y) are dominant
to green seeds (y). What is the expected phenotypic ratio of a cross between an RrYy
and an rryy individual?
A) 1:2:1
B) 9:3:3:1
C) 3:1
D) 1:1:1:1
What is the metabolic abnormality that underlies the characteristic symptoms of
diabetes mellitus, such as frequent urination?
A) a failure of the kidney tubules to reabsorb enough glucose from the urine
B) a failure of the gastrointestinal epithelium to absorb enough glucose from food
C) an inability of the body’s cells to retain glucose they have absorbed from the blood
D) an inability of the body’s cells to absorb enough glucose from the blood
Plant cells, unlike animal cells, are characterized by the presence of a ________.
A) cell wall and a contractile vacuole
B) cell wall and a central vacuole
C) nucleus and a cell wall
D) nucleus and a contractile vacuole
________ are characterized by stinging cells used for defense and for capturing prey.
A) Annelids
B) Sponges
C) Cnidarians
D) Roundworms
Which of the following can act as a vector to introduce new genes into a cell?
A) primers
B) ligase
C) restriction enzymes
D) plasmids
Extremophilic bacteria are able to survive in hostile environments, including scalding
hot water as well as springs and vents that reach temperatures over 100C. Researchers
studying these bacteria measured the function of a protein from an extremophile
bacterium at 100C, and they also measured the function of a similar protein from a
human cell at 100C. Which of the following results do you think the researchers
obtained?
A) The bacterial protein functioned normally, whereas the human protein did not.
B) The human protein functioned normally, whereas the bacterial protein did not.
C) The bacterial protein and the human protein both functioned normally.
D) Neither the human protein nor the bacterial protein functioned normally.
Read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
In order for cytotoxic T cells to kill infected cells, they must bind to the self protein on
the surface of the infected cell. Other proteins on the surface of the cytotoxic T cells
assist with this binding process. One of these accessory proteins, CD8, has been
implicated in many immunodeficiency disorders, including AIDS. CD8 is required for
cytotoxic T cells to function normally.
Chronic alcohol use is associated with increased rates of pulmonary bacterial and viral
infections. A recent study examined this association by investigating the effects of
alcohol on the immune system in mice. Mice were given either water or alcohol
(ethanol) to drink and then were infected with the influenza virus. The number of
cytotoxic T cells that have the CD8 accessory protein was measured in both groups of
mice. The data collected are shown in the figure below.
What other observation would suggest that alcohol consumption contributes to
increased bacterial and viral infections?
A) decreased histamine concentration in the mice that drank alcohol
B) increased histamine concentration in the mice that drank alcohol
C) increased numbers of B cells in the mice that drank alcohol
D) decreased numbers of B cells in the mice that drank alcohol
Which of the following is the most common type of connective tissue in the typical
human body?
A) fibrous connective tissue
B) adipose tissue
C) loose connective tissue
D) bone
Most human cells contain ________ chromosomes.
A) 36
B) 46
C) 2
D) 23
Which of the following best describe(s) the dependencies of most flowering plants?
I) Many depend on insects or other animals for pollination.
II) Many depend on insects or other animals for seed dispersal.
III) Many depend on fungi to help them acquire nutrients.
A) I
B) II
C) I and III
D) I, II, and III
Which of the following is a health effect of a diet high in saturated fats?
A) increased risk of infectious disease
B) decreased risk of atherosclerosis
C) increased risk of heart attack
D) decreased risk of stroke
The following figure illustrates ________.
A) diastolic blood pressure
B) systolic blood pressure
C) the pulmonary circuit
D) the systemic circuit
Please read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
While radioactive isotopes are used in medicine to identify tumors and other diseases,
they can also be used to treat diseases such as cancer. One method to treat cancerous
tumors is to expose them to radiation, which can kill the cancerous cells and the tumor.
In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new cancer treatment
based on the radioactive isotope radium-223; this isotope has a half-life of 11.4 days.
The radioactive drug, known as Xofigo, is injected into the patient’s bloodstream and
travels to certain regions of the body. Because it emits high-energy radiation over short
distances, it can kill cancerous cells in the sites where it localizes.
After the drug was injected into a person, the following data were collected regarding
the amount of radiation measured in different organs in the person’s body.
Using the table above, what kind of cancer do you think Xofigo is used to treat?
A) liver cancer
B) bone cancer
C) brain cancer
D) lung cancer
Which of these statements is CORRECT?
A) Scientific ideas are subjected to repeated testing.
B) Science can be used to prove or disprove the idea that deities or spirits cause
earthquakes and other natural disasters.
C) Science does not require observations that other people can confirm.
D) Only discovery science can lead to important conclusions about nature.
In most developed countries, overall population growth rates ________.
A) are high, so the population size is growing rapidly
B) are high, so the population size is fairly stable
C) are near zero, so the population size is fairly stable
D) are low, so the population size is declining
Examine the drawing of an atom below. The art is technically INCORRECT in that
________.
A) neutrons are not located in the nucleus
B) the electrons should be much farther away from the nucleus
C) electrons do not orbit the nucleus
D) electrons do not have a negative charge
In photosynthesis, an H+ ion gradient forms across the ________.
A) thylakoid membrane
B) outer chloroplast membrane
C) endomembrane
D) inner chloroplast membrane
What name is given to a discrete packet of light?
A) phaser
B) wavelength
C) photon
D) quantum
Examine the figure shown. During negative pressure breathing, ________.
A) the diaphragm moves downward and the rib muscles contract, increasing the size of
the chest cavity and decreasing the air pressure within the chest cavity
B) the nasal cavities expand and the diaphragm relaxes
C) the diaphragm and rib muscles contract, decreasing the size of the chest cavity and
increasing the pressure within the chest cavity
D) the diaphragm moves downward and the rib muscles relax, increasing the size of the
chest cavity and decreasing the air pressure within the chest cavity
Which of the following elements, essential to life, is a trace element?
A) phosphorus
B) carbon
C) iodine
D) calcium
Kudzu, an Asian vine introduced to the United States in the 1930s as a means to control
erosion, is referred to as “the plant that ate the South” because it grows so fast and
overtakes most plant species in its path. A recent and unusual way that some people are
using to control kudzu growth is to allow goats to graze their land and eat the kudzu,
roots and all. This is considered by some to be the most environment-friendly way to
eliminate this invasive vine. How can we best describe the goats in this situation?
A) a threatened species
B) an invasive species
C) a biological control agent
D) an integrated pest management agent
Read the following scenario to answer the following questions.
The North American beaver is a large rodent that builds dams to convert freshwater
streams into ponds. Beavers build their dams out of trees, which they cut down using
their front teeth. Beavers also eat the leaves and bark of trees, as well as the starchy
roots of water lilies.
Water lilies store carbohydrates in their roots, which is why beavers like to eat water
lily roots. What type of plant cells store these carbohydrates?
A) guard cells
B) sclerenchyma cells
C) parenchyma cells
D) collenchyma cells
Humans convert approximately ________ of the energy stored in food to useful work.
A) 22%
B) 34%
C) 55%
D) 99.9%
What data besides core, skin, and scrotal temperatures would be good to gather to
support or reject the hypothesis that underwear type affects fertility?
A) the size and position of participants’ testes
B) the number and quality of sperm in wearers of each type of underwear
C) the ability of participants to maintain temperature in very cold or very warm
conditions
D) the fertility of each man’s partner