Which variable is likely to undergo the largest change in value resulting from a
mutation that introduces a new allele into a population at a locus for which all
individuals formerly had been fully homozygous?
A) average heterozygosity
B) nucleotide variability
C) geographic variability
D) average number of loci
Which of these classes of biological molecules does NOT include polymers?
A) lipids
B) carbohydrates
C) proteins
D) nucleic acids
If haustoria from the fungal partner were to appear within the photosynthetic partner of
a lichen, and if the growth rate of the photosynthetic partner consequently slowed
substantially, then this would support the claim that _____.
A) algae and cyanobacteria are autotrophic
B) lichens are not purely mutualistic relationships
C) algae require maximal contact with the fungal partner in order to grow at optimal
rates
D) soredia are asexual reproductive structures combining both the fungal and
photosynthetic partners
Penguins, seals, and tuna have body forms that permit rapid swimming, because _____.
A) all share a recent common ancestor
B) all of their bodies have been compressed since birth by intensive underwater
pressures
C) the shape is a convergent evolutionary solution, which reduces drag while swimming
D) this is the only shape that will allow them to maintain a constant body temperature
in water
A farm pond, usually dry during winter, has plenty of water and aquatic pond life
during the summer. One summer, Sarah returns to the family farm from college.
Observing the pond, she is fascinated by some six-legged organisms that can crawl
about on submerged surfaces or, when disturbed, seemingly “jet” through the water.
Watching further, she is able to conclude that the “mystery organisms” are ambush
predators, and their prey includes everything from insects to small fish and tadpoles.
If the pond organisms are larvae, rather than adults, Sarah should expect them to have
all of the following structures, EXCEPT_____.
A) antennae
B) an open circulatory system
C) an exoskeleton of chitin
D) sex organs
An ecologist recorded twelve white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, per square
kilometer in one woodlot and twenty per square kilometer in another woodlot. What
was the ecologist comparing?
A) density
B) dispersion
C) carrying capacity
D) range
Fat digestion yields fatty acids and glycerol, whereas protein digestion yields amino
acids; both digestive processes _____.
A) are catalyzed by the same enzyme
B) use water molecules when breaking bonds (hydrolysis)
C) require the presence of hydrochloric acid to lower the pH
D) require adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as an energy source
If global warming continues at its present rate, which biomes will likely take the place
of the coniferous forest (taiga)?
A) temperate broadleaf forest and grassland
B) desert and chaparral
C) tropical forest and savanna
D) chaparral and temperate broadleaf forest
Consider the global nitrogen cycle depicted in the figure above. What is the limiting
portion of the cycle for plants?
A) industrial nitrogen fixation
B) nitrogen lost to the atmosphere
C) internal nitrogen cycling in the oceans
D) nitrogen fixation by bacteria
For living organisms, which of the following is an important consequence of the first
law of thermodynamics?
A) The energy content of an organism is constant.
B) The organism ultimately must obtain all of the necessary energy for life from its
environment.
C) The entropy of an organism decreases with time as the organism grows in
complexity.
D) Organisms grow by converting energy into organic matter.
Which of the following is required to make complementary DNA (cDNA) from RNA?
A) restriction enzymes (endonucleases)
B) gene cloning
C) DNA ligase
D) reverse transcriptase
If you were to add one of the eight citric acid cycle intermediates to the culture medium
of yeast growing in the laboratory, what do you think would happen to the rates of ATP
and carbon dioxide production?
A) There would be no change in ATP production, but we would observe an increased
rate of carbon dioxide production.
B) The rates of ATP production and carbon dioxide production would both increase.
C) The rate of ATP production would decrease, but the rate of carbon dioxide
production would increase.
D) Rates of ATP and carbon dioxide production would probably both decrease.
