Deck 1: Invitation To Biology

Question 1

Lipids,proteins,DNA,RNA,and complex carbohydrates are all ____.

A)minerals
B)atoms
C)cells
D)molecules
E)elements

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following represents an activity within a population?  

A)a fox consuming a rabbit
B)the absorption of nitrogen by bacteria and converting it to a form useful to plants
C)a peacock spreading and shaking his feathers to attract a female
D)moss growing on the north side of a large pine tree
E)a virus causing rabies in a dog

Answer 2

C

Question 3

An ecosystem is made up of ____.

A)only plants, animals and fungi
B)organisms and nonliving things
C)only rocks and minerals
D)only plants, protozoa, and fungi
E)the biosphere of the region

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following characteristics are shared by all living organisms?
I)hereditary information is passed to offspring
II)adaptation to environmental change
III)requirement for nutrients IV.DNA housed in a nucleus

A)I and II
B)I and III
C)II and III
D)I, II, and III
E)I, II, III, and IV

Question 5

The dynamics of an ecosystem depends on two main processes,which are ____.

A)the cycling of energy and the unidirectional flow of nutrients
B)the unidirectional flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients
C)the multidirectional flow of both energy and nutrients
D)the unidirectional flow of both energy and nutrients
E)the cycling of both energy and nutrients

Question 6

On a very hot summer day and a few months later on a very cold winter day,you go outside and take your temperature.Each time your body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius.This example illustrates ____.

A)adaptation
B)cellular reproduction
C)respiration
D)homeostasis
E)digestion

Question 7

The level of organization that encompasses all regions of Earth's crust,waters,and atmosphere in which organisms live is known as ____.

A)the biosphere
B)a community
C)an ecosystem
D)a population
E)an organism's habitat

Question 8

The emergent property of "life" appears at the level of the ____,when many molecules become organized.

A)population
B)atom
C)organism
D)cell
E)community

Question 9

The current rate of extinctions is about ____ times faster than normal.

A)10
B)100
C)1000
D)100,000
E)1,000,000

Question 10

What name is given to the scientific study of life?  

A)geography
B)statistics
C)ecology
D)geology
E)biology

Question 11

The species extinctions taking place today are being caused by ____ activities.

A)human
B)volcanic
C)plate tectonic
D)extraterrestrial
E)geothermal

Question 12

A substance that an organism needs for growth and survival but cannot make for itself is referred to as a(n)____.

A)chemical
B)nutrient
C)atom
D)DNA molecule
E)carbohydrate

Question 13

A population is composed of individuals of ____.

A)the same species
B)interacting species of different kinds
C)interacting species and nonliving things
D)a single species interacting with nonliving things
E)all species found in a given area

Question 14

Which of the following is a basic component of all of the others?  

A)cells
B)organs
C)tissues
D)organism
E)organ systems

Question 15

Which of the following represents the most correct order of the organization of life from the smallest unit to the largest?  

A)atoms-> molecules-> cells-> organisms->  populations-> communities-> ecosystems-> biosphere
B)atoms-> molecules-> cells-> organisms-> communities ->  populations ecosystems-> biosphere
C)atoms-> molecules-> cells-> organisms->  populations-> ecosystems-> communities-> biosphere
D)communities-> biosphere-> organisms-> ecosystems-> populations-> cells-> molecules-> atoms
E)biosphere-> organisms-> communities-> ecosystems-> populations-> molecules-> cells-> atoms 

Question 16

The DNA molecule is most similar functionally to a ____.

A)pair of scissors
B)flash light battery
C)Cookbook
D)ballpoint pen
E)craft kit of ceramic tiles

Question 17

Which of the following organization levels is the least inclusive?  

A)population
B)community
C)cell
D)atom
E)molecule

Question 18

Living organisms are members of all of the levels listed below.However,soil is a component of ___.

A)the community
B)the population
C)the ecosystem
D)both the population and ecosystem
E)both the community and the biosphere

Question 19

The process by which the first cell of a new individual becomes a multicelled adult is called ____.

A)homeostasis
B)inheritance
C)reproduction
D)growth
E)development

Question 20

All organisms fit into one of the two following categories.What two categories are these?  

A)consumers and decomposers
B)producers and decomposers
C)producers and consumers
D)scavengers and detritivores
E)consumers and scavengers

Question 21

Homeostasis is ____.

