Pseudohypertrophic muscular dystrophy is a human disorder that causes gradual
deterioration of the muscles. Only boys are affected, and they are always born to
phenotypically normal parents. Due to the severity of the disease, the boys die in their
teens. Is this disorder likely to be caused by a dominant or recessive allele? Is its
inheritance sex-linked or autosomal?
A) dominant, sex-linked
B) recessive, autosomal
C) recessive, sex-linked
D) incomplete dominant, sex-linked
Which of the following occurs in vascular land plants but not charophytes (stoneworts)?
A) sporopollenin
B) lignin
C) chlorophyll a
D) cellulose
In response to stress, the adrenal gland promotes the synthesis of glucose from
non-carbohydrate substrates via the action of the steroid hormone _____.
A) glucagon
B) cortisol
C) thyroxine
D) adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
The mammalian trachea and esophagus both connect to the _____.
A) stomach
B) pharynx
C) rectum
D) epiglottis
Albinism is an autosomal (not sex-linked) recessive trait. A man and woman are both of
normal pigmentation, but both have one parent who is albino (without melanin
pigmentation). What is the probability that their first child will be an albino?
A) 0
B) 1/2
C) 1/4
D) 1
Reinforcement is most likely to occur when _____.
A) the environment is changing
B) hybrids have lower fitness than either parent population
C) prezygotic isolating mechanisms are in place
D) gene flow is low
Genetic variation leads to genetic diversity in populations and is the raw material for
evolution. Biological systems have multiple processes, such as reproduction, that affect
genetic variation. They are evolutionarily conserved and shared by various organisms.
Which statement best represents the connection between reproduction and evolution?
A) Plants that use sexual reproduction are rare since this type of reproduction in plants
does not contribute to genetic diversity.
B) In order to increase genetic diversity for evolution in sexually reproducing
organisms, mutations must occur in the zygote after fertilization.
C) Since prokaryotic organisms reproduce asexually, there is no mechanism for them to
add genetic diversity for evolution.
D) Sexual reproduction increases genetic variation because random mutations can be
shuffled between organisms.
Garrod hypothesized that “inborn errors of metabolism” such as alkaptonuria occur
because _____.
A) metabolic enzymes require vitamin cofactors, and affected individuals have
significant nutritional deficiencies
B) enzymes are made of DNA, and affected individuals lack DNA polymerase
C) certain metabolic reactions are carried out by ribozymes, and affected individuals
lack key splicing factors
D) genes dictate the production of specific enzymes, and affected individuals have
genetic defects that cause them to lack certain enzymes
Ions can travel directly from the cytoplasm of one animal cell to the cytoplasm of an
adjacent cell through _____.
A) plasmodesmata
B) tight junctions
C) desmosomes
D) gap junctions
The questions below refer to the following phylogenetic trees.
Which tree depicts the microsporidians as a sister group of the fungi, rather than as a
fungus?
A) I
B) II
C) III
D) IV
In peas, a gene controls flower color such that R = purple and r = white. In an isolated
pea patch, there are 36 purple-flowering plants and 64 white-flowering plants.
Assuming Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, what is the value of q for this population?
A) 0.36
B) 0.64
C) 0.75
D) 0.80
Using the table above, determine which age class year would hurt the population
growth most if it were wiped out by disease.
A) age class year 1
B) age class year 2
C) age class year 3
D) age class year 4
Viruses use the host’s machinery to make copies of themselves. However, some human
viruses require a type of replication that humans do not normally have. For example,
humans normally do not have the ability to convert RNA into DNA. How can these
types of viruses infect humans, when human cells cannot perform a particular role that
the virus requires?
A) The virus causes mutations in the human cells, resulting in the formation of new
enzymes that are capable of performing these roles.
B) The viral genome codes for specialized enzymes not in the host.
C) The virus infects only those cells and species that can perform all the replication
roles necessary.
D) Viruses can stay in a quiescent state until the host cell evolves this ability.
Which of the following is a property of liquid water? Liquid water _____.
A) is less dense than ice
B) has a specific heat that is lower than that for most other substances
C) has a heat of vaporization that is higher than that for most other substances
D) is nonpolar
A certain species of pine tree survives only in scattered locations at elevations above
2800 meters in the western United States. To understand why this tree grows only in
these specific places, an ecologist should _____.
A) study the anatomy and physiology of this species
B) investigate the various biotic and abiotic factors that are unique to high altitude
C) analyze the soils found in the vicinity of these trees, looking for unique chemicals
that may support their growth
D) collect data on temperature, wind, and precipitation at several of these locations for
a year
For the following questions, match the key event of meiosis with the stages listed
below.
Centromeres of sister chromatids disjoin and chromatids separate.
A) III
B) IV
C) V
D) VII
In a resting potential, an example of a cation that is more abundant as a solute in the
cytosol of a neuron than it is in the interstitial fluid outside the neuron is _____.
A) Cl–
B) Ca++
C) Na+
D) K+
Which of the following is a true statement regarding mineral nutrients in soils and their
implication for primary productivity?
A) Globally, phosphorous availability is most limiting to primary productivity.