A behavioral physiologist is studying the homeostatic control of blood pH. In a trial, a
lizard runs on a treadmill for a set amount of time and the blood pH is measured. The
blood pH drops as carbon dioxide is released into the bloodstream. Which component
of the homeostatic feedback system is responsible for deciding if the blood pH is far
enough from normal that a response is necessary?
A) effector
B) sensor
C) integrator
D) assimilator
Use the figure and the following description to answer the question(s) below.
In a particular plant, leaf color is controlled by gene locus D. Plants with at least one
allele D have dark green leaves, and plants with the homozygous recessive dd genotype
have light green leaves. A true-breeding, dark-leaved plant is crossed with a
light-leaved one, and the F1 offspring is allowed to self-pollinate. The predicted
outcome of the F2 is diagrammed in the Punnett square shown in the figure, where 1, 2,
3, and 4 represent the genotypes corresponding to each box within the square.
Which of the boxes marked 1-4 correspond to plants with dark leaves?
A) 1 only
B) 2 and 3
C) 4 only
D) 1, 2, and 3
Imagine that a deep temperate zone lake did not turn over during the spring and fall
seasons. Based on the physical and biological properties of limnetic ecosystems, what
would be the difference from normal seasonal turnover?
A) The lake would fail to freeze over in winter.
B) An algal bloom of algae would result every spring.
C) Lakes would suffer a nutrient depletion in surface layers.
D) The pH of the lake would become increasingly alkaline.
Exercise and emergency reactions include _____.
A) increased activity in all parts of the peripheral nervous system
B) increased activity in the sympathetic, and decreased activity in the parasympathetic
divisions
C) decreased activity in the sympathetic, and increased activity in the parasympathetic
divisions
D) increased activity in the enteric nervous system
Which of the following must exist in a population before natural selection can act upon
that population?
A) genetic variation among individuals
B) variation among individuals caused by environmental factors
C) sexual reproduction
D) the population has predators
The Brazil nut tree, Bertholletia excels (n = 17), is native to tropical rain forests of
South America. It is a hardwood tree that can grow to over 50 meters tall, is a source of
high-quality lumber, and is a favorite nesting site for harpy eagles. As the rainy season
ends, tough-walled fruits, each containing 8-25 seeds (Brazil nuts), fall to the forest
floor. Brazil nuts are composed primarily of endosperm. About $50 million worth of
nuts are harvested each year. Scientists have discovered that the pale yellow flowers of
Brazil nut trees cannot fertilize themselves and admit only female orchid bees as
pollinators. The agouti (Dasyprocta spp.), a cat-sized rodent, is the only animal with
teeth strong enough to crack the hard wall of Brazil nut fruits. It typically eats some of
the seeds, buries others, and leaves still others inside the fruit, which moisture can now
enter. The uneaten seeds may subsequently germinate.
If a female orchid bee has just left a Brazil nut tree with nectar in her stomach, and if
she visits another flower on a different Brazil nut tree, what is the sequence in which
the following events should occur?
1. double fertilization
2. pollen tube emerges from pollen grain
3. pollen tube enters micropyle
4. pollination
A) 4, 2, 3, 1
B) 4, 3, 2, 1
C) 2, 4, 3, 1
D) 2, 4, 1, 3
A beaker contains 100 milliliters (mL) of NaOH solution at pH = 13. A technician
carefully pours into the beaker 10 mL of HCl at pH = 1. Which of the following
statements correctly describes the result of this mixing?
A) The concentration of Na+ ions will rise.
B) The pH of the beaker’s contents will increase.
C) The pH of the beaker’s contents will be neutral.
D) The pH of the beaker’s contents will decrease.
Fungi have an extremely high surface-area-to-volume ratio. What is the advantage of
this to an organism that gets most of its nutrition through absorption?
A) The larger surface area allows for more material to be transported through the cell
membrane.
B) The lower volume prevents the cells from drying out too quickly, which can interfere
with absorption.
C) This high ratio creates more room inside the cells for additional organelles involved
in absorption.
