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An Evolutionary Framework for Biology
TEST FILE QUESTIONS
Fill in the Blank
1. ______noticed the similarities of the limbs of different mammals.
Answer: Buffon
2. All scientific study begins with observations and the formation of testable ______.
Answer: hypotheses
3. Under present conditions on Earth, cells do not arise from ______material.
Answer: noncellular
4. In contrast to eukaryotic cells, bacteria lack ______.
Answer: membrane-enclosed compartments
5. According to ______theory, if humans continue to use their brains, their brains will become larger and more developed.
Answer: Lamarck’s
6. ______and ______were the first to suggest that organisms change gradually through the natural selection of variable characteristics.
Answer: Darwin; Wallace
7. Single-celled organisms that lack a nucleus belong to the two kingdoms called ______and ______.
Answer: Archaea; Bacteria
8. Eukaryotes can be described as ______within a cell.
Answer: cells
9. As many as ______species inhabit Earth.
Answer: 30 million
10. Multicellular organisms that are photosynthetic belong to the kingdom called ______.
Answer: Plantae
11. Nonphotosynthetic multicellular organisms that digest their food outside their body’s cells and absorb the products belong to the kingdom called ______.
Answer: Animalia
12. About ______years ago, prokaryotes acquired the ability to photosynthesize.
Answer: 2.5 billion
13. Currently, scientists agree with the estimate that life first appeared approximately ______years ago.
Answer: 4 billion
14. Organisms maintain a consistent internal environment despite changing external conditions. The term for this process is ______.
Answer: homeostasis
15. There are three domains used to categorize life forms that have evolved separately for about a billion years: ______, ______, and ______.
Answer: Archaea; Bacteria; Eukarya
16. The ______hypothesis states that no difference exists due to the variable under investigation.
Answer: null
17. Fungi and animals are both ______.
Answer: heterotrophs
18. An ______shows the evolutionary relationships among species.
Answer: evolutionary tree
19. A National Science Foundation project to determine the evolutionary relationships among all species on Earth is known as ______.
Answer: Assembling the Tree of Life (or ATOL)
20. ______is an organized genetic unit capable of metabolism, reproduction, and evolution.
Answer: Life
21. The total chemical activity of a living organism is its ______.
Answer: metabolism
22. ______is a change in the genetic composition of a population of organisms over time.
Answer: Biological evolution
23. ______are divided into four groups: Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
Answer: Eukarya
24. A Pacific tree frog has the scientific nomenclature of Hyla regilla. This particular tree frog belongs to the species ______.
Answer: regilla
Multiple Choice
1. Before Darwin, one scientist who wrote extensively about evolution was
a. Hooke.
b. Leeuwenhoek.
c. Lamarck.
d. Pasteur.
e. Virchow.
Answer: c
2. Count de Buffon thought that pigs have small functionless toes because
a. they are evolving toward having functioning toes but have not yet reached the goal.
b. they have defective toe-producing information in their DNA.
c. they evolved from ancestors that had functioning toes.
d. constant parasitization over generations caused the loss of their toes.
e. All of the above
Answer: c
3. Darwin noted that all populations have the potential to grow ______, but that in nature most populations ______over time.
a. linearly; are stable
b. exponentially; grow more slowly
c. linearly; fluctuate unpredictably
d. exponentially; are stable
e. linearly; decrease slowly
Answer: d
4. Plants are
a. eukaryotic, multicellular photosynthesizers.
b. eukaryotic, unicellular autotrophs.
c. eukaryotic, multicellular heterotrophs.
d. prokaryotic, multicellular autotrophs.
e. prokaryotic, unicellular heterotrophs.
Answer: a
5. What distinguishes living organisms from nonliving matter?
a. Only living organisms are characterized by the processes of metabolism, reproduction, and evolution.
b. Only living organisms change in response to their environment.
c. Only living organisms are composed of molecules.
d. Living organisms do not obey physical and chemical laws, whereas nonliving matter does.
e. Only living organisms increase in size.
Answer: a
6. Metabolism is
a. the consumption of energy.
b. the release of energy.
c. all conversions of matter and energy taking place in an organism.
d. the production of heat by chemical reactions.
e. the exchange of nutrients and waste products with the environment.
Answer: c
7. All living organisms obtain their energy from
a. food.
b. external sources.
c. sunlight.
d. heterotrophs.
e. autotrophs.
Answer: b
8. The smallest chemical units of matter are
a. cells.
b. lipids.
c. molecules.
d. hydrogen.
e. atoms.
