Deck 3: Major Groups of Living Organisms

Question 1

A distinguishing difference between bacteria and archaeans is

A) that bacteria are prokaryotic and archaeans are eukaryotic.
B) the molecules used to construct their cell walls.
C) the presence of membrane-bound organelles only in bacteria.
D) the greater size of the bacterial nucleus.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Bacterial cells can typically be represented by one of the following three shapes:

A) the sphere, rod, or cube.
B) the rod, sphere, or corkscrew.
C) the corkscrew, cube, or rod.
D) the cube, sphere, or comma.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The vertebrates, which include organisms such as humans, birds, and frogs, illustrate that very different forms can evolve from one basic body plan. The observation that these diverse organisms share a general body plan supports the hypothesis that

A) they may simply be different variations of the same species.
B) evolution discovers and produces the most useful features for a given point in time.
C) they form a lineage that began with a common ancestor.
D) highly adaptive traits have a high probability of evolving independently within otherwise unrelated groups.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following would you most likely find surviving in a boiling-hot spring?

A) an archaean
B) bacteria
C) a eukaryote
D) none of the above

Question 5

The current classification system used by biologists is

A) complex and unchanging.
B) universally accepted by all biologists.
C) based on four generalized types of living organism: the Bacteria, the Archaea, the Eukarya, and the Protista.
D) updated and revised whenever new information becomes available.

Question 6

Prokaryotes obtain their nutrition in a variety of ways; all of the following methods except ______ have been observed.

A) consuming other organisms
B) acquiring carbon from nonliving sources
C) using noncarbon-based nutritional systems
D) photosynthesis

Question 7

Which of the following statements about bacteria is false?

A) They help a variety of organisms digest their food.
B) They can provide the nitrate necessary for plant nutrition.
C) They can be used to clean up oil spills.
D) The membranes from their organelles can be used to produce medicines.

Question 8

Prokaryotes differ in several ways from eukaryotes; one of the most distinctive is

A) the absence of a plasma membrane.
B) having hereditary material composed of DNA.
C) the presence of chromosomes.
D) a nucleus that encloses the cell's DNA.

Question 9

When success is defined as the greatest number of living individuals, Earth's most successful inhabitants are the

A) vertebrates and birds.
B) fungi and animals.
C) bacteria and archaea.
D) plants and animals.

Question 10

Carbon and energy are among the most basic life resources and organisms have been classified with respect to how they are obtained. What term describes an organism that obtains these substances from rock?

A) chemoheterotroph
B) photoautotroph
C) photoheterotroph
D) chemoautotroph

Question 11

The group with the greatest diversity in the ways it obtains carbon and energy is

A) the Fungi.
B) the Animalia.
C) the prokaryotes.
D) the Plantae.

Question 12

Which of the following terms describes organisms that can survive in extremely salty environments?

A) thermophiles
B) halophiles
C) methanogens
D) none of the above

Question 13

Which of the following is not a testable hypothesis?

A) Bacteria have a nucleus.
B) Scientists who study bacteria are more satisfied with their careers.
C) Fungi obtain nutrients only from plants.
D) Animals can carry out photosynthesis.

Question 14

Bacteria can be distinguished from most other organisms because

A) bacterial cells have membrane-bound organelles.
B) bacterial DNA is not located within an organelle.
C) bacteria reproduce by splitting in two.
D) bacteria are generally single-celled.

Question 15

Prokaryotic genomes

A) do not contain DNA.
B) are relatively small, containing only DNA that is actively used.
C) are relatively large, containing extra DNA that serves no known function.
D) contain about four times as much DNA as eukaryotic genomes.

Question 16

Because plants lack the ability to directly utilize the ______ present in the atmosphere, their abundance often depends on bacterial populations present within the soil.

A) nitrogen
B) oxygen
C) water
D) carbon dioxide

Question 17

Taxonomy is the subdiscipline in biology that classifies living organisms; at the present time

A) all living organisms have been discovered, named, and their relationships to other organisms described.
B) humans have just finished a complete count of the number of species on Earth.
C) the diversity of organisms on Earth is not completely known and estimates of the number of unknown species vary 10-fold.
D) there is no consensus regarding the proper classification system of currently known organisms.

