Question 1

Which of the following lists identifies organisms that are producers in food webs?

Accepted Answer

Producers in food webs are organisms that can produce their own food through photosynthesis. Algae, ferns, and sunflowers are all capable of photosynthesis, making them producers.

Question 2

In which of the following ways does a bacterial cell differ from an animal cell?

Accepted Answer

Bacterial cells are prokaryotic and do not have membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, or a nucleus, which are present in animal cells (eukaryotic cells).

Question 3

Which of the following best explains why enzymes are necessary for many cellular reactions?

Accepted Answer

Enzymes act as catalysts to speed up chemical reactions within cells, making processes occur at a rate that sustains life. Without enzymes, many cellular reactions would proceed too slowly to support the cell's needs.

Question 4

Nerve cells use which of the following to communicate with each other?

Accepted Answer

Nerve cells, or neurons, communicate with each other through electrochemical signals. These signals involve the movement of ions across the neuron's membrane, leading to changes in electrical potential that propagate along the neuron.

Question 5

Lemurs' bodies are adapted to efficiently store energy for times when food is scarce. This adaptation may help to explain how lemur ancestors survived the trip across the Mozambique Channel from mainland Africa to Madagascar. Which of the following types of molecules are primarily used for long-term energy storage in the lemur?

Accepted Answer

Lipids, particularly in the form of fats, are the primary molecules used for long-term energy storage in animals, including lemurs. They provide a dense source of energy that can be mobilized during periods of food scarcity.

Question 6

Lemur body types can vary widely. In addition to fossils and comparative anatomy, which of the following types of evidence can scientists reliably use to study the evolution of the variety of lemur body types?

Accepted Answer

DNA sequences provide a reliable source of evidence for studying the evolution of species, including the variety of lemur body types, by allowing scientists to compare genetic similarities and differences.

Question 7

There are at least 88 species of lemurs in existence today. Which of the following conditions most likely existed and made it possible for Madagascar's original lemur ancestors to evolve into many species on the island?

Accepted Answer

The presence of new niches and lack of competition allowed lemurs to diversify and adapt to various environments on Madagascar, leading to the evolution of many species.

Question 8

Which of the following lemurs would be classified as a secondary consumer?

Accepted Answer

Mouse lemurs eating insects are classified as secondary consumers because they consume primary consumers (insects), which feed on primary producers (plants).

Question 9

A builder is proposing a new housing development in an area of western Massachusetts. Construction of the housing development will destroy the wetland habitat in the area.Which of the following would be the most likely consequence of the wetland's destruction?

Accepted Answer

Wetlands provide unique habitats that support specific plant and animal species. Destroying these habitats would directly impact the species that rely on them, making survival in that area difficult or impossible for those species. Other options suggest adaptation or migration that may not be feasible for all species involved.

Question 10

Mallory has four aquatic plants of the same size and species. She submerges each plant in a separate beaker filled with 200 mL of water. She then sets each beaker under a different intensity of light. Mallory observes that, of the four plants, the plant in the beaker under the most intense light gives off the most gas bubbles in a 20 min period.Which of the following statements best explains Mallory's observations?

Accepted Answer

Photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy, occurs at a higher rate under more intense light. The gas bubbles observed are oxygen, a byproduct of photosynthesis, indicating that the plant under the most intense light is photosynthesizing at the highest rate.

Question 11

During DNA replication, the wrong nucleotide was inserted in the DNA sequence. Which of the following terms describes this situation?

Accepted Answer

A mutation occurs when there is a change in the DNA sequence, such as the insertion of the wrong nucleotide during DNA replication.

Question 12

In the human body, fibrinogen is necessary for sealing cuts and stopping the loss of blood. Since fibrinogen is made of chains of amino acids, it is an example of which type of organic molecule?

Accepted Answer

Fibrinogen is a protein, as it is made up of chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. Proteins play various roles in the body, including clotting blood, as fibrinogen does.

Question 13

Which of the following relationships is an example of mutualism?

Accepted Answer

Mutualism is a type of symbiotic relationship where both species involved benefit. In choice D, the bird benefits by getting food from the crocodile's teeth, and the crocodile benefits from having its teeth cleaned, which can prevent infections and other dental issues.

Question 14

According to Mendel's law of segregation, which of the following statements describes what happens to the alleles of a gene pair?

Accepted Answer

Mendel's law of segregation states that allele pairs separate or segregate during gamete formation, and randomly unite at fertilization.

Question 15

All organisms have ways to produce ATP. Which of the following statements describes why ATP is a critical compound for all cells?

Accepted Answer

ATP is critical because it serves as the primary energy currency of the cell, transferring energy from chemical bonds to cellular processes that require energy, such as muscle contraction, active transport, and biosynthesis.

Question 16

Lobsters and spiders are both classified in the phylum Arthropoda. Lobsters and spiders are therefore also classified in the same

Accepted Answer

Lobsters and spiders are both part of the phylum Arthropoda, which means they share the same broader classification of being in the kingdom Animalia. The classifications of class, family, and genus are more specific and differ between lobsters and spiders.

Question 17

Which of the following features of DNA is most important in determining the phenotype of an organism?

Accepted Answer

The sequence of nitrogenous bases in DNA is crucial for determining the phenotype of an organism because it dictates the specific sequence of amino acids in proteins, which in turn influences the organism's traits and characteristics.

Question 18

A portion of one strand of a DNA molecule has the sequence shown below.ACCTGAAGGAssuming there are no mutations in this portion of the DNA, what is the corresponding sequence on the complementary DNA strand?

Accepted Answer

DNA strands are complementary and antiparallel, meaning the bases pair A with T and G with C. The sequence ACCTGAAGG would pair with TGGACTTCC, following these base-pairing rules.

Question 19

Which of the following human activities reduces biodiversity?

Accepted Answer

Planting only red pine trees to replace native hardwood forests cut for lumber reduces biodiversity by replacing diverse ecosystems with monocultures, which lack the variety of species found in natural, diverse habitats.

Question 20

The rock pipit and the water pipit are two types of birds found in the United Kingdom and other areas of Europe. The rock pipit and the water pipit have similar appearances and their habitat ranges overlap.Which of the following observations most likely caused scientists to classify the birds as separate species?

Accepted Answer

The inability of two populations to produce fertile offspring is a key criterion for defining them as separate species, according to the biological species concept.

Quiz 1: Biology