B) Adding a nonlimiting nutrient will stimulate primary productivity.
C) Phosphorous is sometimes unavailable to producers due to leaching.
D) Alkaline soils are more productive than acidic soils.
Mutation is the only evolutionary mechanism that _____.
A) does little to change allele frequencies
B) is more important in eukaryotes than in prokaryotes
C) happens in all populations
D) has no effect on genetic variation
Allosteric enzyme regulation is usually associated with _____.
A) feedback inhibition
B) activating activity
C) an enzyme with more than one subunit
D) the need for cofactors
Which of the following is the first event to take place in translation in eukaryotes?
A) base pairing of activated methionine-tRNA to AUG of the messenger RNA
B) binding of the larger ribosomal subunit to smaller ribosomal subunits
C) covalent bonding between the first two amino acids
D) the small subunit of the ribosome recognizes and attaches to the cap of mRNA
Which of the following is a net sugar source for a deciduous angiosperm tree?
A) new leaves in early spring
B) fruits in summer
C) roots in early spring
D) roots in early autumn
Use this information to answer the question(s) below.
Suppose an experimenter becomes proficient with a technique that allows her to move
DNA sequences within a prokaryotic genome.
If she moves the operator to the far end of the operon, past the transacetylase (lacA)
gene, which of the following would likely occur when the cell is exposed to lactose?
A) The inducer will no longer bind to the repressor.
B) The repressor will no longer bind to the operator.
C) The operon will never be transcribed.
D) The structural genes will be transcribed continuously.
Homologous chromosomes _____.
A) are identical
B) carry information for the same traits
C) carry the same alleles
D) align on the metaphase plate in meiosis II
If there are 20 centromeres in a cell at anaphase, how many chromosomes are there in
each daughter cell following cytokinesis?
A) 10
B) 20
C) 40
D) 80
When a woman has her gallbladder removed, she should probably reduce her
consumption of _____.
A) proteins
B) carbohydrates
C) fats
D) proteins and carbohydrates
For the successful development of a vaccine to be used against a pathogen, it is
necessary that _____.
A) the surface antigens of the pathogen stay the same
B) all of the surface antigens on the pathogen be identified
C) the pathogen has only one epitope
D) the major histocompatability (MHC) molecules are heterozygous
A researcher found a beautiful plant while traveling in Alaska and collected its seeds.
When she came back to Florida, she soaked some seeds in pure water and some in
water with a hormone. When she put the seeds in soil to grow, only the seeds that had
been soaked with the hormone germinated. The hormone most likely was _____.
A) gibberellin
B) abscisic acid (ABA)
C) auxin
D) ethylene
Use the following figure to answer the questions below.
The figure shows the absorption spectrum for chlorophyll a and the action spectrum for
photosynthesis. Why are they different?
A) Green and yellow wavelengths inhibit the absorption of red and blue wavelengths.
B) Oxygen given off during photosynthesis interferes with the absorption of light.
C) Other pigments absorb light in addition to chlorophyll a.
D) Aerobic bacteria take up oxygen, which changes the measurement of the rate of
photosynthesis.
To better comprehend the magnitude of current extinctions, it will be necessary to
_____.
A) differentiate between plant extinction and animal extinction numbers
B) focus on identifying more species of mammals and birds
C) identify more of the yet unknown species of organisms on Earth
D) use the average extinction rates of vertebrates as a baseline
Graph (b) in the figure above shows the normal fluctuations of a population of grouse.
Assuming graph (a) in the figure above is the result of some experimental treatment in
the grouse population, what can be concluded?
A) The experimental treatment exacerbated the population cycling.
B) The experimental treatment did not affect population cycling in this species.
C) The experimental treatment has most likely identified the cause of population
cycling.
D) None of the other responses is true.
Where are proteins produced other than on ribosomes free in the cytosol or ribosomes
attached to the ER?
A) in the extracellular matrix
B) in the Golgi apparatus
C) in mitochondria
D) in the nucleolus
Which of the following scientists argued that variation among individuals allows
evolution to occur?
A) Aristotle
B) Lamarck
C) Linnaeus
D) Wallace
Entrepreneurs attempted, but failed, to harvest nuts from plantations grown in Southeast
Asia. Attempts to grow Brazil nut trees in South American plantations also failed. In
both cases, the trees grew vigorously, produced healthy flowers in profusion, but set no
fruit. Consequently, what is the likely source of the problem?
A) poor sporophyte fertility
B) failure to produce fertile ovules
C) failure to produce pollen
D) pollination failure
The protostome developmental sequence arose just once in evolutionary history,
resulting in two main subgroupsLophotrochozoa and Ecdysozoa. What does this finding
suggest?
A) These two subgroups have a common ancestor that was a deuterostome.
B) The protostomes are a polyphyletic group.
C) Division of these two groups occurred after the protostome developmental sequence
appeared.
D) The lophotrochozoans are monophyletic.
All arthropods _____.
1) undergo complete metamorphose
2) have jointed appendages
3) molt
4) have segmented bodies
5) have an exoskeleton or cuticle
A) 1, 2, and 4
B) 3 and 5
C) 2, 3, 4, 5
D) 1, 4, 5