The figure above shows a nephron. Filtration takes place in the structure labeled _____.
A) a
B) b
C) c
D) d
Which of the following life history traits can potentially influence effective population
size?
I) age of sexual maturation
II) genetic relatedness among individuals in a population
III) family size and population size
IV) gene flow between geographically separated populations
A) only I and III
B) only II and IV
C) only II, III, and IV
D) I, II, III and IV
If the kingdom Plantae is someday expanded to include the charophytes (stoneworts),
then the shared derived characteristics of the kingdom will include _____.
1. rings of cellulose-synthesizing complexes
2. chlorophylls a and b
3. alternation of generations
4. cell walls of cellulose
5. ability to synthesize sporopollenin
A) 1 and 5
B) 1, 2, and 3
C) 1, 3, and 5
D) 1, 2, 4, and 5
In signal transduction, phosphatases _____.
A) move the phosphate group of the transduction pathway to the next molecule of a
series
B) prevent a protein kinase from being reused when there is another extracellular signal
C) amplify the second messengers such as cAMP
D) inactivate protein kinases and turn off the signal transduction
Celery stalks that are immersed in fresh water for several hours become stiff. Similar
stalks left in a 0.15 M salt solution become limp. From this we can deduce that the fresh
water_____.
A) and the salt solution are both hypertonic to the cells of the celery stalks
B) is hypotonic and the salt solution is hypertonic to the cells of the celery stalks
C) is hypertonic and the salt solution is hypotonic to the cells of the celery stalks
D) is isotonic and the salt solution is hypertonic to the cells of the celery stalks
Use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
About 3 million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama (a narrow strip of land connecting
North and South America) formed, dividing marine organisms into Pacific and
Caribbean populations. Researchers have examined species of snapping shrimp on both
sides of the isthmus. Based on the morphological species concept, there appeared to be
seven pairs of species, with one species of each pair in the Pacific and the other in the
Caribbean. The different species pairs live at somewhat different depths in the ocean.
Using mitochondrial DNA sequences, the researchers estimated phylogenies and found
that each of these species pairs, separated by the isthmus, were indeed each other’s
closest relatives. The researchers investigated mating in the lab and found that many
species pairs were not very interested in courting with each other, and any that did mate
almost never produced fertile offspring. (N. Knowlton, L. A. Weigt, L. A. Solorzano, D.
K. Mills, and E. Bermingham. 1993. Divergence in proteins, mitochondrial DNA, and
reproductive incompatibility across the Isthmus of Panama. Science 260:1629-32.)
Refer to the paragraph about the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The sister
populations on opposite sides of the isthmus are true species under which species
concept?
A) the morphological species concept
B) the biological species concept
C) the phylogenetic species concept
D) the morpholoogical species, biological species, and phylogenetic species concepts
Arrange these groups in order from most inclusive (most general) to least inclusive
(most specific).
1. lobe-fins
2. amphibians
3. gnathostomes
4. osteichthyans
5. tetrapods
A) 4, 3, 1, 5, 2
B) 4, 3, 2, 5, 1
C) 3, 4, 1, 5, 2
D) 3, 4, 5, 1, 2
What compound provides the reducing power for Calvin cycle reactions?
A) ATP
B) NADH
C) NADP+
D) NADPH
The rapid leaf movements resulting from a response to touch (thigmotropism) primarily
involve_____.
A) potassium channels
B) nervous tissue
C) aquaporins
D) stress proteins
The greatest difference in the concentration of respiratory gases is found in which of the
following pairs of mammalian blood vessels?
A) the pulmonary vein and the jugular vein
B) the veins from the right and left legs
C) the pulmonary artery and the inferior vena cava
D) the pulmonary vein and the aorta
The eight climographs below show yearly temperature (line graph and left vertical axis)
and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical axis) averages for each month for some
locations on Earth.
Which climograph shows the climate for location 2?
A) C
B) D
C) F
D) H
Two fundamental concepts about the ion channels of a “resting” neuron are that the
channels _____.
A) are always open, but the concentration gradients of ions frequently change
B) are always closed, but ions move closer to the channels during excitation
C) open and close depending on stimuli, and are specific as to which ion can traverse
them
D) open in response to stimuli, and then close simultaneously, in unison
How does inefficient transfer of energy among trophic levels result in the typically high
endangerment status of many top-level predators?