A)the ability to sense and respond to change
B)maintaining the external environment to favor survival
C)essential for nonliving things
D)unique to consumers
E)unique to producers

Question 22

Who developed the two-part naming system scientists use today to classify newly found organisms?  

A)Charles Darwin
B)Carolus Linnaeus
C)Aristotle
D)Alexander von Humboldt
E)Ernst Mayer

Question 23

The category of organisms that get their energy and nutrients by feeding on the tissues,wastes,or remains of other organisms are generally called ____.

A)producers
B)prokaryotes
C)consumers
D)archaea
E)plants

Question 24

What are the simplest types of eukaryotes?  

A)plants
B)protists
C)fungi
D)bacteria
E)archaea

Question 25

What is a characteristic of eukaryotes?  

A)All are multicelled organisms
B)Their cells are typically smaller than bacteria.
C)They are more like bacteria than archaea.
D)Their cells are less complex than bacteria or archaea.
E)Their DNA is contained in a nucleus.

Question 26

Which of the following is the correct order of taxa from most inclusive to least inclusive?  

A)domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
B)domain, kingdom, phylum, order, class, family, genus, species
C)domain, kingdom, phylum, family, order, class, genus, species
D)domain, phylum, kingdom, class, order, family, genus, species
E)domain, kingdom, order, class, phylum, family, genus, species

Question 27

Collectively,which group of organisms are the most diverse representatives of life?  

A)plants and animals
B)protists and fungi
C)bacteria and archaea
D)bacteria and protists
E)archaea and plants

Question 28

Energy flow is one-way because ____.

A)all of the energy in an ecosystem stays constant
B)the amount of energy a producer harvests is equal to the amount of energy consumers consume
C)with each energy transfer, some energy escapes as heat
D)energy cannot be created but it can be destroyed
E)there is only one form of energy

Question 29

Which of the following is a characteristic of all fungi?  

A)They are prokaryotic consumers.
B)They break down food externally.
C)They actively move during part of their lives.
D)They make their own food.
E)They are multicelled.

Question 30

Members of which group(s)can be single-celled producers?  

A)plants
B)protists
C)bacteria
D)bacteria and protists
E)bacteria and plants

Question 31

Which organisms are single-celled and lack a nucleus?  

A)bacteria and archaea
B)fungi and bacteria
C)archaea and protists
D)fungi and archaea
E)bacteria and protists

Question 32

What organism is defined as a multicelled organism that develops through a series of stages and moves about during part or all of its life?  

A)archaea
B)bacteria
C)fungi
D)animals
E)plants

Question 33

In the scientific name,Pan paniscus,Pan represents the name of the ____ while paniscus represents the name of the ____.

A)family; species
B)family; genus
C)genus; species
D)species; genus
E)genus; family

Question 34

What is the process by which a producer uses light energy to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water?  

A)respiration
B)photosynthesis
C)homeostasis
D)development
E)reproduction

Question 35

All known species belong to one of three domains.What are these domains?  

A)Prokarya, Bacteria, and Eukarya
B)Prokarya, Archaea, and Eukarya
C)Plantae, Bacteria, and Animalia
D)Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
E)Bacteria, Archaea, and Protista

Question 36

The scope of variation among living organisms is referred to as ____.

A)heritability
B)the biosphere
C)biodiversity
D)taxonomy
E)the ecosystem

Question 37

The transmission of DNA to offspring is referred to as ____.

A)homeostasis
B)development
C)growth
D)reproduction
E)inheritance

Question 38

Which of the following organisms is a multi-celled producer?  

A)an oak tree
B)Candida, a pathogenic fungus
C)E.coli, a common intestinal bacterium
D)a Siberian tiger
E)an archaeon on the seafloor

Question 39

In which of the following groups does seaweed belong?  

A)protists
B)plants
C)fungi
D)archaea
E)bacteria

Question 40

Taxonomists today tend to group organisms into the same category based on similar ____.

A)morphology
B)behavior
C)geographic distributions
D)biochemical traits
E)eating habits

Question 41

Which of the following words describes a tentative explanation to a given question?  

A)law
B)theory
C)hypothesis
D)fact
E)principle

Question 42

The variable(s)in the 2005 peacock butterfly experiment is(are)the ____.

