Currently, two extant elephant species (X and Y) are classified in the genus Loxodonta,
and a third species (Z) is placed in the genus Elephas. Thus, which statement should be
true?
A) Species X and Y are not related to species Z.
B) Species X and Y share a greater number of homologies with each other than either
does with species Z.
C) Species X and Y share a common ancestor that is alive today.
D) Species X and Y are the result of artificial selection.
Retrotransposons _____.
A) use an RNA molecule as an intermediate in transposition
B) are found only in animal cells
C) generally move by a cut-and-paste mechanism
D) contribute a significant portion of the genetic variability seen within a population of
gametes
Which of the following is a type of work a conservation biologist would be involved?
I) reestablishing whooping cranes in their former breeding grounds in North Dakota
II) studying species diversity and interaction in the Florida Everglades, past and present
III) studying population ecology of grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park
IV) determining the effects of hunting white-tailed deer in Vermont
A) only I and III
B) only II and IV
C) only II, III, and IV
D) I, II, III and IV
Active transport of amino acids in plants at the cellular level requires _____.
A) NADP and channel proteins
B) xylem membranes and channel proteins
C) sodium/potassium pumps and xylem membranes
D) ATP, transport proteins, and a proton gradient
Which of the following statements is true about certainty of paternity?
A) Certainty of paternity is high in most species with internal fertilization because the
acts of mating and birth are separated by time.
B) Certainty of paternity is low when males guard females they have mated.
C) Certainty of paternity is low when egg laying and mating occur together, as in
external fertilization.
D) Paternal behavior exists because it has been reinforced over generations by natural
selection.
Which of the following represents a difference between viruses and viroids?
A) Viruses infect many types of cells, whereas viroids infect only prokaryotic cells.
B) Viruses have capsids composed of protein, whereas viroids have no capsids.
C) Viruses have genomes composed of RNA, whereas viroids have genomes composed
of DNA.
D) Viruses cannot pass through plasmodesmata, whereas viroids can.
Chloramphenicol is an antibiotic that targets prokaryotic (70S) ribosomes, but not
eukaryotic (80S) ribosomes. Which of these questions stems from this observation, plus
an understanding of eukaryotic origins?
A) Can chloramphenicol also be used to control human diseases that are caused by
archaeans?
B) Can chloramphenicol pass through the capsules possessed by many cyanobacteria?
C) If chloramphenicol inhibits prokaryotic ribosomes, should it not also inhibit
mitochondrial ribosomes?
D) Why aren’t prokaryotic ribosomes identical to eukaryotic ribosomes?
The “undershoot” phase of after-hyperpolarization is due to _____.
A) slow opening of voltage-gated sodium channels
B) sustained opening of voltage-gated potassium channels
C) rapid opening of voltage-gated calcium channels
D) slow restorative actions of the sodium-potassium ATPase
Silencing of selected genes is often done using RNA interference (RNAi). Which of the
following questions would NOT be answered with this process?
A) What is the function of gene 432 in a particular species of annelid?
B) What will happen in a particular insect’s digestion if gene 173 is not able to be
translated?
C) Is gene HA292 expressed in individuals for a disorder in humans?
D) Will the disabling of this gene in Drosophila and in a mouse cause similar results?
In what way are elements in the same column of the periodic table the same? They have
the same number of _____.
A) protons
B) electrons when neutral
C) electrons in their valence shells when neutral
D) electron shells when neutral
The regulatory centers for the respiratory and circulatory systems are found in the
_____.
A) cerebrum
B) cerebellum
C) thalamus
D) medulla oblongata
A man has extra digits (six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot). His wife
and their daughter have a normal number of digits. Having extra digits is a dominant
trait. The couple’s second child has extra digits. What is the probability that their next
(third) child will have extra digits?
A) 1/2
B) 1/16
C) 1/8
D) 3/4
The following questions are based on the observation that several dozen different
proteins comprise the prokaryotic flagellum and its attachment to the prokaryotic cell,
producing a highly complex structure.
If the complex protein assemblage of the prokaryotic flagellum arose by the same
general processes as those of the complex eyes of molluscs (such as squids and octopi),
then _____.
A) natural selection cannot account for the rise of the prokaryotic flagellum
B) ancestral versions of this protein assemblage were either less functional or had
different functions than modern prokaryotic flagella
C) neither eyes nor flagella could have arisen by evolution because both are too
complex to have evolved
D) the need for more complex structure must have driven evolution
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is released during which of the following stages of cellular
respiration?
A) glycolysis and the oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl CoA
B) oxidation of pyruvate to acetyl CoA and the citric acid cycle
C) oxidative phosphorylation and fermentation
D) fermentation and glycolysis
The discipline that applies ecological principles to returning degraded ecosystems to a
more natural state is known as _____.
A) landscape ecology
B) conservation ecology
C) restoration ecology
D) resource conservation
Which of the following experiments best addresses the hypothesis that moths stop
flying in response to high-intensity bat sounds?
A) Isolate and characterize the neurons that control flight muscle.
B) Play prerecorded high-intensity bat sounds to flying moths.
C) Observe responses of moths to bats in nature.
D) Put bats and moths in an enclosure and make detailed observations of predator-prey
interactions.
Carotenoids are often found in foods that are considered to have antioxidant properties
in human nutrition. What related function do they have in plants?
A) They serve as accessory pigments to increase light absorption.
B) They protect against oxidative damage from excessive light energy.
C) They shield the sensitive chromosomes of the plant from harmful ultraviolet
radiation.
D) They reflect orange light and enhance red light absorption by chlorophyll.
DES is called an “endocrine disrupting chemical” because it structurally resembles, and
interferes with, the endocrine secretions of the _____.
