In an average ecosystem, about how much energy is present in the organisms at a given
trophic level compared to the organisms at the next higher trophic level?
A) a tenth as much
B) half as much
C) twice as much
D) ten times as much
When hermit crabs crawl across the ocean floor, they often have sea anemones attached
to their backs. The anemones use their dangerous tentacles to keep hermit crab
predators at bay, and they dine on the particles of food that the crab does not eat. This is
an example of
A) bioremediation.
B) alternation of generations.
C) symbiosis.
D) endosymbiosis.
Which of the following is an example of sensory adaptation of receptors?
A) distinguishing between different colors
B) ignoring the shoes on your feet
C) thinking about what you would do with a million dollars
D) detecting sound and light simultaneously
Hematocrit is the percentage of red blood cells in the blood. In adult humans,
hematocrit is roughly 40-45%, but it can be much higher or lower in other animals.
Consider the Weddell seal, a mammal that can dive and hold its breath underwater for
upwards of 80 minutes. What is the hematocrit level of a Weddell seal, and why?
A) It is likely lower than that of an adult human because the seal needs access to less
oxygen when diving.
B) It is likely lower than that of an adult human because the seal needs access to more
oxygen when diving.
C) It is likely higher than that of an adult human because the seal needs access to less
oxygen when diving.
D) It is likely higher than that of an adult human because the seal needs access to more
oxygen when diving.
A molecule that can elicit an adaptive immune response is called
A) a complement.
B) an interferon.
C) an antibody.
D) an antigen.
The functional unit of the nervous system is the
A) cell body.
B) neuron.
C) axon.
D) synapse.
Which of the following digestive system structures is greatly expanded in size in
koalas, resulting in a very large surface area for prokaryotes to digest plant material?
A) stomach
B) rumen
C) cecum
D) gall bladder
Animals that maintain internal body temperature using heat generated by their own
metabolism are called
A) endotherms.
B) ectotherms.
C) reptiles.
D) amphibians.
You’ve been experiencing acid indigestion lately, and you’d like a quick fix for the
problem. You do a little research on the Internet and discover that your problem is
caused by excess stomach acid. In the pharmacy aisles, however, you’re having a little
trouble deciding what to purchase to address the problem. At the pharmacy counter, the
clerk recommends that you purchase PEPCID AC or Alka-Seltzer tablets.
You hypothesize that a tablet of PEPCID AC can neutralize more stomach acid than a
tablet of Alka-Seltzer. If you placed a tablet of each antacid in a beaker of acid at an
initial pH of 2, which of the following experimental results would support your
hypothesis?
A) After 1 hour, the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was 9.2 and the pH of
the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker was 8.3.
B) After 1 hour, the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was 7.9 and the pH of
the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker was 9.6.
C) After 1 hour, the pH of the solution in the PEPCID AC beaker was equal to that of
the pH of the solution in the Alka-Seltzer beaker.
D) It took 3 minutes for the PEPCID AC tablet to fully dissolve and it took 5 minutes
for the Alka-Seltzer tablet to fully dissolve.
An adult human’s red blood cells are formed in the
A) spleen.
B) liver.
C) bone marrow.
D) thoracic cavity.
In a photosystem, clusters of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoid pigments
function most like
A) an antenna.
B) a propeller on a motorboat.
C) a windmill.
D) a spring.
A man and his wife are having trouble having a baby. Using modern technologies, the
woman’s eggs are removed, fertilized with her husband’s sperm, and implanted into her
uterus. The procedure is successful, and the woman gives birth to a healthy baby boy.
After a while, though, they discover that their son is colorblind and has blood type O.
The woman claims that the child can’t be theirs since she has blood type A and her
husband has type B. Also, neither parent is colorblind, although one grandparent (the
woman’s father) is also colorblind.
As a genetic counselor, you would explain to the parents that
A) the eggs must have been accidentally switched, since the baby’s blood type has to
match one of his parents.
B) each parent could have contributed one recessive allele, resulting in type O blood.
C) the eggs must have been accidentally switched, since a type A parent and a type B
parent can have any type children except O.
D) it is possible for the baby to have type O blood, since type O is inherited through a
dominant allele.
The incomplete decay of dead plants during the Carboniferous period led to
A) global warming.
B) the thinning of the ozone layer.
C) the formation of coal.
D) the formation of tropical swamps.
In fermentation, ________ is ________.
A) NADH; reduced
B) NAD+; oxidized
C) NADH; oxidized
D) ethanol; oxidized
Which of the following statements is true?
A) Hormones travel via specific pathways to specific cells, while electrical signals
travel through the blood to all areas of the body.