Answer: e
9. Sexual reproduction enhances chances for adaptation by means of
a. mutation.
b. recombination.
c. random distribution.
d. gene loss.
e. gene flow.
Answer: b
10. Heterotrophs cannot obtain their energy from
a. food.
b. autotrophs.
c. other heterotrophs.
d. complex chemical substances.
e. sunlight.
Answer: e
11. The hierarchical order of the units of life, from simple to complex is
a. atom, molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organism, population, community.
b. cell, molecule, atom, tissue, organ, organism, population, community.
c. molecule, cell, organ, atom, tissue, organism, population, community.
d. atom, molecule, cell, tissue, organ, population, organism, community.
e. atom, molecule, tissue, organ, cell, population, organism, community.
Answer: a
12. Earth is approximately ______years old.
a. 4 billion
b. 4 trillion
c. 4 million
d. 6,000
e. 40 trillion
Answer: a
13. The fundamental unit of life is the
a. aggregate.
b. organelle.
c. organism.
d. membrane.
e. cell.
Answer: e
14. A species is
a. all the organisms that live together in a particular area.
b. a group of similar organisms that cannot interbreed.
c. a group of similar organisms capable of interbreeding.
d. an adult organism and all of its offspring.
e. a group of similar organisms that live in the same area.
Answer: c
15. Which of the following is not a major stage of the hypothetico-deductive method?
a. Controlling an environment
b. Making an observation
c. Forming a hypothesis
d. Making a prediction
e. Testing a prediction
Answer: a
16. Which of the following questions cannot be answered using the hypothetico-deductive method?
a. Are bees more attracted to red roses than to yellow roses?
b. Are red roses more beautiful than yellow roses?
c. Why are red roses red?
d. Do red roses bloom earlier than yellow roses?
e. Are red roses more susceptible to mildew than yellow roses?
Answer: b
17. After observing that fish live in clean water but not in polluted water, you make the statement, “polluted water kills fish.” Your statement is an example of
a. scientific inquiry.
b. biological evolution.
c. a prediction.
d. a hypothesis.
e. a theory.
Answer: d
18. Which of the following is not a feature of scientific hypotheses?
a. They are true.
b. They make predictions.
c. They are based on observations.
d. They can be tested by experimentation.
e. They can be tested by observational analysis.
Answer: a
19. Based on the large numbers of offspring produced by many organisms, Darwin proposed that mortality was high and only a few individuals survived to reproduce. He called the differential reproductive success of individuals with particular variations
a. evolution.
b. artificial selection.
c. the cell theory.
d. natural selection.
e. inheritance of acquired characteristics.
Answer: d
20. Members of the kingdom Animalia obtain their energy from
a. decomposing organic matter.
b. photosynthesis.
c. other organisms.
d. sunlight.
e. inorganic molecules.
Answer: c
21. A typical cell
a. can be composed of many types of tissues.
b. is found only in plants and animals.
c. is the smallest entity studied by biologists.
d. is the simplest biological structure capable of independent existence and reproduction.
e. All of the above
Answer: d
22. Which kingdom contains eukaryotic, single-celled organisms?
a. Plantae
b. Archaea
c. Animalia
d. Protista
e. None of the above
Answer: d
23. The key purpose of experimentation is to
a. obtain accurate quantitative measurements.
b. prove unambiguously that a particular hypothesis is correct.
c. avoid comparative analysis.
d. answer as many key questions in one experiment as possible.
e. control factors that might affect the result.
Answer: e
24. A key point in Darwin’s explanation of evolution is that
a. the biological structures most likely inherited are those that have become better suited to the environment through constant use.
b. mutations that occur are those that will help future generations fit into their environments.
c. slight variations among individuals significantly affect the chance that a given individual will survive in its environment and be able to reproduce.
d. genes change in order to help organisms cope with problems encountered within their environments.
e. extinction is nature’s way of weeding out undeserving organisms.
Answer: c
25. The smallest entities studied by biologists are
a. cells.
b. tissues.
c. organelles.
d. molecules.
e. membranes.
Answer: d
26. It is thought that some prokaryotes were consumed by, then integrated into other prokaryotes, ______years ago.
a. about 4,000 years ago.
b. about 10,000 years ago.
c. more than one million years ago.
d. more than one billion years ago.
e. more than one trillion years ago.
