Deck 1: The Molecular Basis of Heredity, Variation, and Evolution

Question 1

Which concept describes the idea that the most closely related molecular sequences are those with the smallest number of differences between them?

A)cladistics
B)phylogeny
C)species
D)monophyletic group
E)parsimony

Answer 1

E

Question 2

What kind of bond is formed between the 5′ phosphate group of one nucleotide and the 3′ hydroxyl (OH)group of the adjacent nucleotide?

A)ionic bond
B)phosphodiester bond
C)hydrogen bond
D)disulfide bond
E)hydroxyl bond

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is the process of synthesizing proteins from mRNA sequences?

A)replication
B)transcription
C)translation
D)transformation
E)transduction

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which term describes a set of organisms that descended from a single common ancestor and are more closely related to other members of the group than to organisms outside the group?

A)paraphyletic group
B)phylogeny
C)species
D)monophyletic group
E)parsimony

Question 5

What is the process of synthesizing single-stranded RNA from template DNA?

A)replication
B)transcription
C)translation
D)transformation
E)transduction

Question 6

Which evolutionary process describes the movement of members of a species from one population to another?

A)natural selection
B)migration
C)mutation
D)random genetic drift
E)population genetics

Question 7

What kind of bond is formed between complementary base pairs to join the two DNA strands into a double helix?

A)ionic bond
B)phosphodiester bond
C)hydrogen bond
D)disulfide bond
E)peptide bond

Question 8

Which enzyme is active in DNA replication?

A)DNA polymerase
B)RNA polymerase
C)reverse transcriptase
D)aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase
E)RNase

Question 9

Which evolutionary process involves the slow addition of allelic variation that increases the hereditary diversity of populations,ultimately leading to evolutionary change?

A)natural selection
B)migration
C)mutation
D)random genetic drift
E)population genetics

Question 10

What kind of bond is formed between successive amino acids during translation?

A)ionic bond
B)phosphodiester bond
C)hydrogen bond
D)disulfide bond
E)peptide bond

Question 11

You identify a new unicellular organism with multiple chromosomes organized by proteins within the cell's nucleus.Into which of the three domains of life might this organism fit?

A)Archaea
B)Bacteria
C)Eukarya
D)Archaea or Bacteria
E)Archaea or Eukarya

Question 12

Modern genetics consists of three major branches.Which of these branches,also known as "transmission genetics," involves the study of the transmission of traits and characteristics in successive generations?

A)evolutionary
B)Mendelian
C)molecular
D)population
E)reproductive

Question 13

The promoter is bound by the transcription factors and which enzyme?

A)DNA polymerase
B)RNA polymerase
C)reverse transcriptase
D)DNase
E)RNase

Question 14

Watson and Crick used evidence from several studies to determine the structure of DNA.What conclusion were they able to draw from Rosalind Franklin's X-ray diffraction data,specifically?

A)DNA consists of four types of nucleotide bases: A,T,C,and G.
B)DNA nucleotides form complementary base pairs.
C)Adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine pairs with guanine when they are on opposite DNA strands.
D)DNA is a duplex,with two strands forming a double helix.
E)The DNA strands are antiparallel,and the strands are held together by hydrogen bonds.

Question 15

Which evolutionary process relies on the premise that individuals with the best adaptations are most successful at reproducing and leave more offspring than those with less adaptive forms?

A)natural selection
B)migration
C)mutation
D)random genetic drift
E)population genetics

Question 16

Which evolutionary process is most pronounced in small populations where statistical fluctuations in allele frequencies can be significant from one generation to the next?

A)natural selection
B)migration
C)mutation
D)random genetic drift
E)population genetics

Question 17

When a diploid cell divides by mitosis,the result is

A)two identical haploid cells.
B)two identical diploid cells.
C)four identical haploid cells.
D)four unique diploid cells.
E)four unique haploid cells.

Question 18

Sexual reproduction uses meiosis to generate

A)two identical haploid gametes.
B)two identical diploid gametes.
C)four identical haploid gametes.
D)four unique diploid gametes.
E)four unique haploid gametes.

Question 19

Which type(s)of RNA is/are translated into proteins?

A)mRNA
B)rRNA
C)tRNA
D)mRNA and rRNA
E)mRNA,rRNA,and tRNA

Question 20

Bacteria are single-celled organisms with a single chromosome found in which cell space?

A)nucleus
B)nucleolus
C)nucleoid
D)nuclear envelope
E)mitochondria

Question 21

Both sugar gliders and flying squirrels have evolved characteristics that allow them to glide,despite being geographically separated.Similar traits that have independent origins arise as a result of what phenomenon?