A) thyroid gland
B) adrenal medulla
C) ovaries
D) hypothalamus
The synthesis of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation, using the energy released by
movement of protons across the membrane down their electrochemical gradient, is an
example of _____.
A) active transport
B) an endergonic reaction coupled to an exergonic reaction
C) a reaction with a positive ΔG
D) allosteric regulation
The structure of the Drosophila gene, called Tinman, is similar to a gene in humans that
also _____.
A) promotes ear development
B) specifies the location of the heart
C) determines structures in the eyes
D) specifies limb elongation points
To introduce a particular piece of DNA into an animal cell, such as that of a mouse, you
would most likely be successful with which of the following methods?
A) electroporation followed by recombination
B) introducing a plasmid into the cell
C) infecting the mouse cell with a Ti plasmid
D) transcription and translation
How many grams of the compound in the figure above are required to make 1 liter of a
0.5 M solution? (Note: The atomic masses, in daltons, are approximately 12 for carbon,
1 for hydrogen, and 16 for oxygen.)
A) 29
B) 30
C) 60
D) 150
The Golgi apparatus has a polarity, or sidedness, to its structure and function. Which of
the following statements correctly describes this polarity?
A) Transport vesicles fuse with one side of the Golgi and leave from the opposite side.
B) Proteins in the membrane of the Golgi may be sorted and modified as they move
from one side of the Golgi to the other.
C) Lipids in the membrane of the Golgi may be sorted and modified as they move from
one side of the Golgi to the other.
D) All of the listed responses correctly describe polarity characteristics of the Golgi
function.
Which of the following is required for a behavioral trait to evolve by natural selection?
A) The behavior is determined entirely by genes.
B) The behavior is the same in all individuals in the population.
C) An individual’s reproductive success depends in part on how the behavior is
performed.
D) The behavior is not genetically inherited.
If photosynthesizing green algae are provided with CO2 containing heavy oxygen
(18O), later analysis will show that all of the following molecules produced by the algae
contain 18O EXCEPT_____.
A) glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P)
B) glucose
C) ribulose bisphosphate (RuBP)
D) O2
Which of the following ecosystems would likely have the largest net primary
productivity per hectare and why?
A) open ocean, because of the total biomass of photosynthetic autotrophs
B) grassland, because of the small standing crop biomass that results from consumption
by herbivores and rapid decomposition
C) tundra, because of the incredibly rapid period of growth during the summer season
D) cave, due to the lack of photosynthetic autotrophs
Imagine some cosmic catastrophe jolts Earth so that its axis is perpendicular to the
orbital plane between Earth and the sun. The most obvious effect of this change would
be _____.
A) the elimination of tides
B) an increase in the length of a year
C) a decrease in temperature at the equator
D) the elimination of seasonal variation
Agrobacterium infects plants and causes them to form tumors. You determine that
tumor formation requires a large amount of the plant’s energy for tissue formation. How
might this change the number of offspring a plant produces, and what is the most likely
explanation for this change?
A) The number of offspring should increase, because in general, illness increases the
reproductive output of organisms.
B) The number of offspring should increase, because the bacteria will provide energy
for the plant.
C) The number of offspring should decrease, because the plant will divert energy from
reproduction to tumor formation.
D) There should be no effect of infection on offspring production because energy for
reproduction is independent of infection.
Genomic imprinting is generally due to the addition of methyl (-CH3) groups to C
nucleotides and chemical histone changes to silence a given gene. If this depends on the
sex of the parent who transmits the gene, which of the following must be true?
A) Genes required for early development stages must not be imprinted.
B) Methylation of this kind must occur more in males than in females.
C) Methylation must be reversible in ovarian and testicular cells.
D) The imprints are transmitted only to gamete-producing cells.
How is net ecosystem production (NEP) typically estimated in ecosystems?
A) the amount of heat energy released by the ecosystem
B) the net flux of carbon dioxide or oxygen in or out of an ecosystem
C) the rate of decomposition by detritivores
D) the annual total of incoming solar radiation per unit of area
A homozygous tomato plant with red fruit and yellow flowers was crossed with a
homozygous tomato plant with golden fruit and white flowers. The F1 all had red fruit
and yellow flowers. The F1 were testcrossed by crossing them to homozygous recessive
individuals and the following offspring were obtained:
Red fruit and yellow flowers41
Red fruit and white flowers7
Golden fruit and yellow flowers8
Golden fruit and white flowers44
How many map units separate these genes?
A) 17.6
B) 15
C) 17.1
D) 18.1
In an experiment, DNA from the linear form of the bacteriophage Lambda was cut into
fragments using the restriction enzyme Hind III. Restriction enzymes are isolated from
bacteria and cut DNA in specific locations. Hind III cuts the Lambda DNA between the
adenine nucleotides on the complimentary strands in a specific sequence, as indicated in
the diagram, producing eight different size fragments. These fragments are then
separated with an electrical current based on size after the DNA fragments are placed in
a porous gel, a process called gel electrophoresis.
cut site
↓
5″ A A G C T T 3″
3″ T T C G A A 5″
↑
cut site
Select an observation that best describes a correct aspect of the two processes of
restriction
digest and gel electrophoresis:
A) When separated on a gel, the pattern of DNA bands will be characteristic of those
cut with Hind III, different restriction enzymes will not produce these same fragments.
B) The sequence AAGCTT is found eight times in the Lambda genome and the
restriction enzyme Hind III finds each location.
C) If an electrical current is not used, eight separate DNA bands would be visible, but
they would not be separated as much as when an electrical current is used.
D) Only the restriction enzyme Hind III can be used to cut Lambda DNA since
restriction enzymes are specific to the type of DNA they can cut.