Question 1

All living organisms sense their environment and respond to it.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Because the brain is constructed from nerve cells it is considered an organ.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

What characteristic is not shared by all living organisms?

Accepted Answer

A) They make their own energy. 
B) They grow and develop. 
C) They evolve through time. 
D) They are composed of one or more cells.

Question 4

Evolution continues to be a generally misunderstood process to many people; the best contemporary evidence of evolution is

Accepted Answer

A) predators culling the very young, very old, and diseased individuals in a prey population. 
B) the adaptive traits that almost all living organisms display. 
C) the change in the overall genetic characteristics of a group of organisms. 
D) the existence of habitat-displaced organisms like whales and seals living in the ocean.

Question 5

Biologists hypothesize that the now-extinct American cheetah provided the selection pressure that led to the swiftness of the pronghorn. Predict how pronghorn speed might change in the next few thousand years.

Accepted Answer

A) Pronghorns will continue to become even faster; it's always better to run as fast as possible. 
B) Pronghorns will become slower as individuals divert energy and resources away from running and toward other features that improve fitness. 
C) Pronghorns will maintain their speed; once a characteristic is developed it's always retained. 
D) Pronghorns will maintain their speed because predators like cougars, wolves, and the coyote will remove slower individuals.

Question 6

Although vaccination can provide a lifelong protection against some diseases, flu vaccines are rarely effective against next year's flu because the virus that causes flu

Accepted Answer

A) is not alive. 
B) can evolve quickly. 
C) can change its cell membranes and block the action of the vaccine. 
D) can develop into immune bacteria and neutralize the action of the vaccine.

Question 7

A scientific hypothesis must be testable; if not, science cannot evaluate it.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

DNA is an example of the molecular level of biological organization.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Consider each of the following true statements; which statement supports the theory that all living organisms descended from one common ancestor?

Accepted Answer

A) Bacteria have a cell wall outside the plasma membrane. 
B) Offspring resemble their parents. 
C) All living organisms use DNA as their hereditary material. 
D) Some organisms are consumers, whereas others are producers.

Question 10

Microbiologists quickly responded to the paper by Dr. Wolfe-Simons claiming to have discovered organisms using arsenic to construct their DNA; one of the most challenging criticisms involved

Accepted Answer

A) the researcher's inability to account for arsenic's toxicity to other organisms. 
B) publishing the paper prior to the conventional peer review. 
C) the preparation of the bacterial DNA using nonconventional protocols. 
D) the lack of comparative information on closely related bacteria within the Halomonadacea family.

Question 11

More than one adaptive trait in the pronghorn has been influenced by the presence of predators; in addition to its great speed the pronghorn also has

Accepted Answer

A) a four-chambered stomach. 
B) strong teeth. 
C) camouflage coloration. 
D) hollow hair.

Question 12

New cells are created when existing cells divide; immediately after division, every cell of every known living organism will contain DNA.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

Dr. Burkholder hypothesized that Pfiesteria was associated with the massive die-offs of estuarine fish. Her hypothesis was supported when

Accepted Answer

A) Pfiesteria was shown to be capable of living within the climatic ranges of North Carolina. 
B) a predicted increase in Pfiesteria populations coincided with a fish die-off. 
C) new observations revealed Pfiesteria could kill laboratory fish. 
D) a virulent toxin was isolated from Pfiesteria cultures grown in the laboratory.

Question 14

DNA is one of the features common to all known forms of life;

Accepted Answer

A) it forms the protective outer membrane of cells. 
B) it is produced expressly for reproduction and is found only in egg and sperm. 
C) it is the blueprint that guides the growth, development, behavior, and reproduction of all organisms. 
D) its absence in viruses is the basis for classifying them as nonliving.

Question 15

New medications undergo extensive human testing before receiving FDA approval; these tests represent an experiment and variations in the dosage given to participants represents the ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of New medications undergo extensive human testing before...

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

A) Once a hypothesis has been proposed, it can never be challenged. 
B) A valid scientific hypothesis is self-evident and does not need to be tested by experimentation. 
C) The scientific method can help people make informed medical and environmental decisions. 
D) If properly designed, experiments always prove hypotheses to be wrong.

Question 17

When you dial a telephone number you are

Accepted Answer

A) making an observation. 
B) testing a hypothesis. 
C) conducting an experiment. 
D) both b and c

Question 18

Which of the following questions could not be used to develop a testable hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

A) Does exposure to secondhand smoke affect the probability of developing lung cancer? 
B) Do organic vegetables contain harmful substances? 
C) Should everyone drink bottled water only? 
D) Does a can of vegetable juice contain more salt than the same size can of iced tea?

Question 19

The term autotroph can be interchanged with the term producer; both terms refer to organisms that obtain energy from the nonliving part of their environment.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

Which statement best summarizes the information presented in the graph below?

Accepted Answer

A) Higher applications of fertilizer produce proportional increases in corn yield. 
B) Fertilizer application up to 200 kg/hectare is a cost-effective means of increasing farm yields and profits. 
C) Proportional increases in irrigation are needed to maximize the growth potential of applied fertilizer. 
D) Factors other than fertilizer availability can limit the yield of corn.

Exam 1: The Nature of Science and the Characteristics of Life

All living organisms sense their environment and respond to it.

Because the brain is constructed from nerve cells it is considered an organ.

What characteristic is not shared by all living organisms?

Evolution continues to be a generally misunderstood process to many people; the best contemporary evidence of evolution is

Biologists hypothesize that the now-extinct American cheetah provided the selection pressure that led to the swiftness of the pronghorn. Predict how pronghorn speed might change in the next few thousand years.

Although vaccination can provide a lifelong protection against some diseases, flu vaccines are rarely effective against next year's flu because the virus that causes flu

A scientific hypothesis must be testable; if not, science cannot evaluate it.

DNA is an example of the molecular level of biological organization.

Consider each of the following true statements; which statement supports the theory that all living organisms descended from one common ancestor?

Microbiologists quickly responded to the paper by Dr. Wolfe-Simons claiming to have discovered organisms using arsenic to construct their DNA; one of the most challenging criticisms involved

More than one adaptive trait in the pronghorn has been influenced by the presence of predators; in addition to its great speed the pronghorn also has

New cells are created when existing cells divide; immediately after division, every cell of every known living organism will contain DNA.

Dr. Burkholder hypothesized that Pfiesteria was associated with the massive die-offs of estuarine fish. Her hypothesis was supported when

DNA is one of the features common to all known forms of life;

New medications undergo extensive human testing before receiving FDA approval; these tests represent an experiment and variations in the dosage given to participants represents the ____________________.

Which of the following statements is true?

When you dial a telephone number you are

Which of the following questions could not be used to develop a testable hypothesis?

The term autotroph can be interchanged with the term producer; both terms refer to organisms that obtain energy from the nonliving part of their environment.

Which statement best summarizes the information presented in the graph below?