Which of the following is generally true about the current research regarding forest
fragmentation?
A) Fragmented forests promote biodiversity because they result in the combination of
forest-edge species and forest-interior species.
B) In fragmented forests, the number of forested-adapted species tend to decline and the
number of edge species tend to increase.
C) Fragmented forests are the goal of conservation biologists who design wildlife
preserves.
D) The disturbance of timber extraction causes the species diversity to increase because
of the new habitats created.
Why are the renal artery and vein critical to the process of osmoregulation in
vertebrates?
A) The kidneys require constant and abnormally high oxygen supply to function.
B) The renal artery delivers blood with nitrogenous waste to the kidney and the renal
vein brings blood with less nitrogenous wastes away from the kidneys.
C) The kidneys require higher than normal levels of hormones.
D) The renal artery and vein are the main pathways regulating how much is produced
by the kidneys.
Which statement describes how climate might change if Earth was 75 percent land and
25 percent water?
A) Terrestrial ecosystems would likely experience more precipitation.
B) Earth’s daytime temperatures would be higher and nighttime temperatures lower.
C) Summers would be longer and winters shorter at midlatitude locations.
D) Earth would experience an unprecedented global warming.
What is the importance of the mucins that are released by salivary glands?
A) They aid in degradation of triglycerides to fatty acids and monoglycerides.
B) They are beginning the process of starch digestion.
C) They are hormonal molecules that stimulate the release of gastric juice by the
stomach in anticipation of receipt of the contents of the mouth.
D) They are glycoproteins that make food slippery enough to slide easily through the
esophagus.
Stanley Miller’s 1953 experiments supported the hypothesis that _____.
A) life on Earth arose from simple inorganic molecules
B) organic molecules can be synthesized abiotically under conditions that may have
existed on early Earth
C) life on Earth arose from simple organic molecules, with energy from lightning and
volcanoes
D) the conditions on early Earth were conducive to the origin of life
The bicoid gene product is normally localized to the anterior end of the embryo. If large
amounts of the product were injected into the posterior end as well, which of the
following would occur?
A) The embryo would grow extra wings and legs.
B) The embryo would probably show no anterior development and die.
C) Anterior structures would form in both ends of the embryo.
D) The embryo would develop normally.
As you stroll through a moist forest, you are most likely to see a _____.
A) zygote of a green alga
B) gametophyte of a moss
C) sporophyte of a liverwort
D) gametophyte of a fern
Hormones are chemical substances produced in one organ that are released into the
bloodstream and affect the function of a target organ. For the target organ to respond to
a particular hormone, it must _____.
A) modify its plasma membrane to alter the hormone entering the cytoplasm
B) be from the same cell type as the organ that produced the hormone
C) experience an imbalance that disrupts its normal function
D) have receptors that recognize and bind the hormone molecule
Fluorine has an atomic number of 9. Which of the following would you do to a neutral
fluorine atom to complete its valence shell?
A) add 1 electron
B) add 2 electrons
C) remove 1 electron
D) Nothing. If fluorine is neutral, it has a complete valance shell.
All of the following events can trigger an adaptive radiation EXCEPT _____.
A) an unusual event splitting a habitat, such as a severe hurricane
B) the evolution of a new morphological feature
C) the extinction of competitors
D) Hox gene duplication events
Which of the following is NOT functionally important in cells of the gametophytes of
both angiosperms and gymnosperms?
A) haploid nuclei
B) mitochondria
C) cell walls
D) chloroplasts
Biologists sometimes divide living organisms into two groups: autotrophs and
heterotrophs. These two groups differ in _____.
A) their sources of energy
B) their electron acceptors
C) their mode of nutrition
D) the way that they generate ATP
Assume that acid rain has lowered the pH of a particular lake to pH 4.0. What is the
hydroxide ion concentration of this lake?
A) 1 x 10-10 mol of hydroxide ions per liter of lake water
B) 1 x 10-4 mol of hydroxide ions per liter of lake water
C) 4.0 M with regard to hydroxide ion concentration
D) 4.0 x 10-4 mol of hydroxide ions per liter of lake water
If a biochemist discovers a new molecule, which of the following pieces of data would
allow her to draw the conclusion that the molecule is a steroid hormone?
I) The molecule is lipid soluble.
II) The molecule is derived from a series of steps beginning with cholesterol.
III) The molecule acts at a target tissue some distance from where it is produced.
IV) The molecule uses a carrier protein when in an aqueous solution such as blood.
A) only I and III
B) only II and IV
C) only I, III, and IV
D) I, II, III, and IV
What are the products of linear electron flow?
A) heat and fluorescence
B) ATP and P700
C) ATP and NADPH
D) ADP and NADP+
Based on cladistics, which eukaryotic kingdom is polyphyletic and, therefore,
unacceptable?
A) Plantae
B) Fungi
C) Animalia
D) Protista
Which of the following provides the best evidence of a biodiversity crisis?
A) the incursion of a non-native species
B) increasing pollution levels
C) high rate of extinction
D) climate change
There are more species in tropical areas than in places more distant from the equator.
