Deck 1: Invitation to Biology

Question 1

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 1

B

Question 2

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

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

Answer 2

D

Question 3

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

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

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What name is given to the scientific study of life?

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

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

The DNA molecule is most similar functionally to a ____.

A) pair of scissors
B) flashlight battery
C) c ookbook
D) ballpoint pen
E) craft kit of ceramic tiles

Question 7

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

Question 8

Living organisms are members of all of the following levels. 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 9

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 10

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

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

Question 11

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 12

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 13

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 14

The current rate of extinction in rain forests is about ____ species every minute.

A) 2
B) 20
C) 200
D) 2,000
E) 2 0,000

Question 15

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 16

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 17

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 18

Which of the following organization levels is the least inclusive?

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

Question 19

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 20

All organisms fit into one of two categories: ____ and  ____.

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

Question 21

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 22

In which of the following groups does seaweed belong?

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

Question 23

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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

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 28

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 29

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

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

Question 30

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 31

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 32

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

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

Question 33

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 34

Which of the following organisms is a multicelled 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 35

What are the simplest types of eukaryotes?

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

Question 36

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 37

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

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

Question 38

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 39

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 40

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 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

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

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

Question 45

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 46

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 47

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 48

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 49

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 50

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  percent of the cases
D) it is consistent with predictions
E) it is widely accepted

Question 51

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 52

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 53

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 54

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

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

Question 55

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 56

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 57

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 wing spots.
C) Peacock butterflies with spots mate more often than those without spots.
D) Predatory birds are deterred by the dark color of the peacock butterfly.
E) Peacock butterflies that make clicking sounds attract more predatory birds.

Question 58

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 59

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 60

Which level of taxonomy encompasses all of the others?

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

Question 61

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

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

Question 62

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 63

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 64

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 66

Error bars on a graph indicate ____.

A) places where the data is likely wrong
B) places where the researcher is unsure of his or 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 67

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 68

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 71

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 72

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 73

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

Question 74

What practice helps scientists avoid bias in their findings?

A) designing experiments that yield quantitative results
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 75

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 76

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