A)butterfly wings pattern color
B)butterfly species
C)butterfly wings pattern color and sounds emitted
D)rainforest region used
E)percentage of survivors

Question 43

In the experiment with peacock butterflies the working hypothesis is that ____.

A)mimicry confuses both predator and prey
B)mimicry protects butterflies from being eaten by predatory birds
C)birds are capable of learning
D)birds are agents of evolution
E)unpalatable species display distinctive wings

Question 44

The control in an experiment ____.

A)contains excess test subjects in case some die
B)is an additional replicate for statistical purposes
C)reduces the experimental errors
D)minimizes experimental inaccuracy
E)allows for comparisons with the experimental group

Question 45

Which level of taxonomy encompasses all of the others?  

A)family
B)class
C)order
D)species
E)genus

Question 46

A control group ____.

A)receives the same treatment as the experimental group
B)is an untreated group of individuals or subjects
C)is sometimes exposed to harsh conditions
D)is often an unnecessary waste of material
E)is not subjected to experimental error

Question 47

The final step in the scientific method for a scientist is ____.

A)devising an experiment
B)collecting data
C)making observations
D)report his or her results
E)researching the literature for similar investigations

Question 48

In science,a theory is defined as ____.

A)a speculative guess
B)a hypothesis
C)an explanation that is well documented and consistent with the evidence
D)a description of a phenomenon for which there is no explanation
E)a personal conviction

Question 49

Ernst Mayr was responsible for ____.

A)discovering new species atop New Guinea's Foja Mountains
B)standardizing a two-part naming system
C)explaining the theory of natural selection
D)describing the biological species concept
E)identifying that all organisms contain DNA

Question 50

In the 2005 peacock butterfly experiment,what was the conclusion?  

A)Predatory birds are not deterred from eating peacock butterflies with spots.
B)Predatory birds are deterred by peacock butterfly clicking sounds.
C)Peacock butterflies with spots mated more often than those without spots.
D)Predatory birds are deterred by the dark color of the peacock butterfly.
E)Peacock butterflies that made clicking sounds attracted more predatory birds.

Question 51

Evolution has been tested in various ways.Genetic,fossil,anatomical,physiological and behavioral studies all confirm that evolution is the mechanism of the origin of species.Thus,in science evolution is considered a scientific ____.

A)fact
B)hypothesis
C)law
D)theory
E)guess

Question 52

How did the experimental group differ from the control group in the 2005 peacock butterfly experiment?  

A)They were different species.
B)Their native habitat of the forest differed.
C)They were spotless and soundless.
D)They tasted worse.
E)They preferred different flowers species.

Question 53

What is the right sequence of events applied in the scientific method?  

A)hypothesis; initial observation; data analysis; test; conclusion
B)initial observation; data analysis; hypothesis; test; conclusion
C)initial observation; hypothesis; data analysis; test; conclusion
D)initial observation; hypothesis; test; data analysis; conclusion
E)hypothesis; data analysis; initial observation; test; conclusion

Question 54

In the Olestra potato chip experiment,the report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in January 1998 indicated that ____.

A)Olestra potato chips cause cramping
B)potato chips without Olestra cause cramping
C)there was no evidence that Olestra caused cramping
D)watching movies cause cramping
E)people should not eat potato chips

Question 55

In the Olestra experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine,the people who ate the Olestra potato chips were the ____.

A)experimental group
B)control group
C)research group
D)hypothetical group
E)independent group

Question 56

In order to verify a hypothesis,scientists ____.

A)perform experiments and/or make observations
B)consider facts
C)establish law
D)develop theories
E)make predictions

Question 57

A result is statistically significant if ____.

A)it is unlikely to have occurred by chance
B)it is likely to have occurred by chance
C)it is likely to have occurred in 50% of the cases
D)it is consistent with predictions
E)it is widely accepted

Question 58

An experimenter wanted to test the effects of cigarette smoking on rats.She infused the cages of 50 rats with cigarette smoke and the cages of another 50 rats with pure,clean air.The rats that received the clean air were the ____.

A)experimental group
B)control group
C)model group
D)predictive group
E)independent group

Question 59

Scientists perform ____ in order to ____ a given ____.

A)experiments; test; hypothesis
B)tests; experiment; law
C)tests; experiment; variable
D)facts; test; variable
E)hypotheses; try; experiment

Question 60

A scientific theory ____.

