In bowerbirds, the divergence illustrated in the figure is based on
A) how often females visit the bower built by males.
B) the color of the plumage of the females.
C) the females’ preference for types of bower.
D) the color of bowers.
Which of the following statements is false?
A) Stems and leaves depend on the water and minerals absorbed by the roots.
B) Roots depend upon sugars produced in photosynthetic organs such as leaves.
C) Plant root hairs help to absorb carbon dioxide from the soil.
D) The shoot system of a plant consists of the stems, leaves, and adaptations for
reproduction.
Which of the following lists muscle components in the correct order from smallest to
largest?
A) muscle, sarcomeres, myofibrils, muscle fibers
B) sarcomeres, myofibrils, muscle fibers, muscle
C) sarcomeres, myofibrils, muscle, muscle fibers
D) myofibrils, muscle, sarcomeres, muscle fibers
Which of the following substances, by providing strength, allows sclerenchyma cells to
provide support and play a role analogous to that of an animal’s skeleton?
A) lignin
B) sucrose
C) starch
D) chlorophyll
Why did the lactose tolerance mutation in the East African herders spread so rapidly
within the population?
A) Milk provided calcium for strong bones.
B) It was a selective advantage for survival during droughts and cold winters.
C) Lactose was a better source of energy than glucose.
D) Milk was a good source of protein during the summer harvests.
Which of the following statements about the greenhouse effect is true?
A) The greenhouse effect is reduced by deforestation.
B) The greenhouse effect is exacerbated by the use of fossil fuels.
C) The greenhouse effect will decrease the average temperature of the planet.
D) The greenhouse effect has no direct relationship with the Industrial Revolution of the
1800s.
Sterilization, in which sperm are surgically prevented from reaching the egg, is
accomplished by
A) the rhythm method.
B) tubal ligation or vasectomy.
C) spermicide.
D) mifepristone.
The famous pink-colored sand of Bermuda’s beaches is due to crushed shells of
________, marine organisms with tests (porous shells) made of organic material
hardened by calcium carbonate.
A) radiolarians
B) green algae
C) foraminifera
D) lobsters
Why do cigarette smokers cough more than nonsmokers?
A) The tar in cigarette smoke tends to make alveoli stick together, and coughing
separates them.
B) Cigarette smoke harms the cilia that normally move debris out of the lungs, and
coughing is the remaining way to clean the lungs.
C) Cigarette smoking partially paralyzes the muscles in the lungs, resulting in an
increased residual volume, and coughing exchanges this “dead air.”
D) By raising the pressure in the lungs, coughing forces more oxygen into the blood.
Which of the following statements regarding mitosis and meiosis is true?
A) Sister chromatids separate during anaphase of mitosis and anaphase II of meiosis.
B) Mitosis takes place in your gametes, whereas meiosis takes place in your somatic
cells.
C) In metaphase of mitosis and metaphase I of meiosis, homologous chromosomes
separate.
D) Independent orientation occurs during metaphase of mitosis and metaphase II of
meiosis.
What kind of virus is HIV?
A) a paramyxovirus
B) a retrovirus
C) a complex virus
D) a provirus
The complement system can be activated by
A) inflammatory mediators.
B) antigen-antibody complexes.
C) B cell plasma membrane.
D) T cells.
You are told that the song of males among a particular songbird species has an innate
component but is also largely learned. Nestling males imprint on their father’s song and
then sing it themselves when they reach sexual maturity. Which of the following
observations would lead you to doubt this information?
A) A male chick reared in isolation but introduced as an older juvenile into an aviary
containing normal males of his species sings his species’ song.
B) A male chick who is reared in isolation but hears tape recordings of his species’ song
grows up to sing normally.
C) A male chick who is reared in isolation but hears tape recordings of a different
species’ song grows up to sing that species’ song.
D) A male chick fostered in the nest of a different species grows up to sing the song of
its foster species.
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 want to design a controlled experiment to determine which tablet, PEPCID AC or
Alka-Seltzer, neutralizes stomach acid the quickest. Which of the following
experiments would be the best to perform?
A) Place a PEPCID AC tablet in a beaker of acid at pH 2 and an Alka-Seltzer tablet in a
separate beaker of acid at pH 2 and check the pH in the beakers every 2 minutes.
B) Take a PEPCID AC tablet at 8:00 am on Monday and take an Alka-Seltzer tablet at
8:00 am on Tuesday and take note of how long it takes you to feel better.
C) Find a group of your friends and go out to a big dinner. Then give half of them a
PEPCID AC tablet and give the other half an Alka-Seltzer tablet and tell them to write
down how long it takes them to feel better.
D) Place a PEPCID AC tablet in a beaker of acid at pH 2 and an Alka-Seltzer tablet in a
separate beaker of acid at pH 2 and record how long it takes for the tablets to dissolve.
Photorespiration
A) may be an evolutionary relic from when atmospheric O2 levels were low.
B) is of benefit to the plant since it breaks down rubisco.
C) is attributable to high CO2 levels.
D) produces glucose.
Mutations in the proto-oncogene ras and the tumor suppressor gene p53
A) increase protein synthesis by the cell.
