Question 1

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Researchers set up a study to determine whether large doses of a nutritional supplement would shorten the length of time it takes to recover from a cold. Three thousand volunteers were split into two groups. For two weeks, members of group A took 3,000 mg of the supplement daily. Group B received 3,000 mg of a placebo. At the end of the two-week period, the researchers inserted live cold viruses directly into the noses of all the volunteers. The volunteers in both group A and group B continued to take their daily pills. All the volunteers got colds, and there was no significant difference in the length of time the colds lasted.
-To have confidence that the results of the experiment were valid, you'd also want to know

Accepted Answer

A) whether any volunteers had colds at the start of the experiment. 
B) whether the volunteers exercised daily. 
C) whether the volunteers all worked for the same company. 
D) what the volunteers ate during the experiment.

Question 2

Which of these models is best studied through a systems approach?

Accepted Answer

A) model of O₂/CO₂ exchange in a leaf  
B) model of arrangements of atoms in a molecule  
C) model of the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients  
D) model of skin color inheritance

Question 3

The box numbered 2 represents which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) the cycling of energy 
B) decomposers acting on all parts of the system 
C) the cycling of matter 
D) gases in the atmosphere that can block sunlight

Question 4

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Scientists interested in knowing the best way to restore an area after a temporary road was built through it completed a study comparing two treatments: (1) restoring the contour of an area so that there was no longer a depression or cut-through where the road was previously and (2) simply abandoning the area to allow vegetation to return on its own. They wanted to know whether either or both of these treatments would return the aboveground vegetation and the belowground soil properties to their original state, as seen in a similar area where there had never been a road.
-Which of the following best describes the data that the scientists should collect and how they should be compared?

Accepted Answer

A) comparison of plant species in the recontoured area, the abandoned area, and the never-roaded area 
B) comparison of properties of soil and plant species in the contoured area and abandoned area 
C) comparison of soil properties and species of plants present in the contoured area with the never-roaded area and of the abandoned area with the never-roaded area. 
D) comparison of soil properties only among all three areas since soil properties will determine plant species

Question 5

To be scientifically valid, a hypothesis must be

Accepted Answer

A) part of a theory. 
B) controlled. 
C) reasonable. 
D) testable and falsifiable.

Question 6

Which of the following statements about ecosystems is false?

Accepted Answer

A) Bacteria and fungi recycle energy within an ecosystem. 
B) Plants and other photosynthetic organisms are producers in ecosystems. 
C) Chemical nutrients cycle within an ecosystem. 
D) In the process of energy conversions within an ecosystem, some energy is converted to heat.

Question 7

Organisms that are prokaryotes are in the domains

Accepted Answer

A) Bacteria and Archaea. 
B) Plantae and Animalia. 
C) Eukarya and Archaea. 
D) Fungi and Bacteria.

Question 8

Members of the kingdom Animalia

Accepted Answer

A) can obtain their food either by absorption or by photosynthesis. 
B) are composed of cells that lack a cell membrane. 
C) can obtain their food by eating other organisms. 
D) make their own food through photosynthesis.

Question 9

A scientist performs a controlled experiment. This means that

Accepted Answer

A) the experiment is repeated many times to ensure that the results are accurate. 
B) the experiment proceeds at a slow pace to guarantee that the scientist can carefully observe all reactions and process all experimental data. 
C) two versions of the experiment are conducted, one differing from the other by only a single variable. 
D) one experiment is performed, but the scientist controls the variables.

Question 10

A hypothesis is

Accepted Answer

A) the same as a theory. 
B) a proposed explanation for a set of observations. 
C) an explanatory idea that is broad in scope and supported by a large body of evidence. 
D) a widely accepted idea about a phenomenon.

Question 11

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Researchers have created a robot that has a very thin leg that is moved by cardiac (heart) cells contracting in unison. The robot, made of a polymer similar to that used in making contact lenses, is bathed in heart cells with supporting fibroblasts, which then attach to the robot and provide movement as they contract.
-The robot's cardiac cells, working together in synchrony, could be considered at what level in life's hierarchy of organization?

