BI 171 - First Exam - 2004


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. Which is a proper species name?

                    a. biologus difficultus                                         b. collegia Johnstownia
                     c. Tummius acheius                                            d. Crazius Questionus
                                                             e. Georgie


_______ 2. Which would be linked to the most variation?

                    a. Sexual, low chromosome number
                    b. Sexual, high chromosome number
                    c. Asexual, low chromosome number
                    d. Asexual, high chromosome number
                    e. The one that varies the most



_______ 3. The critical aspect being tested in an experiment becomes the

                    a. Variable                     b. Control                     c. Result
                    d. Conclusion                                         e. Royal pain in the process

_______ 4. The phase "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" is originated with a scientist who studied

                    a. Fruit flies         b. Fossils         c. Pea plants         d. Embryos
                                        e. Really big and obscure words


_______ 5. Compared to the number of amino acids in its coded protein, the number of
                        bases in the gene sequence would be about

                    a. Twice as much                                         b. 3 times as much
                    c. 10 times as much                                      d. The same
                                e. As understandable as anything on this exam


_______ 6. In order to view them in a transmission scope, human organs must be

                    a. Optimized and reduced                             b. Sectioned and stained
                    c. Replicated and linked                                d. a, b, and c all must be done
                                        e. Stuffed and mounted

 

_______ 7. A role or job filled by a species in an ecosystem:

                    a. Niche                     b. Ecofunction                     c. Ration
                    d. Level                                         e. Are they minimum wage?

_______ 8. Which is most likely to leave a nice, continuous fossil record?

                    a. A species of tree                                         b. A species of dinosaur
                    c. A species of desert tortoise                          d. A species of clam
                                        e. The one with the fossil recording contract

_______ 9. Industrial espionage often has devices stolen from the competition - the thieving
                        company believes that by taking the device apart, they'll be able to tell exactly
                        how it works. This idea is called

                    a. Reductionism                     b. Isolationism                     c. Puzzlement
                    d. Homologizing                     e. American ingenuity at work

_______ 10. When taxonomic disagreements are raised, what changes are usually made?

                    a. Both group names and taxonomic levels about equally
                     b. Nothing is allowed to be changed
                    c. Group names
                     d. Taxonomic levels
                    e. If it's a nice disagreement, folks might change their minds...



_______ 11. One usually sees a three-dimensional surface with a

                    a. Transmission microscope                              b. Scanning microscope
                    c. Electron microscope                                     d. Light microscope
                                        e. Pair of weird dorky glasses on


_______ 12. If your experiment involves counting fleas, your data is

                    a. Purely quantitative                     b. Quantitative converted to qualitative
                    c. Purely qualitative                       d. Qualitative converted to quantitative
                                                      e. A little icky


_______ 13. In genetic linkage, ______ are linked _______.

                    a. Traits...to specific genes                                      b. Genes...to specific traits
                    c. Alleles...to dominance                                         d. Genes...on chromosomes
                                        e. Exams...to acute depression and other forms of insanity

 

_______ 14. The most common peer review occurs during

                    a. Experiment design                                         b. Running the experiment
                    c. Publishing the experiment                              d. Public hearings
                                           e. Nightmares involving nakedness


_______ 15. Experimental results that are produced by some procedural error within the
                        experiment and not by the variable are called

                    a. Manipulations                     b. Nulls                     c. Process quirks
                    d. Artifacts                             e. Oopsies


_______ 16. Dominant alleles are "dominant" based upon

                    a. The likelihood of their being passed on                b. The effects of their proteins
                    c. The advantages gained from their traits                d. All of these
                    e. Complex and fairly perverse games played in Nature



_______ 17. The idea that all "beasts of the air" are related is

                    a. Classification by homology                     b. Classification by analogy
                    c. Systematics                                           d. Cladistics
                                        e. Perfectly reasonable to me - isn't it-?



_______ 18. Light microscopes have clear advantages over electron microscopes in the areas of

                    a. Resolution and simplicity of use
                    b. Resolution and expense
                    c. Simplicity of use and expense
                    d. Magnification and resolution
                    e. Well, obviously they weigh less...



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. What are two ways that viruses break the basic "rules of Life"?
2. The nature of a DNA molecule allows it to do what two things that are essential for genetic material?
3. Briefly explain how PostModernism is applied to modern science.



4. Technically, why is it considered wrong for a taxonomic group to be polyphyletic?





5. Fill in the other DNA strand base sequence -

                  G    T    G    C    A    A   C   T   G   C   A   C

                    ________________________________________________
6. What makes a trait epigenetic?

7. The two features that a good scientific hypothesis needs to have -
8. Briefly give the most widely-accepted theory for why cells rarely get very big.



9. In chronological order, which Kingdoms were -
First &

Second?

 Third &

Fourth?

10. What abilities makes an organism colonial? (Define the term.)



11. Two different types of ways to make indirect observations -
12. Briefly describe the process of sexual selection.



13. Put the following groups in proper order, working from smallest to largest - Class, Family, Genus, Kingdom, Order, Phylum, Species, Subfamily.
1 3 5 7
2 4 6 8
14. The rate at which a particular species evolves is most affected by what other two rates?
15. Describe one feature that tends to characterize "soft" sciences but not "hard" sciences.





16. What, in general, are confounding factors? Define, do not give examples!






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. Fill in for any three developments in the history of genetics. They need to be in chronological order.
DEVELOPMENT Research Organism or Researcher




2. What are four different provisions of the Cell Theory?
 

 

 

 
3. Give four general traits found in virtually all living things

 

 

 

 
4. Briefly describe (don't just name) three already-been-written concepts that influenced the development of Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

 

 

 

 
5. For four of the six "basic" Kingdoms, give the Kingdom's name, then give enough of the features connected to that Kingdom to make its members distinct from those in the other 5.






6. According to Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, what are the steps that produce new species?

 

 

 

 
7. Give the following for sexual reproduction -
Basic Definition
ADVANTAGE

compared to asexual

  
DISADVANTAGE

compared to asexual

  
8. Just in general, what are three principal features of the Scientific Method approach?

 

 

 

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.

Which sub-discipline of biology is primary based upon statistics? Three Points.

There is a local colonial organism that shows up distinctly in our environment - where is it found, and what effect does it have there? Four Points.

Some organisms have been around a long time without appearing to change much. What usually is the reason for this? Three Points.

What error made people think that aluminum pots might be linked to Alzheimer's disease? Three Points.

In physics, what particularly makes a rule a "Law"? Three Points.


 

Based upon the idea of descent with modification, which feature of a classic mermaid is least likely to have arisen (assuming a human ancestor)? For Four Points, explain your answer, remembering that humans are related to dolphins and manatees.





 What's the relationship between the language of a subscience and its age? Three Points.



Other than its classic definition, what does the term vestigial often wide up meaning? Three Points.





What circumstance led to childhood diseases becoming particularly adapted to children? Four Points.



  		  

BI 171

Michael McDarby



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