Which of the following genetically modified organisms has not been developed by
genetic engineers (at least, not yet)?
A) transgenic rice with genes for milk proteins
B) transgenic salmon with a growth hormone gene that allows them to grow more
quickly
C) transgenic corn with the gene for human insulin
D) transgenic pigs with a roundworm gene that allows them to make more omega-3
fatty acids
In 2011, scientists investigated whether the salts that are spread on icy roads to melt the
ice are diluted enough by spring rainfall so that they do not have negative effects on
amphibian species that breed in nearby areas. They exposed clutches (groups of eggs)
of salamanders to three test conditions with varying salt concentrations (road salts
mixed with dechlorinated tap water) to simulate salt concentrations of small pools of
water located near highways that are typically fed by rainareas where salamanders often
lay their eggs. After 9 days, the scientists placed the three groups in “normal” water and
measured how much body mass the salamanders lost every 3 days for 9 days. They
chose to measure change in mass because salamanders are able to take in water, which
helps lower the chances of salamander embryos dying from freezing, disease, or
predation. The table below provides partial results of this study.
What do you predict that group 3 demonstrated?
A) higher mass lost from its initial conditions than group 2
B) the same mass lost from its initial conditions as group 1
C) no mass lost from its initial conditions
D) the highest mass loss of all groups
Which of the following could best explain how condor reproduction along the coast is
being harmed by DDT in the condors’ foods now, even though DDT was banned in
1972?
A) Condors may be feeding on animals that contain DDT.
B) Eggshells are made of a material that accumulates tiny amounts of DDT from the
environment.
C) A chemical company dumped a large amount of DDT in the ocean near Southern
California.
D) Condors are very large and long-lived animals.
Yeasts can produce ATP by either fermentation or oxidative phosphorylation; thus, they
are
A) strict anaerobes.
B) strict aerobes.
C) facultative anaerobes.
D) facultative aerobes.
A plant will only flower if the night length is longer than 14 hours. This plant is a
A) long-day plant.
B) short-night plant.
C) short-day plant.
D) day-neutral plant.
Clonal selection
A) determines the pool of mature leukocytes that will be stimulated by macrophages.
B) requires the activation of natural killer cells.
C) describes the proliferation of B and T lymphocytes after they have been activated by
an antigen.
D) requires the presence and activation of complement.
Plasmodium, the organism that causes malaria, is a/an
A) amoeba.
B) stramenopile.
C) ciliate.
D) alveolate.
Smooth muscle propels food through the alimentary canal by a process called
A) ingestion.
B) diffusion.
C) active transport.
D) peristalsis.
Medullary breathing centers directly sense and respond to
A) blood pH and CO2 concentration.
B) blood O2 concentration.
C) alveolar O2 concentration.
D) blood pH and O2 concentration.
Denitrifying bacteria convert ________ to ________.
A) ammonium; nitrates
B) nitrates; nitrogen gas
C) nitrogen gas; nitrates
D) nitrogen gas; nitrites
Which provides the most general and correct description of the idea of a reproductive
barrier?
A) any feature (of geography, behavior, or morphology) that keeps one species from
mating with another
B) a biological difference between two species that prevents them from successfully
interbreeding
C) a geographic barrier that separates two species and prevents gene flow between them
D) a difference in behavior that keeps two species from interbreeding
What part in the figure below will develop into the placenta?
A) part A
B) part B
C) part C
D) part D
During a summer study abroad program, you travelled to Austria to study genetics at
the University of Vienna. While you were there, a momentous discovery was made:
some of Gregor Mendel’s original lab books and notes were found to be buried outside
of the abbey where he lived. It just so happened that the professor you were working
with obtained copies of these notes and enlisted your help to decipher them.
You hired a translator to translate Mendel’s notes from Czech to English, and using your
knowledge of modern genetics (which Mendel did not have!) you were able to construct
a partial Punnett square (shown below). Because the notebook was damaged from being
buried for so long, this is the only information that you have regarding a cross that
Mendel must have performed. Your professor has tasked you with figuring out more
about this experiment.
In pea plants, round peas are dominant (R) and shriveled peas are recessive (r), and
yellow peas (shown as light gray in Punnett square) are dominant (Y) and green peas
(dark gray) are recessive (y). Using this information and the partial Punnett square
above, what is the phenotypic ratio of the offspring pea plants in this Punnett square?
A) 12:1:1:4
B) 9:3:3:1
C) 3:3:1:1
D) 1:1:1:1
Which of the following cells provide flexible support to the growing parts of plants?
