Which of the following does NOT occur during mitosis?
A) condensation of the chromosomes
B) replication of the DNA
C) spindle formation
D) separation of the spindle poles
The internal fertilization that occurs prior to shell deposition has what type of analog in
angiosperms?
A) endosperm proliferation
B) growth of pollen tube and delivery of sperm nuclei
C) fusion of carpels into a fruit
D) seed coat hardening
During a stressful interval, _____.
A) thyroid-stimulating hormaon (TSH) stimulates the adrenal cortex and medulla to
secrete acetylcholine
B) the alpha cells of islets secrete insulin and simultaneously the beta cells of the islets
secrete glucagon
C) adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulates the adrenal cortex, and neurons of
the sympathetic nervous system stimulate the adrenal medulla
D) the calcium levels in the blood are increased due to actions of two antagonistic
hormones, epinephrine and norepinephrine
If a cell is able to synthesize 30 ATP molecules for each molecule of glucose completely
oxidized to carbon dioxide and water, approximately how many ATP molecules can the
cell synthesize for each molecule of pyruvate oxidized to carbon dioxide and water?
A) 0
B) 12
C) 14
D) 26
Which of the following membrane activities requires energy from ATP?
A) facilitated diffusion of chloride ions across the membrane through a chloride channel
B) movement of Na+ ions from a lower concentration in a mammalian cell to a higher
concentration in the extracellular fluid
C) movement of glucose molecules into a bacterial cell from a medium containing a
higher concentration of glucose than inside the cell
D) movement of carbon dioxide out of a paramecium
Which of the following is true for this reaction?
A) The reaction is nonreversible.
B) Hydrogen and nitrogen are the reactants of the reverse reaction.
C) Ammonia is being formed and decomposed simultaneously.
D) Only the forward or reverse reactions can occur at one time.
Which of the following ecological locations has the greatest species diversity?
A) deciduous forests
B) tropical rain forest
C) grasslands
D) islands
African lungfish, which are often found in small, stagnant pools of fresh water, produce
urea as a nitrogenous waste. What is the advantage of this adaptation?
A) Urea takes less energy to synthesize than ammonia.
B) Small, stagnant pools do not provide enough water to dilute the toxic ammonia.
C) The highly toxic urea makes the pool uninhabitable to potential competitors.
D) Urea makes lungfish tissue hypoosmotic to the pool.
Why do most angiosperms have alternate phyllotaxy, with leaf emergence at an angle of
137.5 compared to leaves above and below?
A) To allow maximum exposure to light
B) To promote a leaf area index above 8
C) To reduce shading of lower leaves
D) To allow maximum exposure to light and to reduce shading of lower leaves
An early consequence of the release of oxygen gas by plant and bacterial
photosynthesis was to _____.
A) change the atmosphere from oxidizing to reducing
B) make it easier to maintain reduced molecules
C) cause iron in ocean water and terrestrial rocks to rust (oxidize)
D) prevent the formation of an ozone layer
The figure above shows a simple metabolic pathway. According to Beadle and Tatum’s
hypothesis, how many genes are necessary for this pathway?
A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) It cannot be determined from the pathway.
In a particular case of secondary succession, three species of wild grass all invaded a
field. By the second season, a single species dominated the field. A possible factor in
this secondary succession was _____.
A) equilibrium
B) immigration
C) inhibition
D) parasitism
The interrelationships between the endocrine and the nervous systems are especially
apparent in a _____.
A) steroid-producing cell in the adrenal cortex
B) neurosecretory cell in the hypothalamus
C) brain cell in the cerebral cortex
D) cell in the pancreas that produces digestive enzymes
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and left vertical axis)
and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical axis) averages for each month for some
locations on Earth.
Which climograph shows the climate for location 1?
A) A
B) C
C) E
D) H
A primary reason that the kidneys have one of the highest metabolic rates of all body
organs is that _____.
A) they have membranes of varying permeability to water
B) they operate an extensive set of active-transport ion pumps
C) they are the body’s only means of shedding excess nutrients
D) they have an abundance of myogenic smooth muscle
How would acidification of seawater affect marine organisms? Acidification of
seawater would _____.
A) increase dissolved carbonate concentrations and promote faster growth of corals and
shell-building animals
B) decrease dissolved carbonate concentrations and promote faster growth of corals and
shell-building animals
C) increase dissolved carbonate concentrations and hinder growth of corals and
shell-building animals
D) decrease dissolved carbonate concentrations and hinder growth of corals and
shell-building animals
Reproductive cloning of human embryos is generally considered unethical. However,
on the subject of therapeutic cloning there is a wider divergence of opinion. Which of
the following is a likely explanation?
A) The use of adult stem cells is likely to produce more cell types than the use of
embryonic stem cells.
B) Cloning to produce embryonic stem cells may lead to great medical benefits for
many.
C) Cloning to produce stem cells relies on a different initial procedure than
reproductive cloning.
D) A clone that lives until the blastocyst stage does not yet have human DNA.
Some of the largest leaves in the world can be found on plants near the forest floor of
dense tropical rain forests. Which of the following precursors for photosynthesis is most
likely limited in these large leaves?
A) oxygen
B) carbon dioxide
C) glucose
D) light
A primary response by the Leydig cells in the testes to the presence of luteinizing
hormone is an increase in the synthesis and secretion of _____.
A) inhibin
B) testosterone
C) oxytocin
D) progesterone
All protists are _____.
