BI 171  - First Exam  - 2011

Links go to pertinent passages 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.  Your experimental results should not be called proof because
 

a.  You haven' convinced enough peers

b.  You haven't repeated the experiment enough times

c.  Your hypothesis isn't clear enough

d.  There might be another explanation for the results

e.  If you do the Science Police will tase you

 

 

 

_______ 2.   Evolution is driven powerfully by
 

a.  Changing conditions                                  b.  Needed changes

c.  Future improvements                                 d.  Past progress

e.  Giant doodly fingers

 

 

_______ 3.   A role in an ecosystem that can be performed by one or more species is called a
 

a.  Microenvironment                      b.   Niche                        c.  Ecoset

d.  Slot                                          e.  Only one - union rules!

 

 

_______ 4.   An experimental variable is called that because it changes
 

a.  As the experiment goes along

b.  Between the hypothesis and the test

c.  Between the experimental test and the control test

          d.  After you collect results and process them

e.  Your life forever - no, wait, that's true love...

 

 

_______5.   Deciding if a group is a separate species is based upon

a.  Reproductive success using a member from each group

b.  Reproductive behavior in a natural setting

c.  Reproductive success of offspring from a group cross

          d.  Unique physical descriptions

e.  Isn't that a Facebook status? 

_______6.  If the null hypothesis is true,
 

a.  The hypothesis can't be tested                   b.  There won't be a variable

c.  Results can't be collected                           d.  The original hypothesis is wrong

e.  Then everyone goes home
 

 

_______7.   Which taxonomy approach is particularly concerned with key features?
 

a.  Systematics                        b.  Phylocode              c.  Cladistics

d.  Classicism                                                              e. Stealthy

 

 

_______8.  Living things have _____-based chemistry and _____-based coding.
 

a.  Sugar...Protein                    b.  DNA...sugar                       c.  Protein...DNA

d.  Protein...sugar                                            e.  Cheese...salsa

 

 

_______9.   Which are most likely to leave fossils?
 

a.  Large trees                                      b.  Snails that live in ocean shallows

c.  Open-land dinosaurs                                  d.  Soft-bodied deepsea worms

e.  The fossil delivery UPS guys

 

 

_______10.    Another way to describe similar in structure but different in function
 

a.  Homologous but not analogous                 b.  Analogous but not homologous

c.  Derived but not ancestral                          d.  Ancestral but not derived

e. Why do we need another way to describe it?

 

 

_______11.   A trait is produced as an end-product of a multi-enzyme pathway;  the trait is
 

a.  Dominant                           b.  Recessive               c.  Sex-linked

d.  Multiple-gene                                 e.  Still not interesting

 

 

_______12.   If you understand what every part of a car does, you'll know exactly how a car works.

This concept is called
 

a.  Inclusion                                                     b.  Reductionism                     c.  Broad-variable

d.  Systemism                                                  e.  Don't call it, call a mechanic

 

 

_______13.  A polyphyletic label is not considered a good thing because it indicates
 

a.  A different hypothesis is better               b.  A genetic mutation

c.   An oncoming extinction                        d.  A classification mistake

e.  That you actually know what "polyphyletic" means, which can't be good

 

 

_______14.  Which is a proper species name?
 

a.  examus Difficultis               b.  Brainius Explodius                         c.  Expressionus blankus

d.  thoughtus screamius                                  e.  Cutey-pie

 

 

_______15.  In the most common form of peer review, the peer is
 

a.  Reading a paper submitted to a journal

b.  Is working in a neighboring laboratory

c.  Is visiting from another laboratory

d.  On the committee that comes up with ideas

e.  Probably going to point and laugh

 

 

_______16.  Crossing over happens when
 

a.  Evolving populations interbreed

b.  Cells share bits of DNA

c.  A species shares characteristics from 2 major groups

d.  Sex cells are being produced

e.  A country singer has a big hit

 

 

_______17.  Organisms which are not closely related but which look or behave

in a very similar way probably went through
 

a.  Combined homologies                               b.  Convergent evolution

c.  Shared mutations                                       d.  Divergent evolution

e.  The same summer camps

 

 

_______18.  Sectioning is a process used to
 

a.  Separate multiple data groups in an experiment

b.  Change how many subgroups are classified in a bigger group

c.  Prepare specimens for microscope viewing

d.  Analyze chromosomes individually

e.  Slice up student brains like orange wedges

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.   Give one reason why an experiment might have to be done as a field test.

2.   For a low chromosome number (compared to a high one) -
ADVANTAGE -	DISADVANTAGE -

3.   Briefly explain what postmodernism is, applied to science.

4.   What is a niche?  (Ooops! - Asked twice...)

5.   Briefly explain how sexual reproduction produces an evolutionary advantage.

6.   The two basic types of indirect observations -

7.   What was the basic idea of "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny"?

8.   Explain what=s so important about the resolution of a microscope.

9.  Put the following groups in order from the largest to the smallest:  Class, Family, Genus, Kingdom, Order, Phylum, Species, Suborder, Superfamily.
1	4	7
2	5	8
3	6	9

10.  How are the individuals in a colony different from "regular" individuals?

11.  Briefly explain how sexual selection works.

12.  What are the two levels of a double-blind test?

13.  For quantitative data -
What   is it?	Why is     it preferred?

14.  The rate at which a particular group evolves is "set" by what other two rates?

15.  Briefly explain the leading explanation for why cells seem to have size limits.

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.  Before he went on his Beagle voyage, Darwin already had in his head concepts that would figure into his theories.  Describe three.

 

2.   Name four of the Six "Basic" Kingdoms or Domains, and for each list enough traits to make it clearly different from the other five.

 

3.   Microscopes can be split into two main groups based upon either listed feature.  For each feature, name the groups.
Interaction of Beam with specimen
Nature of the Imaging Beam

 

4.   When biologists are trying to decide whether viruses are truly alive, these are important:
Two traits viruses have IN COMMON with all living things.
Two traits all living things should have that all viruses do not.

 

 

6.   What are four different major discoveries that were made in genetics before the Watson & Crick discovery about DNA structure?

 

7.    What are four basic features that all living things are supposed to have?

 

8.   Give the steps that, according to the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, should happen between the steps given.

The environment around a population changes.

The new population is different enough to be considered a new species.

 

 

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.

 

Why are most asexual reproducers very small?  Three Points.

 

 

What sort of artificial system often seems to have emergent properties?  Three Points.

 

 

What is the extra "blind" in a triple-blind test?  Three Points.

 

 

What used to be the common language of science?  _______________________Three Points.

 

What species name abbreviation is widely known? _______________________ Three Points.

 

What will the next way of determining if a group is a species probably be?  Three Points.

 

 

What does it mean if a group is paraphyletic to another group?  Three Points.

 

 

Why do electron microscopes have to have vacuums in them?  Three Points.

 

 

What is the major disadvantage to cell walls in multicelled systems?   Three Points.

 

 

How was science associated with religion in modern science's early days?  Three Points.

 

 

Why was Charles Darwin really needed on the Beagle, the ship he sailed on?  Three Points.