BI 171 - First Exam 2003

BI 171 - First Exam - 2003

Links go to pertinent sections of Book

Multiple Choice.

Place the letter of the choice that best answers the question on the line to the left.
Two Points Each. NOTE: "e" answers are never the correct answer.

_______ 1. In what ratio does a gene sequence relate to a protein sequence?

                    a. 1 to 1                     b. 5 to 1                     c. 10 to 1
                        d. 3 to 1                             e. Too hard to really really difficult

_______ 2. The most common form of peer review could also be called

                    a. Editorial review             b. Design critique              c. Process supervision
                    d. Preapproval                     e. Isn’t that one of those reality dating shows?

_______ 3. Thomas Malthus’ contribution to evolution theory was in the area of

                     a. Fossil analysis             b. Selective breeding            c. Population control
                    d. Embryo analysis                     e. Being one more old guy to remember

_______ 4. Which comes closest to being the same as a microscope’s resolution?

                     a. Imaging system             b. Maximum magnification            c. Ease of use
                    d. Focusing capability        e. Microscopes make promises on New Year’s Eve-?

_______ 5. The first idea to arise out of fossil analysis and challenge accepted
                                interpretations of the Bible concerned the concept of

                        a. Evolution                     b. Extinction                    c. Age of the Earth
                   d. Eden’s location                        e. The Love Boat aspects of Noah’s Ark

_______ 6. Which is the clearest example of reductionism?

                    a. If you know how each juror feels, you can predict the jury’s verdict
                        b. An experimental sample is too small to be trustworthy
                        c. DNA code can be directly translated into amino acid sequences
                        d. A food chain depends upon plants to exist
                        e. We all must diet, diet, diet!

_______ 7. An organism that is itself made up of individual organisms:

                        a. Collective                 b. Empirical                 c. Reductionist
                   d. Colonial                                 e. Very confused

_______ 8. Most of today’s available biology career areas involve some variation of

                    a. Classification             b. Molecular biology            c. Ecology
                   d. Biophysics                                    e. Icky smelly lab coats

_______ 9. Which approach to classification is most concerned with appearance
                                of critical features?

                    a. Systematics                 b. Linnaean taxonomy            c. Cladistics
                   d. Darwinian                                                e. Picky-picky

_______ 10. A major real-life drawback to classic experimental variables is that they

                    a. They may not vary                                                 b. Cannot be determined
                        c. Cannot be manipulated according to the rules         d. Affect your results
                                e. Often get all huffy and demand contract renegotiations

_______ 11. Which is a correct cross-bonding in a DNA molecule?

                         a. Adenine - Adenine                          b. Guanine - Cytosine
                    c. Guanine - Thymine                         d. Adenine - Cytosine
                                    e. Does it require a prenup agreement?

_______ 12. Which is an allowable species name?

                     a. lyonus densus                                 b. Hopius Faithius
                    c. missa Matcha                                 d. Joania arcadia
                            e. This question sponsored by the new tv season

_______ 13. A typical lab microscope, where the specimen is imaged against a
                                white background, is a

                    a. Transmission light microscope                 b. Scanning light microscope
                    c. Transmission electron microscope           d. Scanning electron microscope
                                                e. Very annoying device to work

_______ 14. An organism’s growth and development is directed at its ability to

                    a. Photosynthesize                     b. Eat                     c. Move
                    d. Reproduce                             e. Sell cool clothes on tv

_______ 15. When an octopus is said to move by "jet propulsion," the comparison is

                    a. Analogous only                                       b. Homologous only
                       c. Both analogous and homologous             d. Neither analogous nor homologous
                                    e. Accompanied by "whoosh whoosh" and "gloop" sounds

_______ 16. Which is an example of a quasi-sexual act in an asexual organism?

                    a. Mendel’s cross-pollination of pea plants
                        b. Snails that are simultaneously male and female
                        c. Cloning of a human being
                        d. Monerans swapping single gene copies
                        e. This is a private business between consenting...um, organisms.

_______ 17. Which two processes are strongly affected by genetic redundancy?

                    a. Metabolic pathways and embryo development
                        b. Crossing over and point mutations
                        c. Extra chromosomes and cell division
                        d. Genome determination and replication
                        e. Making silly jokes and sticking them onto exam questions

_______ 18. "Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is a concept related to how

                    a. Layers of fossils are created
                        b. A sequence of lenses can both clarify and magnify
                        c. Development of embryos mirrors ancestral evolution
                        d. Metabolic pathways mimic genetic sequences
                        e. Big words can be really confusing

Short Answer.

Pick NINE questions to answer in the spaces provided.
NOTE: if you answer MORE than nine, only the first nine will be corrected.
Four Points each. Partial credit is possible.

1. The two main (necessary) features of a good hypothesis:

2. Briefly explain how the placebo effect can produce artifacts.

3. For each, give a disadvantage -

LOW
CHROMOSOME
NUMBER HIGH
CHROMOSOME
NUMBER

4. Why do some specimens have to be sectioned? What is the purpose?

5. What are two of the three different types of chemical components of DNA?

6. What is an epigenetic trait? Define.

7. Briefly explain the most widely-accepted idea for why cells tend to be small.

8. Give an example of data that is by nature qualitative being "forced" to be quantitative.

9. Put the following groups in order from largest to smallest: Class, Family, Genus, Kingdom, Order, Phylum, Species, Subphylum, Superorder.

1 4 7

2 5 8

3 6 9

10. Of the two general evolution rates, which one is most associated with uniformitarianism?

11. What sort of confounding factor would strongly derive from Post-Modernist ideas? There is more than one possible answer for this.

12. Lamarck is known for two basic ideas about how evolution works. What are they? Simple labels are all right here.

13. What is meant by the term "niche" as it applies to ecosystems?

14. What are two advantages that light microscopes have over electron microscopes?

15. Two different things that can increase the incidence of mutations -

Long Answer.

Select and answer completely any four of the following questions.
Note: if you answer more than four, only the first four will be corrected.
Seven Points Each. Partial credit is possible.

1. Give three discoveries in the history of genetics, in chronological order:

DISCOVERY

ORGANISM OR PERSON INVOLVED

2. What are three rules of the Cell Theory?

3. The six "basic" Kingdoms - give each one’s name, and enough features to clearly distinguish each from the other five.

4. For asexual reproduction -

DEFINE -

DISADVANTAGE
(Compared to Sexual)

EVOLUTIONARY
STRATEGY FOR
SUCCESS

5. In a few steps, describe how a change in environment can brings about the evolution of a new species.

6. For each category, give two features that apply to viruses.

Features in common
with "living" things -

Features "living" things
have that they lack -

7. For alternation of generations -

DEFINE -

TWO ORGANISM
"LIFESTYLES" THAT
HAVE LED TO THIS
PATTERN

Link to Answer Key

BONUS QUESTIONS.

Answer as many or as few as you wish. You can't lose points on the rest of the exam by getting these wrong. Partial credit is possible.

What is an example of evolution that works in a clearly Lamarkian way? Four Points.

What is a likely explanation for an organism that seems to have existed unchanged across long stretches of the fossil record? Four Points.

Old expression, finish for 3 Points - "There are lies, there are damned lies, and then there’s..."

How are Laws in physics different from Laws in biology? Three Points.

What is the somewhat common classification level above Kingdom, used especially in microbiology? Three Points.

What was Alfred Russel Wallace’s main impact on the history of evolutionary theory? Three Points.

Why are Drosophila such a popular research animal? Two Points Each.

Rosalind Franklin deserved but never received a Nobel Prize. What, for Three Points each, were two reasons she did not get one?

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