Crossing over normally takes place during which of the following processes?
A) meiosis II
B) meiosis I
C) mitosis
D) mitosis and meiosis II
The one-way flow of air along parabronchi makes what type of gas exchange
mechanism possible, at least theoretically?
A) the same as that occurring in fish gills
B) the same as that occurring in insect tracheae
C) the same as that occurring in mammalian lungs
D) the same as that occurring in echinoderm skin gills
Fred and Joe, two unrelated, mature male gorillas, encounter one another. Fred is
courting a female. Fred grunts as Joe comes near. As Joe continues to advance, Fred
begins drumming (pounding his chest) and bares his teeth. Joe then rolls on the ground
on his back, gets up, and quickly leaves. This behavioral pattern is repeated several
times during the mating season. Choose the most specific behavior described by this
example.
A) agonistic behavior
B) territorial behavior
C) learned behavior
D) fixed action pattern
The water lost during transpiration is a side effect of the plant’s exchange of gases.
However, the plant derives some benefit from this water loss in the form of _____.
A) increased turgor and increased growth
B) mineral transport and increased growth
C) evaporative cooling and increased turgor
D) evaporative cooling and mineral transport
Why do skates and rays have flattened bodies, while sharks are torpedo shaped?
A) Sharks are more closely related to the tubelike lampreys than skates and rays are.
B) Skates and rays need enlarged pectoral fins to help them stay level in turbulent
water, while sharks do not.
C) Skates and rays exchange gases across their skin and thus require a high
surface-area-to-volume ratio, while sharks use gills to respire.
D) Sharks are streamlined for active swimming off the bottom, while skates move about
mostly on the ocean bed.
Which of the following has the LEAST affiliation with all of the others?
A) Glomeromycota
B) mycorrhizae
C) lichens
D) arbuscules
In many ways, the regulation of the genes of a particular group of viruses will be
similar to the regulation of the host genes. Therefore, which of the following would you
expect of the genes of a bacteriophage?
A) regulation via acetylation of histones
B) positive control mechanisms rather than negative
C) control of more than one gene in an operon
D) reliance on transcription activators
Although some sharks close their eyes just before they bite, their bites are on target.
Researchers have noted that sharks often misdirect their bites at metal objects and that
they can find batteries buried under sand. This evidence suggests that sharks keep track
of their prey during the split second before they bite in the same way that a _____.
A) rattlesnake finds a mouse in its burrow
B) male silkworm moth locates a mate
C) bat finds moths in the dark
D) platypus locates its prey in a muddy river
Given what we know about evolutionary biology, we expect to find the largest number
of endemic species in which of the following geological features, which have existed
for at least a few million years?
A) an isolated ocean island in the tropics
B) an extensive mountain range
C) a grassland in the center of a large continent, with extreme climatic conditions
D) a shallow estuary on a warm-water coast
Which of the following is characteristic of ciliates?
A) They use pseudopods as feeding structures.
B) They are often multinucleate.
C) They can exchange genetic material with other ciliates by the process of mitosis.
D) Most live as solitary autotrophs in fresh water.
The success of plants extending their range northward following glacial retreat is best
determined by _____.
A) whether there is simultaneous migration of herbivores
B) their tolerance to shade
C) their seed dispersal rate
D) their size
The earliest known mineralized structures in vertebrates are associated with _____.
A) feeding
B) locomotion
C) defense
D) respiration
Which of the following can be attributed to water’s high specific heat?
A) Oil and water do not mix well.
B) A lake heats up more slowly than the air around it.
C) Ice floats on water.
D) Sugar dissolves in hot tea faster than in iced tea.
You are a physician, and you are seeing a patient who complains of abnormal fatigue
during exercise. You find that the immediate problem is a buildup of carbon dioxide in
the tissues. What is the most likely cause?
A) abnormally shaped platelets
B) abnormal carbonic anhydrase
C) abnormal hemoglobin
D) not enough hemoglobin
Plant hormonal regulation differs from animal hormonal regulation in that_____.
A) there are no dedicated hormone-producing organs in plants as there are in animals
B) all production of hormones is local in plants with little long-distance transport
C) only animal hormone concentrations are developmentally regulated
D) only animal hormones may have either external or internal receptors
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 researcher found a method she could use to manipulate and quantify phosphorylation
and methylation in embryonic cells in culture.
One of her colleagues suggested she try increased methylation of C nucleotides in the
DNA of promoters of a mammalian system. Which of the following results would she
most likely see?