This is probably a result of _____.
A) fewer predators
B) more intense annual solar radiation
C) more frequent ecological disturbances
D) fewer agents of disease
In yeast signal transduction, a yeast cell releases a mating factor which _____.
A) acts back on the same cell that secreted the mating factor, changing its development
B) passes through the membranes of neighboring cells, binds to DNA, and initiates
transcription
C) binds to receptors on the membranes of other types of yeast cells
D) diffuses through the membranes of distant cells, causing them to produce factors that
initiate long-distance migrations
What is a syndrome?
A) a characteristic facial appearance
B) a trait that leads to cancer at some stage in life
C) a group of traits typically found in conjunction with a particular chromosomal
aberration or gene mutation
D) a specific characteristic that appears in conjunction with one specific aneuploidy
The Brazil nut tree, Bertholletia excels (n = 17), is native to tropical rain forests of
South America. It is a hardwood tree that can grow to over 50 meters tall, is a source of
high-quality lumber, and is a favorite nesting site for harpy eagles. As the rainy season
ends, tough-walled fruits, each containing 8-25 seeds (Brazil nuts), fall to the forest
floor. Brazil nuts are composed primarily of endosperm. About $50 million worth of
nuts are harvested each year. Scientists have discovered that the pale yellow flowers of
Brazil nut trees cannot fertilize themselves and admit only female orchid bees as
pollinators. The agouti (Dasyprocta spp.), a cat-sized rodent, is the only animal with
teeth strong enough to crack the hard wall of Brazil nut fruits. It typically eats some of
the seeds, buries others, and leaves still others inside the fruit, which moisture can now
enter. The uneaten seeds may subsequently germinate.
Orchid bees are to Brazil nut trees as ________ are to pine trees.
A) breezes
B) rain droplets
C) seed-eating birds
D) squirrels
In the figure above, G1 is represented by which numbered part(s) of the cycle?
A) I or V
B) II or IV
C) III only
D) V only
In a cephalized invertebrate, the system that transmits “efferent” impulses from the
anterior ganglion to distal segments is the _____.
A) central nervous system
B) peripheral nervous system
C) autonomic nervous system
D) parasympathetic nervous system
Which of the following is a challenge to the hypothesis that bats, which produce an
unusually large number of sperm, increase the probability of conception when females
engage in multiple matings?
I) Female bats can eject the sperm of certain males after mating.
II) A female can actively choose which male mates with her last, thus increasing the
odds of conception with that male’s sperm.
A) Only I is correct.
B) Only II is correct.
C) Both I and II are correct.
Against which hard structure do the circular and longitudinal muscles of annelids work?
A) cuticle
B) shell
C) endoskeleton
D) hydrostatic skeleton
Listed below are several examples of types of animal behavior. Choose the letter of the
correct term (A-E) that matches each example in the following question(s).
A. operant conditioning
B. agonistic behavior
C. innate behavior
D. imprinting
E. altruistic behavior
Through trial and error, a rat learns to run a maze without mistakes to receive a food
reward.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
Which of the following molecules is polar?
C3H7OH
C2H5COOH
A) C3H7OH and C2H5COOH are both polar molecules.
B) Neither C2H5COOH or C3H7OH is polar.
C) C2H5COOH is polar, but C3H7OH is not polar.
D) C3H7OH is not polar, but C3H7OH is polar.
Epiphytes are _____.
A) aerial vines common in tropical regions
B) plants that live in poor soil and digest insects to obtain nitrogen
C) plants that grow on other plants but do not obtain nutrients from their hosts
D) plants that have a symbiotic relationship with fungi
Which of the following experiments is the best way to determine if an element is
essential for plant growth?
A) Measure the amount of the element stored in plant tissues.
B) Measure the amount of the element in the soil after plant growth.
C) Measure the weight of the plant and soil before and after plant growth.
D) Grow a plant using hydroponics with and without the element.
Cyanide poisons mitochondria by blocking the final step in the electron transport chain.
Human red blood cells placed in an isotonic solution containing cyanide are likely to
_____.
A) retain the normal cell shape, but the mitochondria will be poisoned
B) lyse as the cyanide concentration increases inside the cell
C) switch to anaerobic metabolism
D) be unaffected
Healthy corals are brightly colored because they _____.
A) secrete colorful pigments to attract mates
B) host symbionts with colorful photosynthetic pigments
C) build their skeletons from colorful minerals
D) secrete colorful pigments to protect themselves from ultraviolet light
Hershey and Chase set out to determine what molecule served as the unit of inheritance.
They completed a series of experiments in which E. coli was infected by a T2 virus.
Which molecular component of the T2 virus actually ended up inside the cell?
A) protein
B) RNA
C) ribosome
D) DNA
Which of the following involves a decrease in entropy?
A) condensation reactions
B) reactions that separate monomers
C) depolymerization reactions
D) hydrolysis reactions
The _____ is the most efficient route of water movement in plants, while the _____ is
the most select.
A) apoplast: symplast
B) apoplast: transmembrane
C) symplast apoplast
D) transmembrane: symplast