B) Effects of hormones last for brief periods of time, while effects of electrical signals
last for long periods of time.
C) It takes longer for hormones to be released into the bloodstream and taken to target
cells than it does for electrical signals to be transmitted.
D) Hormones have a direct connection with target cells, while electrical signals do not.
If an isotope has a half-life of 4 million years, and a fossil is 16 million years old, how
much of the original isotope will be found in the fossil?
A) one-half of the original amount
B) one-quarter of the original amount
C) one-eighth of the original amount
D) one-sixteenth of the original amount
The traits that are unique to insects and have probably contributed to their diversity and
success include
A) small body size, an exoskeleton, and sexual reproduction.
B) flight, short generation times, and complex life cycles including complete
metamorphosis.
C) the exoskeleton, an open circulatory system, and jointed appendages.
D) the presence of four or more pairs of legs, an exoskeleton, and a water-resistant
cuticle.
One of the factors that helps animal-pollinated flowering plants transfer pollen to plants
of the same species is that
A) pollinators are able to rapidly extract nectar from any species of flower, regardless of
the pollinators’ past or recent experience with a given flower type.
B) most pollinators broadly use many different types of flowers.
C) many pollinators have limited learning capacities and are most successful at
obtaining food if they continue to visit the same type of flower after learning how to
extract its nectar.
D) each species of pollinator typically visits flowers of one and only one plant species.
A scientist wants to magnify a pollen grain 8,000 times and examine the ridges and
pores on its surface. Which of the following instruments would be best?
A) a transmission electron microscope
B) a scanning electron microscope
C) a fluorescence confocal microscope
D) an inverted light microscope
Evolution has provided enormous diversity in the number of vertebrae among
vertebrate species. Vertebrae are differentiated during embryonic development by
A) hormone induction.
B) the length of the backbone.
C) the degree of structural support needed.
D) the pattern of homeotic gene expression.
In the three-domain system, the eukaryotes are represented
A) only within the domain Eukarya.
B) only within the domain Archaea.
C) only within the kingdom Protista.
D) in all three domains.
One predator avoidance mechanism that has evolved in prey is
A) chemical defenses.
B) secretion of digestive enzymes that hydrolyze glucose.
C) secretion of enzymes that break down toxic plant compounds.
D) development of a short gestation period.
Jacobsen syndrome, which can cause heart defects, intellectual deficiencies, and
bleeding disorders, is caused by a deletion of the terminal end of chromosome 11. What
method could you use to determine whether an individual has Jacobsen syndrome?
A) Look at a person’s skin cells in G1 under a light microscope.
B) Perform a karyotype using a person’s white blood cells.
C) Place a person’s red blood cells in culture to see if they grow.
D) Count the number of chromosomes present.
The sending of, reception of, and response to signals constitute animal
A) cost-benefit analysis.
B) communication.
C) problem solving.
D) associative learning.
In a water molecule, hydrogen and oxygen are held together by a ________ bond.
A) double covalent
B) nonpolar covalent
C) hydrogen
D) polar covalent
Some restriction enzymes do not leave sticky ends when cutting DNA molecules;
rather, they cut a restriction site down the middle and leave “blunt-ended” DNA
molecules, which do not have any single-stranded nucleotide extensions. Which of the
following is not a likely outcome when trying to insert a gene into a plasmid when have
both been cut with the same “blunt-ended” restriction enzyme?
A) The gene might be inserted into the plasmid by forming hydrogen bonds.
B) The gene might be inserted into the plasmid multiple times in a row.
C) The gene might insert into the plasmid in the proper (forward) orientation.
D) The gene might insert into the plasmid in the wrong (backward) orientation.
Conjugation
A) is the direct transfer of DNA from one bacterium to another.
B) occurs when a bacterium acquires DNA from the surrounding environment.
C) is the result of crossing over.
D) occurs when a phage transfers bacterial DNA from one bacterium to another.
The most reliable way to stimulate branching in a plant is to
A) apply auxin to the axillary buds.
B) remove the terminal bud.
C) give short-day light treatments.
D) add extra fertilizer.
Which of the following statements regarding logistic growth is true?
A) The parameter (K – N)/K is always equal to zero.
B) There has to be more than one limiting factor in place for logistic growth to occur.
C) Population growth is highest when the population is much larger than the carrying
capacity.
D) Population growth is zero when (K – N)/K is equal to zero.
A hydroxyl group is
A) also called a carbonyl group.
B) characteristic of proteins.
C) characteristic of alcohols.
D) composed of two oxygen atoms.