A) Top-level predators are destined to have small populations that are sparsely
distributed.
B) Predators have relatively large population sizes.
C) Predators are more disease-prone than animals at lower trophic levels.
D) Top-level predators are more likely to be stricken with parasites.
Use the following information and figure to answer the question(s) below.
The sea slug Pteraeolidia ianthina (P. ianthina) can harbor living dinoflagellates
(photosynthetic protists) in its skin. These endosymbiotic dinoflagellates reproduce
quickly enough to maintain their populations. Low populations do not affect the sea
slugs very much, but high populations (> 5 x 105 cells/mg of sea slug protein) can
promote sea slug survival.
Percent of sea slug respiratory carbon demand provided by indwelling dinoflagellates.
If we assume that carbon is the sole nutrient needed by sea slugs to drive their cellular
respiration, then based on the graph, during which season(s) is it LEAST necessary for
P. ianthina to act as a chemoheterotroph?
A) winter
B) spring
C) summer
D) fall
The element present in all organic molecules is _____.
A) hydrogen
B) oxygen
C) carbon
D) nitrogen
Steroid and peptide hormones typically have in common _____.
A) the building blocks from which they are synthesized
B) their solubility in cell membranes
C) their requirement for travel through the bloodstream
D) their reliance on signal transduction in the cell
The following questions are based on the 15 molecules illustrated in the accompanying
figure. Each molecule may be used once, more than once, or not at all.
Which molecule is a saturated fatty acid?
A) 1
B) 5
C) 8
D) 9
Scaffolding proteins are _____.
A) microtubular protein arrays that allow lipid-soluble hormones to get from the cell
membrane to the nuclear pores
B) large molecules to which several relay proteins attach to facilitate cascade effects
C) relay proteins that orient receptors and their ligands in appropriate directions to
facilitate their complexing
D) proteins that can reach into the nucleus of a cell to affect transcription
Use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
Paulinella chromatophora is one of the few cercozoans that is autotrophic, carrying out
aerobic photosynthesis with its two elongated “chromatophores.” The chromatophores
are contained within vesicles of the host cell, and each is derived from a
cyanobacterium, though not the same type of cyanobacterium that gave rise to the
chloroplasts of algae and plants.
Unikonta is a supergroup that includes all of the following except _____.
A) fungi
B) protists
C) animals
D) plants
The black dots that cover strawberries are actually individual fruits. The fleshy and
tasty portion of a strawberry derives from the receptacle of a flower with many separate
carpels. Therefore, a strawberry is_____.
A) both a multiple fruit and an aggregate fruit
B) both a multiple fruit and an accessory fruit
C) both an aggregate fruit and an accessory fruit
D) a simple fruit with many seeds
The molecule illustrated in the accompanying figure _____.
A) is a saturated fatty acid.
B) stores genetic information.
C) will be liquid at room temperature.
D) is a carbohydrate.
Food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem
(arrows represent energy flow and letters represent species)
Examine this food web for a particular terrestrial ecosystem. Which species is most
likely a decomposer on this food web?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) E
Which of the following correctly describes all chemical equilibrium?
A) Forward and reverse reactions continue with no net effect on the concentrations of
the reactants and products.
B) Concentrations of products are higher than the concentrations of the reactants.
C) There are equal concentrations of products and reactants while forward and reverse
reactions continue.
D) There are equal concentrations of reactants and products, and the reactions have
stopped.
Use the following information to answer the questions below.
Nucleotides can be radiolabeled before they are incorporated into newly forming DNA
and, therefore, can be assayed to track their incorporation. In a set of experiments, a
studentfaculty research team used labeled T nucleotides and introduced these into the
culture of dividing human cells at specific times.
The research team used their experiments to study the incorporation of labeled
nucleotides into a culture of lymphocytes and found that the lymphocytes incorporated
the labeled nucleotide at a significantly higher level after a pathogen was introduced
into the culture. They concluded that _____.