Question 18

In addition to the Bacteria, which other kingdom is comprised exclusively of prokaryotic organisms?

A) Archaea
B) Fungi
C) Protista
D) Plantae

Question 19

Which of the following is not one of the three major ways of classifying organisms?

A) the Linnaean hierarchy
B) the Darwinian hierarchy
C) domains
D) an evolutionary tree

Question 20

Microscopic examination can often resolve questions in taxonomy, for example, cells that possess a nucleus are never classified as

A) eukaryote.
B) fungi.
C) archaean.
D) protist.

Question 21

What capability did the development of a vascular system provide?

A) greater efficiency at capturing the energy from sunlight
B) greater efficiency for nutrient transport and structural support
C) permitted plant life to establish on land
D) allowed the developing embryo to remain protected until better growth conditions were available

Question 22

Examine the evolutionary tree pictured below.
One prediction based on the arrangement of ciliates in the illustration is that the DNA of

A) the green algae would share more in common with the plants than with the diplomonads.
B) the diatoms and water molds would be more similar to one another than any other protist.
C) the diplomonads would constitute a large percentage of the DNA of all other protists.
D) All of the above predictions are reasonable.

Question 23

What resources do plants use to produce the sugar molecules that their cells use for fuel?

A) carbon dioxide, water, and light energy
B) nitrogen and oxygen
C) water and pond scum
D) water, nitrogen, and iron

Question 24

The most ancient of the Eukarya are

A) Fungi.
B) Animalia.
C) Protista.
D) Plantae.

Question 25

Mitochondria, the energy-processing organelles in eukaryotic cells, have their own DNA, separate from that of the cell's nucleus. Which of the following choices best explains the presence of mitochondria in eukaryotic cells?

A) An ancestral prokaryote engulfed and retained a separate energy-processing prokaryotic cell.
B) Mitochondria are formed when a eukaryotic cell undergoes fission.
C) Mitochondria are separate organisms that fuse with eukaryotic cells in much the same fashion as algae and fungi form lichens.
D) A prokaryote and a eukaryote fuse to form mitochondria.

Question 26

No single characteristic is sufficient to describe a kingdom, for example, plants and some bacteria share in common

A) the ability to photosynthesize.
B) the presence of a cell wall and the absence of a plasma membrane.
C) a heterotrophic lifestyle.
D) the ability to reproduce sexually.

Question 27

Life on earth appears to have began in the water; the first organisms believed to colonize land were

A) bacteria.
B) fungi.
C) plants.
D) animals.

Question 28

What best explains why bacteria can reproduce so much more rapidly than an organism like a mushroom?

A) Mushrooms reproduce using spores that require a lengthy exposure to the environment before the outer coating can break open.
B) Bacteria live in extreme environments and can avoid having to wait for more favorable conditions to reproduce, like mushrooms and other plants.
C) Since most bacteria cause disease they are avoided by consumers, while organisms like mushrooms are quickly eaten, preventing rapid population growth.
D) Mushrooms reproduce sexually, so the proper mating types must contact one another before reproduction can proceed.

Question 29

Protists display the earliest version of sexual reproduction, whereby

A) separate male and female protists within the same species mate.
B) females of one protist species mate with males of another protist species.
C) special cells called gametes fuse together to produce a new individual.
D) an individual splits into two individuals that then mate with one another.

Question 30

Cells carry out many chemical processes, some of which produce toxic by-products. If you were designing a cell from known components, which of the following would provide the best method of protecting the cell from its own toxic by-products while allowing it to complete the chemical reactions necessary for life?

A) modify the cell membrane so that the toxin could diffuse to the outside of the cell but not reenter
B) isolate the toxin-producing reactions within an organelle
C) improve the photosynthetic process to produce more energy
D) devise a noncarbon-based cellular chemistry

Question 31

Protists may superficially resemble organisms in the other kingdoms; one exception is the kingdom _____, whose members do not resemble protists in any way.