D) This high ratio means that fungi have a thick, fleshy structure that allows the fungi
to store more of the food it absorbs.
In the polymerization of DNA, a phosphodiester bond is formed between a phosphate
group of the nucleotide being added and _____ of the last nucleotide in the polymer.
A) the phosphate
B) C6
C) the OH
D) a nitrogen from the nitrogen-containing base
A male stickleback fish will attack other male sticklebacks that invade its nesting
territory. It will only attack male fish, which display the red belly characteristic of the
species. Why has natural selection favored this behavior?
A) The behavior reduces interspecific competition, which gives the male stickleback
access to more food.
B) The behavior allows the male stickleback to attract females with its aggressive
display.
C) The behavior allows the male to establish a defined space for breeding with female
sticklebacks.
D) The behavior is a mechanism to reduce predation and resource competition.
Consider the following data: (a) Most ancient eukaryotes are unicellular. (b) All
eukaryotes alive today have a nucleus and cytoskeleton. (c) Most ancient eukaryotes
lack a cell wall. Which of the following conclusions could reasonably follow the data
presented? The first eukaryote may have been _____.
A) very similar to a plant cell
B) anaerobic
C) capable of phagocytosis
D) photosynthetic
Listed below are several examples of types of animal behavior. Choose the letter of the
correct term (A-E) that matches each example in the following question(s).
A. operant conditioning
B. agonistic behavior
C. innate behavior
D. imprinting
E. altruistic behavior
A human baby performs a sucking behavior perfectly when it is put in the presence of
the nipple of its mother’s breast.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and gray wolves (Canis lupus) can interbreed to produce
viable, fertile offspring. These species shared a common ancestor recently (in geologic
time) and have a high degree of genetic similarity, although their anatomies vary
widely. Judging from this evidence, which two species concepts are most likely to place
dogs and wolves together into a single species?
A) ecological and morphological
B) ecological and phylogenetic
C) biological and morphological
D) biological and phylogenetic
A researcher lyses a cell that contains nucleic acid molecules and capsomeres of
tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The cell contents are left in a covered test tube overnight.
The next day this mixture is sprayed on tobacco plants. We expect that the plants would
_____.
A) develop some but not all of the symptoms of the TMV infection
B) develop the typical symptoms of TMV infection
C) not show any disease symptoms
D) become infected, but the sap from these plants would be unable to infect other plants
Which of the following statements best describes the interaction between fire and
ecosystems?
A) The likelihood of a wildfire occurring in a given ecosystem is highly predictable
over the short term.
B) Many kinds of plants and plant communities have adapted to frequent fires.
C) The suppression of forest fires by man has prevented certain communities, such as
grasslands, from reaching their climax stage.
D) Chaparral communities have evolved to the extent that they rarely burn.
Which process is most directly driven by light energy?
A) creation of a pH gradient by pumping protons across the thylakoid membrane
B) carbon fixation in the stroma
C) reduction of NADP+ molecules
D) removal of electrons from chlorophyll molecules
Following glycolysis and the citric acid cycle, but before the electron transport chain
and oxidative phosphorylation, the carbon skeleton of glucose has been broken down to
CO2 with some net gain of ATP. Most of the energy from the original glucose molecule
at that point in the process, however, is in the form of _____.
A) acetyl-CoA
B) glucose
C) pyruvate
D) NADH
In a plant cell, where are the ATP synthase complexes located?
A) thylakoid membrane only
B) inner mitochondrial membrane only
C) thylakoid membrane and inner mitochondrial membrane
D) thylakoid membrane and plasma membrane
When Phineas Gage had a metal rod driven into his frontal lobe, or when someone had
a frontal lobotomy, they would _____.
A) lose their sense of balance
B) lose all short-term memory
C) have greatly altered emotional responses
D) have greatly increased long-term memory
What is the name of the functional group shown in the figure below?
A) carbonyl
B) ketone
C) aldehyde
D) carboxyl