A) unicellular
B) eukaryotic
C) symbionts
D) mixotrophic
Given that phylogenies are based on shared derived characteristics, which of the
following traits is useful in generating a phylogeny of species W, X, Y, and Z?
A) Trait 1
B) Trait 2
C) Trait 3
D) Traits 1, 2, and 3
Which criteria allow biologists to divide chemicals into macronutrients and
micronutrients?
A) molecular weight of the element or compound
B) the quantities of each required by plants
C) how they are used in metabolism
D) whether or not they are essential for plant growth
In excreted urine, a reliable “marker” that a pregnancy has initiated is _____.
A) progesterone
B) estrogen
C) follicle-stimulating hormone
D) human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
A cell is considered to be differentiated when it _____.
A) replicates by the process of mitosis
B) loses connections to the surrounding cells
C) produces proteins specific to a particular cell type
D) appears to be different from the surrounding cells
The following table shows the contents of a multivitamin supplement and its percentage
of recommended daily values (%DV).
The most likely reason that some of the vitamins and minerals in this supplement are
found at less than 100% is that _____.
A) it would be chemically impossible to add more
B) these vitamins and minerals are too large in size to reach 100%
C) it is too easy to overdose on minerals such as phosphorus and calcium
D) it is dangerous to overdose on fat-soluble vitamins such as A and K
In 2009, a flu pandemic was believed to have originated when viral transmission
occurred from pig to human, thereby earning the designation, ‘swine flu.” Although pigs
are thought to have been the breeding ground for the 2009 virus, sequences from bird,
pig, and human viruses were all found within this newly identified virus. What is the
most likely explanation of why this virus contained sequences from bird, pig, and
human viruses?
A) The virus was descended from a common ancestor of bird, pig, and human flu
viruses.
B) The infected individuals happened to be infected with all three virus types.
C) Related viruses can undergo genetic recombination if the RNA genomes mix and
match during viral assembly.
D) The human was likely infected with various bacterial strains that contained all three
RNA viruses.
A team of researchers has developed a poison that has proven effective against lamprey
larvae in freshwater cultures. The poison is ingested and causes paralysis by detaching
segmental muscles from the skeletal elements. The team wants to test the poison’s
effectiveness in streams feeding Lake Michigan, but one critic worries about potential
effects on lancelets, which are similar to lampreys in many ways. Why is this concern
misplaced?
A) Lamprey larvae and lancelets have very different feeding mechanisms.
B) Lancelets do not have segmental muscles.
C) Lancelets live only in saltwater environments.
D) Lancelets and lamprey larvae eat different kinds of food.
In research on aging (both cellular aging and organismal aging), it has been found that
aged cells do not progress through the cell cycle as they had previously. Which of the
following, if found in cells or organisms as they age, would provide evidence that this is
related to cell signaling?
A) Growth factor ligands do not bind as efficiently to receptors.
B) Hormone concentrations decrease.
C) cAMP levels change very frequently.
D) Enzymatic activity declines.
Which of the following statements is a logical consequence of the second law of
thermodynamics?
A) If the entropy of a system increases, there must be a corresponding decrease in the
entropy of the universe.
B) If there is an increase in the energy of a system, there must be a corresponding
decrease in the energy of the rest of the universe.
C) Every chemical reaction must increase the total entropy of the universe.
D) Energy can be transferred or transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
Some dogs love attention, and Frodo the beagle learns that if he barks, he gets attention.
Which of the following might you use to describe this behavior?
A) The dog is displaying an instinctive fixed action pattern.
B) The dog is trying to protect its territory.
C) The dog has been classically conditioned.
D) The dog’s behavior is a result of operant conditioning.
Which of the following sex and generation combinations directly produces the
megasporangium of pine ovules?
A) male gametophyte
B) female gametophyte
C) male sporophyte
D) female sporophyte
The graph indicates that males leave the area where they were born while females stay
in the area. What is the most likely reason for the evolution of this behavior?
A) Movement of males out of the territory reduces competition for food among the
males.
B) The females are not as strong as the male ground squirrels and therefore stay closer
to their birthplace.
C) Females reproduce by parthenogenesis, which means they produce offspring from
unfertilized eggs so the males are not needed.
D) Within the ground squirrel population, males leave the area of their birth and are
replaced by new males, thus maintaining genetic diversity in the population.
A fish that has been salt-cured subsequently develops a reddish color. You suspect that
the fish has been contaminated by the extreme halophile Halobacterium. Which of
these features of cells removed from the surface of the fish, if confirmed, would support
your suspicion?
1. the presence of the same photosynthetic pigments found in cyanobacteria
2. cell walls that lack peptidoglycan
3. cells that are isotonic to conditions on the surface of the fish
4. cells unable to survive salt concentrations lower than 9%
5. the presence of very large numbers of ion pumps in its plasma membrane
A) 2 and 5
B) 3 and 4
C) 1, 4, and 5
D) 2, 3, 4, and 5
What would happen to people exposed to a chemical warfare agent that blocked
acetylcholine from binding to muscle receptors?
A) Action potentials would be continuously generated, causing convulsive muscle
contractions.
B) Muscle contractions would be prevented, causing paralysis.
C) Muscle contractions could still occur, but relaxation of the muscle would be
impaired.
D) Action potentials would be continuously generated, causing convulsive muscle
contractions; muscle contractions would then be prevented, causing paralysis.