1. Questions

What is an advantage of using a model?
(answer) provides a visual guide to abstract concepts

What term is used to describe a biphasic anabolic pathway in which light energy is converted to chemical energy?
(Answer) Photosynthesis

Prokaryotic cells, which can use cellular respiration to generate energy, perform part of this process using the cell membrane because they lack membrane-bound organelles. Eukaryotic cells, on the other hand, begin the process of cellular respiration __________ and end it __________.
(response) in the cytoplasm; in the mitochondria

Scientists fear the extinction of bee species. They are pollinators and when they are gone many plant species will die off because they cannot reproduce. This will lead to a population crash. What happens to biodiversity and sustainability as a result?
(Answer) Biodiversity will decrease and sustainability will decrease.

If 100,000 kJ of energy is available to producers, how much energy is available to secondary consumers in this food pyramid?
(Answer) 1,000 KJ

Grasses are the dominant producers in the prairie ecosystem. Mice eat the grass seed, snakes eat the mice and hawks eat the snakes.
The mass of a hawk is about 500 grams. How many hawks can be fed by 250,000 kilograms of producers in this ecosystem? Remember that 1 kilogram equals 1,000 grams.
(answer) 500

An organism classified as anaerobic can breathe
(answer) without oxygen.

What extremophile can thrive in Utah’s Great Salt Lake, which is exceedingly rich in salt?
(Answer) Halophiles

What is an invisible factor affecting the carrying capacity of the ocean?
(Answer) Water chemistry

__________ can increase biodiversity.
(Answer) Protection of land

Which ecosystem has the lowest biodiversity?
(Answer) Cornfield

The effects of acid rain are most noticeable in a tundra biome because
(Answer) Lowering soil pH makes it difficult for native plant species to grow.

How do beneficial traits lead to evolution? Put the steps in the right order.
(Answer) beneficial trait → survival of the fittest → differential reproduction → natural selection → evolution

Among the ways that populations can evolve over time, __________ is the only mechanism whereby the environment selects for better-adapted individuals, while __________ selects traits at random.
(answer) natural selection; genetic drift

How many signers of the Declaration of Independence became President?

Biological evolution is defined as a change in the __________ of a species over time.
(answer) genetic makeup

What evidence best supports the hypothesis that kin selection drives the evolution of altruistic behavior?
(Answer) A meerkat protects his sister’s offspring from an attack by hawks.

Pandas have adapted specifically to bamboo forests because they depend on bamboo for food. Pandas also have a very slow reproductive rate. Females can conceive only once a year during a 24- to 72-hour window, and they usually only give birth to one pup in the wild. Based on this information, if a major environmental disaster such as a volcanic eruption or meteorite impact destroys all bamboo forests within the panda ecosystem, what will most likely happen to the panda species?
(Answer) The species will become extinct because it cannot adapt quickly enough to the changes.

What must be true about the population for evolution to occur through natural selection?
(Answer) The population must have strong individuals capable of repelling other populations when threatened.

What is a specific example of a competitive advantage that Darwin’s finches exhibit?
(Answer) All finches evolved from a ancestral species and adapted to their specific niche.

Do mutations always lead to evolution?
(Answer) No, because some mutations occur in body cells, so they are not passed on.

Which statement about correlation and causation is correct?
(Answer) Correlation sometimes indicates causation.

Scientists have found a new fossil similar to Archeopteryx. It is only the second fossil of its kind. It shows an animal that had a long feathered tail and small teeth, like non-bird dinosaurs. But the animal also had flight feathers and wings, like modern birds. The fossil also shows a fused collarbone bone, confirming the relationship between birds and dinosaurs as they are the only two groups with this trait.
What is true about this scenario?
(Answer) It shows evidence of evolution.

The following table presents data on the types of fossils found in specific sedimentary rock strata from the surface to the lowest strata (Strata E):
Based on this fossil record, between which two rock strata does a mass extinction appear to have occurred?
(answer) B and C

Which statement about DNA is correct?
(Answer) DNA sequences can be analyzed to discover common ancestors.

All of these characteristics are important when classifying organisms, but which one can most accurately tell us how closely related two species are?
(Answer) DNA analysis