SCI 135 - First Exam Fall 2016

Links in each number connect to the pertinent sections of the online book.


MULTIPLE CHOICE.

On the line to the left, place the letter of the choice that best answers the question. Three Points Each. NOTE: "e" answers are never the correct answer.

        1.  From what ultimate source do you obtain the energy that keeps you alive?

_______    a. Consumers         b. Sun        c. Decomposers         d. Producers        e. Do Twizzlers count?


        2.  Experimental results that tell you that your basic ideas are probably wrong are covered by which term?

_______    a. Null results         b. Negative hypothesis        c. Null hypothesis         d. Blank hypothesis
                                        e. White mice talking about what an idiot you are


        3.  Which best describes the most common form of peer review?

_______   a. You check other scientists' work while designing an experiment
                b. You have co-workers in the lab check your results as you record them
                c. Each step in designing your experiment is checked by your supervisor
                d. You write up your results and have other scientists check them
                e. The other scientists try to get you to put Jell-O down your pants


        4.  Molecular clocks use what as their timing units?

_______    a. Point mutations         b. Cell deaths        c. Radioactive half-lives         d. Proton decay
                                            e. Something kind of small, probably


        5.  “Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” connects

_______    a. Genes and features         b. Embryos and evolution        c. Development of critical features
                d. Enzymes and gene codes                e. Way too many long confusing words


        6.  If two organisms belong to the same order, then they must

_______    a. Belong to the same class                                                      b. Belong to the same genus
                c. Have the same "first name" using binomial nomenclature        d. All of the above
                                    e. Marry each other, by Arkansas law


        7.  The part of an experiment that best makes sure that your results are trustworthy:

_______    a. Variable         b. Null hypothesis         c. Control         d. Working hypothesis
                                        e. The part when you get the paycheck


        8. That worms and snakes have similar shapes without being closely related is an example of

_______    a. Embryonic genes at work         b. Closely-shared ancestors        c. Convergent evolution
                d. Divergent evolution                    e. Nature’s total lack of imagination


        9.  A treatment which is like a real treatment but actually treats nothing:

_______   a. Sham         b. Mimic        c. Copy control         d. Placebo
                    e. You mean "non-alcoholic beer" is scientific??


        10. A hypothesis needs to be _______  to be useful

_______    a. Obviously logical         b. Predictive        c. Conclusive         d. Widely-accepted
                                                    e. A real money-maker


        11. Energy is gotten from sugar through the process of

_______    a. Respiration         b. Reproduction         c. Radioactivity         d. Photosynthesis
                                                    e. Munching Cap'n Crunch


        12. Meat turning into maggots would be an example of

_______    a. Original evolution         b. Natural transformation        c. Spontaneous generation
                d. Creationism                         e. One of the most unpopular cookbooks ever


 
SHORT ANSWER.

Answer any eight of the following questions for 4 Points Each.
Note: if you answer more than eight, only the first eight will be corrected.
You can get partial credit on these answers.

1.  Give two reasons why animals such as clams and snails are the most common types of fossils.


 

2.  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

3.  What term covers all of the energy-moving chemical reactions in an organism?

4.  What ultimately happens to most energy moving along a food chain?

5.  Why is it important to use large experimental groups? (What confounding factor gets less as the group gets bigger?)

4.  How does postmodernism apply to experimental design?

7.  What, exactly and technically, is a gene?

8.  In science, what is an artifact?

9.  Explain how a double-blind study works. Cover both “levels of blindness.”


 

10. On objects more than 50,000 years old, carbon dating is no longer reliable. Why?

11. Give one example each of the two different types of indirect observations.


 

12. In general, what are two different reasons why a researcher would have to do field tests rather than laboratory tests?


 

13. What, basically, makes a living thing a producer? (Don't be too specific!)

14. What is the current accepted definition of a species?

15. What are two advantages of quantitative data over qualitative data?


 

16. In disagreements about classification, what are scientists -
NOT USUALLY
ALLOWED
TO DO? 		ALLOWED
TO DO
EASILY?


LONG ANSWER.

Answer any four of the following questions for Eight Points Each.
Note: if you answer more than four, only the first four will be corrected.
You can get partial credit on these answers.
1.  For each of the two types of reproduction, give one strength and one weakness.
Sexual
Reproduction 		STRENGTH:
WEAKNESS:
Asexual
Reproduction 		STRENGTH:
WEAKNESS:

2.  Give two different rules that apply to each specifically in binomial nomenclature:
FIRST
WORD		  
SECOND
WORD 		 
ENTIRE
NAME 		 

3.  For four of the six basic Kingdoms of Life, give the name of the Kingdom and enough features to clearly set that Kingdom's members apart from those of the other five.

 

 

 

 

4.  Define these as technical biological terms -
ECOSYSTEM
  
COMMUNITY
 
POPULATION
  

5.  What are three different things that can be compared based on homologies and used to determine relatedness for classification?
 


 

6.  For each of these nuclear particles, give two basic features, plus one overall feature that comes from their total number in an atom.
NEUTRON BASIC FEATURE
BASIC FEATURE
FEATURE FROM
TOTAL NUMBER
PROTON BASIC FEATURE
BASIC FEATURE
FEATURE FROM
TOTAL NUMBER


7.  For viruses -
2 Features they have that are also found in all living things -

 
2 Features all living things should have that viruses do NOT have -

 

Link to Answer Key




BONUS QUESTIONS.

Answer as many as you are able. Wrong answers will not result in points being lost from the main exam. You can get partial credit on these answers.

What’s an example of a multicellular colonial species? Three Points.


Biologically, what does gender mean? Three Points.


There are two major reasons why it’s very difficult to develop drugs to eliminate viruses. What are they? Three Points Each.


Why doesn’t a conclusive experiment prove its hypothesis? Three Points.


What was Einstein’s explanation for gravity? Three Points.


If you’re testing a chemical’s possible effects on humans using mice, why are the doses twenty-five times higher? Three Points.


Why did Pacific islanders appear to have extreme and bizarre sexual practices? Three Points.


What are some of the “primitive features” humans have as embryos? Three Points Each.



What changed between the “old” five-Kingdom system and the “new” six-Kingdom system? Three Points.


In the latest systems, what level has been added (Three Points), and where does it go in the sequence? (Three Points)



Why is the classification guy known as Linnaeus if that wasn’t his name? Three Points.



Why does an atomic nucleus need a “sticky” force inside it and to be stabilized? Three Points.

 

  

SCI 135 

Michael McDarby

 

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