A)is widely accepted and supported by several evidences
B)is widely accepted but not necessarily supported by several evidences
C)is sometimes accepted and supported by several evidences
D)is sometimes accepted and not necessarily supported by several evidences
E)is always a "truth"

Question 61

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
A set of people got regular potato chips.

Question 62

Error bars on a graph indicate ____.

A)places where the data is likely wrong
B)places where the researcher is unsure of her results
C)variation in results that cannot be accounted for.
D)variation in a set of data around the average
E)poor experimental technique on the part of the researcher

Question 63

The idea that Earth orbits the sun is referred to as ____ of the solar system,because of the scientist who first proposed it.

A)the Galilean theory
B)Newton's model
C)Einstein's theory
D)the Copernican model
E)Darwin's theory

Question 64

In science,all results ____.

A)are accepted as fact
B)are only hypotheses
C)have a probability of being incorrect
D)must be consistent with previous knowledge
E)are uncritically accepted by other scientists

Question 65

Why do scientists typically design experiments that will yield quantitative results?  

A)Scientists are unable to perform qualitative studies.
B)Quantitative results minimize the potential for bias.
C)To prevent other scientists from repeating their experiments.
D)Scientists cannot always observe all individuals of a group.
E)Quantitative results increase desirable bias.

Question 66

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
Percentages are about equal.Therefore,Olestra is not the cause of intestinal cramps observed in some people who have ingested Olestra-containing food.

Question 67

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
Olestra.

Question 68

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
1,100 people between the ages of thirteen and thirty-eight were asked to watch a movie and eat potato chips.

Question 69

Why are the laws of thermodynamics considered laws of nature and not scientific theories?  

A)We do not understand how or why energy behaves the way it does.
B)We understand why energy behaves the way it does, but not exactly how it behaves.
C)We understand how energy behaves, but not exactly why it behaves the way it does.
D)We cannot be absolutely sure that energy will behave the same under all conditions.
E)We have a complete scientific explanation of energy behavior.

Question 70

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
Some people complained of intestinal problems after eating chips containing Olestra.

Question 71

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
Olestra causes intestinal cramps.

Question 72

The difference between results obtained from a subset and results obtained from the whole is known as the ____.

A)sampling error
B)probability
C)statistically significant
D)sample size
E)controlled variable

Question 73

What practice helps scientists avoid bias in their findings?  

A)designing experiments that other researchers will find difficult to replicate
B)performing experiments testing all circumstances
C)reaching conclusions based on personal conviction
D)avoiding questions that may be at odds with society's moral standards
E)publicly publishing their results

Question 74

In science,if a result is deemed statistically significant,that means ____.

A)it is a very important result
B)it has a high probability of being incorrect.
C)it has a low probability of being skewed by sampling error
D)there is very little variation in the data
E)there is no doubt of the result being true

Question 75

After rigorous statistical analyses have shown a very low likelihood (usually 5% or less)of a result having occurred by chance alone,the result is said to be ____.

A)quantitatively probable
B)probably random
C)statistically significant
D)due to sampling error
E)statistically probable

Question 76

In 1610,which scientist was imprisoned for publishing evidence that the Earth orbits the sun?

A)Aristotle
B)Copernicus
C)Galileo
D)Darwin
E)Newton

Question 77

If 10 million people enter a drawing,what is each person's probability of winning?  

A)10%
B)1%
C)0.1%
D)0.001%
E)0.00001%

Question 78

Based on the Olestra potato chip experiment conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, match the following letters to the number with which they best correspond.
a.Observation
b.Hypothesis
c.Prediction
d.Experiment
e.Control group
f.Experimental group
g.The variable
h.Results
i.Conclusion
People who eat potato chips with Olestra will be more likely to get intestinal cramps than those who eat potato chips made without Olestra.

Question 79

If a hypothesis stands after years of repeated testing,is consistent with all data gathered,and helps make successful predictions about other phenomena,it is considered to be a ____.

A)speculative idea
B)proven theory
C)proven hypothesis
D)law of nature
E)scientific theory

Question 80

Sampling error can be minimized by which one of the following?  

A)using a large sample size
B)conducting the experiment or observation only once
C)throwing out data that does not fit the conclusion
D)using a small subset of a larger population
E)carefully selecting samples to match the prediction