Deck 2: Adaptations to Aquatic Environments

Question 1

Which is the most basic?

A) human blood
B) acid rain
C) carbonated beverages
D) pure water

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Adding dissolved compounds such as salt to water _____ the boiling point and _____ the freezing point.

A) increases; increases
B) increases; decreases
C) decrease; increases
D) decreases; decreases

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The low density of ice

A) makes it ineffective at insulating water from the cold.
B) allows aquatic plants to survive the winter.
C) is due to the high viscosity of water.
D) prevents it from moving in water.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which part of an organism is less dense than water?

A) bone
B) protein
C) muscle
D) fat

Question 5

Limestone deposits are due to

A) the low pH of ocean water.
B) the solubility of calcium carbonate.
C) the polar nature of water.
D) acid deposition.

Question 6

At what temperature does water reach its maximum density?

A) 32ºC
B) 0ºC
C) 4ºC
D) −12ºC
E) 100ºC

Question 7

Why is liquid water important for the formation of life on Earth?

Question 8

What is unusual about the physical properties of water?

Question 9

Water's polar nature

A) explains its high density.
B) makes it a good solvent.
C) causes it to freeze at 0ºC.
D) limits the amount of dissolved nutrients it can hold.

Question 10

A liquid with low pH would have

A) high OH⁻ concentration.
B) low NO₂ concentration.
C) low CaCO₃ concentration.
D) high H⁺ concentration.

Question 11

You are studying a small stream and find that its pH is 4.5. What does this tell you about the stream, and what might be the cause?

Question 12

The high specific heat of water

A) means large amounts of heat are needed to change the temperature of water.
B) requires significant heat energy to make the transition from solid to liquid.
C) requires significant heat energy to make the transition from liquid to gas.
D) makes it difficult to increase the temperature of liquid water above 100ºC.

Question 13

Which is NOT an adaptation that exploits the density of water?

A) a gas-filled swim bladder
B) droplets of oil on algae
C) long, filamentous appendages
D) high percentages of fat

Question 14

The limit to the amount of minerals water can hold is called

A) the dissolution limit.
B) the solvent point.
C) deposition.
D) saturation.

Question 15

Which causes acid rain?

A) CO₂
B) SO₂
C) HCO₃
D) NaOH

Question 16

How does a low pH harm aquatic environments?

Question 17

Aquatic organisms have developed streamlined shapes to adapt to

A) the density of water.
B) the viscosity of water.
C) the polar nature of water.
D) the basic nature of water.

Question 18

Which of the nutrients listed below is NOT required by all organisms?

A) nitrogen
B) phosphorus
C) potassium
D) sulfur
E) silicon

Question 19

Solutes

A) are membranes through which nutrients pass into cells.
B) reduce the acidity of water.
C) are particles that can pass through cell membranes.
D) are substances dissolved in water.

Question 20

A freshwater fish with a high concentration of dissolved nutrients will

A) have high osmotic pressure.
B) have low osmotic pressure.
C) be hyposmotic.
D) actively secrete solutes.

Question 21

How does water in a bog differ from water in other locations?

A) More bicarbonate and more carbon dioxide are available.
B) More bicarbonate and less carbon dioxide are available.
C) Less bicarbonate and more carbon dioxide are available.
D) Less bicarbonate and less carbon dioxide are available.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT a part of carbon equilibrium in water?

A) bicarbonate
B) ammonia
C) hydrogen ions
D) carbonic acid

Question 23

Ammonia is a byproduct of

A) digesting proteins.
B) absorbing excess salts.
C) excreting urea.
D) active uptake in gills.

Question 24

In which location would you expect to find the highest levels of dissolved oxygen?

A) deep ocean water
B) a freshwater bog
C) a landlocked lake
D) a fast, shallow river

Question 25

Mangroves grow on salt-laden coastal mudflats that are inundated daily by high tides. How do these plants address problems of water acquisition and elimination of excess salts?
I) by maintaining high concentrations of organic solutes in their roots
II) by excluding salts from their roots by active transport
III) by actively excreting salt from glands on the surfaces of their leaves

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

Question 26

Anaerobic conditions

A) decrease photosynthesis.
B) are due to increased pH.
C) decrease the diffusion of oxygen.
D) are more common in deep water than in the shallows.

Question 27

How does the concentration of bicarbonate in water compare with the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air?

A) one tenth
B) about the same
C) twice as much
D) about 30 times more
E) over 100 times more

Question 28

The dissolved oxygen levels in water did NOT require adaptation for

A) dolphins.
B) sharks.
C) squid.
D) zooplankton.

Question 29

Hyperosmotic conditions

A) cause low osmotic pressure.
B) occur in freshwater organisms.
C) cause active secretion in gills.
D) occur in arid landlocked lakes.

Question 30

Which does NOT limit the ability of aquatic plants to photosynthesize?

A) slow diffusion of carbon dioxide in water
B) boundary layers
C) the size of bicarbonate molecules
D) high levels of carbonic acid

Question 31

Why is it important for organisms to osmoregulate?

