In the figure above, which of the following survivorship curves most applies to humans
living in developed countries?
A) curve A
B) curve B
C) curve C
D) curve A or curve B
Transpiration in plants requires _____.
I) adhesion of water molecules to cellulose
II) cohesion between water molecules
III) evaporation of water molecules
IV) active transport through xylem cells
V) transport through tracheids
A) I, III, IV, and V
B) I, II, IV, and V
C) I, II, III, and V
D) I, II, III, and IV
What do researchers typically focus on when they study a particular biogeochemical
cycle?
I) the nature and size of the reservoirs
II) the rate of element movement between reservoirs
III) interaction of the current cycle with other cycles
A) only I
B) only II
C) only III
D) only II and III
The existence of evolutionary trends, such as increasing body sizes among horse
species, is evidence that _____.
A) a larger volume-to-surface area ratio is adaptive in many mammals
B) evolution generally progresses toward some goal
C) evolution tends toward increased complexity or increased size
D) in particular environments, similar adaptations can be beneficial to more than one
species
A parasitic fungus, Geomyces destructans, has decimated millions of bats in the United
States since it was first observed in upstate New York in 2006. The disease has been
named White-nose syndrome because of the white fungal hyphae that cover the bat
upon infection. It is believed that this fungus was introduced from Europe by into caves
with hibernating bat populations. Which prediction most likely reflects changes that
will occur in natural communities as a result of massive bat mortality?
A) Increased animal populations as a result of niche availability.
B) Increased rodent populations as a result of an increase in flying insect populations.
C) Increased flying insect populations and decreased populations of bat-pollinated
plants
D) Decreased bird populations as the spread of the fungus infects other closely
Oviparous (egg-laying) animals have internal fertilization (sperm cells encounter eggs
within the female’s body). Yolk and/or albumen is (are) provided to the embryo, and a
shell is then deposited around the embryo and its food source. Eggs are subsequently
deposited in an environment that promotes their further development, or are incubated
by one or both parents.
The yolk of an animal egg has what type of analog in angiosperms?
A) endosperm
B) carpels
C) fruit
D) seed coat
Exon shuffling occurs during _____.
A) splicing of DNA
B) DNA replication
C) meiotic recombination
D) translation
Why is nitrogen fixation an essential process?
A) Nitrogen fixation can only be done by certain prokaryotes.
B) Fixed nitrogen is often the limiting factor in plant growth.
C) Nitrogen fixation is very expensive in terms of metabolic energy.
D) Nitrogen fixers are sometimes symbiotic with legumes.
What would occur if the repressor of an inducible operon were mutated so that it could
not bind the operator?
A) irreversible binding of the repressor to the promoter
B) reduced transcription of the operon’s genes
C) continuous transcription of the operon’s genes
D) overproduction of catabolite activator protein (CAP)
Compared with the interstitial fluid that bathes active muscle cells, blood reaching these
muscle cells in arteries has a _____.
A) higher
B) greater bicarbonate concentration
C) lower pH
D) lower osmotic pressure
Which of the following is true of osmosis?
A) Osmosis only takes place in red blood cells.
B) Osmosis is an energy-demanding or “active” process.
C) In osmosis, water moves across a membrane from areas of lower solute
concentration to areas of higher solute concentration.
D) In osmosis, solutes move across a membrane from areas of lower water
concentration to areas of higher water concentration.
Tumor-suppressor genes _____.
A) are frequently overexpressed in cancerous cells
B) are cancer-causing genes introduced into cells by viruses
C) encode proteins that help prevent uncontrolled cell growth
D) often encode proteins that stimulate the cell cycle
Put the steps of the process of signal transduction in the order they occur:
1. A conformational change in the signal-receptor complex activates an enzyme.
2. Protein kinases are activated.
3. A signal molecule binds to a receptor.
4. Target proteins are phosphorylated.
5. Second messenger molecules are released.
A) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
B) 3, 1, 2, 4, 5
C) 3, 1, 5, 2, 4
D) 1, 2, 5, 3, 4
Photorespiration _____.
A) generates carbon dioxide and consumes ATP and oxygen
B) generates ATP and sugars and consumes oxygen and carbon dioxide
C) generates oxygen and consumes ATP, carbon dioxide, and sugars
D) consumes carbon dioxide and generates ATP, sugars, and oxygen
Considering its total area covered, which ecosystem type represented in the figure
above has a very low level of economic impact on Earth’s ecosystem?
A) tropical wet forest
B) rock, sand, and ice
C) tropical seasonal forest
D) ocean neritic zone
Which of the following would you classify as something other than an animal?
A) sponges
B) coral
C) jellyfish
D) choanoflagellates
The common edible frog of Europe is a hybrid between two species, Rana lessonae and
Rana ridibunda. The hybrids were first described in 1758 and have a wide distribution,
from France across central Europe to Russia. Both male and female hybrids exist, but
when they mate among themselves, they are rarely successful in producing offspring.