A) Bacteria
B) Fungi
C) Plantae
D) Animalia.

Question 32

Resolving the relationship between the various kingdoms has been challenging because species often resemble one another; for example, the _______ contain some organisms that are animal-like and others that are plant-like.

A) bacteria
B) fungi
C) archaeans
D) protists

Question 33

The kingdom Protista is quite diverse and the relationship between its various members is unclear. The best method of clarifying those relationships will require that biologists

A) remove the kingdom from Eukarya and place it in its own domain.
B) match each of the protist traits with the corresponding animal trait of the common ancestor.
C) separate the eukaryotic protists from the prokaryotic protists.
D) create an evolutionary tree for the group using comparative DNA data.

Question 34

The inset in the figure below shows halobacterium, an archaean that lives in environments with very high salinities.
What hypothesis can explain the extreme habitats of the archaeans?

A) They came to earth from other planets, where harsher conditions prevail.
B) They would be more widespread, but are unable to successfully compete with bacteria and now occupy habitats where bacteria cannot live.
C) Archaeans evolved when Earth was much less hospitable, and are now relegated to those habitats most similar to early Earth.
D) Numerous food resources are available and unexploited in Earth's extreme habitats.

Question 35

The main body of a fungus is known as the

A) mycelium.
B) mitochondrion.
C) gymnosperm.
D) septum.

Question 36

Although exceptions exist, reproduction in most eukaryotes involves

A) two individuals combining DNA during the formation of a new organism.
B) one individual dividing to make two identical organisms.
C) two individuals fusing to form one organism.
D) the cells of an individual dividing.

Question 37

The first plant group to develop seeds was the

A) mosses.
B) ferns.
C) gymnosperms.
D) angiosperms.

Question 38

Although costly to produce, the large number of plants producing fruit attest to its success as an adaptation; in what way is fruit production helpful?

A) Fruits attract pollinators like insects and birds to move pollen between different plants.
B) Fruit toxins can discourage potential consumers from eating the plant.
C) Plants can store energy in fruits during summer and then later recover the energy during winter, when the fruit decomposes.
D) Consumers eating fruits also eat seeds that when not digested can be deposited far from the parent plant.

Question 39

The kingdom Plantae consists of four major groups; the _____ are believed to have been the first to appear.

A) angiosperms
B) gymnosperm
C) ferns
D) mosses

Question 40

Speculate on the diversity of life on Earth if plants had never evolved.

A) The existence of large multicellular consumers like animals would be unlikely.
B) Since protists evolved before plants and can derive their energy by consuming bacteria, they could be expected to be common.
C) Bacterial life would be less diverse than it is presently.
D) All of the above are reasonable hypotheses.

Question 41

The figure below shows the vertebrates and arthropods to be distantly related, yet each has features, like limbs and jaws, seen in no other groups.
How can such an obvious similarity be discounted in favor of embryological development as a basis for classification?

A) The decision to overlook certain features reveals the arbitrary nature of classification and explains why there is so little agreement among taxonomists.
B) Limbs are not discounted by taxonomists; they were acquired from a common ancestor but later lost by the mollusks, annelids, and echinoderms.
C) Embryos are securely protected during development and have little need to evolve; shared inherited features indicate a common ancestor.
D) Examination of the embryos of all animals with body cavities reveals limbs, but they are unnecessary for some lifestyles and so they degenerate.

Question 42

Relationships among the animals having body cavities can be easily determined by examination of embryonic development; vertebrates and echinoderms are grouped together because in each

A) the infolding that forms the body cavity eventually becomes the anus.
B) life starts as a single fertilized cell and then becomes multicellular.
C) the death of specific cells creates the internal hollow that eventually becomes the body cavity.
D) the infolding that forms the body cavity eventually becomes the mouth.