A) decreased chromatin condensation
B) activation of histone tails for enzymatic function
C) higher levels of transcription of certain genes
D) inactivation of the selected genes
From its atomic number of 15, it is possible to predict that the phosphorus atom has
_____.
A) 5 neutrons, 5 protons, and 5 electrons
B) 15 neutrons and 15 protons
C) 8 electrons in its outermost electron shell
D) 15 protons and 15 electrons
The fluid with the highest osmolarity is _____.
A) distilled water
B) plasma in birds
C) plasma in mammals
D) seawater in a tidal pool
Artificial electrical stimulation of a human’s capsaicin-sensitive neurons would likely
produce the sensation of _____.
A) cold temperature
B) hot temperature
C) tactile stimulus
D) deep pressure
If alternative splicing did NOT occur then _____.
A) the human genome would likely contain many more genes
B) the E. coli genome would contain many fewer genes
C) there would be little correlation between the complexity of organisms and genome
size
D) there would be many fewer genes devoted to metabolism in Arabidopsis and yeast
Why do Na+ ions enter the cell when voltage-gated Na+ channels are opened in
neurons?
A) because the Na+ concentration is much lower outside the cell than it is inside
B) because the Na+ ions are actively transported by the sodium-potassium pump into
the cell
C) because the Na+ concentration is much higher outside the cell than it is inside, and
the Na+ ions are attracted to the negatively charged interior
D) because the Na+ concentration is much higher outside the cell than it is inside, and
the Na+ ions are actively transported by the sodium-potassium pump into the cell
Angiosperms are the most successful terrestrial plants. Which of the following features
is unique to them and helps account for their success?
A) wind pollination
B) dominant gametophytes
C) fruits enclosing seeds
D) sperm cells without flagella
A researcher is setting up an experiment to measure basal metabolic rate in prairie voles
(Microtus ochrogaster“a small rodent). Which of the following would be the best set of
conditions for the voles immediately before and during the measurement?
A) House the animals in a cage with plenty of food and water to avoid stress; conduct
measurements in a warmer room than the room where housed.
B) House the animals in a cage with plenty of food and water to avoid stress; conduct
measurements in a room the same temperature as the room where housed.
C) House the animals in a cage with no food for a few hours before measurement;
conduct measurements in a colder room than the room where housed, and exercise the
voles.
D) House the animals in a cage with no food for a few hours before measurement;
conduct measurements in a room the same temperature as the room where housed.
This is caused by excessive nutrient runoff into aquatic ecosystems.
A) depletion of ozone layer
B) acid precipitation
C) biological magnification
D) eutrophication
Which of the following statements is true of signal molecules?
A) When signal molecules first bind to receptor tyrosine kinases, the receptors
phosphorylate a number of nearby molecules.
B) In response to some G protein-mediated signals, a special type of lipid molecule
associated with the plasma membrane is cleaved to form IP3 and calcium.
C) In most cases, signal molecules interact with the cell at the plasma membrane, enter
the cell, and eventually enter the nucleus.
D) Protein kinase A activation is one possible result of signal molecules binding to G
protein-coupled receptors.
The phylogenetic tree below _____.
A) depicts the three major domains of life
B) includes unicellular but not multicellular life
C) includes unicellular and some forms of multicellular life, but not complex animals
and plants
D) includes noncellular life-forms
Which value(s) would be required to calculate how long ago the most recent ancestor of
ungulates lived?
I) the number of base pairs that differ among species in a certain genetic sequence
II) the total number of base pairs in the genetic sequence examined
III) the age of a fossil ancestor for calibration
A) I
B) II
C) III
D) I, II, and III
Assume a thylakoid is somehow punctured so that the interior of the thylakoid is no
longer separated from the stroma. This damage will most directly affect the _____.
A) splitting of water
B) flow of electrons from photosystem II to photosystem I
C) synthesis of ATP
D) reduction of NADP+
The phase change of an apical meristem from the juvenile to the mature vegetative
phase is often revealed by _____.
A) a change in the morphology of the leaves produced
B) the initiation of secondary growth
C) a change in the orientation of preprophase bands and cytoplasmic microtubules in
lateral meristems
D) the activation of floral meristem identity genes
Which of the following is NOT a polymer?
A) glucose
B) starch
C) cellulose
D) DNA
A population of organisms will not evolve if _____.
A) all individual variation is due only to environmental factors
B) the environment is changing at a relatively slow rate
C) the population size is large
D) the population lives in a habitat without competing species present