A) Organisms cannot survive in hyposmotic conditions.
B) Active transport requires large amounts of energy.
C) An imbalance in solutes disrupts cell functions.
D) High osmotic pressure can burst cell walls.

Question 32

What is the osmotic potential of ocean water?

A) −10 MPa
B) −1.2 MPa
C) −0.4 MPa
D) 0 MPa
E) 2 MPa

Question 33

Why do sharks retain urea rather than excrete it? How does this influence their fitness?

Question 34

How does the permeable nature of cells affect evolution in aquatic animals?

Question 35

Which is a byproduct of anaerobic respiration?

A) CO₂
B) H₂CO₃
C) H₂S
D) HCl

Question 36

Which is used to increase oxygen extraction?

A) hydrogen ions
B) boundary layers
C) countercurrent circulation
D) concurrent circulation

Question 37

The use of salt on roads in winter has led to

A) adaptation of roadside plants to increased salt levels.
B) decreased survival of freshwater organisms in nearby ponds.
C) hyperosmotic conditions.
D) increased acid deposition.

Question 38

Why are both carbon dioxide and oxygen limited in aquatic environments?

A) They are not very soluble.
B) They change to different chemical forms in water.
C) They cannot diffuse across cell membranes.
D) They are rare in the atmosphere and therefore limited in water.

Question 39

Which is NOT an adaptation to low-oxygen aquatic environments?

A) increased hemoglobin
B) breathing air
C) increased metabolic activity
D) symbiotic relationship with algae

Question 40

Explain why freshwater fish do not need to drink water.

Question 41

Organisms that survive in varied temperatures adapt to changes by using

A) supercooling.
B) hyperosmotic molecules.
C) countercurrent circulation.
D) isozymes.

Question 42

What prevents ice formation in blood and tissues of marine animals?

A) an increased concentration of glycerol
B) an increased concentration of oxygen
C) a decreased concentration of salt
D) a decreased concentration of trimethylamine oxide

Question 43

The rate of biological processes increases two to four times for each _____ increase in temperature

A) 12ºC
B) 10ºC
C) 8ºC
D) 5ºC

Question 44

What concept does the nearby graph illustrate? Explain why it is important.

Question 45

Samples of ocean water are taken from 25 locations, and the mean salt concentration is 36 ppt, with a sample variance of 1 ppt. What is the standard error of the sample?

A) 0.2
B) 0.5
C) 1
D) 1.2
E) 5

Question 46

Coral bleaching

A) occurs when coral exoskeletons begin to break down.
B) is due to a lack of dissolved nutrients from the surrounding water.
C) is a temporary process that is usually reversed within days.
D) occurs when algae are expelled from coral.

Question 47

Why is it surprising that some organisms are able to live at temperatures above 75ºC?

A) High temperatures decrease the efficiency of glycoproteins.
B) High temperatures denature proteins.
C) High temperatures evaporate water in cells.
D) High temperatures increase the permeability of cell membranes.

Question 48

Explain why thermal pollution is relatively rare in oceans.

Question 49

What are some ways to prevent an aquarium from becoming anoxic?

Question 50

What percentage of a normal distribution is within one standard deviation of the mean?

A) 34%
B) 50%
C) 68%
D) 76%
E) 95%

Question 51

Glycoproteins coat ice crystals that begin to form in blood and prevent freezing in a process called

A) antifreeze accumulation.
B) supercooling.
C) isozymal coating.
D) osmoregulation.

Question 52

The primary cause of coral bleaching is

A) decreased water temperature.
B) increased water temperature.
C) decreased salt concentrations.
D) increased water pH.
E) decreased water pH.

Question 53

What unique low-temperature challenge are marine organisms likely to encounter?

Question 54

What enable thermophilic bacteria to withstand very high temperatures?

A) high glycerol concentrations that protect cell membranes
B) low concentrations of isozymes that change form at high temperatures
C) cell materials that reduce heat transfer
D) high proportions of particular amino acids that form strong bonds

Question 55

Nine ponds are sampled, and the mean salt concentration is 121 ppm, with a sample variance of 25 ppm. What is the standard deviation of the sample?

A) 0.6
B) 2.2
C) 3
D) 5
E) 11

Question 56

Explain why there are relatively few plant species in mangrove forests.

Question 57

Explain how increased atmospheric carbon dioxide can affect the ability of coral to build their exoskeletons.

Question 58

Suppose organisms in a lake are limited by oxygen. How might the lake's ability to support organisms change if the temperature increased by 10ºC, assuming that all the organisms were still within their thermal optima?

A) It could support about twice as many organisms.
B) It could support about half as many organisms.
C) It could support about the same number of organisms.
D) More information is required to determine whether it would change.

Question 59

Explain how osmotic regulation might make marine organisms better at surviving low temperatures than freshwater organisms.

Question 60

What do a large standard deviation and small standard error tell you about the data from several samples?