A) collenchyma cells
B) sieve-tube elements
C) sclerenchyma cells
D) parenchyma cells
During which stage of meiosis do synapsis and crossing over occur?
A) interphase I
B) prophase I
C) prophase II
D) metaphase I
Compared to other primates, anthropoids have
A) a decreased reliance upon vision.
B) a stronger reliance upon smell.
C) a fully opposable thumb.
D) smaller total body size in most cases.
The heterokaryotic phase of a fungal life cycle is
A) a stage in which the hyphae contain only one type of haploid nucleus.
B) a stage in which hyphae contain two genetically different haploid nuclei.
C) a stage in which hyphae contain two genetically different diploid nuclei.
D) a triploid stage formed by the fusion of a diploid nucleus with the haploid nucleus of
a compatible hypha.
Which of the following statements regarding enzyme function is false?
A) An enzyme’s function depends on its three-dimensional shape.
B) Enzymes are very specific for certain substrates.
C) Enzymes are used up when they catalyze a chemical reaction so must be synthesized
for each new chemical reaction.
D) Enzymes emerge unchanged from the reactions they catalyze.
Most fishes can live either in freshwater or in saltwater habitats, but not in both. If you
move a marine fish from the ocean to a lake, it will quickly die, and vice versa.
However, a small number of fish species are capable of moving between the two
environments. Salmon are osmoregulators that hatch in rivers, spend most of their lives
in the ocean, and return to the river where they were born in order to breed.
When a salmon moves from the ocean to a freshwater environment, you would expect
its urine volume to ________ and its rate of salt absorption to ________.
A) increase; remain the same
B) increase; increase
C) decrease; decrease
D) decrease; increase
If fungi of the genus Cordyceps are ingested by insects, fruiting bodies will form and
erupt through the bodies of the insects. Cordyceps are an example of
A) symbiosis.
B) parasitic fungi.
C) lichens.
D) mycorrhizae.
Below are three statements. Which of the following choices properly matches the
statements with the correct biological processes?
I. This occurs in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.
II. Transfer RNAs bind amino acids in the cytoplasm.
III. A polymerase enzyme is required.
A) I: replication; II: translation; III: transcription
B) I: translation; II: translation; III: replication
C) I: transcription; II: translation; III: translation
D) I: replication; II: transcription; III: replication
A test tube is inoculated with 1 x 103 cells of a bacterial strain that has a generation
time of 30 minutes. The carrying capacity of the test tube for this strain is 6 x 109 cells.
What will the bacterial population be after 90 minutes of culturing?
A) 3 x 103
B) 8 x 103
C) 1 x 109
D) 6 x 109
Sensory transduction occurs in the
A) cerebral cortex.
B) thalamus.
C) spinal cord.
D) plasma membrane of sensory cells.
Answers to questions about the immediate mechanisms for a behavior are called
A) conclusions.
B) proximate causes.
C) habituation.
D) ultimate causes.
The liquid part of blood is called
A) water.
B) plasma.
C) serum.
D) interstitial fluid.
Which of the following types of cells does HIV preferentially infect?
A) cytotoxic T cells
B) natural killer cells
C) helper T cells
D) memory cells
Which of the following statements regarding photosynthesis and cellular respiration is
true?
A) Photosynthesis occurs in chloroplasts, and cellular respiration occurs in
mitochondria.
B) Photosynthesis occurs in mitochondria, and cellular respiration occurs in
chloroplasts.
C) Photosynthesis occurs in mitochondria and in chloroplasts.
D) Cellular respiration occurs in mitochondria and in chloroplasts.
When a B cell first interacts with its particular antigen, the B cell
A) dies after destroying the antigen.
B) engulfs the antigen and digests it.
C) differentiates and develops into a clone of antibody-producing effector cells.
D) alters the chemical configuration of the antigen.
Which of the following may be a consequence of low secretion of parathyroid
hormone?
A) convulsive contractions of skeletal muscles
B) gigantism
C) exhaustion of the immune system
D) loss of calcium from the bone
Which of the following statements regarding cancer risk factors is false?
A) Factors that alter DNA and make cells cancerous are called carcinogens.
B) Mutagens are usually not carcinogens.
C) X-rays and ultraviolet radiation are two of the most potent carcinogens.
D) Eating 20-30 grams of plant fiber daily and reducing the intake of animal fat can
reduce your risk of developing colon cancer.
Broccoli, cabbages, and Brussels sprouts all descend from the same wild mustard and
can still interbreed. These varieties were produced by
A) artificial selection.
B) natural selection.
C) genetic drift.
D) inheritance of acquired characteristics.