A) the presence of the pathogen made the experiments too contaminated to trust the
results
B) infection causes lymphocytes to divide more rapidly
C) infection causes cell cultures in general to reproduce more rapidly
D) infection causes lymphocyte cultures to skip some parts of the cell cycle
Jenner’s successful use of cowpox virus as a vaccine against the smallpox virus was due
to the fact that _____.
A) the immune system responds nonspecifically to antigens
B) the cowpox virus made antibodies in response to the presence of smallpox
C) there are some epitopes (antigenic determinants) common to both pox viruses
D) cowpox and smallpox are caused by the same virus
Blood is pumped at high pressures in arteries from the heart to ensure that all parts of
the body receive adequate blood flow. Capillary beds, however, would hemorrhage
under direct arterial pressures. How does the design of the circulatory network
contribute to reducing blood pressure to avoid this scenario?
A) Blood flow through the capillaries is essentially frictionless, and this reduces the
amount of pressure on their walls.
B) The total cross-sectional diameter of the arterial circulation increases with
progression from artery to arteriole to capillary, leading to a reduced blood pressure.
C) Fluid loss from the arteries is high enough that pressure drops off significantly by
the time blood reaches the capillaries.
D) Capillary beds have the thickest walls of any blood vessel to resist these high
pressures.
An oil-water mixture works as an insecticidal spray against mosquitoes and other
insects because it _____.
A) blocks the openings into the tracheal system
B) interferes with gas exchange across the capillaries
C) clogs their bronchi
D) prevents gases from leaving the atmosphere
In cattle, roan coat color (mixed red and white hairs) occurs in the heterozygous (Rr)
offspring of red (RR) and white (rr) homozygotes. Which of the following crosses
would produce offspring in the ratio of 1 red:2 roan:1 white?
A) red white
B) roan roan
C) white roan
D) red roan
According to the central dogma, what molecule should go in the blank?
DNA → _____ → Proteins
A) mtDNA
B) rRNA
C) mRNA
D) tRNA
The atomic number of nitrogen is 7. Nitrogen-15 has a greater mass number than
nitrogen-14 because the atomic nucleus of nitrogen-15 contains _____.
A) 7 neutrons
B) 8 neutrons
C) 8 protons
D) 15 protons
Many crustaceans (for example, lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish) use their tails to swim,
but crabs have reduced tails that curl under their shells and are not used in swimming.
This is an example of _____.
A) convergent evolution
B) a homologous structure
C) natural selection
D) a vestigial trait
Use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
Suzanne Simard and colleagues knew that the same mycorrhizal fungal species could
colonize multiple types of trees. They wondered if the same fungal individual would
colonize different trees, forming an underground network that potentially could
transport carbon and nutrients from one tree to another (S. Simard et al. 1997. Net
transfer of carbon between mycorrhizal tree species in the field. Nature 388:579-82).
Figure A illustrates the team’s experimental setup. Pots containing seedlings of three
different tree species were set up and grown under natural conditions for three years;
two of the three species (Douglas fir, birch) formed ectomycorrhizae and the other
(cedar) formed arbuscular mycorrhizae. For the experiment, the researchers placed
airtight bags over the Douglas fir and birch seedlings; into each bag, they injected either
carbon dioxide made from carbon-13 or carbon-14 (13CO2 and 14CO2, isotopes of
carbon). As the seedlings photosynthesized, the radioactive carbon dioxide was
converted into radioactively labeled sugars that could be tracked and measured by the
researchers.
Referring to Simard et al. (1997), which design element is the control in this experiment
and why?
A) the bags over the seedlings to contain the different types of carbon dioxide
B) the fact that all the seedlings are different species
C) the cedar seedling, because it is not bagged
D) the cedar seedling, because it forms arbuscular mycorrhizae
A human red blood cell in an artery of the left arm is on its way to deliver oxygen to a
cell in the thumb. To travel from the artery to the thumb and then back to the left
ventricle, this red blood cell must pass through _____.
A) one capillary bed
B) two capillary beds
C) three capillary beds
D) four capillary beds
Rank the following in order from most general to most specific:
1. gametic isolation
2. reproductive isolating mechanism
3. sperm-egg incompatibility in sea urchins
4. prezygotic isolating mechanism
A) 2, 3, 1, 4
B) 2, 4, 1, 3
C) 4, 1, 2, 3
D) 4, 2, 1, 3