Question 22

What are the three domains of life?

Question 23

Phylogenetic trees are constructed based on morphological characteristics,but molecular phylogenetic trees are constructed based on which feature?

Question 24

Peptidyl transferase and other proteins power the continuous progression of the ribosome along mRNA and catalyze what type of bond formation in the growing chain?

Question 25

Theodosius Dobzhansky and Ernst Mayr drew on ideas from Darwin,Fisher,Wright,Haldane,and others to demonstrate how evolution operates in real populations.These observations lead to which evolutionary genetics theory?

Question 26

The polarities of the complementary nucleic acid strands run in opposite directions5′-to-3′ and 3′-to-5′.The 5′ designation refers to the placement of what chemical group on the 5′ carbon of the deoxyribose sugar?

Question 27

What process proposed by Wallace and Darwin describes the higher rates of survival and reproduction of certain forms of a species over alternative forms?

Question 28

As natural selection increases the frequency of one morphological form over another in the population,what changes at the genotypic level?

Question 29

In eukaryotes,most of the cells' DNA is found in the form of chromosomes in the nucleus.Which organelles contain their own genomes (descended from ancient endosymbiotic bacteria)?

Question 30

After replication,chromosomes consist of how many molecules of DNA (assuming one chromatid is equal to one molecule of DNA)?

Question 31

With the assistance of William Bateson,Archibald Garrod produced the first documented example of a human hereditary disorder.Which disorder were they describing?

Question 32

In double-stranded DNA,the percentages of adenine and thymine are approximately equal to each other,as are the percentages of cytosine and guanine.This relationship is better known as what (named for the person who made this discovery)?

Question 33

The physical units of heredity composed of defined DNA sequences that collectively control gene transcription and contain the information to produce RNA molecules or proteins are better known as what?

Question 34

During DNA replication,nascent DNA strands are synthesized in only one direction.Nucleotides are added only to which end of the nascent strand?

Question 35

What type of diagram would you use to depict morphological or molecular similarities and differences that identify evolutionary relationships?

Question 36

Messenger RNA codons pair with tRNA anticodons at which cell structure?

Question 37

Only 61 of the 64 codons specify an amino acid.What do the other three codons encode?

Question 38

A complete set of chromosomes is transmitted to produce identical daughter cells in which cell division process?

Question 39

In retroviruses,DNA is synthesized from an RNA template using which enzyme?

Question 40

What are the three principal components of a DNA nucleotide?

Question 41

There are 64 codons and 20 amino acids,meaning that the genetic code is ________.

Question 42

The work of Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri suggested that the hereditary units,or genes,described by Mendel are located on ________.

Question 43

What are the five essential characteristics of hereditary material,and why was protein originally believed to be a better candidate for the hereditary material than DNA?

Question 44

The ________,first proposed by Francis Crick,summarizes the relationships between DNA,RNA,and protein.

Question 45

Genetic experiments have revealed the relationship between the observable traits of an organism,or ________,and the genetic constitution of an organism,or ________.

Question 46

What are the three major types of RNA and their functions? What would happen to translation if each of these RNAs were mutated or degraded?

Question 47

Organisms are constantly evolving and phylogenetic relationships can be reevaluated.Refer to the phylogenetic tree to answer the following questions.

Which groups are more closely related: lancelets and tunicates,or lancelets and hagfishes?

Question 48

Describe what is meant by adaptive and nonadaptive evolution.Which type of evolution might be represented by the presence of the sickle cell phenotype in regions with high rates of malaria? By the presence of both attached and detached earlobes in a given population?

Question 49

Organisms are constantly evolving and phylogenetic relationships can be reevaluated.Refer to the phylogenetic tree to answer the following questions.

How might you explain the fact that the common ancestor of snakes had legs?

Question 50

DNA strands can be pulled apart by adding heat and "melting" the double-stranded DNA.The temperature required to melt a region of DNA changes based on the base-pair composition.Based on the structure of the A-T and C-G bonds in Figure 1.11,which bonds would require more energy (heat)to break them? How might this help you predict which regions of the DNA helix may be the most stable and harder to break apart? (This can be used to predict regions that are not transcribed as often,as you'll see in later chapters.)

Question 51

DNA replication is called ________ because the newly replicated DNA consist of a parental strand (from the original DNA)and a newly synthesized daughter strand.

Question 52

Organisms are constantly evolving and phylogenetic relationships can be reevaluated.Refer to the phylogenetic tree to answer the following questions.

What feature distinguishes snakes and mammals from frogs and salamanders?