Exam 1: Evolution, the Themes of Biology, and Scientific Inquiry

Agrobacterium infects plants and causes them to form tumours. You are asked to determine how long a plant must be exposed to these bacteria to become infected. Which of the following experiments will provide the best data to address that question?

Which of the following statements is true?

When your body temperature rises on a hot day, the neural and hormonal mechanisms activate sweating. Evaporation of sweat leads to cooling of the body surface. This is an example of ________.

Which branch of biology is concerned with the naming and classifying of organisms?

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs. How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs then put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below. Temperature Day length Springlike Springlike Springlike Summerlike Sumnerlike Springlik Summerlike Summerlike In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there was a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets). - Which one of the following is not a plausible hypothesis that can be tested in this experiment?

The best experimental design ________.

A scientist, who wants to study the effects of nitrogen on wheat plants, sets up an experiment with four groups of wheat plants: group A gets 10 kilograms per hectare, group B gets 20 kilograms per hectare, group C gets 30 kilograms per hectare, and group D gets 0 kilograms per hectare. Which of the following is the control group?

A controlled experiment is one that ________.

Which of the following best demonstrates the unity among all organisms?

A controlled experiment ________.

The process by which the information in a gene directs the synthesis of a protein is called ________.

Which of the following are qualities of any good scientific hypothesis? I. It is testable. II. It is falsifiable. III. It produces quantitative data. IV. It produces results that can be replicated.

In 1668, Francesco Redi performed a series of experiments on spontaneous generation. He began by putting similar pieces of meat into eight identical jars. Four jars were left open to the air and four were sealed. He then did the same experiment with one variation: instead of sealing four of the jars completely, he covered them with gauze (the gauze excluded the flies while allowing the meat to be exposed to air). In both experiments, he monitored the jars and recorded whether or not maggots (young flies) appeared in the meat. -What hypothesis was being tested in the initial experiment with open versus sealed jars?

Which of the following is true of natural selection?

In 1668, Francesco Redi performed a series of experiments on spontaneous generation. He began by putting similar pieces of meat into eight identical jars. Four jars were left open to the air and four were sealed. He then did the same experiment with one variation: instead of sealing four of the jars completely, he covered them with gauze (the gauze excluded the flies while allowing the meat to be exposed to air). In both experiments, he monitored the jars and recorded whether or not maggots (young flies) appeared in the meat. -In both experiments, flies appeared in all of the open jars and only in the open jars. Which one of the following statements is correct?

Which of the following statements is true regarding the complexity of biological systems?

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs. How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs then put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched, and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below. Temperature Day length Springlike Springlike Springlike Summerlike Sumnerlike Springlik Summerlike Summerlike In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there was a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets). - In every case, caterpillars that feed on oak flowers look like oak flowers. In every case, caterpillars that were raised on oak leaves looked like twigs. These results support which of the following hypotheses?

You are suffering from Streptococcus throat infection. You share the following with the bacteria that is responsible for your condition.

To understand the chemical basis of inheritance, we must understand the molecular structure of DNA. This is an example of the application of which concept to the study of biology?

Cells are ________.