Answer: d
27. All ______must obtain their energy from the sun.
a. plants
b. autotrophs
c. organisms
d. heterotrophs
e. bacteria
Answer: b
28. Heterotrophs obtain their energy from
a. fungi.
b. water.
c. other organisms.
d. vitamins.
e. heat.
Answer: c
29. The two important developments necessary for the existence of multicellular life forms were
a. differentiation and cell clumping.
b. symmetry and asymmetry.
c. gene regulation and the evolution of the nucleus.
d. sexual reproduction and recombination.
e. isolation and compartmentalization.
Answer: a
30. The initial accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere was the result of photosynthesis from an organism most like modern
a. cyanobacteria.
b. algae.
c. mosses.
d. kelp.
e. eukaryotes.
Answer: a
31. A prerequisite for the survival of life on land was the accumulation of
a. O2.
b. CO2.
c. water vapor.
d. O3.
e. bacteria in the soil.
Answer: d
32. The chemical formula for ozone is
a. O.
b. O2.
c. H2O2.
d. O3.
e. None of the above
Answer: d
33. Ozone is important to life on Earth because it
a. is toxic to all forms of life.
b. can be used in place of oxygen.
c. blocks much ultraviolet radiation.
d. provides energy to some basic forms of life.
e. disinfects.
Answer: c
34. When biologists organize species into groups, they attempt to do so based on
a. physical similarities.
b. ecological niches.
c. chronological order.
d. evolutionary relationships.
e. All of the above
Answer: d
35. When attempting to group species, scientists use
a. fossils.
b. physical structures.
c. gene similarities.
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
Answer: d
36. Eukarya include
a. Protista.
b. Plantae.
c. Fungi.
d. Animalia.
e. All of the above
Answer: e
37. Which of the following is not a characteristic of most multicellular organisms?
a. Cells change structure and function during development.
b. Cells stick together after division.
c. Cells specialize.
d. Certain cells specialize for purposes of sexual reproduction.
e. Cells can grow without regulation.
Answer: e
38. The advantage of controlled experiments is that
a. all factors are controlled except one.
b. the hypothesis is proven right.
c. patterns can be predicted.
d. investigations can be done in the field.
e. a massive amount of data can be synthesized.
Answer: a
39. A worldwide decline of amphibians is due to
a. the parasite Ribeiroia.
b. UV-B susceptibility.
c. agricultural pesticides.
d. atmospheric contamination.
e. no single factor.
Answer: e
40. A study has been done to test the hypothesis that pesticides from agricultural lands are contributing to the decline of amphibian populations. The study
a. shows that amphibian species are declining in areas exposed to agricultural pesticides.
b. indicates that more studies are needed before a conclusion can be made.
c. shows that some species are declining while others are unaffected.
d. proves that the use of agricultural pesticides must be stopped.
e. is an example of an experimental study.
Answer: c
41. Which of the following is a true statement?
a. The diversity of life is dependent upon a stable environment.
b. The nature and diversity of life have changed over time.
c. Earth has existed and changed over a few thousand years.
d. Ancestral forms of life were very similar to the organisms that currently exist.
e. Giraffes have a long neck because of a need to reach the taller branches of a tree.
Answer: b
42. An evolutionary tree
a. shows evolutionary relationships.
b. places the most closely related groups on the same branch of the tree.
c. places the organisms that share a common ancestor on the same branch of the tree.
d. shows the order in which populations split and evolved into new species.
e. All of the above
Answer: e
43. Data for assembling the Tree of Life (ATOL) is obtained from
a. fossils.
b. DNA sequencing.
c. information technology.
d. Both a and c
e. a, b and c
Answer: e
44. From the diagram below it can be determined that
a. Eukarya are divided into three groups.
b. protists share a common ancestor with bacteria.
c. plants and animals share a common ancestor.
d. plants, fungi, and animals are descendants of different protist ancestors.
e. Archaea and Bacteria share a common ancestor.
Answer: d
STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
Knowledge and Synthesis Questions
1. Life arose on Earth approximately how many years ago?
a. 3.8 billion
b. 3.8 million
c. 4000
d. 1.5 billion
2. ______ are the differences among organisms that allow for life in such a wide variety of environments on Earth.
a. Prokaryotic cells
b. Eukaryotic cells
c. Homeostasis
d. Adaptations
3. Which of the following statements regarding evolutionary biology is not true?
a. Darwin and Wallace postulated that mortality rates match reproductive rates, that characteristics are heritable, and that those characteristics most suited to the environment are selected for.
b. Darwin postulated that characteristics could be acquired in a single generation.