What can you infer from this information?
A) Postzygotic isolation exists between the two frog species.
B) Prezygotic isolation exists between the two frog species.
C) These two species are likely in the process of fusing back into one species.
D) The hybrids form a separate species under the biological species concept.
Knowing the atomic mass of an element allows inferences about which of the
following?
A) the number of electrons in the element
B) the number of protons in the element
C) the number of protons plus neutrons in the element
D) the number of protons plus electrons in the element
Why is apoptosis potentially threatening to the healthy “neighbors” of a dying cell?
A) Cell death would usually spread from one cell to the next via paracrine signals.
B) Lysosomal enzymes exiting the dying cell would damage surrounding cells.
C) Bits of membrane from the dying cell could merge with neighboring cells and bring
in foreign receptors.
D) Neighboring cells would activate immunological responses.
A terrestrial animal species is discovered with the following larval characteristics:
exoskeleton, system of tubes for gas exchange, and modified segmentation. A
knowledgeable zoologist should predict that the adults of this species would also
feature _____.
A) eight legs
B) two pairs of antennae
C) a sessile lifestyle
D) an open circulatory system
Diffusion _____.
A) is very rapid over long distances
B) requires an expenditure of energy by the cell
C) is a passive process in which molecules move from a region of higher concentration
to a region of lower concentration
D) requires integral proteins in the cell membrane
Which polysaccharide is an important component in the structure of many animals and
fungi?
A) chitin
B) cellulose
C) amylopectin
D) amylose
It is estimated that animal-pollinated or insect-pollinated plants produce 1000 pollen
grains for each ovule; wind-pollinated plants produce 1,000,000 pollen grains for each
ovule. What does that indicate about pollination systems?
A) Wind-pollinated plants rarely produce seeds.
B) Wind pollination is more efficient than animal-assisted pollination.
C) Wind pollination is less efficient than animal-assisted pollination.
D) Wind pollination is costlier to the plant than animal-assisted pollination.
If carbon dioxide levels continue to increase and climate change continues over the next
century, which of the following would best predict the directional migration of the
North American ecosystems from the biomes shown in this climograph?
A) The ecosystems will shift to the south due to decreasing transpiration rates.
B) The ecosystems will move to both the eastern and western coastlines as these areas
will be more moderate.
C) The ecosystems will move down mountains as the temperatures warm.
D) The ecosystems will shift to the north as temperatures warm.
In all vertebrate animals, development requires _____.
A) a large supply of yolk
B) an aqueous environment
C) extraembryonic membranes
D) a primitive streak
Primate evolution and behavior, such as hunting skills, have been directed in part by the
development of depth perception. What anatomical change made depth perception
possible?
A) a larger brain
B) the formation of compound eyes
C) movement of the eyes to the front of the head
D) diurnal activity
What structural adaptation in chickens allows them to lay their eggs in arid
environments rather than in water?
A) amnion
B) yolk
C) gastrulation
D) development of the brain from ectoderm
The first cloned cat, called Carbon Copy, was a calico, but she looked significantly
different from her female parent because _____.
A) the cloning was done poorly and it was likely that some contaminating cat DNA
became part of Carbon Copy’s genome
B) fur color genes in cats is determined by differential acetylation patterns
C) cloned animals have been found to have a higher frequency of transposon activation
D) X inactivation in the embryo is random and produces different patterns
What is the function of topoisomerase?
A) relieving strain in the DNA ahead of the replication fork
B) elongating new DNA at a replication fork by adding nucleotides to the existing chain
C) unwinding of the double helix
D) stabilizing single-stranded DNA at the replication fork
Choose the pair of terms that correctly completes this sentence: Catabolism is to
anabolism as _____ is to _____.
A) exergonic; spontaneous
B) exergonic; endergonic
C) free energy; entropy
D) work; energy
In the figure above, at which of the numbered regions would you expect to find cells at
metaphase?
A) I and IV
B) II only
C) III only
D) IV only
When the digestion and absorption of organic carbohydrates results in more energy-rich
molecules than are immediately required by an animal, the excess is _____.
A) eliminated in the feces
B) stored as starch in the liver
C) stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles
D) oxidized and converted to ATP
Which of the following structures in females is analogous in function to the vas
deferens in males?
A) urethra
B) oviduct
C) uterus
D) vagina
The symbols +, -, and o are to be used to show the results of interactions between
individuals and groups of individuals in the examples that follow. The symbol + denotes
a positive interaction, – denotes a negative interaction, and o denotes where individuals
are not affected by interacting. The first symbol refers to the first organism mentioned.
What interactions exist between mycorrhizae and evergreen tree roots?
A) +/+
B) +/o
C) +/-
D) o/o
Black fur in mice (B) is dominant to brown fur (b). Short tails (T) are dominant to long
tails (t). What fraction of the progeny of crosses BbTt x BBtt will be expected to have
black fur and long tails?
A) 1/16
B) 3/8
C) 1/2
D) 9/16