Accepted Answer

A) organism 
B) organelle 
C) tissue 
D) organ system

Question 12

Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae

Accepted Answer

A) are photosynthetic. 
B) obtain food by decomposing the remains of dead organisms and absorbing the nutrients. 
C) are unicellular and lack a nucleus. 
D) are multicellular and lack a nucleus.

Question 13

Which of the following statements is not an example of evolution that has resulted from human activity?

Accepted Answer

A) Many strains of bacteria are now resistant to some commonly used antibiotics. 
B) Like certain other crops, domesticated strawberries are larger than wild strawberries. 
C) Because of hunting, organisms such as bears and wolves are fewer in number. 
D) Some insect species are now resistant to pesticides.

Question 14

If you eat a hamburger, you are mainly eating ground-up beef muscle. What levels of organization are represented in this ground-up muscle?

Accepted Answer

A) organism, population, and community 
B) organ, organ system, and organism 
C) organelle, cell, and tissue 
D) tissue, organ, and organ system

Question 15

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Scientists interested in knowing the best way to restore an area after a temporary road was built through it completed a study comparing two treatments: (1) restoring the contour of an area so that there was no longer a depression or cut-through where the road was previously and (2) simply abandoning the area to allow vegetation to return on its own. They wanted to know whether either or both of these treatments would return the aboveground vegetation and the belowground soil properties to their original state, as seen in a similar area where there had never been a road.
-This study was focused on which level of life's hierarchy?

Accepted Answer

A) organism 
B) community 
C) population 
D) ecosystem

Question 16

Which of the following statements provides the best evidence that there is a common genetic code that demonstrates the unity of life?

Accepted Answer

A) Bees, birds, and bats all have wings and fly. 
B) Bacteria, mushrooms, and cats all have DNA. 
C) Many insects can pollinate only a particular species of plant due to many generations of evolutionary adaptation. 
D) Through genetic engineering, a gene from a firefly can be inserted into a bacterium to make it glow.

Question 17

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Researchers have created a robot that has a very thin leg that is moved by cardiac (heart) cells contracting in unison. The robot, made of a polymer similar to that used in making contact lenses, is bathed in heart cells with supporting fibroblasts, which then attach to the robot and provide movement as they contract.
-If the creators of the robot wanted to provide evidence that it is alive, which of the following properties would be best to use as evidence?

Accepted Answer

A) The robot can move. 
B) The robot must be bathed in a liquid medium to provide nutrition for its cells. 
C) New robots can be reproduced by researchers using the same manufacturing process. 
D) The robot has two different types of cells, fibroblasts and cardiac cells.

Question 18

A theory is

Accepted Answer

A) an idea that has been proven. 
B) a concept in the early stages that still needs to be tested. 
C) a description of a belief that invokes the supernatural. 
D) an explanation of an idea that is broad in scope and supported by a large body of evidence.

Question 19

Basic science discoveries often lead to the development of technology, and the development of technology often leads to new scientific discoveries. Which of the following is not an accurate pairing of a technology and a discovery?

Accepted Answer

A) measurement of atmospheric CO₂ and understanding of climate change 
B) sequencing of genomes and understanding evolutionary relationships among organisms 
C) genetic engineering and creation of new drugs 
D) invention of the microscope and creation of evolutionary trees

Question 20

After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow.
Scientists interested in knowing the best way to restore an area after a temporary road was built through it completed a study comparing two treatments: (1) restoring the contour of an area so that there was no longer a depression or cut-through where the road was previously and (2) simply abandoning the area to allow vegetation to return on its own. They wanted to know whether either or both of these treatments would return the aboveground vegetation and the belowground soil properties to their original state, as seen in a similar area where there had never been a road.
-In this experiment, the area that had never had a road is useful to the experiment because

Accepted Answer

A) at least three samples are necessary to have a valid experiment. 
B) the area never roaded serves as a control for the experimental variables of recontoured and abandoned. 
C) the researchers need to know what species of plants were common to all three areas. 
D) since all three areas had existed for the same amount of time, the third area allowed time to be controlled as a variable.

Exam 1: Biology: Exploring Life