B) can improve the chance of avoiding cancer as one ages.
C) can enhance further mutations, which can develop into cancer.
D) disrupt normal regulation of the cell cycle.
Which mollusc group includes primarily sedentary animals that use mucus-coated gills
to trap fine food particles?
A) cephalopods
B) gastropods
C) chitons
D) bivalves
After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Desert pupfish live in springs of the American Southwest. Today there are about 30
species of pupfish, but they all evolved from a common Pleistocene ancestor. The
southwestern United States was once much wetter than it is now, and the Pleistocene
pupfish flourished over a wide geographic area. Over thousands of years, however, the
Sierra Nevada mountain range was pushed upward by geological forces, blocking
rainfall from the Pacific Ocean. As the large lakes dried up, small groups of pupfish
remained in springs and pools fed by groundwater seepage. Now, although many of
these small springs still have pupfish, each population, through evolution, has become
very different from populations of pupfish in other springs.
The variation in gene pools among the 30 pupfish populations occurred through an
evolutionary mechanism called
A) the bottleneck effect.
B) directional selection.
C) random mating.
D) Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
Global warming is the result of
A) rising ocean levels.
B) rising concentrations of greenhouse gases.
C) increased solar activity.
D) habitat loss.
Organisms that are prokaryotes are in the domains
A) Bacteria and Archaea.
B) Plantae and Animalia.
C) Eukarya and Archaea.
D) Fungi and Bacteria.
Mitochondria differ from chloroplasts in that mitochondria
A) convert light energy from the sun to chemical energy, whereas chloroplasts convert
one form of chemical energy to another.
B) contain three different membrane-bound compartments, whereas chloroplasts
contain two.
C) contain membrane folds called cristae, whereas chloroplasts contain disk-like
vesicles in stacks called grana.
D) are not found in plants, whereas chloroplasts are not found in animals.
The ________ of a mitochondrion is/are an adaptation that increases the surface area
and enhances a mitochondrion’s ability to produce ATP.
A) stroma
B) intermembrane space
C) cristae
D) matrix
What is the function of antidiuretic hormone?
A) to increase urination
B) to increase water reabsorption
C) to stimulate sodium reabsorption
D) to counter the effects of alcohol consumption
Using a six-sided die, what is the probability of rolling either a 5 or a 6?
A) 1/6 x 1/6 = 1/36
B) 1/6 + 1/6 = 1/3
C) 1/6 + 1/6 = 2/3
D) 1/6
According to this figure, if a species were found only in Laurasia 135 million years ago,
on which modern continents would its descendants most likely be found today?
A) North America only
B) Europe and Asia only
C) North America, Europe, and Asia
D) Africa and South America
A current leading hypothesis about the first system of inheritance in the earliest
life-forms involves
A) self-replicating DNA molecules (the “DNA world” hypothesis).
B) self-replicating RNA molecules aided by ribozymes.
C) proteins that served as templates for RNA molecules, leading to the formation of
DNA.
D) self-replicating polypeptides aided by ribosomes.
Speciation without geographic isolation is called ________ speciation.
A) sympatric
B) allopatric
C) incomplete
D) diversifying
Nectarivores drink flower nectar that is a sugary sweet liquid. Nectarivores are an
example of ________.
A) filter feeders
B) bulk feeders
C) fluid feeders
D) carnivores
Which of the following is an example of a genetically modified organism but not a
transgenic organism?
A) Flavr Savr peaches (peaches that express larger quantities of a peach stability
enzyme)
B) Golden Rice (rice that expresses daffodil and bacteria beta-carotene synthesis
enzymes)
C) AquAdvantage salmon (Atlantic salmon that expresses Chinook salmon growth
hormone)
D) Roundup Ready soybeans (soybeans that express bacterial pesticide enzymes)
Which of the following statements regarding food webs is true?
A) A consumer eats only one type of producer.
B) Detritivores consume dead organic matter from a specific trophic level.
C) Several species of primary consumers may feed on the same species of producer.
D) energy transfer moves from producer to consumer and back.
The storage form of carbohydrates is ________ in animals and ________ in plants.
A) starch; glycogen
B) glycogen; starch
C) cellulose; glycogen
D) glycogen; cellulose
While habitat destruction by humans creates fragmented ecosystems, fragmentation can
also occur due to natural processes. Which of the following natural processes would
most likely create a fragmented ecosystem?
A) thunderstorm
B) glacier movement
C) blizzard
D) volcanic eruption
One simple thing that you can do to help safeguard the environment is to eat a diet
consisting only of organisms that are
A) producers.
B) primary consumers.
C) secondary consumers.
D) a mix of producers and consumers.
Which of the following statements best describes the relationship of insulin to
glucagon?
A) They work together to prepare the body to deal with stress.
B) Insulin stimulates the pancreas to secrete glucagon.
C) They are antagonistic hormones.
D) Insulin is a steroid hormone; glucagon is a protein hormone.
Earthworms have
A) an exoskeleton.
B) an endoskeleton.
C) a hydrostatic skeleton.
D) a peristaltic skeleton.