Exam 1: The Science of Biology

A student poses the question: How does the presence of dissolved salt affect the freezing point of water? To answer this question, the student set up two conditions. In the first condition, the student added salt to water in a container and referred to this condition as the variable. In the second condition, the student did not add any salt to water in a second container and referred to this condition as the control. The student took both containers and attempted to freeze the water at various temperatures to assess the freezing point. Would this be a valid experiment?

-Which species are genetically the most similar?

If you were to design a long-term research study to determine why there are no human births in Lapland during the months of August, September, and October, you would need to also examine a comparison population of humans in which births took place every month. The primary reason for including a comparison population within the design of this experiment would be to:

The primary difference between fungi and animals is that fungi

Darwin's theory of evolution is supported by many modern pieces of evidence. Check all that apply.

Darwin hypothesized that Galapagos finches

Dr. Edward Jenner realized that cows have a disease called cowpox, which is like a disease that infects humans called smallpox; Jenner noticed that milkmaids who hands were infected with cowpox were not contracting smallpox. Jenner infected a child with the pus from a cowpox blister, and found that the child did not contract smallpox. Which statement represents a supporting hypothesis?

A student set up an experiment to test if plants give off water vapor. Fifty pea plants, growing in pots, were covered with individual glass containers and left overnight. The next morning, the inside of each lid was covered in droplets of water. The lab student concluded that plants generally give off water vapor. What critique would you make of the experimental design?

Essay on the Principle of Population, written by Thomas Malthus in 1798, influenced Darwin's thoughts as he struggled to understand what mechanisms could be at work to produce evolution. Malthus proposed that populations of animals and plants, including humans,

Based on the literature, you hypothesize that students in traditional biology lectures will have the same grades as students in online biology lectures. You decide to test your hypothesis by comparing grades of students in traditional and online biology lectures over a semester. As a result of the experiment, you observe that the grades in the traditional lectures and the grades in the online lectures are not significantly different. What do these observations allow you to do?

If you analyzed the chemical composition of a tree branch and the leg of a cow, you would find a similar proportion of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. What is the best explanation for this observation?

How does peer review influence the development of scientific theories?

An alien from another planet landed on earth. He is fascinated by cars and is determined to figure out how they work. He decides to disassemble one of them and examine each part independently. He removes one of the tires and proceeds to learn all he can about the tire. He then removes one of the headlights and proceeds to learn all he can about the headlight. What type of approach is this alien taking to learn about the car?

Which statement is true about the development of the theory of evolution?

Amanda was studying turtles based on DNA analysis. Under the current classification scheme, which of the following turtle species are thought to be most closely related? (1) Graptemys ouachitensis, (2) Trachymes scripta, (3) Apalone spinifera, (4) Graptemys khonni.

Bacterial cells are placed into a 250mL liquid growth medium in a closed laboratory flask. According to Malthusian theory, they will reproduce exponentially and then:

structures that have similar functions are said to be

Although a computer is not alive it shares which fundamental property of life?

What is the closest relative to a whale?

You have been assigned to address a problem of overpopulation of species X in a nearby county. One of the members of your team suggests introducing species Y, which is a natural predator of species X, but not normally found in the area. After some discussion, you go ahead and introduce species Y. Which aspect of the hierarchical organization will be affected first?