Question 43

Viral classification and biology has been challenging; presently most biologists agree that viruses

A) should be classified as members of the kingdom Protista.
B) are constructed from a protein wrapped around DNA or RNA.
C) use a photosynthetic process more similar to bacteria than plants.
D) should be classified as autochemotrophic.

Question 44

_______ is the most ancient group with the eukaryotic domain.

Question 45

Lichens are formed by an association between

A) algae and plants.
B) fungi and plants.
C) algae and fungi.
D) protists and algae.

Question 46

New features that allow a group to survive and reproduce successfully can be called ___________ innovations.

Question 47

A waxy covering known as the _______ was an important adaptation for terrestrial life; it helps keep land plants from drying out when exposed to sun and wind.

Question 48

The defining feature of the angiosperms is the _______.

Question 49

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya are three _______ under the most commonly used current classification system.

Question 50

The two animal lineages that evolved complete body cavities with a mouth at one end and an anal opening at the other are the

A) protostomes and deuterostomes.
B) prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
C) protostomes and protists.
D) sponges and flatworms.

Question 51

Honeybees have declined dramatically within the United States in recent years, but it's important to note that the honeybee is not a native species; it is native to Asia. If the honeybee disappears entirely,

A) native pollinators will quickly replace it, both restoring the natural ecological order and maintaining normal plant pollination.
B) existing insects will quickly evolve to take advantage of the lack of competition for nectar and pollen in its absence.
C) plants will quickly evolve different methods of pollen dispersal, like wind pollination, to avoid extinction themselves.
D) farming will have to significantly change since most modern crops are horticulturally modified and poorly pollinated by native species.

Question 52

Imagine the discovery of an undescribed nonphotosynthetic multicellular organism. To determine whether it is a(n) _______, you need to examine it microscopically to determine if its _______

A) animal or fungi; cells have cell walls.
B) animal or plant; cells have nuclei.
C) plant or fungi; cells have cell walls
D) animal or fungi; cells contain DNA.

Question 53

One reason plants can live on land is because they have developed the _______, which facilitates the distribution of water and nutrients obtained from the soil.

Question 54

Although seeming quite distinct, cotton, morphine, and flour are all obtained from flowering plants, otherwise known as __________

Question 55

Which of the following groups has been the most recent to evolve?

A) Bacteria
B) Fungi
C) Ciliates
D) Archaea

Question 56

Which of the following investigations would be the least likely to provide useful information about the relationships within the kingdom Animalia?

A) which developmental sequences occur during embryonic growth
B) an examination of the construction of the cell membrane
C) a comparative examination of the proteins used in photosynthesis
D) in what way various organs and organ systems have become modified over time

Question 57

_______, first seen in the gymnosperms, were a major evolutionary development; they both protect the embryo and provide an initial source of nutrients.

Question 58

The ______ of a eukaryotic cell contains its DNA.

Question 59

The ________ were the first plant group to evolve a vascular system.

Question 60

The earliest lineage of organisms living today are the _______.

Question 61

The vertebrates are grouped into a lineage because all of members possess an internal _______.

Question 62

Most plants produce flowers, which greatly improve the probability of _______.

Question 63

The most commonly used classification system includes 12 kingdoms.

Question 64

The organisms found living inside boiling-hot geysers can be described as thermophiles.

Question 65

Aerobic organisms can survive without oxygen.

Question 66

Flowers are the organs of reproduction in angiosperms.

Question 67

In nature, fungi function primarily as _______, getting their nutrition from dead and dying organisms.

Question 68

The domain Eukarya is presently subdivided into four kingdoms, although new information concerning the protists could increase that number.

Question 69

Seeds contain the embryos of plants and nutrients to assist with germination and initial growth.

Question 70

Sponges are considered to be the most ancient of animals; although multicellular, sponges have not developed the _______ present in all other animals.

Question 71

All bacteria have the same shape.

Question 72

The flower is the basic reproductive structure of a plant; thus, all plants produce flowers.

Question 73

Without angiosperms, mosses could not reproduce.

Question 74

Mutualistic organisms are more commonly termed parasites.